Stories

I know that this has been reported widely, but for those of you who haven't heard, Babeland is hosting Sexy Santa Night with Firefighters TONIGHT! There will be calendars for sale to benefit children and you can pose with partially disrobed firefighters. It is a win-win event!

Sexy Santa Night with Firemen Thursday, December 10, 06:00PM, Free You’ll get plenty of eye-candy this season with sexy firefighters playing Santa at Babeland! Firefighters who posed for a pin-up-style calendar for the WSCFF Burn Foundation will be on hand signing calendars and posing for photos. As if that isn’t enough, you could win free sex toys, too, depending on how naughty or nice you’ve been. Calendar sales benefit burn research programs, send injured kids to summer camp, and provide burn prevention kits. More info about the Washington State Council of Firefighters Burn Foundation at http://www.firefightercalendar.org (6-9pm)

On Thursday, December 17 Three Dollar Bill Cinema will be hosting two screenings of An Evening with Auntie Mame! The first is at 6:30PM and the second at 9:30 (this screening is for folks 21 and over) at Central Cinema. Tickets are $12.

Celebrate the season with Three Dollar Bill Cinema and AUNTIE MAME. The beloved 1958 film starring the incomparable Rosalind Russell returns for one night only of festive revelry, a 'homo for the holidays' tradition. "Life's a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death," according to Auntie Mame, but you'll be free to feast on a spread of free holiday sweet treats and surprises, presented with best wishes from Three Dollar Bill Cinema. (Full menu and beer/wine available throughout the program.) Last year our first screening sold out in advance, so get your tickets early!

Tomorrow is "Victory, Referendum 71 Approved Day" in the City of Seattle. This is "in recognition of the approval of referendum 71 granting equal rights to domestic partners." Tomorrow's celebration rally for the passage of R71 will be at Westlake Center, starting at noon.

Out for Sustainability is hosting a conference on the periphery of Capitol Hill this weekend... at the Olive 8 Hyatt. The conference features a number of topics, ranging from gender and healthcare to the pros and cons of Washington state's DP rights.

The cost of the conference ranges from $5 - $35. Here are the specifics of the conference:

Join OUT for Sustainability for the 1st annual conference on "Social Sustainability". Speakers on 5 panels join us from the city, county and state government, local businesses and non-profits. The goal is to see how demographics and logistics intersect and impact each other, to build awareness into action. Seminars include:

1p Gender + Healthcare: Focused on the issues and opportunities around access to services for women and transgender people.

Carolyn Fuller ND, Adjunct Faculty at the Bastyr Center for Natural Health, Primary and naturopathic care to the GLBTQ community at Spectrum Natural Health which is part of Country Doctor Community Health Clinic

2p Age + Community: Focused on planning community for an aging urban community, especially focused on the problems and potential solutions for the LGBTQ community.

Don Moreland is on the Seattle /King County Aging and Disability Advisory Committee and the State Council on Aging.

Tom Rasmussen is a City Council member for the City of Seattle. He chairs the Parks and Seattle Center Committee, vice-chair of the Culture, Civil Rights, Health and Personnel committee, member of the Planning, Land Use and Neighborhoods committee, member of the Seattle/King County Board of Health as well as a member of the Regional Policy Committee and the Water Resource Inventory Area (WRIA 8) board. Prior to his election in 2003, Tom was the Director of the Mayor's Office for Senior Citizens.

Jeff Reibman, AIA, LEED AP is a licensed architect and a Senior Associate with Weber Thompson, a multidisciplinary design firm. Jeff has specialized in the design of Senior Housing.

3p Class + Education

Focused on how LGBTQ youth are impacted by resourcse differences in different communities.

Ken Shulman, MPA, is executive director of Lambert House, Seattle's LGBT Youth Activity and Resource Center. He earned his masters in public administration at Harvard. A former appointee of two Seattle mayors, he was twice elected to co-chair the city government's LGBT Commission.

4p Orientation + Family

Focused on the non-political side of Domestic Partnership, including looking at the positives and negatives of the existing law in Washington State.

