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VOLUME TEN, NO. 4—February 13, 1997—February 26, 1997—Issue 224 FREE Give the People Light and they willfind their own way. The Wisconsin Light Planning Meeting for Same-Sex Marriage Working Group of Milwaukee Effort to Attract Action Wisconsin Madison—In response to proposed state legislation aimed at prohibiting recogni- Gay Visitors Underway tion of same-sex manage, a group of Milwaukee—When you think of Milwau- concerned citizens has continued to meet kee, do you think of the city as being a draw and work toward obtaining legal recogni- for tourists? Those native to Milwaukee may tion of same-sex marriages. A general Meunier not think of the city and area that way, but it planning meeting for all people interested Bill is. m securing equal marriage rights will be "Milwaukee is a hot tourist destination," Bill held on Sunday, February 23 at 6:30 p.m. Hanbany of the Greater Milwaukee Conven- at the UW-Madison Memorial Union, 800 tion and Visitors Bureau said, adding that the Langdon Street (check "Today in the numbers of tourist inquiries was "up 100%" in Union" for room). the last year alone. The tourist dollar is "worth This working group includes these millions" to the city," he said. committees with the following tasks: Hanbarry was speaking to a group of ap- Legislative Testifying: collect a di- proximately 25 Lesbian and Gay representa- verse group of people willing to provide tives of businesses and organizations who had written or oral testimony for legislative gathered on February 6th to hear how the Con- hearings; vention and Business Bureau wants to attract Media Watch: write letters to the edi- Lesbian and Gay tourists and convention busi- tor and other press pieces in support of ness to Milwaukee. same-sex marriage, and monitor and re- This was the first meeting of the Gay and spond to opinion pieces on this issue; Lesbian Tourism Project. It was held in the of- Communities of Faith: seek clergy and fices of the Convention and Visitors Bureau. faith community leaders who will speak This meeting was a first of its kind. "No out and write public statements on theo- It's Mardi Gras Time Mardi Gras was celebrated all other city in the country is actively seeking logical perspectives in supporting same- over Wisconsin as a prelude to Lent. Shown above are Pat and Jasmine at our Wisconsin Light Mardi Gras SpotLight party, held at Mama Roux, 1875 N. Gay/Lesbian convention business," Hanbarry sex marriage; Humboldt, Milwaukee, on Sunday, February 9. said. Communications: inform participants The group was told that both Milwaukee in a timely manner of upcoming legisla- "Shepherd Express" Employees Debate the Mayor John Norquist and Milwaukee County tive events via phone and e-mail; Executive Tom Ament support the idea of Allies: identify and contact other com- Paper's Future in a Series of bringing LesBiGay tourists and conventions to munity organizations and obtain their en- Meetings the area. dorsements of a campaign for same-sex Milwaukee—Greg Quindel, President Other cities, however, are not far behind. civil marriage. rectors of Alternative Publications, Inc.— of Alternative Publications Employees the publisher of the Shepherd Express Prominent Lesbians and Gays from around the If you are unable to attend the meeting Cooperative announced on February 10, and Mature American. Midwest are being invited to the Twin Cities but are interested in being involved, 1997, that the Cooperative's Board has Quindel was elected the Cooperative's to discover why Minneapolis and St. Paul please call Action Wisconsin at: (608) called for a stockholders meeting to make shouldbe Lesbian, Bisexual and Gay tourist 242-9781. president in October, 1996 and served as substantial changes to the Board of Di- the Company's Director of Sales and meccas. Marketing from June 26 until his firing Lesbian/Gay organizations represented in- The End Has Finally Come; Madison's Hotel just minutes before a Cooperative Board cluded: La Cage, This Is It, Just Us, the Alter- meeting scheduled for Friday, January native Business Association, the Cream City Washington Will Not be Rebuilt 314. Quindel refused to step down as Squares, the Cream City Chorus, SSBL, MAP, president of the Cooperative when pre- Log Cabin, the Cream City Foundation, Madison—So close and yet so far away. Scheel said he had faxed a letter to Capitol sented that condition of employment only H.I.T., Dignity, PFLAG, LAMM/LAMMEF, That seems to the final epitaph of Madison's City Bank withdrawing his application ofr one day before the Cooperative Board and Gay Youth Milwaukee. Hotel Washington. $3.1 million loan. The loan which had been was to meet to call for an expeditious