Profile
Photos
Comments
Landlord must pay $25,000 for trying to evict HIV patient’s dog
Kayla, an 11-year-old boxer mix,
has been Richard Blake’s support dog…
has been Richard Blake’s support dog…
The landlords of a Brighton apartment building have been ordered to pay
$25,000 to a tenant with HIV/AIDS for trying to force the man to get rid of his
emotional support dog or move out of his home.
The complaint was brought against Brighton Gardens LP, which owns the
Brighton Gardens building on Tremont Street; Lombardi Corp., a general partner
in Brighton Gardens LP; Michael J. Lombardi, president of Lombardi Corp; and
Louis M. Lombardi, vice president.
Yesterday, Michael Lombardi denied any wrongdoing and said he will
appeal.
The complainant, Richard M. Blake, was diagnosed with HIV infection more than
two decades ago. He isolated himself, rarely left the house, and became
sedentary, said his attorney, Denise McWilliams.
********************************************************************* Ark. court strikes down law barring gay adoptions
The Arkansas Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a
voter-approved initiative that barred gay couples and other unmarried people
living together from serving as adoptive or foster parents.
voter-approved initiative that barred gay couples and other unmarried people
living together from serving as adoptive or foster parents.
Associate
Justice Robert L. Brown wrote for the court that the law would encroach on
adults’ right to privacy in the bedroom.
“Act 1 directly and substantially burdens the privacy rights of `opposite-sex
and same-sex individuals’ who engage in private, consensual sexual conduct in
the bedroom by foreclosing their eligibility to foster or adopt children,” Brown
wrote.
The law, which was never enforced, would have effectively banned gay and
lesbian couples from adopting or fostering children because they can’t legally
marry in Arkansas. It also would have been extended to unmarried heterosexual
couples who live together.
Voters approved the measure in 2008 after the state Supreme Court overturned
a Human Services Department policy preventing gay men and lesbians from serving
as foster parents in 2006.
The American Civil Liberties Union sued on behalf of a group of families,
arguing that the law arbitrarily bans qualified families from consideration when
the state has too few foster and adoptive families. It said it knew of 29 people
from a dozen families who claimed the law would have an impact on them.
Some of the law’s opponents were worried that they would not be able to let a
gay relative adopt their children if they should die.
A state judge had struck down the law last April because he said it forced
unmarried couples to choose between their relationships and becoming adoptive
parents. The attorney general later asked the Supreme Court to reverse that
decision, arguing that fostering or adopting a child is not a constitutionally
protected right.
When the lawsuit was filed in late 2008, Arkansas and Utah were the only
states with bans on unmarried couples fostering or adopting children.
Mississippi banned gay couples, but not single gay men, from adopting children.
Florida was the only state to completely bar gay adoption until a federal judge
ruled the ban unconstitutional in December
2008.
*******************************************************************
`Glee’ goes Gaga with expanded, 90-minute episode
(Los Angeles) Lady Gaga is getting the royal
treatment on a new episode of “Glee.”
treatment on a new episode of “Glee.”
The hit Fox series will expand by a half-hour for the April 26 episode paying
tribute to the pop star.
In the 90-minute episode, members of the New
Directions high school glee club perform her hit “Born This Way” – and learn a
lesson about self-acceptance.
Lady Gaga is an outspoken supporter of gay rights.
“Glee,” which has been on hiatus, returns with new shows April 19. The series
airs at 8 p.m. EDT on Tuesdays.
*********************************************************************
‘La Cage aux Folles’ to close on Broadway
(New York) The sequin-spangled Broadway farce “La
Cage aux Folles” is putting away its boas.
Cage aux Folles” is putting away its boas.
Producers said Wednesday that
the revival of the classic Jerry Herman-Harvey Fierstein musical that won a Tony
Award last year will end May 1.
The show currently stars Fierstein – who won a 1984 Tony for writing the
show’s book – and Christopher Sieber, who starred in “Spamalot” and “Shrek: The
Musical.”
They took over the two leading parts from Douglas Hodge and Kelsey
Grammer.
The story centers on a gay couple who run a St. Tropez drag club.
When it ends its run at the Longacre Theatre next month, the production will
have played 433 performances and 15 previews.
A national tour will begin in October starting in Des Moines,
Iowa.
That was a wonderful shot of those guys with their child.