|
AMY CAVANAUGH
Friday, October 03, 2008
Frank
Kameny
didn’t
know
until
this
week
that
actor
Paul
Newman,
who
died
Sept.
26,
supported
his
bid
to
become
Washington’s
first
non-voting
delegate
to
Congress
in
1971.
The
$500
donation
came
too
late
to
spend
on
the
campaign,
but
Kameny’s
campaign
staff
used
the
money
to
travel
to
New
York
City,
where
they
met
with
the
Gay
Activists
Alliance.
Upon
their
return
to
Washington,
they
founded
the
Gay
Activists
Alliance,
which
operates
today
as
the
Gay
&
Lesbian
Activists
Alliance.
“I
was
well
aware
that
they
spent
residual
funds
…
for
the
trip,
but
I
was
totally
unaware
of
Newman
or
any
other
specific
person
as
the
source,”
Kameny
told
the
Blade
in
an
e-mail
this
week.
When
asked
why
he
thought
Newman
donated
to
his
campaign,
Kameny
said,
“I
suppose
it
was
simply
something
forward
thinking.”
“I
was
only
the
second
person
in
the
entire
country
to
run
as
an
openly
gay
candidate,
so
I
got
a
good
deal
of
publicity.
I
suppose
Paul
Newman
saw
what
was
going
on
as
a
foresighted
liberal
person.”
Rick
Rosendall,
GLAA’s
vice
president
for
political
affairs,
said
that
Paul
Kuntzler,
Kameny’s
campaign
manager,
told
him
in
2005
about
the
contribution
made
by
Newman
and
his
wife
Joanne
Woodward.
Rosendall
said
Kuntzler
neglected
to
send
a
thank
you
note,
so
Rosendall
sent
a
belated
letter
to
Newman,
thanking
him
for
his
donation,
which
ultimately
helped
start
the
oldest
continuously
active
gay
rights
organization
in
the
country.
County
suspends
Rehab
Bar’s
liquor
license
over
nude
performer
Rehab
Bar
&
Lounge,
the
only
gay
bar
in
Montgomery
County,
had
its
liquor
license
suspended
for
45
days
starting
Sept.
17
due
to
a
violation
for
nudity
and
sexual
displays,
according
to
officials.
A
resolution
of
Montgomery
County
Department
of
Liquor
Control,
Division
of
Licensure,
Regulation
&
Education
proceedings
says
the
bar,
at
11305-B
Georgia
Ave.
in
Wheaton,
Md.,
can
reopen
Nov.
1.
Rehab
was
known
as
De
Lounge
until
Feb.
29,
when
it
was
renamed
and
former
bartender
Eric
Evans
became
general
manager.
The
bar
is
licensed
to
Ling-Ping
Kuo
as
Paul
Kee
Restaurant,
the
name
of
the
Chinese
restaurant
next
door,
and
the
license
covers
the
bar
and
restaurant.
The
incident
that
triggered
the
license
suspension
occurred
March
15,
during
a
St.
Patrick’s
Day
party
that
included
an
underwear
auction.
A
county
report
says
that
Rehab
“allowed
scantily
clad
male
performers,
wearing
only
brief-style
underwear,
to
mingle
with
customers
in
the
facility,
and
receive
money
or
gratuities
from
customers
which
the
customers
placed
in
or
on
the
clothing
of
the
male
performers
or
entertainers
on
the
licensed
premises.”
The
report
notes
that
at
one
point,
one
of
the
performers
pulled
down
“the
front
portion
of
his
briefs”
to
“fully
expose
himself.”
A
hearing
June
19
by
the
Board
of
License
Commissioners
for
Montgomery
County
resulted
in
Rehab
receiving
the
45-day
license
suspension.
Rehab,
which
did
not
return
the
Blade’s
calls,
says
on
its
MySpace
page
that
during
the
closure
“we
are
excited
to
have
the
opportunity
to
make
much
needed
improvements
to
the
facility
and
events.”
Ebone
Bell,
a
party
promoter
who
works
with
the
bar,
also
said
that
Rehab
is
“closed
for
renovations
and
reinventing.”
She
noted
the
bar
plans
to
reopen
Nov.
1.
Local
gay
athletes
finish
3rd
in
grueling,
183-mile
race
Running
a
183-mile
relay
through
rain
and
mud
might
not
sound
enticing,
but
for
Fred
Dever,
it
was
a
“unique
experience
that
really
tested
your
stamina
and
grit.”
Dever,
43,
and
five
other
local
gay
men
last
weekend
won
their
category
in
the
Ragnar
Relay,
a
day-long
race
that
stretched
from
Cumberland,
Md.,
to
Crystal
City
in
Virginia.
But
the
win
did
not
come
easily.
“Five
out
of
six
of
us
swim
on
the
D.C.
Aquatics
Club,
so
we’re
multi-sport
athletes,”
Dever
said.
“We’re
all
good
runners
and
have
run
marathons,
but
I
have
to
admit
that
we
didn’t
know
quite
what
we
were
getting
into.”
Dever
said
most
relay
teams
have
12
runners,
and
each
person
runs
several
legs,
but
his
team,
the
Monumental
‘Mos,
competed
in
the
ultra
category.
Ultra
teams
have
six
runners,
forcing
each
person
to
run
twice
as
far
as
competitors
in
other
categories.
“We
put
in
our
pace
time
to
be
under
eight-minute
miles,
and
we
exceeded
that,”
Dever
said.
“Our
time
was
23
hours,
7
minutes
and
37
seconds,
and
our
team
was
first
in
the
ultra
division.
But
what’s
most
remarkable
is
that
we
were
third
overall,
out
of
109
teams.”
The
other
team
members
were
Ryan
Bos,
34;
Eric
Czander,
42,
and
Dever’s
partner;
Wonkee
Moon,
33;
Scott
Garvey,
27;
and
Jonathan
Horsford,
36.
|
 |
