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Bamby Salcedo calls out ICE for trans woman’s death

Salcedo heads the first trans-led organization providing direct services to L.A.’s trans community

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Bamby Salcedo addressing demonstrators in Downtown LA May 25. (Photo by Jake Finney)

Bamby Salcedo has organized way too many vigils for her murdered trans sisters, shared way too many tears and shouldered way too many burdens of dashed expectations to think progress has come quickly or easily to the transgender community in Los Angeles.

On May 29, as President and CEO of the TransLatin@ Coalition, Salcedo called for a vigil to mark the death of Roxanna Hernandez, one of 25 trans women who travelled from Central America to the U.S. border as part of a 300-person caravan seeking refuge from the violence in the countries they fled. Hernandez had AIDS and turned herself in seeking help.

“Jeffry Hernandez, 33, entered ICE custody May 13 in San Diego. Two days later, ERO San Diego transferred her to ERO El Paso, and on May 16 Hernandez arrived at the Cibola County Correctional Center in Milan, New Mexico, where she was housed in the transgender unit,” the May 25 ICE press release says. “On May 17, Hernandez was admitted to Cibola General Hospital with symptoms of pneumonia, dehydration and complications associated with HIV. Later in the day she was transferred via air ambulance to LMC, where she remained in the intensive care unit until her passing. LMC medical staff pronounced her deceased May 25 at 3:32 a.m. (MDT), and identified the preliminary cause of death as cardiac arrest.”

The press release also notes that “Hernandez is the sixth detainee to pass away in ICE custody in fiscal year 2018, which began Oct. 1, 2017.” The agency also insisted it followed proper medical care service protocols, adding: “Pursuant to our commitment to the welfare of those in the agency’s custody, ICE annually spends more than $250 million on the spectrum of healthcare services provided to detainees.”

Roxanna Hernandez (Photo via ICE and Bamby Salcedo)

“Roxana was one of those 25 trans women, who came to seek a better way of life,” Salcedo told a group of about 25 demonstrators outside the US Citizen and Immigration Services field office in Downtown LA on May 25. “And now because she was trying to get a better life, and because she was running away from the violence she experienced in Honduras, she came to the U.S. to find death. The system is the one that killed her.”

Salcedo wasn’t buying ICE’s explanation. “This news release by ICE is trying to diminish and devalue the life of our sister Roxanna!! The fact is, ICE let Roxanna die while she was detained,” Salcedo said on Facebook. “ICE could have sent her to received treatment and care. People do not die from AIDS complications now days. People die because of denial of treatment and the institutional red tape that has been set up for us to not be able to receive the help and support that we need in order to save our lives. The processing standards that ICE has (are) just one more obstacle that impedes for us to be able to receive the assistance that we need while we are in the horrific hands of ICE detention.”

Salcedo called out the inhumanity of the system. “ICE and immigration detention is a murder machine!! They do not care about who we are and why we are running away from our countries. We come here because they say that there is hope in this country. What hope is there when ICE and Homeland Security kill us?” she asked.

“ICE separates us when we disclose that we are HIV+ and Trans. That is what they did to Roxanna—they isolated her to let her die. They did not care for what she needed, the kind of treatment that she could have gotten, because ICE do not even have doctors who know and understand HIV/AIDS. It takes many weeks for one of us who discloses that they are HIV+ to be able to receive the treatment that we need and deserve. ICE is a killer machine! The current administration is creating assassins for pay—that is exactly what ICE does to our community!!!”

Salcedo says Hernandez was isolated “and died by herself, with no one to hold her hand and tell her that she was loved. This exact same experience happened to Victoria Arellano in 2007 when she was murdered by ICE. Eleven years later, history repeats itself. ICE is a murderer! This administration are murders! We remember and honor Roxanna, because #RoxannaVive en nuestros corazones!”

When she’s not challenging ICE or anything or anyone else with anti-trans attitudes or actions, Salcedo runs the first trans-led organization in the country to provide direct services and advocacy to L.A.’s trans and gender non-conforming population through The Center for Violence Prevention & Transgender Wellness. Studies have long shown a disproportionate impact of discrimination and violence against trans and gender non-conforming individuals, resulting in high rates of unemployment, violence, suicide, homelessness, and incarceration.
“We decided that in order for us to empower our community directly, we needed to move into doing direct service provision for our community,” says Salcedo. With a budget just over $1 million and a staff of ten employees, she has already outgrown its new space at 3055 Wilshire Center.

