Thank God Spring is here! After the cold rainy weather in Vancouver, it was great to return to the San Diego sunshine.

What a great nation with same-sex marriage, gays in the military and gays everywhere in its government and health care for all its citizens. I’ve always loved all my visits to Canada but especially its third largest city, Vancouver, which hosted the Winter Olympics. While I was there for six days, the city was hosting the Paralympic Winter Games (with more than 40 countries participating). I stayed at the Empire Landmark Hotel with my 35th floor room providing a breath taking view of the city’s skyline. The legal age for sex is 16 years and 19 years for voting and drinking! There is a huge Asian community and the big gay neighborhood is called the Village, all along Davie Street with about a dozen gay bars and dance clubs. Their annual Pride parade at times attracts about a half million people! A big thank you to Jennifer Breakspear, executive director of the city’s gay center, who gave me a tour of the building as well as Pride House, the first official Olympic venue for GLBT people. Now my favorite gay nightclub was the Odyssey, which every Thursday night hosts Shower Power where big-built totally-nude male dancers can be seen in shower stalls! Let me tell you that meat in Canada tastes totally different and is far superior to ours (better government regulations). In between meeting and events including being filmed for a Canadian gay documentary, I visited many restaurants. My favorite was The Keg. They had the best and most awesome steaks in Vancouver. I also had some great Thai food at Sala Thai. I had lunch at the historic and stately Hotel Vancouver, which keeps a suite available for Queen Elizabeth 24/7. GLBT publications I recommend are Xtra-West and the V-Rag. It was great seeing one of my favorite members of the Canadian Parliament again, the honorable Dr. Hedy Fry. I had the honor of being apart of a rally the last time I was in Vancouver with Fry and two other members of Parliament who were then speaking out on lifting the American ban on visitors with HIV/AIDS to our nation. Mark your calendar for July and August 2011 when Vancouver will host the North American Outgames and a world human rights conference whose chairman John Boychuk invited me to be apart of, and I will be honored to attend. Looks like I’ll also be going to Toronto in October. I look forward to my return to this great country whose people are the most friendly and welcoming in the world. So I’m here for a week, and then I’m off to New York.

The Leather community in my opinion is one of the most unrecognized and underappreciated in our GLBT community. Their fundraising and charity record since the 1970s has been one that should be respected and admired by all, especially in the area of HIV/AIDS were the leather community was in the forefront of the volunteerism, fundraising and action when there were no corporate sponsors or straight support. The leather community is also a very diverse one that welcomes all regardless of race, sex or lifestyle. This Saturday night (March 20) is the annual San Diego Mr. Leather Contest at Rich’s. Thank you to our leather men and woman for all you have done and do to make this a better community.

When Stephen Whitburn announced his candidacy for county supervisor (Dist. 4), I was out of the country but boy did my cell phone ring and did I get messages and e-mails! Many believe there is a move by the Democratic Party to deny popular incumbent Supervisor Ron Roberts (a Republican) an outright win in the upcoming primary. Hell, even spunky senior Democratic activist Margaret Moody has entered the race, which includes school board member Shelia Jackson, also a Democrat. Some question if Whitburn really is in it to win or just another Democratic sacrificial lamb. I’ve had some phone conversations with Whitburn and will be meeting with him but many of us have been friends and supporters of Ron Roberts long before Whitburn even moved to San Diego.

When Congressmember Bob Filner was a college student, he went down to the south in the 1960s to help register “negros” to vote and was thrown in jail by a racist sheriff. Bob has always stood up for those without a voice, be it Filipino WW II veterans, GLBT citizens, Latinos, immigrants and our suffering veterans of all our wars. Recently, Filner was the only one of the five member San Diego congressional delegation who voted to remove our troops from Afghanistan. Filner like many of us have lived through the failures and death of the Vietnam War and now our nation is repeating history. Thank you Congressmember Bob Filner for always sticking to your principles.

West Point graduate Lt. Dan Choi who in the last year has become the national poster boy for listing the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” ban, will be flying into San Diego on May 21 to accept the Harvey Milk Civil Rights Award at the second annual Harvey Milk Diversity Breakfast of San Diego County at the Hilton Hotel. Dan gave me a call the other day and is very honored and excited about coming to San Diego. Lt. Choi and I were elected and served as national co-chair of last years National Equality March on in Washington, D.C. He has been on more news shows and publicans than he can count and is one stirring public speaker. Get your tickets/tables now for the Milk breakfast, which sold out last year. For more information, call 619-692-2077, ext. 204 or visit www.thecentersd.kintera.org/milk2010.

Let me say I was not very amused to read the latest study from a national medical journal published report that has stated and I quote, “The average person’s sex life ends by the age of 70.” I and a lot of my fellow seniors say, ‘Oh hell no!’ This crazy study was funded by the University of Chicago and the U.S. National Institute of Health. Hmm, I think I’ll conduct my own study at my senior living complex, Shady Pines. I’ll start with my complex’s manager Carl aka Sofia who must be around 100.

The seventh annual GLBT community sponsored Children’s Easter Egg Hunt is fast approaching, and we badly need donations of Easter eggs baskets (Rite-Aid, Walgreens etc.). Last year, more than 500 children showed up at Trolley Park in University Heights. It was another huge success with major support from local GLBT businesses and organizations. This fun wonderful free event is cosponsored by the Imperial Court and Family Matters of the San Diego LGBT Community Center. Seven years ago, I and proud grandmother Lind Childers founded this event and about 60 children turned out. Now hundreds come with their parents. Drop off your Easter baskets at The Center at 3909 Centre St. in Hillcrest or call 1-858-395-7171.

Baja Betty’s infamous 42 ounce margarita made the color cover-page of the ever popular Night & Day entertainment guide last week in the Union-Tribune. Yes, this 42 ounce margarita is so large that it comes with a rubber ducky bobbing its way around the rim and has been known to make its drinkers super happy and wobbly (and you can take the yellow Latin ducky home) and can grow hair on your chest!

From beaches to bars, cocktails to cosmetic surgeons, malls to mechanics, the Gay & Lesbian Times’ Best of Gay San Diego celebrates the amenities that make life in America’s Finest City, well, the finest. Visit www.gaylesbiantimes.com to cast your vote today! The last day to vote is Tuesday, March 23.

For more exciting, breaking news, gossip, politics and all the gay news that’s fit to print including Editor at Large Nicole Murray-Ramirez’s People Opinions & Politics, Associate Editor Aaron Heier’s Two Cents, Stephen Whitburn’s Politics Tracker, Stampp Corbin’s The Oracle and much more daily news and happenings, visit www.GLTNewsNow.com. Mark us in your favorites and stay informed daily!