In Remembrance: LGBT Ally Dr. Karen Lamb 1937 - 2009
By Jerry Johnson
Editor’s Note: Longtime Milwaukee LGBT ally Dr. Karen Lamb passed away in Delafield January 30, following a multi-year struggle with cancer. Below, former Wisconsin Light co-founder and publisher Jerry Johnson shares his recollection of Karen and the important work she did for the gay community.

Born on August 21, 1937, Karen became a registered nurse, receiving her PhD in Phoenix, Arizona. A southern “belle” from Decatur, Georgia, Dr. Karen Lamb met then-Milwaukee Mayor Henry W. Maier at a democratic national convention. They fell in love, married and she moved to Milwaukee.
  In 1988, Mayor Maier retired. He and Karen moved to Nagawicka Lake in Delafield. The lake house was perfect for Karen, who enjoyed fishing. Dr. Lamb passed away on January 30, 2009 of cancer at the age of 71.
  Through the years Karen was an extremely strong supporter of Milwaukee’s LGBT community. Karen and Archbishop Rembert Weakland served as co-chairs on the Community Advisory Council in Milwaukee. That organization was instrumental in founding the Milwaukee AIDS Project (MAP) in 1985. MAP later became the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin (ARCW), an statewide organization that currently offers medical, dental, housing, mental health, nutritional, prevention and social services to those living with HIV/AIDS.
  When Dr. Terry Boughner and I founded the Wisconsin Light in 1987, we approached Karen about writing a column for the newspaper. Her first column appeared in the premiere issue. She proudly stated  that she was the only mayor’s wife in the country who wrote a column for a gay newspaper. Her column continued through the last issue published in 2001.
    In 1988, Karen, Terry and I drove to Atlanta  to attend the Democratic National Convention. Terry and I had  media press passes. Because Karen was Mayor Maier’s wife, other doors quickly opened and allowed me to take photos of important people such as Jesse Jackson.
  One Christmas season Karen hosted a fundraiser  for the Cream City Foundation. Santa Claus (played that night by Jessie Carter) appeared and passed out gifts. Karen also hosted several lakefront parties for the foundation. Her guests always enjoyed taking lake rides in her platoon boat. One year as Karen sat in her boat, a cute young fellow passengers decided to take off his trunks and swim naked. That thrilled Karen and she talked about it for years.
  In 1990 Karen adopted two children from Romania, Colin and Daniel. Both are now being raised by Karen’s son Robert, and his significant other Mark. 
  Karen was addicted to crossword puzzles, completing several at a time. She filled them out from morning to night.
  She also enjoyed going to movies and insisted on seeing “Brokeback Mountain.” She enjoyed it so much she saw it a second time. Her favorite movie was “Gone With The Wind.” She proudly stated that her parents had the good fortune of obtaining tickets and attended the film’s December 1939 world premiere in Atlanta.
  Karen was a great lady, always presenting her Southern hospitality. Her many friends from the gay and  straight community will dearly miss her. Karen is survived by  her grandsons, Daniel and Colin; her son Robert and his partner Mark; and two sisters, Jane in Atlanta, and Helen in California.
  Karen was buried in Atlanta next to her beloved husband Henry. A memorial service will be held at a later date. Memorial donations in Dr. Karen Lamb’s name may be made to The Cream City Foundation, 759 N. Milwaukee St, Suite 212, Milwaukee, WI 53202.

Facebook Scam Leads Sexual Assault Charges For New Berlin Teen
Former Honor Student Faces 300 Years In Prison
New Berlin - A suburban Milwaukee teenager and former honor student faces more than 300 years in prison after a police discovery of an alleged scheme using the popular social networking website Facebook to blackmail fellow male students into having sexual encounters with him.
  Anthony Stancl was charged February 4 in Waukesha County Circuit Court with a total of 12 counts that include repeated sexual assault of the same child, multiple degrees of sexual assaults, possession of child pornography, second- and third-degree sexual assaults, five counts of child enticement and making bomb scares. He is being held in the Waukesha County Jail on $250,000 bail, pending a preliminary hearing on February 26.
  Police investigation of the bomb scare charge from last November and a complaint form on of Stancl’s victims led investigators to the surprise discovery of nearly 300 photos and movie clips of the boys and young men ranging in age from 13 to 19 on his computer. A former participant on the Eisenhower Middle/High School Academic Decathlon team, Stancl had been expelled after he had been identified as the individual who made a series of written and emailed bomb threats that closed the school last November 14.
  The formal complaint charges that Stancl created Facebook identity as a popular female student at Eisenhower and then used the profile to entice at least 31 male fellow students to send him naked photos of themselves in the hopes of having an intimate encounter with her. Continuing to use the female persona Stancl then attempted to blackmail the boys - threatening to share the nude shots with other students - into having sexual encounters with a “male friend.”
  At least seven of the boys agreed, and Stancl had sexual encounters with them in a bathroom at the high school, the school parking lot, a New Berlin Public Library restroom, parks and at some of the victims’ homes, according to the criminal complaint. Stancl reportedly recorded the encounters with his cell phone. The clips, found on his computer, may be sufficient to prosecute Stancl without the actual victims having to take the witness stand, according to prosecutors.
  Reports indicate that Stancl had been using his Facebook scheme for some time and involved even more students. All current charges stem from the three months since became a legal adult last August 10.
  Friends of Stancl were reportedly shocked to hear about the charges. Stancl was best known to them as an avid computer geek and a volunteer for the recent Obama Presidential campaign.
  The New Berlin case brings new attention to the growing practice among teens and other young adults known as “sexting.” “Sexting” - the sending nude pictures via text message - is not unusual, especially for high schoolers around the country.
  Along with the Stancl charges last week, three teenage girls who allegedly sent nude or semi-nude cell phone pictures of themselves, and three male classmates in a western Pennsylvania high school who received them, are charged with child pornography.
  Last October a Texas eighth-grader spent the night in a juvenile detention center after his football coach found a nude picture on his cell phone that a fellow student sent him.
  Roughly 20% of teens admit to participating in “sexting,” according to a recent nationwide survey by the National Campaign to Support Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.

