Callen-Lorde Community Health Center

Callen-Lorde Community Health Center is a primary care center located at 356 West 18th Street in New York, New York state. Callen-Lorde also provides comprehensive mental health services at The Thea Spyer Center, located at 230 West 17th Street. Callen-Lorde is dedicated to providing medical health care to the city's LGBTQ population without regard to ability to pay. It is named in honor of Michael Callen and Audre Lorde.
The facility offers a variety of services, including dental care, HIV/STD testing and treatment, mental health services, women's health services, transgender hormone therapy, and medical case management support. Callen-Lorde is also home to the Health Outreach to Teens (HOTT) program, which serves youth between the ages of 13 and 22 in an on-premises clinic and a fully equipped medical van.
Callen-Lorde is the only primary care center in New York City created specifically to serve LGBTQ communities. Callen-Lorde's grassroots heritage dates back nearly 50 years to the St. Mark's Community Clinic and the Gay Men's Health Project, two volunteer-based clinics that provided screening and treatment for sexually-transmitted diseases. These clinics merged in 1983 to form Community Health Project, a mostly volunteer-staffed, episodic care program housing the nation's first community-based HIV clinic. The center has grown both in size and scope since these early days: from a 2,500 square-foot space inside of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center on West 13th Street that primarily worked with HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, into a comprehensive primary care center housed in more than 3 locations, including the 6-floor, 27,000 square-foot 18th Street facility that it moved into in 1997.
In 2007, it was among over 530 New York City arts and social service institutions to receive part of a $30 million grant from the Carnegie Corporation, which was made possible through a donation by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg.
In 2015, during National Health Center Week, Callen-Lorde was one of 266 health centers selected for Affordable Care Act funding as a Federally Qualified Health Center, for providing primary care to a medically underserved population. In a proclamation announcing these awards, President Obama declared, "This week, as we recognize the 50-year anniversary of the first community health centers being established in America, let us remember that health care is not a privilege for the few among us who can afford it, but a right for all Americans -- and let us recognize the vital role health centers across our country play in carrying us toward greater health for our people."
Callen-Lorde: History
In 1969, just shy of 6 months after Stonewall, two young doctors started the St. Marks Clinic (also known as ‘St. Marks Free Clinic’ and ‘St. Marks Community Clinic) at 44 St. Marks Place, the epicenter of East Coast counter culture. The mission of the clinic was to provide free healthcare to young people and people in the neighborhood, who, at the time, consisted largely of ‘hippies,’ ‘freaks,’ and ‘queers.’ The majority of the patients were between 16-25 years of age, and came in droves for STI treatment, abscesses from needles, substance use detox, birth control, and mental health counseling.
The concept of this type of healthcare – the notion of healthcare as a human right, one to be provided without judgment, and without pay – was radical. While much else has changed, their ethos remains the same today.
In the early 1970’s, a group of seven queer women banded together to create the Women’s Health Collective – the “Oldest Lesbian Clinic in the Nation” at St. Marks. In the later 1970’s, the Women’s Collective expanded and took over St. Marks, building their own location on 2nd Avenue and 2nd Street. Their vision was to break down the barrier between provider and patient. They were anti-establishment, anti-racist, and rooted in health justice.
Meanwhile, in 1972, a group of three friends – Leonard Ebreo, Marc Rabinowitz, and Perry Brass – founded the Gay Men’s Health Project Clinic (GMHP) at Liberation House (or 'Lib House') on 247 West 11th Street in Greenwich Village. Their purpose they decided was to start a lesbian and gay community drop-in center based on a therapeutic model. They signed a lease for the central storage area in the basement of this tenement. After the large response to holding an open community forum on gay men's health in the community room of the Washington Square United Methodist Church.
None of them had a background in healthcare, but they felt the need to reduce shame, fear and stigma about gay bodies and gay sex, which they knew were leading to poor health outcomes for themselves and their peers. It was the first clinic for gay men on the East Coast and the first group of any kind to use the words "gay men" in its name.
GMHP opened in an unfinished concrete basement, they put in a few lights and furnished it with folding chairs and a card table. They held forums with various speakers on educating men on their bodies, sexuality, emotional aspects, venereal diseases and the rise of venereal disease in the community (sexually transmitted infections, or STIs). Advocated for the importance of using condoms, to protect against STI's which were only previously associated with birth control. When in 1972 such an idea seemed almost ridiculous, it was important to get gay men to understand. They taught themselves how to swab, screen and diagnose STI’s, and would refer patients who tested positive to licensed clinics. Many were referred to St. Marks, which would eventually lead to a more codified relationship between the two.
Both the Women’s Health Collective and Gay Men’s Health Project pioneered the idea that healthcare could not only be inclusive of queer people, but provided by queer people.
In 1983, to pool resources in response to the growing AIDS epidemic, the St. Marks Clinic merged with Gay Men’s Health Project to create Community Health Project, Inc. (CHP). CHP took up a 2,500 square foot space (squatted) on the second floor at 208 West 13th Street in Greenwich Village – a building which would later become “The Center: The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center."
The 1980’s were a devastating time, and CHP was seeing patients suffering from HIV-related illness in droves. In 1985, with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, CHP began operating as the nation’s first community-based HIV clinic in conjunction with Bellevue Hospital, it also had a significant number of St. Vincent's staff as volunteers at the time as well. Later in cooperation with the Gender Identity Project, (GIP) initiated a partnership with CPH opened the cities first transgender medical clinic within its second floor site. In 1991 CPH opened HOTT, "Health Outreach To Teens", serving adolescent 13-20 at that time in the LGBTQ+ community with a variety of services. CHP not only treated patients with AIDS and AIDS-related complications, but created the “AIDS Assessment Program” – an innovative, first of its kind program to assess risk and help prevent transmission of HIV/AIDS.
In addition to testing, diagnosing, and treating illness, CHP had a goal to more proactively keep their communities healthy through primary care. However, the space in the Center was not code compliant with the State Department of Health.  A primary care center required additional licensing, technology and space, and so, the decision was made to move once again and expand operations.
In 1996, with help from New York State, CHP purchased a 27,000 square foot abandoned building at 356 West 18th St in Chelsea and began a gut renovation. In 1998, under a new State Department of Health license, CHP became the “Michael Callen-Audre Lorde Community Health Center,” dedicated to the memories of Michael Callen, HIV advocate, founding member of the acapella group The Flirtations, and founder of the People with AIDS Coalition, and Audre Lorde, poet laureate of New York State, health and human rights activist, and breast cancer survivor.
Since 1998, they have continued to expand to meet the growing needs of the LGBTQ+ communities. They opened a dental clinic and care coordination program, and an onsite pharmacy. In 2014, they opened the Thea Spyer Center, a long-term mental health and sexual health clinic on 17th Street, and in 2016, a third primary care location in the South Bronx.
They added advocacy, policy, research and education – working to improve the health of LGBTQ+ people outside their doors and around the globe. And recently in 2019 – 50 years since their grassroots beginnings – they have expanded yet again, building a fourth location in downtown Brooklyn. Callen-Lorde's grassroots heritage dates back nearly 50 years to the St. Mark's Community Clinic and the Gay Men's Health Project,


Joan Malleson

Joan Graeme Malleson, née Billson (4 June 1899 – 14 May 1956) was an English physician, specialist in contraception and prominent advocate of the legalisation of abortion.
Life.
Billson was born at Ulverscroft, Leicestershire. She was educated at Bedales School, where she became Head Girl, and studied medicine at University College, London from 1918, later moving to Charing Cross Hospital due to the hostility to female students she experienced at UCL. In 1923 she married the actor Miles Malleson; they divorced in 1940. She qualified in 1926 and worked for Holborn Borough Council and the West End Hospital for Nervous Diseases, developing an interest in the fields of fertility, reproduction and sexuality.
In 1931, while working for Ealing Borough Council, she became one of the first British doctors to provide birth control advice on behalf of a local authority. In 1935 she published "The Principles of Contraception", a practical guide. She became a member of the executive committee of the National Birth Control Association (later the Family Planning Association). In 1936 the Abortion Law Reform Association was started by Alice Jenkins and Janet Chance. Malleson was amongst its more influential supporters.
She courted controversy by supporting the campaign to reform the abortion law. In 1938 she precipitated one of the most influential cases in British abortion law when she referred a pregnant fourteen-year-old rape victim to gynaecologist Aleck Bourne. He performed an abortion, then illegal, and was put on trial for it. Malleson gave evidence at the trial and Bourne's acquittal set a precedent that doctors could not be prosecuted for performing an abortion in similar circumstances. Malleson was also a supporter of eugenics and member of the Eugenics Society. In 1950 she was appointed head of the contraceptive clinic at University College Hospital.
Death.
She died in 1956, at the age of 56 from a heart attack while swimming off Suva, Fiji.


Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition

The Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC) is an organization dedicated to ending discrimination on the basis of gender identity and gender expression. The MTPC educates the public, lobbies state and local government, and encourages political activism.
The MTPC professes to work guided by the following values: "Equal rights and institutional responsibility; working against all forms of oppression; building broad-based participation and community power; developing leaders and building coalitions; drawing strength from diverse experiences and identities; being informed by our history and elders; growing through challenge and critique; being inclusive of those who cannot be fully visible; and accountability to the communities for which we work."
MTPC was started by transgender activists and allies in September 2001. In early 2002, MTPC members began advocating for non-discrimination ordinance on the basis of gender identity and gender expression in Boston. The ordinance passed in October 2002 with a 9-1 vote. In 2003, MTPC members began advocating for a similar ordinance in Northampton, Massachusetts, which passed in December 2005.
In the summer of 2006, MTPC began developing a campaign for a statewide gender identity/gender expression non-discrimination bill. The legislation to outlaw discrimination in Massachusetts on the basis of "gender identity or expression" was introduced Jan 10, 2007, by lead sponsors Representative Carl Sciortino and Representative Byron Rushing as House Bill No. 1722, "An Act Relative to Gender-Based Discrimination and Hate Crimes".
MTPC hosts a local transgender resource wiki and helpful materials for transgender activism on its website.
MTPC currently has a Boston chapter and a North Shore chapter (NSTA). Mason Dunn is the executive director of the organization, and Maxwell Ng chairs an eight-person steering committee. Current MTPC committees include a policy committee, a community engagement committee, a training and education committee, a fundraising and events committee, and the Interfaith Committee for Trans Equality.


