| Transcript |
How Are You at Dancing?
Shy or Outrageous?
Roz Ashley's Quiz, p.17
MONTROSE v a I c E
The Newspaper of Montrose Nov. 4, 1963 Issue .. 158 Published Every Friday
THE VOICE
RECOMMENDS
The Montrose Voice extensively
reaearched the candidates and the issues
in Tuesday's election and asks you to consider
our recommendations in these races:
Mayor: Kathy Whitmire
(also acceptable: Dick Slemmer)
Controller: Lance Lalor
District C Council: George Greanias
(District D Council: Rodney Ellio)
(Diotrict H Council: Dale Gorczynak i)
Council-at-Large Poo. 1: Anne Wheeler
Council-at-Large Poo. 2·
Eleanor Tinoley or
Carolyn Day Hoboon
Council-at-Large Poo. 3:
Jim Greenwood
Council-at-Large Poo. 4: Anthony Hall
(aloo acceptable: Nikki Van Hightower
and Marilu Rumfolo)
Council-at-Large Poo. 5;
Judson Robinson, Jr.
Propooition A (Convention Center): For
Propooition B (911 Emergency Number):
For
Constitutional Amendments: 4-Against.
6-For. 8-Againot. 9-For. 10-For. 11-For.
Whitmire,'Montrose Candidate,'Addresses the Neighborhood
By Robert Hyde
In an interview Wednesday evening following
the last of the community meetings
which have propelled her around the city
over the laat few week.I, incumbent Mayor
Kathy Whitmire paused for a moment to
address certain issues facing Montrose
and the gay community.
M~~~ =t C ele }:o~ ~~b1!;8 ~(
yeaTH," she said proudly. "I think it's a
very special neighborhood-one that has
a tr~mendous potential for being a good
place to hve, and I want to Bee that poten·
tial realized."
Prior to a hurried late-nightretum to her
office and then to face another event
before eight in the morning, Whitmire waa
relaxed and eager to express her appreciation
for the neighborhood. ao well as her
concerns for moat of it.8 citizens. At first,
ehe waa a bit nervous-not quite knowing
what to expect and perhaps realizing that
the gay community is sometimes capable
of throwing a wrench into a well-greased
political machine. Then ehe was quick to
warm, emiled easily and then confidently
expressed that she feele that her rapor
with our community has been a good one.
"I feel I've taken a strong position in
favor of human rights on the basis of any
form of discrimination based on sexual
preference," she said. uAnd the encouraging
thing io that the majority of our city
council feels that way also."
Over the past two years, the community
hao oeen many accomplishments at City
Hall. Whitmire is proudest of her appointment
of Police Chief Lee Brown and the
subsequent lessening of police harassment
of the community. In addition-and
eomething that would probably never
have taken place had her opponent in '81,
Jack Heard, won the race-new recruits to
the police department are being educated,
aa well as a few of the old ones.
"We provide in the trai~ing academy
some education on diverse lifestyles-gay
lifestyles-and we also have a task force
from the gay community meeting wi~1th e
police chief to help re•olve problems.
Aleo in th<' past, Wh1.tm~re _has
responded to nume-rous mv1tahon9
throughout the community to become
cloaPr to its key isauea. Unforlunate~y, ~he
admit& "I've received a lot more mvtta-tio;;
tt~~~ \~a;uf~~fi~"mention that she
appeared at the gay rights rally at the
Summit last year, as well as at the one
held the year before at Spotta Park.
But is the mayor ready to ride down Westheimer
in the Gay Pride Week Parade
next year, an event that many members of
the community would coneider an out.
right, forceful endorsement.
"Not especially," she says. "That's not
coming up until next summer, and it'8
something I haven't given any thought to
~~~~.?'b~: r~n!~~W:o~r=v:
commit to it at this point."
But overall, she sees her record with the
community as being a very positive one,
unhampered by many of the plagues that
have greeted San Francisco Mayor Diane
Feinstein.
"She's certainly had her problems with
the gay community," 8he said reflectively.
"Much more so than I have."
However, Mayor Whitmire was surprised
to learn that Houston's Gay Political
Caucus had failed to target her
mayoral race, although they did endorse
it, which has come to the attention of some
of her opponenta.
"I didn't know that they had failed to
target me," she said after a short laugh.
"I'm dioappointed, But we've had a lot of
people from GPC who've worked in the
campaign thi• time, just hke they did last
time. w.·.,. Ja.ct. .ooa •upperi.''
In addressing other i11ue8 important to
the Montrose area, 8he focused on a couple
of pet projects on which she's working.
She pointed with particular pride to the
rennovation of Cherryhurst Park and to
the proposed branch library in the area-a
Montrose first-for which the land has
already b.en purchased.
"Libraries were very important to me as
I was growing up in this city,'' she said.
"And I'm looking forward to the Montrose
branch library at Richmond and Mandel."
Tackling the isoue of pot-hole filled
Richmond Avenue, a thorn in the side of
anyone's whose driven the etreet, she jokingly
said, "lt'o terrible. I recommend that
you drive on Alabama, instead."
But plans are underway to bring that
bumpy stretch of Richmond up to the
otandardo of the reot of the thoroughfare.
"Richmond io one of tho worst streets in
~u~tftbecin?~yo~tv~~~y~i
street in such bad condition?'
"The plan is for the city to widen Richmond
Avenue. Richmond has been
widened on most of ita length, except for
that little area right there between Shepherd
and Yoakum where it needs to be
widened.'' she oaid. "And the plans have
been drawn up for sometime. and we have
redoubled our efforts to get the land
acquired so that we can go ahead with the
continued page I 0
Wright Challenges the Mayor, Hopes
to Defeat the Gay-Supported Candidate
By Pamela Wolfe
"Even though l didn 't get the GPC endor-
8ement, I feel like it'9 time that we concentrate
on tho8e things that unite us instead
of those thing8 t~at divide u9," said mayoral
candidate Bill Wright to the gay community
in a recent interview.
Wright i8 a smooth politician who
know• how to talk to people, as evidenced
by his actions of only two years ago when
he worked successfully as a fund.raiser in
Kathy Whitmire'• mayoral campaign. But
now he is Whitmire's major opponent.
And to prove how close their political
camps otill lie, both candidates ohare pol·
itical 9upport from several financial
backers, &8 well aa similar views. So as. a
former fund raiser and ally of Mayor Whit·
mire, Wright muot call to task his wellpolished
political okills to point out their
poli tical difference8.
Wright fai led to receive the politically·
influential endorsement of the Gay Politt·
cal Caucus. But according to Larry
Bagnerio, president of the GPC, he p888ed
~for~!;'C screening test "with flying
Bagnerio explained that while Wright
~le-arly undf'ratands and supports gay
1M&uea, "Kathy i8 the proven individual in
the gay Community,"
Candidate Bill Wright
In the 1981 mayoral campaign, theGPC
considered Whitmire'& candidacy as top
priority and targeted her race, concentrating
on rallying massive support in Mont·
rose for the then city controller. But this
year, the GPC targeted three other races,
instead.
Bagneris explained the GPC:• change
in priority a8 "our way of saymg to the
mayor 'wake up;' we expect more out of
people we deliver to."
The GPC leadership still encourages
membera to participate m Whitnure's
campaign, although it was not the priority
race for them this year
AB Mayor Whitmire'e former campaign
fundraiser, Wright 'held a pooition that
basically involved oelling her fine points
as a publi~ administrator ~nd po~tician.
Now he criticizes her polibcal pnorities,
blunders and weakneues.
When aoked to addreoo critico who may
focua on his oharp political about-face, he
replied, "I think in 1981, the thingo that I
wae talking about in terme ofWhitnnre's
promioeo, I believed-the need to restructure
government, to makeitmore efficient,
to spend our tax dollan according to priorities,
to have open and accessible govern·
menL I still believe in theee. If you look at
it, Whitmire'a the one who'a changed."
Seemingly unperturbed by a hectic
office and occasional interruptions from
echedule-eonecious aides, Wright con·
tinued pointing out hi8 major criticisms of
Whitmire'a administration.
The problem with city government, he
say8, is that "it's being run like a buainesa
where the clooed corporate board is mak·
ing all the decioiono without asking the
otockholders anything. That"o where the
mayor'• gone wrong."
continued JXll(e 8
2 MONTROSE VOICE I Nov. 4, 1983
WHY?
COUNCILMAN
ANTHONY HALL
Council member ANTHONY HALL has been a human rights advocate throughout his
twelve year political career. He is committed to the causes and issues which are
important to the Gay Community and he has the knowledge, the contacts and the
political skills to help us secure our rights.
Whenever we've needed him, he's been there-In the Texas Legislature, In
the City Council, In the Democratic Party.
LEGISLATIVE EXPERIENCE
In 1973, when Anthony Hall voted to repeal Texas Penal Code 21.06, he was booed
from the Legislature floor. At the time, he didn't have a gay constituency-he
opposed discrimination as a matter of principle.
In 1974, Anthony Hall received the Susan 8. Anthony Award from the Harris County
Women's Political Caucus for his legislative action on behalf of women's rights.
DEMOCRATIC PARTY EXPERIENCE
As a member of the State Democratic Executive Committee, Hall has championed
gay participation and gay issues.
As Chair of the Affirmative Action Committee and member of the Rules Committee,
Hall secured rules prohibiting discrimination because of race, sex or sexual
orientation.
When, in 1980, the State Democratic Party called for the repeal of 21.06, as chair of the
Convention Resolution Committee, Hall spoke from the podium in support of the
repeal.
In 1980, as a national delegate, Hall supported the inclusion of the Gay Rights Plank
in the National Democratic Party Platform.
CITY COUNCIL EXPERIENCE
In 1980, Hall voted to repeal Houston's Cross Dressing Ordinance. Whenever as~ed
by the GPC leadership, he has been willing to support us with legislation, resolution
and action.
As author of the City's Affirmative Action Resolution, Hall has agreed to sponsor an
amendment to include sexual orientation as a protected category.
As our friend, Councllmember Anthony Hall deserves our continued
support
VOTE FOR ANTHONY HALL
at large Position 4
Anthony Hall was recommended .as the bes~ candidate_ in Position 4 by the GPC
Political Action Screening Committee, but did not receive the GPC endorsement.
Paid for by the Anthony Half'°' City Couocil Comm1tt ... 2713 M••n. Houston. Tex .. 770l'J'J. J.E. Middleton. Sr . Treasurer
Mayor Whitmire with supporters previews site of Sunday's campaign event
Strolling with
the Mayor
11Stroll Down Institute Lane with the
Mayor" during a political reception for
Houston's gay community and Houston's
Mayor Kathy Whitmire on Sunday, Nov.
6, from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. beginning at 5301
Institute, the home of Jim Hazen.
The street will be closed to vehicular
traffic for the open air event which will
feature food, music, art and politicians.
Among the musical contributors will be
the Jazz En•emble from the High School
for Performing and Visual Arts, a strolling
barbershop quartet and strolling flutist,
plus continuous piano at the Hazen
open house.
Other festive attractions will include
early modes of Montrose transport-a
horse and buggy and an antique car-and
n 1964 Phantom Rolls R oyce.
Hot dogs, pretzels, ice cream sandwiches,
wine, beer and soft drinks will be
served at minimal cost. A $10 donation
will be requested to attend the afternoon
affair.
Institute Lane is a short street that
makes a "T" with Bissonnet at the 1400
block, about six blocks west of the
Museum of Fine Arts. Sunday parking on
Bissonnet is permitted.
'Gentlemen's
Quarterly' Declines
Gay Ad
Gentlemen's Quarterly, the national
fashion magazine probably found in more
gay homes than non-gay, has declined an
advertisement for Gay Housing LA '84,
the only firm to win approval by the California
Real Estate Department, reports
the firm's news release.
The firm, which recently embarked on a
worldwide ad campaign, was flatly
refused when they approach G.Q.
"It was made perfecUy clear by G.Q.
that the word 'gay' never appears on the
pages of their magazine. They claimed
that they had no idea (or intereet in knowing)
if any of their read ers were gay," BS id
Philip Twichel, president of Amber-Gold
Media in Los Angeles. "We wonder what
would happen if everyone who subscribed
let them know."
Jean O'Leary, of National Gay Rights
Advocates, said, "Unfortunately this kind
of discrimination is still legal, as oppressive
and outdated as it may seem to be."
GPC Admits
Push cards
are Illegal
By Pamela Wolfe
Issuing a pre-election warning, Gay Political
Caucus President Larry Bagneris
announced at the GPC meeting Wednesday
evening that mass-produced voting
pushcards are illegal.
According to Bagneris, County Clerk
Anita Rodeheaver, who is responsible for
managing city elections, notified all precinctjudges
that bloc cards are now considered
illegal. Yet since the pushcard is
extremely important in delivering the gay
community's bloc vote to City Hall, Bagneris
advised pulling out the pushcard
only while within the privacy of the voting
booth-or writing down GPC-endorsed
candidates on another sheet of paper.
In another area of discussion, GPC acti·
vist Ray Hill reminded members, in antici·
pation of civil righta abuses, that it is a
violation of an individual's constitutional
rights to be searched.
Later in the evening, past GPC President
Lee Harrington announced that President
Reagan signed a bill-with Coretta
Scott King at his side-commemorating a
national holiday for Martin Luther King.
Harrington had previously made a motion
for GPC members to endorse the bill,
which overwhelmingly passed. He
explained that it is most important that
the GPC endorse the bill out of respect for
human rights and in support of other
minority groups' struggles against discrimination.
Jn closing, Bagneris mentioned that the
"Election Central" party will be held at
Numbers, 300 Westheimer, Tuesday even·
ing. GPC members were also invited to
attend GPC-endorsed candidates' election
celebrations.
Paint Your Teeth
Are you tired of your yellow teeth? There's
no need to cap them, just paint them, says
Dentist Harold Horn in American Health.
It works just like dying your hair. First
you strip the old color then apply the new
tint. And if you think your teeth will look
too good, the dentist can always brush in a
few imperfections.
The name of the new tooth paint: "Rem·
brand!.''
Nov. 4, 1983 I M ONTROSE VOICE 3
Montrose
Mouth
Vote Tuesday
Yes, it's the election. Polls will be open
7am to 7pm. See you there.
-D-A
prominent artist will be visiting Texas
Renegades beginning Friday of next
week and through the weekend, when the
works of prominent artist Robert
Adragna will be on display from noon
until 5pm each day.
The New York artist. who has had
national exposure for his western and
science fiction works. will be on hand to
display his creations
Many VOICE readers may already be
familiar with his advertisements for Texas
Renegades, so plan to see this colorful art
on canvas next weekend.
