Local
Vandalism of Blade boxes, theft of papers continues
Excrement placed in boxes in Dupont Circle, 17th Street area
Vandals appear to have stepped up their attacks on Blade distribution boxes. (Washington Blade photo)
Unidentified perpetrators are emptying some of the Washington Blade’s newspaper distribution boxes of papers on the day they are delivered and vandalizing others by smearing human excrement on the papers and the inside surfaces, preventing readers from gaining access to the Blade in locations throughout the city.
Blade publisher Lynne Brown said that while the bulk theft of the papers and the vandalism of the boxes have been taking place for the past two years, the frequency and intensity of the incidents appear to have increased during Thanksgiving week.
“We restock and clean as fast as possible,” Brown said. “But there’s a loss of property. This is our product. It’s being destroyed,” she said. “And the confidence of our readers is being challenged.”
John Ryan, co-owner of Media Point LLC, a newspaper distribution company that delivers the Blade each week to the street boxes and other locations, such as bars, bookstores and restaurants, said his drivers remove the boxes soiled by excrement and take them to a company warehouse, where they are steam cleaned.
Ryan said during the past month or two, the unidentified perpetrator or perpetrators have repeatedly targeted Blade boxes on 17th Street outside some of the neighborhood’s popular bars and restaurants, including the gay bar Colbalt at 17th and R streets, N.W.
“I don’t know how they are getting it into the box, but it’s the fifth time with these boxes that we’ve had to pull them off the street and clean them and put them back,” he said in referring to the boxes smeared with excrement.
“We’re at wit’s end as far as that goes because that is a nasty job as you can imagine,” he said.
“And three days later they’re doing it again, and we have to pick them back up,” said Media Point supervisor Richard Goldsmith, who is in charge of the Blade distribution operation.
D.C. police spokesperson Gwendolyn Crump said earlier this year that the department is “very committed” to addressing reports of vandalism of newspaper boxes. But Crump and other police officials have said the U.S. Attorney’s office has determined that it’s not a crime to take a free newspaper, even large quantities of the paper.
Maryland and other states have passed laws that make it a crime to remove large quantities of free newspapers if the intent is to deprive others from reading them or obtaining them. D.C. has yet to adopt such a law, police officials have said.
Brown said that with the vandalism appearing to be increasing, she plans to more aggressively report the incidents to police at the time the delivery drivers discover the damaged boxes.
According to Brown and Ryan, in addition to the excrement smearing, vandals have started to smash the plastic window on the boxes and break off a clip that holds one copy of the paper against the window so readers can read the headlines and determine if a new issue has been delivered.
Ryan and Goldsmith said they take steps to repair and replace the broken windows and clips on the boxes as fast as they can, but in certain locations the vandals return and break them almost as soon as the repaired boxes are put back on the street.
“If a hate crime is a factor, one of my concerns is what if a reader is taking a Blade out and this hateful, spiteful person who’s kicking out the window on the box decides to attack a Blade reader,” Brown said.
Virginia
Parades, community events held to mark Pride Month in Va.
Upwards of 30,000 people attended PrideFest in Norfolk on June 22
Activists across Virginia last month held a series of events to mark Pride Month.
Hampton Roads Pride, a volunteer-run organization founded in 1997, held 37 different Pride events throughout the region in June.
Their biggest event, PrideFest, which is part of their larger three day event, Pride Weekend, celebrated its 36th anniversary on June 22. Pride Weekend took place from June 21-23 and began with a block party at NorVa in Norfolk.
PrideFest took place at Town Point Park, and an estimated 30,000 people attended. More than 70 venders participated, while Todrick Hall and Mariah Counts are among those who performed.
Another PrideFest event with a DJ in the afternoon and live music at night took place in Virginia Beach on June 23. Congressman Bobby Scott and U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) are among those who attended Pride events in Suffolk on June 30.
Norfolk Mayor Kenneth Alexander, along with members of the Norfolk and Virginia Beach City Councils, also attended the Pride events in their respective cities. Jamar Walker, the first openly gay federal judge in Virginia, also took part.
“You know people all throughout Pride Month, at all of our various events, tell me all kinds of stories about their own experiences and the past of this community … and some of our older folks especially, remember when we couldn’t have this,” Hampton Roads Pride President Jeff Ryder told the Washington Blade on Monday during a telephone interview.
“It was a great year,” he added. “It was a big achievement for us to have unique celebrations in each of our seven communities. Each of these cities is so different from one another, but to be able to create a Pride celebration that’s unique in each of those places was really great, and I think really well received by folks who may not have felt represented previously. We’re always trying to do better, to embrace every aspect of our community, and take a big step forward there this year.”
State Dels. Adele McClure (D-Arlington County) and Alfonso Lopez (D-Arlington County) are among those who spoke at Arlington Pride that took place at Long Bridge Park on June 29. The Fredericksburg Pride march and festival took place the same day at Riverfront Park in Fredericksburg.
Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin on June 10 hosted a Pride Month reception in Richmond.
Youngkin in previous years has hosted Pride Month receptions, even though Equality Virginia and other advocacy groups have criticized him for supporting anti-LGBTQ bills.
The Republican governor in March signed a bill that codified marriage equality in Virginia. Youngkin last month vetoed a measure that would have expanded the definition of bullying in the state.
Baltimore
Baltimore street named in honor of trans activist
Iya Dammons is founder of support groups Safe Haven in Baltimore, D.C.
Baltimore city officials and LGBTQ activists participated in a ceremony on June 29 officially dedicating the renaming of a street in honor of transgender woman Iya Dammons, who founded and serves as executive director of the LGBTQ services organization Maryland Safe Haven.
A section of Baltimore’s 21st Street at the intersection of North Charles Street, where the Maryland Safe Haven offices are located, has been renamed Iya Dammons Way.
The ceremony took place six years after Dammons founded Maryland Safe Haven in 2018 and one year after she launched a Safe Haven operation in D.C.in 2023 located at 331 H St., N.E.
A statement on its website says Safe Haven provides a wide range of supportive services for LGBTQ people in need, with a special outreach to Black trans women “navigating survival mode” living.
“Through compassionate harm reduction and upward mobility services, advocacy support, and community engagement, we foster a respectful, non-judgmental environment that empowers individual agency,” the statement says. “Our programs encompass community outreach, a drop-in center providing HIV testing, harm reduction, PrEP, medical linkage, case management, and assistance in accessing housing services,” it says.
Among those participating in the street renaming ceremony were Baltimore City Council member Zeke Cohen, interim director of Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs Alexis Blackmon, and Dominique Morgan, an official with the national foundation Borealis Philanthropy, which provides financial support for transgender supportive nonprofit organizations, including Safe Haven.
“This is a significant achievement and historic moment for our city,” a statement by Maryland Safe Haven announcing the ceremony says. “Iya Dammons has been a tireless advocate for transgender rights and has worked tirelessly to provide safe spaces and resources for transgender individuals in our city,” it says. “This honor is well-deserved, and we are thrilled to see her contributions recognized in such a meaningful way.”
Baltimore
Despite record crowds, Baltimore Pride’s LGBTQ critics say organizers dropped the ball
People on social media expressed concern about block party stampede
BY JOHN-JOHN WILLIAMS IV | This year’s Baltimore Pride Week attracted 150,000 people — record attendance that far exceeded initial projections of 100,000.
But some see room for improvement and want organizers to address safety issues and make changes so the annual event that celebrates the LGBTQ population is better run.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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