TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) – In 30 days, Tucson City Council members may vote to extend city benefits to domestic partners of the opposite sex that live with city employees.

Same-sex couples have been receiving domestic partner benefits for more than a decade, but Ward 4 Councilmember Shirley Scott said opposite-sex relationships were kept out of the city benefits program because those couples had the option to get married.

If the council changes the ordinance, it would review the financial impact of the new law in 12 months.

The city estimates 75 to 160 employees and their domestic partners would be eligible for the coverage at a cost as high as $360,000 a year.

Cindy Bezaury, Tucson’s Human Resources Director, said estimates are based on information gathered from employee pools of outside agencies and private-sector companies.

LOS ANGELES (AP) – A lesbian police officer’s lawsuit alleging the Police Department fired her because she complained about mistreatment over her sexual orientation can go to trial, a judge ruled last Wednesday.

Superior Court Judge Edward A. Ferns made the decision after rejecting a defense motion to dismiss the case. Ferns also set a May 12 trial date even as attorneys for Shelby Feldmeier and the city try to settle the case.

Feldmeier alleged that when she worked as a probationary officer at the Wilshire Station, male officers made frequent, offensive comments about homosexuality and asked if she was gay, according to her lawsuit.

She claimed that her complaints about the harassment and discrimination to her supervisors and then-Deputy Chief Michael Berkow were not taken seriously. Berkow promised to investigate, but did not follow up, she said.

Feldmeier filed her lawsuit in January 2006, seeking damages from the city for alleged wrongful termination and retaliation.

OXNARD, Calif. (AP) – Parents packed an Oxnard gymnasium to ask why school officials didn’t intervene more aggressively in what has been described as a feud between two students, one of whom was shot on campus last week.

Fifteen-year-old Lawrence King was shot in the head at E.O. Green Junior High School on Feb. 12 and removed from life support two days later. A 14-year-old classmate, Brandon McInerney, is charged with killing the eighth-grader.

Parents facing a panel Tuesday night that included school officials and Oxnard Police Chief John Crombach asked for metal detectors on campus and more programs dealing with bullying.

Crombach said McInerney has refused to talk to investigators so it is unclear why King was shot.

Classmates said King revealed recently that he was gay and was taunted for wearing feminine accessories with his school uniform.

DANBURY, Conn. (AP) – State Rep. Jason Bartlett, a Democrat who represents the Danbury area, publicly announced that he is gay.

Bartlett, who represents Bethel, Danbury and Redding, says he has been frank about his sexual orientation with relatives, and now is the time to speak out.

The 41-year-old legislator, who is also black, says while he’s always tried to keep his personal life private, there have been rumors about his sexual orientation.

Bartlett also says he is in the public eye.

Bartlett, who is up for re-election in November, says whether being openly gay will have an effect during the election is a bridge he’ll cross when he comes to it.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) – A Lexington woman convicted in a high-profile murder in 1986 did not receive perfect legal advice during her trial, but her attorney did not commit any grievous errors, the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled Feb. 21.

The high court upheld the conviction of Karen Brown, 43, who was convicted with two others in a plot to kill her lover’s husband for $60,000 in insurance money.

Justice Will T. Scott wrote for the court that Brown’s attorney, Julius Rather of Lexington, made a reasonable decision in not letting Brown testify in her own defense or at the sentencing phase. Brown faced a possible death sentence during the trial, but a jury opted for a sentence of life in prison.

“Hindsight may lead one to guess that it would have been better for (Brown) to testify to attempt to gain sympathy from the jury,” Scott wrote. “That’s an easy thing to say when you are not gambling with a death sentence. It is a little more intimidating when you are.”

Brown, her lesbian girlfriend, Elizabeth Turpin and their friend, Keith Bouchard, were accused of the February 1986 murder of 22-year-old Michael Turpin. Prosecutors said the three plotted Michael Turpin’s death for six months to collect $60,000 in insurance money.

Brown and Elizabeth Turpin, who was married to Michael Turpin, were convicted of murder. Bouchard pleaded guilty and testified against the women.

Allison Martin, a spokeswoman for the Kentucky Attorney General, said the high court made the right decision.

“We look forward to bringing about closure for the victim’s family,” Martin said.

Brown’s public defender, Marguerite Thomas, did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

Thomas argued before the high court in October that Rather erred because he did not call a single witness, while Elizabeth Turpin’s attorney called 17. Rather also did not question Bouchard’s credibility despite evidence of mental illness, Thomas said.