-D-Aii
you home beer makers can celebrate
the legalization of home brewing this
weekend and put your own brand up for a
blue ribbon. Munchies Classic Cafe, 2349
81ssonnet 1n the Village, is hosting the
competition. and the public is invited to
get intoxicated by tasting the wide variety
of home brews For more information,
call 523-8154
Now someone recently asked how come
the Mouth 1s always talking about the University
of St Thomas. That's because
UST is the only university in Montrose
and they're always sending us their press
releases. of which we're only too happy to
publicize. So here we go
For all you lovers of Dixie-or curious
Yankees-the university will present
"Casino Night on the Mississippi Queen"'
(the boat!) Sat. night at 8 in Crooker Center
at 4001 Mt. Vernon. Then later in the
week in Cullen Hall. the flute troupe will
perform at 8 Mon., and there will be a
guitar concert Wed. at 8
All you jazz lovers can make plans for
next Friday's Fall Jazz Festival atthe High
School for the Performing Arts at 4001
Stanford. Concert time 1s at 7:30 p.m. in
Denney Theatre
-D-Area
"w1mm1n" can gather at the Houston
Wimmins Mini-Festival this Sunday to
celebrate women' arts, music and ideas.
Should be a fun time with live music, films
and artisans.
-D-Feminist
humorist Kate Clinton will be at
Treebeard's at 315 Travis Saturday night,
and for $12, you can see the show and
munch out on Cajun cuisine. Rumor has
11 that Kate's hysterical, and women love
her.
Montrose restaurateur Tim O'Reilly is
opening a downhome country and western
bar on Westheimer at the old Peyton
Place location, serving beer, wine and
mixed drinks Sam Bass 1s the manager
Homeowners
Fixing Their Own
The "do-it-yourself' revolution is picking
up speed. The majority of home repairs
and remodeling is now done by
homeowners rather than contractors,
reports USA Today.
Indusb"y analyst.a say the high cost of
profeHSional work has sparked the self.
help boom. Ten years ago, people doing
their own home repairs accounted for onethird
of all home improvement spending,
while the prediction is that in the next
decade, that'll go up to as much as twothirds.
4 MONTROSE VOICE I Nov. 4 , 1983
us.
Gay Political Caucus
Citizens For Human Equality
Greater Montrose Business Guild
Mayor Kathryn}. Whitmire
City Councilmember Eleanor Tinsley
City Councilmember George Greanias
State Representative Debra Danburg
"We support a new downtown convention center because it's the best
way to get Houston on the go again.
A new convention center will create 9,900 permanent jobs and 1,200
construction jobs.
And, by law; no Houstonian's tax dollars will be used to build or operate
the center. Visitors will pay for it when they pay a tax on their hotel bills.
A new downtown convention center is a common sense way to stimulate
Houston's economic recovery. We hope you'll support it."
The New Downtown
Convention Center.
Houston Gets The Benefits.
Visitors Pay The Bills.
And That's A Fact.
Vote For Proposition A.
p 't~OllH[f)(Jl&"TIJ'lil'(P''-l' ( 'II \ 1-.. ITl 10t lll"I; HXA
Nov. 4, 1983 I MONTROSE VOICE 5
The Montrose Voice Recommends ... Commentary
By Hollis Hood
On Nov. 8, Houstoniane must make significant
decisions about their city's future.
Citizens will determine who their mayor
will be, as well as who will represent them
in City Council.
They will determine how the hotel!
motel tax will be spent-on a convention
center or on projects to which it is presently
applied-and whether the state
should adopt several constitutional
amendments.
Citizens will also decide if they want a
catch-all emergency telephone number.
So in the int.ere-st of keeping its readers
informed, the VOICE addre•ses these
races and issues in hopes of stimulating
readers to closely examine the persons
and issues before going to the polls. But
above all-vote. It's your voice in govern·
ment when no one else listens, but it can
only speak when you use it.
MAYOR: KATHY WHITMIRE
Also AcceptabU!: Dick Slemmer
Imbumbent Whitmire, 37, many think,
will have stouter opposition than in her
1981 campaign when she carried 62 percent
of the vote. Certainly, Kathy has
shaken things up-it's hard to get a
bright, petite lady to be a "gool ol' boy" at
city hall. Apparently, she has antagonized
enough of the good old boys that they
have thrown some of their financial support
behind her most prominent opponent,
Bill Wright.
However, despite the running battles,
she and her controller wage, and despite
her critics' claims that she has headed the
city toward bankruptcy, she stands her
ground in pristine business suits, continu·
ing to pursue what she must consider the
most constructive way to improve life in
Houston . •
Montrose Voice
The Newspaper ol Montrose
Published every Friday
3317 Montrose Boulevard #306
Houston, TX 77006
Phone (713) 529--6490
Mo-itroC,~CUu.~~~~n;ng eo
M!.. _ Voke.11,0CIOCOpietweekly
OallasQ1yNf!Wl.8.000cop1•"'""-IY
tottlTe•••r" 11.000copinweell.ly
Contents copyright •1983
Office hours: 10am-5:30pm
HenryMcClurg
publisher
Ace+Cterk
.,fdlT9CIOf
Jett Brey
graphlts
s~;C:,,~~;is
Robert Hyde
m1negmg«:lttor
H,:;~:~~
Chuck Meredith
•1>«t1.01tor
Jon Cheetwood
Joel.Watts
tnttrt1mm.ntwrit1r1
LytHarris
adtrert.S•t1Qd•r.ctor
M!!,?~!~o
Jon Cheatwood
cJ1n1/•lde<hllff1SlrJg
~C:::~'::,~'::' Gr•ter Mon1rose BUl•nesl Guild. Gay
=~c:.,....JCN lnt9f'n1t•Of'lll Gly News Agency. P1e1hcNew1
Aus11nSurHu. C1pilOINew1Service
~=~~:~,~~~:~:~~=fi:~~~,~~:~~~:~~£-:.~~~~
McNeught.JoeS.ker
=~~u!~!. ~~7=r911 correction• to 3317 MontroM
Su~cr1p/KH1r1te1nUSln1N'-d.,,~iop. $4lilper)'ffr(52
luoet).S29~1111month1(2ellsues).orS125i-rweek( ... 1
thw!MiUUel) BiteklNUNS200HCh
N1t10nel~tlalflQ,.prllettfef<YeJoe01Sablto.R1~0ell
M1rh11ng.eeee1nA ... enue.NewYork.10011.(212)242-M63
Adv«l1smg deed111-.. Tuesdly. 5 lOpm, for !Al.II ,..,,led Frt·
dey .... nlng
Nol•t•toed>l«t11.n local1dvert1&1ng rlleacMduleS1x-A
w11etlec1tveJuty 1.1"83
lkcPQN1b1My 'Monll'OH Va'te" doM not INUfT'll raeponait1<
My lor 1ctv.rt1&1ng cll•ma. ReedefS lhould elef1 MQl'llrO ..
VOICe~IO•"'(~l1\l'e•OYefttS11'g
Whitmire is Voice's primary choice
Whitmire has been installing several
programs that win take time to prove
whether, in the overall scheme of things,
they are workable for Houston. People
who look for immediate solutions to problems
and issues which have taken decades
to develop should not be so naive as to look
to government for quick responses
Governments-municipal, county or
national-are not noted for quick response
time. The wheels of bureaucracy grind
slowly, and the coffers of municipal
money are even more recalcitrant.
In all justice, Whitmire's feminine
shoulders cannot bear the brunt of a
national economic near-depre.r;sion finally
hit Houston during her administration.
City services are down because at no time
in the city's history has demand for servi~
ces been at such a peek. Thousendsofpeo·
pie have poured jnto Houston during the
past two years-all of them looking for the
same job that was filled three days before
they arrived.
Houston ••wonderful-and it does have
it aJl-aa the visitor• and convention center
advocates boast, but sometimes with
the massive influx of people and recom·
bining of shifting populations, it is necesaary
to stand inJine or wait in traffic until
governmental mechanisms can take hold.
Tootsie (oops, Kathy) did try to do something
about transportation via the Metropolitan
Transit Authority's rail plan,
which she and moet of the council
endorsed. This newspaper, after doing
much research, came out ardently against
that project and still cannot reconcile that
there was much wisdom in it, but it would
have created jobs and would have stimulated
the economy. A mayor has to think
about putting people to work, making
taxes and making the city run.
Under Whitmire's administration, MTA
has gre.8tly improved service, going from
an on-time record of 47 percent to 90 percent.
Transitways on the Gulf, Katy and
North freeways will feature bus and van
lanes, and these lanes are under construe·
tion now.
Whitmire did fulfill her campaign promise
of improving streets, and 512 miles of
city throughfares have been resurfaced.
The mayor's office established the Redevelopment
Task Force to expedite innercity
redevelopment and create jobs, and a
new planning director was hired who has
been investigating target areas for neigh·
borhood revitalization.
Whitmire also fulfilled another campaign
promise of improving police protec·
tion, has cracked down on D\\1 offenders,
and under her leadership, HPD has instituted
the Directed Area Response Team in
an effort to improve police community
relations and law enforcement.
Specifically for the gay community,
Whitmire pushed for the $71,000 budget
item for an AIDS monitoring system and
approved the city grantrequestfor$9!,000
more from CDC. She has continually been
responsive to the gay community when its
concerns have come to her personal attention.
She, like all the candidates, is aware
that Houston needs increased water treatment
and sewnge treatment plants.
She has pushed for the convention cen·
ter in downtown because it will enhance
Houston's economy and create jobs.
Her administration's response after
Hurricane Alicia was immediate.
Whitmire constantly lobbys for Houston,
the giant-the almost unmanageable,
sprawling metropolis that it is. This is no
easy task, so if Whitmire seems curt, it's
because she doesn't have time for bullshit.
And that's the kind of person Houston
needs to harneBS its energy1 channeling it
to the bettRnnent of its citizens.
On the other hand, alternative Dick
Slemmer is untried in Houston politics,
Slemmer also gets Voice approval
but apparently is far from being politically
naive. He is the executive officer of
Consultech, a computer firm. He is. an
engineer, lawyer, CPA and recognized
expert in government administration and
finance, b well as a retired Air Force
colonel.
He is aware, as are we all, of the stresses
on Houston's economy, and his solutions
are: reject additional taxes, quit borrowing,
live within our means, promote effi.
ciency, eliminate waste. He, if elected,
would encourage civic association invol·
vement for a grass roots knowledge of how
government is affecting the people.
He also encourages thedevelopmentof a
comprehensive water plan.
And the one aspect of Slemmer that
makes him appeal to gays is that he has
sons who are gay and has adopted five
young gays as well. He is obviously sensi·
tive to gay iBSues and concerns. and as
seen from a special interest perspective,
would be the only candidate in the race.
CONTROLLER-LANCE LALOR
Perhaps no candidate on the ballot is
more deserving of the support of the gay
community as a special interest group
than is Lance Lalor, incumbent controller.
He is one of the few who has put motion
where his mouth is as an overt proponent
of gay rights. He has not been afraid to
speak his mind whenever he thought the
authority of his office has been questioned
or when the guardianship of the city's
funds, which he apparently tends with
jealous zeal, has been thwarted.
As far back as 1979 as a past state representative,
Lalor was active in removing a
rider prohibiting gay groups from using
university facilities. At that time, gay lobbyist
Betty Naylor in Austin was quoted
in Upfront as sa);ng, "Rep. La.Jar was
marvelous. He carried this point of order
for us without ever being asked to. The
ga,y community owes Rep. Lalor our special
thanks."
He was named one of the IO best legiola·
toni by Texas Monthly.
He has never failed to be cooperative
with constituent.& when on city council.
And on one occasion. he was seen danc·
ing at a chili cookoff at the Brazos River
Rottc•m
Lately. Lalor has been reclusive or per·
haps has become gun-shy of public comments
and has failed to respond to either
the League of Women Voters' questionnaire
or the Houston Chronicle Voters'
Guide. However. he did respond to the
VOICE's query about what he considered
his most outstanding accomplishment in
office.
"The succe88ful efforts we have made
"'rith cash management and our aggressive
investment policies are probably the
most critical," Lalor said. "We have
earned the city $103 million in the past
year through sophisticated investment
procedures, and that has done much to
improve the budget that is struggling."
When asked why he had not responded
to other organization's questions. he said,
continued next page
6 MONTROSE VOICE I Nov 4, 1983
The Voice's Choices-And Why
continued from previous page
"l haven't had time to do anytlung political.
I've got everything in a file marked
'campaign.' but I'm literally campaigning
on my record. I've been doing my job, and
that got to be enough."
AB the waU,hdog of city funds, Lalor has
certainly taken his job seriously, repeatedly
challenging the present administration
with financially sound arguments
against pr~poeed expenditures, such as
the MTA r&Jl proposal, the downtown convention
center and the city budget.
These attitudes may place Lalor at time
in an adversary position with other officials,
but Houston needs someone who
won't back down to help keep financial
~xpenditures in prospective. He's protecting
our money-that's his job.
DISTRICT C COUNCILMAN-GEORGE
GREANIAS
Incumbent Greaniae, 35, is a city councilperson
and associate professor of adminiatative
science at Jones Graduate
School, Rice University. Named as one of
the OuU.tanding Men of Houston in 1983
and featured as one of84 outstanding persons
in Houston by Houston City , Grea
nias favors computerization to help
promote government efficiency, stronger
policies ensuring safe water, a workable
water supply system and the neighbor·
hood police DART concept.
Greanias has been responsive to resi·
dent.a onf the Montrose area and stands as
an example of anti-discrimination in city
GnarUa., Montro.•1.Meyui.nd
co"""i""4n, tlourvn anotho urm
hall hirins. Althoqh lhe VOICE and
Grnniu have had clifferencea about how
rapidly oomethins muat be done to all•
viate a detoriora.lins !owe Wutheimer,
lhe wheel• are now in motion for what he
temuo u a oound aolution throqh lhe Su.ually
Oriented au.m- Ordinance. He ia
alao attemptins to do eometlrlns about
tran1portation in hi.a Transportation
Reform Ordinance, permitting private sector
innovation• to increase taxi caba and
vanpoola.
Perhape the most outstanding attribute
about Greania1 is that he isn't afraid to
tackle an unpopular or sensitive issue or
walk into a would-be hostile crowd. He is
1barp and innovative, and you have to run
to keep up with him. That's the kind of
energy Houston need1 on city council, and
by h.i.o lack of significant opposition, moat
of hie district thinks the same way.
AT-LARGE POSITION 2 (equally
recommended)-ELEANOR TINSLEY and
CAROLYN DAY HOBSON
Incumbent Tinoley hu been active
initiating ordinances that affect the quality
of life in Houston, such as regulations
on food vending machines and making it
against the law to leave unattended children
in a vehicle. She was an ardent proponent
of the MT A rail proposition and is
solidly behind the downtown convention
center. She told gay business and civil
leaders at a recent reception, "We on city
council have researched this as well as we
reserach anything and believe it to be
sound."
Regarding city finances, Tinsely favors
"a small tax increase" and user fees to
maintain services, facilities and equipmenl
She supports a comprehensive
people-mover plan in which buses are the
principal mode. She favors conversion
from well·water to surface·water in the
future because of subsidence problems in
Houston.
Carolyn Day Hobson, 38, a lawyer and
native Houstonian. has not served in
Houston politics before, and perhaps the
time is right for her. She favors an
expanded bus system and use of existing
rails for transit. She believes the solution
to the budget problem is in attracting new
business and industry to the city which
would solve the job problems and therefore
the tax woes.
