Deputy City Attorney Veronica Zertuche says over 100 people applied for the position of diversity and inclusion officer including attorneys, ex-military and corporate executives. In the end, 31-year-old Kiran Bains, an applicant with impressive credentials, got the job. The newly-hired Bains will administer and manage the activities of the Diversity and Inclusion Office, which is…
News
Stonewall Dems endorse Anthony Alcoser for State Rep.
On Monday, September 21, members of Stonewall Democrats of San Antonio voted to endorse Anthony Alcoser for State Representative District 118, in the special election that will be on the November 3 general election ballot. The legislative seat became vacant when State Rep. Joe Farias resigned last month before his term was supposed to end…
Gay couple in federal suit will return to SA for marriage license
Two years ago on October 3, 2013, Vic Holmes and Mark Pharris went to the Bexar County Clerk’s office in San Antonio, applied for a marriage license and were turned down. “We don’t do that in Texas,” they were told. However, on Friday, September 25 the two men, who now live in Plano, will return…
A painful separation as SAAF moves patients to nursing homes
A plan to move long-term patients at the San Antonio AIDS Foundation to nursing homes took a toll on the relationship of two residents who have been roommates and companions for the last 16 years. On September 18, the two men, Rogelio Saucedo and Armando Castro, were separated without being given an opportunity to say…
How LGBT-friendly is the visiting Namibian president?
Starting September 17, Mayor Ivy R. Taylor welcomes Namibian President Dr. Hage Geingob to San Antonio for a two-day visit that includes a welcoming ceremony at the airport, a visit to a City Council meeting, a photo op at the Alamo, a business breakfast at the Plaza Club and a speech at the University of…
Most Influential 2015: Saakred
This past spring, 25-year-old artist and musician Saakred released a new album, a new look, and a new transgender identity. “When I shaved my head completely it was symbolic for a relationship that ended, but also because I’m done with this part of my life and ready to really be who I want to be.…
BEAT AIDS banquet theme: ‘It takes a village’
The theme for this year’s BEAT AIDS Coalition Trust’s Annual Awards Banquet, slated for October 16, will be “HIV/AIDS: It Takes A Village.” “Now in existence for over 28 years, BEAT AIDS Coalition Trust continues to expand its programs and services to the community in our aggressive effort to end the spread of HIV/AIDS,” BEAT…
Most Influential 2015: Justin P. Nichols
Many readers may recognize Justin P. Nichols as the cover model for last year’s inaugural issue of this magazine. However, it is his advocacy as an attorney that brought him to local prominence. In January 2014, Nichols filed the first complaint under the city’s nondiscrimination ordinance claiming AT&T fired his client, Matthew Hileman, because of…
Most Influential 2015: Neel Lane
In February 2014, Neel Lane, along with litigation partner Barry Chasnoff, led a team from the San Antonio office of Akin Gump on behalf of clients Nicole Dimetman and Cleopatra De Leon and Victor Holmes and Mark Phariss. The two couples were seeking a preliminary injunction to bar Texas from enforcing its same-sex marriage ban.…
Most Influential 2015: Robert Salcido
On the afternoon of June 26, the day the Supreme Court made marriage equality the law of the land, Robert Salcido, Jr. was standing at the pulpit of the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd speaking at what would be the first church wedding in San Antonio. He was there as a representative of Equality…