World & National News:

California Supreme Court To Hear Prop 8 Challenge March 5
San Francisco - The California Supreme Court has announced that it will hear oral arguments on Thursday, March 5 in the Proposition 8 legal challenge. The National Center for Lesbian Rights, Lambda Legal, and the ACLU - with support from civil rights groups, religious organizations, labor unions, and legal scholars - argue that Proposition 8 is invalid because the people of California have established strict safeguards that prohibit the underlying principles of the California Constitution from being changed by a simple majority vote. By taking away a right only from one group, Proposition 8 violates the most basic principle of our government: that all people are entitled to equal treatment under the law.
  California Attorney General Jerry Brown is also asking the Court to invalidate Proposition 8 on the ground that certain fundamental rights, including the right to marry, are inalienable and can not be put up for a popular vote.
  On November 10 last year Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger stated that he hoped the Court would overturn Proposition 8. On CNN, he said of Proposition 8’s passage, “It’s unfortunate, obviously, but it’s not the end, I think that we will again maybe undo that, if the court is willing to do that, and then move forward from there and again lead in that area.”
  On November 19, 2008, the California Supreme Court agreed to hear the legal challenges to Proposition 8 and set an expedited schedule. Briefing in the case was completed last month. The California Supreme Court must issue its decisions within 90 days of oral argument.
  Last January 15, 43 friend-of-the-court briefs urging the Court to invalidate Prop 8 were filed, arguing that Proposition 8 drastically alters the equal protection guarantee in California’s Constitution and that the rights of a minority cannot be eliminated by a simple majority vote. The supporters represent the full gamut of California’s and the nation’s civil rights organizations and legal scholars, as well as California legislators, local governments, bar associations, business interests, labor unions, and religious groups.
  In May of 2008, the California Supreme Court held that laws that treat people differently based on their sexual orientation violate the equal protection clause of the California Constitution and that same-sex couples have the same fundamental right to marry as other Californians. Proposition 8 eliminated this fundamental right only for same-sex couples. No other initiative has ever successfully changed the California Constitution to take away a right only from a targeted minority group. Proposition 8 passed by a majority of 52% last November.
  The National Center for Lesbian Rights, Lambda Legal, and the ACLU filed this challenge on November 5, representing Equality California, whose members include many same-sex couples who married between June 16 and November 4, 2008, and six same-sex couples who want to marry in California. The California Supreme Court has also agreed to hear two other challenges
filed on the same day: one filed by the City and County of San Francisco (joined by Santa Clara County and the City of Los Angeles, and subsequently by Los Angeles County and other local governments); and another filed by a private attorney.
  Serving as co-counsel on the case with NCLR, Lambda Legal, and the ACLU are the Law Office of David C. Codell, Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP, and Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP. The case is Strauss et al. v. Horton et al. (#S168047).