Hobson is the current treasurer of the
Houston Lawyers' Association and is a
member of the Houston Commission on
Education. She has campaigned vigorously
for the gay vote and should be given
a chance to exercise her options for city
government.
AT LARGE POSITION 4-ANTHONY HALL
Also Acceptable: Nikki Van Hightower
and Marilu Rumfolo
Han. who resigned a secure seat on
council to run in the open race, said he
believes he can more effectively represent
all of Houston in an at.large position. The
39-year-old attorney has served in the
House of Representatives and was a U .S
Army captain in Viet Nam.
He suppom the Regional Mobility Plan
for easing Houston's transit problem. Thia
plan includes several grade separations
which have not been completed and a
greatly expanded bus fleet.
He favors the DART and HOW police
interaction programs and does not favor
tax increases.
He says the next 20 years will be critical
for Houston's water supply and use and
that planning must be done now.
Van Hightower, director of the Women'•
Center, ii a former professor and radio
political commentator. She favors a
larger, better-trained police force, emphuizea
community participation in fighting
crime, aupporta e:i.panding MTA'e bus
fleet and developing a tran•portation plan
from citizen input, and advocates the
development of a water quality and treatment
plan to phaseout groundwater use to
preYBnt aubeidence and floodins.
Rumfolo, 30, a native Hou.atonian, ii
di?ector of sovornmenial affairs for Time
Eneru Syotema, lnc. She-lhe biueat
problema the city muat tackle an lack of
plannins. criU manas...,....t. wuteflll
opendins. avorlappiq city oevicoe, utility
rate control, mua tranait, crime and
floodin1.
Rumfolo favon cuttins overlappins oervioee
and lhe wute out of lhe city budset
("eirht houro work for eisbt houra pay'')
and votin.a down the "unneceuary" con·
vention center project. Bayou beautifica·
lion ia a biggy with Rumfolo, u are all
&1pecta of water-analyzing-ia it 1&fe and
will there be enough of it? She opposes
utility rate increases and propo8e8 a city
inventory ,including streets and street
repair.
Hall, Van Hightower and Rumfola all
are outapoken and all give the impression
of being able to get things done if elected.
Nobody here ia afraid of a fight, and
nobody here i1 afraid of gay righUI within
the bound• of logical expectations, but
Hall outrank.a the ladies in experience in
Houaton politica.
Eleanor Tinaley geta dual endorsement with •..
. .. Carolyn Hobbo for at-large council nat 2
Jim Groenwood endoroed for at-large council aeat 3
Other Races, Propositions
and Amendments ...
In other races, the VOICE endorses:
Dl1tr1ct D-Rodney Elll1
Dl1tr1ct H-0111 Gorczyn1kl
At-Lorge Po1ltlon 1-Anne Wheeler
At-Lorge Po1ltlon 3-Jlm Greenwood
At-large Po1ltlon S-Jud1on Robln1on, Jr.
These persons have distinguished themselves
and some of them have campaigned
ardently in the gay community.
PROPOSITION A-CONVENTION CENTER
The VOICE endorses the downtown convention
center project, if proponents of the
center can do what they say they can.
The convention center would certainly
stimulate the economy, pumping vital life
into a declining construction industry and
providing jobs principally in entertainment
and service& for many people.
Convention center advocates and Texas
Eastern Corporation have courted the gay
community for some months on this issue,
convinced that Montrose especially would
benefit moet from the center's downtown
location.
911 EMERGENCY NUMBER
ProPonents of the 911 emergency tele·
phone number say that it is the fastest
means of summoning help in a crisis. This
proposition would create the Emergency
Network for Greater Harris County and
authorize a user fee (talk has been of 20¢)
per month for the service.
When a distressed person dials the
number, a computer would a utomatically
route the call to the cloaeat appropriate
agency in that area.
The ballot ia only to decide if the propG8i·
ti.on should be initiated in the metro area.
Opponent& view it aa a potential for a computerized
invBBion of privacy on a grand
scale.
Anthony Hall is the ~oice's first choice
for at·large city C"ouncil seat 4
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Voters will be called upGn to change the
Texas constitution through Amendments
on Nov. 8. The foJlowing is a synopsis of
the proposed amendments and pro and
con statements on each.
No. I. Authorize fewer justices of the
peace and constables in counties of fewer
than 30,000, providing for continuous .services
of these officials when the precinct
boundaries are changed.
FOR: Many counties don't need four
JP's and four constable&, and the requirement
creates a burden.
AGAINST: Reducing the number of
elected officials sets a precedent for cutting
representation, specifically minority
representation.
No. 2. Placing limitation on urban
homeatead from $10,000 value to one acre.
FOR: Space allocation, not value, is
more equitable because of changing economy.
AGAINST: One acre is too generous;
one-half for urban purposes would be
ample.
No. 3. Provide for advancement of food
and fiber production and marketing
through research, education and promotion
financed by producers of agricultural
products. (Applies to farmers.)
FOR: Uniform collection procedures
would allow additional revenue to promote
marketing and research.
AGAINST: Increased paperwork would
discourage producers from applying for
refunds . A similar amendment was
rejected in 1977.
No. 4. Statutory provision& for succession
of public office during disasters
caused by enemy attack and suspension of
constitution protocol during the attack.
FOR: Proper civil defense could save
lives, and the state government needs
power to respond to enemy attack.
AGAINST: In the event of enemy attack
(nuclear), the federal government would
assume control, making this amendment
mute.
No. 5. Use permanent school board
funds to guarantee bonds issued by school
districts. School boards can use "trust"
funds to guarantee loans.
FOR: A bond-guarantee program would
improve interest rates, making bonds
cheaper for schools.
AGAINST: If bonds are guaranteed,
contingency must be made for default
Bhould they fail.
No. 6. Court ordered garnishment of
wages for back child suppGrt.
FOR: Thia is one offew ways to guarantee
payment to minor children.
AGAINST: The administrative burden
would fall on employers, and this is the
first step in allowing garnishment for
other purposes
No. 7. Provide financial assistance to
veterans and to authorize the issuance of
$800 million in bonds of the state to
finance Veterans' ·Land Program and
Veterans' Housing Assistance Program.
FOR: Long-term, low interest mortgage
loans would enable Texas veterans to
finance homes they could not otherwise
afford.
AGAINST: A dispropGrtionate amount
of the state's credit is already used for veterans,
and similar assistance is available
through the federal government.
No. 8. Exempt veterans and fraternal
organizations from property taxes.
FOR: Many organizations would not be
able to survive without the tax breaks they
receive.
AGAINST: Exemptions would shift tax
burden to already pressed taxpayers.
No. 9. Probate judges allowed to substitute
in statutory county court, probate jursidiction
or constitutional county court.
I<'OR: Probate cases are complicated.
Some judges may not be lawyers and may
~~n1:f; 1,~:;.i~i!° !:~rd~ ~':bt0:u~l1;!
persons to hear the case.
AGAINST: Judges might not be availa·
ble in their home areas.
No. 10. Permit city to expend public
funds and levy a88essment for relocation
ofsewerlines.
FOR: This would facilitate needed
replacement of lines.
AGAINST: The five-year repayment
plan for levy on home& is too short.
No. 11. Change the Board of Pardons
and Paroles from a constitutional agency
and give the board power to revoke
paroles.
FOR: Thia would expedite the parole
process and eave money.
ApAINST: The present governor control
of veto """' patoles is a safeguard to
release system.
Nov. 4, 1983 I MONTROSE VOICE 7
Mention this ad for 10% Discount on All Service
FOR ALL YOUR REPAIR NEEDS
Foreign end Domestic
• Guaranteed Mechanical Work
• Total Transmission Service
• Air Conditioning Specials-Free Check
• Body Work & Paint ShOf> • Free Customer Tow Service
• Fleet Pnces on all Service
SPORTS CAR SPECIALTIES
ENGLISH AUTO RW,¢~R (FULL SERVICE)
RAY DORSEY
200 PIERCE
(713) 650-0591
Owners
Tony Pegg, Lance Harrington, David Disher
:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·
8 MONTROSE VOICE I Nov. 4, 1983
Wright Challenges Whitmire
contin!l«l from page 1
Wright believes her administration
failed in remaining open and accessible to
citizens and community groups as a result
of the mayor's incapability of taking criticism
that goes with public life.
To prove Whitmire'• shortcomings, he
claimed that the last four chain of the
mayor's Hispanic Advisory Board are
now on Wright's campaign committee.
The GPC ia another example, he says, to
prove Whitmire has alienated her main
supportero. He maintained, "Even though
the GPC has endorsed her candidacy, they
haven't targeted her race."
But Bagnerieo, on the other hand, countered
Wright's assertion: "We've got
proven acceu to government throuah
Kathy Whitmire."
Wright contends that Mayor Whitmire
reneged on her promiee to cut adminiatrative
overhead through reetructurinir city
government. The mayor considered coneolidating
24 departments into "anywhere
from 9 to 11 departments," Wright
explained. "If you condense the department
and have one department head
instead of three or four, you wind up cut·
ting out the administrative overhead, the
higher salaries-that's where the fat is.
And she hasn't done that."
But according to Paul Mabry, spokesman
for the mayor, government restructuring
took shape this past summer when
three city departments were consolidated
to form the Department of Finance and
Adminiatration.
Once elected, Wright promises to Bave
$30 to $40 million dollaro from completely
reorganizing city government. He also
promises to maintain a balanced budget
and avoid tax increases.
Then closer to home, Wright addressed
the proliferation of sexually-oriented buei·
nesses ($OBI on lower Westheimer which
remains one of Montroee's most volatile
isauea with the present administration.
And at a recent gathering of the Avondale
Association at the Bering Memorial
Church, member Chris Anderson
various political candidates nationwide.
He denied quite emphatically that he
raised funda solely for politicians his
employer supprted or for politicans who
promised to benefit the oil and gas industries.
Yet Wright has been deacribed as
Warrens political operative in the Democratic
party.
"It was a unique situation," claims
Wright of his vice presidential position
under former employer Jack Warren. "I
made sure when I came to work for them
that I would have no lobbying responsibilities,
and I would have the opportunity to
support whomever I wanted to."
Jack Warren commented recently in
Houston City that Wright lobbied u his
former employee. And perhapa due to
further comments by Warren in this magazine,
Wright has had to face criticiam
over hi1 managerial capabilities.
Warren deacribed Wright aa a "super
nice guy, but totally Jacking in adminiJ.
trative and managerial 1kill1."
Cool and 1mooth as ever, Wright replied,
"It's intereoting that in the four years that
I worked there, I got aalary and promotion
increases riirht up to the time I resigned.
Matter of fact, they just promoted me two
weeks before I resigned. It was only when I
took on Jack Warren's favorite politican
Kathy Whitmire, that he began to say
those things about me. He told people that
I would be the next governor of Texas."
Apart from his political experiencea
within the oil and gas industry, at 39,
Wright'• political aavvy and experience is
notable: He had worked under former
President Lyndon Johnaon, Senator
Lloyd Bentsen and two governors, as well
as served on the board offourstateuniver·
sities.
Wright claims to be a trained and educated
public administrator, citing as proof
a Master's degree in Public Administration
from the LBJ School of Public Affairs
at the University of Texas.
If he win1 the mayoral race, it will be hia
first elected position.
:i:.:s:r~fifiede~~~:T~M ;;:~i!h~ Vandals Harass 0 clean up" Westheimer in the past two
yeTugaincontrolovertheproliferationof Gay Women
SO&, Wright believes the city attorney
must be much more forceful in padlocking
sitee of proetitution by enforcing laws
already in the books. He also said he
would 1upport reguJations concerning
SO Bs as stringently as he could, as long as
they do not infringe upon constitutional
rights, such as the First Amendment.
Addre88ing the problem of police
haraument toward members of the gay
community, Wright proposes that the
Houston Police Department should establish
foot patrols in Montrose. He believes
that foot patrols, a more personal form of
community law enforcement and protection,
would cause police to become more
familiar with the community, not only
with business owners, but also with Montrose
residents aa well.
He explained, "I thinlt it would help
avoid some of the undue ha.raasment
toward eome of the people who live in
Montrose."
And Wright intends to retain Whitmire'•
appointee, Police Chief Lee Brown.
Accordinir to Bagneris, since the HPD
has improved in terms of police brutality
and gay harassment under Chief Brown,
Wright'• stated intention "is a great move
in saying to us that I think he's doing a
great job in the area you people are having
problems with, and I'm supporting the job
he's trying to do."
Even though Wright served as vicepresident
of corporate affairs for four years of
Warren King Companies, a conglomera·
tion of oil and gas firms, he proved to be
surprisingly vague about the position
through which he waa rated one of the top
ten power brokers in the Texas oil and gas
mdustry. When asked to elaborate on how
this influential position helped to prepare
him for the mayor's office, he hedged.
At Warren, hi1 responsibilities included
taiaina substantial amounts of money for
~[. ~'lnw~;. ~~:_r•
BERKELEY, Calif.-Vandals hurled concrete
blocks through the plate-glass windows
of a lesbian-owned restaurant in
October, the lastest in a aeriea of incident.a
that the cafe's owners say is a campaign of
anti-lesbian harassment.
Joan Antonuccio, co-owner of the Brick
Hut Cafe, a decade-old Berkeley landmark,
told reporters that earlier in the
week she received an anonymous telephone
call warning that "if you bitches
don't stop fondling our children, we will
torch your place."
Although moet of the Brick Hut's clientele
is non-gay, it is operated openly as a
J .. bian-owned business, with a bulletin
board that displays notices about lesbian
events in the greater San Francisco area.
Although the incident had been
reported immediately to Berkeley police
by a man who livea in an apartment above
the rMtaurant, Antonuccio aaid neither
she nor her partner were aware of the incident
until they arrived to open the cafe
Sunday morning.
Antonuccio said that the landlord "is
very supportive of us," adding that she
and her partner just signed a new 10-year
lease, and that "he will probably bill us
only $500 for the windows."
Barbara Lubin, a member of the Berkeley
school board and a regular customer of
the Brick Hut, waa angered over the incident,
promising to meet with the chief of
police and Mayor Eugene Newport to ask
for beefed-up police patrols and to discuss
"the implications of this kind of atrocious
attack on the gay community.''
In 1978, the Berkeley City Council
passed a gay rights ordinance that is
1tronger than that of San Francisco in
that it provides for civil and criminal
penalties for violato111.
NOTICE!
Nightly Happy Hour
10pm till 12:30am
Saturday, Nov. 5
Jail Break Party for Pickles
10pm
New DJ Wayne Barton
Nov. 4, 1983 I MONTROSE VOICE 9
PROPOSITION A
A Bad Deal For Taxpayers
On November 8, Houston taxpayers will face Proposition A - a measure that
will determine how our city's crucial Hotel Occupancy Tax is spent for the next 30
years.
If Proposition A is approved, Houston will be required by law to use a// of that
money to pay for an Eastside downtown convention center costing $500 million
- Houston's third convention center.
