Todd Gloria, a candidate for San Diego City Council District 3, announced last week his campaign has received endorsements from the San Diego Police Officer’s Association and the League of Conservation Voters San Diego (LCVSD).

The San Diego Police Officer’s Association represents 98 percent of the sworn police officers working in the City of San Diego. Gloria has made public safety a top priority in his campaign, and credits the endorsement by this organization to that. “I am grateful for both their endorsement and the dangerous job they do for us every day,” Gloria said.

LCVSD is a chapter of the California League of Conservation Voters (CLCV), which seeks to protect the environmental quality of the state by working to elect environmentally responsible candidates and hold them accountable to the conservation agenda.

“Todd Gloria has demonstrated to LCVSD that he understands and appreciates the importance of promoting environmental policies at the local level,” said LCV president Jamie Gonzalez.

Gloria has pledged to continue to work on important environmental issues such as protecting homes from lead poison, canyon preservation, restoring Chollas Creek and ensuring responsible development.

The San Diego HIV Health Services Planning Council is seeking consumers, persons living with HIV/AIDS, to fill out the 2008 HIV/AIDS Needs Assessment Survey, which is used to determine the need for services in San Diego County. This information also helps the council to allocate funds.

According to the organization, it wants to ensure that decisions made include the voice of people living with HIV/AIDS. Council members value consumer input, particularly in the annual priority setting and budget allocations process.

The Planning Council meets the fourth Wednesday of each month at the County Health Services Complex in the Coronado Room. All meetings are open to the general public. Spanish interpretation is available upon request.

For more information about the council or the survey, visit www.sdplanning.org. For information on becoming a member, contact Ken Riley, lead health planner for the council, at 619-293-4711 or kennethriley@sdcounty.ca.gov.

The County Health Services Complex is located at 3851 Rosecrans St. To request translation services, call Yvette Ogletree at 619-293-4713 at least 72 hours in advance.

Under a State of California program, low-income individuals or those older than 60 are eligible for free assistance with completing their simple federal and state income tax returns.

Assistance is available through April 15 and is limited to full-year residents because non-resident and part-year resident returns can be complex. To find the nearest assistance center in San Diego County, visit www.ftb.ca.gov/individuals/vita/sites.asp or contact the California Franchise Tax Board at 800-540-3453.

Those interested in volunteering to help low-income and elderly individuals complete their tax returns can get more information at www.ftb.ca.gov/email/ Volunteer_Application.asp, or by contacting the Franchise Tax Board at volunteercoordinator@ftb.ca.gov.

The Center announced the honorees for its sixth annual Women’s Night, to be held Saturday, April 5, 2008 from 7-11 p.m. at the Paradise Point Resort & Spa in Mission Bay.

According to The Center, the event celebrates 200 of San Diego’s most diverse and dynamic lesbian, bisexual and transgender women. It also serves as a fund-raiser for The Center’s Women’s Resource Center.

The event honors women who have made outstanding contributions in their areas of expertise.

This year’s honorees are: Aida Mancillas (arts); Michelle Burkart (business); Susan E. Cayleff, Ph.D. (education); Leane Marchese, M.S. (health); Anna M. Curren (philanthropy); Barbara J. Cox (politics); and Lt. Margie Schaufelberger (Woman of the Year).

This year’s event will also feature a live carnival dance performance, Caribbean cuisine, DJ Sandra Ware, gambling for prizes and dancing.

Annual Women’s Night is sponsored by the Gay & Lesbian Times and Wells Fargo.

The March LGBT Community Coalition Breakfast will feature former San Diego grand jury foreman David Higgins and current foreman, Michael Letendre. Both are members of the LGBT community. The breakfast will take place on Friday, March 21 from 7:30-9 a.m. at The Center.

Higgins and Letendre will discuss the role of the grand jury in the San Diego court system and the importance of serving on juries.

Letendre, a San Carlos resident, was selected to lead the 2007-2008 San Diego County grand jury and will begin service on July 1. He serves as president of the San Diego Federation of Volleyball Officials, officiates for the San Diego American Flag Football League and America’s Finest City Softball League, and is past commissioner of San Diego Hoops and the Hillcrest Classic Basketball Tournament.

Higgins served as the jury foreman for the 2006-2007 San Diego County grand jury. A consultant specializing in the biotechnology industry and former executive vice president of BioMedica, Higgins is involved in the North Park Community Association, the North Park Alcohol and Entertainment Working Group, the Grand Jury Implementation Advisory Committee to Mayor Sanders and the City Council, the Past Grand Jurors Association, and is a member of the Board of Directors of the San Diego American Civil Liberties Union.

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 LGBT 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, which must be sent to Caroline Dessert at cdessert@thecentersd.org at least seven working days before the event.

The Center is located at 3909 Centre St. in Hillcrest.

San Diego psychotherapist and former Gay & Lesbian Times columnist Michael Kimmel is offering a workshop titled “Finding (and Keeping) the Perfect Partner” at The Center on Saturday, March 22 from 3-5 p.m. The workshop is sponsored by the California Men’s Gatherings (CMG) and is open to all men 18 years and older. Kimmel promises that the workshop will be “experiential, didactic, interactive and laced with lots of humor.”

There is a $10 charge to help cover the costs of the workshop, and to provide funds for CMG’s other social events and special projects, although no one will be turned away for an inability to pay.

RSVPs for the workshop are highly encouraged, as the event is expected to sell out. To RSVP e-mail Andrew at EventsSD@thecmg.org. The phrase “perfect partner” should be in the subject line.

For more information about the workshop, contact Kimmel at 619-955-3311, or visit www.lifebeyondtherapy.com.

The San Diego LGBT Community Center is working in partnership with the Equality for All campaign and community support is needed. Well-funded anti-GLBT organizations are paying people to gather signatures to put a constitutional amendment on the November 2008 ballot that would ban same-sex marriage.

In response, the Equality for All campaign has launched a statewide effort to encourage Californians not to sign the petition.

According to the organizations, there are many ways residents can help. Individuals may volunteer to help educate shoppers. The Center will be training and sending volunteers to store locations where petitions are being circulated. Volunteers will not be engaging or discussing the petitions with the paid or volunteer gatherers. Instead, volunteers will talk to shoppers about why they may want to decline to sign.

Individuals are also needed to help track petitions. In order to track the activities and assess the size/funding of the proponents of the amendment, people are asked to be on the look out for people gathering signatures, and report back to The Center.

To report petition gathering sites, for more information or to volunteer, call The Center’s Marriage Project coordinator Kristi Shaw at 619-692-2077, ext. 206, or e-mail her at kshaw@thecentersd.org.