Mini-Break in Erie, PA

Lady Kate Erie

When was the last time you felt truly rejuvenated and energized? What made you feel that way? In late August, the AMPLIFY project took us to Erie County for the weekend – we were there to celebrate Erie Pridefest and enjoy a mini-break of sorts. I had never actually been to Erie proper, just driven […]

Pittsburgh has 2nd Lowest Percentage of LGBT adults in 50 Metro Areas

This is important. A recent Gallup study of the 50 largest metropolitan cities in the United States found that Pittsburgh was ranked 49 thin terms of the size of our LGBT population. These results are based on responses to the question, “Do you, personally, identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender?” — included in more […]

22 Year Old Ohio Trans Woman Stabbed to Death By Father

Bri Golec

22-year-old Bri Golec has recently returned to a transgender support group in the Akron, Ohio area. She had participated a few years ago, then stopped attending. Recently, she began to more assertively explore her gender identity. Sadly, Bri will not have the chance to continue her journey after an altercation with her father,  Kevin Golec, […]

Justice for Brittany Kidd-Stergis

Some news from Cleveland regarding the December 2013 murder of 22 year old Brittany Kidd-Stergis.  The man responsible for her death pled guilty on Friday and faces a life sentence. From Cleveland.com A 20-year-old man could spend life in prison after he pleaded guilty Friday to the December slaying of a transgender woman outside a […]

Send Me YOUR Stories of Disability Accommodation in Pittsburgh

  We often read about accommodations in the workplace and in housing. Rarely does the media delve into accommodations issues when it comes to “public accommodation” like at a movie theater or a restaurant especially when it comes to hidden disabilities. I’m trying to tell those stories.  Your stories. My stories. Eleven months ago, I […]

Suspect in Murder of Tiffany Edwards Turns Himself In

Tiffany Edwards

The “good news” is that Quamar Edwards who has had a warrant for his arrest for the murder of Tiffany Edwards has turned himself in. He’s off the streets for now.  Even though they share a common surname, there is no connection between the two. The bad news is that it appears Quamar Edwards is […]

UPDATED: The Loss of Another Trans Sister of Color – Tiff Edwards of Ohio

Tiffany Edwards

This has been a tough month, no doubt about it. From Repent Amarillo targeting teenaged girls to the Pittsburgh Dyke Trans March being TERFd (and possibly secretly recorded), it has been an exhausting month. But the worst has happened – a fourth trans woman of color has been found murdered, this time in Walnut Hills, […]

Arrest in the 2012 Shooting, Assault of Texas Lesbian Couple

Kristene Chapa Mollie Olgin

    In 2012, two teenaged lesbians were brutally attacked and left for dead in a Texas park. 19 year old Mollie Olgin died and her girlfriend Mary Kristene Chapa, then 18, survived with serious debilitating injuries. News of the arrest of the 27-year-old suspect brought to light the fact that one or both women […]

Arrest in Murder of Brittany Kidd-Stergis, Another Trans Woman Murdered in Baltimore

There is “mixed” news to share this morning with regard to violence against the trans community. In Baltimore, a 40-year-old trans woman named Kandy Hall was found murdered in a field on June 5, 2014. Not only are there no leads in the case, but Kandy is almost a mystery. Her friends quotes in this […]

In 2014, I Plan to Spend Time With A Lot of White Straight Men

Sue Kerr Bill Peduto

When you look back at your blog on January 2, 2015, what would you like to see? My exclusive interview with Executive Editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette David Shribman about language, media and style guides. Follow up on the investigations into the assault of two queer women of color at Margaritaville, two queer white men […]