State News:

Transgender Wisconsin Resident At Center Of ACLU Birth Certificate Suit
Chicago - A transgendered Wisconsin woman is part of an Illinois lawsuit challenging that state’s refusal to change the gender on her birth certificate. Chicago native Karissa Rothkopf, who now lives in Wisconsin, joined Victoria Kirk, another transgendered woman in challenging the Illinois Vital Records division’s policy about changing gender on birth certificates.
  Because Rothkopf had her December 2007 gender reassignment surgery in Thailand rather than in the United States, the Illinois Vital Records division has refused to correct her gender on the document in accordance with the state’s Vital Records Act.
  With the assistance of the American Civil Liberties Union she and Kirk, who also completed her transition overseas, filed a court complaint against the Illinois State Registrar of Vital Records January 27.
  “My inability to correct my birth certificate has cost me money, time, aggravation and worry,” Rothkopf said at a news conference following the court action. She noted that she had no difficulty with changing other forms of identification, including her passport, driver’s license and Social Security records.
  Officials with the Illinois Department of Public Health claim they are only following the law, which does not recognize foreign physicians. “We are following the Vital Records Act, and we are simply enforcing that department spokeswoman Melaney Arnold told the Chicago Sun-Times. “The part that we are particularly looking at is the definition of physician. Physician means a person licensed to practice medicine in Illinois or any other state.”
  According to Gay and Lesbian Medical Association Executive Director Joel Ginsberg, between 1,600 and 2,000 patients undergo major gender-related surgeries each year. Like many other Americans choosing to have medical procedures done in foreign countries such as Thailand and India to save on costs, transgendered men and women are seeking complete their transitions outside of the United States.
  “Given that many if not most health plans will not reimburse for medically necessary transgender surgery procedures, many transgender people find it necessary to leave the country in order to get the services they need,” Ginsberg said.

Hudson Man Pleads Not Guilty In Lesbian Attack
Hudson - 27 year-old Dustan Warren has pled “not guilty” to a misdemeanor and four felonies, which includes a hate crime charge February 3 here.
  During the hearing, Warren’s signature bond was lowered to $50,00. As a condition of the bond, Warren was also ordered to not have any contact with the alleged victim or Wesley Stayberg, who the woman said came to her aid during the alleged attack. A $100,000 cash bond had been previously set.
  The 35-year-old woman had testified last December that Warren punched her in the face, pinned her to the floor, then threatened to rape and kill her after making obscene comments about her sexual orientation. She said that Warren was an acquaintance who showed up uninvited to a small party at her Hudson home on Thanksgiving eve..
  Warren was charged in St. Croix County Circuit Court with attempted second-degree sexual assault, aggravated battery, second-degree reckless endangerment, false imprisonment and misdemeanor bail jumping.
  The St. Croix County district attorney’s office later added a hate-crime modifier to the charges, stating in the criminal complaint that Warren “intentionally selected the person against whom the crime was committed in whole or in part because of the defendant’s belief or perception regarding the sexual orientation of that person.”
  According to the police report, Warren said he was not at the woman’s home at the time of the alleged assault. He said he had been intoxicated and lost in a wooded area of the nearby community of Bayport and did not return to Hudson until 3 AM.
  Warren is set to return to court for a  scheduling hearing on February 12.

PrideFest Adds Three Board Members
Milwaukee - Three new members have been accepted onto the Board of Directors for PrideFest: Lorri Aiono-Dimoff, Jeffrey Schmidt, and Kate Sherry.
  Aiono-Dimoff, born in California, spent her youth “under the coconut trees in the beautiful island in the heart of the south pacific - Samoa.” The married mother of four has been a long time supporter of Milwaukee’s LGBT community since relocating to the Midwest five years ago. In the 2008 Pride Parade, Aiono- Dimoff led a group of over 100 marchers in “Keeping Vic’s Smile alive” - a tribute her close friend, Vic Milford who was murdered on 2nd St. just six months prior to the parade. She will be working on sponsorship and marketing for PrideFest.
  Schmidt, a lifelong resident of Ozaukee County currently residing in Port Washington, will be working on PrideFest policies and procedures and by-laws. He is the father of three adult sons, and in the middle of his fifth term as the Ozaukee County Clerk of Circuit Court. He brings with him to this new position, his experience with the Board of Directors for United Way of Northern Ozaukee County, Advocates of Ozaukee, Board of Directors of the T-Baum Foundation and the Cream City Foundation.
  Stepping into the public relations and marketing position left vacant after the resignation of Paul Williams, is the former editor of Queer Life, Kate Sherry. An avid photographer and artist, Sherry edited the newspaper for 2 ½ years, until its final issue last December. Having grown up in Wisconsin, Sherry moved back in 2003 from New York City after years of working on and off stage in various NYC and Chicago theatres, and can be seen in an upcoming Milwaukee Gay Arts Center production of “The Vagina Monologues.”
  The all-volunteer board and production teams meet every month to discuss the June 12-14 PrideFest event. For more information on the festival, or to volunteer, please visit www.pridefest.com.

