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GAY SAN DIEGO October 8-October 21, 2010


NEWS


September 25, Coulter does HomoCon: Archconservative political commentator Anne Coulter headlined the inaugural HomoCon event in Manhat- tan, hosted by conservative gay group, GOProud. Known for outrageously, non-PC pot- shots at liberals, Coulter did not disappoint, telling attendees that same-sex marriage “is not a civil right—you’re not black.” She also said gay conservatives should align themselves with the pro-life movement because as soon as a gay gene is discovered “guess who’s getting aborted?”


Meggan Giamanco handed her application to Eden Bar Manager Danni Pomplun during Eden’s recent job fair. (Jessica Hudgins/GSD)


Eden owners eye potential employees New Hillcrest nightclub accepts more than 150 applications at job fair


By Jessica Hudgins | GSD Reporter


After handing in her résumé on Sept. 29, Meggan Giamanco walked out of the former Uni- versal nightclub space confident and smiling. She had just applied for a bartending job at Eden, which is slated to open in the space at the northeast corner of University Avenue and Vermont Street in November. “I’ve been bartending in


nightclubs for about six years. I live one block from here, and I’ve been waiting for this place to open up into a new venue,” Giamanco said. “I’m excited to have my second interview.” With the much-anticipated opening of the club right around the corner, the owners and operators of Eden are searching for individuals to staff what they hope will become a future hot spot. On Sept. 29, Giamanco and more than150 others gathered in Eden’s future dining hall to fill out applications and tout their qualifications during a company job fair.


“Right now we’re just trying to get a feel for what our staffing is going to look like,” explained Eden promotions manager Rob Corea. A few managers are al- ready on board, but more will be needed to operate the sizeable establishment. Owners David Laurent,


GAY SAN


co-owner of Side Bar nightclub, and Scotty Wagner, founder of ChileCo Catering, hope to brand both the nightclub and the res- taurant under one name: Eden. Similar to the layout of Universal and Dish, the restaurant and nightclub will be separated by a patio for outdoor dining and mingling. The establishment will also include ChileCo Bistro— inspired by Wagner’s catering company—in the adjacent location that used to be home to Ciro’s Pizza.


Between all three venues— the nightclub, the restaurant and the bistro—the Eden team expects to have around 100 employees. While Corea stressed that


everyone will be welcome at Eden, it will be first and fore- most an LGBT venue. “Our mar- keting strategy is not omnisex- ual like Universal was,” he said. “Our main concern is to serve the gay and lesbian community, but we still want everyone to know that we are here.” “We’re very cognizant about hiring within the community,” Corea added. “We want to be a staple in the community, so we realize that our staff has to be a part of the community and our partnerships have to be a part of the community. We’re very loyal in that sense.”


While Eden won’t likely host DIEGO


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CONTRIBUTORS Marci Bair Geof Bartell Max Disposti


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another job fair, it will still be accepting applications. “We’re really focused on cus-


tomer service—that’s huge for us,” Corea said. “We really want it to ... make people comfortable, make people feel welcome.” For one local Hillcrest


resident, it was his love of Uni- versal that lured him to Eden. “When Universal opened, it was one of my favorite clubs,” said Freddy Garcia, who applied for a VIP Runner position at Eden. “When I heard that it was reopening as Eden, I got really excited; I felt I had to come ap- ply as soon as I could..” Candice Hebert has worked all over Hillcrest and wants to keep it that way. She applied as a bartender and hopes that Eden will succeed where Universal failed. “I think Eden will be a good chance to establish what Universal was but in a new kind of light,” she said. “I liked Universal. It was definitely a new experience for this kind of area... . Hopefully they can turn it around with Eden.” Corea said the Eden team


has been asking community members for advice on what they want to see in the club. “The only thing we have in com- mon with Universal is the space. Aside from that, we have taken


see Eden, pg 10


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September 26, Brokeback India: An Indian actor was thrown out of his home and dis- owned by his family for playing a gay man onscreen. Yuvraaj Para- sher stars in a film considered to be India’s “Brokeback Mountain.” Parasher’s father told Indian media that he is ready to go to court to officially cut off ties with his son and that he and his wife never want to see their son’s face again, “even when we are dying.”


September 27, dethroned: A Michigan High School student was elected homecoming king by his peers, but school officials denied him the crown because he is transgendered. The principal at Mona Shores High School told Oakleigh “Oak” Reed his votes were invalid because he was enrolled at the school as a female. Fellow students launched an “Oak Is Our King” Facebook page, which gained national at- tention.


September 28, third sui- cide: Thirteen-year-old Seth Walsh of Tehachapi, Calif. hanged himself, reportedly as a result of antigay bullying. His parents took him off life support after he had been in a coma for nine days. His death marked the third teen- suicide resulting from antigay bullying in September.


September 30, antigay Tweet: Rapper 50 Cent sparked outrage after he posted antigay comments to his Twitter ac- count. 50 cent tweeted, “If you a man and you’re over 25 and you don’t eat pu**y just kill yourself damn it. The world will be a better place. Lol.” The rapper later claimed his message wasn’t intended to be antigay.


October 1, gays can’t teach: South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint told a conservative group


OPINIONS/LETTERS


Gay San Diego encourages letters to the editor and guest editorials. Please e-mail both to letters@gay-sd.com. We only accept digital files. Include phone number and ad- dress for verification. We reserve the right to edit letters and editorials for brevity and accuracy. Letters should be no longer than 350 words in length unless approved by staff editors. Letters and guest editorials do not neces- sarily reflect the views of the publisher or staff.


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Elsewhere in LGBT News Compiled by Jessica Hudgins | GSD Reporter


that openly gay people and un- married women who are sexually active should not teach children. Speaking at the Greater Freedom Rally, he also promoted pro-life is- sues and vowed to keep marriage between a man and a woman.


October 3, antigay sermon: In a sermon broadcast to millions, the second-highest Mormon leader preached that gays can change their sexuality and that same-sex attraction is “impure and immoral.” The Human Rights Campaign is asking the LGBT community and its allies to post a letter to Packer on Facebook that illustrates how the Mormon hierarchy has encouraged further harassment of vulnerable LGBT youth.


October 4, ‘It Gets Better’: A public service announcement featuring some of Hollywood’s hottest stars supporting the “It Gets Better” campaign was posted on YouTube. Syndicated columnist Dan Savage launched the campaign as a way of reach- ing out to LGBT youths who are victims of antigay bullying (see page 10).


October 5, Salt Lake schools debates dis- crimination: The Salt Lake City School District debated an amendment that would add sexual orientation to the list of characteristics not to be used as a target for harassment, accord- ing to the Salt Lake Tribune. If passed, the school district would be the first in Utah to ban antigay discrimination. The board will consider the amendment again on Nov. 2.


October 6, Phelps case goes Supreme: The United States Supreme Court heard arguments in an emotion- ally charged case dealing with freedom of speech and the right to privacy issues. On March 3, 2006 Fred Phelps, the founder of Topeka, Kansas-based West- boro Baptist Church, stood with six of his parishioners outside a Catholic church where a funeral for a fallen Marine was taking place with signs reading, “Fag Troops,” “God Hates Fags” and “God Hates You.” Phelps argued that he has the right to express his belief that God is punishing America for condoning same-sex relationships by killing American service members. The father of the fallen marine is seeking dam- ages for emotional distress.


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