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Rev. Troy Perry reflects on 50 years of Metropolitan Community Church

‘I tried, always, to be fearless and faithful’

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Rev. Troy Perry and Phillip De Blieck with Esteban Montemayor, president of Christopher Street West. (Blade photo by Karen Ocamb)

The battles to secure equal rights for LGBT people have played out in marches, demonstrations, parades, courtrooms, the media, houses of worship, houses of government, hospital wards, and boardrooms. They are all places where Rev. Troy Perry has always been front-and-center, advocating for LGBT issues and everyone’s civil rights. Now, 50 years after starting the Metropolitan Community Church in his Los Angeles apartment living room, the good gay reverend looks back on an extraordinary life.

“Scripture tells us, ‘they overcame him by the word of his testimony and the blood of the lamb.’ In my church, your testimonies—your stories—are remembered,” Perry tells the Los Angeles Blade in a Sept. 17 interview.  “I always tell our community, ‘Remember your stories. Remember how you came out. Remember how you went to your first march with a lot of fear and trepidation. Remember when you talked to your parents for the first time—when you told you best friend that you’re different.’ So, for me, that’s what’s going to happen, and for all of us, on the 25th anniversary of the 1993 March on Washington and on the 50th anniversary of the Metropolitan Community Church.”

Rev. Perry has a lot to remember. In 1970, with activist Morris Kight and Rev. Bob Humphries, he co-founded Christopher Street West to organize what was then the first Pride parade in the world on the West Coast, in conjunction with a commemoration of the Stonewall riots in New York City. Nine years later, Perry helped plan the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. In 1993, the March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay, and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation saw LGBT and allied participants reach close to 1,000,000. During the historic events, Perry performed mass ceremonial marriages, including one for about 2,600 same-sex couples 25 years ago in front of the IRS headquarters.

Rev. Troy Perry performs mass wedding during March on Washington in 1993, while partner Phillip De Blieck goes to help Karen Thompson and her disabled partner Sharon Kowalski, whose parents fought Thompson over the right to care for Karen. (Photo by Karen Ocamb)

On July 16, 2003, Perry and his partner of 18 years, Phillip De Blieck, traveled to Toronto to officially get married. The following year, the couple joined Robin Tyler and Diane Olson in their annual quest for a marriage license at the Beverly Hills Courthouse—only this time their powerhouse feminist attorney Gloria Allred filed a lawsuit against the state for denying Tyler and Olson a license and refusing to recognize Perry and DeBlieck’s Canadian marriage as a result of Prop 22. Their 2004 lawsuit was folded into other lawsuits leading to a 2008 victory for marriage equality in the state.

Rev. Perry’s conviction that LGBT folks should not be excluded from marriage and family, institutions that are especially valued by people and communities of faith, now seems uncontroversial—the sure sign of an authentic pioneer.

“In 1969,” Perry says, “I performed the first wedding at MCC for two young Hispanic men. That’s when I started fighting, right then and there, and decided this would be part of our doctrine.” He was mocked by other LGBT activists who said: “Who do you think you are—Reverend Moon?” (The Korean religious leader famous for performing mass weddings.) “They couldn’t get it through their heads why it was so important. I said, ‘I am fighting for the right of every person to be treated equally under the Constitution of the United States.’” It was a position later articulated by Justice Anthony Kennedy in the Obergefell ruling.

1969 Gay Rights demonstration and march led by Rev. Troy Perry in Hollywood from Hollywood High School, down Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street to the local Los Angeles Police Station. (Screen grab from producer Pat Rocco and Bizarre Productions through UCLA Television Archives)

As a progressive activist, Perry—along with his congregation—faced opposition from people who opposed marriage equality, conservative religious leaders and bigots who committed acts of violence against them. “In 1975,” he says, “our church was burned by an arsonist in Los Angeles. There were four other MCC meeting places that were either burned by arson or desecrated, including the fire in New Orleans where our pastor and his lover and nine of our late members were burned to death in a terrible fire that killed 32 people at the Upstairs Lounge.”

In the next few years, 21 MCC churches were burned by arson or desecrated and eight clergy members were murdered. “They’ll pay for that one day, if not in this life, in the life to come,” Perry says.