Cream City’s Cadenas Joins National Board
Milwaukee - Cream City Foundation’s executive director Maria Cadenas was recently appointed to the Board for Funders for Lesbian and Gay Issues - a national organization that provides LGBT philanthropic research for grant makers, convenes LGBT funders, and promotes resources to increase LGBT giving.
  “I am honored to have an opportunity to work with Funders for Lesbian and Gay Issues,” Cadenas said in accepting the appointment. “Funders for Lesbian and Gay Issues is an innovative group with a talented board and staff, and I am excited about our work together to strengthen the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender movement in the years to come.”
  Cadenas joined Cream City Foundation in 2005, after having served as Associate Director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin. She currently is an active member of the Common Vision’s Midwest cohort that is actively working to devise a philanthropic approach that helps create structural change in the region. She is the former board chair for the Lesbian Alliance of Metro Milwaukee and an active member of Hispanic Professionals of Greater Milwaukee. Cadenas is a graduate of Beloit College and is currently pursuing an MBA from Alverno College.
  Funders for Lesbian and Gay Issues seeks equality and rights for LGBT individuals and communities by mobilizing philanthropic resources that advance racial, economic and gender justice. For three decades, Funders for Lesbian and Gay Issues remains the sole organization dedicated exclusively to increasing institutional giving to LGBT communities.
  Cream City Foundation is a community foundation that serves as the leader in mobilizing philanthropic resources, fostering strategic collaboration, effecting positive change and the advancement of the quality, dignity, and health of LGBT people in Southeastern Wisconsin.
Founded in 1982, Cream City Foundation has funded over $600,000 in an effort to strengthen the LGBT community. To learn more about Cream City Foundation, visit www.creamcityfoundation.org.

Sword-Wielding Baraboo Woman Had Rap Sheet - As A Man
Baraboo -  A Baraboo woman charged in a recent stabbing has a criminal history of wielding other blades -  as a man. Last December 30, 53 year-old Rhonda Uselmann was charged with injury by negligent handling of a dangerous weapon after she removed a decorative “Excalibur” sword from the wall of her home and stabbed her brother-in-law in the shoulder. She was released days later on a $2,000 signature bond.
  “I bled longer than she stayed in jail,” Troy Uselmann later told the Baraboo News-Republic.
  According to Assistant Sauk County District Attorney Kevin Calkins, prosecutors were unaware of any previous charges against the sword-wielding Uselmann until her brother-in-law revealed her former identity was that of Robert E. Brotzman, a felon convicted of more serious charges in a similar incident seventeen years earlier.
  Brotzman was charged with two counts of attempted murder and reckless endangerment in 1991 after a domestic dispute turned violent. Records indicated that Brotzman threw a knife at his then-wife and threatened to kill his two daughters, ages 5 and 9, at their home in the Town of Troy. As the two children ran to a neighbor’s house to call the police, Brotzman drove after them with his car, swerving into a ditch to try and hit them.
  Brotzman was later convicted of felony reckless endangerment in a plea deal in which prosecutors agreed to drop two attempted murder charges. He was sentenced to five years of probation.
  Brotzman divorced his wife and legally changed his name in 1999. A letter from a doctor with a Milwaukee transgender program advocated for the court to allow the name change in order to help Brotzman through the process of gender reorientation.  Court documents show that at the time Brotzman said he wanted the name change because of a “change of gender emotionally physically and a more accurate description of my identity and personality.”
  Brotzman later married Todd J. Uselmann of Baraboo and became Rhonda Uselmann.
  Uselmann did not tell officers about her previous identity following the December arrest, according Baraboo Police Lt. Rob Sinden. “She likely did not offer the information because she was not asked,” he said. No aliases were listed on the arrest records.
  As currently charged, Uselmann faces a maximum penalty of 3 1/2 years in prison and $10,000 in fines. She had one previous charge under her current identity. In 2004 she was fined for disorderly conduct after a bar owner reported she violently smashed a beer mug on the bar and then swung a stool at a bouncer trying to remove her from the tavern.

“The Sum Of Us” Opens February 19  
Milwaukee - The Milwaukee Chamber Theatre continues its 34th season celebrating family with the professional Milwaukee premiere of “The Sum Of Us,” February 19 - March 15, an Australian comedy with a unique look at the complexities of finding love.
  Widower Harry Mitchell lives in harmony with his adult son, Jeff, a young plumber who is also unattached. Both men are pursuing romance in the difficult world of dating, but Jeff's dates just happen to be with other men. Finding love is no easy feat, and with two generations of Mitchells living under one roof, the quest for a mate is made all the more tricky.
 “The Sum Of Us” was an Off-Broadway hit in 1990 and was adapted for the screen by the playwright for a 1994 film starring Russell Crowe and Jack Thompson. Playwright David Stevens has written and/or directed more than 200 hours of television and film. His directing credits include films The Clinic, Undercover and Kansas and miniseries “A Town Like Alice,” “Always Afternoon” and “A Thousand Skies.” He co-wrote the Academy Award-nominated screenplay for Breaker Morant and also co-wrote the Emmy-nominated “Merlin.” Stevens was born in Palestine, brought up in the Middle East and Africa, and began his career in England before moving to New Zealand and then Australia. He now resides in California.

