Monday was the official start of Hispanic Heritage Month. As I’ve said before the Golden State is turning brown and I’m personally proud to be Latino and gay. I’ve been blessed to be able to see the great advancements these two communities have made in the past 40 years.

San Diego has its very own war hero named Keith Turnham, who was shot down, captured and sent to a POW camp, much like John McCain. Turnham, who is a World War II veteran, wrote a moving book about his POW experiences titled Death Denied. The City Council honored Keith and his wife of more than 60 years, Genny, on Sept. 9, by declaring it Keith and Genny Turnham Day in the City of San Diego. Councilmember Jim Madaffer led the efforts to recognize these outstanding citizens and I was humbled to be part of the ceremony. I presented the couple with an award from the Human Relations Commission, which Keith served on for almost 8 years. It was during those years I got to know and become friends with this beautiful couple. Sadly, Keith has been diagnosed with terminal cancer and told me how special and touching this recognition meant to him and his wife. I want to thank Madaffer and the entire Council for honoring the Turnhams. This is a reminder to us all that there are so many veterans who are true heroes throughout every city in America.

Did you know there are more than 15,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in San Diego County? Did you know there are almost 500 homeless people living on the street with HIV/AIDS? Next year, the nonprofit organization Townspeople, which provides roofs and permanent housing for many of our brothers and sisters, will celebrate 25 years of providing affordable housing for many low-income HIV-positive citizens. Townspeople will soon be opening another apartment housing complex. To learn more about Townspeople, visit www.townspeople.org.

I haven’t been to a gay rodeo in almost 15 years, but this past weekend I attended the San Diego Gay Rodeo, which celebrated its 20th anniversary this year. This wonderful experience reminded me how important the rodeos are to the community. Not only are they great fun, but these events have a long history of raising money for GLBT and HIV/AIDS organizations.

The members of the GLBT community who take part in these events are one big rodeo family which welcomes everybody. Contestants came from all over the United States and Canada. One contestant was gay rodeo champion Steven Daigle from the most recent edition of “Big Brother.” I loved the bull riding competitions the best and had a fun and exciting time.

Congratulations to Kevina, who won the title of Miss San Diego Rodeo 2009 and the infamous Ophelia who was runner-up. Thank you to Kelly Gilliano and everyone at the Golden State Gay Rodeo Association-San Diego for making me feel so welcomed by honoring me as this year’s Community Grand Marshall.

Attending the rodeo and seeing everything first-hand gave me a renewed affirmation for the International Rodeo Association. I’ll definitely be going again and urge everyone to check out the future events the San Diego Chapter host.

It has been announced that the Lambda Archives second annual gala “GLBT Heroes, Pioneers and Trailblazers” will take place on Saturday, Dec. 13. Last year’s event 20 Years, 20 Heroes was a huge success, which many people called “the event of the year.” It was an emotional evening full of laughter, tears and pride. The two-hour evening included food, drinks and entertainment and this year’s event promises to been the same. The 2009 Lambda Archives honorees will soon be announced. In the meantime, mark your calendars for Saturday, Dec. 13. For more information, call 619-692-1967.

Universal has been packed every weekend since it opened its doors four months ago. There are often lines around the corner with people waiting to get in. The fabulous restaurant Dish and neighboring Ciro’s Pizza are also doing well. But lately there are many false rumors flying around concerning Universal. Let me make it very clear Universal, Dish, Ciro’s and Stingaree aren’t going anywhere and are here to stay. In fact, I met with Universal’s popular general manager Billy, who let me know of some exciting new additions coming to Universal. So gossip all you want but be sure to stop by Universal one weekend and you’ll see for yourself why it’s No. 1.

The popular former Channel 10 weatherman known as “Captain Mike” recently passed away after fighting illness for some time. He was probably one of the most popular weathermen in the city and you could not help but like him. Many knew Captain Mike was gay, but he stayed in the closet until the end.

When the AIDS epidemic began in the early 1980s, Captain Mike turned down every request to emcee AIDS benefits, while his fellow newscasters always said yes. He finally did a few benefits for Auntie Helen’s, but never got very involved with the GLBT or HIV/AIDS communities.

Every year Captain Mike did a wonderful toy drive for Christmas, which continues to this day. Still he did not want to get involved supporting and helping any of the efforts of the GLBT community to get toys for children of GLBT parents who could not afford them. I believe Captain Mike could have done so much more when it came to HIV/AIDS and the GLBT community, both while he was on the air and after he retired. But at least he did something and the bottom line is he was a kind gentleman.

These days it is great to see openly gay news personalities, like the popular Ruben Galvan and Leonard Simpson, who both do their fair share of work for charities.

Still San Diego loved you Captain Mike and you will be missed by many.

In this week’s issue of the Gay & Lesbian Times, we have a coupon on page six for Med Grill (1263 University Ave.). I dined there recently and absolutely love the restaurant’s food. It has the best pasta, steaks and chops in town – and the service is outstanding! If you haven’t been yet, clip the coupon out on page six and get to Med Grill now!

Also, I went to lunch this past week at Crest Café. Look for my glowing review of what wonderful food and service Crest Café has in next week’s column!