Salcedo’s first grant for her new endeavor came from the Elton John Foundation in January 2016 for a re-entry program providing emergency support services to trans people being released from prisons, jails and immigration detention. Subsequent funding has come from the State of California Workforce Development Board and the City of Los Angeles to connect trans people with skills and training needed for a variety of jobs in California’s hospitality industry as well as develop opportunities for trans people in existing work resource centers throughout the City.

At the start of 2018, the State of California’s Office of Emergency Services began funding support services to transgender victims of violence and Salcedo’s organization is most likely the first trans led organization to receive such funding from the state. The staff will provide case management and victim advocacy, including court accompaniment, assistance reporting crimes to police, and medical visits to clients. They are also in the process of setting up a free hotline for victims of violence to be staffed by a cohort of ten people who will be trained on how to answer calls and provide rapid response. Until the hotline is set up a “warm line” will be in place where victims can leave a message and expect a return call from staff within 24-48 hours.

Vital services also include a Drop-In Center that provides daily lunches; support to survivors of immigration detention and incarceration; leadership development; computer lab; ESL courses and employment and workforce development.

The primary reason Salcedo founded the organization is to respond to the continuous daily discrimination trans and gender non-conforming people experience when attempting to access basic services, oftentimes within the larger LGB community, and to step up and be proactive in addressing these issues.

“We, as trans people, better understand our specific needs and issues” she says. “So we wanted to make sure we address that and have a place where trans people can come and not only access services but also feel comfortable. We are building a safe place that is a family place, a safety net where people can come.” And why not, she notes, after all there are specific places for men, women, youth… so why not a transgender specific place?”

A warm, family feeling permeates Salcedo’s office, with a comfortable room for clients to sit down, relax, eat and have conversations with one another and the friendly staff there to provide peer support and mentoring. Spanish monolingual immigrants will find staff members who are able to communicate with them and support and advocate for them, especially clients who may have just been released from immigration detention. Many of them have fled their home countries to escape anti-transgender violence, including beatings and sexual assaults.

One client, a 22-year old Latina trans woman, learned about The Center for Violence Prevention & Transgender Wellness services through their volunteer pen pal program and financial assistance (money for calls, commissary, stamps) for trans detainees. She came there upon release from immigration detention last year, shattered from her experience and in search of support, which she found. Salcedo emphasizes, however, that non-Latina trans and non-gender conforming people are welcome, as well.

The center is located at 3055 Wilshire Blvd, Ste, 350, Los Angeles, CA 90010. Phone: (833) 847-2331, and through www.translatinacoalition.org.

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Philippines

Philippines Supreme Court rules same-sex couples can co-own property

Advocacy group celebrated landmark decision

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(Bigstock photo)

The Philippines Supreme Court in a landmark ruling said same-sex couples can co-own property under the country’s Family Code.

The Philippine News Agency on Tuesday notes the court issued its ruling in the case of two women who bought a house in Quezon City, a suburb of Manila, the Filipino capital, before they broke up.

The two women, according to the Philippine News Agency, “agreed to sell the property” after they ended their relationship, “and the registered owner — the respondent — signed a document acknowledging that the other partner paid for half of the purchase and renovations.” The Philippine News Agency notes “the registered owner” later “refused to sell the property and withdrew her earlier acknowledgment of co-ownership, prompting the other partner to file a complaint.”

A Regional Trial Court and the Philippines Court of Appeals ruled against the plaintiff.

The Supreme Court in a 14-page ruling it issued on Feb. 5 overturned the decisions. The Supreme Court published its decision on Tuesday.

“Considering that there is co-ownership between petitioner and respondent, then each co-owner may demand at any time the partition of the thing owned in common, insofar as her share is concerned,” said the Supreme Court in its ruling, according to the Philippine News Agency. “Having rightful interest over the subject property, petitioner has the right to demand the division of the subject property.”

The predominantly Catholic country’s Family Code defines marriage as “a special contract of permanent union between a man and a woman entered into in accordance with law for the establishment of conjugal and family life.” It also states in Article 148 that “in cases of cohabitation” outside of marriage, “only the properties acquired by both of the parties through their actual joint contribution of money, property, or industry shall be owned by them in common in proportion to their respective contributions.”

“In the absence of proof to the contrary, their contributions and corresponding shares are presumed to be equal,” it reads.

The BBC reported the Supreme Court ruling states this provision “applies to all forms of co-habitation,” regardless of the couple’s gender. A Supreme Court press release indicates the decision notes lawmakers and the Filipino government “must address same-sex couples’ rights, as courts alone cannot resolve all related policy concerns.”

“This court does not have the monopoly to assure the freedom and rights of homosexual couples,” it reads. “With the political, moral, and cultural questions that surround the issue concerning the rights of same-sex couples, political departments, especially the Congress must be involved to quest for solutions, which balance interests while maintaining fealty to fundamental freedoms.”