“A Wicked Magical Mystery Tour” Cabaret Show To Benefit ARCW
Appleton - Cast members and musicians from the national touring company production of “Wicked” will mix classic Beatles hits with a live auction offering behind-the-scenes looks at the Tony® Award winning musical in a benefit cabaret  show on Monday, February 16 at 8 PM (doors open at 7 p.m.) in the Kimberly-Clark Theater of the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center here. The AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin is among the benefiting agencies for this special evening.
  “A Wicked Magical Mystery Tour” features cast members and musicians performing some of most favorite Beatles hits from 1964 to 1970, celebrating the amazing career of the greatest and most influential act of the rock era.
  The event will also feature an exclusive live auction on several “Wicked” prize packages. “A Look Into The Land of Oz,” will offer the winning bidder and a guest attendance at the matinee performance of the musical on February 21, followed by walk down the yellow brick road into the Land of Oz with a private backstage tour hosted by Glinda. This is a chance to get an up close and personal look at the Tony® Award-winning sets and costumes that make up this incredible production.
  Another lucky bidder and guest will have the chance to “Go Green With Elphaba.” Audiences around the world have wondered what is used to turn Elphaba’s skin emerald green. On February 26, the winner and a guest will go backstage before the evening performance and watch make-up artists transform Donna Vivino (Elphaba) from woman to witch. Once Elphaba turns green it is her cue to take the stage and for the winners to take their seats and enjoy the show.
  The most coveted item up for bid February 16 just may be the chance to win a “Wicked” walk-on role. The winning bidder will appear on stage, in costume, during the February 27 evening performance. The prize package includes a pair of tickets for family or friends to watch the winner be a star as her or she appears on stage in Broadway’s biggest blockbuster. The winner will have a costume fitting and a brief rehearsal before the walk-on date. Singing, acting and dancing skills not required, but a passion for “Wicked” is a must!
  All major credit cards, personal checks and cash are accepted for the winning bids. The performance dates for each auction package cannot be changed or rescheduled. All sales are final.
  Tickets for the cabaret show are now on sale. Prices range from $45 to $60. There is a four ticket limit per person. To purchase tickets, please contact the Fox Cities PAC ticket office at 920-730-3760. More information is available online at:
  All proceeds from this special cabaret concert and the “Wicked” live auctions will benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin and the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center’s mission-based activities.

“Captain Neato-Man” Previews Begin February 13
Wauwatosa - The Village Playhouse of Wauwatosa (VPW) is proud to announce its participation in the 2009  American Association of Community Theater’s National Festival Cycle. This marks the twelfth time that the VPW has participated in this prestigious biannual festival.
  On the last weekend in February, the Village Playhouse will perform The Adventures of Captain Neato-Man in Prairie du Sac at the Wisconsin state festival.  The production will be competing against other community theatres from throughout the state for the privilege of representing Wisconsin at the Great Lakes Regional Theatre Festival in South Bend, Indiana.  If successful in South Bend, the production would move on to Tacoma, Washington for the National Community Theatre Festival.  The VPW has fared well in past AACTFest competitions, moving on to the Regional Competition several times, most recently in 2005 with its powerful production of Lee Blessing’s Two Rooms.
  “AACTFest is an extremely rewarding experience,” Director Tom Zuehlke told Quest.  “It isn’t the competition as much as it’s a chance to be with a community of theater artists who are all trying to deal with the same challenges as we are.”
  The Adventures of Captain Neato-Man is a wacky fun filled farce. An innocent nerd answers an employment ad only to find himself  the clutches of “Captain Neato-Man”, a would-be super hero in desperate need of a sidekick.
  VPW will be holding benefit preview performances of The Adventures of Captain Neato-Man to help offset the travel costs.  The play will be performed at 8 PM February 13 and 14 at Pewaukee High School Auditorium, 472 Lake Street in Pewaukee.  On February 20 and 21 the play will be performed at the Walkers Point Center for the Arts, 911 W. National in Milwaukee.  Once again, show time will be 8 PM. 
  Ticket prices for all benefit shows are $11 if purchased or reserved in advance and $13 at the door.  To reserve tickets email the Village Playhouse  at: CaptainNeato@villageplayhouse.org or call 414-774-4768. For more information visit the VPW website at villageplayhouse.org.