If Proposition A is defeated, Houston will be allowed to continue investing its
hotef tax money in a number of important and vital city services and civic
improvement projects.
What's your choice? It's your money.
D A YES Vote On Proposition A Means:
1. An Eastside downtown convention center
costing $500 million.
2. Another tax increase.
3. Cuts money for essential city services.
4. Cuts millions in police protection.
5. Cuts millions for street repair and
maintenance. More potholes.
MA NO Vote On Proposition A Means:
1. If in the future there's a documented
need, a convention center could be built
for one-fourth the cost, in half the time,
on land already paid for.
2. No tax increase.
3. Hundreds of millions of dollars more for
essential city services.
4. More money for police protection.
5. More dollars for street repair. Fewer
potholes.
6. Development of Buffalo Bayou - creation
of a Bayou Walk - that will bring tourists
to Houston, thus creating thousands of
permanent jobs and bringing in millions
of dollars of new revenue to Houston.
7. A new flood control program to protect
against further disasters like Hurricane
Alicia.
8. More money for the City's libraries.
9. More money for the City Zoo.
10. More money for parks and recreation.
Vote AGAINST Proposition A, November 8
1
Political adverlisement paid foe b¥ the ; air Vote Committee, Gene Stoffel, Treasurer
Lliiiiiiii' iiiiiiiii-i-iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii_i_i_i_i_i~ill. .........,. ............ ... ....., .• ~.~11i~"lri l.i•" m'i.11111'im'" iill
10 MONTROSE VOICE/ Nov.4, 1983
Kathy Whitmire,
the 'Montrose Candidate'
continued from page J
widening. And as soon as we finish acquring
the rights-of-way, then we'll be ready
to widen it."
The mayor also mentioned that that is
why there has been no resurfacing of the
rough section of the street to date.
It was also stated that there is more in
store for this particular stretch of Richmond
than widening. Plans are underway
to plant street trees once the road has been
improved, in addition to giving the sidewalks
special treatment-all in an
attempt to encourage quality development
of the area.
And the Richmond project has only
been underway since 1982. It had been
tabled prior to Whitmire' a administration.
Whitmire also addressed the issue pertaining
to controlling sexually oriented
businesses in the area, admitting that legislating
any business operation is a sticky
i88ue under the aegis of the courts. She
mentioned that the city had tried this in
!~~~::.t and, due to the courts, without
"The goal is to provide some type of regulation
of sexually oriented businesses.
both in terms of where they're located and
what type of outside ~inage they can
have,~'
She mentioned that Councilman George
Grearuas had becn adamantly working
for the past year on an ordinance that wil I
be legally defensible that will control
these busin ..... and help preserve the
neighborhood.
"I think it will be an effective ordinance
when it'• pa88ed," she •aid. "It p&88ed on
first reading today," she added. mentioning
that it wiH go through two more readings
before it is officially tested.
Regarding crime in the area, Whitmire
mentioned that she has been very pleased
with Chief Brown's attempt to change the
course of the Houston Police Department,
and is also looking forward to when Montrose
will be incorporated into a direct area
response tellm (DART) manner of policing,
a procedure that is already underway
just south of the area, a nd will see policemen
operating out of a "neighborhood"
headquarters instead of primarily from
patrol cars and downtown, as they are currently
doing.
But she sees the present neighborhood
driving patrols as the best approach at the
moment to area crime, primarily because
of a man Power shortage. In the future, she
will look to the establishment of foot
patrols in the p.rea, also.
"I think along Westheimer will be a
potential area (for foot patrols) where you
have a lot of commercial activity and a lot
of pedestrian traffic," she said of the criteria
that would be used for establishing
such a service.
Whitmire has been proud of the people
in thie city and looks at her last two years
in office as presenting her "with some of
the most challenging and gratifying
opPortunities that I can imagine," she
=~~; '"This has been a fai:;cinating time for
So nding the wave of elat on kicked up
Join us for a
GET
ACQUAINTED
BREAKFAST
SPECIAL, 99¢,
weekdays
2 eggs, bacon
& toast
~~~?t~~'h~3: ·:i:!~1':d".d~P,:,0 • .'j~~rit~.; 808 LOVETT ______ _.
!":~;:;:"~ ~~=·~;;~;•;:t~;:~nbJ'd~~~ ~h~t .. ----•serving Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner ____ ..
the Dustin Hoffman look-alike, and the Open Weekends, Orders to Go ____ ..
d'r':sa'::!~nwl~ :.."n,te;tri~:~ ~f~O a~0J:! 521-1015
helm of this giant metropolis for another open 7 am-1 Opm
two years
Jesse Jackson Sees
Gays as Rich,
Influential
~(. ~~~i;i~~t~ce
Last September, a black-tie crowd of 1000
gays heard Reverend Jesse Jackson, the
prime spokesman of today's black move·
ment, ask for gay people to join blacks and
other minorities in a political alliance. The
event wae the second annual dinner of the
Human Rights Campaign Fund at the
Grand Ballroom of New York's Waldorf.
Astoria Hotel.
Jackson was fiery and evangelical in
his delivery and sounded as if he had done
some homework on gay issues, but proba·
bly not enough. Although well received,
the possible presidential candidate was
still perceived to be lacking in understanding
of gay lifestyles and agenda.
Harvey Fierstein, writer of the hit musical
La Cage aux Foiles and the evening's
M.C., politely corrected Jackson on a couple
of his comments following his keynote
address. Jackson had said "Sexuality is a
private thing and was not other people's
busine88." Drawing a burst of applause,
Fierstein later said, "I would like to let you
know that my sexuality is NOT a private
thing, and I would like to be able to walk
down the street and kiss my lover in public
as freely as you can with your wife."
In a litany ofobeervatione, Jackson had
said, "Sex is a thrill, but so is getting the
voting rights law passed in the 60s. Sex is
a thrill, but so is unscrewing all the
nuclear heads off all those mi88les. Sex is a
thrill, but so is passing the ERA." To that
Fierstein commented, "Yes, sex is a thrill,
but being gay is a lot more than being just
a eexual person," and the ballroom went
wild for a second time.
Jackson noted that the gay community
represented something totally unique in
minority communities in that among the
gay population is a white, middle class,
privileaed economic group of people with a
very high number of registered voters and
a large voting turnout, which he said was
quite the opposite of the black and
women's communities. He viewed gay people
as being a rich and influential minority,
one which could be very useful within
the Rainbow Coalition oflabor and minority
groups he had been actively pursuing.
"You have power if you use it," he told the
audience. To illustrate his point of building
coalitione, Jackson read off a list of
black legislators supporting gay rights
bills in Congress.
Prior to hie appearance at the HRCF
dinner, the New York Native editorially
wondered if he might talk with the two
black city councilmembers who have consistently
voted against a New York city
gay right.a ordinance and elicit their future
backing. The question of the illusive ordi·
nance was not addressed. Conspicuously
absent from the dinner was New York
Mayor Ed Koch who was nowhere to be
seen. He did send a telegram though,
which was read aloud and soundly booed
by the entire tuxedoed crowd.
Entertainment was provided by La
Cage aux Foiles star George Hearn who
1ang "! Am What I Am,'' and by Pattie
LaBelle who performed six numbers
which tore the gathering apart.
Presidential Aides
Getting
Higher Pay
Candidate Reagan may have campaigned
against government spending, ~ut you'd
never know it to look at the White House
payroll. Colorado Congresswoman Pat
Schroeder 1aya in the Wash111gton Poat
that Reagan has appointed nearly three
times as many high·paid staffers as
Jimmy Carter.
Under Reagan, the average salary of a
presidential aide has risen from $48,000 a
year to nearly $64,000. Schroeder says
Reagan' hirinR pohcy aeems 11inc:oruWtt
. en ..-i\h his pled11• ,, rOOUC$ the 11u and
cost of government
NOV. 4, 1983 I MONTROSE VOICE 11
Every
Friday,
Al/Over
Montrose,
The Voice
Informs-, n a1n
Thousands.
The Montrose Voice is read each week by
nearly 30,000 in Houston. That's
thousands more than any other gay or
Montrose community publication.
When you have a message to deliver to
Montrose, put it in the Voice ...
the professional, dedicated,
community-involved Montrose Voice.
12 MONTROSE VOICE/ Nov 4, 1983
t¥Js~!ii~~~.~~et r-M-.,·=:-_: ·_l:: •;::/l-:t-~-c--~.- ---.).-,.-.- -_i_)-!:..·_{.;_t_;:~: . ....
National Gay Task Force Executive Direc- "THE liLTHIA TF BAAED POTATO
tor Virginia M. Apuzzo, in a meeting Oct.
18th with top federal Medicare and Medi·
ca id officials. called on the Reagan administration
to address "some of the systemic
problems with our nation's health care
programs that our experience with the
AIDS crisis has underscored so dramatically,'
reports NGTF.
Three ma1or areas of concern relating to
Medicare and Medicaid and the AIDS cri·
.. is were identified. They were problems in
entitlement education-letting individu
als know what federal and <tate health
aSBietance benefits are available to them;
coverage of experimental treatments for
AIDS under Medicare and Medicaid; and
the huge fiscal burden placed on public
hospitals in cities with high numbers of
AIDS C88e8.
Jay Lipner. special counsel to the Gay
Men's Health Crisis, said there is a "massive
sense of confusion" regarding what
benefits people with AIDS are entitled to.
Dr. Carolyne Davis, Administrator of
the Health Care Financing Administration
(HCFAJ, committed herself to discussions
on this issue with the Social Security
Administration and the state directors of
Medicaid, who actually implement the
Medicaid progTam.
Apuzzo &trf'ued that "we are not asking
for special treatment or special benefits~
we are asking that a mechanism be put in
place that improves communication for all
potential beneficiaries."
One of the questions raised was whether
Medicare, and ultimately Medicaid programs.
would cover some of the new
methods being used to treat AIDS.
Also, Apuzzo said that the fiscal burden
that the AIDS crisis has placed on public
hospitals "begs for attention from the federal
government."
Apuzzo de8l'Tibed the meeting "as as
opening round in bringing to the govern·
ment'e attention our concerns regarding
health care costs. We hope this admini•·
tration'• interest in all aspects of the AIDS
crisis will result in some fundamental
changes in how our health care system
deals with health emergencies and edu·
cate8 the public about program• to which
they are entitled."
Sexual Exile
Terms
Brazil Paradise
In response to a promised campaign of
extermination of Argentine homosexuals
by a clandeatined Nazi commando group,
some 10.000 gays have fled Argentina,
Chile and Uruguay for what one "sexual
exile"' ~rmed.a paradise in Brazil, reports
the Knight· Ridder newspaper gToup.
Seventeen gay men have been
strangled. stabbed or beaten to death in
the past 15 months after the Nazi gToup
burned down a Buenos Aires theater
which had included gay sketches in a
review
The murders took place in one 30-block
area of the city, reportedly a place with one
of the world's loweet crime rates. and the
police have not solved one case to date.
The murd.era come after seven years of systematic
gay repreuion in Argentina,
beginning in 1976 when a military coup
shut down 11ay oaunu, bars and hotels.
Argentines detained for suspicion of
begin gay received 30-day jail sentences
and were branded in the national computer
file aa gay. Nestor Perlonghar, one of
the exiles. was arreated 15 time• before
leaving the country.
In Chile and Uruguay and other South·
em Cone dictatorships, repression is leea
violent than in Argentina. but there is no
open bomo.ea.ual activity.
SPUDS AREA
GIRESBEST
FRIEND!
416 Westheimer
Houston, TX 77006
520-0554
A Full-Service
Travel Agency
for the Gay Community
Houston Phone 529-8464
Texas Toll Free 1-800-392-5193
0 Regular Subscription $30
D Trial Subscription $15
Name _________________ _
Addre.~----------------~
Cify. ________ State __ Zip ____ _
Type of Computer _______________ _
Clip and Mail to: GNIC NETWORK
c/o Montrose Voice Publishing
3317 Montrose #306, Houston, TX 77006
Scientists Conclude
Monkeys
had AIDS
Scientists at the New England Regional
Primate Research Center in Southboro,
Mass., have concluded that more than
two-thirds of the 70 Taiwanese rock
macaques, an endangered monkey species,
died from AlDS or diseases so similiar
as to be mistaken for the Acquired
Immune Deficiency Syndrome, reports the
Associated Press.
Recently, they discovered a virus causes
the disease in monkeys, but did not speculate
on the probablity of what causes the
similar situation in humans. Dr. Norman
L l..etvin of the center said the microbe
may not matter. By studying the viruRes
that are causing Rimilar disea~es, he RBid,
Letters to the Editor
Montrose Voice
3317 Montrose #306
Houston, TX 77006
they can learn alot about how the virus
can cause opportunistic tumors and infections
similiar to those encountered in
humans with immuno-suppressed sys·
terns
When going over the records of how the
monkeys died in 1980 and 1981, scientists
found they had either a cancer called lymphoma
or rare forms of pheumonia and
tuberculosis-a11 similar to the same conditions
killing AIDS victims
In experiments. researchers injected
healthy animals with tumor tissue. Some
of the infected animals got lymphoma,
some got AIDS. Their immune systems
coJlapeed, and they died of infections.
Letvin cautioned that similar viruses
may cause aimiJar infections, but only in
different species, so the virus at work in
the monkeys may not be the identical
virus causing human fatalities. However,
he said it is timely, "if not urgent," to find
out what the virus is.
AIDS Issue
Prominent in
Sodomy Statute
Appeal
The rationale that Ttxas' sodomy statute
be reenacted because of AIDS is creating a
controversy prior to an appellatecourtrul·
ing on the statute which was struck down
as being unc~mstitutional last year.
Amarillo's District Attorney is arguing
that the sodomy statute is necessary to
control AIDS in an attempt to influence
the U.S. Court of Appeals' decision,
although he did not bring up the argument
at the trial level.
"It i1 simply improper to bring up a new
issue for the first time at the appellate
level," said Leonard Graff, National Gay
Rights Advocate legal director. 0 And even
if they could, it is a weak argument,
because nobody had even heard of AIDS
at the time the Texas legislature enacted
the sodomy statute."
Jean O'Leary, executive director of
NGRA. said "The D.A. is trying to exploit
the public hysteria and to use irrational
fear in an emotional attempt to persuade
the court. We expect the court to disregard
this shallow tactic."
Termites
on Increase
The population migration to the sun belt
haa meant one thing to the region's termites:
food.
A study by Texas A&M found that
nearly two-thirds of eun belt homes aged
10 yeara or Iese are infested by the wood·
eating bugs. For older homes, it could be
up to 97 percent
Aggravating the problem is the recent
~~;~l ~!nt:::::a:::~~~ot~:ineatef:si~;
than its domeatic cousins, reports the Wall
Street Journal.
Neiman-Marcus
and Diana
Foundation to
Host AIDS Benefit
Houston 'a Diana Foundation, in a880Ciation
with Neiman-Marcus, will co-host an
AIDS benefit for people who have
acquired the syndrome.