LGBT Pilipinas, a Filipino advocacy group, welcomed the ruling.

“This ruling marks a monumental step forward in the legal recognition of LGBTQ+ families and relationships in the country,” it said in a statement.

LGBT Pilipinas added the ruling “lays a crucial legal foundation for broader recognition of same-sex relationships and strengthens the push for comprehensive anti-discrimination protections.”

“This is a win not only for the LGBTQ+ community, but for fairness and justice in Philippine society as a whole,” said the group.

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New York

Pride flag removed from Stonewall Monument as Trump targets LGBTQ landmarks

The new NPS policy targets Pride flags amid consistent efforts from the Trump administration to minimize LGBTQ history

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(Photo courtesy of the National Park Service)

A rainbow Pride flag flying at the Stonewall National Monument in New York was removed at the direction of Trump administration officials at the National Park Service, according to a source familiar with the matter who spoke to the Blade on condition of anonymity.

The source said the move had been in the works for weeks and is part of ongoing efforts by the Trump-Vance administration to erase LGBTQ identity from federally controlled landmarks.

In response to the Blade’s request for information about the new flag policy, the National Park Service provided the following statement:

“Current Department of the Interior policy provides that the National Park Service may only fly the U.S. flag, Department of the Interior flags, and the Prisoner of War/Missing in Action flag on flagpoles and public display points. The policy allows limited exceptions, permitting non-agency flags when they serve an official purpose. These include historical context or reenactments, current military branch flags, flags of federally recognized tribal nations affiliated with a park, flags at sites co-managed with other federal, state, or municipal partners, flags required for international park designations, and flags displayed under agreements with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for Naturalization ceremonies.”

The statement also included official guidance on the display of non-agency flags issued by Trump-appointed National Park Service Director Jessica Bowron.

The Blade reached out to other organizations to confirm the status of the Pride flag last week, including the Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center, the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission, and the National Parks Conservation Association. None were able to provide details about whether the flag was still flying at that time but it has since been removed.

This action aligns with other moves targeting and erasing LGBTQ history. In September, the Blade reported that three organizations originally slated to receive more than $1.25 million from the National Park Service’s Underrepresented Communities Grant Program would no longer receive funding: In Washington, D.C., the Preservation League had been awarded $75,000 to document LGBTQ+ historic resources. In Providence, R.I., the Preservation Society was slated for $74,692 to conduct an LGBTQ+ survey and prepare a National Register nomination. And in New York, the Fund for the City of New York, Inc., had been awarded $32,000 to nominate the residence of Bayard Rustin — the iconic civil rights and LGBTQ activist — as a National Historic Landmark. 

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Florida

Disney’s Gay Days ‘has not been canceled’ despite political challenges

GayDays is moving forward with its planned LGBTQ meet-up

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(Photo by Ben Gingell/Bigstock)

Gay Days in Orlando is preparing for its 2026 gathering though organizers have yet to release full details.

Concerns emerged about the status of the annual meetup of LGBTQ people at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., after social media posts and multiple news outlets reported the event would not take place this year.

In response to inquiries from the Blade, Josh Duke, co-owner of Gay Days, clarified that an update would come this week.

“At this time, I’d like to clarify that Gay Days Orlando has not been canceled,” an email to the Blade said. “We are currently finalizing details regarding our plans for 2026 and will be making an official announcement later this week.”

Earlier this week, Gay Days posted about a pause in their plans for the annual meeting, which quickly gained traction online.

In an official statement on social media, Gay Days organizers cited several factors behind what had initially appeared to be a cancellation of their 2026 event.

“Changes to our host hotel agreement, the loss of key sponsorship support, and broader challenges currently impacting LGBTQIA+ events nationwide made it impossible to deliver the experience our community deserves,” organizers wrote. However, the statement added, “This is a pause — not an ending.”

In a longer message shared with supporters, organizers elaborated on that now-reversed decision.

“Gay Days Family — it is with very heavy hearts that we share Gay Days 2026 will not take place this year. This was an incredibly difficult decision and one that was only made after every possible option was explored.

“Gay Days has always been more than an event — it is community, family, and a place where so many memories are made. While this pause is painful, it also gives us the opportunity to step back, listen, and begin shaping a stronger and reimagined GayDays for the future. Thank you for your continued love, patience, and support. This is not goodbye — it’s a reset, and we look forward to creating the future of GayDays together.”