Golden Orchid Society

The Golden Orchid Society (金兰会) was a late Qing dynasty social movement and community based in Guangdong, China. The women enjoyed relative independence due to their involvement in this region's silk industry.
The Golden Orchid Society provided an alternative model of social security for the women. Women who entered the Golden Orchid Society though an oath of sisterhood either refused to enter marriage, or married formally but refused consummation. If a sister was forced into marriage the sisterhood would threaten, and sometimes commit, group suicide. Some of the sisterhood relationships may have been of a sexual nature. According to Bret Hinsch, there is documentation of members of this group joining into same-sex marriage arrangements.


Damares Alves

Damares Regina Alves (born September 11, 1964) is a Brazilian attorney and evangelical pastor. She has been Minister of Human Rights, Family and Women in the Presidency of Jair Bolsonaro. She is the second female minister appointed to the new government as of December 2018. Damares is concerned about issues such as abortion, women trafficking, suicide, juvenile self-harming, and combatting drugs. Alves is engaged directly in the preparation of youth for the Fourth Industrial Revolution and intends to consolidate a pactuated agenda between different ministries of the Federal Government capable of integrating programs, policies, projects and initiatives under the same, articulated perspective of impact—modernizing education.
Biography.
Born in Paraná, Damares went to the northeast along with her family. As a child, she lived in Bahia, in Alagoas and Sergipe. She also lived in São Carlos (in the São Paulo state). These movings are strictly linked to her father's profession, the pastor Henrique Alves Sobrinho, "Quadrangular" Gospel Church—Foursquare Gospel Church—as it is called in Brazil, founder of more thant one hundred church temples throughout Brazil. Damares also became a pastor herself.
She graduated in Law in the now extinct , an institution that was uncredentialed by the Ministry of Education (MEC) in 2011 and that is forbidden to make entrance exams since 2012.
In São Carlos, she worked in the Municipal Secretary of Tourism, acting in the old COMTUR (Municipal Commission of Tourism), during the government of the mayor Vadinho de Guzzi. In 1999, shortly before obtaining her registration in the Advocates' Order of São Paulo (OAB-SP, a São Carlos subsection), she became junior parliamentarian auxiliary, in Brasília.
She was a pastor of Foursquare Church and also of the Baptist Church of Lagoinha, in Belo Horizonte.
She was coordinator of the educational project of Proteger Program, organization created by Guilherme Zanina Schelb, regional attorney of the Republic in the Federal District and member of the National Association of Evangelical Jurists (organization of which Damares was Director of Parliamentary Affairs), known for defending the project nicknamed "" (School Without [Political] Party).
In 1999, Damares moved to Brasília to work as a parliamentary assistant in the office of deputy Joshua Bengtson (PTB-PA), also pastor of the Church of the Foursquare Gospel. She also worked for federal deputy Arolde de Oliveira (PSD), a senator elected by Rio de Janeiro in 2018, and whose success at the polls in October was due, in large part, to the support of the so-called "Bolsonaro clan." She also served as a parliamentary auxiliary in Senator Magno Malta's office, prior to the bond with the senator in favor of the Espírito Santo state. He was chief of cabinet of another exponent of the neopentecostal bench in the Chamber of Deputies, the federal deputy Goiano João Campos de Araújo (PRB).
She worked as legal adviser in the National Congress for more than 20 years, before her appointment by Bolsonaro to the ministry of Human Rights.
From 2013, during a lecture at a church in Mato Grosso do Sul, Damares has presented herself as a lawyer and master in education, constitutional law and family law, although she never received a master's degree and has a common law degree. In the occasion, Damares was criticizing a delicate said Dutch custom of massage in sons. She argues she was saying she was a Christian master (or "teacher," as in most of the versions), as in Ephesians 4:11 "And it is he who gifted some to be apostles, others to be prophets, others to be evangelists, and still others to be pastors and teachers".
Background.
Alves had been a legal adviser in the National Congress for more than 20 years prior to her appointment by Bolsonaro.
As Current Minister of Women, Family and Human Rights of Brazil, she, at the United Nations 63rd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women in March, 2019, affirmed that the combatting violence against women is a definite goal of the government, as well as the growth of girls.
Conservative and religious activism.
Deeply religious, she has claimed to have seen a vision of Jesus atop a guava tree, and has stated that "the State is secular, but this minister is extremely Christian, and because of that, she believes in God's design."
Alves has indicated that religious views should take greater prominence in national politics. In 2016 journalists reported that she had addressed worshippers in an Evangelical church telling them, "It is time for the church to tell the nation that we have come ... It is time for the church to govern."
She also disclosed that she is a supporter of "traditional" gender roles within society and an opponent of what she regards as "ideological indoctrination", suggesting that girls should be regarded as "princesses" who wear pink and boys as little "princes" who wear blue. In a viral video, she claimed that Elsa from Disney's "Frozen" must be a lesbian because the princess ends up alone in a castle of ice. Alves says that "women are made to be mothers."
Alves is a vocal critic of the annual carnival festival in Brazil, saying that "carnival parties, unfortunately, is an affront and a disrespect to the Christian faith." Alves promised to pass a bill protecting evangelicals who protest at the carnival.
Personal life.
She has an adoptive daughter of Kamayurá indigenous origin, born in 1998 in Xingu Indigenous Park. Some journalists of Época Magazine in Brazil went to the tribe, who claim the child was kidnapped from them; they say she was lured to Brasilia by Damares and an associate named Márcia Suzuki, who presented themselves as missionaries, under the pretense of taking her to the city for dental treatment. Alves and her adopted daughter deny it, while Damares claims she saved her from malnutrition and possible infanticide.


St. James Infirmary Clinic

The St. James Infirmary (abbreviated SJI), founded by members of the sex worker activist community in 1999, is a peer-based, full spectrum medical and social service organization serving current and former sex workers of all genders and their families. Located in the Tenderloin district in San Francisco, California, the St. James Infirmary is a 501(c)(3) public charity. Its services are free and confidential. Named after the sex worker rights activist and founder of COYOTE (Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics), Margo St. James, the St. James Infirmary is the first occupational safety and health clinic for sex workers run by sex workers in the United States.
History.
In 1993, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed legislation that called for the establishment of the San Francisco Task Force on Prostitution. This Task Force was formed to investigate, “prostitution patterns,” and to “recommend social and legal reforms which would best respond to the City’s needs while using City resources more efficiently”. In 1996, the Task Force issued its final report and determined that the City's responses to prostitution were not only ineffective, but also harmful. Pertaining to health, safety and services, the report stated that, “programs should include occupational and educational programs, health and other programs for those who continue working as prostitutes, as well as those who wish to transition into other occupations”.
Under “Hold and Treat” laws, persons arrested for prostitution charges would be forcibly tested and treated for sexually transmitted infections. In 1998, Margo St. James, a local sex workers' rights activist and COYOTE member, received a call from a woman in jail who had been arrested for prostitution, who told Margo that while held awaiting charges, her blood had been drawn without the woman's consent and without her knowledge of what test was being performed. Margo called the Director of STD Control and Prevention of the San Francisco Department of Public Health, Dr. Jeffrey Klausner. Dr. Klausner invited members of the sex worker community for a meeting on the health status of sex industry workers. Before this meeting, Dr. Klausner was aware that the San Francisco Department of Public Health was not “really working with the sex worker population and/or the massage parlor workers. So [he] wanted to initially do some outreach to those populations” (J. Klausner, interview, September 4, 2003). This was the beginning of conversations and alliances to be made that provided the framework for a peer led occupational health and safety clinic for sex workers. The St. James Infirmary was made possible because of the unique vision of sex worker rights activists from COYOTE and the Exotic Dancers Alliance (EDA) and a timely event in the San Francisco County Jail. Via collaboration with the Department of Public Health STD Control and Prevention Section (known as “City Clinic"), University of California San Francisco (UCSF), COYOTE and EDA, in 1999, the first Occupational Health and Safety Clinic run by and for Sex Workers was created.
Located in the South of Market district of San Francisco, the mission of the St. James Infirmary is to provide compassionate and non-judgmental health care and social services for all sex workers while preventing occupational illnesses and injuries through a comprehensive continuum of services. Annually, St. James provides 8,000 clinic and venue based services to thousands of sex workers in the Bay Area. The St. James Infirmary services include Primary Care, Gynecological and Urological Care, Transgender Hormone Therapy, HIV/STI, TB & Hepatitis Counseling and Testing, STI treatments, Hepatitis A & B Immunizations, Acupuncture, Massage & Reiki Therapy, Peer and Mental Health Counseling, Support Groups, Food and Clothing, Syringe Access & Disposal, Condoms & Lube, Information & Service linkages, Apprenticeship & Internship Programs, and Research & Education.
There are many factors which affect the working conditions and experiences for all sex workers including the political and economic climate, poverty and homelessness, stigmatization, violence, as well as the overwhelming intricacies of the legal, public and social systems. The fear of stigma and indeed, the very real stigma associated with this work itself, forces many sex workers into isolation. This isolation puts sex workers at greater risk of occupational health and safety hazards that would otherwise be preventable. Sex Workers—particularly prostitutes— constitute some of the most socially isolated and politically marginalized individuals in the nation.
Some medical clinicians assume that the primary health concern of sex workers must be sexually transmitted infections or HIV prevention, while the stated health concerns of sex workers outside of STIs and HIV are met with minimal care or insensitive and disrespectful treatment. Sex Workers often do not disclose their profession to their health care providers for fear of arrest or of receiving inadequate care, among other concerns. As most sex workers will not identify as such to their providers, existing service organizations are often misinformed or ill-equipped to address the overall occupational health and safety concerns for sex workers that impact their sexual health practices.
In the early 1990s COYOTE member Priscilla Alexander developed the program plan for the St. James Infirmary that was founded on a holistic approach towards healthcare for sex workers as determined by the community rather than just focusing on HIV and STI prevention and treatment. Thus, the mission of St. James is to provide compassionate and non-judgmental health care and social services for all sex workers while preventing occupational illnesses and injuries through a comprehensive continuum of services. It is the philosophy of St. James Infirmary to build upon existing skills and strengths in order to allow individuals to determine their own goals while providing culturally competent and non-judgmental services.
The Infirmary is run by and serves current and former sex workers from the many sectors of the adult entertainment industry that include escorts, sensual massage workers, exotic dancers, peep show workers, BDSM workers, adult film actors, nude models, Internet pornography workers, street and survival sex workers, phone sex operators, and many more.
Since SJI is a multi-service clinic, it challenges centuries of beliefs pertaining to the perceived health needs of the sex worker population. Instead of solely focusing on the sexual health needs of sex workers, the St. James Infirmary combines best practices from Eastern and Western medical to address all the potential holistic health needs of sex workers. The goals of the Infirmary are:
Toni Newman became Executive Director of St. James Infirmary in May 2018.
Recognition.
In January 2012, the "Someone You Know is a Sex Worker" campaign was nominated by the Global Network of Sex Work Projects (NSWP) for a consultancy to the World Health Organization (WHO), in collaboration with UNFPA, UNDP and NSWP. St. James presented the campaign to WHO in Geneva, Switzerland in January 2012.
In November 2004, San Francisco Board of Supervisors members Aaron Peskin and Chris Daly proclaimed November 13, 2004 to be “St. James Infirmary Health Day” in San Francisco. In addition, the St. James Infirmary was awarded the 2009 Community Service Award by the Harvey Milk Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Democratic Club.
In the July 2003 issue of the "San Francisco Bay Guardian", SJI received an award for the “Best Place to Find Sex-Worker Community.” The award was created to acknowledge SJI, and therefore is illustrative of the fact that SJI has been recognized and appreciated by the larger San Francisco community. As stated in the "Bay Guardian", “In a field where isolation from your colleagues is common – and a society in which few people outside the trade accept the validity of your work – the infirmary provides an oasis of camaraderie and understanding”.
Publications and presentations.
Sex Worker Environmental Assessment Team(SWEAT) Study data prepared by Alix Lutnick and Deb Cohan, presented at the XVII International AIDS Conference in Mexico City, August 6, 2008.
SWEAT Study data prepared by Alix Lutnick and Deb Cohan, presented at the XVII International AIDS Conference in Mexico City, August 6, 2008.
Culminating experience project for the Masters in Public Health program at SFSU conducted by Executive Director Naomi Akers, MPH(c) in collaboration with Melissa Gira Grant and St. James Infirmary staff, 2007.
A summer internship project conducted by current Executive Director Naomi Akers, as part of the Masters of Public Health Program at San Francisco State University, 2006.
Collaborative study project between the University of California at San Francisco, the St. James Infirmary, and the San Francisco Department of Public Health. Funding provided by the Ford Foundation and the San Francisco Department of Public Health.
Presentation authored by Chuck Cloniger, FNP & Deborah Cohan, M.D., in collaboration with the San Francisco Department of Public Health and UCSF Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
Presentation of research results from the collaborative efforts of SJI staff, UCSF Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology and the San Francisco Department of Public Health, 2002.


