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From: TripOut – Gay Travel!

New LGBT Newspaper To Hit Fort Lauderdale

• Contributed by Lyndon Evans and cross-posted at: Focus On The Rainbow

With the recent shutting down of Blade and it various entities including a Florida edition, a new paper is getting ready to go to print and published by the original founder of The Express Gay News.

Fort Lauderdale attorney Norm Kent announced today the inauguration of a new GLBT newsweekly, published under the banner of “South Florida Gay News.com”

Nicknamed ‘SFGN,’ Kent said he purposely chose a hard copy newspaper name with a “dot com” in the masthead “in order to accommodate and acknowledge; promote and link the diverse media platforms a 21st century newspaper has to deliver. Our developing website will be up and running this week.”

A South Florida attorney for 30 years, in 1999 Kent founded and published the very first credible GLBT weekly newspaper in Broward County, The Express Gay News. Mr. Kent sold The Express to Unite Media in December of 2003, which then published the paper under the banner of first The Express and then the South Florida Blade, until last month, when the corporation filed for bankruptcy protection in federal district court in Atlanta.

Kent indicated that SFGN will be published and distributed on Mondays, tabloid size, commencing in January of 2010, and over 12,000 copies will be distributed to 300 plus locations in Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties. The paper will be published on high quality, heavy weight stock by Miami Offset. “We are going to deliver a handsome, local, hometown product, and our service providers will benefit our neighborhood businesses,” Kent stated, faulting the publishers of Unite Media for “losing touch with the community I intended the paper to serve.”

Kent stated that he had signed a lease for the primary newspaper office in the heart of Wilton Manors, at 2520 North Dixie Highway, adjacent to Five Points. The Manors is one of the fastest growing gay communities in the United States. Kent also indicated that “later in the year” there would be a satellite office in Dade County as well. Kent said the first issue of SFGN is expected to be on the streets January 25, 2000, if not sooner.

Kent indicated that he will bring back some of his best feature columnists, who formerly wrote with The Express, along with the popular cartoonists and writers. Correspondents, such as Jesse Monteagudo, formerly with The Weekly News, are already working on features for the debut issue. The paper will include local writers such as Pier Guidugli, established columnists such as Jennifer Vanasco, and nationally known authors such as Wayne Besen. “We are a work still in progress. There are openings for creative talent.”

The web design for South Florida Gay News.com will be handled by Tom Forcella and the newspaper graphics by George Dauphin. News on the website will be updated daily with videos and interactive commentary.

Kent promised that “The bottom line is that we are going to publish a fiercely independent publication, a credible and legitimate weekly newspaper, which will feature topical news, cutting-edge issues, outspoken columnists, and articles capturing the breadth and diversity of gay life.”

Source – marketwire

Broward County’s First Openly Gay Mayor Sworn In

Ken Keechl, 47, was sworn in Tuesday as Broward County’s first openly gay mayor. For the next year he will preside over the Broward County Commission.

“Whether you know it or not, your vote to make me Broward’s mayor was historic in America — but that’s a discussion for another day, in another venue,” Keechl said at the ceremony at the Broward County Governmental Center in Fort Lauderdale.

Keechl was selected by his fellow commissioners. The job of mayor rotates each year among them.

“We’ve waited so long for this day to come,” said Michael Albetta, president of the Florida GLBT Democratic Caucus. “We’re honored and pleased that the eight other county commissioners see his professionalism and are not judging him on his personal lifestyle.”

More at: Steve Rothaus’ Gay South Florida at the Miami Herald!

Ft Lauderdale Gay & Lesbian Film Fest Kicks Off

The Fort Lauderdale Gay & Lesbian Film Festival (FLGLFF) is back for another five days of gay-friendly films, showcasing over two dozen movies from November 11th to the 15th.

Among the titles, all having their South Florida premieres, are holiday comedy “Make the Yuletide Gay,” the Edgar Allen Poe-based thriller “House of Usher,” and the sequel to hit gay franchise “Eating Out,” “Eating Out 3: All You Can Eat.”

On Friday the 13th, Gateway Cinema premieres “House of Usher,” the latest Poe-adaptation from director David Decoteau, who also helmed the “Brotherhood” films. Also premiering the 13th at the Las Olas Riverfront Cinema is “Misconceptions,” a comedy drama starring “Mad TV” album Orlando Jones.

Rebekah Kochan and Mink Stole return for thirds of “Eating Out” with the latest sequel, “Eating Out 3: All You Can Eat,” which premieres Saturday, November 14th at Gateway Cinema.

“Degrassi: The Next Generation” star Adamo Ruggiero joins newcomer Keith Jordan in “Make the Yuletide Gay,” playing Sunday, November 15th at Gateway Cinema. “Make the Yuletide Gay” is about a not-so-out college student who has to keep the relationship secret from his family when his boyfriend visits during the holidays.

“I Can’t Think Straight,” premiering Sunday, November 15th at the Las Olas Riverfront Cinema, tells the story of an Indian woman and Palestinian woman who meet and fall in love.

Film passes and bundles are available now on the festival’s website, flglff.com, or can be purchased at the theater at non-member prices.

Read more: http://www.allheadlinenews.com

S FL Softball Team Wins National Championship

The Sidelines Cyclones, Sidelines Sports Bar’s sponsored softball team captured the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance (NAGAAA) World Series Championship. The win makes the Cyclones part of an elite few for Fort Lauderdale’s gay softball league as the C-Division’s National Champions!

Read more at: Steve Rothaus’ Gay South Florida!

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