GayDays, which began in 1991, encourages queer Disney fans to visit the Orlando theme park while wearing red shirts to identify one another. Originally focused on gay men reclaiming the childhood joy often denied due to homophobia, the event has expanded over the years to include LGBTQ+ families on summer vacations and queer couples honeymooning in the Magic Kingdom.

Disney made history in 2019 by holding its first-ever official Pride event at its European park, Disneyland Paris. In 2023, Disneyland California hosted the first U.S. official Pride event.

Concerns about the potential cancellation had arisen amid broader challenges affecting LGBTQ events nationwide. These include changes in hotel agreements, sponsorship support, and Florida’s increasingly restrictive anti-LGBTQ policies under Gov. Ron DeSantis. Florida currently has an equality score of -3.00 out of 49 from the Movement Advancement Project, which evaluates states based on policies affecting relationship and parental recognition, nondiscrimination, religious exemptions, LGBTQ youth, healthcare, criminal justice, and transgender identity documentation.

Recent legislation in Florida has included prohibitions on hormone replacement therapy for transgender minors, restrictions on adult access to treatmentbans on drag performances for those under 18, bathroom bans for transgender people in state buildings, and expansion of the Parental Rights in Education Act, commonly called the “Don’t Say Gay” law. These measures limit public school instruction or discussion about sexual orientation and gender identity.

Gay Days Anaheim is scheduled to take place at Disneyland Resort in September.

Disney has also maintained a focus on Pride, reporting in 2022 that proceeds from Pride merchandise benefited numerous LGBTQ organizations, including GLSEN, PFLAG, The Trevor Project, Zebra Coalition, the Los Angeles LGBT Center, the LGBT Center Orange County, the San Francisco LGBT Center, and the Ali Forney Center. Pride merchandise sold internationally supports local LGBTQ organizations in those regions.

More details about this event are expected to be released on Friday.

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Italy

Olympics Pride House ‘really important for the community’

Italy lags behind other European countries in terms of LGBTQ rights

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Joseph Naklé, the project manager for Pride House at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, carries the Olympic torch in Milan, Italy, on Feb. 5, 2026. (Photo courtesy of Joseph Naklé)

The four Italian advocacy groups behind the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics’ Pride House hope to use the games to highlight the lack of LGBTQ+ rights in their country.

Arcigay, CIG Arcigay Milano, Milano Pride, and Pride Sport Milano organized the Pride House that is located in Milan’s MEET Digital Culture Center. The Los Angeles Blade on Feb. 5 interviewed Pride House Project Manager Joseph Naklé.

Naklé in 2020 founded Peacox Basket Milano, Italy’s only LGBTQ+ basketball team. He also carried the Olympic torch through Milan shortly before he spoke with the Blade. (“Heated Rivalry” stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie last month participated in the torch relay in Feltre, a town in Italy’s Veneto region.)

Naklé said the promotion of LGBTQ+ rights in Italy is “actually our main objective.”

ILGA-Europe in its Rainbow Map 2025 notes same-sex couples lack full marriage rights in Italy, and the country’s hate crimes law does not include sexual orientation or gender identity. Italy does ban discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment, but the country’s nondiscrimination laws do not include gender identity.

ILGA-Europe has made the following recommendations “in order to improve the legal and policy situation of LGBTI people in Italy.”

• Marriage equality for same-sex couples

• Depathologization of trans identities

• Automatic co-parent recognition available for all couples

“We are not really known to be the most openly LGBT-friendly country,” Naklé told the Blade. “That’s why it (Pride House) was really important for the community.”

“We want to use the Olympic games — because there is a big media attention — and we want to use this media attention to raise the voice,” he added.

The Coliseum in Rome on July 12, 2025. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

Naklé noted Pride House will host “talks and roundtables every night” during the games that will focus on a variety of topics that include transgender and nonbinary people in sports and AI. Another will focus on what Naklé described to the Blade as “the importance of political movements now to fight for our rights, especially in places such as Italy or the U.S. where we are going backwards, and not forwards.”

Seven LGBTQ+ Olympians — Italian swimmer Alex Di Giorgio, Canadian ice dancers Paul Poirier and Kaitlyn Weaver, Canadian figure skater Eric Radford, Spanish figure skater Javier Raya, Scottish ice dancer Lewis Gibson, and Irish field hockey and cricket player Nikki Symmons — are scheduled to participate in Pride House’s Out and Proud event on Feb. 14.

Pride House Los Angeles – West Hollywood representatives are expected to speak at Pride House on Feb. 21.

The event will include a screening of Mariano Furlani’s documentary about Pride House and LGBTQ+ inclusion in sports. The MiX International LGBTQ+ Film and Queer Culture Festival will screen later this year in Milan. Pride House Los Angeles – West Hollywood is also planning to show the film during the 2028 Summer Olympics.