Cuvee Champagne Celebration Promotes Cupid’s Arrow Auction
Milwaukee - Popular wine bar Cuvee will host a special Valentine’s Day celebration in conjunction with the Milwaukee LGBT Center’s Cupid’s Arrow online auction. Celebrate love at the inaugural Cuvee Valentine’s Gayla, featuring complimentary snacks catered by Gourmet to Go. A free glass of bubbly also will be provided. The cocktail hour will begin at 6 PM on Saturday, February 14, with the buffet starting at 7.  Festivities, including a DJ, dancing and entertainment, will continue throughout the evening.
  Tickets for event are $50 per person, of which $5 from each ticket will benefit the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center. For reservations, call 414-225-9800. Cuvee is located at 177 N. Broadway, 3rd Floor, in Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward.
  The Cupid’s Arrow online auction runs through February 15. To view and bid on items visit the LGBT Community Center website at: www.mkelgbt.org.

UWM LGBT Resource Center’s Annual Drag Show Benefits Gay Youth
Milwaukee - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Resource Center (UWM LGBTRC) will host its 11th annual drag ball fundraiser to benefit Project Q.
  The show will take place on Saturday, February 21 at the UWM Union Ballroom, 2200 East Kenwood Boulevard here. Doors open at 7:30 PM and the show will start at 8. This event is free and open to the public.
  The Annual UW-M Drag Show is one of the largest in the area with twenty performers. Last year’s event drew over 500 people. Among this year’s featured performers will be Lady Gia, the Miltown Kings, Jessica Properties, Madam Sparkkl and extra special guest Holiday Rose. All drag performers are volunteering their time and services. All of the tips the performers receive will go to benefit Project Q.
  Project Q is the Youth Program of the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center. Project Q provides a safe space for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth and their straight allies ages 24 and under. The Milwaukee LGBT Community Center is a community-based organization represented by more than 150 volunteers and over 300 members. Its mission is to improve the quality of life for LGBT people in the Metro Milwaukee area.
  This year’s event is co-sponsored by the UWM LGBTRC, Alphabet Q, and Queer People of Color (QPOC).

Holy Mirror Balls! Camp Bingo Is Back!
Madison - Camp Bingo has returned to The Edgewater for its fourth season. It’s a trip back to the swingin’ 70’s on  Sunday, February 22 with Disco Inferno Bingo.  This is not your grandmother’s bingo—it’s a whole lot more fun!  WMTV’s Christine Bellport joins the “Diva of the Balls,” Cass Marie Domino for this fund-raiser for AIDS Network. Everyone 18 years or older is welcome.  Price of admission is $18 in advance purchased on the bingo website at: www.madcampbingo.org or $20 at the door.  Admission includes seven games of bingo (with six cards for each game), a 50/50 raffle, prizes, giveaways, entertainment and lots of laughs.
  “Disco Inferno bingo is the cure for cabin fever,” AIDS Network Development Director Dan Curd told Quest.  “As always, we’re expecting a big crowd and will be giving away some great prizes including one $150 and two $250 cash jackpots.  This is our 4th year and we’re happy to have Christine join us for the fun.”
  The Edgewater is located at 666 Wisconsin Avenue.  Food and beverages are available for purchase and the hotel provides free indoor parking. Doors open at 1 p.m. and the first number will be called at 2:30 p.m. For more information, visit the official Camp Bingo website: www.madcampbingo.org.

Spiral Theatre Calls It Quits With “Die Mommie Die”
Milwaukee - Spiral Theatre commemorates their history of innovative performances with their final production, “Die Mommie Die”  by Charles Busch.
  The year is 1967, and Angela Arden is a washed-up pop singer who’s married to movie producer Sol but is involved with an unemployed actor named Tony. When Sol turns up dead, all fingers point to Angela. Leading the charge is Angela’s daughter Edith, who’s eager to get even by killing her mother. Edith’s brother, however, is not so sure that mom is to blame.
  Spiral Artistic Director Mark Hooker stars as Angela Arden, a role made famous by Busch in both the theatrical and film versions of “Die Mommie Die.”  Hooker’s partner, Spiral’s producer Dr. Dave Berg, has accepted a new job at Hamline University in the Twin Cities, so this will be Hooker’s Milwaukee swan song. However, arrangements have been made for Hooker to appear in “Die Mommie Die” again in Minneapolis, and London, England.
  Because the central role of Angela Arden is written to be performed by a man, the role could descend into a camp caricature. However, Hooker has met with playwright Busch regarding the character’s depiction. “We discussed the importance of playing this character realistically,” explains Hooker. “In other words, the actor playing Angela should not approach the character from the standpoint of being a drag queen. She’s wild, she’s eccentric, she’s “out there”... but she is a real person. So the actor maintains a more Shakespearean mind frame when playing Angela. He is not a drag queen; he is an actor playing the part of a woman who is living under wild circumstances.
  “If you’re a fan of Charles Busch, old Betty Davis movies, or comedy thrillers in general, this is the Spiral play to see!” Hooker said.  “Besides, there is no other play in town where the audience is privy to a murder via arsenic laced suppository!”
 Performances of “Die Mommie Die” will be March 13-15, and 20-22. Friday and Saturday performances will be at 7:30 PM with Sunday matinees at 5:30 PM at the Plymouth Church, 2717 E. Hampshire Blvd., one block north of Kenwood, one block east of Downer.
  For more information, visit www.spiraltheatre.com. For phone reservations, call 414-248-6481 or e-mail at: info@spiraltheatre.com.

