Continuing the tradition of providing affordable culturally appropriate services to San Diego’s LGBT community, Family Health Centers of San Diego (FHCSD) is proud to introduce the Amazon Breast Project, targeting lesbians in San Diego. With funds provided by the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation, the project provides information on breast cancer risk factors and detection, encouraging women to participate in the project’s monthly breast cancer screening events. Lesbian and bisexual women have been identified as a group at increased risk of breast cancer. This greater risk may be linked to never having children, as well as barriers to screening, such as not seeing a doctor on a regular basis. As a result, breast cancer may not be detected in the early stages when greater treatment options may be available. FHCSD will have their first month breast cancer screening event on August 22nd from 10am to 2pm at the North Park Family Health Centers at 3544 30th Street, San Diego CA 92104. Mammograms will be available on-site. Family Health Centers of San Diego invites the Lesbian community to participate in this important service. For more information call (619) 515-2449.

Councilmember Carl DeMaio, the “taxpayer watchdog,” has campaigned to put his Competition & Transparency in City Contracting Initiative on the ballot for November.

The required 96,000 signatures, that qualify the measure for a public vote, were submitted. The signatures were then sampled for validity testing. The Registrar of Voters for the City of San Diego’s’ sample identified 30 duplicate signatures and then penalized the total count of signatures by more than 30,000, thus disqualifying the measure. Initially DeMaio legally challenged the ROV, but later withdrew.

The initiative has been accused by opponents of being an attempt to pass a contractor-giveaway measure that would ban the Living Wage Ordinance law. The Center on Policy Initiatives says that DeMaio’s initiative was falsely represented by signature gatherers as a measure that would create jobs, save on spending and create transparency within the city’s job-bid competitions. Protect Living Wages.org’s research found that funding for the initiative came from city contractors and developers.

In a recent interview with KOGO 600AM and the Union-Tribune in June DeMaio said, “The labor unions do not trust the public. That is why they are trying all these stunts to confuse the community.” DeMaio plans to refile the ballot measure for the 2012 cycle.

The Hillcrest Wind Ensemble will present its annual Cabaret Pops Concert at 7:00 p.m. Saturday July 10, at the Methodist Church’s Linder Hall, 2111 Camino del Rio South, in Mission Valley. Tickets are $15, and are available at the door or in advance at Windsmith in North Park or Obelisk in Hillcrest. At 5:00 p.m. Wednesday July 14, the Hillcrest Wind Ensemble will present a free concert as part of the Twilight in the Park program at the Organ Pavilion. For more information, visit www.hillcrestwindensemble.com.

Kick off your Pride festivities a week early by attending “Red Hot Pride,” The Center’s annual dance for women! “Red Hot Pride” will take place on Saturday July 10, 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. in The Center’s auditorium (3909 Centre St., San Diego 92103). DJ Laura Jane will be in the house spinning all your favorite dance hits and party tracks. Enjoy dancing, mingling, snacks, giveaways and a no-host bar for only $5 per person. Women 21 and over are welcome. Pride is here – it’s time to celebrate! For more information, contact Women’s Resource Center Coordinator Abby Schwartz at (619) 692-2077 ext. 212 or email women@thecentersd.org.

Join the Hillcrest Town Council neighborhood meeting for a panel discussion which will include the topic Homeless in Hillcrest, held with Sgt. Richard Schnell, SDPD HOT Team (Homeless Outreach Team) and Paige Hazard from the City Attorneys Office. Be there on Tuesday July 13 from 6:30-8:00 p.m. at the Joyce Beers Community Center located at 3901 Vermont St. For more information visit: www.hillcresttowncouncil.com.

Want to join the parade? Walk with The Center! For more information, contact Amanda Bejarano-Ligato at amandab@thecentersd.org or (619) 692-2077, ext. 210. Each parade participant will receive a free Center t-shirt. Join the fun!

Thursday July 15 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. the GSDBA will host their annual mixer. There will be appetizers and cocktails and it will give you the chance to mingle, have fun and network. It is also a Pride kickoff event. The cost will be $10 for members and $25 for nonmembers.

This is the 10th anniversary of this event which is always a great way to kick off the day. Once again, this event will be held at Kemo Sabe (thanks to the generosity of the Cohn Restaurant Group and Chef Deborah Scott). The event will begin at 9:00 a.m. on July 17. Some of the table captains will be Susan Atkins and Crystal Weathers, Toni Atkins and Jennifer LeSar, Linda Briggs and Paula Rosenstein, Esq., Kathy Clenney, Esq. and June Yamamoto, Jane Gilbert, Esq. and Mary Jo Barr, Esq., Mary L. Stockton and Alison McManus, and Pamela Wilson, Esq. and Jeanne Fricot. This year, the Victory Fund will endorse a record number of candidates, currently over 130. The 500 mark will soon be passed for openly GLBT officeholders. Come and celebrate groundbreaking victories across the country, including the election of Annise Parker as Mayor of Houston. As always, San Diego is hard at work with great endorsed candidates such as Toni Atkins, Kevin Beiser, Bonnie Dumanis, and Stephen Whitburn. Please come celebrate and support the important work of the Victory Fund. For tickets and more information go to: http://www.victoryfund.org/about_us/events/id:71.

The next meeting of the Steering Committee of the San Diego HIV Health Services Planning Council will be held on Tuesday July 13, 9:30 – 11:00 a.m., in the HSHB Conference Room at the County Health Services Complex at 3851 Rosecrans. The meeting agenda and minutes from the June 2010 meeting can be downloaded from the Planning Council website. www.sdplanning.org.

Lestat’s Coffee House will be showing the incredible documentary “Stonewall Uprising” on Tuesday July 13 at 7:00 p.m. This will be the last showing of the film in San Diego, during its worldwide small theatre run. Hear from witness accounts and watch original footage and photography. Lestat’s is located at 3343 Adams Ave. http://firstrunfeatures.com/stonewalluprising.html