SAN DIEGO—Assembly Speaker Toni G. Atkins today announced the passing of Dr. Bill Beck, a San Diego community leader who fought passionately for equality and civil rights, raised millions of dollars for AIDS and other worthy causes, and opened the door for many San Diego LGBT elected officials. “San Diego has lost a true pioneer…
Two anti-fur activists who were described by a federal prosecutor as “hardcore animal rights extremists” have both pleaded guilty in San Diego federal court to conspiring to vandalize fur industry farms and owners’ homes. Both defendants have agreed to pay $398,272 in damages to the owners of seven mink farms, stores, restaurants, and two homes…
Denise Louise Gunderson, 50, who is better known as the Bridal Bandit, pleaded guilty Feb. 10 to two counts of grand theft and two counts of identity theft that involved stealing credit cards from brides during their weddings. Gunderson, who is also known as Denise Burns, has agreed to accept a 7-year term in state…
Lambda Archives of San Diego, a nationally-recognized nonprofit archive dedicated to the local history of LGBT people, will host the Heroines, Pioneers & Trailblazers awards gala brunch Saturday, March 19 at 12 noon at the San Diego Woman’s Club. The event includes an awards program to honor women, LBTQ and straight, who stepped up and…
SACRAMENTO— Assembly Speaker Toni G. Atkins (D-San Diego) has appointed Bob Nelson of San Diego to serve on the California Film Commission, which encourages the growth of one of the state’s key economic generators. “Bob Nelson has long contributed his talents to the San Diego community, ably promoting both our region and our waterfront,” said…
A 19-year-old man who claimed he was provoked when he slashed a gay man to death in his Chula Vista apartment was sentenced Feb. 5 to six years in state prison. A request for probation for Joe Andrew Cortez was turned down by Chula Vista Superior Court Judge Ana Espana who cited the horrific stab…
Hate crimes against LGBT people went down slightly in 2015 by 7 percent in a comparison with hate crimes in 2014, according to San Diego Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman’s crime statistical report. Zimmerman expressed concern about another recent phenomenon – “pocket dials” of 911 – or as Third District Councilmember Todd Gloria characterized them as…
Tiffany LaToya Nowden, 41, has been sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for killing her wife, Russina Vale, 38, and was ordered to pay $2,489 for her funeral expenses. Nowden was sentenced by San Diego Superior Court Judge Fred Link following her guilty plea to second-degree murder in the June 5, 2014, stabbing…
Two men who were involved in the “smash and grab” burglary series of businesses in Hillcrest and elsewhere were sentenced Jan. 25 to prison terms. The longest sentence of 10 years and eight months went to Jeffrey Ryan Jakse, 27, who was arrested in Hillcrest Oct. 19. Carlos Carranza Castaneda, 25, received five years and…
After only about 45 minutes of deliberations, a San Diego jury convicted a former Compton School Board member Jan. 28 of performing oral sex on a sleeping straight man in his hotel room. Skyy De’Anthony Fisher, 32, had been free on $100,000 bond, but San Diego Superior Court Judge Runston Maino ordered him into jail…
