SAN DIEGO — Ion Theatre, a small but well-regarded young theater company, has vacated its performance space in what it calls a protest of the property owner’s personal contributions to Proposition 8, the November ballot initiative that banned same-sex marriage in California.

“It is with a very heavy heart that we make this decision,” said Glenn C. Paris, Ion’s producing artistic director. “(But) we believe theater teaches us to act.”

The Grantville theater space, known as the Lab @ the Academy of Performing Arts, had been Ion’s full-time home since fall 2007, though the company has staged occasional shows there since 2003. Ion subleased the space from the performing arts school that in turn leases from the property owner, the Caster Cos.

 See Theater company leaves in protest
San Diego Union Tribune - San Diego,CA,USA

SAN DIEGO — Ion Theatre, a small but well-regarded young theater company, has vacated its performance space in what it calls a protest of the property owner’s personal contributions to Proposition 8, the November ballot initiative that banned same-sex marriage in California.

“It is with a very heavy heart that we make this decision,” said Glenn C. Paris, Ion’s producing artistic director. “(But) we believe theater teaches us to act.”

The Grantville theater space, known as the Lab @ the Academy of Performing Arts, had been Ion’s full-time home since fall 2007, though the company has staged occasional shows there since 2003. Ion subleased the space from the performing arts school that in turn leases from the property owner, the Caster Cos.

 See Theater company leaves in protest
San Diego Union Tribune - San Diego,CA,USA

HILLCREST — British poet Alexander Pope famously noted 300 years ago that to err is human, to forgive divine.

San Diego publisher Michael Portantino might not have been pondering “An Essay on Criticism” when he learned San Diego’s main community center for gays and lesbians missed a deadline to apply for a major grant.

But Portantino surely adopted Pope’s way of thinking when he wrote about the blunder in the Gay & Lesbian Times.

Instead of lambasting the San Diego Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center for failing to seek a city grant worth tens of thousands of dollars, the publisher urged readers to forgive the mistake and make up the difference with their own donations.

“There’s not a CEO of a company that hasn’t made a mistake,” Portantino said. “Anybody who doesn’t reach in their pocket and write out a check for $5, $10, $15 or $20 right now should be ashamed of themselves.”

 See Missed chance at grant a blow for The Center
San Diego Union Tribune, CA

SAN DIEGO COURTS — The sexual harassment case brought by four San Diego firefighters against the city should be in the jury’s hands Wednesday, when a dozen men and women likely will struggle to answer a central question:

Did the four firefighters, who were ordered to drive a city fire engine in the 2007 gay pride parade, encounter pervasive or severe harassment from parade spectators and participants?

Each firefighter has taken the stand, and after nearly two weeks of courtroom testimony, two theories have emerged.

City attorneys suggested that the men are homophobic and painted them as money-hungry opportunists who were uncomfortable but not victims of sexual harassment. The defense also said most of the firefighters’problems stemmed from taking their case to the news media and filing the lawsuit.

The firefighters said that not only were they victimized during the parade, they also suffered headaches, anxiety, anger and other stress-related issues because of what they heard and saw: catcalls, insults, simulated sex acts, public nudity, and men touching themselves and each other.

All four firefighters are married, and three have children. They have more than 45 years of combined experience with the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.

 See Gay parade case’s jury facing key question
San Diego Union Tribune, CA -