California
Ed Buck sentenced to 30 years in drug overdose deaths of Black gay men
“Buck used his money and privilege to exploit his victims, who were unhoused, destitute, and/or struggling with addiction”

LOS ANGELES – U.S. District Judge Christina A. Snyder on Thursday sentenced former West Hollywood resident and LGBTQ+ activist Ed Buck, 67, to 30 years in a federal prison for supplying the methamphetamine that killed two gay Black men at his Laurel Avenue flat.
“Buck used his money and privilege to exploit the wealth and power imbalances between himself and his victims, who were unhoused, destitute, and/or struggling with addiction,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Chelsea Norell said in court documents filed in the case. “He spent thousands of dollars on drugs and party and play sessions that destroyed lives and bred insidious addictions.”
Buck — who had donated more than $500,000 to mostly Democratic causes and served in 2016 as one of California’s Electoral College members, along with activism on LGBTQ+ issues, had seemingly escaped justice until local activists including journalist Jasmyne Cannick, a longtime community activist, were able to get the federal case initiated, which was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI. The investigation was also conducted with the support of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force.
Then L.A. County District Attorney Jackie Lacey had declined to prosecute Buck at first citing a lack of evidence.
Hey y’all! We did it. By now I’m sure you heard that #EdBuck was sentenced to 30 years in prison. There’s so much I wanna say, so many people to thank you. Lots of emotions right now. Imma start with a drink and get back to you later. For now thank you everyone! ❤️❤️❤️
— Jasmyne Cannick (@Jasmyne) April 14, 2022
Barely four and a half hours after being handed his case for deliberations, a federal grand jury last July convicted Buck on the nine-count indictment of charges he supplied the methamphetamine that killed Gemmel Moore in 2017 and Timothy Dean in 2019 during ‘party-and-play’ encounters at his flat.
The verdict concluded a two-week trial that featured harrowing testimony of Buck’s accusers and victims which was shocking. Prosecutor’s use of Buck’s seized videos offered jurors a disturbingly graphic look at the chilling indifference displayed by Buck as he victimized those unfortunate to enter his flat.
Buck would solicit his victims on social media platforms, including Grinder, and on Adam4Adam, a gay hook-up site. Buck’s profile solicited men who shared his underwear fetish and wanted to “party and play.” His profile also contained a ‘Rose’ emoji which symbolized that he was generous or in plain terms, willing to pay cash for his “party and play.”
Jurors heard testimony from several of the Black men victimized that Buck’s preference was to personally inject victims, and he pressured or incentivized victims to let him do so, sometimes offering large cash bonuses to coerce a victim to agree to an injection or additional injections. At other times, Buck simply injected victims while they were unconscious.
“I know this has been an arduous, lengthy and difficult process,” U.S. District Judge Christine A. Snyder told jurors after she read the verdict.
Federal prosecutors said Ed Buck’s unrelenting fervor to satisfy a fetish by preying on vulnerable men, often young and Black, is reason enough to keep him behind bars for the rest of his life. https://t.co/8F87tdBocE
— CBS News (@CBSNews) April 14, 2022
An acquittal motion denied by Judge Snyder last week had argued that the only evidence that Buck distributed methamphetamine and other drugs at his apartment was bolstered by “the testimony of a parade of financially motivated houseless individuals” and drug addicts and should not have been believed, defense attorneys said.

California
LA’s first lesbian fire chief fired
Mayor Karen Bass dismissed Kristin Crowley on Feb. 21

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass fired Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley who served as not only the first woman, but also the first openly out fire chief, after receiving pushback after the Palisades fire.
Bass issued a statement at noon on Feb. 21 ahead of the press conference regarding Crowley’s immediate removal.
“Acting in the best interests of Los Angeles’ public safety, and for the operations of the Los Angeles Fire Department, I have removed Kristin Crowley as fire chief,” said Bass. “We know that 1,000 firefighters that could have been on duty on the morning the fires broke out were instead sent home on Chief Crowley’s watch.
This move comes after Bass and Crowley disagreed on tensions surrounding the blame for the fires back in January. Crowley blamed Bass for budget cuts that she says impacted their response time for the Palisades fire that caused thousands of structures to be damaged and destroyed. Shortly after, Crowley spoke to the media regarding budget cuts approved by Bass, a petition for the removal of Bass as mayor began circulating and received 172,137 verified signatures.
Bass summoned Crowley into her quarters on Jan. 10, where they met for quite a while, where rumors began to circulate about Crowley being fired.
Bass is claiming that Crowley did not alert or warn her of the incoming windstorm that was widely expected and publicized days in advance of Jan. 7, making the ideal conditions for fires to start in the high-risk areas of Pacific Palisades and Eaton Canyon.
“Furthermore, a necessary step to an investigation was the president of the Fire Commission telling Chief Crowley to do an after action report on the fires. The chief refused. These require her removal. The heroism of our firefighters — during the Palisades fire and every single day — is without question. Bringing new leadership to the Fire Department is what our city needs.”
Former Chief Deputy Ronnie Villanueva will serve as interim fire chief. Villanueva is a Latino leader with over 40 years of experience in the LAFD. He will serve as interim chief as the search for the next fire chief is now underway.
California
Los Angeles Blade names new publisher
Alexander Rodriguez brings deep media, business experience to outlet