Perry was invited to the White House five times—the first on March 26, 1977 in a meeting organized by Midge Costanza, a closeted aide to President Jimmy Carter and twice by President Bill Clinton—one for a conference on AIDS and another on hate crimes, both history-making. “I took a report,” he said, “and the other LGBTQ groups were thrilled because we document everything in our denomination. We took good records.”

Perry also shared stories about hate crimes when the Cuban organization CENESEX honored him last year with an award for his work for human rights and LGBT rights worldwide. “We had the American, Swiss, and French ambassadors sitting in the Karl Marx theatre in Cuba,” he says. “I told the story about all [the violence] that happened. I said, ‘that didn’t happen in your country; it happened in my country.’ And I said that in front of the American ambassador.”

Rev. Perry’s congregation has not been spared from the discrimination caused by homophobia, regardless of their sexual orientation. “I’ve had heterosexual people fired from their jobs because they were a part of Metropolitan Community Church,” Perry says. “I had a woman member in my church in the 1970s and she was a nurse at White Memorial Hospital here in LA. And that Seventh-Day Adventist hospital—it was reported in the newspapers that she had joined Metropolitan Community Church because she was a minister of our denomination—and they fired her. I’ve had to watch that and our heterosexual members have had to pay the same price that we have just for being part of an organization.” 

Conservative religious leaders such as Jerry Falwell and Anita Bryant scorned MCC’s core principle that LGBT identities are perfectly compatible with Christianity. “It gave us a lot of power,” Perry says, “because they couldn’t quit talking about us. They could ignore other groups but trying to ignore us was impossible.”

In the 1970s, he fought against Bryant’s “Save the Children” initiative, a campaign that sought to overturn an inclusive non-discrimination ordinance passed in the city of Miami. He worked with grassroots activists in Los Angeles and activists such as gay Supervisor Harvey Milk in San Francisco to defeat the Briggs Initiative, a ballot measure that would have prohibited gay and lesbian teachers from working in California public schools. He launched a 10-day fast to raise funds for the fight, which was successful in 1978.

Perry’s congregation also suffered tremendously from AIDS while Falwell preached that the disease was divine comeuppance for immoral behavior. More than 5,000 members of MCC died from AIDS, Perry says. The Westboro Baptist Church picketed an MCC service in San Diego in which the worshippers prayed for people who were sick. But the epidemic also brought forth angels.

“Bishop McKinney of the Church of God in Christ,” Perry explains, “which is a black Pentecostal denomination that does not agree with our stance on homosexuality, called a press conference and condemned the Westboro Baptist Church. McKinney said, ‘What a sick group of people who are coming to demonstrate against the church just for praying for people who are sick.’ It completely turned the city of San Diego on its head.” 

To this day, says Perry, MCC is involved in civil rights and believes in inclusion—in both houses of worship and demonstrations like Pride. At the same time, he says, “What worked 40 or 50 years ago for Pride won’t necessarily work today. And that’s a good thing!” Today, amid outrage over the Trump Administration’s policies concerning LGBT issues, Perry supports the inclusion of political protest in Pride. “I absolutely believe with all my heart that it doesn’t have to be one or the other—you can have political messages, too.” 

“For 50 years I tried, always, to be fearless and faithful. I’m faithful to my concept of being a person of faith; but I’ve also tried to be fearless in the LGBTQ community as we fought the good fight,” says Rev. Troy Perry. “I’ve never asked anyone in my community, whether in my church or in any other organization, to do more than I would do…I look back at this incredible life, and I say to people, even if I die tomorrow, I have lived history, and it’s been an incredible journey for me as a gay man.”

Rev. Perry is being honored on Oct. 6 at St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral in downtown Los Angles to commemorate the 50th anniversary of MCC. For more, visit: here.

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Southern California

Triple A:  Average gas prices jump over $5 in SoCal

The average price for self-serve regular gasoline in California is $5.03, which is eight cents higher than a week ago

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Triple A Auto Club/Los Angeles Blade

LOS ANGELES – Most areas of Southern California are now experiencing average prices over $5 a gallon as prices moved up for the second week in a row and for eight weeks total in 2024 so far, according to the Auto Club’s Weekend Gas Watch. The average price for self-serve regular gasoline in California is $5.03, which is eight cents higher than a week ago. The average national price is $3.54, which is one cent higher than a week ago.