Diana Mason (doctor)

Diana Manby Mason (née Shaw, 29 July 1922 – 5 June 2007) was a prominent New Zealand doctor and obstetrician also active in the anti-abortion movement during the 1970s.
Early life.
Mason was born in 1922 the daughter of Frieda Charlotte Manby Shaw and Charles Bertram Shaw. She grew up in Karori, Wellington where she attended Karori School and Samuel Marsden College. She had always wanted to be a doctor and attended Victoria University of Wellington followed by medical school at the University of Otago where she graduated in 1945.
Career.
Mason's internship at Wellington Hospital during her final year at medical school sparked her interest in obstetrics. She returned to Wellington Hospital as a house surgeon after graduation but in 1947 joined a general practice in Newtown, Wellington. In 1949 she went to England with her husband Bruce Mason and baby daughter to do post–graduate training at the Great Ormond Street Hospital. They returned to New Zealand after three years to live in Tauranga for a year before moving to Wellington where Mason returned to work in the general practice where she had worked earlier.
She became Superintendent of the Alexandra Maternity Hospital and Home for Unmarried Mothers, a home for single mothers whose babies would be adopted out. She held this position from 1958 to 1978.
Mason was opposed to abortion and was politically active in the anti-abortion movement in particular in the Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child (SPUC); she was SPUC's national president from 1974 to 1976. She was one of several prominent New Zealanders, including Sir William Liley and Ruth Kirk, who headed an anti-abortion rally in Wellington in 1974.
In the late 1980s she became the second woman to hold the office of president of the Wellington division of the New Zealand Medical Association.
She retired at the age of 78.
Recognition.
In the 1977 Queen's Silver Jubilee and Birthday Honours, Mason was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, for services to the community.
Personal life.
Mason met her husband, the playwright Bruce Mason, at Victoria University in 1940. They married in 1945 after Bruce returned to New Zealand from war service overseas and she had finished her medical degree. They had three children, Belinda, Julian and Rebecca. She and Bruce were well known in the arts and culture world in Wellington.
She died in Wellington on 5 June 2007.


Lavender Panthers

Lavender Panthers was an armed self-defence group for the LGBTQ+ community in San Francisco, active from the summer of 1973 until the spring of 1974. Its leader was Raymond Broshears, a gay Pentecostal Evangelist preacher and activist.


Frank Capra Jr.

Frank Warner Capra (March 20, 1934 – December 19, 2007), known as Frank Capra Jr., was an American film and television producer. He was one of the three children of film director Frank Capra and his second wife, Lucille Warner. His own sons, Frank Capra III and Jonathan Capra, are assistant directors.
At the time of his death, Capra Jr. was president of EUE/Screen Gems studio, which he had helped to found in Wilmington, North Carolina, in the mid-1980s, and a member of the North Carolina Film Council.
Death.
Capra Jr. died on December 19, 2007, aged 73, at a hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, after a long battle with prostate cancer.


Ruth Brinker

Ruth Marie Brinker (May 1, 1922 – August 8, 2011) was an American AIDS activist and founder of the nonprofit, Project Open Hand. She began her activism in 1985 by providing food and meals to home-bound AIDS patients in San Francisco who were too ill cook or shop.
Brinker was born Ruth Marie Appel on May 1, 1922, in Hartford, South Dakota. She moved to San Francisco, California, during the mid-1950s, where she married her husband, Jack Brinker, in 1957. They had two daughters, Lisa and Sara, but later divorced in 1965.
By the mid-1980s, the AIDS epidemic was sweeping through San Francisco. One of Brinker's friends, who had AIDS and corresponding malnutrition, became too weak to cook or leave his home to go grocery shopping. Brinker, who was a grandmother at the time, and a group of her friends collaborated to provide the man with meals by dividing up the month to delivering them to his home. Unfortunately, some of the volunteers went on vacation and the man died by the time they returned to San Francisco.
Ruth Brinker vowed not to allow the same fate happen to others in San Francisco. She had previously worked in the food service industry and as a volunteer for Meals on Wheels, a similar predecessor which provides meals to people who cannot purchase or prepare meals. She began organizing volunteers on a larger basis to deliver hot meals to AIDS patients in the city. This led to the establishment of her nonprofit, Project Open Hand, which was founded in summer of 1985 by Brinker and seven of her friends. The organization began with a small grant of $2,000 dollars from a Zen study group and donated cookware. Project Open Hand has since expanded to provide meals and other services to the elderly and people with other chronic illnesses. In 1987 and 1988, Project Open Hand served 300 AIDS patients using an annual budget of $500,000. As of 2011, Project Open Hand provides 2,600 meals a day using $5.6 million in public and private donations. Brinker's nonprofit has been copied by "dozens" of organizations throughout the United States, according to the "New York Times".
Ruth Brinker died from complications of vascular dementia at her home in San Francisco on August 8, 2011, at the age of 89. She was survived by her two daughters, one grandson and a great-granddaughter.


Impact of Falsettos on the United States

Impact of Falsettos on the United States is an American musical about homosexuality, Jewish nationality, and the AIDS epidemic in America during the 1970's and 1980's, and how it affects a gay man and his family.
"Falsettos" was written and composed by William Finn, with direction by James Lapine. Opening on Broadway in April 1992, the musical had a successful run. "Falsettos" was revived on Broadway in 2016. "Falsettos" received seven Tony Award nominations, and won Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score.
Plays and musicals with gay characters had been historically rejected on Broadway out of fear that audiences would reject gay themes. "Falsettos" portrayed the gay characters as normal, everyday people. Commentators have described the musical as a catalyst in changing Broadway norms and public opinion. Because of "Falsettos" success during its original release, Lapine decided to create a sequel to the original release.
1992 release.
"Falsettos" stated as two one-act musicals written by Finn. The first musical, "March of the Falsettos", was released in 1981. The second musical, "Falsettoland", was released in 1990. In 1992, Finn decided to combine the two musicals into a two-act musical.
"Falsettos" is set in New York City during the late 1970's to 1980's. The main character is Marvin, married to Trina with a young son Jason. Marvin soon reveals that he gay and leaves Trina for Whizzer, a gay man. Trina starts an affair with Mendel, the family therapist. Marvin is still trying to keep ties with his wife and son. When Whizzer is diagnosed with AIDs, the family unites around him
2016 revival.
"Falsettos" reopened on Broadway on October 27, 2016. Although the impact of HIV/AIDs on the gay community had evolved with new medical treatments, the musical still addresses all the same elements of the first with little to no departure of the original storyline and plot.
The "Falsettos" revival received five Tony Award nominations. Levin again directed the musical with Finn as conductor. The revival ran as a limited three-month engagement.
Lapine was enticed by the idea of a group who knew nothing of the events in United States history that were spurred by the AIDS crisis. This was shown through the fact that Lapine cast a 12-year-old actor to play the main character's son and had to explain the events of the AIDS epidemic to the actor in the show who knew next to nothing of them. This rendition of the show received a pro shot recording and is viewable on Amazon Prime Video and Broadway HD
Influence of "Falsettos".
"Falsettos" portrayed gay people as actual, fully-developed characters instead of caricatures. Religion was emphasized as well in the musical as the Jewish religion and its customs are repeatedly shown and explained by the characters. "Falsettos" also highlights the relationship of father and son as Marvin and Jason fight to maintain their previous relationship .
It is during the course of "Falsettos" that the audience witnesses Jason comes to terms with his father's sexuality and eventually accept his him for who he is and who he is becoming. In addition to Jason accepting his father's sexuality, there are many other characters that begin to understand and love themselves despite their sexuality. These characters begin to understand that they do not need to be ashamed or sorry for showing who they are. They realize that they are entitled to live a full happy life, just as their heterosexual neighbors were doing. "Falsettos" begins to show the rise of the new generation of gay population.
"Falsettos" and AIDS.
"Falsettos" elaborates on the fact that the main cause of the fear behind the virus was simply nobody knew what it was. Mass groups of people suddenly began to get the virus and die from it, yet no one was sure how to cure it. The show never mentions AIDS by name, however, it does describe the virus with titles such as "the thing that kills". The mystery and the fear that it caused was an element Lapine and William wanted to very thoroughly emphasize and convey to the audience.
They avoided the topic of AIDS and disease as a theme entirely in the first act of the musical. Additionally, a character in the second act, known as one of the “Lesbians Next Door”, is a nurse who is not referenced at all in the first act. All characters in the second act also express confusion and misplaced hope in the recovery of Whizzer, though they eventually come to terms with the severity of the disease and the time they have left with him.
Because "Falsettos" was revived after originally being released on Broadway, the director and the actors in the musical were tasked with teaching a new generation about the AIDS epidemic and just how lethal it actually was. When the musical originally released, the generation that tended to attend Broadway were those who had not witnessed the chaos of the AIDS epidemic at an age where they could remember or comprehend it. In order to create the emotions the people felt as this virus swept across the world, the characters conveyed feelings felt by those suffering from the epidemic at the time to introduce the acute fear that was felt by many gays and heterosexuals during the height of the epidemic. It establishes, to the audience, the lack of information that people had during the outbreak and the most lethal parts of the epidemic.


