TS/TV/CD/LGBT News and opinion from around the world for Tuesday June 8th 2010

Of the 178 hospitals that did voluntarily submitted surveys to the campaign nationwide, only eight hospitals, three clinics and the Kaiser network came out as top performers (see all results, separated by state here).

We also note that this bill was signed into law by Gov. Jan Brewer, the same governor who last year stripped away earned health insurance benefits from the same-sex domestic partners of state employees. Brewer’s actions as governor demonstrate, at best, callous indifference - and at worst, willful malice -toward immigrants and LGBT people alike.

Librarians from the Santa Cruz Public Libraries joined the parade, pushing red book carts along Pacific Avenue. Local Home Depot workers wore the company's trademark bright orange and waved signs from their float. Hundreds of people participated in the parade, which was sponsored by the Diversity Center of Santa Cruz, while hundreds more lined the sidewalks to cheer and support the cause.

The victim told police that his attackers yelled they are going to kill him and he didn't belong there. The victim said he has been harassed in the Creekwood neighborhood for a year, and he was targeted because he's a "cross dresser and has an alternative lifestyle," according to the news release.

After PT announced that its board had voted 4-3 to ban the term "Israeli Apartheid" from the parade, queer community leaders mobilized to pressure PT’s board to reverse its decision. First, Alan Li refused to accept the title of grand marshal, then Jane Farrow declined the honoured dyke title. Since then, both Michelle Walker (community service award) and ILGA (international marshals) have turned down honours.

A man described as white and of stocky build crossed the road to face the women, shouted homophobic abuse at them and spat in the face of one of them. The women continued walking but the man continued to shout abuse as they passed into Jewry Street.

One clearly promising signal is that the Judiciary Committee is acting at the behest of its chairman, John Sampson of Brooklyn, who is the leader of the majority Democratic Conference in the Senate. In fact, Sampson used an extraordinary parliamentary maneuver within his purview as conference leader to move the bill from Long Island Democrat Craig Johnson’s Investigation and Government Operations Committee, where it has been stalled all year, to Judiciary. (Johnson supports GENDA, but with the opposition there of Democrat Ruben Diaz, Sr., of the Bronx, an implacable foe of LGBT rights, he was unable to steer the measure through his eight-member committee.)

The singer, who caused a stir with a lesbian kiss in her controversial Telephone video, was honoured at the 21st Awards show both for her music and for promoting equality and increasing the visibility of the LGBT community.

How do you come out of the closet in your business? And how do you handle investors who might be uncomfortable with your vocal support of gay rights? Mr. Conley, 49, who came out four years before he opened his first hotel, the Phoenix, in 1987, recounted steering such investors to the Web site of Kimpton Hotels, a competitor that promotes its support for gay employees. Then he told them that one of Kimpton's biggest investors was a former Senate Republican leader, Bill Frist. That example, Mr. Conley recalled, was enough to ease the investors' concerns.

One finding from the teen phase that "knocked my socks off," she [Dr. Gartrell] observes, was that, "in terms of overall quality of life, almost 80% say they enjoy, are satisfied with, and find life worthwhile." She reflects, "I don't know how your teenage years were, but I wouldn't have given mine a rating anywhere close to that. That says something pretty remarkable about what the moms are doing in terms of helping these kids navigate adolescence." . . .