Naklé also noted Pride House has launched an initiative that allows LGBTQ+ sports teams to partner with teams whose members are either migrants from African and Islamic countries or people with disabilities.

“The objective is to show that sports is the bridge between these communities,” he said.

Bisexual US skier wins gold

Naklé spoke with the Blade a day before the games opened. The Milan Cortina Winter Olympics will close on Feb. 22.

More than 40 openly LGBTQ+ athletes are competing in the games.

Breezy Johnson, an American alpine skier who identifies as bisexual, on Sunday won a gold medal in the women’s downhill. Amber Glenn, who identifies as bisexual and pansexual, on the same day helped the U.S. win a gold medal in team figure skating.

Glenn said she received threats on social media after she told reporters during a pre-Olympics press conference that LGBTQ+ Americans are having a “hard time” with the Trump-Vance administration in the White House. The Associated Press notes Glenn wore a Pride pin on her jacket during Sunday’s medal ceremony.

“I was disappointed because I’ve never had so many people wish me harm before, just for being me and speaking ‍about being decent — human rights and decency,” said Glenn, according to the AP. “So that was really disappointing, and I do think it kind of lowered that excitement for this.”

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Puerto Rico

Bad Bunny shares Super Bowl stage with Ricky Martin, Lady Gaga

Puerto Rican activist celebrates half time show

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Bad Bunny performs at the Super Bowl halftime show on Feb. 8, 2026. (Screen capture via NFL/YouTube)

Bad Bunny on Sunday shared the stage with Ricky Martin and Lady Gaga at the Super Bowl halftime show in Santa Clara, Calif.

Martin came out as gay in 2010. Gaga, who headlined the 2017 Super Bowl halftime show, is bisexual. Bad Bunny has championed LGBTQ+ rights in his native Puerto Rico and elsewhere.

“Not only was a sophisticated political statement, but it was a celebration of who we are as Puerto Ricans,” Pedro Julio Serrano, president of the LGBTQ+ Federation of Puerto Rico, told the Washington Blade on Monday. “That includes us as LGBTQ+ people by including a ground-breaking superstar and legend, Ricky Martin singing an anti-colonial anthem and showcasing Young Miko, an up-and-coming star at La Casita. And, of course, having queer icon Lady Gaga sing salsa was the cherry on the top.”

La Casita is a house that Bad Bunny included in his residency in San Juan, the Puerto Rican capital, last year. He recreated it during the halftime show.

“His performance brought us together as Puerto Ricans, as Latin Americans, as Americans (from the Americas) and as human beings,” said Serrano. “He embraced his own words by showcasing, through his performance, that the ‘only thing more powerful than hate is love.’”

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AIDS and HIV

Congresswoman Maxine Waters introduces new resolution for National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

H.Res.1039 supports more funding, resources and awareness for Black American communities, who are disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS.

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Congresswoman Maxine Waters has introduced a new resolution that highlights Black American struggle against HIV/AIDS. (Blade photo by Michael Key)

Today is National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. Advocates established this day of awareness on Feb. 7, 1999, and nearly 30 years later, Black communities in the U.S. continue to be disproportionately impacted by HIV. 

On Wednesday, California Congresswoman Maxine Waters introduced H.Res.1039, a resolution that supports the goals of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day and calls for a collective commitment to address disparities Black people with HIV face. Waters represents the state’s 43rd congressional district, a majority Black and Brown population comprising South L.A. cities like Hawthorne, Gardena, and Inglewood. 

In the resolution, Waters urges state and local government officials, as well as their public health agencies, to acknowledge the importance of this awareness day and encourage their constituents to get tested for HIV. The resolution also requests that the Secretary of Health and Human Services prioritize distributing grant funding to minority-led, HIV organizations and community-based approaches to fighting HIV stigma, LGBTQ+ discrimination, and racism.

In 2023, young Black men accounted for 47% of new HIV diagnoses among youth, while young white men made up 3% of these diagnoses, according to a new Williams Institute report. Black women also have the highest HIV diagnosis rate among women, and Black community members overall represent 38% of new HIV diagnoses and 39% of people living with HIV in the U.S., despite being only 12% of the national population. 

Beyond the disproportionate rates of infection and diagnosis amongst Black Americans, these communities also face greater difficulties in accessing the medical care needed to prevent and treat HIV. In the same year, white Americans were 7 times more likely to access Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) compared to Black Americans, a data point that affirms racial and healthcare inequities Black people continue to face in the U.S. 