"This ie the first time a major business
such aa Neiman's has earnestly stepped
forward to help our community. And we
hope that others will follow," Tim Weaver,
public relations director of the Diana
Foundation, said.
The plan is to have members of the community
donate dollars to the KS/ AIDS
Foundation of Houston and receive a
ticket which will qualify them for a door
prize being donated by the glamorous
department store at a private fashion
show on November 13.
First prize will be a men's full length
ranch mink coat. Second prize will be a
men's racoon jacket.
"We urge all of you to purchase your
tickets from Diana members or by calling
KS/ AIDS (524-AIDS)," Weaver said.
Gay Man Runs in
Key West Mayoral
Election
Richard Heyman, 48, art gallery owner
and city commiasioner in Key West, F1a.,
ia gay and running for mayor of the city,
opposed by Richard Kerr, a former county
commissioner and member of an old-line
Key West family set. Kerr's campaign,
although not overtly, has centered around
the fact that Heyman is gay, and Kerr use•
anti-gay sentiment, which aa one supporter
put it, ia "fear that if a gay got elected
mayor, it would bring more of them down
here" (oops, there goes the neighborhood).
This was reported by the Kni11ht-Ridder
newepaper group.
Heyman has preferred to run an issueoriented
campaign. Always a strong opponent
of the good ol' boy syndrome at work
in the five-member city commission, he
has repeatedly called for a performance
audit of City Electric System and the hiring
of more women and minorities at city
hall, and he established a task force to
investigate the millions of gallons of illegally
dumped sewage into the ocean.
In a city where hundreds of gays have
chosen to invest in homes and busineases,
it has not been necessary for Heyman to be
an ardent gay rights activiat. As a local
politican said, everyone knows he is a
homosexual, but nobody would call him a
bad politican.
Key West is an area evolving from a
Latin macho ethnic to a tourist-oriented
city, and Heyman backers say that Kerr
and the good ol' boys are lining up for a
last-ditch effort to avoid the inevitable economic
and social changes typified by Hey·
man '1 philosophy of government.
Do Gay
Relationships
Ever Really Last?
If you have ever asked yourself
this question,
this workshop is for you I
A WORKSHOP ON
RELATIONSHIPS
For S ingles and Couples
Saturday, Nov. 19, 10am-5pm
For information call
529-1913
8111 Scott, MSW
Denise O'Doherty, MRN, MSN
Jam• BMC her, BA
Judy Doherty, MSW, JO
Presented by Will iam Scou & AAOC.
f~
"af eans 'n ~tuff~w.r
;Ne&t & ~sebJ!
lforn &~orn!
QIIotJring
l~e lrui..ueeb jeane. &II ";Blilb l
~ill" or "~onn1( I
2201-2203 •aelpnaton he.
(across Salvation Army thrift Store)
880-8824 & 880-8844
Nov. 4, 1983 I MONTROSE VOICE 13
~-------------------------- C!>nc HOUR
''fll/111 T-ID· /l/OG.." THE MOST II DRY CLEAlll<t
14 MONTROSE VOICE I Nov. 4, 1983
National Gay r.:::==========================:::::::i
Pride Committees
Coordinate
'84 Plans
~(. ~~i;i~:t~ce
Sixty conferees representing gay pride
organizatioJ1J1 from 18 American cities
met in San Diego in October to exchange
information and coordinate plans for next
year's celebrations. It was their second
annual conference, and participation was
three times greater than last year's gathering
in Boston.
Eighty-two cities are now known to hold
some form of gay pride event, be it picnic
or parade, carnival or concert. Ten of those
cities have gay marching bands, and all of
them have agreed to come to Los Angeles
next year to participate in that city's
parade as weB &tot in a combined concert in
the 18,000-seat Hollywood Bowl. The 1984
activities will mark the 15th anniversary
of the Stonewall rebellion.
The weekend conference was hoeted by
San Diego Lambda Pride and was held in
San Diego's big, new MCC church. Two
days of useful workshops on a variety of
topics occupied most of t.he conference
time. Topping off the weekend was a wellattended
dinner in Balboa Park, to which
the community in general was invited.
The workshop sharing of ideas and
experiences on such subjects as securing
permits and dealing with police and
government agencies was extremely helpful.
The Boston and New York committees
reported on the success of having incorpo-rating
suggestions offered last year by Loa
Angeles, including the handling of security
and the reversing of New York'•
parade route. Wichita introduced an
innovative button promotion which
intrigued the Loa Angeles committee,
among others. and may be taken under
consideration by several cities next year.
For the first time a single national elogan
was agreed upon by the various pride
committees represented. The option of
also using it for local celebrations, or
creating one's own, was left to each indi·
vidual city. Los Angeles has already
agreed to adopt the national slogan for ita
1984 parade and festival. Olympics and
LA. is extending an invitation to the
entire country to join them in making it a
massive affair. The national slogan ia
"United Br. More in '84."
A uniform poeter for national use will be
designed to incorporate the slogan, and
the Las Vegas committee has offered to
handle ita printing and distribution. Las
Vegas holds ita gay pride celebration in
May and haa also extended an invitation
to others to come to "fun city" and join
them.
At the San Diego gathering, a stirring
welcome add:reu waa delivered to the con·
ferees by Harry Hays, the founder in 1953
of the early homophile organization, the
Mattachine Society. He spoke of the need
to recorpllze that we are a "separate peo-.
pie" with a special gift with which to celebrate
each other. A radical gay who
speak.I like a poet. Hays left hia audience
in standing applause.
San Franaico writer Armistead Maupin
was the guest speaker at the closing
dinner, along with Barbara Cameron, an
Indian and gay activist from the Sioux
nation. Entertaining were singer Kate
Beck and Romanovski and Phillips on
piano and guitar.
Of all the gay pride organization•,
Christoper Street West of Los Angeles io
the only one to belong to the International
Festivals Association (for five years),
which includes the Tournament of Roses
Parade, Kentucky Derby Parade and New
Orleans Mardi Gras organization, among
others. CWS had two representatives at
IFA'1 recent convention in Phoenix where
they set up a diaplay and introduced the
several hundred delegates to what a prideful
gay celebration is all about. The
respon1e wu very positive, and two other
IFA membere extended an invitation for
LA'• Gay Freedom Band to participate in
their nationally televised parades in Milwaukee
and Atlanta.
Proudly Presenting Our Newest Musical Comedy
~-e~v ~_ 8)
\ of the ·
, ilver
ere en
Cabaret/Theatre
SHOWTIMES
Thursday-8:30pm Friday-8:30 & 11pm
Saturday-8:30 & 11pm Sunday-8:30pm
Doors Open 7pm Happy Hour till 8:30pm
2700 ALBANY-Open 7pm-2am-528-3611
(adjacent to Otficer's Club)
Independent Gay
Baths Form Group
"I found out why we're called independ·
en ts," 1aid Stan Berg, owner of The Body
Worko, a gay health and social club in
Indianapolis. "The idea of forming an
association of Independent Gay Health
Clubs (IGHC) came about in early May,
1983 when I realized that the AIDS problem
and depressed economy was hurting
my businesa." In response to these con·
cems, he began corresponing with other
health club owners nationwide proposing
cro81-honoring memberships.
He discovered that club owners were
interested in two other ideas: cooperative
national advertising and an information
exchange between clubs. Jim Snodgra88,
Diplomat Health Club of Grand Rapids,
said, .. The gay population is extremely
mobile, and because of this mobility, a
large 'chain' of health clubs has a built in
advantage," IGHC now has 30 members
where members can spend the night or use
facilities.
Kevan Goodrich, who operates the Midtowne
Spa chain, is another key fiture in
IGHC. "We(Midtowne)decided to join the
association because it makes sense for
businesses in the same field to communicate
and cooperate together. The IGHC is
going to get big, there's little doubt that it
wiU become an important association, and
we want to be a part of it."
In reacting to the AIDS dilemma, Conrad
Morgan of Morgan's Sauna in Buffalo,
New York summed up the thinking of
many club owners: "We have to act
responeibily towards the AIDS problem.
We need to talk about educating our
Stan Berg of lndianapolia, owner of TM
Body Works
patrons about the 'facts' of AIDS, not the
myths. To ignore the problem would be
irresponsible. And if we don't make it a
i81ue, perhaps some state health department.
a will."
Bob Pereida of The Compound further
noted, "I don't think club1 that offer their
partrona a variety of servicea 1uch aa
gyma, video and other more aocial activitiea
have aa much to worry about aa those
club. that aim ply offer a place for people to
have eex.''
An international convetion for the
IGHC ie being hosted by Goodrich of Mid·
towne in New Orleana in January, 1984.
Aaaociation memben include: Arena
Health Club, Pittaburgh; Backstreet
Batho, Philadelphia; The Body Works,
Indianapolis; Club Baths in San Francisco,
Sacramento and Reno; Colony Club
in Asbury Park; The Compound, North
Hollywood; Diplomat Health Club, Grand
Rapids, Ml; The Garden Bath, Vancouver;
Jeffs Gym, Salt Lake City; Majeotic Hotel
Br. Club Bath of Portland, OR; Man's Country,
Chicago; Melrose Baths, Loe Angeles;
Midtowne Spao in Dallas, Denver, Houston,
Loo Angelee and New Orleans; New
Morgan Sauna, Buffalo, NY; Northern
Men'• Sauna, Fluohing, NY; Olympic
Ba tho, Washington, D.C.; The Pines, Seat·
tie; Top Deck, San Diego and The Watergarden,
San Jose, CA.
NOV. 4, 1983 I MONTROSE VOICE 15
Coppola's Fishing in Absurd Waters
By Steve Warren
At the end of the year when critics list the
beet and worst movies of 1983, l wonder
how many will have the guts to put Rumble
Fish on both lists where it belongs.
No Snails or
Brains, Please
What food would you like to eat least? The
Gallup Poll asked that question, and the
answer came back-snails, reports the
Wall Street Journal. Four out of 10 people
wouldn't touch 'em.
Brains were a close second, but only 5
percent said they wouldn't eat liver.
Francis Ford Coppola shot The Outsidera
and Rumble Fish, both based on S.E.
Hinton novels and starring Matt Dillon,
back-to-back in Tulsa; but the two are completely
different. If The Outsiders tried to
be Gone With the Wind, Rumble Fish is
Coppola'• version of West Side Story
played as Greek tragedy with Medea in
place of Maria.
It's unique, you've got to say that for it,
even if it constantly reminds you of other
films-West Side Story for its choreographed
(by Michael Smuin) teen violence;
InvWation au Voyage for the
survivor who turns into his departed
sibling in the end; Koyaanisqatsi for its
speeded-up photography; and Z<elig, if not
One from the Heart, for the way its puny
content is overwhelmed by dazzling technique.
The barely coherent plot is about 17-
year-old Rusty James (Matt Dillon)'•
attempts to emulate his 21-year-old
brother, "The Motorcycle Boy" (Mickey
Rourke) and the trouble he gets into along
the way. Among the potentially wonderful
supporting characters who aren't developed
are a junkie (Diana Scarwid) named
Cassandra and a gum chewing oracle/
poet (Tom Waits) who runs the pool hall.
It's as symbol-laden as a Tennessee Williams
festival. Such good-bad dialogue as
uv ou're better than cool-you're warm"
and "I didn't get to the ocean; California
got in the way" alternates with naturalistically
redundant teen talk-I mean, you
won't fuckin' believe how fuckin' many
times they fuckin' eay "fuckin" in thls
fuckin' movie!
Diane Lane, who may be prettier than
Films
Dillon (but I know whlcb one I'd choose!)
plays his sometimes-girlfriend. Their
acenes together are like an audition for a
20-years-hence production of A Streetcar
Named Desire, and they should both get
the pans. Dillon turns in his best performance
to date, despite the demands of
Coppola'• constant shifting between naturalism
and stylization.
The pulsing score by Stewart Copeland
of the Police and the outstanding, mostly
black-and-white cinematography of Stephen
H. Burum are two strong pluses for
true absurd attempt to create an American
mythology.
Between "fuck.in" and "fuckin," The
Motorcycle Boy gets off one sage bit of
optimism that should make your day:
"The gangs are gonna come back-once
they get the dope off the streets."
The life is rough
and the sex is
hot for the boys
who dance in
New York's
porno theatres. A
behind-thescenes
look featuring
a cast of
new young beauties
that are hot
to show you the
ins and outs.
Starring: Falcon's
Luke, Nova and
Higgins' Buddy
Preston and a
cast of newcomers.
FRENCH
QUARTER
THEATRE
3201 Louisiana
at Elgin (Westheimer)
527-0782
Sunday thru Thursday
11am to 1am
Friday & Saturday
11am to 3am
TEXAS' BEST
ALL-MALE CINEMA
16 MONTROSE VOICE I Nov. 4, 1983
DWI
CRl""INAL DEFENSE
PERSONAL INJURY
FAMILY LAW
FREE CONSULTATION
.JOHN PAUL BARNICH
ATTORNEY AT LAW
3317 MONTROSE, SUITE 318
(713) !523-5006
NER~'POWN
GREEK
ISLAND
Open 11am-11pm /
MondayoFriday
/ 6-11 Saturday
{F Parking next door
Fine Greek Y
Food. Seafood
& St aks :/
Cocktallt
522-7040
302 Tuam
WE ACCEPT AMEX. MC & VISA
In honor of Sheila and Scooters
Wedding, we will be closed
r
()
:i:
l> Monday, November 7th z
We will be open Tuesday and offering
this pre-holiday special thru Friday the
11th: FREE OIL CHANGE AND LUBE
with Tune-Up.
Servicing the Montrose for over 1/100th of e Century
1901 TAFT (AT WEBSTER)-523-2794
~
1::::-.....~ ~
SPANISH I
FLOWER
© RESTAURANT g
~ COMPLIMENTARY
© wit~~r~!~r~~~r! of «J 3921 N. Main 869-1706 tqu•I or lm<r valu• till 10,30am
A TASTE OF MEXIC0-24 HOURS DAILY
THIS COUPON GOOD THROUGH 11-18-83
closed Tuesday 10pm; re-open Wednesday 10am
We featu re ...
• All Brands of Ice Cold
KEG BEER
• Delivery Service
• Everyday Specials:
Newport Vodka, 1.75 liter, $7.69
Jamie '08 Scotch, 1.75 liter, $11.79
McCormick Blended American
Whiskey, 1.75 liter, $9.89
Rene Junot red or White French
Wine, 750ML, $1.79
1402 Welch at
MASTJ,~cARo Waugh Drive
AMERICAN EXPRESS 529•9964
MICATEX VIDEO PROPERTY !
inc IN VEN TORY SERVICE
A DISCREET SERVICE FOR HOME AND BUSINESS
•Video Tape Inventories of Insured Valuables,
Homes and Furniture, Antiques, Automobiles,
Company Fixed Assets and Vehicle Fleets
•Document Home Improvements-Additions
• Video Histories of Property Development
•Proof of Real Estate Property Condition
Prior to Leasing
013) 669-9355
CanCrusher Comoration
We Pay Cash for Your Trash*!
