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  Kayla Stone In breaking news from Just Out, it is being reported that 21-year-old Kayla Stone, a musician and activist, was assaulted in downtown Portland in an apparent gay bashing last Sunday July 3rd, according to police.
The previous night a group of men had harassed her outside of Embers on NW Broadway and Burnside, calling her “dyke” and following her for several blocks as she left. She fended them off with strong words but when she returned Saturday night the same group recognized her and began beating her without provocation. The only person she remembers very clearly is the one who threw the first punch, a Latino man with a teardrop tattoo by his eye.
Stone also says that witnesses did nothing to assist her. Even when she made her way to The Escape, the all ages gay nightclub and a stop on the Q Patrol route, Stone says she was mostly ignored. Stone said two police cars circled the block, but neither stopped to help. Eventually she,
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  play/start celebrates the release of their new album 'The Alibi' Saturday at Saratoga Thursday
Don’t forget about PSU Pride. You can also prepare yourself for the weekend by making sure everyone’s safe at the Q Patrol training. And of course don’t forget the weekly Portland Idol and Drop Shop afterword (which I think is still happening?)
Friday
Q Center’s “Senior” Prom -Think pink and shake off the gray at this gay and lesbian community center re-imagining of that special adolescent night. Kickoff to the GG expo features dancing, entertainment and lite snacks for the 50+ set.
Feminist Film Society presents Temple Grandin – Claire Danes in sensible shoes in this early exploration of autism.
Twinks show premier party – RapidFire Productions premiers the show they’ve been filming at Scandals for the past month, but because it has the worst website implementation I’ve really ever seen, so I can’t tell you much about it.
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  Pride in Action award winners Belinda Carroll (L) and Joe LeBlanc Each year Pride NW gives out 3 awards just prior to Pride season, “Spirit of Pride” Award, Youth Award (22 years old or younger) and the “Pride In Action” Award (for volunteer work in service to the community), in addition to the Grand Marshall honor, which this year goes to La Lucha: Portland Latino Gay Pride.
This year’s Spirit of Pride award goes to former Q Center board member Bob Speltz, for some largely unrecognized behind the scenes work. According to Pride NW President Debra Porta, “As one of the original founders of the Q Center, Portland’s LGBTQ community center, Bob has been instrumental in bringing Portland’s LGBTQ community together in ways that had not happened before, and giving us a home to call our own.”
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  E Room/Weird Bar owner Kim Davis. Photo by Jamie Francis / The Oregonian Portland is a very homo-aware town but we are still small, and news travels fast. Here’s some of the things that caused the most uproar.
5 – Duende censorship, and the Pride parade route change
It was much more upsetting to witness the Rose Festival quash a chaste kiss in the Circus Project’s Duende, nearly forcing the performance to be canceled. There was nearly as much kerfuffle internally in the community when the Pride parade route was taken off the traditionally Stark Street triangle (aka Vaseline Alley). Sometimes the struggle comes from without, but the struggle within is just as powerful.
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  Sketch of the suspect in the anti-gay beating Although the assault happened over a month ago on November 1st the Mercury has just broken the story of a SE Portland man who was gay-bashed while walking home after police issued an alert today.
According to the Portland police alert that went out today, a man was walking home alone from a friend’s house just after midnight on November 1st and had to cross over the scary, barbed wire-encircled pedestrian walkway that goes over the train tracks at SE 16th and Brooklyn. This is an unsettling area—there is not much light at all and neighbors built an unpermitted skatepark at the base of the walkway, in part because the land was derelict and a magnet for crime.
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  Last year's Gender (Free) For All march. Photo by Heather Smith Gender (Free) For All recently changed its name to TransEnough, and it looks like the group may have many transitions on its plate, even in the midst of a summer full of Pride. This year’s gathering, which already splintered off from June’s Pride celebrations last year, has not been widely publicized and will not include a march at all.
This isn’t to say you shouldn’t go. At tomorrow’s rally in Unthank Park elected officials will assure us of their support and hopefully, give us examples of what they’ve accomplished and Amy Ruiz, LGBTQ Liaison from the Office of the Mayor, will read a proclamation establishing August 1-7 as Trans Week of Celebration. The lineup also includes speakers from Q Patrol, much loved Katie Carter and Amber Rollins from In Other Words, and comedy from Belinda Carroll.
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 Q Patrol Portland
Q Patrol, a local initiative started in the wake of recent attacks on LGBTQ Portlanders has announced that they will be holding their first training session at the Q Center. According to the founders, the first training session will focus on” responsibilities, duties, and organization–and there will be a brief question and answer session following the training presentation”.
The organization is queer-run and affiliated […]
 QUIPS . Queerly informed patrol system? Maybe Erik Estrada will be there too
A new hate crime reporting system will be announced, according to a press release sent out yesterday by Oregon State Attorney General John Kroger. The full breadth of the new initiative will be announced in a press conference scheduled to be held at 1030-1130 am today. We’re unlikely to be able to attend due […]
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