The average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is $5.08 per gallon, which is nine cents more than last week, 26 cents higher than last month, and 23 cents higher than last year. In San Diego, the average price is $5.06, which is seven cents higher than last week, 22 cents higher than last month, and 19 cents higher than this time last year.

On the Central Coast, the average price is $5.06, which is six cents higher than last week, 26 cents higher than last month, and 23 cents higher than last year. In Riverside, the average per-gallon price is $4.96, which is nine cents higher than last week, 25 cents higher than last month and 18 cents higher than a year ago. In Bakersfield, the $4.93 average price is eight cents more than last week, 33 cents more than last month, and five cents higher than a year ago today.

“According to Oil Price Information Service, the Wilmington section of Phillip 66’s Los Angeles refinery is undergoing planned maintenance, with no information available on when it will return to production,” said Auto Club Spokesperson Doug Shupe. “It’s important for drivers to keep in mind that even in areas with average prices over $5 a gallon, they can usually find much less expensive gasoline than $5 nearby by using a free tool such as the AAA Mobile app. As of today, there are still several Southern California gas stations with prices under $4.50 a gallon.”

The Weekend Gas Watch monitors the average price of gasoline. As of 9 a.m. on March 28, averages are:

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Northern California

Sacramento declares itself a sanctuary city for trans people

The measure, which takes effect immediately, bars city resources to be used to criminalize trans people seeking transition-related healthcare

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Councilmember Katie Valenzuela along with trans activists, allies, and supporters gather in the atrium of city hall after the resolution passed making California's capital a sanctuary city for transgender people. (Photo Credit: Councilmember Katie Valenzuela)

SACRAMENTO –  In a unanimous vote Tuesday, the city council passed a resolution declaring California’s capital city a “sanctuary city for transgender people.” The measure, which takes effect immediately, bars city government or resources to be used to criminalize trans people seeking transition-related healthcare or to cooperate with outside cities or states seeking to enforce their laws that criminalize trans healthcare.

Sacramento Councilmember Katie Valenzuela, who introduced the resolution, in a post on X (formerly Twitter) wrote:

[…] “This resolution was supported by a myriad of organizations and was unanimously approved by my colleagues. This resolution was written and directly informed by transgender community leaders. It was put forward in recognition of the rise in laws across our country seeking to limit or completely restrict access to gender-affirming care.

By affirming our commitment to supporting our LGBTQ+ community and ensuring that no city resources or staff time will be used to help enforce these harmful laws in other jurisdictions, the City has taken a step beyond state law and sent a powerful signal to everyone in our community that we are a safe place for everyone.”

A law, SB107, authored by gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), which took effect on January 1 of last year, made it the State of California’s policy to reject any out-of-state court judgments removing trans kids from their parents’ custody because they allowed them to receive gender-affirming health care.

State health officials will not be allowed to comply with subpoenas seeking health records and any information related to such criminal cases, and public safety officers must make out-of-state criminal arrest warrants for such parents their lowest priority.

Read the Resolution:

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California

New California law requires bars & nightclubs to offer ‘roofie’ tests

Bars & nightclubs who do not comply with the new law could face administrative actions impacting their licenses

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Screenshot/YouTube ABC7 Bay Area

SACRAMENTO – A new law mandating certain alcoholic beverage license holders to offer drug testing devices for sale or at no cost to patrons will take effect across California beginning July 1.

AB 1013 requires establishments with a license from the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) to have signage displayed in a prominent and conspicuous location, letting patrons know that drug testing kits are available to test for common date-rape drugs, often referred to as ‘roofies.’

The required signage displays a message reading, “Don’t get roofied! Drink spiking drug test kits available here. Ask a staff member for details.” A sample sign is available on ABC’s website and can be downloaded and printed by licensees.

The new law impacts approximately 2,400 licensees across California. Type 48 licenses are issued to bars and night clubs. The license authorizes the sale of beer, wine, and distilled spirits for consumption on the premises where sold. Minors are not allowed on the premises, and food service is not required.

Licensees will be responsible for procuring testing kits. ABC does not sell or provide kits, and does not recommend or endorse any specific company that does.

Additionally, Type 48 licensed premises must either offer the drug testing devices for sale to customers at a price not to exceed a reasonable amount based on the wholesale cost, or be given to customers free of charge.