Posthitis

Posthitis (pronounced pos-THI-tis) is the inflammation of the foreskin (prepuce) of the human penis. It is characterised by swelling and redness on the skin and it may be accompanied by a smelly discharge.
The term posthitis comes from the Greek "posthe", meaning foreskin, and "-itis", meaning inflammation.
Causes.
Posthitis can have infectious causes such as bacteria or fungi, or non-infectious causes such as contact dermatitis or psoriasis. The inflammation may be caused by irritants in the environment. Common causative organisms include candida, chlamydia, and gonorrhea. The cause must be properly diagnosed before a treatment can be prescribed. A common risk factor is diabetes.
Posthitis can lead to phimosis, the tightening of the foreskin which makes it difficult to retract over the glans. Posthitis can also lead to superficial ulcerations and diseases of the inguinal lymph nodes.
Prevention.
Hygiene, in particular the regular cleaning of the glans, is generally considered sufficient to prevent infection and inflammation of the foreskin. Full retraction of the foreskin may not be possible in boys younger than about ten years and some may not be able to fully retract their foreskin for cleaning until their late teens.
Treatment.
If contact dermatitis is suspected, soaps and other external irritants should be discontinued and a latex allergy should be investigated.
The treatment depends on identification of the cause. Irritants in the environment should be removed. Antibiotics and antifungals can be used to treat the infection, but good hygiene such as keeping the area dry is essential to stop recurrence, however excessive washing with soap can cause contact dermatitis.
If infection is sexually transmitted, sexual partners should be notified and treated.
Posthitis and balanitis (inflammation of the glans penis) usually occur together as balanoposthitis. Circumcision can prevent balanoposthitis, though balanitis can still occur separately.


Linda-Gail Bekker

Linda-Gail Bekker MBChB, DTMH, DCH, FCP(SA) is a Professor of Medicine and Chief Operating Officer of the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation. She is also Director of the Desmund Tutu HIV Centre at the University of Cape Town. She is a Past President of the International AIDS Society.
Early life and education.
Bekker was born in Zimbabwe. She studied medicine at the University of Cape Town. She intended on becoming a geriatrician, but completed a clinical rotation in KwaZulu-Natal and became interested in HIV and TB research. She saw young people dying from HIV/AIDS and was frustrated that she couldn't help them. Her PhD was funded by the John E. Fogarty International Center. She worked in the Rockefeller University on host immunology. Her doctoral advisor was Gilla Kaplan and she continues to work with her today.
Research and career.
In 2009 she won the Royal Society Pfizer Award for her research into tuberculosis epidemiology. The funding supported her research in the Nyanga Primary Health Clinic in Cape Town. Bekker is passionate about engagement with communities and peer led education programs. Her community work looks to overcome stigma related to HIV and Tuberculosis. The Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation, where Bekker serves as Chief Operating Officer, supports the wellbeing of people in South Africa's poorest communities. Her husband, Robin Wood, serves as the Director and CEO. She developed a mobile health van, known as the "Tutu tester", which offers screening for pregnancy, high blood pressure, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, TB and obesity. She is Director of the Desmund Tutu HIV Centre at the University of Cape Town, where she integrates best practise and evidence-based information about adolescent treatment and prevention in a robust platform. The centre is funded by the National Institutes of Health. She developed Choices for Adolescent Methods of Prevention in South Africa (CHAMPS); which challenges young men's attitudes to circumcision, encourages young women to use contraception and investigates Pre-exposure prophylaxis. She has also worked on Pregnancy and HIV/AIDS Seeking Equitable Study (PHASES) funded by the National Institutes of Health. She studies the roll out of antiretroviral therapies. She is excited about HIV self-testing.
In 2016 she was elected President of the International AIDS Society. She gave the opening address at the International AIDS Society Conference in Paris, where she spoke about new prevention options such as Pre-exposure prophylaxis. In 2018 she was elected to the board of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative. She is concerned about Donald Trump undermining the global HIV response. She has been a keynote speaker at World AIDS Day.
She has contributed to The Conversation. Bekker enjoys painting and has used street theatre in her community work.
Bekker serves as an advisor to the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.


National LGBT Museum

The National LGBT Museum is a proposed museum of LGBT history and culture.
The museum was proposed by Tim Gold, a former employee of the National Postal Museum and Smithsonian Institution, and his husband Mitchell Gold, a furniture manufacturer. The Golds founded the Velvet Foundation in 2007 to fund and create the new museum.
Although originally proposed as a museum in Washington, D.C., in 2015 the Board of Directors decided to seek a location for the museum in New York City. The initial funding goal for the museum is between $50 million and $100 million. The status of the museum is currently uncertain; the official Twitter account of the National LGBT Museum has tweeted once since 2016.


Kif-Kif (organization)

Kif-Kif (The Association of Lesbians, Gays, Transsexuals and Bisexuals of Morocco) is a non-governmental LGBT rights organization for LGBT Moroccans. Since it is not legally recognized in Morocco, the organization has been licensed and checked in Spain since 2008. On its constitutive act, it is mentioned that its actions include both Spain and Morocco. Although its focus is on homosexual rights, membership is open to everyone who shares its values based on the universal declaration of human rights.
The association is widely criticized from the very conservative parts of Muslim society in the country, even by means of the use of threats, or in some extreme cases; personal violence.
Kif-kif is an Amazigh expression that means "same". The organization also operates a magazine titled "Mithly."
History.
On the 1st of June 2004, the Moroccan police arrested 43 people in Tetouan under the charge of conducting homosexual activities, in accordance with article 489 of the Moroccan penal code.
As a result, the Moroccan homosexual community started an international online campaign for their liberation. Thousands of letters were sent to media and foreign ambassadors in Morocco. In order to coordinate their actions on the internet, a group named Kif-Kif was created, a discussion room, or forum aiming to help Moroccan citizens who can't find their place in society. In 2005, Kif-Kif was officially created. Starting in 2006, volunteers started their battle for their registration as an association in Morocco, yet all their attempts failed.
Since 2008, a lot of groups were established on the axis of Kif-Kif outside Morocco, by working as independent projects in local LGBT organizations.
In April 2010, Kif-Kif launched Mithly (meaning "homosexual" and "like me" in Arabic), the first Moroccan LGBT magazine, in print and online. The first edition, printed in Rabat, distributed 200 copies in a clandestine way, since article 489 in the penal code judges homosexuality illegal and prohibits the publication of offensive material.
In May 2010, the LGBT members of Kif-Kif created the group Menna w Fena ("From us and for us"), an internal group of the Kif-Kif association which is dedicated specifically to lesbians, bisexuals, transsexuals or queer; and has as an objective to protect LGBT women in Morocco and help them assert themselves among the LGBT community.


