Left, Right, Left: Espada Back to the Democrats

New York State Senator Pedro Espada—who helped engineer a coup to flip control of the Senate from Democratic to Republican hands—is apparently ready to switch back to the Democrats now that he has a "handshake deal" to be Majority Leader.

The double-double-cross comes after New York Governor David Paterson's bold move to appoint Richard Ravitch as lieutenant governor, a power that Senate Republicans (and a judge) don't believe Paterson has in the first place.

The fate of a host of issues hangs in the balance, including a bill to bring marriage equality to New York.

P.S. It may (or may not) help the marriage-equality cause, but...who would trust a handshake deal with this shady character?

UPDATE: A deal has been reached in the New York Senate. Should be a wild ride.

Cops: NYC Gay Bashings May Be Linked

The NYC Anti-Violence Project has issued a community alert now that the New York City Police Department's Hate Crimes Bureau thinks several recent anti-gay attacks on the Upper East Side might have come at the hands of the same assailants.

In addition to Joseph Holladay, brutally beaten and robbed, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly now states, "There was an incident in Carl Shurz Park that we believe he [sic] may be associated with two other events—one that happened Saturday morning, the other happened Sunday morning. All of these events happened on the Upper East Side, the 19th precinct."

According to NY1, police are investigating whether as many as six such similar crimes might be connected. A sketch of one suspect has been released. He is identified as being "between 20 to 22 years old, about six feet tall, and 170 pounds."

Crime Stoppers is asking for tips from the public.

News: The Gloved One, Mrs. Slocombe, Big Brother, The Cubs

Neil Patrick Harris to host the Emmys?

Glove for sale.

NO! Mrs. Slocombe and her pussy died!

Also, choreographer Pina Bausch. And Karl Malden.

Same-sex marriage stalls in Rhode Island: "None of the bills legalizing same-sex marriage in Rhode Island advanced to a floor vote this session, continuing a trend begun in 1997."

Chaz Bono plays with the paparazzi.

Michael Jackson's will. No public viewing at Neverland. Funeral to be held at L.A.'s Staples Center.

Pennsylvania's Allegheny County passes law forbidding discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

Stampp Corbin on the Obama Pride reception: "There will be some who even will gather in the Capitol in October to protest your administration’s lack of attention to equal protection for LGBT Americans. You want pressure? We’ll give it to you in spades."

Hollywood gives up on ideas.

Meet Kevin, the gay Big Brother houseguest.

Beau Breedlove has sour grapes over his affair with Portland Mayor Sam Adams. Adams was cleared of wrongdoing last week. Now, because the Oregon AG said he no longer had credibility after posing nude for Unzipped magazine and getting paid for it, Breedlove seems to want revenge: "It really upsets me. It’s just lie after lie after lie until we’re at the end of the bowl and the last person to be burned from the situation is me."

Snippet: The Killers do "Hotel California".

DJ Earworm: My life would suck without you in my place.

Manhattan apartment prices plummet to just $760,000 to $849,000 in the median range.

Wentworth Miller broke out of prison, now he's going to Law & Order: SVU.

Homophobia alive and well among Chicago baseball fans.

Labor big Stuart Appelbaum outs himself.

Dallas Million Gay March to move out of gay ghetto into "more mainstream area" next year.

Gay resort opens near Tampa: "While open to anyone, the hotel caters almost exclusively to gay men. Photos of butt-baring hot guys adorn the walls — and are available for $169 apiece. The second-floor club has a darkened maze room and other "intimacy zones.'' The courtyard boasts a kumquat tree and a 50-man hot tub, possibly the largest in Tampa. If it sounds like a bathhouse, don't describe it that way to the owners. Technically, and according to the city, the Ybor Resort & Spa is a hotel and a men's health studio. Sex and nudity in public areas is not allowed."

A Second Gay Bashing on New York's Upper East Side

Over the weekend I posted about the attack on Joe Holladay by a group of men who called him a "faggot" and beat him with a blunt object. That occurred on Saturday.