Drug testing devices could include test strips, stickers, straws or other devices that can detect the presence of controlled substances in drinks. These substances could include flunitrazepam, ketamine, and gamma hydroxybutyric acid.

License holders who do not comply with the new law could face administrative actions impacting their licenses. For more information please visit ABC’s industry advisory Type 48 Licenses New Signage and Product Requirements page.

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Los Angeles

South LA trans woman murdered, LAPD are looking for suspects

Surveillance footage captured near the scene of the March 21 murder showed a person dragging the victim’s body out of a light-colored sedan

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LAPD & CHP patrol vehicles/LA Blade file photo

By Rob Salerno | LOS ANGELES – A trans woman believed to be in her early 20s was murdered in the early morning of March 21 near the corner of West 70th and Figueroa Streets, the latest in what appear to be a string of slayings of sex workers in the area.

The LAPD are still looking for information and have not yet made any arrests.

The LAPD responded to a call around 4:20 am and found the victim suffering a gunshot wound to the back of the head. She was taken to a hospital where she was pronounced dead. 

Two days earlier, officers had responded to a call around 8:50pm on Hoover St between Slauson Ave and West 59th, where they found a woman who had been killed by a gunshot. Police believe both women were shot with a 9-millimeter firearm.

Police believe both women were engaged in sex work but have not released any information identifying them.

The Los Angeles Times reported that surveillance footage captured near the scene of the March 21 murder showed a person dragging the victim’s body out of a light-colored sedan next to the parking lot of a high school before driving off.

Police speculated that the victim was shot in the car after a sexual encounter that went wrong. The area is known as a place where sex workers are picked up by clients who drive to nearby motels on Figueroa St. 

The LA Times noted that another 25-year-old sex worker was killed on nearby Western Ave in February when someone in a vehicle fired a gun at the corner she was standing on. Another man was shot in the same incident, but he survived. LAPD does not consider this event to be linked to the other two murders.

LAPD are asking anyone with information to come forward.

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Rob Salerno is a writer and journalist based in Los Angeles, California, and Toronto, Canada.

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California

Philanthropist Mackenzie Scott donates to Calif. LGBTQ non-profits

About $137 million went to organizations that serve Californians including LGBTQ+ groups like the LGBTQ Center Long Beach

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Philanthropist Mackenzie Scott (Screenshot/YouTube NBC News)

LOS ANGELES – Billionaire philanthropist Mackenzie Scott announced last week she would donate about $640 million to 341 charities nationwide. The 53-year-old with an estimated personal wealth of $36.3 billion has given away $16.5 billion from the fortune she gained after her divorce from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in 2019.

In a statement posted to her Yield Giving website on March 19, Scott said:

“From a pool of over 6,000 applicants, each of these 361 community-led non-profits was elevated by peer organizations and a round-2 evaluation panel for their outstanding work advancing the voices and opportunities of individuals and families of meager or modest means, and groups who have met with discrimination and other systemic obstacles. Grateful to Lever for Change and everyone on the evaluation and implementation teams for their roles in creating this pathway to support for people working to improve access to foundational resources in their communities. They are vital agents of change.”

In California, her gift giving organization on its website listed that about $137 million went to non-profits that serve the Golden State’s residents including several LGBTQ+ organizations.

The Associated Press reported the philanthropist typically donates to organizations after privately researching them, but this time, she partnered with the philanthropic group Lever for Change to analyze over 6,000 applicants after announcing an open call.

What started as a plan to donate $1 million each to 250 charities nationwide ended up doubling, with about 279 organizations receiving a $2 million donation and the rest receiving $1 million.

Among those receiving funding were: LGBTQ Center Long Beach which received $2 million, Equal Rights Advocates $2 million, Sacramento LGBT Community Center $1 million, Openhouse $2 million, Pacific Center for Human Growth $2 million, and The Wall Las Memorias $1 million.

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Southern California

Triple A: Average gas prices near $5 in many areas

The average price for self-serve regular gasoline in California is $4.95, which is seven cents higher than a week ago

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Triple A Auto Club/Los Angeles Blade

LOS ANGELES – Gas prices in many metropolitan Southern California areas are now near $5 gallon after moving up by about a penny a day in the last week, according to the Auto Club’s Weekend Gas Watch. The average price for self-serve regular gasoline in California is $4.95, which is seven cents higher than a week ago. The average national price is $3.53, which is 12 cents higher than a week ago.