Mickey Harte

Mickey Harte (born 1952) is a Gaelic football manager from County Tyrone, Ireland who currently manages the Louth county team. He managed the Tyrone county team from 2002 and, at his resignation in 2020, was the longest-serving manager then active with the same team in inter-county competition. He is the most successful senior manager in the county's history, having led it to its only three All-Ireland SFC titles, as well as six Ulster SFC titles, one National League and twelve Dr McKenna Cups.
Considered one of the best tacticians in the game, Harte is admired both by peers and former rivals.
Early life.
Born in Glencull, near Ballygawley, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, Harte was educated at the Christian Brothers Grammar School in Omagh. He trained to be a teacher at St. Joseph's College in Belfast (now St Mary's). He taught for five years at De La Salle Boys School in Kircubben. He then moved to St Ciaran's in Ballygawley. In his 22 years spent there, he achieved numerous successes, including Tyrone, Ulster and All-Ireland Vocational Schools titles. He continued working there as he progressed through the county ranks of Tyrone's Gaelic football side, bringing them to a National Football League title, All-Ireland Minor and U21 victories and eventually, in 2003, the Sam Maguire Cup.
Management.
Raised in Ballymacilroy outside Ballygawley, County Tyrone, Harte managed the Tyrone minor team (1991–1998) and under-21 team, winning All-Ireland titles with both, before he was named manager of the senior Tyrone county team. He guided the under-21 team to two All-Ireland Under-21 titles and three Ulster Under-21 titles. He led the minor team to an All-Ireland Minor title and three Ulster Minor titles.
He subsequently managed his home club of Errigal Ciarán and was successful with this team as well, winning the Tyrone County Championship and Ulster Senior Club Football Championship.
Harte's first season in charge of the senior county team came in 2003. His team overcame Down in the 2003 Ulster SFC final, requiring a replay after a drawn game when the team conceded four goals; Harte switched Cormac McAnallen from midfield to full-back for thr second game. Tyrone conceded only one further goal in their other four games in that competition, which ended with the county claiming the first All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) title in its history, and McAnallen would win an All Star Award in this new role. Peter Canavan was injured on the day of the final. Harte started Canavan before withdrawing him at half-time, then unexpectedly bringing him back on with a few minutes remaining and Tyrone narrowly in the lead.
Tyrone and Harte won a second All-Ireland SFC in 2005. The county played a total of ten matches, including three replays, which was a record for any winning team. Tyrone played five matches in the Ulster SFC, including replays against Cavan in the semi-final and against Armagh in the final, which they lost. Having to contest an All-Ireland SFC qualifier as a result of that loss, Tyrone overcame Monaghan to reach an All-Ireland SFC quarter-final against Dublin. Tyrone had yet another drawn game, a match memorable for Owen Mulligan's solo goal. Harte combined Enda McGinley with Joe McMahon for the second half of that game, a move which outwitted Ciarán Whelan, who had been getting the better of his opponents in the first half; Whelan was ultimately removed from the game by the Dublin management. In the All-Ireland SFC semi-final, the county met Armagh for a third time; two points behind with only six minutes of play left and, in what Eamonn Sweeney writing later in the "Sunday Independent" called "the defining moment of Harte's team", Seán Cavanagh scored a solo point, substitute Shane Sweeney levelled the game and Canavan converted an injury-time free. In the 2005 All-Ireland SFC final, the county defeated Kerry for the second time in three years to win the Sam Maguire Cup.
Harte's and Tyrone's third All-Ireland SFC winning campaign began with a quarter-final loss to Down in the 2008 Ulster SFC. Entering the All-Ireland SFC qualifiers again, the county advanced to the 2008 All-Ireland SFC final against a Kerry team then bidding to win three consecutive titles. Kerry did not. Despite Peter Canavan's retirement, Mulligan's disciplinary problems and O'Neill's on-off retirement through injury, Tyrone won a third All-Ireland SFC title. Harte deployed Justin McMahon to effectively deal with Kerry's Kieran Donaghy (a forward who had become more prominent since the 2005 final), while the half-back line of David Harte, Conor Gormley and Philip Jordan outperformed expectations and Cavanagh scored five points from play. Eamonn Sweeney reckoned 2008 to be "the supreme managerial achievement of Harte's career".
In the latter part of his time as Tyrone manager, Ulster Championship success did not come easy for Harte and his team, having been knocked out five times by Donegal in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2020. That 2020 defeat was his last game as Tyrone manager.
In November 2020, Harte was appointed manager of the senior Louth county team for an expected three-year period.
Advocacy.
Harte has been very forthcoming with his Christian views. In 2009, he went to Derry to attend the launch of Patrick McCrystal's controversial book "Who is at the Centre of Your Marriage, the Pill or Jesus Christ?". McCrystal's opinions have generated discontent, examples: "For too long, contraception promotion has gone virtually unchallenged. Contraception is the unspoken cause of too much marriage break-up" and "Chastity before marriage and fidelity after it is the only way to truly combat AIDS. The Pope is right. European condom imperialism is not the answer. The battle against contraception is not over so long as one married couple uses contraception."
In 2010, as part of the Catholic Church's "Year for Priests" celebration, he contributed to a DVD, "In Praise of Priests", featuring interviews with various people expressing admiration for their favourite priest.
Harte attracted controversy when, in 2013, he provided a character reference for Ronan McCusker, who had pleaded guilty to a serious sexual assault, and Judge Piers Grant singled out the character reference from Harte as one of the "mitigating factors" which led him to pitch the jail sentence towards the bottom of the range; two-and-a-half years, 15 months in jail, 15 on licence.
Harte supported the No Vote in the 2018 abortion referendum.
Writing and broadcasting.
In 2009, Harte began writing a weekly column for the Northern Irish newspaper, "The Irish News". To date his column has focused on hot topics in Gaelic games, referees and other GAA-related topics.
In October 2009, Harte (with the help of Michael Foley) published an autobiography, "Harte: Presence Is The Only Thing". It was published by Poolbeg ().
Harte makes occasional appearances to offer analysis on the BBC's championship coverage. He did so less than 48 hours after departing as Tyrone manager.
Personal life.
Harte is married to Marian with 6 children. His daughter Michaela McAreavey was murdered on her honeymoon in Mauritius in January 2011. He also lost two brothers around the time of his daughter's murder.


Kenny Edwards

Kenneth Michael "Kenny" Edwards (February 10, 1946 – August 18, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter, bassist, guitarist, mandolinist, and session musician. He was a founding member of the Stone Poneys and Bryndle and a long-time collaborator with Linda Ronstadt and Karla Bonoff.
Biography.
Having been a founding member of The Stone Poneys in 1964 with Linda Ronstadt and Bobby Kimmel, Edwards next turned his musical attention to the band Bryndle (with Karla Bonoff, Andrew Gold and Wendy Waldman) five years later. In 1970, Bryndle recorded their debut album for A&M Records. The album went through many revisions before being submitted to the record company, but it was never released. Edwards subsequently returned to work with Linda Ronstadt on her ground-breaking album, "Heart Like A Wheel". He then spent many years with Ronstadt as a sideman, singer, arranger and touring band member. Edwards also became a noted producer and was responsible for masterminding former Bryndle colleague Bonoff's solo albums. His session work has seen Edwards work either live or in the studio with acts such as Emmylou Harris, Stevie Nicks, J.D. Souther, Don Henley, Brian Wilson, Warren Zevon, Art Garfunkel, Vince Gill, Mac McAnally, David Lee Murphy, Jennifer Warnes, Danny Kortchmar, Lowell George, as well as a younger generation of artists including Glen Phillips and Natalie D-Napoleon. Edwards released his first, self-titled solo album in 2002. In his later years, he performed as a singer-songwriter, often with Nina Gerber accompanying, and completed the recording and release of a second solo album in 2009.
Stone Poneys.
In 1964, Linda Ronstadt moved to Los Angeles to form a band with her old Tucson friend Bobby Kimmel, who had already begun co-writing several folk-rock songs with guitarist-songwriter Edwards. As The Stone Poneys, the band was signed by the late Nik Venet to Capitol and released three albums in a 15-month period in 1967–68: "The Stone Poneys"; "Evergreen, Volume 2"; and "Linda Ronstadt, Stone Poneys and Friends, Vol. III". The band is best known for their hit single "Different Drum" (written by Michael Nesmith prior to his joining the Monkees), which reached No. 13 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 and No. 12 in Cash Box. (It hit #1 in Los Angeles and reached #6 in the Detroit marketplace.) The song remains one of Linda Ronstadt's most popular recordings. While Stone Poneys broke up before the release of their third album, Edwards recorded and toured with Ronstadt from the mid-1970s to the early 1990s, mainly serving as a bassist.
Bryndle.
In 1970, Bryndle recorded their debut album for A&M Records with Chuck Plotkin helming one of his first major production undertakings. The album went through several revisions, but was never released. A single, "Woke Up This Morning," written by Karla Bonoff and produced by Lou Adler, did arise from those sessions and met with modest success. This was to be the only release from the original incarnation of Bryndle as the band subsequently disbanded. Waldman, Bonoff, Gold and Edwards established solo careers and session work before reforming in the early 1990s. In 1995, a newly recorded debut was released and the band began a tour of America and Japan. In 1996, Andrew Gold departed the band while Bryndle continued touring through 1997. After a break of more than five years, the band reformed for two house concert performances in 2002. Those two performances were edited down to a single CD released the next year. The band was mostly inactive after their 2002 performances.
Solo.
From early 2000 until his death, Edwards predominantly performed as a solo singer-songwriter. In that time he recorded and released his first self-titled solo album (2002) and a second titled "Resurection Road" (2009). He undertook showcase performances at roots-based music festivals and series including Folk Alliance and Sings Like Hell. He also regularly supported Karla Bonoff on tour while also serving as her accompanist.
Edwards was a prolific songwriter with at least 235 published BMI credits. Many of these compositions were incidental music for television programs produced by the NFL, NASCAR, Nat Geo TV, the PGA, Animal Planet, CBS This Morning, The Daily Show, Dateline NBC and many others. Among the artists who recorded his songs include the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band ("Mother of Love"), Lisa Haley & the Zydecats ("This Time Around"—cowritten with Wendy Waldman), Doug Stone ("Small Steps"—cowritten with Gary Burr) and Ronny Cox ("Silver City"—cowritten with Cox and Waldman).
Death.
According to a post on his website, Edwards died at approximately 5:30 pm on August 18, 2010 after battles with cancer and a blood disorder. Edwards had reportedly been diagnosed with the blood disorder TTP (thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura) and had also been receiving chemotherapy for prostate cancer. He was 64 years old.


Frank Albanese

Frank Albanese (May 16, 1931 – October 5, 2015) was an American actor known for playing mobsters, notably on the HBO hit series "The Sopranos". He also appeared in gangster films like "Goodfellas". In the film "", he appeared as the Grand Marshal of the St. Gennaro Feast at the head of the street parade procession.
He was born in Staten Island, New York and died there on October 5, 2015 from prostate cancer.


