By Ramy Eletreby

Fire-damaged Micky's leaves uncertain future for popular events

In the wake of the fire that left Micky's, a popular gay bar in West Hollywood, with heavy smoke and water damage on Aug. 21, the future is unclear for some of the hottest promotional events in the city. Though numerous promotions are held throughout the week at various locations in West Hollywood, Micky's consistently attracted large crowds every night of the week whether it was for two-for-one drinks for happy hour, its hit drag show on Monday nights, or the uber-successful Cocktails with the Stars on Thursday nights, where people would pack the place to see top-rated porn stars in an in-depth Q&A session and in various states of undress.

“It's quite unfortunate that Cocktails with the Stars ended when it did," host Scotty B. tells IN Los Angeles magazine. “In the last year we pushed the envelope more than it had ever gone before, had some huge sponsors for the night, and a wildly successful MySpace page, plus we had some huge names scheduled to appear. We anticipated Titan Exclusive Francois Sagat's appearance to be one of the biggest shows that we had ever had. Everyone wanted him first and we had him!”

It is rumored that the bar will not reopen for six to eight months, though whether it will reopen as Micky's or a new venue is still unknown.

Long Beach’s Laura Richardson wins Millender-McDonald’s congressional seat

California Assemblywoman Laura Richardson (D-Long Beach), who co-wrote a bill legalizing same-sex marriage in the state, which passed the Assembly in June, won a special election on Aug. 21 for the 37th Congressional District seat formerly filled by Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald, who died in April.

With less than 12 percent voter turnout, Richardson defeated Republican John M. Kanaley, Libertarian Herb Peters and Green Party candidate Daniel Brezenoff after taking 67 percent of the vote. Richardson’s district encompasses much of Long Beach, parts of South L.A., Compton and Carson.

“We need a person who is ready to step in and perform immediately,” said Richardson. “[I’m] grateful to have had an opportunity to have worked with Congresswoman Millender-McDonald, and now I have a chance to follow in her footsteps.”

In less than a year, Richardson rose from the Long Beach City Council to the California Assembly to her current place in the U.S. Congress.

Mayor Villaraigosa scraps nationwide search for new fire chief

On Aug. 21, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa scrapped what was considered a nationwide recruitment effort to find a new chief for the L.A. Fire Department, naming interim Fire Chief Douglas L. Barry to run the department, which has been under scrutiny in recent months for employment discrimination and a number of civil rights lawsuits.

This decision comes as the Fire Department is under investigation by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which is looking into allegations of racial and gender bias after a number of discrimination and retaliation lawsuits have resulted in more than $11 million in settlement awards paid by the city over the last year. In July, Brenda Lee, a black lesbian firefighter, was awarded $6.2 million after claiming to have been discriminated against because of race, gender and sexual orientation, reports the L.A. Times.

Former Fire Chief William Bamattre stepped down on Jan. 1, 2007, after the publication of audits that documented inappropriate behavior within the department, including a 2004 prank which had white firefighters feeding dog food to a black colleague, reports the Times. Villaraigosa then appointed Barry, a black man, to lead the department on an interim basis until a new chief could be found.

“Since being appointed, steady progress has and will continue to be made toward lasting reform within the department,” said Barry, at a news conference in front of Fire Station 3.

If Barry is confirmed by the City Council, he will become the city’s first black fire chief.

Community mobilization for death of HIV-positive transgender detainee

A candlelight vigil to demand accountability for the death of Victoria Arellano was held on Aug. 27 in front of the Federal Building in downtown L.A. to bring attention to the denial of humane medical care being given to immigrants held in detention. Arellano, a transgender woman with AIDS, died while being held at an immigration detention center in San Pedro after she was denied basic medical attention.

“Victoria’s death is a human rights violation. Today people living with HIV/AIDS can live a long and healthy life as long as they are taking their medication in a consistent manner. This beautiful young woman, of only 23 years of age, was allowed to die in such an unjust manner simply because the authorities in charge failed to provide her with basic medical attention,” said Oscar De La O, President of Bienestar, which sponsored the vigil

Longshore/Warehouse Union locals grant pension benefits for domestic partners

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) locals 6 and 17, based in Oakland and West Sacramento, respectively, recently announced they had renegotiated their contracts to grant pension benefits to domestic partners, reports San Jose Mercury News.

“For surviving heterosexual spouses, marriage automatically ensures access to pension and retirement benefits,” said Joyce Pierson of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, who worked with the ILWU to secure these benefits. “We applaud the ILWU for doing the right thing. We should not forget, however, that the vast majority of same-sex partners in California still do not have this protection.”

Man claims he was fired by two HIV/AIDS groups for not being gay

The director of the AIDS/LifeCycle fundraiser, the annual 545-mile ride that raises awareness for HIV/AIDS, is suing the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, claiming that he was fired by the two groups because he was heterosexual. According to a lawsuit filed in L.A. Superior Court on Aug. 23, Jeffrey Shapiro alleges sexual orientation discrimination and intentional infliction of emotional distress after he was hired in March to oversee fundraising for the AIDS/LifeCyle, which also funds the two nonprofit organizations, but was fired in June claiming that “they needed somebody who better fit into the culture,” reports City News Service.

“It’s our policy not to comment on personnel matters, but we can say that the LAGLC and the SFAF never have and never would terminate someone on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity,” the Center’s Jim Key told Gay.com.

Pasadena church to become ‘hate-free’ zone

The Neighborhood Unitarian Universalist Church of Pasadena will hold a peace rally on Sunday, Sept. 9, to dedicate the historic sanctuary as a “Hate-Free Zone” after the third slashing of a marriage equality banner draped on the façade that read, “LOVE makes a family. We support marriage equality!”

“This is so much more than just a banner,” said Neighborhood Church’s Alyssa Bellew, in a press release. “Besides having love and tolerance in our hearts and minds, our faith encourages us to proclaim it and take action against injustices wherever they might be. The world needs to see that people of faith, clergy and religious institutions stand on the side of love and justice.”

At the peace rally, community members and churchgoers will wrap the church and its adjacent campus in a “hate-free” ribbon to show “unwavering solidarity and dedication to equality for all marriages and families, and to reinforce the church’s ‘Stand on the Side of Love’ covenant,” according to its press release. The ribbon will also be considered a pledge to support gay rights.

The banner’s latest slashing happened before church services on Sunday, July 29. After the peace rally, the church plans to raise a new banner.

Gov. Schwarzenegger appoints Log Cabin Republicans

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger recently appointed Leonard Olds, one of the founders of the Log Cabin Republicans, to the California Council for the Humanities, and on Aug. 27, the governor announced the appointment of Don Norte, a board member of Log Cabin Los Angeles, to the California Governor’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities.

“Once again, we applaud the governor for demonstrating his commitment to bringing the best and brightest to public service from all segments of the California community,” said James Vaughn, director of California Log Cabin Republicans, in a statement.

Olds, 64, of Laguna Beach, has been a leader in Log Cabin since 1984 and started the Riverside County Log Cabin chapter in 1991, which he has served as president. LCR is an organization dedicated to building a more inclusive Republican party for LGBT people.

Norte works for West Hollywood’s Department of Transportation and Public Works.