The average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is $4.99 per gallon, which is six cents more than last week, 18 cents higher than last month, and 12 cents higher than last year. In San Diego, the average price is also $4.99, which is seven cents higher than last week, 13 cents higher than last month, and two cents lower than this time last year.

On the Central Coast, the average price is $5, which is eight cents higher than last week, 13 cents higher than last month, and 16 cents higher than last year. In Riverside, the average per-gallon price is $4.87, which is six cents higher than last week, 19 cents higher than last month and seven cents higher than a year ago. In Bakersfield, the $4.85 average price is eight cents more than last week, 28 cents more than last month, and two cents lower than a year ago today.

“Gas prices are likely to continue trending upward this spring as in prior years,” said Auto Club Spokesperson Doug Shupe. “To save money on gas, drivers should shop around for the lowest prices using a tool such as the free AAA Mobile app, keep their vehicle and tires well-maintained, and adopt a gentle driving style that avoids speeding, hard braking and jackrabbit starts.”

The Weekend Gas Watch monitors the average price of gasoline. As of 9 a.m. on March 21, averages are:

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Los Angeles County

New on the LA County Channel

You can watch on Channel 92 or 94 on most cable systems, or anytime here. Catch up on LA County Close-Up here

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Photo Credit: County of Los Angeles

New on the County Channel

During a recent LA County Pathway Home operation in Signal Hill and Long Beach, 60 people were moved off the streets and on to the road to permanent housing. To learn more about Pathway Home, click here

You can watch more stories like this on Channel 92 or 94 on most cable systems, or anytime here. Catch up on LA County Close-Up here.

In Case You Missed It

Veteran Women’s Month

LA County celebrates all the incredible women who have served our country with unwavering courage and dedication. From defending our freedoms to breaking barriers, women veterans have played pivotal roles in shaping history and paving the way for future generations.

CalVet is surveying women veterans to assess their needs, gain their perspective, collect valuable data and link to services. Your experiences matter, and your voice is invaluable. Request a survey link today! 

Thank you for your service!

At Your Service

HOP120: Home Ownership Program

LA County’s Home Ownership Program, HOP120, provides a second mortgage loan for first-time homebuyers with assistance up to $85,000, or 20% of the purchase price, whichever is less. The loan provides a down payment and/or closing cost assistance–secured with a Deed of Trust and Promissory Note. HOP120 loans are 0% interest loans with a deferred payment.

For more information, and to see if you qualify, click here

Out and About

W.A.T.E.R. YOUTH PROGRAM

W.A.T.E.R. Youth Sailing Camp is back for Spring Break! Taught by LA County W.A.T.E.R. Program Lifeguards, LA County Beaches and Harbors is ready to bring exciting outdoor adventures to eager campers in Marina del Rey! Here are the details:

  • Dates: March 26 – 29, 2024
  • Times: 10 AM – 4 PM
  • Cost: $300 for the 4-day session (Financial aid available for qualifying families.)
  • Ages: 11 to 17
  • Level: Beginning

Click here to learn more and sign-up.

Photo Finish

Photo Credit: Los Angeles County/Mayra Beltran Vasquez

Spring has sprung at Descanso Gardens! Plan your visit today.


Click here to access more photos of LA County in action.

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Los Angeles County

LA County Chair appoints two Angelenos to LGBTQ+ commission

Chair Lindsey P. Horvath has appointed two LGBTQ+ trailblazers to the inaugural Los Angeles County LGBTQ+ Commission

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Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chair Lindsey P. Horvath with President Biden at an event held in downtown Los Angeles, March 2024. (Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz)

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chair Lindsey P. Horvath has appointed two Los Angeles LGBTQ+ trailblazers to the inaugural Los Angeles County LGBTQ+ Commission, created through a Board action last June.  

At the March 19 meeting of the Board of Supervisors, the Board unanimously approved Supervisor Horvath’s two historic appointees: Alejandro Soria and Sydney Rogers, known as Miss Barbie-Q.  