Whitman-Walker Health

Whitman-Walker Health (WWH), formerly Whitman-Walker Clinic, is a non-profit community health center in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area with a special expertise in HIV/AIDS healthcare and LGBT healthcare. Founded as an affirming health center for the gay and lesbian community in 1978, Whitman-Walker was one of the first responders to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in D.C. and became a leader in HIV/AIDS education, prevention, diagnosis and treatment. In recent years, Whitman-Walker has expanded its services to include primary healthcare services, a stronger focus on queer women's care and youth services.
WWH is named for gay poet Walt Whitman (a former D.C. resident) and Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, a noted Civil War-era physician in the District and women's rights activist.
Operations.
Through four sites in D.C., WWH provides a number of health care services to the D.C. metro area. They include primary medical and dental care; mental health and addictions counseling and treatment; HIV education, prevention and testing; legal services; medical adherence case management; a pharmacy open to all; and more.
Whitman-Walker's newest medical facility is at 1525 14th Street, NW. This 42,000 square foot building opened in May 2015. It houses 28 medical exam rooms, nine dental chairs, a street-facing pharmacy, behavioral health therapy rooms and more.
Administration continues to operate out of the Elizabeth Taylor Medical Center located at 1701 14th Street, NW in the Logan Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C. WWH also provides primary medical services, dental care and legal services out of its Max Robinson Center in the primarily African-American neighborhood of Anacostia in Southeast D.C.
Annually, WWH produces The Walk to End HIV, formerly AIDS Walk Washington, which is held in October, and is the largest community-based fundraising event for WWH's HIV services.
History.
1970s.
Whitman-Walker was founded in November 1973 as the Gay Men's VD Clinic, part of the Washington Free Clinic. The VD Clinic operated in the basement of the Georgetown Lutheran Church with an all-volunteer staff. In 1976, after receiving complaints from the church, the VD Clinic split off as an independent organization and hired its first full-time staff.
Whitman-Walker Health was chartered as "Whitman-Walker Clinic" by the government of the District of Columbia on January 13, 1978. The D.C. Department of Human Resources provided WWH $15,000, the first city funds to support the organization. In October, Whitman-Walker Clinic opened a new, rented facility at 1606 17th Street, NW.
1980s.
In 1980, a financial crisis threatened the Clinic. The administrator resigned, programs were eliminated and the Clinic moved into a more affordable space on 18th Street in Adams Morgan.
In 1981, Jim Graham became the Clinic's president and Larry Medley became the third WWC administrator. Whitman-Walker hired its first board-certified medical technologist for an in-house laboratory offering testing for various sexually transmitted diseases.
On June 5, 1981, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's weekly Morbidity and Mortality Report features an account of five young gay men in Los Angeles with cases of rare pneumonia. This was the first medical report on what would famously come to be known as HIV/AIDS.
In 1983, as AIDS began taking a larger toll, WWC assumed a leadership role in fighting the epidemic. The Clinic launched its AIDS Education Fund to provide up-to-date information, counseling and direct services to people with AIDS; the Buddy program to help people living with AIDS was started; an AIDS information hotline (which was the recipient of the first DC contract awarded for AIDS services) was created; and an HIV/AIDS prevention advertising campaign was launched. To support these new programs, WWC benefited from D.C.'s first AIDS fundraiser which raised $4,400.
On April 4, 1983, WWC presented the first D.C. AIDS Forum at the Lisner Auditorium at George Washington University. The forum distributed AIDS prevention information and catered to the 1,200 men in attendance. A second AIDS forum for people of color was held on September 28.
In 1984, WWC opened its AIDS Evaluation Unit, the first gay, community-based medical unit in the U.S. devoted to the evaluation and diagnosis of AIDS symptoms. Fifty-five patients were treated the first year and 50 percent had AIDS.
The first support group for people with AIDS (PWA) began. Sunnye Sherman, a WWC client, stepped forward as one of the first women openly living with AIDS in the nation. She acted as a strong support system for other people with AIDS and educated the community on her experience.
Whitman-Walker opened the Robert N. Schwartz, M.D., house, the city's first home for people with AIDS, in 1985. The second house opened in December.
Later that year, WWC began anonymous testing for what was then called HTLV-III, but is now called HIV. Whitman-Walker became the largest testing site in the region.
The AIDS treatment center rapidly expanded and became a full-time clinic in 1986.
Through 1986, WWC continued to expand HIV/AIDS services. The housing program grew with the opening of four houses. Whitman-Walker also opened a food bank and hired its first full-time lawyer to provide clients with legal services related to AIDS discrimination. These services largely consisted of wills, powers of attorney and disability entitlements.
In 1987, WWC opened a dental clinic for patients with HIV/AIDS, one of only three in the country at the time. Whitman-Walker also opened the Scott Harper House for gay men and lesbians recovering from substance abuse, a facility still open to this day.
Also in 1987, WWC moved to a larger building, located at 1407 S Street, NW (formerly the Evelyn Towers Apartments). This facility would operate as the organization's headquarters for more than two decades. Whitman-Walker was able to purchase the building in 1988. At this time, D.C. Mayor Marion Barry and the Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation were the Clinic's primary financial supporters. Simultaneously, individual contributions from the local LGBTQ community made up about half of the organization's income.
Whitman-Walker brought the first AIDS Walk to D.C. in 1987.
Whitman-Walker encountered resistance when it began to offer services through the Northern Virginia AIDS Project in 1987. Although the Clinic had started its Northern Virginia AIDS Project in 1987, it was unable to find space for its operations for some time. In one case, the Clinic was denied housing by a landlord who allegedly did so out of fear and/or homophobia. The landlord claimed the Clinic had not met certain leasing and payment requirements, and a judge agreed. Whitman-Walker eventually found other space and opened its Northern Virginia AIDS (NOVAA) Project office in Arlington, offering case management and education services.
In 1988, WWC expanded its services throughout the D.C. metropolitan region, providing access to new HIV treatments an opening an on-site, at-cost pharmacy.
1990s.
The Lesbian Services and Mental Health Services programs had full-time, paid staff.
In December 1990, WWC dedicated the Stewart B. McKinney House, its first house specifically for families with HIV.
Passage of the Ryan White CARE Act in 1991 led to the infusion of federal grant funds, helping to reinforce the Clinic's finances. Whitman-Walker expanded to include a transportation service, interpreting services, a Spanish-speaking physician and a full-time dentist.
In June 1991, WWC began construction of a new outpatient care center for people with AIDS. The center was dedicated as the Bill Austin Day Treatment and Care Center. Then-First Lady, Barbara Bush, made a highly publicized visit to open the Austin Center.
In 1992, WWC opened its Max Robinson Center in Southeast D.C. (2301 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, SE) and Whitman-Walker Clinic of Southern Maryland (7676 New Hampshire Avenue in Silver Spring). The Lesbian Health Clinic also opened and offered a wide range of gynecological and wellness services to lesbians and bisexual women in the region.
The Clinic's expansion efforts caused conflict with some other service groups. For example, in 1993 WWC applied for a million-dollar HIV/AIDS grant and competed for the grant against a coalition of primarily African-American service and outreach groups for it. The Clinic won the grant, angering some community leaders and activists who felt the city had discriminated against black organizations in favor of the white-led Clinic. Local community leaders also opposed the Clinic's expanding housing program, fearing for the health and safety of their communities.
Whitman-Walker adopted oral testing for HIV in 1993 before most major AIDS clinics in the U.S. That same year, WWC built the Elizabeth Taylor Medical Center, named in honor of actress and AIDS activist Dame Elizabeth Taylor. Taylor attended the building's opening ceremony.
Further expansion came in 1994 as the Northern Virginia AIDS (NOVAA) Project of Whitman-Walker Clinic grew and was formally renamed Whitman-Walker Clinic of Northern Virginia. The HIV testing and counseling program expanded to Max Robinson Center.
In 1995, the Clinic established a program under which patients could sell their life insurance policies to the organization in exchange for an annuity. Critics claimed that Whitman-Walker would benefit only if its patients died, making this a conflict of interest.
The 1997 AIDS Walk Washington was the organization's most successful Walk ever. About 25,000 people helped raise $1.7 million.
At the beginning of 1998, Washington AIDS Partnership awarded WWC with a $42,000 grant to expand the Clinic's Needle Exchange Program. The program conducted one-to-one syringe exchanges. The program counseled drug users, administered HIV tests and significantly reduced the transmission of HIV. Unfortunately, later that year, Congress passed a District budget with restrictions on federal funding for organizations conducting needle exchange programs. In response, an independent corporation was incorporated to fill the need: Prevention Works, Inc.
In early February 1998, WWC Legal Services and Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court Case of "Bragdon v. Abbott", a case of discrimination by a dentist to his patient who was HIV-positive. On June 25, 1998, the Supreme Court decided in favor of the patient. With the successful use of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), this case made it harder for doctors to justify discrimination against HIV-positive patients.
Jim Graham, long-time executive director of WWC, resigned at the end of 1998 to serve on the D.C. City Council representing Ward One. Graham’s replacement was Elliott Johnson, who came to the Clinic from the Los Angeles County Health Department. Johnson briefly served as executive director.
In 1999, the counseling and testing program went mobile with a van that provided testing at health fairs, festivals and bars. Whitman-Walker more than tripled its testing rates through this outreach. This program is still in effect today and supports the 10,000 free HIV tests that WWH administers annually.
2000s.
Cornelius Baker, an HIV-positive civil rights and HIV activist, was selected as executive director in January 2000.
Also in 2000, WWC renovated Elizabeth Taylor Medical Center to place nearly all client services under one roof.
That same year, the Rev. Jesse Jackson received an HIV test at Max Robinson Center as part of a campaign to encourage African-Americans to get tested.
Whitman-Walker played a fundamental role in organizing the National Coalition for LGBT Health along with 50 other local, state and national organizations. Cornelius Baker was named one of the first co-chairs of the Coalition.
As the HIV/AIDS epidemic entered the 21st Century, WWC was faced with a changing epidemic and difficult decisions. With improved medical treatment, HIV/AIDS patients began to live longer and required more services for longer periods of time. This change put an additional financial strain on the Clinic as it continued providing services to a growing patient base.
Simultaneously, funding problems began to beset the Clinic. Funding for the federal Ryan White CARE Act was frozen at its 2001 level for several years. Major fundraising events, such as the AIDS Ride (which went bankrupt) and the AIDS Walk (which saw reduced attendance in 2000 and 2001), were not successful.
In 2003, the Clinic began offering OraQuick's rapid oral HIV test, which gave results in 20 minutes. Whitman-Walker also instituted a sliding fee scale so that those who could afford to contribute to their care could do so.
2004 brought both good and bad news for WWC. The CDC and CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield helped the Clinic observe World AIDS Day, December 1, by providing funds for two new mobile HIV testing units. However, financial problems lead to the Schwartz Housing Program's closing and the transition of all housing clients to other providers.
Cornelius Baker resigned as executive director of WWC in December 2004, telling the "Washington Blade" the Clinic's financial difficulties had negatively impacted his health and citing other personal reasons for leaving.
In 2005, WWC opened medical and support services for the transgender community. Services include gynecological exams; STD screenings; chest and breast exams and self-exam instruction; hormone therapy; and mental health services.
In May 2005, WWC faced its biggest financial problem when it was unable to make payroll for the first time in its history. This cash crunch was brought on by the ongoing freeze in Ryan White CARE Act funding levels, reduced donations through special events and late payments from the D.C. government for services rendered.
At the same time, the Clinic discovered it had mistakenly overcharged funders for laboratory expenses. After an internal investigation confirmed the error, WWC immediately stopped billing for these services and notified all pertinent funders. This change further impacted revenue.
In early June, the Clinic announced that financial difficulties would force it to close several programs, including the Food Bank and the Clinic’s sites in Virginia and Maryland. Almost immediately, small donors, local governments and corporate partners offered financial support. The District of Columbia provided a one-time grant of $3.2 million. Government entities in Virginia pledged $800,000 to keep Whitman-Walker of Northern Virginia open through December 2006.
These funds enabled the Clinic to keep open the Food Bank and its residential addictions programs. However, Whitman-Walker Clinic of Suburban Maryland closed on September 30, 2005.
In late 2005, the Clinic’s Board of Directors adopted a raft of changes to ensure the future viability of WWC. Those changes included:
The expansion of services began in early 2006 and included a greater push for the Clinic to accept more private and public insurance plans. The Clinic also created a public benefits unit to screen new and existing patients for insurance and to enroll them in public assistance programs for which they qualified, such as Medicare, Medicaid and DC Healthcare Alliance.
On March 13, 2006, the WWC Board of Directors announced it was hiring Donald Blanchon to take over as executive director on May 1. Blanchon was formerly chief executive officer of Maryland Physicians Care (a managed care health plan in Maryland) and vice president for Medicaid and Medicare programs at Schaller Anderson (a medical management firm). Blanchon quickly announced his support for the Board's turnaround plan.
A week later, WWC announced it would sell its two properties on 14th Street and the Max Robinson Center in Anacostia in seeking to build new, larger medical treatment facilities in the two respective areas by 2009. However, these plans were ultimately shelved due to the downturn in the real estate market in the area.
In 2007, the Washington Free Clinic closed its doors due to financial problems. Whitman-Walker hired the staff of the Washington Free Clinic was hired by Whitman-Walker, allowing WWC to further expand the medical services it offered.
Over the next three years, WWC continued expanding its services to the community, through adding gynecological services, Hepatitis A and B specialty care, medical adherence services, and the hiring of additional providers.
In March 2007, the Bureau of Primary Health Care, part of the federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), gave WWC a “Federally Qualified Health Center Look-Alike” designation. The designation is only awarded to clinics that provide care to medically underserved communities and meet other stringent requirements. The benefits of this status include a higher Medicaid reimbursement rate.
Finally in 2007, WWC purchased and installed a state-of-the-art, computerized patient record-keeping system.
On January 11, 2008, Blanchon said the Clinic had almost completed its transformation into a primary care medical organization. Whitman-Walker hired Dr. Raymond Martins, assistant clinical professor of medicine at the Georgetown University School of Medicine, as its new chief medical officer, purchased and outsourced its financial management department. Although WWC laid off an unspecified number of employees due to the outsourcing, Blanchon said the Clinic was still the area's largest provider of HIV/AIDS education, prevention and treatment.
Whitman-Walker also began considering plans to improve and upgrade the Clinic’s facilities.
In June 2008, the Clinic sold its long-time headquarters at 1407 S Street, NW, to The JBG Companies for $8 million and moved its administrative staff into Elizabeth Taylor Medical Center at 14th Street, NW. Whitman-Walker used the proceeds to pay off $5 million in debts stemming from mortgages on its existing buildings.
The 2008 AIDS Walk was the Clinic's most successful in several years, raising $700,000. By year's end, the Clinic had served about 10,000 patients, of whom 3,400 were HIV-positive.
Nonetheless, WWC continued to face financial challenges. The global economic downturn in the fall of 2008 had a tremendous impact on revenue: Government reimbursements for medical care had not kept pace with inflation, promised funding from some sources were not delivered, donations had dropped by 29 percent, sales of medical services had decreased, and the number of patients without insurance had risen. The Clinic was forced to close Whitman-Walker Clinic of Northern Virginia and its BridgeBack residential addiction treatment center, and laid off 45 employees. Whitman-Walker also outsourced its pharmacy operations to Maxor National Pharmacy Services Corporation (a privately held, for-profit pharmacy management company based in Amarillo, Texas). The Clinic was also forced to close its mental health telephone hotline when city funding for the program was eliminated.
After a decade of financial struggle, WWC began seeing a turnaround in the second half of 2009. By the year's end, the Clinic’s $4 million loss in both 2007 and 2008 had been reduced more than 80 percent to a $650,000 loss.
The turnaround was attributed to several factors:
The creation of stable sources of revenue allowed WWC to decrease its dependency on government funding and private contributions, making it less vulnerable to economic downturns.
At the same time, WWC services continued to expand. Between 2006 and 2010, the Clinic more than doubled the number of health care providers on staff, including specialists in gynecology, Hepatitis and psychiatry.
2010s.
In early 2011, WWC announced that it had finished 2010 in the black, something it had not done in a decade. The two percent operating gain represented the third year in a row of financial progress and reflected a tremendous amount of hard work and sacrifice for WWC staff.
Whitman-Walker also saw a 30 percent increase in patients between 2009 and 2010.
In April, Whitman-Walker announced that it was changing its name to “Whitman-Walker Health” and unveiled a new logo and website.
In September, WWH completed extensive renovations of patient service areas in Elizabeth Taylor Medical Center, improving patient flow, expanding the size of the pharmacy, and bringing a new look to the lobby.
The year 2011 also brought some distinctions of merit to WWH, including the “Clinic of the Year” award from the Capital City Area Health Education Center and the Medical Society of the District of Columbia’s John Benjamin Nichols Award for Outstanding Contributions to Community Health. Whitman-Walker was also named one of 27 “Leaders in LGBT Healthcare Equality” in the nation by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.
In March 2012, WWH announced that 2011 had been a highly successful year:
Whitman-Walker marked the International AIDS Conference in July 2012 with "Return to Lisner," a community forum on HIV/AIDS held at the site of DC's first AIDS forum on April 4, 1983, also organized by Whitman-Walker. The July 24th forum drew hundreds to the Lisner Auditorium to hear speakers including Jeanne White-Ginder, the mother of Ryan White.
As 2013 began, Whitman-Walker announced the construction of a new medical home set to open in 2015. The new facility would be at 1525 14th Street, NW, about two blocks south of Elizabeth Taylor Medical Center. It would be leased to WWH.
In March 2013, WWH announced that it had ended 2012 with an unaudited $2.4 million surplus. This was the third consecutive year it had finished a year in the black. Whitman-Walker also ended 2012 with high patient satisfaction rates and high quality of care indicators.
Mautner Project, the National Lesbian Health Organization, a DC-based nonprofit focused on the health care needs of lesbian, bisexual and transgender women, joined WWH in a collaboration in June 2013. All of Mautner Project's programs and employees became a part of WWH, allowing Mautner's existing clients greater access to more health care services.
In 2014, WWH announced the name change of its annual AIDS Walk to The Walk to End HIV. The name change “reflects a cataclysmic shift to what HIV is today – a chronic, manageable disease,” said Don Blanchon at the time of the announcement. AIDS Walk Washington was the first AIDS Walk in the country to change its name and remove AIDS from the title.
2015 marked a new collaboration between the youth-serving organization Metro TeenAIDS (MTA) and WWH. Metro TeenAIDS became a part of WWH in February, maintaining all of MTA’s youth services and extending WWH’s service reach to young people.
In May 2015, WWH opened its state-of-the-art medical home at 1525 14th Street, NW. In comparison to Elizabeth Taylor Medical Center, the 42,000 square foot building doubled exam room space to 28, tripled dental chairs to nine and allowed for a street-facing pharmacy open to the whole community. With services spread over seven floors, the building (dubbed “1525”) houses primary medical care, dental care, behavioral health, legal services, wellness programs, and HIV counseling and testing. Administration staff continues to work out of Elizabeth Taylor Medical Center, and some programs continue to be housed there.
In June, WWH announced that after the completion of a two-year planning and assessment process, its Board of Directors had decided to redevelop the Elizabeth Taylor Medical Center site with Streetscape via a joint venture partnership model. Whitman-Walker will be the majority owner of the joint venture and will retain major decision-making rights over key issues such as future programming/uses of the site.


