The San Diego LGBT Community Center (The Center) and the Imperial Court de San Diego have announced the 2007 recipients of the Nicole Murray-Ramirez LGBT Student Scholarships. The students will be recognized at The Center’s 34th Annual Gala on Saturday, Oct. 13.

The Nicole Murray-Ramirez LGBT Student Scholarship Fund was established in 1979 by the Imperial Court de San Diego to assist San Diego area GLBT students in achieving their educational goals. Named for longtime community activist and San Diego City Commissioner, Nicole Murray-Ramirez, the fund is a project of the Imperial Court and is administered by The Center.

These scholarships are given to GLBT students who have been accepted to or are matriculating at a post-secondary college, university or vocational institution in California. This year’s recipients are:

Erin Falvey – Falvey is pursuing a doctoral degree in education through a joint program between San Diego State University and Claremont Graduate University. She received her master’s degree in marriage and family therapy from Alliant International University and her bachelor’s degree from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas

John Lam – Lam is completing his bachelor’s degree at San Diego State University in political science and communications. The first-born son of Asian immigrants, Lam has taught English in rural Vietnam through a teaching assistantship at Hue University. After completion of his bachelor’s degree, he plans on attending law school to prepare for a career in public interest and civil liberties law

SG Reichen – Reichen is studying philosophy and deaf studies at San Diego Mesa and City Colleges. He attained his bachelor’s degree from the University of Melbourne in Australia and has completed additional coursework in dance, culture, health and science at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts. He has been an advocate for both the transgender and deaf communities, and hopes to continue this work.

The San Diego Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center (The Center) has announced that the October LGBT Community Coalition Breakfast will feature City Councilmembers Toni Atkins and Jim Madaffer. The LGBT Community Coalition Breakfast will take place on Friday, Oct. 19 from 7:30-9 a.m. at The Center, 3909 Centre St.

The councilmembers will discuss the recent Council resolution adding the City of San Diego to the friend-of-the-court (amicus) briefs in the marriage equality case currently before the California Supreme Court. The emcee will be Richard Valdez, chair of The Center’s Board of Directors.

Councilmember Atkins will discuss the process of getting the resolution supported by the City Council and its significance, and will address the bigger issue of marriage equality in California beyond the courts, including possible ballot initiatives, Assembly Bill 43 (the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act) and public education campaigns designed to increase the number of supporters of marriage equality. Councilmember Madaffer will also discuss his own path to voting in favor of the resolution.

The Community Coalition Breakfast takes place the third Friday of each month. Its mission is to bring together fair-minded individuals to network, educate and discuss the diverse issues of concern to GLBT and allied neighbors and citizens of San Diego. A full breakfast is available for a $10 donation; coffee and tea are complimentary. RSVPs are not required. ASL interpretation will be provided upon request, and must be sent to Caroline Dessert at cdessert@thecentersd.org at least seven working days before the event.

The LGBT Community Coalition Breakfast is sponsored by Wells Fargo, the Gay & Lesbian Times and San Diego LGBT Pride.

The next Hillcrest community clean-up event is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 13 at 9 a.m. Volunteers will meet for coffee and treats at 8:45 a.m. at one of two locations: Park Boulevard south of University Avenue, or the corner of First Avenue and Walnut Street. The goal of the three-hour effort is to spruce up the sidewalks around the neighborhood.

I Love a Clean San Diego will bring in several dozen volunteers to help the Hillcrest Clean Team volunteers rid Hillcrest of trash. Following the cleanup, all volunteers are invited to Urban Mo’s Bar & Restaurant at noon for a thank-you party.

Interested volunteers are asked to bring the following items, if they have them: gloves, broom, rake or dust pan. The Hillcrest Clean Team will have extra supplies on hand for those who are unable to bring their own.

Flexcar has donated a truck to collect trash bags from the organized work parties and to help haul items to the dumpster. Hillcrest residents may call 619-260-1929 to arrange a pick-up. City Councilmember Toni Atkins’ office has secured the use of a dumpster for everyone in the community. It will be located in the Numbers parking lot at 3811 Park Blvd.

More information is available at www.hillquest.com.