Prosecutors argued on appeal that Rather likely saved Brown’s life by not putting her on the stand.

SANTA FE (AP) – The state Department of Health has added three medications to the list of those it provides to New Mexicans with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

Department officials said each of the medicines represents an advance in treating HIV.

Counting the new drugs, the agency now provides 77 medications to 426 patients with HIV/AIDS who otherwise would not have access to them. Patients are eligible for the department’s HIV/AIDS Medications Program if they earn less than 400 percent of the federal poverty level.

The program has operated for at least a dozen years, department officials said.

The average cost of medications for people enrolled in the program is $10,680 per year, the agency said.

Health Secretary Dr. Alfredo Vigil said the state saves money by treating people with HIV so they remain healthy and productive.

The medications treat HIV, opportunistic infections or the side effects of HIV treatment.

“In the short term, these medications represent a very significant advance in our ability to treat HIV, particularly among people who have developed drug resistance,” said Dr. Steve Jenison, medical director of the Department’s Infectious Disease Bureau. “In the long term, these medications get us one step closer to being able to control HIV by interfering with each stage of its life cycle. That is key to someday finding a cure for HIV.”

The new medications, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the last six months, will be used largely by people who have become resistant to first-line medications or by people who can’t take those medications because of the side effects.

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) – South Dakota lawmakers have decided that people convicted of intentionally exposing their sex partners to the AIDS virus should have to register as sex offenders after release from prison.

The House voted unanimously to pass the measure, which will become law if signed by Gov. Mike Rounds.

Rep. Richard Engels of Hartford says two people have been convicted in South Dakota of the crime of intentionally exposing others to the AIDS virus. He says someone convicted of the crime can face up to 15 years in prison.

Engels says after such people are released from prison, they should be placed on the registry of sex offenders to warn the public that they present a danger.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) – A bill that would override Salt Lake City’s registry for same-sex and other domestic partners has stalled in the Senate, but it could be coming back after some changes.

SB267 would eradicate the Salt Lake City’s registry, which was passed unanimously by the City Council. The policy would allow employers who offer benefits to unmarried couples to verify a worker is in a domestic relationship – regardless of gender.

Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan, who introduced SB267, said the Salt Lake City policy violates Amendment 3, the provision in the Utah Constitution that bans same-sex marriage.

Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker said Buttars’ bill could also affect opposite-sex family and friends. Becker also said the state should not “step into the shoes” of local governments.

Senate President John Valentine, R-Orem, suggested taking another look at the bill to see if it could be tweaked. Senate Majority Leader Curt Bramble, R-Provo, pulled the bill from the Senate floor Friday and shelved it in the Rules Committee.

Valentine said one possible change would be spelling out what benefits the Legislature believes are prohibited under Amendment 3.

“It’s totally dependent on the other members of the body who want to look at the issue,” he said.

Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said he told Buttars and others that SB267 would remove benefits Shurtleff had been assured would not be cut when Shurtleff campaigned against Amendment 3.

“I did tell Senator Buttars that I don’t see why there is a need for the law,” he said.

Shurtleff said he’s convinced someone would challenge the registry in court, which could ultimately decide the issue.

ST. ALBANS, Vt. (AP) – A judge has dismissed hate crime charges against two teenage sisters accused of slashing tires and spray painting anti-gay slogans on vehicles owned by two gay men, citing a lack of evidence.

Melissa Gaboury, 16, was released on Friday, after spending several months in prison.

Prosecutors said they believed they had enough evidence – a can of spray paint, a large knife and razor blades that they said were found in the vehicle Gaboury had been driving – and said she had contradicted herself during police interviews.

“I feel very bad for the victims in this case because they went through this and they pressed forward and we tried to put it together for a trial in a relatively short period of time and the judge didn’t feel we had the evidence to convict her,” Franklin County Prosecutor Jim Hughes said.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – As voters cast their ballots in the state primary, a gay-advocacy group hopes to get them thinking about the Wisconsin Supreme Court election in the spring.

Members of Fair Wisconsin say they’ll visit polling stations around the state Tuesday to hand out applications for absentee ballots for the April election.

Fair Wisconsin is the statewide group that led the fight against the gay-marriage ban that voters approved last year.

The group’s interim executive director, Glenn Carlson, says a number of important gay-rights issues will likely come before the court in the next few years. He says that makes the upcoming race between Justice Louis Butler and challenger William Gableman particularly important.