A figure skater in a maroon and black costume performs with an intense expression, raising a clenched fist during a routine on the ice.

Schools shootings, a new Montrose eatery and other top stories


By Johnny Trlica

Brunch is an important part of gay life and, as such, I was close to having to turn in my gay card. It took until February 11 before I attended my first brunch of 2018. It was a small intimate affair with my BFF and regular brunch partner Mychal Bass meeting at our usual location, Riva’s.

I am not quite sure how it took quite so long to attend the Sunday Funday ritual so many of us enjoy on a weekly basis, but I have decided it was not my fault. You see, Mychal decided to quit his job and move to Chicago in early January. Apparently he had not heard that it gets cold in the Windy City. Really cold. Oh, and it snows there, too. He came back home as fast he could and expects to be thawed out by Easter.

Our waiter at Riva’s was Randy Young who made sure Mychal and I were treated like VIPs, but then he does that for all his guests. We truly never saw the bottom of our bottomless mimosas until we pleaded with Randy that we had had enough, finally.

Having Sunday brunch at Riva’s with Mychal and waited on by staff like Randy who treat you like family, made me realize how much I missed it. I doubt I will wait so long between visits again.

Here are some of the news stories we’ve been reading on the Houston Rainbow Herald Facebook page.

From the mouths of children

Yet another mass shooting at a school has occurred and more than likely nothing will change to prevent another one in the future. Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida is the site of the latest school shooting where 17 people were killed. One of the school’s students had strong words for people in government who refuse to act to prevent more, reports CNN’s Anderson Cooper.

Speaking with Cooper, Cameron Kasky lambasted Republicans who sell their votes to the NRA —, taking specific aim at his Republican U.S. senator and governor. According to Kasky, there were many heroes at the Florida high school where former student Nikolas Cruz killed 17 people on Valentine’s Day but he sees no heroism in the words of Republicans who only offer their “thoughts and prayers.â€

“Everything I’ve heard where ‘we can’t do anything’ and ‘it’s out of our hands’ and ‘it’s inevitable,’ I think that’s a facade that the GOP is putting up,†He said before turning on the NRA. “After every shooting the NRA sends a memo saying ‘send your thoughts and prayers.’ This is the only country where this kind of thing happens. I’ve heard from other people; they don’t have gun drills. We had to prepare extensively at Stoneman Douglas. This is something that can be stopped and will be stopped.â€

“There is a segment of this society that will shrug this off and send their thoughts and prayers but march for hours over a rainbow wedding cake,†he added.

Shake Shack heading to Montrose

One of our favorite phrases is, “I never lost anything that I didn’t replace with something better.†If that is true then losing the Montrose Burger King turns out to be a god thing now that Shake Shack is taking over the shuttered home of the whopper, as reported on Swamplot.com.

Shake Shack, a fast casual restaurant chain based in New York, has signed a 15 year lease on the location at 1002 Westheimer, next to Blacksmith, formerly Mary’s Naturally.

Trump proposes massive cuts to HIV/AIDS programs

In the elections-have-consequences category, President Donald Trump’s proposed budget seeks to slash funding for HIV/AIDS programs reports HuffingtonPost.com.

“In Trump’s budget for fiscal year 2019, the administration proposed cutting millions of dollars for programs helping to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS in the U.S. The reductions included cutting $40 million from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s HIV/AIDS prevention programs, and $26 million from the federal housing program for people living with AIDS, among other cuts, according to nonprofit advocacy group, The AIDS Institute,†reads the report.

America’s sweetheart 

What? There’s a gay Olympics figure skater? Well, there’s an out Olympics skater, anyway. Adam Rippon became the first openly gay athlete to get a Winter Games medal for the U.S.

“I’ve gotten a lot of attention I think just for being myself. I think that a lot of people, when they come to a competition, are afraid to be themselves no matter who they are,†Rippon explained. “I think one thing that I want people to come away with from this competition is that I’m not a gay icon or America’s gay sweetheart — I’m just America’s sweetheart and I’m just an icon. And if you have a personality like mine, it’s for everybody.â€

In memoriam

Houston’s LGBTQ community lost a couple of its members recently. James Vance Raven died on February 6. He was a long time bartender in the Montrose area, working at Bricks II, Ripcord and the 611 Hyde Park Pub.

Daniel R. Kidd, 45 died on February 5. He was born in Detroit, Michigan and those who knew him will remember him as a giant Detroit Lions and Guns ‘N Roses fan.

Johnny Trlica is the manager of the Houston Rainbow Herald Facebook page, your source for the latest LGBTQ news and information. Contact him [email protected].

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