“[This] is a day to commemorate the impact of HIV/AIDS on Black Americans and encourage continued efforts to reduce the incidence of HIV, eliminate health disparities, improve access to care and treatment, and show support for all those who are living with HIV/AIDS,” said Congresswoman Waters, in a press release

Waters has been an advocate for people impacted by HIV/AIDS since the peak of the crisis in the 1980’s. In 1998, she worked to establish the Minority AIDS Initiative, which expanded national prevention and treatment efforts in support of minority communities, who remain disproportionately impacted by HIV. In 2025, Waters introduced the “HIV Prevention Now Act” as well as the “PrEP and PEP are Prevention Act,” to increase prevention efforts and reduce health insurance barriers to access preventative resources, respectively. 

H.Res.1039 is the latest addition to the congresswoman’s efforts to raise awareness for Black and other minority communities impacted by HIV/AIDS, and to fund and support on-the-ground efforts that prioritize their care and wellbeing. 

The resolution is endorsed by various LGBTQ+ organizations mobilizing for communities impacted by HIV, including AMAAD Institute (Arming Minorities Against Addiction and Disease), LA Pride, AIDS Foundation Chicago, and PFLAG National. The resolution is also co-sponsored by 29 other U.S. representatives, including fellow California congressmembers Robert Garcia, Laura Friedman, Nanette Barragán, Sydney Kamlager-Dove, Lateefah Simon and Mark Takano. 

H.Res. 1039 has been referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and currently awaits further action. 

Kristie Song is a California Local News Fellow placed with the Los Angeles Blade. The California Local News Fellowship is a state-funded initiative to support and strengthen local news reporting. Learn more about it at fellowships.journalism.berkeley.edu/cafellows.

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Los Angeles

Project Angel Food is now able to feed 10,000 people daily with expanded building

On Thursday, community gathered to celebrate Project Angel Food’s new kitchen and campus building, which allows them to serve more of the county’s critically ill community.

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On Tuesday morning, Jamie Lee Curtis, artist Robert Vargas, Amelia Bolker, Chuck Lorre, Project Angel Food CEO Richard Ayoub, Trisha Cardoso, and County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath celebrated the organization’s new kitchen and building.

On Feb. 5, community members gathered at 922 Vine Street to celebrate the expansion of Hollywood-based non-profit Project Angel Food. That Thursday morning, the organization cut the ribbon for its Chuck Lorre Family Foundation Kitchen and Campus: one of two new buildings that greatly increase its capacity to provide healthy food and nutritional resources to the county’s critically ill community members. 

The new expanded kitchen space allows staff to increase the amount of meals they prepare every day. (Blade photo by Kristie Song)

Project Angel Food was founded in 1989 by author and activist Marianne Williamson and blossomed from a dire need to feed people impacted by HIV/AIDS during the epidemic. Today, the organization cooks and delivers over 1.5 million meals, tailored to specific needs that include chronic illnesses and gastrointestinal issues, to 5,000 people across Los Angeles. 

In August 2023, the organization launched its “Rise to the Challenge” campaign, a multi-year expansion and renovation project backed by $51 million. Now, its first phase is complete, and its impact is expected to double. 

With the new Chuck Lorre Family Foundation Kitchen and Campus, Project Angel Food’s kitchen staff — which, like the rest of the organization, is majorly powered by volunteers — has access to 16,000 square feet of expanded space, which includes more ovens, walk-in freezers, and hot cook lines than they’ve ever had access to previously. Project Angel Food CEO Richard Ayoub explained today that this will allow staff and volunteers to serve 10,000 people a day. 

The organization’s executive chef, John Gordon, explained to the Blade that “space issues” were a major hindrance previously. Before the new kitchen was opened, staff worked out of a much smaller Lincoln Heights facility. “If you didn’t get the rack, you don’t have the sheet pans. If you got the sheet pans, you don’t have the last chiller,” Gordon said, explaining how difficult it was before to balance multiple tasks in the same space. Now, their team of seven chefs, 12 kitchen assistants, dishwashers, and volunteers can work in several cook lines at the same time. 

Project Angel Food’s executive chef John Gordon explained the new space to community members on Feb 5. (Blade photo by Kristie Song)

“We’re much more efficient this way,” Gordon continued. In the kitchen, the day begins at 8 a.m. Someone will pick music for the morning, setting a groove for staff as they sync up to review recipes, pack meals prepared from the day before, and cook meals for the next day ahead. After a lunch break, they continue to work until 4 p.m. to make sure they’re meeting the needs of the community they serve.