Piet Jongeling

 Pieter "Piet" Jongeling (31 March 1909 in Broeksterwâld - 26 August 1985 in Amersfoort), also known by the pen name Piet Prins, was a Dutch politician and author of children's books. He was a member of the Reformed Political League (GPV) and of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands.
Journalism.
Jongeling worked as a journalist for the anti-revolutionary newspaper "Nieuwe Provinciale Groninger Courant". In 1941, during the German occupation, the publication was banned, and in 1942, Jongeling was sent to the Amersfoort concentration camp, later being transferred to Sachsenhausen. After the war, Jongeling became editor of "Nieuwe Provinciale Groninger Courant", but later left to become editor of "De Vrije Kerk".
Politics.
Jongeling was a member of the Anti-Revolutionary Party, but left when the Reformed Political League (GPV) split off from the ARP. The GPV was associated with the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (Liberated), which had formed in 1944. Jongeling was elected to the House of Representatives in 1963, and served until 1977 as leader of the GPV.
Jongeling was a supporter of the Dutch monarchy and opposed the legalization of abortion.
Children's books.
Jongeling wrote a number of children's books under the pen name "Piet Prins." Most famous among there are the "Scout" series ("Snuf" in the original Dutch). Other series include "The Four Adventurers" and "Wambu".
The books have been translated into English. by Harry der Nederlanden or James C. van Oosterom. The books were frequently illustrated by Jaap Kramer.
"Scout" Series
"Shadow" Series
"Sheltie" Series
"Struggle" Series
"The Four Adventurers" Series
"Wambu" Series
Other books:


Suraksha Clinic

Suraksha Clinic (formerly Designated STI/RTI Clinics)are a chain of STI/RTI Clinics. These clinics are established by National AIDS Control Organisation for the better health services and for the prevention of HIV/AIDS in India.
History.
Suraksha Clinic were established in 71 District Hospitals, 10 Medical Colleges and 5 District Female Hospitals in the state.
These clinics are associated with the dermatology department in these Govt. hospitals and Govt. medical colleges so as to cater the need of prevention of sexually transmitted infections and reproductive tract infections.
Services.
These clinics serve the purpose of controlling the pandemics such as HIV, herpes, gonorrhea, syphilis, chlamydia, genital warts etc. The Doctor in the clinic refers for the blood test to check the disease. Before the blood samples are taken the candidate/person is given counselling by the counsellers in the clinics where the general details of name, educational nullification, occupation, address, contact no., reason of doubt of infection etc. are noted down which are kept confidential and are used as statics for further research and development purpose. The blood samples are taken empty stomach before half day and then sent for report preparation.
After the reports come the candidate is again counselled depending upon his blood status i.e. reactive or non reactive.
Success.
As these clinics are associated with dermatology department the patients do not feel hesitated in explaining their troubles.
Challenges faced.
Due to the Government of India Supreme Court of India law Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code causes troubles in enforcing the effectiveness of this health concerned program to high risk targeted groups.