Apparently, there was another attack in the same area on Sunday: "A man was beaten on the Upper East Side Sunday a day after another man was beaten and robbed in a bias attack in the same neighborhood, police say. The 40-year-old man suffered two skull fractures and a broken nose in Sunday's attack on East 84th Street around 3:20 a.m., police say. No arrests have been made."

Police have not determined whether the attacks are related but they did release a sketch of one of Holladay's attackers.

The New York Anti-Violence Project released a report on Wednesday saying that the number of bias-related attacks against LGBT people decreased in 2008, but that the attacks that did happen were more severe.

Read the report (PDF).

City Paper New York Blade Suspends Publication

Following yesterday's news that New York's nightlife local HX was sold to an undisclosed buyer, another casualty: the New York Blade has now suspended publication:

"The Blade, a biweekly paper with a free circulation of 22,000, was left with an uncertain future. 'It doesn’t have an issue scheduled until a week from Friday.' [CEO Matthew] Bank said. 'There are a lot of things that can happen between now and then.' The decision to suspend publication comes at a particularly active period for journalism concerned with gay issues: the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots and the gay pride parade on Sunday, the proposed same-sex marriage bill in the State Senate and discontent over the Obama administration’s performance on gay-rights issues."

Added Bank: "Everyone was let go, but the people on The Blade know that they may come back if The Blade is coming back."

News: Amsterdam, Oraine Barrett, DNC, Ants, Gay Apartheid

Mixner: U.S. in state of Gay Apartheid.

Signorile: Did the DNC LGBT fundraiser really bring in a million dollars?

New York local mag HX sold. Matthew Bank: "We've had an incredible time creating what we feel is the best local gay magazine the world has ever seen, and I am proud that even in this difficult economy we were able to ensure that this magazine that is dear to the hearts of so many readers will be able to continue under capable new ownership."

Paula Abdul and Cindy McCain pill panic?

Propofol, drug used for surgical anesthesia, found in Michael Jackson home. Entertainment Weekly publishes four tribute covers.

Canadian HIV vaccine ready for human trials.

Human Rights Campaign volunteer assaulted at Omaha Gay Pride after tossing stickers into Bible-beaters wagon.

Farrah Fawcett laid to rest.

White House won't appeal $500K ruling in favor of transgender employee of the Library of Congress in discrimination case.

God Says No: James Hannaham, author of new novel about religious repression, life in the closet, and sex in the bathroom, is interviewed by Salon.

Single colony of ants a new world superpower!

Thomas Norman, veteran district attorney who prosecuted Harvey Milk - George Moscone murder case which resulted in a lenient verdict against Supervisor Dan White and the subsequent White Night riots, dies.

Victory Fund endorses 15 new candidates.

The Hitler stealth planes that could have dropped a bomb on NYC: "The 142-foot wingspan bomber was submitted for approval in 1944, and it would have been able to fly from Berlin to NYC and back without refueling, thanks to the same blended wing design and six BMW 003A or eight Junker Jumo 004B turbojets. As the documentary shows, had the Nazis extended the war in 1946 and developed the atomic bomb as planned, the Ho 18 could have been their Enola Gay."

Vibe magazine to close immediately.

Ghosts: Stephen King remembers Michael Jackson. Public viewing scheduled at Neverland.

Oraine Barrett does Brazil's DOM magazine.

Muslim mayor in conservative Amsterdam suburb flies flag for gays: "Ahmed Marcouch, 41, is on a self-appointed mission to end homophobia in Slotervaart, just a stones' throw from the capital but light-years away from its anything-goes mentality. To make his point, Mayor Marcouch recently invited Amsterdam's annual Gay Pride parade to pass through his constituency when it takes place in August. 'It is necessary to confront this issue, to say that homosexuals are normal people like all of us and that we require them to be respected,' Marcouch told AFP."

New Project Runway is 100% heterosexual safe.

Cristiano Ronaldo attacks "fan" over video camera: "Ronaldo reportedly kicked in the window of a car the girl was sat in, sending shards of glass all over her. The teenager was treated for cuts on her arm in hospital and later reported the attack to police, it was claimed...The teenager is said to have told police she was videoing Ronaldo because she was a fan. However, some reports said she was with a freelance paparazzi photographer who had allegedly been following the star."