Thomas Pitchford is the Development & Outreach Director for Equal Rights Washington and has spent the last several years working with political campaigns and consulting candidates primarily in the areas of campaign finance and strategy.

Cynthia Buhr is the current President of QLaw: The GLBT Bar Association of Washington where she is  on the board. She is a family law attorney at Spencer Anderson & Buhr, PLLC and is an ACLU of Washington cooperating attorney.

David Wing-Kovarik co-founded and is executive director of Families Like Ours and is a member of the Washington Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) GLBT Advisory Committee. David is also a board member of the national Adoption Exchange Association and is co-author of Adoption 101: the family guide.

5p Race/Ethnicity + Housing

Focused the debate between affordability and density and how that impacts different racial and ethnic communities including members of those communities who are LGBTQ.

Jacque Larrainzar is the Policy and Outreach Manager for the Seattle Office for Civil Rights. She is a member of the City of Seattle Race and Social Justice Coordinating Team which works to address racial disparities and social justice issues in city government.

Heyok Kim is the Executive Director of InterIm Community Development Association (InterIm CDA). Hyeok served as a senior policy analyst for Speaker of the House Frank Chopp and the House Democratic Caucus in the Washington State Legislature. She is Board Secretary for the Housing

Development Consortium of Seattle/King County and is a member of the Board of Directors for the Public Facilities District.

Darryl Smith is a real estate professional with Windermere Mount Baker, founded Columbia City Beat Walk, chaired Columbia City Revitalization, and served on the Seattle Planning Commission where he represented neighborhood-planning interests. Currently he serves on the Board of Rainier Valley Community Development Fund and is the Board President of Great City.

More information at www.OUTsustainability.com. For questions, contact Gerod Rody, executive director, at gerod.rody@gmail.com

Tickets are $5 base price, or higher if you are in a position to help support the conference, get your tickets now at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/85960

OUT for Sustainability brings the LGBTQ community together with social and environmental sustainability, connecting macro issues with individual choices and impact, through partner led events, education, consulting and advocacy.

Seattle Times and other media outlets are reporting that the referendum protecting LGBT equal rights now has an insurmountable lead. Anne Levinson, chair of the campaign group that worked to approve the measure said

Voters across the state listened to the personal stories of lesbian and gay families and the challenges they faced and sent a strong message that we want to see all families treated equally under the law in our state.

Of course, the homophobic opposition is not conceding. Big surprise that they can't own up to the fact that our state has made history and is leading the way to provide fair and equal treatment of LGBT citizens of this state.

According to the Secretary of State's web site, R-71 "approve" votes are slightly ahead. It's also worth noting that 1033 is loosing (which is good). The rest of the results are here.

Oy Vey! My Son is Gay! will be playing at Cinerama tonight! In addition to having local ties, this film will be benefiting the Approve R71 campaign. You can purchase ticekts at Brown Paper Tickets. The show starts at 7PM and the cost is $25. If you pay $71 you get a couple perks: admission to a cocktail reception with the director and VIP seating for the movie.

SQREAM (Seattle Queers Riding Everywhere And More) will be hosting a fashion show and group ride this Saturday!

If you haven't heard about it yet, we're having a scooter fashion show at the new shop (5214 University Way N.E., on the Ave) Saturday from 3-5PM. GoGoGear will be presenting their new line of high fashion mod inspired scooter jackets for women. After the show we are hosting a Meetup Group ride at 6PM from the shop to the screening of "We Are The Mods" at the Admiral. All SQREAMERS are welcome to join us, since I'm sure lots of us are going to the film. 

Alex & Melinda
Scooter Gallery Seattle
5214 University Way N.E.
(New Location on the Ave)

Hope to see you all there!

Capitol Hill Seattle has some exciting news for the LGBT community here on the hill!

When CHS last visited the, brown butcher paper was spotted - evincing new ownership.  After spotting a to assume Kinkora Pike St LLC's liquor license, we contacted King Cobra's new owners Bigelow Villa LLC to uncover their plans for the space.  Paul Villa, one of the co-owners gave us the scoop on what he and his business partner Curtis Bigelow envision:

For the rest of CHS's story, visit their blog.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy has blocked the release of the names of individuals who signed the petition that got R-71 on the ballot.