•Trash by Can Crusher's defini11on is aluminum cans only. Can Crusher
Corporation Is a fu -service recycling company paying market prices
for aluminum cans
Oui hours are Sam to 5:30pm, Monday !hru Friday.
Help America
Recycle and Make
Money Too!
2011
Silver Spnng
W.shlngton
~
"\ii)
©
~
Nov 4, 1983 I MONTROSE VOICE 17
How Do You Do At Dancing?
By Roz Ashley
Are you a wallflower or a star? Are you 7) Tap dancing began with: a) Irish jigs; dancing?
cultural, or do you sleep at the ballet? Is bl African tribal dances; c) Fred Astaire. a) There's no place to go for it; b) I enjoy
dancing the personification of beauty for 81 What do you like best about a chorus the physical contact; c) It's clumsy.
you? Do you thrill to the controlled ele- line? 13) What do you expect from a dance
gance of the Aura pas de deux, or the a)Theprecision;b)Thecostumes;c)The partner?
shimmy of latenight rhythmic abandon? legs. a) Keep time to the music; b) Don'tditch
DWhe~~~;~10~0 ;~t~~~F:tion in tutus or ~ f,.o~:~ J,oeu j~i:,ec~'1J::yNd:c:~c~~~~- :;:~ ~~~e middle of a number; c) Stay off
tapshoes, let's find out how you really mas? b) I love it-especially the "Waltz of 14) What's your preference in ballet>
relate.to dancing. Take the following quiz, the Flowers;" c) Super! But the butt plug is a) "La Sylphide"; b) "Afternoon of a
~':t~~~~· and get your Dance Relationship better Faun"; c} Not having to go.
Put a circle around the answer that best 10) What does disco dancing do to you? 15) What do you think of a "pas de
completes each number's paragraph. a) It makes me high; b) It makes me deux"?
Then tally up your total with the scores uninhibited; c) It makes me nervoutt. I a) Lovely when well done; b) I prefer a
given after the final question. Will vou I I) What movements are important "menage a trois"~ c) Is that like a "faux
lead, or ohall I? · parts of the Belly Dance? pas"?
lJ What kind of dancing do you like to a) The Hip Thrust; b) The Camel Walk: Now, add up the points below for the
do? c) Leaning over for a tip. answers you have given: 1) a-5, b-5, c-5; 2)
a) Disco; b) Close; c) Slam. 12) How do you feel about ballroom a-3, b-5, c-0; 3)a·5, b-5,c-0;4)a-5, b-5, c-0; 5)
2) Do you do the Hustle or the California
Bus Stop?
a) I hate disco: b) Too hard for me; c) I'd
rather drive.
3) What do you like best about ballet?
a) The spectacle; b) The "grandes jetes'"
c) Intermission. '
4) What's your favorite dance move
ment?
a) The dip in the tango; b) The swish of
the slow waltz; c) The beeline for the bar
5) How do you feel about modern dance?
a) It makes me feel sexy; b) I adore the
Paul Taylor Company; c) Confused.
6) Who's your favorite dancer?
a) Rudolf Nureyev; b) Mikhail Barishnikov;
c) John Travolta.
Civil Rights Bills
Gain Support in
Congress
Arizona congressional representative Mo
Udall recently b<>came the 73rd co-sponsor
of HR2624, th• national lesbian and gay
civil right• bill m the U.S. House, and Sen.
Erneot ~·. Hollings <D-S.C.) registered his
support of S430, making him the eighth
co-sponsor of the Senate bill for employ·
ment diffcrimination protection. Both
endorstmentil added momentum to the
national gay civil rights movement
<·:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:·:.:-:-:-:-:·:·:-:
Quiz
a-5, b-5, c-0; 6) a-5, b-5, c-3; 7) a-5, b-5, c-0; 8)
a-5, b-0, c-3; 9) a-3, b-5, c-0; 10) a-5, b-5, c-3;
11) a-5, b-5, c-0; 12) a-5, b-5, c-3; 13) a-5, b-5,
c-5; 14) a-5, b-5, c-0; 15) a-5, b-0, c-0.
Dance Relationship Score:
22-39-You're a clod. You won't dance,
and we won't ask you. You don't know
Gene Kelley from Nijinski, and you don't
care.
40-57-Your lack of appreciation could
make "Midsummer Night's Dream" a
nightmare. But at least you know what
tutus are for
58-75-We're imprestiE'd! You know all
about Balanchine, the Bolshoi and Fon~
teyn. You 're also smart enough to realize
this quiz means absolutely nothing.
Ashley is a pertional counselor. ~ 1983
Stcmeu.•aU Featureli S)·ndicate.
Udall, first elected in 1961, is a respected
eldn statesman well known for hjs libernl
views and strong stand on environmental
isaues. Because he had held off sponsorship
for several years, Steve Endean, Gay
Rights National Lobby executive director
until his recent resignation, said Udall's
co-sponsorship should be considered a
major breakthrough for the bill.
The two recent eponeorshipe, the other
by California representative Douglas
Bosco signed in early September, renewed
GRNL'o commitment for "84 by '84"-to
have 84 bill sponsors by the end of Jan.
1984.
HARRIET LEDIEA
''THE DIVA"
appearing thru Nov. 12
Hollings, an announced candidate for
the Democratic Party nomination for president,
restated his support for the anti-gay
employment diacrimination bill at the
National Organization of Women's convention
recently.
"Thie is an excellent example of several
organizations working together for gay
civil rights," said GRNL Field Director
Tanyan Corman.
Endean further commented, "Sen. Hollings
played a key role in the past by
standing firm against former anti-gay
'McDonald amendments' to Legal Services
Corporation billa that passed the
House and were sent to the Senate sub·
committee he chaired. With his help, we
were able to stop these amendments from
becoming Jaw."
Direct from New York, Provincetown, "Hello Dolly," "Mame,"
"Adler on the Roof," "Bye, Bye Birdie"
-•••-•••·• r •I•l •l _l~L
. ~ ......, I
I
L
I
2702 Klrby-524-6272
Dinner Mott-Thin 6-11
fri & Sot 6-12
rese1Wtk>ns requested Shows 9:30, 11, 12:30
18 MONTROSE VOICE/ Nov 4, 1983
Look Again
By Randy Alfred
WHIFF AGAIN: A few months ago, I
wrote about misleading ads and press
releases by popper manufacturers and distributors.
Those self-serving statements
had claimed that poppers' "misuse" as
inhalants (rather than as room odorizers)
"posed no health hazards."
San Franciscan Hank Wilson, a moving
force in both the Committee to Monitor the
Cumulative Effects of Poppers and the
AIDS Political Action Network, brought
the statements to the attention of Dr.
James Curran, Director of AIDS Activity
at the Center of Disease Control's Center
for Infectious Diseases. In September,
Curran sent a testy letter to Joseph Miller,
president of Great Lakes Products, a
major distributor of poppers.
"Other health hazards from misuse of
these drugs have been documented," Curran
wrote (emphasis original). 11Your
press release and advertisements ... are
misleading and misrepresent the CDC
findings and their implications. For example.
you etate .. .'recentgovemmentstudies
clearly show that such misuse posed no
health hazards.' This statement is not correct.
In fact, the enclosed article by Jaffe,
et al., of our staff indicates a small, but
significant, relationship between inhalant
usage and AIDS ....
"While it is unlikely that nitrites will be
implicated as the primary cause of AIDS,
their role ae a co-factor in some of the
illnessee found in this syndrome has not
been ruled ouL I must insist that you discontinue
the mi1uae and misrepresent.a·
tion of CDC findings."
That's strong language. It may also be
the first time a ranking government
scientist has directly termed butyl nitrite a
drug. To date, the Food & Drug Administration
has declined jurisdiction over the
product.
When reached for comment, Great
Lake•' Miller acknowledged, "Perhapo
our wording was not as accurate as Cur·
ran 'a." Although the original ad is no
longer running. MilJer said his company
will continue the campaign with other
ads. He al80 denied that poppers are
drugs.
SIGNED AGAIN: When I reported two
weeks ago on legislation on the desk of
Governor George Deukmejian, Senate Bill
910 still awaited hi1 action. Good news:
the guv signed it. S.B. 910, by Sen. David
Roberti (D-Hollywood), creates an AIDS
advisory panel to encourage research and
education.
That makes the Deuk 2-for-2 on gayrelated
legislation. He'd already signed a
bill allowing San Francisco to prohibit
anti-gay discrimination by the local redevelopment
agency, a state body.
COUNT AGAIN: In August, Wayne Friday
of the Bay Area Reparrer complained
that "less than 1 percentofthe$3.4million
handed out" by the city's Publicity and
Advertising Fund went to gay cultural
groups this year. The Cund is supported by
a tax on hotel rooms.
Theater Rhinoceros received $7500;
Frameline Film Festival, $2500; Golden
Gate Performing Arts (an umbrella group
for several musical organizations), $3000;
and the Gay Freedom Day Parade,
$13,500.
In October, Allen White of the B.A.R.
again raaed the iaaue. The headline called
the $26,500 total ".00076 pen:ent" of the
$3.4 million. Count again, fellas. You're
Ready for Joan
Rivers
Greeting Cards?
Fans of Joan Rivers will soon be able to
send her raunchy one-liners to their
friends .. or enemies, rePorls the Kansas
City Times.
The comedian is coming out with her
own line of .. Can we talk?" greeting cards.
A sample meeaage: .. I want to give you
mething _you like on your birthday . ..
only off by a factor of 1000. The actual
total listed is $3,354,460, and $26,500 is
.0079, or 0. 79 percent, of that.
More to the point, much of the fond is
distributed to citywide groups without ethnic,
neighborhood or community affiliations.
It would be ridiculous to claim that
gay citizens and tourists do not benefit
from funds granted to the opera, symphony,
ba1let, museums, art festivals, resident
theater companies and similar
institutions.
Only $333,250 goes to ethnic and minority
groups. The gay community gets 7.96
percent of this. (That puts the B.A.R. headline
off by a factor of 10,000.)
That ia still not enough. We constitute
about 20 percent of the city's population
and probably one-third oC its minorityidentified
population. So, we are still getting
only about one-fourth of our fair
share.
That is the figure we should use. In the
long run, dramatic truth will always be
more effective than dramatic exaggeration.
THE WHITE STUFF: No, that's not the
name of the John DeLorean movie. It's an
item about Dan White, convicted of mans·
laughter in the 1978 City Hall slayings oC
Mayor George Moscone and gay Supervisor
Harvey Milk.
Unless local officials convince United
States Attorney General William French
Smith to prosecute White under federal
law for interfering with Milk's and Moscone's
civil rights as candidates for reelection,
White will be released on parole
on or about Jan. 6, 1984. He will have
served only five years, one month, IO days
for the two aseassinations.
The statute of limitations on federal
Dateline S.F.
prosecution expires on Nov. 27, the fifth
anniversary of the killings. In the mean·
time, someone has been posting signs on
Castro Street: "100 days until Dan White
is fl;~·" "99 days until Dan White is
free, ...
OZ AND ENDS: Do you find the Old Spice
"for him, not for him" TV ads as offensive
as I do?
Quarterly Press has published a guide to
more than 1000 Third World and interra·
cial gay groups, bars, magazines and
other resources. Colorful People and Places
also includes a historical section on the
hot spots of yesteryear. It's available for
$10 from Quarterly Press, 279 Collingwood,
S.F., 94114.
Alfred's column originates at the llSen·
tinel," a San Francisco gay newspaper.
~ 1983 Randy Alfred, all rights reserved.
• San Francisco
only $329 Round Trip
•San Dieao
only $270 RounaTrip
• Miami & Ft. Lauderdale
Gateways to Key West
as little as $229 Round Trip
(daily non-stops to Ft. Lauderdale eff. Nov. 1)
Certain travel restrictions may apply. Call your travel agent or Eastern Airlines In Houston at 738-8615.
EASTERN, Houston's oldest and largest major carrier
serving you since 1936.
EASTERN
America's favorite way to fly.. .
but for that lnoed a prescription." "- &;.~=~.;.;.;...,;.;;~---------__.;-.;.... ___ ..._ _________ ___.
Nov. 4, 1983 /MONTROSE VOICE 19
Starring as President ... Commentary
By Peter Harrison
I hate to be hard on the party I Jove, but we
have to face it: Democrats are slow
learners.
Unfortunately, they're also too serious
about politics; most Democrats seem to
hold on to the old-fashioned belief that
people elected to high office should be
qualified for it. Isn't that silly? You'd
think that after two centuries of Fillmores
Grants, Hardings and assorted clownish
senators and representatives, they would
have learned.
Republicans, on the other hand, seem to
be more realistic. uPragmatic" was the
word the Great Nixon used, and it fits. The
best illustration of that right now is the
way the Democrats squander one of their
most precious political assets: entertainers.
Demos can easily assemble about half
of Hollywood and Broadway for a fund·
raiser, but the fund-raiser will be for some
bland nonentity whose name everyone
forgets once the music is over.
Republicans are far thriftier with their
more limited names. Look at the facts!
They got a second-rate song-and.dance
h::::''s!~!~t;yfr~:'C!a1T:o~f:'. ~~~n mth~;
located an ex-shill for Boraxo and pumped
him through the California governorship
all the way to the presidency!
Be Ji eve me, all the possibility of power is
not being lost on some of our more ambitious
actors. It shouldn't take long for
Jane Fonda to realize that if she dropl'I: her
ex-hippie hubby, !'.he can draw the
womPn's vote to any office she wants to
campaign for. Robert Redford 1a smart
enough to know that hi• name and face
are far better received than those of that
ex-astronaut from Ohio.
But the Decmorats keep on using those
invaluable faces and names for mere
appetizers, when they should be the main
course. They have no sense of how to build
a show. Go to a Democratic extravaganza,
a nd you get a bunch of great warm-up
acts, and when the supposed star appears,
nine times out of ten he doesn't know how
to use a mike, and if he does, his jokes are
so bad you wish he'd never learned.
Show-biz folks hate to be underexposed.
They'll take a cameo appearance when a
leading part isn't available, just to keep
their oar in. Put all this together, and you
get a frightening scenario. Have you
noticed the president lately? Jokes,
quips, snappy patter; he's getting ready
for eomethina. Last summer he stuck
Letters to the Editor
Montrose Voice
3317 Montrose #306
Houston, TX 77006
his thumbs in his ears and wiggled hie
fingers at the Washington preee corps, a
charming gesture meant to demonstrate
his essential humanity. He's ready for a
new job.
You see, the Republicans, with their
thirst for order, are setting up-not a
military·industrial complex, which works
well enough on its own-but an
enterta1nment·political complex which
will work on the hearts and minds and
libidos of the American public. There's an
entirely new heirarchy of political
advancement coming.
Reaagan will not run again. We need
Rterner stuff in the coming years. Having
parted the Red Sea, brought down The Ten
Commandments, pamted the Sistine
Chapel, routed the Sudanese and led Force
Five, who oould be more suited for the job
than Charleton Heston? Beoides, his political
credentials are impeccable. Charleton
Heston will be our next president.
