District 3 City Council candidate Stephen Whitburn, alongside Rep. Bob Filner, introduced a three-point plan last week to protect San Diego neighborhoods affected by the mortgage crisis. The Stronger Neighborhoods Initiative would protect neighborhood property values, create a toll-free mortgage crisis hotline and establish a city task force to take future action and help residents at risk of foreclosure. “It was while walking door-to-door that I came to understand first-hand the true impact of the mortgage crisis on San Diego neighborhoods,” Whitburn said. “The loss of a home is more than one family’s crisis. Abandoned properties can hurt property values and endanger public safety. We need to act now.”

District 3 City Council candidate Todd Gloria received endorsements from the San Diego County Democratic Women’s Club and the San Diego County Young Democrats.

“As a lifelong Democrat, the support of the Democratic Women’s Club and Young Dems is important to me,” Gloria said. “My focuses on strengthening public safety, improving infrastructure and providing economic opportunity for all are certainly congruent with Democratic ideals, and I am grateful that members of these organizations want to help me spread this message and make a difference for all of San Diego.”

Gloria has also received endorsements from the Chicano Democratic Association, the San Diego-Imperial Counties Labor Council, the San Diego City Firefighters, the San Diego Police Officers Association and the League of Conservation Voters.

Openly-gay San Diego psychotherapist Michael Kimmel will lead a two-hour workshop, the Good Boy/Bad Boy Balance, on Saturday, April 19 from 1-3 p.m. in the Community Resource Room at The San Diego LGBT Community Center.

Participants will learn how to balance what Kimmel calls “good boy/bad boy energies”; how to let their inner “bad boy” out in ways that work; and whether they have been too good for too long.

In the workshop, participants will learn how to embrace their inner good boy and bad boy, and how to enjoy expressing both sides.

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

For more information, contact Patrick Loose at 619-692-2077, ext. 125, or ploose@thecentersd.org.

The California State University, San Marcos Associated Students, Inc. will host a grand opening dinner and celebration for the campus LGBTQ Pride Center on Friday, April 11.

The LGBTQ Pride Center, which opened in fall 2007, offers services, support, events and information for GLBTQ students on the North County campus. The center is operated and funded by the CSUSM Associated Students, Inc., a nonprofit auxiliary of the university.

The celebration will include dinner, entertainment and a keynote presentation by Shane L. Windmeyer, executive director of Campus Pride and Stop the Hate. Windmeyer is also the author of The Advocate College Guide for LGBT Students.

The event is scheduled from 6-8:30 p.m. in the CSUSM Clarke Grand Salon. Tickets are $10 for students and $25 for non-students. A table, which seats eight, may be purchased for $160. All proceeds from the evening will benefit the CSUSM LGBTQ Pride Center.

CSUSM is located off of Twin Oaks Valley Road in San Marcos.

For more information call 760-750-3077.

Tickets for the 2008 FilmOut San Diego LGBT Film Festival are on sale now at Obelisk Bookstore and at www.filmoutsandiego.com. FilmOut will be held April 11-17 at Landmark’s Ken Cinema.

The expanded seven-day festival will include many world premieres, feature films, short films, documentaries and San Diego productions representing all genres of GLBT cinema, including drama, comedy, foreign language, horror and cult.

Filmmakers and casts from the following films will be in attendance: A Four Letter Word; I Hate Musicals; Summer Sex; The Field; Birthday Boy; The Frank Anderson; Gay Zombie; The Incredible Dyke; Itty Bitty Titty Committee; Lucky Man; The Touch; Back Soon; Selene Narcis; Picture of Dorian Gray; The Shadows; Socket; Gay Bed & Breakfast of Terro; Pastor Jamie Welcoming Church; Marina & Her Moms; Betty Dodson: Her Life of Sex and Art; Mechanic’s Daydream; and Ready? OK!

For more information visit www.filmoutsandiego.com.

Sun & Moon Vision Productions (SMVP) is currently looking for advisory board members to oversee the production of the Youth Out Loud! II documentary project, a follow-up to the Youth Out Loud! documentary released in 2000.

Youth Out Loud! chronicles the stories of youth in high school, and highlights the bubbling surge of youth activism that initiates change from local school districts to state and federal laws.

Funded by The San Diego Foundation for Change and San Diego Human Dignity Foundation, SMVP is producing a new educational video with an accompanying resource guide to advocate for the safety of all students.

Youth, parents, teachers, youth-care providers, and others involved in the school system are invited to take part in the documentary.

For more information or to join the community advisory board for Youth Out Loud! II, contact Becky Sangha at 760-735-8300 or e-mail production@sunandmoonvision.org.

Viejas Entertainment & Production will support San Diego LGBT Pride as a nonprofit beneficiary through two evening appearances by comedienne Margaret Cho, scheduled for May 16 and 17 at Viejas’ Concerts in the Park series. The production company is owned and operated by the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians.

Cho, a stand-up favorite among GLBT audiences, served as San Diego Pride’s grand marshal in 2000. The show, titled Beautiful, is her first concert tour in three years.

“The Viejas Tribe is proud to be a supporter of Pride,” said Viejas Tribal Chairman Bobby Barrett. “We believe that partnering with organizations reflecting the diversity of our community strengthens the community as a whole. Pride has positively impacted the San Diego community and we are pleased to stand alongside them.”

“Partnering with Pride for this show was an easy decision,” said Viejas Entertainment & Production President Tony San Pietro. “Not only do they have a tremendous community outreach, but they’ve been a pleasure to work with as well. As we begin to broaden our concert demographic we look forward to partnering with Pride and other community organizations in the future.”

The May shows begin at 8 p.m. Tickets are $40 for reserved seats and $30 for general admission. Purchases can be made by calling or visiting any Ticketmaster outlet or visiting www.viejasentertainment.com.