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Questions Surround Trans Woman’s Death in North Carolina

 Transgender rights advocates are seeking answers about the death of a Black transgender woman found dead in a hotel room earlier this month in Charlotte, North Carolina. Jaida Peterson... Show more

9, was discovered unresponsive in a hotel room after officers responded to a welfare check at the 3100 block of Queen City Drive — which appears to be the site of a Quality Inn and Suites — on Sunday, April 4, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said in a statement to Gay City News. While authorities are not sure whether the case is a hate crime, they have declared her death a homicide. “Detectives have yet to determine a motive but are working non-stop to identify and apprehend the person responsible,” Rob Tufano, a spokesperson for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, said in an email to Gay City News. As the investigation continues, advocates are frustrated with the response from authorities. Ash Williams, a transfeminine non-binary community organizer at Charlotte Uprising, a social justice advocacy group, and a member of the House of Kanautica, told Gay City News that misgendering and deadnaming from the police and local media keeps these crimes in the dark. “We want these names to be amplified and we want our girls’ names on a national list, and they’re often not,” Williams said in a phone call from North Carolina. “The police showed us what they think of Jaida when they deadnamed her or didn’t say anything about her being trans.” Additionally, Williams noted that families of trans people require ongoing support and are often in dire financial stress. Williams recalled fundraising ...

Former “Bachelor” Star Colton Underwood Comes Out as Gay

Former “Bachelor” star Colton Underwood came out as gay in an interview with Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts on April 14. “I’ve ran from myself for a long time,” Underwood told Rob... Show more

s. “I’ve hated myself for a long time.” Like many newly out LGBTQ people, being hunkered at home due to COVID-19 gave Underwood space and freedom to examine his sexuality. “And I’m gay,” he added. “And I came to terms with that earlier this year and have been processing it. And the next step in all of this was sort of letting people know.” But the feelings Underwood acknowledged privately about his sexuality differed from his public persona. In 2018, Underwood competed for the love of Becca Kufrin as a contestant on season 14 of the “Bachelorette.” The following year, the then 26-year-old Indiana native secured a role as the “Bachelor” and chose Cassie Randolph as his girlfriend. At that time, Underwood recalled “praying to God” and thanking him for making him straight. However, the couple soon split and were embroiled in controversy. Last year, Randolph put a restraining order against Underwood, accusing him of harassing, stalking her, and placing a tracking device on her car, GMA reported. While Randolph has dismissed these claims, the ex-reality star apologized for his behavior during the GMA interview, adding that he was battling an “internal fight.” “I wish that I would’ve been courageous enough to fix myself before I broke anybody else,” he told GMA. Underwood has found some peace and acceptance with family in the midst of his coming out journey. People closest to the star wished he came out to th...

Schneps Connects: Chinatown NYC Returns with Wellington Z. Chen, ...

As the New York City economy recovers from the pandemic, leaders like Wellington Z. Chen, the Executive Director of the Chinatown BID and the Chinatown Partnership, are working hard in ... Show more

ding the overall direction and strategic repositioning of some of the most iconic neighborhoods for the future. Chinatown is one of NYC’s most interesting and historic neighborhoods. It’s home to a large population of Asian residents, Chinese restaurant palaces, dumpling shops, and inexpensive noodle joints. Hear Chen discuss what’s been happening lately in Chinatown, how the small businesses there have been getting through this period of time, and what transformative projects will welcome visitors and tourists back to the beloved Chinatown area. When searching for Schneps Connects on your podcast networks make sure to click subscribe to automatically receive each new weekly episode or you can stream us online at podcasts.schnepsmedia. com.

Lesbian Bar Cubbyhole Opens Back Up

One of the last lesbian bars in New York City, the Cubbyhole, has officially reopened for business. A large crowd of patrons flocked to the LGBTQ watering hole at 281 West 12th Street i... Show more

anhattan’s West Village on April 8 to celebrate the bar’s return after reopening last summer and shuttering again in December when it became too cold for outdoor operations.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Cubbyhole bar (@cubbyholebar) Known for its colorful lanterns, old school jukebox, and famous “Finding Nemo” decor, Cubbyhole has managed to survive the COVID-19 pandemic. Other lesbian outposts in the city include the neighboring bar Henrietta Hudson and Ginger’s in Brooklyn, which remains closed. With such limited gathering space for queer women and other people of marginalized genders, Cubbyhole’s owner, Lisa Menichino, told Eater that the venue is especially important because “lesbians need a place to go.”  When the bar closed last March, Menichino started a GoFundMe to aid the business at a time when it was ravaged by the coronavirus. The establishment had no income, and for months operations looked bleak, “With no clear indication of when this will end, we worry for our future,” the bar wrote in a post requesting financial relief. To date, the business has surpassed its initial fundraising goal of $30,000, garnering more than $76,000 in donations. Even when the business was closed, it was a magical place for the community. Earlier this year, a queer couple got engaged in front of the bar, according to a photo posted on Instagram. Like many qu...

Gay City News Earns 12 New York Press Association Awards

Gay City News scooped up a dozen awards at the New York Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest for 2020, capping off a strong performance by Schneps Media, the newspaper’s parent ... Show more

pany, which hauled in a total of 49 awards. Gay City News received three first-place awards, four second-place awards, three third-place awards, and two honorable mentions over the course of a two-day virtual awards ceremony during which the newspaper was praised for its work across a range of areas. The founding editor of Gay City News, Paul Schindler, who stepped down as editor-in-chief at the end of last year, was recognized seven times. The newspaper’s first-place honors included Andy Humm’s piece remembering the life of screenwriter, playwright, author, and activist Larry Kramer, who died in May of last year at the age of 84. That story won first place for News Story. Duncan Osborne and Matt Tracy landed a first place award for Coverage of Crime, Police, and Courts for two stories — Tracy’s article examining the circumstances surrounding the death of a transgender woman in Newark, New Jersey, and Osborne’s story revealing that Mayor Bill de Blasio approved aggressive police tactics during the protests that emerged in the city following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Schindler and Amanda Tarley also won first place honors for the special section dedicated to the newspaper’s annual Impact Awards event. Schindler and Arthur S. Leonard earned a second place spot in the competition for the Thomas Butson Award for In-Depth Reporting thanks to their coverage of the Supreme Court’s land...

Biden Administration Aims to Boost HIV/AIDS Funding by $267 Milli...

The Biden administration is proposing a $267 million increase in funding for HIV testing, prevention, and treatment programs in the US, according to the administration’s discretionary f... Show more

ding request.  In the fiscal 2022 budget, the Biden administration aims to go further than the plan put forth by former President Donald Trump — who sought to cut HIV/AIDS funding on multiple fronts — to reduce the number of HIV infections by at least 90 percent by 2030. This funding would come as an addition to the $400 million Congress allocated to the Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative, which seeks to eradicate disparities in accessing HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention, including the expansion of PrEP, a pill to prevent HIV.  Last year, Congress granted a $137 million increase for the second year of the Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative. If Biden’s budget request is approved, HIV/AIDS prevention, education, and treatment programs would surpass the last administration with a total of $670 million. “To help accelerate and strengthen efforts to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States, the discretionary request includes $670 million within HHS to help aggressively reduce new HIV cases while increasing access to treatment, expanding the use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (also known as PrEP), and ensuring equitable access to services and supports,” the administration noted in a document outlining details in the 2022 budget. Plus, the administration is calling for an increase of funds toward the CDC, the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Indian Health Service, and the National Institut...