There are a billion (estimate) places to grab a cup of coffee near the Medical Center. And, perhaps, if the merely pragmatic pick-me-up of a quick cup is all you are after, you might not take much note of the latest addition to that array of java-slinging establishments: Pendlebury Brew. If, however, you like a…
On the Chartreuse Couch: Gene Elder Interviews Ken Slavin
Gene: Ken, here you are at last. On the couch where you belong. Now, I want you to just lie down and make yourself comfortable and just say the first thing that comes to mind. What do you think of when I say, “Artists giving their art to fundraisers and musicians playing for free at…
San Antonio AIDS Foundation at a Crossroads
Nearly 30 years ago, Robert “Papa Bear” Edwards started the San Antonio AIDS Foundation (SAAF) in the back of a gay bar. From those humble beginnings, the organization has flourished, and now appears to be ready for another growth spurt under newly hired president Cynthia Nelson. However, for Edwards and some supporters, that growth has…
FDA’s new policy on blood donations still discriminatory
After a year-long discussion, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced last week it would lift the 32-year-old lifetime ban on gay and bisexual men donating blood. The new regulations allow men who have sex with men (MSM) to donate blood as long as they have abstained from sex for a period of 12…
Hometown Hero: Eric Alva
Each year, the Human Rights Campaign of San Antonio recognizes individuals, whether LGBT or an ally of the community, who go above and beyond, personally and professionally, to impact the lives of gays and lesbians throughout the Alamo City and elsewhere. Important movers-and-shakers, Eric Alva and Judge Genie Wright, were honored in November during the…
San Antonio scores 90 on HRC’s Municipal Equality Index
The City of San Antonio increased it’s rank in the Human Rights Campaign’s 2015 Municipal Equality Index. Now in it’s fourth year, the MEI scores cities on their nondiscrimination laws, their recognition of LGBT relationships, their LGBT policies, the services they offer to LGBT citizens, the police department’s relationship with LGBTs and the “city leadership’s…
HRC to honor Judge Genie Wright
The San Antonio chapter of the Human Rights Campaign announced that Judge Eugenia “Genie” Wright of Bexar County Court 7 will be presented with the Equality Award at the group’s Gala and Silent Auction on November 21. The Equality Award is given annually to “an individual who works toward equality for all citizens of San…
Julian Castro addresses national gathering of HRC leadership
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro addressed a conference of the Human Rights Campaign board of directors, the HRC Foundation board of directors and the HRC board of governors at a luncheon on October 2 at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC. In his remarks, Castro, the former San Antonio mayor, talks about…
Why did SA’s ‘equality index’ score get lower?
When the Human Rights Campaign released its annual Municipal Equality Index (MEI) last week, many in San Antonio’s LGBT community were puzzled as to why the city’s score had gone from 86 last year to 72 this time around. Now in it’s third year, the MEI scores cities on their nondiscrimination laws, their recognition of…