date Among the reasons, the group was told, that The final chapter in the Hotel Washington approved was the key piece in the Hotel's for the annual stockholders' meeting. the Bureau is seeking out Gay/Lesbian busi- saga has been written, but unlike a fairy tale, $5.1 million financing package. "There has been a concerted effort to ness is that "Milwaukee is committed to the this story does not have a happy ending. In The letter, a copy of which was received prevent the employees from exercising convention and tourist industry," Hanbarry an exclusive interview, owner Greg Scheel by Light, thanked the bank for its consid- their normal ownership rights to select the said. "Gays and Lesbians are a good part of has informed The Wisconsin Light that he eration but cited unexpected mounting costs governing board of the company," Quin- the diversity of this country." will not be rebuilding what was once the and his family's health as the prime reasons del said. Another reason is money. "The Gay or Les- crown jewel in Wisconsin's constellation of bian tourist spends two and a half times what Please See Hotel Page 6 According to Quindel, the current Gay and Lesbian bars and clubs. Board of the Company "set a stockhold- straight tourists spend," Hanbarry said. This ers' meeting for two months past the date means millions of dollars for Milwaukee, a lot Mixner and the Rath Foundation Jointly called for in the bylaws," Quindel said. of which will be spent in community busi- This delay goes right to the very essence nesses and those enterprises and cultural Further Gay Studies at Holocaust Museum of employee ownership. There is no other events that are friendly to the community. for employee involvement Shelli Marquardt and Bill Meunier, Project Milwaukee—From the beginning, the mechanism other than the elections," Quindel argued. Co-Directors, pointed out the "enormous ad- United States Holocaust Museum in Wash- In 1994, Quindel, along with Attorney vantages" to be gained from bringing LesBi- ington, DC, has been charged with the mis- and former NFL Players Association Gays to Milwaukee from around the country. sion of chronicling the Nazi persecution of ti Not only would businesses be expected to in- :a President Ed Garvey, put the financing all groups, including the LesBiGay commu- package together that gave the Shepherd crease profits, as Mike Lisowski of Gay Youth nity. At its opening in the spring of 1993, Express employees control of the com- Milwaukee pointed out, but the local commu- exhibits and accounts of the sufferings of *d Quindel also served as the publish- nity would have a chance to "showcase" itself Gay people were on display. pany. mg company's president from January to the rest of the nation and world. Now, a solid base of funding for expan- May, 1995, when the Shepherd Those attending the meeting were told that sion of the study of the Gay experience un- through Express was one of the fastest growing LesBiGay organizations who want to bring der Hitler is nearly complete. their groups to the city, will have the Bureau's According to Debbie Eliason, director of weeklies in the country. Company representatives had asked for staff, expertise and fmancial help at their dis- special campaigns for the Museum, funding the delay to complete the process of hir- posal. from the V. Duane Rath Endowment will be ing a new president. Quindel has made no For example, the Bureau can help a group place by the end of the year. in secret of his desire to regain that position. get the best possible hotel rates for those The Endowment is a $400,000 matching Quindel acknowledged that the fight coming into the city. grant offered by the Rath Foundation, which David Mixner will come down to holding majority sup- The Bureau is not funded by taxpayer dol- was created in memory of Rath, an openly fighting bigotry. port among the staff. lars, but by a surcharge on hotel rooms. Wisconsin businessman Gay With Mixner and Roberta Bennett, a Los "That's the way it should be," Quindel Both large conventions of hundreds and The Museum's contribution to gain the Angeles attorney, Lesbian activist and a said. small gatherings are being sought. To this end, matching funds has been run by the Gay founder of the Victory Fund, as co-chairs, would not go into details con- a visitor's guide is envisioned that would dis- and Lesbian Campaign. Quindel the campaign set out to raise $1.5 million in call to remove several mem- play the city's, attractions and businesses to the In the beginning, Eliason said, in 1993, cerning the five years. The initial goal has been met. bers of the Board. "Those are family LesBiGay visitor. funds for a Gay/Lesbian section were One of the results of Mixner's and said.