William Binchy

William Binchy is an Irish lawyer. He was the Regius Professor of Laws at Trinity College, Dublin from 1992 to 2012.
Education.
Binchy was educated at University College Dublin. He is a Barrister-at-Law and practised at the Irish Bar from 1968-70.
Legal career.
He was a Research Counsellor to the Irish Law Reform Commission and special legal advisor on family law reform to the Department of Justice. He has been a consultant to the Department of Foreign Affairs and represented Ireland at the Hague Conference on Private International Law. Professor Binchy is a member of the Irish Human Rights Commission. He specialises in private international law, the law of torts and family law. In 2010, he was made an Honorary Bencher of the Honourable Society of King's Inns.
He has been involved in a number of campaigns in connection with proposed amendments to the Constitution of Ireland. In particular, he campaigned:
Since 2012, he has returned to the Irish bar.
and now holds a Professoriate Emeritus at Trinity College Dublin.
Personal life.
His uncle was the historian D. A. Binchy. He is the brother of novelist Maeve Binchy. His daughter is the RTÉ producer and former "College Tribune" editor Sarah Binchy.
Publications.
Binchy is one of Ireland's most respected legal researchers and has published books in a variety of areas.


Justin Hayford

Justin Hayford (born March 11, 1970) is a Chicago-based singer and pianist. He performs jazz and cabaret music and specializes in reviving obscure and forgotten songs from the past. Justin writes and presents cabaret shows at various venues in Chicago, and has released a number of albums.
He also worked as Case Manager of the Legal Council for Health Justice from 1991 through at least 2017, and wrote theater reviews for the Chicago Reader newspaper from 1987 until 2019.
Biography.
Justin Hayford was born in Rochester, New York, on March 11, 1970.
The roots of Justin's musical talent are to be sought in his family: many of his family members are musicians. His mother, Charlotte Cain, and her two sisters formed a close-harmony singing group called The Cain Sisters, who sang on the Chicago radio station WLS in their own show, and later performed on NBC Radio. Charlotte's father, Noble Cain, was the choral director at Northwestern University, as well as the musical director at NBC Radio and a well known composer of a cappella music. Justin's father, John Hayford, plays the piano, clarinet and trombone, although this is not his main occupation.
Justin grew up in an environment where music was greatly appreciated, which formed his own appreciation of music. He, however, felt insecure about his musical skills. He was the only one in his family who did not get formal musical training. He taught himself to play the piano using the piano at his home, but he disliked singing. Trying to avoid all possibilities for a musical career, he started pursuing a degree in astrophysics at Northwestern University. He later switched to mathematical studies and subsequently moved on to a department called Interpretation which deals with the analysis and performance of literature. Eventually, he earned a master's degree in Interpretation.
That field of study drew him to the theater. Justin and his acquaintance Audrey Heller formed a group called Industrial Theater, and the two started creating original evening-length image-based performance pieces which examined contemporary social anxieties.
At that time Justin took an interest in the problems of people suffering from AIDS. He began volunteering at the AIDS Legal Council of Chicago (later renamed to Legal Council for Health Justice) which protects the rights of people living with HIV and AIDS and provides free legal services to them. Justin spent a year there as a volunteer and was then promoted to the position of case manager. He worked at the Legal Council through at least 2017, advocating for people who have been discriminated against, fighting to secure their public benefits, helping them prepare the estate planning documents, struggling to secure green cards or asylum for recent legal immigrants.
Shortly after taking the job with the Legal Council Justin recommenced his musical pursuits. He started playing an electric piano as a means of recreation and relaxation. By continuous practice Justin gradually discovered the basics of music theory by himself, becoming more and more skillful by learning from his mistakes.
After learning about jazz chords for several years, Justin tentatively began to sing while he played. Initially, those attempts produced unsatisfactory results, but Justin persisted and achieved improvement. Justin got familiar with and started to admire the music of Matt Dennis, an American singer and pianist, whose voice was not very powerful but he used it to great effect. Justin found a resemblance between his voice and Dennis’ voice, so he saw in Dennis a model from which he could learn.
From that moment on Justin began to search out little known songs from the 1930s and 1940s and performed them before his friends. His first cabaret performance happened in Chicago at his birthday party. He performed 16 songs for an audience of about 30 people. Later Justin started performing in a piano bar on a regular basis which helped him develop his distinctive style. After that Justin began creating full-length cabaret shows and presenting them at Davenport's Piano Bar & Cabaret in Chicago.
Music.
Style.
Justin's main musical interest is in little-known songs from the Great American Songbook by composers such as Cole Porter, Frank Loesser, Bobby Troup. Justin revives songs that were forgotten a long time ago or that never became popular when they were created. Thus he rescues dozens of songs from undeserved obscurity. He believes that many of these overlooked songs are valuable and should not have sunk into oblivion.
The main feature of Justin's performances is understatement, i.e. singing quietly, withholding a lot, avoiding everything pushy and showy, communicating with the audience in an easy and relaxed manner, instead of trying to dominate.
Justin's style is to some extent an opposition to what he finds negative in the typical jazz singing. He believes that the song must stay in the foreground, while the singer must remain in the background. Unlike many jazz singers, he does not try to impress the audience with vocal virtuosity, but puts the emphasis on the beauty of the melody and lyrics of the song.Justin says he is not a typical musician in the sense that he does not make special efforts to gain popularity or sell his records. He cherishes music too much to turn it into his job. For this reason his main occupation continues to be his legal work.
Recordings.
Justin has recorded at least four albums for Lee Lessack's LML Music label, which was dedicated to cabaret, jazz and Broadway music. All four albums are collections of little-known old songs.
For these albums, Justin worked with the bassist Jim Cox and the drummer Phil Gratteau, and sometimes with additional musicians.
Awards and recognition.
In 2001 After Dark Chicago Magazine gave Justin its "Outstanding Cabaret Artist" Award.


HIV/AIDS in New Zealand

There is a relatively low prevalence of HIV/AIDS in New Zealand, with an estimated 2,900 people out a population of 4.51 million living with HIV/AIDS as of 2014. The rate of newly diagnosed HIV infections was stable at around 100 annually through the late 1980s and the 1990s but rose sharply from 2000 to 2005. It has since stabilised at roughly 200 new cases annually. Male-to-male sexual contact has been the largest contributor to new HIV cases in New Zealand since record began in 1985. Heterosexual contact is the second largest contributor to new cases, but unlike male-to-male contact, they are mostly acquired outside New Zealand.
In 2018 the New Zealand Government reported a “major reduction” in the number of people diagnosed with HIV.
The first recorded death in New Zealand due to AIDS was in New Plymouth in 1983.
In 1985 Eve van Grafhorst was ostracised in Australia since she had contracted HIV/AIDS caused by a transfusion of infected blood. The family moved to New Zealand where she died at the age of 11. By the time of her death, her plight had significantly raised the level of AIDS awareness in New Zealand.
World AIDS Day is observed in New Zealand.
Organisations.
The Ministry of Health is the government department which deals with health issues, including HIV/AIDS.
The New Zealand AIDS Foundation is a registered charitable trust which focuses on prevention of AIDS in the most at-risk group, namely men who have sex with men.
Other organisations that assist with people living with HIV are as follows:
Body Positive provides rapid HIV tests and support for people who are positive.
Positive Women. This service looks after women who are HIV positive.
There are many other places that offer similar services including the Burnett Center, INA Foundation, New Zealand Prostitutes Collective, Family Planning and Sexual Health Clinics.
Antiretroviral medications.
The Pharmaceutical Management Agency (Pharmac) manages the national schedule of subsidised medications. As of 2014, twenty-one different antiretroviral medications were subsidised for people with confirmed HIV/AIDS or for post-exposure prophylaxis.
In March 2018, New Zealand became one of the first countries in the world to publicly fund pre-exposure prophylaxis medication for those at a high risk of contracting HIV.


List of lesbian feminist organizations

A list of notable lesbian feminist organizations.


Chen Din Hwa

Chen Din-hwa (; 1923 – 17 June 2012), was a Hong Kong industrial tycoon, billionaire and philanthropist. He was known as the "King of Cotton Yarn" in Hong Kong.
Life and career.
Chen was born in Ningbo, Zhejiang, Republic of China in 1923. His family was poor and he left school at the age of 12 to serve as an apprentice to a silk merchant. His father was reportedly a Shanghai-based industrialist, mainly in textiles. When Chen was 22 years old, he was already chief manager of his family business and owned several shops and factories in Shanghai and Ningbo. In 1949, Chen's family shifted to Hong Kong and set up in business there. He set up a successful cotton-yarn maker called Nan Fung Mill.
In 1954, he established Nan Fung Textiles, becoming chairman, and Nan Fung Development Limited. The company also developed interests in shipping.
When diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2009, Chen handed over control of his business to his younger daughter Vivien Chen, who had been part of the business since 1981. In 2010, his wife Yang Foo Oi and elder daughter Angela, a trained architect who lived in the United States and now in Hong Kong, sued younger daughter Vivian, alleging that Chen was misled into transferring assets to a trust fund controlled by Vivian. Yang divorced him in 2011.
Chen died on 17 June 2012 at the age of 89, reportedly of prostate cancer. At his death he was ranked by Forbes as the 14th wealthiest person in Hong Kong, with a net worth of US$2.6 billion, though earlier in his career he had been among the top ten.
Family and personal life.
Chen was married to Yang Foo Oi until 2011, when the couple divorced. They had two daughters. As a devout Buddhist, Chen founded the eponymous D.H. Chen Foundation, which provides charity services in education, welfare and medicine.