“I am so excited that Sydney Rogers and Alejandro Soria have accepted our invitation to serve Los Angeles County as the Third District’s inaugural LGBTQ+ Commissioners,” said Horvath. “Their expertise, lived experience, and passion for uplifting all of our LGBTQ+ family, especially in this difficult time, are needed now more than ever. I look forward to working together to deliver for our LGBTQ+ communities and to ensure Los Angeles County is a place where everyone is welcomed, supported, and empowered.” 

Alejandro Soria

Alejandro Soria is a licensed marriage and family therapist who spent his professional career working with and advocating for LGBTQ+ families and individuals in the San Fernando Valley. A resident of Sylmar, Alejandro currently is the Senior Director of Outpatient Mental Health at the Village Family Services. He also is a private practitioner in the City of San Fernando, providing therapeutic services to children and adults. He is happily married and lives with his husband in Sylmar and brings deep passion and knowledge of the San Fernando Valley’s LGBTQ+ community to all of his work.

“As a proud San Fernando Valley resident and proud member of our strong and resilient LGBTQ+ community, I am honored for the opportunity to serve my community on the inaugural LA County LGBTQ+ Commission. As a mental health clinician with years of service to San Fernando Valley families, I am eager to offer my services and expertise to deliver for our communities,” said Alejandro Soria.  

Sydney Rogers

Sydney Rogers, also known as Miss Barbie-Q, is an activist, entertainer, and social worker who currently serves as the Equity Manager of Community Programs at the Los Angeles LGBT Center and the Program Manager of the Trans Economic Empowerment Project. She identifies as a a long-term sober, formerly unhoused Black Trans Femme sex worker who has fought to bring visibility and understanding to the TGI community throughout Los Angeles County. She is the recipient of the 2023 Williams Institute/Trans Latina Coalition UniTy Community Leadership Award. Sydney has worked in Santa Monica, West Hollywood, Hollywood, and throughout the Third Supervisorial District of Los Angeles County.  

“As anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and acts of violence increase day over day, I am grateful to Supervisor Horvath for recognizing the importance and necessity of uplifting Black and TGI voices at this critical time,” said Sydney Rogers. “As a drag artist and entertainer, our experiences in Los Angeles County matter. I am ready to bring my lived experience and that of so many others to LA County’s LGBTQ+ Commission, and it will be my priority to speak up for the most forgotten members of our community.”

The Los Angeles County LGBTQ+ Commission will be seated and hold its first meeting in the coming months.  

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West Hollywood

Gay man brutally assaulted in West Hollywood

“He’s bashing my head and and has his knee on top of my chest, trying to smash my head into the street–‘Die faggot, die,’ he kept saying”

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Image courtesy of David Velasquez.

By Paulo Murillo | WEST HOLLYWOOD – A man was physically assaulted in West Hollywood Sunday night. The attack occurred in front of the Tender Greens cafe on Santa Monica Blvd at the Hancock Drive intersection. The same suspect is believed to have assaulted others at random.

David Velasquez says he was already having a bad day while others celebrated St. Patrick’s Day in West Hollywood’s LGBTQ Rainbow District. He landed in Cedars Sinai earlier that day due to bad cold symptoms and had stopped by Pavilions in WeHo to get medication. He was riding his personal scooter on the sidewalk because he had almost been hit by a car earlier that day and was afraid a lot of people driving drunk.

“I was right there in front of the Tender Greens–the one on Santa Monica and Hancock–and then, like, I was passing by this random guy, and he just like out of nowhere slapped me with his left hand and smacked my helmet off smacked me in the face.”

According to Velasquez he confronted the guy and asked him what was his problem. There was a back and forth argument. “then the next thing I know, he’s hitting me and wrestling me, trying to throw my phone into the street,” he said. “He’s bashing my head and and has his knee on top of my chest, trying to smash my head into the street–‘Die faggot, die,’ he kept saying.”

He says his attacker stopped when a man who jumped out of a Chevy Suburban intervened. Velasquez managed to run away up Hancock Avenue. “A girl came up to me afterwards and said she wanted to press charges. He assaulted her also. Just slapped her for no reason. She was a black girl with two Latino friends. So that’s when I called the police. They came and got me an ambulance. I’m over here at Cedars Sinai again.”

According to Velasquez, he has a cut lip and some head trauma.

The assailant is described at a 6ft tall caucasian male in his 30s with a muscular build and a beard. He was described as nicely dressed seemed to be very inebriated.