As a reminder, you have not already, stamp and mail in your ballot today!

The Bottleneck Lounge is hosting an Approve R71event tonight! More on their event:

All proceeds from draft Elysian Night Owl pumpkin ale and Leavenworth Oktoberfest Bier go to support Washington Families Standing Together, a coalition to preserve domestic partnership rights in Washington.

Want to know what all films are specifically on the hill this weekend? Here are a handful of them coming this weekend!

Saturday:

• The Naked Civil Servant at the Egyptian Theatre: Noon, $7
• Raging Grannies at the NW Film Forum: Noon, $7

• Boys Shorts at the Egyptian Theatre: 2pm, $10
• Prohibited Senses at the NW Film Forum: 2pm, $10
• Trans Shorts at the NW Film Forum: 4:30pm, $10
• Lady Trojans at the Egyptian Theatre: 4:30pm, $10
• And Then Came Lola at the Egyptian Theatre: 6:30pm, $10
• Travel Queeries at the NW Film Forum: 6:30pm, $10
• Eating Out 3 at the Egyptian Theatre: 8:30pm, $10
• Out of the Blue at the NW Film Forum: 8:30pm, $10
• A Touch of Mink at the Egyptian Theatre

Sunday:

• Misconceptions at the Egyptian Theatre: Noon, $7
• A Place to Live at the NW Film Forum: Noon, $7
• Girls Shorts at the Egyptian Theatre: 2:15pm, $10
• The Butch Factor at the NW Film Forum: 2:15pm, $10
• Edie & Thea at the Egyptian Theatre: 4:30pm, $10
• Queen of Brazil at the NW Film Forum: 4:30pm, $10
• Hollywood, je...

New Trailer from the Seattle Lesbian and Gay Film Festival :

Screening on Sunday, October 18, 2:15 pm at NW Film Forum as part of the 2009 Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival.

As mentioned several times on GayCapHill, there are a bunch of events tied to this weekend's Equality Week. This is especially important with the upcoming vote on R71. In addition to the equality bar crawl, here is the list of events from Seattle OUTProtest's site:

March and Rally

Forty years after the Stonewall Rebellion, we march in solidarity with our brothers and sisters and allies in Washington, DC to demand and to show our public support for the Approval of Referendum 71

 

Sunday, October 11th

5:00 pm:  Rally, Federal Courthouse, 7^th & Stewart

2:00 pm:  Volunteer Park, 10^th Ave E & E Prospect

Thinking Queerly:  Community Workshops on LGBT Issues

Community organizers and activists will present a series of workshops on a range of issues affecting the lgbt community including Stonewall and lgbt movement history, homelessness, hate crimes and self defense, lgbt health, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, lgbt legal issues, Gay-Straight Alliances, marriage equality, and more....

Last night, GayCapHill walked past Pony and saw a new entry sign declaring that it is a gay bar and that only gays and admirers should enter. Just curious, does anyone know what prompted the sign? So curious!

This weekend, Capitol Hill bars will be participating in an Approve R71 Bar Crawl. The event starts Saturday night at a CH gay bar. From the organizers:

The Plan: 

- Hosts and Team Members: Each bar will be assigned to a specific host (who will have enormous support) with 2 - 5 team members. The host will direct the action and be in charge of specific logistics for their location. If you’re good with people and know how to organize, we need you! If you would like to be a host, please FB or email me at jcastle77@gmail.com and let me know your top THREE choices of bars. 

- Table and materials: The host and team members will have a table located prominently in the bar with volunteer sign up forms, donation jar, posters, fliers, and stickers.

- Cheer Squad: A gang of outrageously wild, flamboyant, & hyper individuals who will run around from bar to bar getting attention, waving huge Approve 71 signs & stickering everyone. They will jump up and down dancing, laughing, singing, skipping,...

The Slog is reporting that Microsoft has donated $100,000 to the campaign to approve R-71. This is a huge boost to the campaign, especially considering recent polls show that only a little more than half of likely voters support the referendum. Their donation is greater than all the funds raised by the opposition. :-) Microsoft earlier supported the approve R-71 campaign along with other Northwest companies like Boeing, Nike, Puget Sound Energy, Real Networks, Vulcan and others.

