The San Diego County District Attorney’s office announced that defendant Kenyatta Mitchell, who attacked San Diego Pride Executive Director Ron deHarte during the Equality Torch Relay in Lemon Grove on Saturday, June 6, plead guilty to a hate crime battery during a readiness conference at the East County Regional Complex in El Cajon on Thursday, June 18. Mitchell was immediately sentenced and placed on three years probation, which includes 180 days of jail custody.

People United Against Cuts is organizing a rally and sit-in to protest cuts to state services at the State of California Office building in Downtown on Tuesday, June 30, at noon. The State of California Office building is located at 1350 Front St. in Downtown. For more information, call 619-226-1116 or e-mail info@activistsandiego.org.

Gloria Johnson was recently elected Action Vice-President of California National Organization for Women. CANOW is the umbrella organization for all the NOW chapters in the state. She will coordinate the political and actions programs for the 30,000 member state organization. Gloria is also the co-coordinator of the San Diego County Chapter of NOW.

Green Party of San Diego County will host a potluck lunch at the Joyce Beers Community Center on Saturday, June 27 at 11:30 a.m. Members will discuss planning and logistics for upcoming San Diego Pride, a marriage-equality forum and identify target audiences and planning outreach for the next couple of months. The Joyce Beers Community Center is located at 1010 Vermont St. in Hillcrest at the Uptown Shopping Center in Hillcrest. For more information, e-mail events@sdgreenparty.org or visit www.sdgreenparty.org.

A march and vigil against hate crimes and HIV/AIDS funding cuts at the World’s Largest Lemon, a landmark in Lemon Grove, is scheduled for Friday, June 26, at 7 p.m. San Diego Alliance for Marriage Equality (SAME) is organizing the march and vigil in response to recent hate crimes, including the attack against local musician Rhythm Turner in Mission Beach and San Diego Pride Executive Director Ron deHarte during the Pride Torch Relay in Lemon Grove and to protest Gov. Schwarzenegger’s proposed funding cuts to HIV education and prevention, testing, care and treatment programs in light of the state’s $24 billion deficit.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposes to reduce or eliminate several state HIV/AIDS programming and services, including the reduction of its AIDS drug-assistance program (ADAP) by 12 percent, elimination of prevention and education programs and a reduction of its $80 million general AIDS fund, according to Poz magazine. The governor’s budget proposal would also eliminate state federal HIV prevention and treatment dollars, since the federal government requires states to match federal funds with state money.

The World’s Largest Lemon is located at 3232 Main St. in Lemon Grove. For more information, visit www.samealliance.com or call 858-335-6615.

Justice Overcoming Boundaries is hosting a one-day Immigration Leadership Summit at Mission Hills United Church of Christ on Saturday, June 27, at 8 a.m. Organizers seek to give people a better grasp of immigration issues in our time. Coffee and Pan Dulce will be served. The summit is free but a $5 donation is appreciated. Mission Hills United Church of Christ is located at 4070 Jackdaw St. in Mission Hills. For more information, call 619-696-9474 or visit www.justicesandiego.org.

The San Diego Men’s Chorus will present a landmark theatre piece to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots on Sunday, July 12, 2009. “Politics / Prejudice / Pride” will feature an original script, and music selected from the popular music and social justice causes of the past forty years.

Del Shores, creator of the movie and television series “Sordid Lives,” will star in this event, along with Olympic icon and activist Greg Louganis. And Broadway sensation Frenchie Davis will also appear, singing with the chorus. The San Diego Women’s Drum Circle will rock the house with powerful, pulsating rhythms. The chorus will welcome local dancers Katie Griffin and Annie Boyer, with choreography by SD Dance Theatre’s John Diaz. Students from the San Diego High School for Media, Visual and Performing Arts will also participate.

The program includes music from HAIR, and Once On This Island, music made famous by Diana Ross and Freddie Mercury, Franz Biebl’s poignant “Ave Maria,” music from the landmark song cycle “Naked Man,” and Frenchie and the boys doing Heather Small’s “Proud” – plus so much more!

A commemoration of struggle, a timeline of historical milestones, a celebration of diversity, a look toward the future – join SDMC and friends for this exciting kick-off to the SD Pride week.

This unforgettable performance is underwritten by a generous grant from the James Irvine Foundation.

Tickets are available now at www.sdmc.org, where the Chorus charges no service fees. Showtimes on Sunday, July 12, are 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. at the Irwin M. Jacobs Qualcomm Concert Hall (5775 Morehouse Dr., San Diego). Matinée tickets are all priced at $15, and VIP tickets, which include a meet and greet with the headliners, are available for the evening show.

The Newsom for California Committee is hosting a phone-a-thon for San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom’s campaign for the 2010 governorship at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, in CYB 200, Saturday, June 27, at 11 a.m. Organizers will be identifying volunteers for other Mayor Newsom events and projects and recruiting folks to march with him at the San Diego Pride Parade on July 18. The Thomas Jefferson School of Law is located at 2121 San Diego Ave. in Downtown. For more information, call 415-962-4532 or e-mail volunteer@gavinnewsom.com.