A very Happy Hanukkah to all my Jewish sisters, brothers and princesses! Our GLBT community, contrary to what many think, has a very large and active spiritual community of Christians, Muslims and Jewish people, and I am proud of all our GLBT religious churches, temples and organizations.

Many times GLBT people are subjected to hateful and ugly words and just walk away and do nothing. This is a story about two popular local gay businessmen who proudly stood their ground. Last week at one of the construction sites across from Numbers, a construction worker yelled and called gay businessman Mick Frasca a “faggot” twice… all within the earshot of Numbers/Flame co-owner Richard Britton, who then crossed the street and complained to the site supervisor, who then talked to the worker and actually patted him on the back while they both laughed. As chair of the police chief’s GLBT advisory board, Frasca faxed me an official complaint and also contacted The Center. I, in turn, contacted the owner of the construction company and issued an official action…. Well, bravo to the owner, who immediately took action and removed the construction worker, reprimanded the supervisor, apologized to Frasca and Britton and agreed to my request for sensitivity training for all his employees during their weekly safety classes. I salute and thank the owner and will do so officially… and my total respect and admiration to Frasca and Britton for taking a stand against hate.

I’ve been to our state capital so many times these last three decades that I know where every Taco Bell and McDonald’s is located. This time, I flew up for the official swearing-in of our newly elected State Senator Chris Kehoe. I’ve also stayed at every type of hotel, but let me tell you, the Travelodge downtown takes the cake, as it’s a hotel that the guests of the “Jerry Springer Show” would stay at! My only window view was of an auto wrecking yard!

This past Monday was a full day of events: Senate President’s brunch, Joint Legislative Reception Swearing-in Ceremony, Senate Rules Committee Reception, Senate Freshman Reception, GLBT Legislative Caucus Reception, and finally a private dinner hosted by Senator Kehoe…yes, I gained about 20 more pounds! My traveling buddy Big Mike and I had a great time, and I had an unbelievable dinner Sunday night at the best restaurant in Sacramento, Esquire Grill. Kehoe is most certainly the pride of San Diego; our San Diego contingent of about 40 invited guests was the largest to show up for our champion. District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, Equality California’s Ron Ferrero, San Diego Democratic Club President Stephen Whitburn, Port Commissioner Steve Cushman, Jerry Butkiewicz, secretary-treasurer of the labor council, and of course Kehoe’s partner of 20 years, artist Julie Warren, were among many VIPs and movers and shakers, including the special guest, popular Palm Springs Mayor Ron Oden. Jess Durfee, chair of the San Diego County Democratic Party was also in attendance. We all had a great time at Kehoe’s dinner at the Sheraton Grand Hotel, where State Senator Sheila Kuehl and Assemblymembers Mark Leno and John Laird joined us. Just think: Kehoe is now one of only 40 state senators in California…. Way to go, girlfriend!

While in our state capital, there were many discussions about the future of our community’s State Senator Chris Kehoe, our community’s first deputy mayor, Toni Atkins, and District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis.

Here are my predictions: Kehoe will run for Congress in six to eight years, after Congressmember Susan Davis steps down to spend more time with her grandchildren and family; Toni Atkins will run for San Diego County Board of Supervisors in 2006; and Bonnie Dumanis, as a former judge and a popular, effective district attorney who – as a moderate – can cross party lines in votes, will be pushed to run for mayor in the future… you read it here first.

The food was great, the honorees very deserving and the auction items the most fabulous ever, but the outdoor tent was awful and many of us almost froze to death!

M.E. Stephens was the emcee and kept the event rolling and interesting…. San Diego Democratic Club President Stephen Whitburn was the perfect host, and once again, Mel Merrill proved why he should have his own radio program. Councilmember Donna Frye stole the show as the most popular elected official, but Deputy Mayor Toni Atkins kept our hearts. All the honorees spoke well, but Attorney Bruce Abrams left us with a message about more “coalition building” and a reminder that AIDS is still with us.

Our new city attorney, Michael Aguirre, told the mostly GLBT crowd of about 150 that he was elected because of the GLBT vote…. Aguirre also said that the Boy Scouts would not find support in his office. Thank you to those in attendance who serenaded me with the “Happy Birthday” song, and bravo to banquet co-chairs Larry Baza and Karen Goyette… and of course, we all loved honoree Elaine Graybill, as she’s super fabulous!

The historic Roosevelt Hotel (the site of the very first Oscars) was the site of the fourth annual WeHo Awards of Hollywood/Los Angeles. Because it was held on World AIDS Day, it was a benefit for AIDS concerns…. I was honored to have been asked to open the evening with a keynote address on AIDS, and of course gave some remarks about the lifetime achievement honoree, Cleve Jones, my longtime friend and founder of the AIDS Memorial Quilt. Our very own Gay & Lesbian Times publisher, Michael Portantino, presented Cleve with the award with a very moving speech.

The all-live entertainment was outstanding, and the food was, well, okay. Congratulations to all the 2004 award winners and to producer Anthony Cortez, a former San Diegan.

The epic movie Alexander has turned out to be very controversial because it not only tells the truth, it shows the bisexuality of our world’s historic figure Alexander the Great, of Greece. While I loved the movie and its spectacular battle and real location scenes, I agree that about 45 minutes could have been cut from its three-hour length. But a lot of people seem to be upset for the clearly homosexual movie scenes, and in fact, 25 lawyers in Greece threatened to sue. But even most Greek historians agree that Alexander was definitely bisexual, and probably was indeed more homosexual – only having sex with females to guarantee a male heir for his throne. The mostly negative reviews and public talk about the movie’s numerous openly gay scenes have cost it at the box office – only $29 million in two weeks…. Every GLBT should see this movie!

We all hate going to the dentist, including “girlie-man” me… but I’ve always found my visits to Dr. Jeff Keeny to be smooth, not painful and actually fun, because of Keeny and his outstanding staff. Dr. Keeny is one of the best and most popular dentists in the city, and is a pro when it comes to artistic cosmetic dentistry and that “gentle touch.” As one of many without any health care, I can tell you that he is very reasonable…. That’s Dr. Jeff Keeny: 1807 Robinson Ave., Suite 101. Call (619) 295-1512.