For locals like Celeste, a Project Angel Food client who is affected by multiple sclerosis, this service is crucial. On days the disability “really takes effect,” being able to receive nutritious meals customized to her needs makes a meaningful difference. “Some days, I’m not able to get up,” Celeste said. “Just that one meal [can] give me an extra boost [and] allow that sun to shine brightly even on my rainy days.” 

For advocates and Project Angel Food supporters, Thursday’s celebration was also an act of resistance and a bold declaration against the federal administration. Jamie Lee Curtis, the honorary co-chair of the “Rise to the Challenge” campaign, spoke of the “love” that lay at the core of Project Angel Food’s foundation: a kind of love she finds completely absent in the federal administration.

Jamie Lee Curtis at Project Angel Foods Grand Opening Of The Chuck Lorre Family Foundation Kitchen And Campus / Photo courtesy of Getty Images

“We are a community here today the same way they are in Minnesota, and I feel like what they’re doing is what we’re doing,” Curtis said to the crowd, defiance firm in her voice. “And we’re only going to get any shit done if we do it together and defy these motherfuckers.” 

Community members celebrated as the ribbon was cut for the new Chuck Lorre Family Foundation Kitchen and Campus. (Blade photo by Kristie Song)

County supervisor Lindsey Horvath, a former delivery volunteer at Project Angel Food, affirmed this statement and guaranteed the county’s continued support in the organization. Horvath spoke of the government’s “glaring absence” during the HIV/AIDS epidemic: one that is “eerily similar” to its attitude now. 

As the government mobilizes Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, sending immigrant communities spiraling into crisis, on-the-ground organizations like Project Angel Food are standing in firm support of their marginalized and ill community members. Horvath’s confirmation of county support is also rooted in this mission. 

The building’s exterior also reflects the organization’s dedication to its residents. On the south side, a new large-scale mural painted by esteemed local muralist Robert Vargas highlights the stories of local volunteers and vendors who live and work in the neighborhood. Vargas explained that seeing these people in action “crystallized” the dedicated service and harmony that exists among the organization’s volunteers, clients, staff, and nearby community members.

The new building includes a large mural, completed by artist Robert Vargas, that reflects the local community. (Blade photo by Kristie Song)

Next, the second building of the Chuck Lorre Family Foundation Kitchen and Campus begins construction this summer. This space will house the organization’s nutrition, volunteer, and client services and will also include its first department dedicated to research and policy. There will also be a training kitchen, where clients will be able to learn how to cook meals on their own. 

As Project Angel Food’s growth continues, Ayoub hopes community members who are able to pitch in will do so. While public funding can feel unsteady, he explained, community strength and sustainment can fill those gaps of doubt. The organization is $2.3 million away from its goal in securing capital for this second building, and Lorre will match donations up to $1.5 million. 

Kristie Song is a California Local News Fellow placed with the Los Angeles Blade. The California Local News Fellowship is a state-funded initiative to support and strengthen local news reporting. Learn more about it at fellowships.journalism.berkeley.edu/cafellows.

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Arts & Entertainment

2026 Best of LGBTQ LA Readers’ Choice Award Nominations

Nominations for the Best of LGBTQ LA Awards are open from until February 15th!

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It’s time to celebrate the vibrant and diverse LGBTQ+ community of Los Angeles! Nominations for the Best of LGBTQ LA Awards are open from until February 15th, giving you the chance to highlight your favorite local legends, hotspots, performers, and change-makers. Then, from February 23rd to March 6th, cast your vote for the finalists and help decide who truly represents the best of LGBTQ LA. The Best of LGBTQ LA Awards Party will be held on March 26th at The Abbey!

Use the form below or click the link HERE to nominate!

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Italy

44 openly LGBTQ+ athletes to compete in Milan Cortina Winter Olympics

Games to begin on Friday

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More than 40 openly LGBTQ+ athletes are expected to compete in the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics that open on Friday.

Outsports.com notes eight Americans — including speedskater Conor McDermott-Mostowy and figure skater Amber Glenn — are among the 44 openly LGBTQ+ athletes who will compete in the games. The LGBTQ+ sports website also reports Ellis Lundholm, a mogul skier from Sweden, is the first openly transgender athlete to compete in any Winter Olympics.

“I’ve always been physically capable. That was never a question,” Glenn told Outsports.com. “It was always a mental and competence problem. It was internal battles for so long: when to lean into my strengths and when to work on my weaknesses, when to finally let myself portray the way I am off the ice on the ice. That really started when I came out publicly.”

McDermott-Mostowy is among the six athletes who have benefitted from the Out Athlete Fund, a group that has paid for their Olympics-related training and travel. The other beneficiaries are freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy, speed skater Brittany Bowe, snowboarder Maddy Schaffrick, alpine skier Breezy Johnson, and Paralympic Nordic skier Jake Adicoff.

