FLORIDA DIGEST - April 09, 2009

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~~FLORIDA GLBT NEWS~~

Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

-Robbers beat two gay men in Broward County
Police are hunting for robbers who attacked two gay men separately in the Oakland Park area Monday, leaving one in a coma and the other with a serious head injury. With one victim unconscious and another suffering from a serious head wound, Broward Sheriff's Office detectives continued Wednesday to hunt for the attackers who brutally beat and robbed two gay men in east Broward County.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/broward/story/991512.html


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Steve Rothaus
www.MiamiHerald.com/gay
Go to this link for the following articles:

-SAVE Dade to recognize Miami-Dade Commission, former exec Heddy Peña and UM student group on May 20
SAVE Dade has announced that the Miami-Dade Commission, former executive director Heddy Peña and UM For Equality (a University of Miami student group) will be given 2009 Champion of Equality Awards on May 20 at Karu & Y in Miami. Here are details from SAVE Dade: Don't miss the Miami Latin Gay Film Festival Apr 16-19
http://campaign.constantcontact.com/render?v=001kFNqKSJGEd-V_lT9YBXUwbL1Ic2b5_95QtvbfgqhNDsFc6mVMfgH9e7P6Qw9sLBPaZFyZJEJt_8bnaeQJqmKll1X-MhsPM0GaztmA5quRZU%3D

-First Documentary on gay youth's murder to be screened in Fort Lauderdale Lateisha Green's Murder Classified as Hate Crime
http://campaign.constantcontact.com/render?v=001kFNqKSJGEd-V_lT9YBXUwbL1Ic2b5_95H5jgdgAGze4pFeP3I37raN7f-jwUj9Vv98QiKSlIZynv8o3hwJVpConCivJR89hjjqN0O8sq_Ok%3D


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LOCAL FILM PRODUCER, BRUCE PRESLEY, LAUNCHES WORLD-WIDE PREMIERE OF FIRST DOCUMENTARY AT MIAMI & FT. LAUDERDALE GAY & LESBIAN FILM FESTIVAL
On Saturday, May 2, at 4 p.m., local film producer, Bruce Presley's first full-length documentary, Amancio... Two Faces on a Tombstone, will be screened at the Gateway Cinema in Fort Lauderdale as an entry in the 2009 Miami & Ft. Lauderdale Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. Co-sponsored by Presley's Downtown Loft Studio and Compass, Inc., the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Palm Beach County, Amancio... Two Faces on a Tombstone, is the first of many gay-themed documentaries Presley hopes to produce in the coming years. Shot in Yuma Arizona, Amancio... Two Faces on a Tombstone is the story of one man's journey to seek justice for the murder of a young gay man. "We had originally intended to document the stories of five or six young gay people whose lives had been ended by bigotry and homophobia," said Presley who retained award-winning documentarist Tom Murray (Fish Can't Fly (2005) and Farm Family: In Search of Gay Life in Rural America (2006)) to direct the film. "But when Tom met the people in Yuma he convinced us to focus on just this story."
"When I arrived in Yuma and saw the two faces on the tombstone and interviewed Michael [Baughman] and met the Corrales family I just felt we could create a different, more powerful film if we focused on just this story," said Murray in agreement. "There are several issues we have been able to explore in depth and we feel we have created something unique." Amancio Corrales, the child of Mexican immigrants, had a dream of becoming a famous female impersonator in nightclubs in Las Vegas. His family, who realized he was gay from a very early age, supported his efforts to be himself but had urged him to return home to Yuma because they feared for his life in nightclubs in northern Mexico and southwestern United States where he had plied his trades as cosmetologist and drag performer for the previous three years. Days after his return to Yuma, Amancio's slashed and battered body was found floating in the Colorado River. He was 23. His parents buried him on Mother's Day, 2005. On his headstone they engraved two photos of their son - one as Amancio, and one as Delilah, his female stage persona. Yuma resident Michael Baughman, a retired local businessman and long-time gay rights activist, heard about the Corrales family's loss and, moved by the young man's death and his family's need for justice, brought together Yuma ctivists and began a three-year long quest to find Amancio's murderer. Confronted by an indifferent police department only through Michael's persistence was Amancio's murderer discovered, arrested, tried and convicted Actual courtroom scenes are interspersed with interviews giving the viewer a sense of immediacy that otherwise would not have been possible. The film raises the question was justice served in the Yuma courts? Amancio...Two faces on a Tombstone is a remarkable cinematic work and we're delighted to host its world premiere" said Kareem Tabsch, Program Director of the film festival. "We are excited to see this caliber of work being produced locally and are impressed by Downtown Loft Studio's commitment to documenting the various aspects of the LGBT community, like the heartbreaking story of Amancio Corrales." "It's an honor to hold our world premiere of Amancio at the Gateway under the auspices of the Miami & Fort Lauderdale Gay & Lesbian Film Festival," said Presley who is negotiating with a number of other national and international film festivals as well as several television networks. "This is an important venue and a launch pad for gay films. We look forward to a future festival screening in Miami this summer. We are also planning a Palm Beach County program with Compass in the fall." The Gateway Cinema is located at 1820 East Sunrise Blvd in Fort Lauderdale. Tickets are available through the box office or online at the film festival website -- http://mglff.com/2009. More information on the film can be found at www.amancio-themovie.com. Producer Bruce Presley, director Tom Murray, film protagonist Michael Baughman and representatives from Downtown Loft Studio and Compass, Inc. will be present at the screening to answer audience questions.


~~FLORIDA GENERAL NEWS~~

Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

-Water levels dropping, fueling Lake Okeechobee and U.S. Sugar land deal debates
Key water supplies already are in worse shape than during the past two years of drought, heightening concerns about how to use Lake Okeechobee to help meet South Florida's needs. Water levels in the Everglades water conservation areas, relied on to supplement drinking water supplies, are below normal and lower than in 2008 and 2007 at this time of year, the South Florida Water Management District reported Wednesday.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/services/newspaper/printedition/local/sfl-water-drought-p040909pnapr09,0,6191230.story


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