StageQ And Mercury Players Co-Produce Two Spring Plays
Madison - The creative economy brings organizations and individuals together for creative enterprises that contribute significantly to local and regional economies. Live theater performances, as well as other cultural and arts events, are playing an increasingly significant role as economic drivers, so two local theater companies are giving the creative economy a try.
  Local theater companies Mercury Players Theatre and StageQ are collaborating to co-produce two plays in March and April at the Bartell Theatre. Caryl Churchill’s Cloud 9 and Ry Herman’s Vamp will run in repertory, meaning that the two shows will be performed on an alternating schedule throughout the 6-week run.
  Vamp is billed as “a vinyl-clad supernatural girl-meets-girl romantic comedy”, in which a woman irritated by imaginary people living in her apartment runs into problems dating a Goth astrophysicist, while Cloud 9, a modern classic satire, has been described as a “take no prisoners assault on hypocrisy”, following a gender-bent cast of characters from 1880s Africa to 1980s London.
  Although both companies have performed shows in repertory before, this is the first time that two different participating theater companies have collaborated to co-produce shows in a single run at the Bartell. “I’m very excited to be working with Mercury on these co-productions.
  “Collaborations of this nature are what the creative economy is all about,” StageQ artistic director Tara Ayres said.
  Marcy Weiland, producer for Mercury Players, is equally enthusiastic. “We’re sharing material resources and human resources, tasks and risks. We’re in this together, for real,” she said.
  Established in 2001, StageQ is dedicated to presenting dramatic plays that challenge audiences artistically, build culture bridges, and offer diverse productions that range from classics to new works. The company produces gay, lesbian, and other queer-focused theater productions and works authored by gay and lesbian playwrights.
  Mercury Players Theatre was established in 1994 to promote community arts and entertainment, primarily through producing innovative, original, and little known theater works. The company is in its 15th season of producing thought-provoking plays and was voted one of the number one theater companies in Madison by readers of Isthmus. Both
  Mercury and StageQ are participating companies in residence at the Bartell Theatre. For more information, consult the company websites: www.stageQ.com and www.mercuryplayerstheatre.com.

Artists Sought For Pride Alive Art Exhibition
Green Bay - As part of an expanded schedule of events prior to northeast Wisconsin’s Pride Alive event this year, Thursday, July 9 will be the official opening of a weekend exhibition showcasing LGBT artists in northeast Wisconsin. The 2009 Pride Alive Exhibition will be held at a gallery in downtown Green Bay and will be open to all forms of media including two and three-dimensional visual art, performance art, poetry and music.
  The NEWPride Committee is currently seeking artists interested in exhibiting their work. Entrants may submit up to four entries for selection to be a part of the Exhibition. Please contact Scott Vanidestine  by email at: vanisj06@uwgb.edu or by phone at 920-217-1787 for eligibility, restrictions and full details.

This Month in Wisconsin LGBT History
By Michail Takach
February 1979: Thirty Years Ago
  Lost & Found, Milwaukee’s first women’s disco, opened at 618 North 27 Street (between Michigan and Wisconsin) and quickly became known as Wisconsin’s largest women’s bar.  Its arrival marked a change in nightlife venues for women in the city, expanding beyond the traditional “bar” towards the full-service “club.”
  It would be a challenge to compete with the popular lesbian bars of the time -- The Finale (808 E. Center St.,) The Sugar Shack (135 E. National Ave,) and the Beer Garden (3743 W. Vliet St.,) -- all smaller, cozier venues in distant neighborhoods.  But Lost & Found offered a diverse entertainment line-up that the others couldn’t, including extremely popular disco DJs, go-go dancers, a Friday night “Gong Show,” an infamous “Who’s No Lady Revue,” and other outrageous performances.   Every Thursday, owner and manager Karla Farr packed the bar with free beer for Baseball Night, where patrons could celebrate the bar team’s victories on the dance floor. 
  The Lost & Found’s urban location was also a challenge, and they often advertised “free, lighted parking” as a consolation to their customers.  In its later years, the bar shifted towards a more mixed crowd and became well known for its New Wave Wednesdays party.  Lost & Found closed in 1984, reopened with an entirely new crowd as the Music Box, and was later razed (with the rest of its city block) for a Kentucky Fried Chicken.

