Don’t forget the Human Dignity Foundation’s gala this Saturday night! Call (619) 291-3383 for more information.

Last year’s Nicky Awards were outstanding, exciting, and the crowd stayed until the very end…. This year was different and trust me I have heard all of your comments, suggestions and ideas, and I appreciate those who did so in a positive manner.

For the last two years, I have not been involved in the Nicky Awards as I have in the past because of my busy schedule and for health reasons. In all actuality, I turned the Nicky Awards over to a producer/director, that being the very hard-working Jess San Roque.

Remember, this is a charity/fundraising event, where no one gets paid… all volunteer. Like any yearly event, there have been great, good and bad evenings…. I believe that Jess and his all-volunteer, hard-working staff did their best to make this year’s Nicky Awards like last year’s fabulous evening…. Some things just did not turn out that way, and we should still be appreciative of their effort.

Next year will be the 30th anniversary of the Nicky Awards, and they will go through some major changes. There will be only two emcees, no acceptance speeches, less entertainment, only one or two Board of Governors Awards, less speeches and less of a political tone.

I am very excited and honored to announce next year’s producer of the 30th anniversary Nicky Awards will be Mr. Rick Ford, who has produced major events and galas all over Southern California. Rick Ford is committed to making the Nicky Awards more exciting and a lot more fun and entertaining.

There were many great moments at this year’s Nicky Awards, the first being the entire clergy of St. Paul’s Cathedral on stage with the entire McCusker family… Palm Springs Mayor Ron Oden’s electrifying speech… Vertez Burks’ words… the two main emcees and Nicky Awards hosts, Fox 6 news reporter Maria Arega-Dunn and WB 6 newscaster Dave Carlin…. What a great-looking team they were!

Among the VIPs in attendance were District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis; City Attorney Mike Aguirre; City Councilmember Toni Atkins; National City Mayor Nick Inzunza; former state Assemblymember Tricia Hunter; former chief of police and candidate for mayor Jerry Sanders; County Treasurer Dan McAllister; the wife of mayoral candidate Steve Francis… and many others.

Congratulations to all the winners, and see you for next year’s 30th anniversary…. And thank you, Jess, for your support and dedication to this annual benefit.

I have not as yet endorsed any of the candidates for mayor. So when I received an invitation to join about 25 “San Diego civic and community leaders” to meet and have lunch with mayoral candidate Steve Francis at Mr. A’s, I was very interested in learning more about this successful businessman, as I’ve heard so many political rumors about him.

First of all, Steve Francis has been in San Diego for over 18 years… he and his beautiful wife, Gayle, built their now huge business (worth over $500 million) from their kitchen table… a true American success story.

Steve Francis is in no way a right-wing Republican, but in fact is very moderate and progressive. Steve is even involved in a project where he goes with his son to Mexico to build homes for the poor and homeless.

His wife, Gayle, has GLBT members in her family, including the producer of “Will & Grace”… Gayle Francis herself was a producer of The Laramie Project, about the murder of Matthew Shepard.

I will be meeting again this week for a one-on-one with Steve Francis, and also with Jerry Sanders…. I of course already know and respect Donna Frye.

I once again want to make it clear that I have not endorsed any candidate for mayor, and will in the future. I urge you all to get to know all the candidates and their positions…. The election is on July 26.

San Diego’s GLBT Tavern Guild will hold its first meeting on Monday, June 6, at The Abbey Café (6:30-7:30 p.m.), with all persons involved in the GLBT hospitality industry invited to attend…. This means all waiters, bartenders, managers, dishwashers, door guards, barbacks, etc. This is your organization! So come help out and build it to what it can become… a bigger voice and visibility for businesses that should be organized.

San Francisco’s GLBT Tavern Guild has been around for over 40 years!

For more information, phone Big Mike at (619) 807-7324 or Leo Moore at (619) 988-0247.

We all know that there is a drug problem in society as a whole… crossing all communities. Just this week The Center tried to get all bar owners and managers together for a meeting to address the drug problem in our community. Some of the reaction was shocking. One bar manager said, “We don’t have a drug problem.” Other bar owners didn’t even respond to the meeting or attend…. We need the entire community to address this issue, and those bar owners and managers that responded and attended… thank you…. Those who did not even bother to respond… you must get involved… take a stand!

Have you heard? The Gay & Lesbian Times has named their new, super sexy, all entertainment magazine. It’s hot, fresh and so is the new name, ROCKET. Set to launch May 26, just before Memorial Day weekend, ROCKET is sure to be a success. From what I hear it is loaded with hot boys, leather daddies and even a pin-up boy. So get your hands on a ROCKET just as soon as it comes out.