Now, YOU need to remember to VOTE in this upcoming election and APPROVE R-71. (I know we've been devoting a lot of blog space to this, but seriously, it is SO important to all LGBT folks!)

Looks to be another fun gay weekend on the hill! Here are just some of the events coming up:

Thursday:

• Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Fest Program Book Release Party
• Miss Coco Peru at ReBar
• Approve R71 Campaign Event at Purr

Friday:

•  Miss Coco Peru at ReBar

Saturday:

• Miss Coco Peru at the Re-Bar
• Bacon Strip at Re-Bar 

If you are not already, please be sure to register to vote. This November, Washington will be asked to approve or reject Domestic Partnerships. It is VERY important that we come together and approve R71. From Washington Families Standing Together:

About Referendum 71: There are more than 12,000 people in Washington state registered in domestic partnerships. Gay and lesbian families need domestic partnership laws to provide essential protections for their families. Families with children need the protections provided by domestic partnership laws, especially when a parent dies. Seniors need the protections provided by domestic partnership laws. For seniors, domestic partnerships mean that their hard-earned social security, military or pension benefits are not put at risk. Police officers and firefighters who risk their lives to protect our communities need domestic partnership laws if they are hurt or killed in the line of duty, so that their families are taken care of by their pension or workers' compensation....

Pam's House Blend is reporting that the Seattle City Council last night unamously passed a resolution urging voters to approve Referendum 71.

NOW, THEREFORE,

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEATTLE, THE MAYOR CONCURRING, THAT:

Section 1. The City of Seattle urges Seattle voters to vote "approved" on Referendum 71 on the November, 2009 ballot, thereby retaining Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill 5688 and expanding the rights and responsibilities of state registered domestic partners as equal to those of spouses.

You can read the full text plus some excellent commentary at Pam's House Blend.

GayScout took the liberty of creating a Gay Map of Seattle using google maps. It includes bars, saunas, coffee shops, hotels. Of course, the majority of businesses exist on this hill, but there are a few businesses appearing off the hill. There aren't really any surprises if you are familiar with Seattle. This could be a great tool for visitors!

Mayoral candidate Mike McGinn released his proposed music and nightlife policy. It sounds like great news for existing bars and clubs. According to the Seattle P-I article:

Seattle mayoral candidate Mike McGinn on Wednesday came down on the side of the city's bars and nightclubs, saying new residential developments "must not be able to drive out existing nightlife establishments."

He also said he favored staggered closing times to cut down on rowdiness when bars and clubs close

This is particularly great for queer nightlife on Capitol Hill. I don't know if any one else has been nervous about the re-development next to The Cuff. Hopefully, this would protect bars (especially gay bars) who are harassed by new neighbors who want to live in a vibrant part of the city but then don't want to deal with noise and traffic. 

The Pride Foundation surpassed their goal of raising $10,000 (in addition to their generous $15,000 contribution) for the Approve Ref. 71 campaign. From Pride:

Wow! We asked you to help us raise $10K for Approve Ref. 71 by Friday, and we just made that goal! Do you think we should raise our goal to $15,000 by Friday? And if we do, will you help us?

It is amazing to see this level of support from the community! This vote, according to recent polls, is going to be very close, so your continued support is incredibly important. If you would like to contribute, go here.

Our sister site, Capitol Hill Seattle, reminds us that this weekend is the Seattle AIDS Walk. From CHS:

With the goal of raising $750,000 to help fight HIV and AIDS, the Seattle AIDS Walk will bring more than 2,000 walkers to Capitol Hill this weekend for a purposeful stroll around Volunteer Park. Saturday's walk starts at 9:30 AM and proceeds around a loop from Volunteer Park down 12th Ave, over to Broadway and then back up Broadway to return to the park for the after-party with food, music -- and this year you probably won't need your umbrella.

There is a plethora of after parties (of course!) including a gay belly dancing show at Harem! Support our community and have fun!