Author: Randy Slovacek

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Robert Heyges, of ‘Welcome Back, Kotter’ fame passes away

1970s TV sitcom star Robert Heyges – of ‘Welcome Back, Kotter’ – passed away today.

Heyges, who played Jewish Puerto Rican wheeler-dealer Juan Luis Pedro Phillipo de Huevos Epstein on the 1970s classic “Welcome Back Kotter,” died from an apparent heart attack after suffering chest pains at his Metuchen home this morning. He was 60.

Hegyes, who also co-starred on “Cagney and Lacey” and taught occasional master classes at his alma mater, Rowan University, was best known for his work on “Kotter,” in which he performed alongside a young John Travolta as one of the tough remedial students known at the Sweathogs. Hegyes and nearly all of the original cast members reunited last year at the TV Land Awards to recognize the show’s 35th anniversary.

Watch Robert and fellow cast members on Good Morning America here.

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Washington state marriage equality bill moves forward

A Senate committee on Thursday approved a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in Washington state, moving the measure one step closer to passage.

The Government Operations, Tribal Relations & Elections Committee approved the measure with a 4-3 voice vote split on party lines. The bill is expected to head to a floor vote next, though a date has not yet been determined.

Several Republican amendments were rejected, including one that would have required that the measure be sent to the November ballot.

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Minimal Marvel comic book character posters

Love the idea of minimalist reinterpretations – stripping icons to their barest elements and still being recongnizable to a mass audience.

Enter Marko Manev’s series of minimalist Marvel posters, which includes icons such as Spider-Man, Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, The Incredible Hulk, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, The Thing, Silver Surfer, and more.

Spider Man

Iron Man

The Human Torch
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Maryland State Bar endorses marriage equality

The Maryland State Bar Association has announced its endorsement of a same-sex marriage bill sponsored by Democratic Gov. Martin O’Malley.

“I could not be prouder of our endorsement, which while protective of religious sensibilities and prerogatives, clearly and emphatically extends those civil rights embodied in our fundamental belief that ‘all men are created equal’ — and not simply ‘all heterosexual persons are created equal’ — to our entire citizenry,” said Maryland State Bar Association President Henry E. Dugan Jr. in a statement.

The bill is scheduled for a formal hearing before the Senate on Tuesday.

The Senate passed marriage legislation last year, but the the Maryland House of Delegates didn’t have enough votes to pass the measure.

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Marriage equality back on the ballot in Maine for 2012

This afternoon, EqualityMaine and GLAD will deliver over 100,000 signatures to Maine’s Secretary of State that will put the freedom to marry on the ballot this November.

Marriage advocates in Maine have worked hard to reach this point, knocking on thousands of doors, having conversations and changing hearts and minds around the state. Once the signatures are delivered today, Maine will become the first state to ever proactively pursue marriage for same-sex couples via a ballot initiative.

Freedom To Marry’s Evan Wolfson released this statement this morning:

“Over the past few years, marriage supporters have knocked on doors, chatted around kitchen tables and in church basements, and talked with their neighbors about their lives, loved ones, and kin, and why marriage matters. Mainers have seen that same-sex couples and their families, like all other families, are working their hardest to take care of their families in tough economic times, sharing in life’s joys and challenges, and doing the work of marriage day to day. That’s why a solid majority of Mainers have opened their hearts and made up their minds in support of the freedom to marry. And while a minority should never have to ask the majority to vote on whether all of us should have the same freedoms under the law, because of how the law and politics work in Maine, this is the only path forward for couples seeking to share in the legal commitment of marriage.”

A lot has changed in Maine since 2009 when a marriage bill passed in the Legislature and was narrowly overturned on the ballot in November. Thanks to the smart work of EqualityMaine and GLAD, public support for the freedom to marry has risen from approximately 48 percent to 54 percent.