A report was filed with the West Hollywood Sheriff’s substation regarding the assault however it is not yet known if there is any information leading to the suspects’ arrest.

If you see something, say something. Anonymous tips can be called into Crimestoppers at (800) 222-TIPS (8477), or by texting 274637 (C-R-I-M-E-S on most keypads) with a cell phone. If you see something, say something. Anyone with information can also drop a tip at https://www.lacrimestoppers.org.

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Paulo Murillo is Editor in Chief and Publisher of WEHO TIMES. He brings over 20 years of experience as a columnist, reporter, and photo journalist.

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The preceding article was previously published by WeHo Times and is republished with permission.

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Los Angeles

L.A. Marathon is Sunday & here are road closures to avoid

Roughly 25,000 runners will stream through city streets with the goal of completing Sunday’s 39th Los Angeles Marathon

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L.A. Marathon 2023 (Photo Credit: City of West Hollywood/Jon Viscott)

LOS ANGELES – Celebrating its 39th year of running, the Los Angeles Marathon course will begin at Dodger Stadium and it will conclude at Century Park in Century City. The portion of the route that runs through the City of West Hollywood remains unchanged.

Roughly 25,000 runners will stream through city streets, passing by iconic venues, all with the goal of completing Sunday’s 39th Los Angeles Marathon. The 26.2-mile course begins at Dodger Stadium, with the competition getting underway at 7 a.m. and going through several communities, including Echo Park, Silver Lake, Los Feliz, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Brentwood and Century City.

The finish line is at Santa Monica Boulevard and Avenue of the Stars in Century City. Most streets will reopen by 1 p.m. Sunday, with parts of Avenue of the Stars and Century Park East near the finish line being the last to reopen at 8 p.m.

The Los Angeles Marathon route for 2024 will guide runners westbound into the City of West Hollywood along Sunset Boulevard at Marmont Lane, just west of N. Crescent Heights Boulevard. From the Sunset Strip, runners will turn left (south) onto N. San Vicente Boulevard; then right (west) onto Santa Monica Boulevard; then left (south) onto N. Doheny Drive, where they will enter the City of Beverly Hills. The Marathon will run through West Hollywood between miles 14 and 15 of the course.

To ensure the safety of the large numbers of Los Angeles Marathon runners, there will be several street closures in the City of West Hollywood on Sunday, March 17, 2024 from 4 a.m. to 2 p.m.; crews will work to reopen roads to vehicle traffic as quickly as possible as the Marathon moves through the City of West Hollywood:

  • Sunset Boulevard between Marmont Lane and Clark Street/N. San Vicente Boulevard (the route enters the City of West Hollywood from the City of Los Angeles west along Sunset Boulevard from Marmont Lane, just west of N. Crescent Heights Boulevard);
  • N. San Vicente Boulevard between Sunset Boulevard and Melrose Avenue;
  • Santa Monica Boulevard between La Cienega Boulevard and N. Doheny Drive;
  • N. Doheny Drive between Santa Monica Boulevard and Beverly Boulevard (the route exits the City of West Hollywood to the City of Beverly Hills south along N. Doheny Drive).

Parking will be strictly prohibited along the Los Angeles Marathon route. “No Parking” signs will be posted prior to the event. Vehicles in violation will be ticketed and towed at the owner’s expense.

Los Angeles Marathon spectators and community members who are searching for alternative parking solutions in West Hollywood during the Los Angeles Marathon are encouraged to visit the City of West Hollywood’s website, where a directory of parking structures and municipal lots with hours of operation and rates is available online. Members of the public are encouraged to carpool and to use public transportation, taxis, or ridesharing options.

Roads will be closed to the public for the event as early as 3 a.m. on Sunday. They include roads along the route. A map of closures can be found below:

A map of road closures along the L.A. Marathon course for Sunday, March 17, 2024. The closures will begin as early as 3 a.m. (Google Maps)

A full list of complete-street closures can be found at this link: L.A. Marathon course closures.

Along with the fully closed roads along the entire course, several streets will be local access only, meaning only residents can access these roads since they aren’t on the race course. Residents can ask for local access at the traffic closure.

A list of local-access only areas can be found at this link: L.A. Marathon additional street closures.

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