Special Delivery San Diego will hold a fund-raiser at the Park Manor Hotel on Wednesday, Oct. 17 at 5:30 p.m. on the roof-top bar. Special Delivery is a nonprofit organization located in San Diego and serves the Metro San Diego area by providing 300 meals a day for the critically ill. Since the group’s inception, it has provided more than 1,100,000 meals and grocery bags to its clients. Special Delivery’s clients suffer from brain cancer, breast cancer, AIDS, End Stage Renal Disease, and many other conditions. Special Delivery is an all-volunteer organization that has been providing service to the San Diego area for more than16 years. Community support is necessary for Special Delivery to carry out its mission.

The Oct. 17 event is being organized by Donna Cleary of SHA Events, with entertainment provided by David Patrone. A $50 suggested donation is requested. The host committee for the event includes County Supervisor Ron Roberts, State Assemblymember Lori Saldana, San Diego City Councilmembers Toni Atkins, Brian Maienschein, and Scott Peters, State Sen. Christine Kehoe, Congressmember Susan Davis, and San Diego Police Department Chief William Lansdowne.

The Park Manor Hotel is located at 525 Spruce St. in Hillcrest. For more information call 619-297-7373.

For the first time since 2004, North County Pride will return to Carlsbad’s Stagecoach Park with the theme “Everyone’s Family, North County Pride.” The event will take place on Saturday, Oct. 13 from noon to 5 p.m. This family-friendly event will feature a clown, face painting, food, live bands and more. The purpose of the event is for North County GLBT residents and friends to meet other families who live in the area.

Vendors are still being sought. Businesses and organizations may get an application on the event Web site. More information about North County Pride is available online at www.northcountypridesd.org.

“Follow the Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City” fund-raiser, benefiting San Diego Young Positives (SDYP), will take place Sunday, Oct. 21 at Martinis Above Fourth at 7 p.m. Fantastic local talent will appear, along with drawing for prizes from local businesses, such as Tan Line, LIPS, Puppy Productions, Partylite, Estefan Gargost Art, Flicks and others. One raffle ticket is included with event donation, and additional raffle tickets will be available for $1 at the event.

Lola, one of San Diego’s favorite drag artists, will host. There will be a special live performance by the duo of Oscar Arroyo (vocalist) and Joseph Mitchell (pianist).

The suggested donation of $20 per ticket includes an appetizer ticket, raffle ticket and entertainment. For more information contact Rafael at rafael@youngpositives.com or by calling 619-723-3261.

Through the school’s Alumni Association, a group of GLBT alumni of San Diego State University are working to form an LGBT Chapter of the SDSU Alumni Association. A number of other specialized communities already have established alumni chapters, including African American Alumni, Jewish Aztecs, Social Work Alumni, Bay Area Aztecs and many others. The purpose of the chapter program is to reconnect alumni to SDSU and to other alumni who share a similar profession, culture, geographic location or special interest. Chapter members enjoy the benefits of the Alumni Association in addition to the many chapter benefits.

The group needs at least 20 interested alumni to be recognized as an official alumni chapter. Ideas for the group include networking and social activities, support of the SDSU GLBT student community, establishing a scholarship fund for GLBT students, and fund-raising for the future SDSU LGBT Resource Center. Level of involvement in the chapter is up to the individual member, and can be as small as signing up and being on the list-serv, to serving on the chapter’s board of directors.

Chapter membership is available at no additional cost to members of the SDSU Alumni Association. If you are interested in being a part of the SDSU LGBT Alumni Chapter or for more information e-mail lgbtrc@gmail.com or call 619-316-9197.

To help community members be able to better articulate their stances on Marriage Equality, The Center will host a workshop that will highlight the current messages marriage equality coalition partners across the state are utilizing, discussing tactics to help participants stay on message and current marriage equality issues and news. The workshop will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 16 at 7 p.m. at the Center. The Center is located at 3909 Centre St. in Hillcrest. Visit www.thecentersd.org for more information.

Landmark’s Ken Cinema will present For The Bible Tells Me So. Through the experiences of five Christian American families, including those of former House Majority Leader Richard Gephardt and Episcopalian Bishop Gene Robinson, the film explores how people of faith handle the realization of having a gay child. This provocative, entertaining documentary by Dan Karslake is winner of the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Seattle International Film Festival. The film will run in San Diego from Oct. 12-18. The Ken Theater is located at 4061 Adams Ave. in Kensington. Visit www.forthebibletellsmeso.org/ for more information.