The Los Angeles Blade, Southern California’s leading LGBTQ news outlet, today announced the appointment of a new publisher, Alexander Rodriguez.
Rodriguez has a long background in queer media, business development, and a deep commitment to the Los Angeles community. He has worked as a lead writer and podcast host for Metrosource Magazine and for GED Magazine; content director for FleshBot Gay; and as host and producer for the “On the Rocks” podcast. On the business side, Rodriguez spent years working in business development in the banking industry throughout Los Angeles. He also has an extensive background in event planning and management and has served on the boards of many LGBTQ non-profits. As a TV and radio personality, he has served as emcee for LGBTQ events around the nation.
“I’m excited to bring my diverse media and business experience to the Los Angeles Blade,” Rodriguez said. “We will continue the Blade’s mission of serving as our community’s news outlet of record during these challenging times and work toward building bridges within our community and beyond.”
Rodriguez starts in his new role on Monday, Feb. 3.
“We are thrilled to welcome Alexander to the Blade team,” said Kevin Naff, one of the owners of the Los Angeles Blade. “His multimedia and business side experience will help us grow the Blade in L.A. and continue our commitment to best-in-class journalism serving the LGBTQ community in Southern California.”
Rodriguez becomes the Los Angeles Blade’s second publisher following the unexpected death of founding publisher Troy Masters in December. Masters served in the role for nearly eight years. The community will come together for a celebration of Masters’s life on Monday, Feb. 10, 7-9 p.m. at the Abbey.
“Troy’s legacy is in good hands with Alexander at the helm alongside our new local news editor, Gisselle Palomera,” Naff added.
The Los Angeles Blade, launched in 2017, celebrates its eighth anniversary in March. It is the sister publication of the Washington Blade, founded in 1969, which offers unmatched coverage of queer political news and is the only LGBTQ outlet in the White House press pool and the White House Correspondents’ Association, and the only LGBTQ outlet with a dedicated seat in the White House briefing room.
Alexander Rodriguez can be reached at [email protected].
California
LGBTQ journalists convene in Los Angeles for largest-ever NLGJA conference
NLGJA hits Hollywood: Empowering diverse voices in media

This weekend, the heat wasn’t the only thing taking over Los Angeles. NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists was hosting its convention in Hollywood. This weekend was slated to be the biggest and most attended conference NLGJA has ever seen.
The NLGJA conference is hosted annually in a different city, focusing on uplifting and supporting LGBTQ journalists who have often been overlooked in newsrooms across the U.S. This year it’s in Los Angeles at the Loews Hollywood Hotel, right off the famous Hollywood Boulevard. The conference has an extensive range of events including networking meetings, panel discussions with LGBTQ media giants and workshops, all designed to aid LGBTQ journalists.
The mission of NLGJA is to “advance fair and accurate coverage of LGBTQ+ communities and issues” and “promote diverse and inclusive workplaces.” NLGJA has worked toward this mission since 1990, when Leroy F. Aarons founded the association.
Los Angeles last hosted the conference in 2003, the year discrimination protections for sexual orientation and gender identity expression became state law. It was held at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel that year and attendance included more than 500 journalists from around the nation.
The city has a vibrant gay scene — West Hollywood (often referred to as WeHo) has more than 40 percent of residents identifying within the LGBTQ community, holds the record for the earliest lesbian publication in the U.S. with Vice Versa in 1947, and hosted the first Pride parade in the U.S. (alongside New York and Chicago.)
This year has a long lineup of convention speakers touching on multiple themes. The lineup includes actors Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Zachary Quinto, who will talk about their upcoming projects; CNN national news correspondent David Culver to discuss accurate social media reporting; Los Angeles Times reporter Tracy Brown to dissect pop culture reporting; and many more.
The conference talks cover a wide variety of topics, but all center around maximizing coverage of LGBTQ communities in traditional and new age media. Other key topics include how and why outlets need to diversify newsrooms as well as how to properly cover the ongoing and nuanced fight for transgender rights in America.
Besides professional talks, the conference offers LGBTQ journalists a way to strengthen their community, much of which is achieved outside the conference halls. One way the conference does this is by hosting a “night OUT” at a local gay bar where discussions of journalist-source relations, how to navigate being the only queer person in the newsroom, and what to say to allies when they begin to encroach on unfriendly rhetoric are just some of the topics that can be heard from attendees.
In addition to talks and community building, the conference is giving out awards to LGBTQ journalists who have made significant contributions to the coverage of LGBTQ issues in the past year. Awardees include popular social media journalist Erin Reed, the Texas Newsroom’s Lauren McGaughy, “Journalist of the Year” Steven Romo and many more.
This conference is crucial for the ongoing professional development of LGBTQ journalists, providing a unique opportunity to connect with peers, share experiences and gain insights from others within their community.
For more information, visit NLGJA’s website at www.nlgja.org.
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