February 1989:Twenty Years Ago
  In the wake of the AIDS epidemic, a decade-long battle with the Milwaukee Police Department, a media frenzy, and pressure from community leaders, the Milwaukee Health Department officially sealed the doors of the Club Milwaukee Baths for good in February 1989.   
  The Club Baths, a national chain of members-only bathhouses, was founded in Cleveland in 1965.  Owner James Campbell wanted to provide a cleaner, brighter facility than traditional Turkish baths provided for men.  The chain ultimately grew to 42 locations throughout the United States.  At its peak, the chain had 500,000 card-carrying members, making it one of the largest gay organizations in history.
  The Club Milwaukee Baths were located at 704 W. Wisconsin Avenue, in an alley just north of Wisconsin Avenue, a block from the Central Library and on the same block as the Fire Department Headquarters.  Since opening in June 1974, the Club Milwaukee Baths had outlasted all of its competitors despite ongoing police harassment. Long-time manager Paul DeMarco was actively involved in the LGBT community as President of the Gay Peoples Union (1980), secretary of the Business Association of Milwaukee (BAM), member of the Coalition to Oust Police Chief Henry Brier, treasurer of the Human Rights Political Action Committee of Wisconsin, and co-founder of the Cream City Business Association (CCBA) in 1981.
  The club waged a long battle to remain open by adopting safe-sex policies, making condoms available, and providing access to health education and local services.   But, following widely publicized bathhouse closings in New York City and elsewhere, Mayor John Norquist and Alderman Paul Henningsen lobbied for similar measures in Milwaukee.   Bathhouses were still considered an institution of liberated gay culture, and the political pressure to close them was seen as both invasive and homophobic. 
  To accommodate both sides of the issue, City of Milwaukee Health Commissioner Paul Nannis formed a Special Task Force with representatives from City Health Departments, Brady East STD Clinic, Milwaukee Aids Project and Lambda Rights Network.  The Task Force was charged with assessing the actual public health risk, as well as engineering ways to ensure safer sex practices to the venue.
  To achieve this, the Task Force announced their desire to learn who the members were and where they came from.  There was just one problem.  Due to fears of police raids, public humiliation, and other retaliation, patrons usually left their true identities at home and visited bathhouses under assumed aliases.   And the Club Milwaukee Baths prided itself on providing a discrete, confidential environment for over 700 members, many of whom would prefer to remain anonymous and had concerns about being “studied.” 
  Soon after research began, active tuberculosis was discovered in a club employee who would not reveal his regular contacts.  In addition, a separate Health Department study claimed that 25 percent of tested members were infected with HIV.
  The Health Department quickly moved in to offer tuberculosis testing for all Club Baths members.  They also requested access to membership records to communicate the health risks.  However, only 200 of the club’s members had agreed to receive business mailings, and the club’s attorney would not provide their information to a third party. As a compromise, the club’s attorney agreed to distribute the Health Department letter to those patrons.   Milwaukee health officials also sent notices to 170 public health facilities statewide regarding potential exposure to tuberculosis and HIV.
  With only a limited understanding of the issues, the public perceived a lack of cooperation from Club Baths members and employees, and speculated that the club was trying to hide something sinister.  Many failed to understand how the traditional anonymity of bathhouse culture was impacting the Club’s ability to cooperate. 
  In response to growing public outrage, deputy commissioner Dr. Thomas Schlenker of the Milwaukee Health Department ordered the Club Baths closed on December 22, 1988, pending further investigation. This action was done without the consensus of the Task Force. 
  Soon after the closing, the Milwaukee Sentinel published Dr. Schlenker’s claim that two persons with AIDS had frequent, unprotected sex with Club Baths patrons.  Although even the Task Force questioned the accuracy of this information, the story ignited a media frenzy.  Both the Milwaukee Journal and Milwaukee Sentinel ran public health editorials that attacked the permissive, irresponsible environment that the Club Baths provided, without mentioning the club’s efforts to introduce safer-sex practices.  Neither editorial placed responsibility on the individual patrons, instead demonizing the business that allowed dangerous behaviors to continue.  WTMJ4 was the only local station to actually go to the bathhouse, interview employees, and provide balanced coverage, while other stations seemed to be avoiding the subject entirely.
  The Club Milwaukee Baths never reopened and would remain sealed for almost a decade.  After the permanent closing in February 1989, many high-profile attorneys supported a lawsuit against the Milwaukee Health Department.  However, the Club Bath owners didn’t pursue the case because they “didn’t care to spend any more money in Milwaukee,” even as they admitted that the Milwaukee location was always extremely profitable.   Within a few years, the entire Club Baths chain was out of business.
  In 1998, the Club Milwaukee Baths building, and much of the rest of its block, was demolished for construction of the Library Hill apartment complex.
  Find out about these and other historical events in Wisconsin’s LGBT community at the Milwaukee History Project website: www.wisconsingayhistory.org.