But what of Reagan? Well, there's one
post in the United States far more important
than the one he now holds. Ronald
Reagan will become Johnny Carson, sitting
on stage each night on NBC with
sure-laugh-getter James Watt as Ed
McMahon's replacement.
Johnny'• cooperation in the venture will
be rewarded when he becom .. the next
moat impo~t person in the world,
Frank Sinatra. It may require some
thought for all of us to become accustomed
to white bread and mayo replacing scungilli
with marinara sauce, but it sure will
appeal to Middle America.
Frank Sinatra will become Pope. He will
hold that office until his death, when he
will be immediately canonized. as patron
saint of naoty people. What happens to the
present Pope, a foreigner, is immaterial.
Meanwhile, on lower levels of govern~
ment, the arts-politics interplay will be
increased. Jerry Falwell will be given a
government grant for his new extrava·
ganza, a film to be called Leviticus, Now!
Senator Jesse Helms of North Carolina
will also produce and star in a film on the
Jife of Jesus. In his version, set in contemparary
times, Christ will live after tri-
CLUB HOUSTON
2205 FANNIN
(713)659-4998
umphing over the Sadducees and
Pharisees. By the use of a simple nuclear
device, He will blast the buggers back to
the Stone Age.
The Republicans are sure that their ros·
ter of big names will overcome most opposition,
but just to be sure, they've designed
a few sops to be thrown to minority
groups. Phyllis Schlafley will be named
"Secretary of the Kitchen," a new cabinet
post that deals with tbe ever mounting
problems of finding new hamburger casserole
recipes and pleasing tired but horny
husbands.
Bill Cosby will head up the new Department
of Natural Rhythm and Whimsical
Wit, staying off the threat of oh-S<>-seriousbut-
boring Jesse Jackson. He will find
jobs for black teenagers, cutting their high
unemployment rates by sending them to
MEMBER CLUB BATH CHAIN
the lawns of rich party supporters to stand
in cute jockey costumes with hitching
rings in their hands.
Look for Charles Nelson Reilly as Secretary
of Closets, Abominations and Perversions.
This new post will severely punish
infractions of the hankie code (as "false
and misleading advertising") and function
closely with the first lady to determine
schedules for Gallegos fittings and
new china patterns.
Believe me, it's a winning program. By
co-opting all the big names and finding
them important titles, the Republicans
can stay in office a long time.
Harrison lives in New Jersey. His column
appears here and in other gay publica·
tions. C' 1983 Swnewall Features Syndicate.
CLUB DALLAS
2616 SWISS A VE
(214)821-1990
•SHOWERS •VIDEO ARENA •LOCKERS •MINI LOCKERS •DRESSING
ROOMS •FRIENDLY STAFF •SUNDECK •DRY SAUNA•OUTDOOR
SWIMMING POOL •WHIRLPOOL SPA •STEAM ROOM •EXERCISE a.
WEIGHT ROOM (COMING SOON TO HOUSTON)
20 MONTROSE VOICE I Nov. 4, 1983
Stanford's Trolley Catching Attention
By Hollie Hood
One almoet expects a trolley car to come
rumbling down Hawthorne in Montrose
and roll to a atop at Stanford in frontofthe
townhouoe row aptly named Trolley
Square. Evoking Victorian charm on its
exterior and futuristic amenities inside,
the national American Wood Council
awarded the Disneyland-like project its
Design for Better Living Award.
The homes. which have already been
sold or apok.en for at prices beginning at
$160,000, were created and built by
designer Preston Wood and his financial
partnereJacqueeC. Shureand H.W.Jeese
Jencu of Jade Propertiea.
Surrounded by older residences reflecting
the charm of daya gone by, the homes
carry out the Victorian concept to the fulleot,
combining the beauty of yesteryear
with the convenience and easy maintenance
of today.
Criteria for the prestigious award
includea aeative design, imqinative uae
of wood product. and e>:cellen~ in craftaman.
hip.
Each of the homes is as individual as its
colora-paetel blue, gray, green, yellow,
peach or rose-with contrasting colors to
highlight the arched windows, turrets and
gingerbread embellishments.
Wood, a native Houstonian, said "I
came up with the concept just as soon as I
saw the site and based my original draw·
ings on the stately old Victorian homes we
saw in Galveat.on and San Francisco."
He never deviated from this original
look and using wood because uwe found
that the oldest standing buildings in Galveeton,
and across the world for that mat-te:-
were wood, and they have held up
thrl,ugh the severest weather conditions
becauae of wood'a resiliency which helps
resist wind dam.age."
Adding to the Victorian feeling, Trolley
Square ia heavily landacaped with planta
remiruacent of the good ol' days, like crepe
myrtle (a Montroae staple), jasmine and
ivy.
Stained 1lua , another important tumof-
the-<:entury touch, waa alao inlecrated
The council bu not often looked to the into aach townhome.
Hou.ton area for entri .. , but Joe Porter,
~onal council repreeentative, aaid Trolley
Squre oxcellad on all counta.
"All of the atained1laaaiaantiqueEuropean
and wu imported from London and
have wood tram.. for the jewel-like pie-cee.''
If you are an avid fan of
THE FAR SIDE cartoons,
you'll have to have ..-r.-
Gary Larson's
newest collection ...
And if you missed his
first best seller,
you'd better be
sure you have ...
Order now if you
love humor that starts from
lnteriora of the hom .. range from art
and remains firmly footed in left field!
-------------------------, Please ~;~?esm~f The Far Side at S3 95 each : ~ ==copies of Beyond The Far Side at S3 95 each 1 ?,::'~ /
Total amount enclosed ____ . 1~ 1,.
anclude s1 for postage and handling per book 1
Ordered) I
Mail ro Far Side BOOks, C/0 Montrose l,,l)iCe : ' •
4<IOO Johnson Orlve, Fairway, KS 66205
!Make Checks payable to universal Press Syndleatel :
Ca..dC-.,.,,._CVISAC-..c-1 : -- ~
I ~-
'~------------~ I °" ...,, ~ --- : "Pull out, llellyt Pull outt ... Youw hH on artery!"
--------......,., __ I
•-..,_.-.-.- .--...,.-_,-.,..---------- ....... :
Neighborhood
deco to ru.h tech, with extenoive ,... of
black and 1laaa ourfacee.
Health Officials
Tracking Down
Plasma from
Austin AIDS
Victim
Charlea Whitfield, 30, of Austin diad of
AIDS on Oct. 21, and following his death,
health officialo checked their records and
found that Whitfield had been a frequent
blood donor, report& the Aasociated Preas.
Cutter Laboratorie• of Berkeley, Calif.,
recipient of Whitfield's plasma, i• currently
tracking down the dispersion of the
plasma, which probably was used to make
substance& to help blood coagulate in
hemophilia patient.a.
Bud Moderabach, Cutter spokesman,
•aid "I expect very soon we will be able to
identify each lot that was eventually pro·
duced from the particular donation in
question."
Jeri Moore, manager of the Austin
Blood Components, read about Whitfield's
death in an Austin newspaper and
checked her records to discover that Whitfield
had sold plasma to her company 50
times between Nov. 1982 and Sept. 16.
Philip Zbylot of the Austin-Travis
County Health Department said any med·
icine containing Whitfield's plasma
should be withdrawn.
0 The dilemma is that, until they can
identify thecausativeorganism (of AIDS).
they can't control it for products fTom any
fluids from any known AIDS case," Zbylot
said.
Just Put Your
Head in the
Dentist's Lap
Japanese methods are in fashion from the
boardroom to the assembly line, reports
the Wa1hi"6ton Poat, and now they may
become standard in the dentist'• office.
Reaearchero at the Univer•ity of Maryland
are experimenting with 1.en dentistry.
Surrounded by huahad voices, muted
colora and potted planta, patients lie with
their heada practically in the dentieta'
!ape while they operate in graceful, efficient
motiona.
Dr. Michael Belenky thingo patient&
will feel more HCUfe, and the added control
riveo the denti•t a lighter touch.
NOV. 4, 1983 I MONTROSE VOICE 21
Commentary
Savage Among the Software, Or Microfiche and Me
By Sharon McDonald
One day when I wasn't looking, I'm just
sure of it, some cosmic dial was turned
forward several notches. The world I used
to navigate with ease has become a silicon
jungle of technology far outetripping my
limited comprehension.
Mine is not a simple case of being antitechnology.
On the contrary, I am not
what you'd call a nature lover. I'd rather
heat something up in a microwave than
cook over a campfire, and I'm as alienated
by the whales as I am by silicon chips.
I love freeways, supermarkets and all
that wonderfully dependable fut food.
Oh, I may have fretted about the ozone
layer, written a few hostile let(\!n to bil·
lin1 computen, and on one expensive
occasion ripped a smug, uncooperative litr
tie telephone out of its mooring on the
wall-in 1omeone elae'1 house. But generally
apeaking, I Jove technology, as Jong
as it remembers who's boH.
Just the other day something happened
that let me know we humans have got to
get a firmer grip on things.
My telehpone: Ring, ring.
Me: Hello?
My telephone: Hello. My name is Hal.
I'm a computer.
Me: You're a what?
HaL I wonder if I could ask you three
short questions for a survey I'm doing. I've
been programmed.-
Me: You're a what?
HaL -to record your answers after I ask
each question.
Mt>: Now .. I've heard everything
Hal: So, if you'll juet answer brieflyMe:
I"ll do nothing of the kind!
Hal: -at the sound of the tone-
Me: WHO GA VE YOU MY NUMBER?
The call ended prematurely with my
hang-up, or more accurately, slam-down.
Thie is a new one on me, and I don't hke
it one biL All right, I know computers are
the coming thing. I know there's no use
fighting it. But, damn it, this was in my
own home! For years, I've endured computers
ingesting my account numbers and
Let us hear from you.
Letters to the Editor
Montrose Voice
3317 Montrose #306
Houston, TX 77006
divulging my private financial details to
complete strangers, but this is really personal.
When I answer the phone in my own
home, I expect to .hear a h'!man being
stammering, hollenng and m1~pr~mouncing
at me, not the smooth, eenly moffen-
1ive voice I heard. Give me a bored
telephone solicitor who calls while I'm
making love, or a 2:00 a.m. breather. I'll
even take an irate intimate calling to enumerate
the flaw• in my character, butjuet
make it human.
The meaaure of good technology is
whether it servea my human needs (a hot
tub) or some other priority (a computer
that confirms a store clerk's 1u1picion that
I am a nonentity). To clarify the distinc·
tion between acceptable technology and
goin11 too far, I have compiled a list of
examples. Each item of Good TechnolollY
is followed by it& corresponding equivalent
of Bad Technology, thusly:
GOOD TECHNOWGY: Criteria-Can
I tum it off if I want to? Can I afford it?
Doea it eave me time, money or face?
BAD TECHNOLOGY: Criteria-Does it
make me feel stupid? Can a child operate it
perfectly easily? Is ia humiliating?.
1. pain killers-root canal operahone
2. hold button on my phone-hold but..
ton on your phone
3. vibrators-video 11amea
4. blendera-food P""'""'!,..
5. Aretha Franklin on tape anytime I
want-the Information Lady on tape tell·
ing me I should have looked it up myself
6. lightbulba-fluoreocent lights
7. push button phones-computers mak·
ing phone calls
8. electric typewriters-mechanical
bulls
9. electric blankets-electric tooth·
brushes
10. my name in lighte-fingerprint IDs
What bothers me about certain technoloe),
cal advances is that human emotions
are invisible to the mechanical eye. Where
ia the eoftware to give a computer a sense
of humor? What doea a llilicon chip know
about tone of voice or a pounding heart?
What happens when ourmootdistiniUish-ing
characteriatie&-our individual feelings
and reactions-do not compute?
I knew this would happen. I'm atarting
to make sweeping predictions of doom.
Hysteria i1 another thing a computer
would never understand.
The development of the jacuzzi has dem·
onstrated that humankind can live in harmony
with technology. Now it's up to us to
make sure it always serves and reflect.sour
real needs. A friend of mine complains
that he inevitably arrives at one bar the
night Prince Charmin11 is making his
appearance at the other. How about a com·
puter that calculatea location of Prince
Charminll on a given night? Or one that
will tell you the exact time your father
would be most receptive to your coming·
out announcement? I could use a home
computer that understands a person who
keeps her financial records in prose.
While I wait for these innovations to
appear, I shall remain calm. I will not
engage in back-to-the-woods doomsaying,
nor will I panic just because today's tenyear-<>
lds are better equipped to make a
living than me.
I never did like the woods, anyway-too
chilly at night, and there'sno place to plug
in the blanket.
McDonald, wiw liue1 in Lo. Angeles, ia
co-winner of tM 1983 Certi{U:au of Merit
for O"utanding Work in FeatMn Writing
from the Gay PreH Aaaociation. Her
col"mn ap~ro Mre and in otMr gay
MWlpapera.
rship.
THEABIUTY
TO MAKE TOUGH
1---· •
DECISIONS THAT HAVE:
• INCREASED POLICE PATROLS
BY 15%
• RESURFACED A RECORD 512
MILES OF CITY STREETS
• CREATED NEW DEVELOPMENT
IN THE INNER CITY
HOUSTON NEEDS
A STRONG LEADER.
HOUSTON NEEDS
KATHY WHITMIRE.
Paid lo< by Ille Kathy Whitmire campaign Fund, PO. Box 53180A, Houstoo, Texas 77052. Chat1es Sapp. Treasurer.
~
22 MONTROSE VOICE I Nov 4, 1983
Former GPC
President Pushes
Convention Center.
From Lee Harnngton
A FOR vote on the Downtown Convention
Center (Proposition A) this Tuesday is in
the best interest of the gay community and
our businesses. Tourists and convention
delegates bring BIG money to a city-a
large portion of it being earmarked for the
arts here-they put thousands of people to
work, stay in our hotels, eat in our restaurants,
frequent our nightclubs, and they
even pay us tax to do it. Our only problem
is that Houston does not get its fair share
of visitors because our convention facilities
are critically inadequate.
Virtually every city leader supports this
plan, and I cannot recall the last time a
mayor and all 14 City Councilmembers
were unanimous on anything . . ..
The .reaaons there is so much confusing
publioty are clear also: (1) the average
citizen is not fully aware of the convention
industry and its host city competitiveness
for the dollar potential ... (2) more visitors
will uae the facility than Houstonians (so
it's more difficult to see the enormous
benefits-conatruction, permanent jobs
and the literally hundreds of millions of
dollaro visitors will leave in our city), and
(3) for some unknown reason (only 8-10
conventions are held there per year now).
the Astrodome people feel threatened, so
they hired Jim McConn to help defeat the
proposal by taking full advantage of the
voters' laclc: of information as outlined in
(1) and 2() above.
It is intereoting that McConn had
pushed the convention center proposal
through City Council when he was mayor.
It ia also clear why lots of money and
effort are being expended for passage of
Propoeition A ... an overriding committee
concern is to make absolutely certain thia
political effort does not turn out like the
MTA referendum debacle .... Texas Eastern,
who donated $12 million in land for
the center .. . will continue to help further
revitalize that blighted area of downtown.
