LGBTQ news and entertainment
More than a million people who live in New York state identify as LGBTQ as the queer community’s population continues to increase, according to a New York State Department of Health survey. Continue reading “Report: Over A Million New Yorkers Identify As LGBTQ”
Some news items you might have missed: • The Advocate: Caitlyn Jenner, one of the most famous transgender people in the world and who has previously identified as a woman, says trans women aren’t “real women.” Continue reading “Caitlyn Jenner: Trans Women “Aren’t Really Women” + More News”
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (photo: Flickr/Shawn – CC license)
A high school senior in upstate New York is raising his voice after being told he couldn’t mention being gay as part of a ‘Senior Spotlight’ in the school newspaper due to a school policy – that apparently doesn’t exist. Continue reading “Student Told He Couldn’t Mention Being Gay Due To Non-Existent Policy”
In case you missed it, the COVID-19 pandemic is NOT going in the right direction, especially in New York. Continue reading “NYC COVID-19 Surge Shuts Down Several Broadway Shows, Rockettes”
In her first remarks since New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced his resignation amid allegations of sexual harassment, Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul said today there will be “turnover” when she becomes governor. Continue reading “Hochul Promises As Governor Of NY State Her Office Will Not Be ‘Toxic’”
From the New York Times:
With 70 percent of adults in New York having received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said on Tuesday that effective immediately the state was ready to “return to life as we know it.” Nearly all restrictions on businesses and social gatherings have been eliminated, he announced at a news conference.
The changes, which will take effect immediately, mark yet another milestone in the economic recovery of a state that was once an epicenter of the pandemic, and are expected to bring back the type of scenes familiar to most New Yorkers in pre-pandemic times.
With the order, the state, in most cases, will end capacity limits and no longer require social distancing, disinfection protocols and health screenings, instead making it optional for businesses to impose such health precautions on their premises.
Today New York State reached our goal of 70% adult vaccination. That means we can return to life as we know it. Effective immediately, state-mandated COVID restrictions are lifted across commercial and social settings. pic.twitter.com/sMdqkSJ6h5
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) June 15, 2021
Craig Ramsay (photo: Nathan Cox)
• Broadway: Want to watch a Broadway legend dazzle on stage for an incredible cause? On July 10, theater fans will be able to watch Bernadette Peters in a never-before-seen-online concert to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. The 2009 performance, Bernadette Peters: A Special Concert. will be free to stream here at 8pm ET. Donations are encouraged but not required for viewing. • CBS News: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has announced that indoor dining won’t be allowed to resume when New York City reaches Phase 3 of reopening next week. It will be delayed “until the facts change and it is prudent to open,” he said. • The Independent: After more than 48K new cases of coronavirus in the US were announced on Tuesday (the highest number since the pandemic began), Donald Trump repeated his belief that the coronavirus is going to “just disappear.” “I think we’re gonna be very good with the coronavirus. I think that at some point that’s going to, sort of, just disappear — I hope,” Mr. Trump told Fox Business on Wednesday.
Unbelievable. He’s still doing it. Trump is still – TODAY – claiming that the virus is going to magically disappear. I cannot believe that a human being could be this obtuse.pic.twitter.com/39lMlr6zGX
— Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) July 1, 2020
L-R Mondaire Jones, Ritchie Torres (images via campaigns)
“Voters in the Bronx rejected the politics of bigotry and instead put Ritchie on track to become the first openly LGBTQ Afro-Latinx member of Congress. At a time when our country is divided and we confront the realities of racism and police brutality, it is essential we have a voice like Ritchie’s fighting to turn the demands of protesters into legislative change at the federal level.
“Richie and Mondaire have shattered a long-standing political barrier with their primary wins, putting them on track to becoming the first two openly LGBTQ Black members of Congress. Black LGBTQ people – like all LGBTQ people – are severely underrepresented at every level of government, but this gives hope that we are moving toward building a U.S. Congress that is more representative of the people it serves.”
Five upstate regions of New York state became eligible to start phase one of reopening businesses on Friday. Additionally, the western region which includes Buffalo can start to reopen beginning Tuesday. More from the New York Times:
The region around Albany needs only to hire more contact tracers before it can enter “phase one.”
In the regions that can restart, construction, manufacturing, and wholesale trade can resume. Retail businesses that sell clothing, electronics, furniture, books, sporting goods, shoes, flowers, jewelry and some other types of goods can open for curbside service.
Other activities that are allowed to operate include drive-in movies, landscaping and gardening services and “low-risk recreational activities” like tennis.
Mr. Cuomo also encouraged sports teams in the state to start planning to hold games, but without fans in attendance.
As those areas of the state get back to work, the only regions left to become eligible to entering phase one are the Hudson Valley, Long Island, and New York City. Mayor Bill de Blasio told the New York Times he expects New York City to satisfy phase one criteria sometime in the first half of June.