Out Athlete Fund and Pride House Los Angeles – West Hollywood on Friday will host a free watch party for the opening ceremony.

“When athletes feel seen and accepted, they’re free to focus on their performance, not on hiding who they are,” Haley Caruso, vice president of the Out Athlete Fund’s board of directors, told the Los Angeles Blade.

Four Italian LGBTQ+ advocacy groups — Arcigay, CIG Arcigay Milano, Milano Pride, and Pride Sport Milano — have organized the games’ Pride House that will be located at the MEET Digital Culture Center in Milan.

Pride House on its website notes it will “host a diverse calendar of events and activities curated by associations, activists, and cultural organizations that share the values of Pride” during the games. These include an opening ceremony party at which Checcoro, Milan’s first LGBTQ+ chorus, will perform.

ILGA World, which is partnering with Pride House, is the co-sponsor of a Feb. 21 event that will focus on LGBTQ+-inclusion in sports. Valentina Petrillo, a trans Paralympian, is among those will participate in a discussion that Simone Alliva, a journalist who writes for the Italian newspaper Domani, will moderate.

“The event explores inclusivity in sport — including amateur levels — with a focus on transgender people, highlighting the role of civil society, lived experiences, and the voices of athletes,” says Milano Pride on its website.

The games will take place against the backdrop of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s decision to ban trans women from competing in women’s sporting events.

President Donald Trump last February issued an executive order that bans trans women and girls from female sports teams in the U.S. A group of Republican lawmakers in response to the directive demanded the International Olympics Committee ban trans athletes from women’s athletic competitions.

The IOC in 2021 adopted its “Framework on Fairness, Inclusion and Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity and Sex Variations” that includes the following provisions:

• 3.1 Eligibility criteria should be established and implemented fairly and in a manner that does not systematically exclude athletes from competition based upon their gender identity, physical appearance and/or sex variations.

• 3.2 Provided they meet eligibility criteria that are consistent with principle 4 (“Fairness”, athletes should be allowed to compete in the category that best aligns with their self-determined gender identity.

• 3.3 Criteria to determine disproportionate competitive advantage may, at times, require testing of an athlete’s performance and physical capacity. However, no athlete should be subject to targeted testing because of, or aimed at determining, their sex, gender identity and/or sex variations.

The 2034 Winter Olympics are scheduled to take place in Salt Lake City. The 2028 Summer Olympics will occur in Los Angeles.

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Obituary

Catherine O’Hara, ‘Schitt’s Creek’ star and celebrated queer ally, dies at 71

O’Hara is remembered for memorable comedic roles in ‘Beetlejuice’ and ‘Home Alone’

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Emmys, gay news, Washington Blade

Catherine O’Hara, the varied comedic actor known for memorable roles in Beetlejuice, Schitt’s Creek, and Home Alone, has died at 71 on Friday, Jan. 30, according to multiple reports. No further details about her death were revealed.

O’Hara’s death comes as a shock to Hollywood, as the Emmy award-winning actor has been recently active, with roles in both The Studio and The Last of Us. For her work in those two shows, she received Emmy nominations for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series and outstanding guest actress in a drama series.

In 2020, O’Hara won the Outstanding Lead Actress in a comedy series award for her work in the celebrated sixth and final season of Schitt’s Creek. She was also known as a queer ally and icon for her theatrical and often campy performances over multiple decades. In Schitt’s Creek, she played Moira Rose, the wig-loving mother of David Rose (played by series creator Dan Levy). David is pansexual, but the characters around him simply accept him for who he is; the show was embraced by the LGBTQ+ community with how naturally David’s sexuality was written and portrayed. That show ran from 2015 to 2020 and helped bring O’Hara and her co-stars into a new phase of their careers.

In a 2019 interview with the Gay Times, O’Hara explained why the show got LGBTQ+ representation right: “Daniel has created a world that he wants to live in, that I want to live in. It’s ridiculous that we live in a world where we don’t know how to respect each other and let each other be. It’s crazy. Other shows should follow suit and present the world and present humans as the best that we can be. It doesn’t mean you can’t laugh, that you can’t be funny in light ways and dark ways. It’s all still possible when you respect and love each other.”

Additional credits include SCTV Network (for which O’Hara won a writing Emmy), Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Six Feet Under, Best in Show, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, and Dick Tracy. O’Hara also lent her voice to The Nightmare Before Christmas, Chicken Little, Monster House, and Elemental. O’Hara was expected to return for Season 2 of The Studio, which started filming earlier this month.

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