A west-of-Main Street location was far
too short on land space, but the bayou will
otill be beautified. as well as other cultural
and tourist attraction projects . ...
Thie project will not represent a third
convention center, it will be the ONLY
one. Albert Thomae Hall is barely onefourth
the oize of facilities in Dallas, San
Antonio, New Orleans, Atlanta and Chi·
cago .•. The Astrodomain was built for
baseball, rodeos and livestock showscertainly
NOT conventions.
And the financing plan for thi1rnew project?
Conservatively sound, and not one,
but two emergency insurance backups,
even if the visitors' hotel ta:x were to fall
short. Homework has been done on this
effort, all the way around. Thie project will
NOT cost Houstonians one cent, but we'll
get all the monetary benefits.
.. .. There is not .. . one accusation by the
Astrodome people that has any substance
whatsoever. What they have been saying
has been truly amazing.
I was walking into the Officers' Club
one Monday night in August when I
encountered an Astrodome petitioner
who, in only one minute, managed to ~tate
to seven people at the entrance three com
pletely inaccurate pieces of information
about the proposed Downtown Conven·
tion Center. I was astounded and told him
that gay voters were too sophisticated pol
itically to fall for that kind of rhetoric.
When president of GPC, I consistently
said to the city that the gay community is
not a on~issue political group, that our
converts concerns are the same as those of
the rest of the citizens. Here's our chance
to prove it.
gay community.
Once upon a time in a small village of
never, never land, a beautiful "fairy" princess
descended from the sky to free us all,
and we all lived happily ever after-or so
the story goes.
In reality, it is two years later, and all
the magic dust has settled, leaving us with
only stark facts to face. The fact is that
beyond superficial protocol, no serious,
significant gains have been made in the
direction of gay rights under the Whitmire
administration-at least none that she
has had anything to do with. Certainly,
Kathy, George, Eleanor and a few others
have cracked the door, but we have failed
to open it beyond that.
In all fairness, I must say that the GPC
has taken some wise and courageous steps
in their endorsements this year. Although
we have been unable to develop an environment
of competition for the gay vote in
many races, in the Position 4 race, while
Kathy has urged the support of Democratic
Party loyalist Anthony Hall, GPC
choae to endorse Nikki Van Hightower,
sending a clear message to Kathy that she
will not control the GPC. To further the
message, although GPC endorsed Kathy,
they chose not to target her race for volunteer
services this year, deservedly so in
view of the fact that Kathy felt the volunteer
services given to her last year by the
gay community "were important but not
that significant" (quoted from her GPC
screening this year).
The problem with the GPC is that it has
placed Whitmire on a pedestal and now
finds itself in the embarrassing position of
having to anawer to her, rather than her
answering to us. This is a problem which
is crippling serious efforts toward the
advancement of gay rights in Houston.
Let'o examine the record. (So that I will
not be accused of making charges off the
top of my head, I have listed source information.)
Beginning with the appointment of gay
instructoro in the HPD cadet school,
remember that in February '82, Capt.
Michna, head of the police academy,
announced that the HPD had already
hired Lee Harrington and Bill Scott (see
Houaton Post, Feb. 12, 1982). It was the
next day that Kathy announced her opposition
to the proposal, saying that while
she agreed with the idea, she was opposed
to hiring Harrington because of his "po)it.
ical involvement" (see Houston Pqst, Feb.
17, 1982). Several weeks later after all the
controversy had cooled down, Police Chief
Bales announced that the HPD would not
hire gay instructors (see Houston Post,
Mar. 5, 1982).
Giving Kathy the benefit of the doubt on
her promise to hire "non-political gays,"
such as Rev. Larson of MCCR, we must
pause to question why it is two years later
that this alternate proposal has not been
instigated. While part of the fault lies in
the failure of the GPC leadership to push
the program, we cannot dismiss Whitmire
in her responsibilities to follow through.
We must acknowledge the fact that she is
more interested in her political career than
in the advancement of the gay community.
In February '83, GPC attributed the
removal of nine questions dealing with
sexual orientation from the HPC screen·
ing and hiring process to our "fairy" princess/
politician. Once again leaders of
GPC swallowed the official line. giving
her credit for the change without checking
the facts. It was as a result of a Federal
District Court order that Houston was
bound by law to make those changes, not
the optional graciousness of Ms. Whitmire
(see Houaton Post, Feb. 3, 1983).
In several foruma, Kathy has listed as
her moat significant achievement for the
gay community the appointment of Police
Chief Lee Brown. (le Chief Brown gay?)
To this I must acknowledge the fact that
despite the increased number of raids on
Whitmire No :&ti:J"·a~ti'!r'~ ~h~t hb';"tt1i;n :~~.!
'Fairy' Princess th•i•~ 'ith~~gh she jokes about Montrose
From Gregg R1UBell ~!:-u~~rs:i,~h~~~:::ind":.1:::.~i;~
"Who the hell else are they going to vote ohe did have pebbles (no tar, but pebbleo)
:::::~.:!'? e ~ri::z:i::=. _ckl:=;.~ .. ~~l":.i.!
given to city services under her administration.
I plan to vote for Kathy this time
around, not because I am pleased with her
performance, but because we have failed
to develop reasonable options. We must
stop deluding ourselves into thinking that
she places our advancement above hers
and begin to treat her as a politican, not as
a 11fairy" princess.
Questioning the
GPC Demand of
Bloc Voting
From Neil lsbin
Every election, the gay community is told
that our continued political influence
depends upon the bloc vote which depends
upon every member of the gay community
voting all of the GPC endorsements. To
publicly oppose a single endorsement is to
be accused of trying to destroy the bloc
vote.
But what is the bloc vote, and how is its
Let us hear from you.
Letters to the Editor
Montrose Voice
3317 Montrose #306
Houston,T_x _7_70_06 ___
succeH measured? Generally, nearly 100
percent of the active gay political community
agrees with 90 percent of the GPC
endorsements. Is public diuent over occasional
endorsements really injurious to
the interest.a of the gay community or to
the concept of the bloc vote?
There is little disagreement that the bloc
vote is a vital ingredient in gay political
influence, but there is considerable disagreement
over what is meant by the bloc
vote. The GPC line, as expreseed by Ray
Hill in this fall's GPC Election News, is
that the bloc vote means that once the
GPC haa made their endorsement.a, the
gay community loyally and blindly votes
ALL of the GPC endorsements.
Typical of such dogmatism is hypocrisy.
It should be noted that this year Ray Hill
agrees with all of the GPC endorsements.
In the past, when he has disagreed with
the GPC endorsements (twice in 1980 and
once in 1978), Ray saw nothing wrong
with publicly encouraging members of the
gay community to support candidates
who were not endorsed. Even president
Larry Bagnerie has publicly opposed a
GPC endorsement-supporting Judson
Robinson against GPC endorsed Mickey
Leland in 1978.
The fatal flaw with the dogmatic (and
hypocritical) GPC interpretation of the
bloc vote is that it ignores the opportunities
and advantages of having political
influence with more than one candidate in
a given race. However, that flaw is consistent
with the leadership's view of the GPC
as a political machine. To date, in my criticism
of the GPC, I have been unsuccessful
in changing their self·image away from
the controlling aspects of a political
machine to the guiding aspects of a political
force.
The reality of the bloc vote is not seen in
the blind obedience of the gay community,
but in the spontaneous agreement of the
gay community. The success of the bloc
vote is not at stake when there is disagreement,
but is measured in the 90 percent of
the races where there is agreement.
The bloc vote materializes naturally
when there are anti-gay candidates like
Frank Mann (who was defeated by Eleanor
Tinsley in 1979), or when the GPC
endorsed candidates are attacked because
of their gay support (like Kathy Whitmire
in 1981). The bloc vote also materialize•
poeitively when there are such excellent
candidates like Anne Wheeler and George
Greanias.
However, the concept of bloc voting has
Letters
stands to lose some credibility and influence
when gays are active in both campaigns,
the GAY COMMUNITY GAINS
political influence. To accuse the number
of gay people actively supporting
Anthony Hall of damaging gay political
influence is ridiculous-they are protecting
and promoting gay interests.
Just as individuals can make mistakes,
so can endorsing political organizations.
When one considers Anthony Hall's long
record of supporting gay rights, the fact
that he is an incumbent and the fact that
the GPC Screening Committee voted 12 to
7 to recommend him, it is reasonable to
question the wisdom of the GPC's decision
to endorse Nikki Van Hightower.
The GPC endorsements should be seen
aa recommendations and not commands
to the gay community. As such, they must
stand up to public scrutiny. Public dissent
over occasional endorsements is neither
injurious to the gay community nor to the
concept of the bloc vote. In fact, public
disagreement heightens interest and
engenders discussion so that the people
going to the polls know for whom and
what they are voting. What is at stake in
ra~s. such as the At·Large Position 4, is
neither the bloc vote nor gay political
influence as the GPC claims-but simply
a judgment by members of the gay community
as to which candidate would be the
most effective in office.
Americans Still
Crave Dessert
We may be sweating our way to fitness,
but that hasn't reduced our appetite for
deuert, reports the Wall Street Journal.
Cakes and crepee throughout the country
are getting richer, fancie .. and more
expensive. Nick's Fishmarket in Houston,
for example, pulls down a hefty $51h forits
sour cream custard with a strawberry
glaze.
YEAR ROUND
GROUNDS
MAINTAINANCE
INSECT CONTROL
FERTILIZING
SEEDING
~~r
~? :':i";a~g :g'l:'~.°F~~e:!;.".!;i.~:1.:dc~; FOR YOUR FREE ESTIMATE CALL
Council Position-At-Large No. 4,Anthony DAVID WORTHY
Hall and Nikki Van Hightower are the
1
(713) 529-0027
~=~~g~?i~!"e1GPC.da:~ 1:;':,r;~tig:: ' ._1·,----------.J
Montrose Live
Main Street and Rascals ...
o Comedienne Scores
at Rascals
By Jon Cheetwood
I love Harriet Leider. She is a very funny
and talented woman.
She may not be everyone's cup of tea,
however, but you really should see for
yourself. You surely won1t be bored.
But there's a need for a little word of
warning to those sitting within earshot of
the stage: you had better have come to see
Harriet perform or watch out! And this is
one of the reasons I have always loved
Harriet Leider. She is a brave and extreme
performer who really doesn't put up with
any crap, and she has the knack of handling
it in the severiet manner-short of
coming to blows-and remaining an
extemely funny woman.
She warned the audience early in her
set, "Shut the ... up! If I have to come out
amongst you, it's not going to be pretty."
True to her word, before the set was over,
she had to come out in the audience, and it
wasn't pretty-but it was awfully funny
(actual comments by Ms. Leider at this
point should not be printed) and certianly
stunned the audience into submission.
For some, Harriet is an acquired taste. If
you don't like her immediately, give her
two or three sets and then perhaps you will
begin to understand the full wonderful
sickness of the lady. She's scrambled my
brains and kept me io stitches for a couple
of years.
Oh, she sings, too. I think one of the
reasons she left the legitimate musical
stage a few years ago was that she just
had too much to say to her audiences.
Plus she has lung control that would put
Orea to shame. Her Broadway-trained
voice is evident in its brassy strength
throughout her show, but in particular in
numbers such as "Shiver Me Timbers"
and "I'd Rather Leave While I'm in Love,"
where she contrasts her reverberating
leather-lunged delivery with soft, subtle
control in passages imbued with emotion.
Harriet's show is not what I would call
nostalgic. Wlrile she has numbers that
might fall into that ilk ("Going Down to
Stoney Inn," "Will You Still Love Me
Tomorrow" and a "Mr. Sandman" medley),
she remains an eclectic performer.
Her deliveries defy memorabilia status by
interpretation-such as "Just A Little
More Time" being dubbed "parked car
music" with the tale she dropped on us
before presenting the ditty.
Harriet invites the audience to call out
words or phrases-"The closer to my
demented sensibilities, the better" - then
she will create, on the spot, a quite humorous
sonr with these ideas, complete with
rhyme and punch line. And these lyrics
interpteled in various stylea are no feeble
prose. She could publi1h thi1 1tuff. You
ehould have heard what she did with
"dildo" openinr night.
If you find Harriet intitnidating at fint,
juet 110 along with her. She'• on your sideahe
ju.st wants you to have a good time,
too. And believe me, •M knows how to
have a good time!
o Main Street Presents
the Real Virginia Woolf
f,?' ~o: ~;,~~~~g saga of Hou~ton thea-tre's
celebration of the Susan Snuth Blackbum
Prize (for women playwnifhts), Mam
Street Theatre is presenting Edna
o·~~d:~s a~i~g!~~~al" to Ma~ Street's
83184 season, Virginia., a finalist for the
1979 Blackbum Prize, is a dram~tic rendering
of the life of English novehst/cntic
Virginia Woolf (1882-1941!· . .
Virginia whose life is still a fascination
to many ioday, was a member of the
Bloomsbury Group, a collection of artists
and intellectuals who left their mark on
English culture in the early part of the
20th century.
Virginia kept company with the likes of
E.M. Forester, Yeats, Shaw, T.S. Eliot and
Gertrude Stein (whom she remembers as a
14suave sausage"). Together with her husband
Leonard, Virginia founded Hogarth
Press, remembered for its early support
and publication of T.S. Eliot, Sigmund
Freud and, of course, Virginia Woolf.
The play centers greatly on Virginia,
but also contains two other actors (male
and female) who partray the "significant
others" in her life: her husband Leonard
and her "Sapphic friend" Vita SackvilleWest.
Virginia focuses on the troubled life of a
woman who fluctuated between poetic
dreaming and her own despairing concepts
of everyday domestic reality, Virginia
experienced the tragedies of many
deaths in her family, as well as her rape by
a half brother, all while still a very young
woman.
Speaking while writing her thoughts at
her writing table, Virginia talks at length
about her mother and her death. While
playing madly with a doll in her hands,
Virginia relates the seduction by her half
brother, a clever and very effective piece of
staging.
Virginia, a devout feminist, hated male
dominance and detested marriage and all
it stood for: terribly conventional and 11all
that copulation." In spite of her beliefs,
she wed Leonard Woolf, a Socialist writer
who remained a compassionate devoted
husband, especially during her mental
breakdown when Virginia was institutionalized
for several years.
After meeting Vita Sackville-West, Virginia
toJd Leonard that s he looked li ke "an
overripe grape with a moustache," but she
couldn't deny her strong attraction for
this female creature. Remembering Vita
with her raven black hair and her scarlet
dress, Virginia reminds hereself to 11practice
equanimity." An intimate scene
between Virginia and Vita was written
and performed in extremely good taste.
Leonard approves of his wife's lesbian
affair with Vita, hoping that it will bring
her happiness. In telling Vita about Virginia's
many mood changes, Leonard
reveals that at times "she leaves the
ground and listens to her voices."
Harold, Vita's husband, "hates jealousy
like any other disease," and |
