Rob Bondgren will be showing his Better Days Ahead series at Hydrate in Chicago’s Boystown. The opening is this Saturday, March 7, 9-11pm. Mr. Bondgren’s paintings deal with the figurative gay theme of at the beach or by the pool at a gay resort. Flesh tones of men reclining and having fun in company with the gay “family” is emphasized with an interest on male sexuality, bonding and friendship. A $10.00 donation to Lambda Legal includes a hosted bar and an appetizer buffet courtesy of the artist. Hydrate is located at 3458 N. Halsted in Chicago. See Gay life on exhibit by Rob Bondgren
Examiner.com * Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual

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Groundbreaking gay author Scott Symons dies

(Toronto, Ontario) Controversial gay writer Scott Symons, whose scandalous life and 1967 novel “Place d’Armes” rocked Canada’s literary world, has died at age 75.

The Toronto-born author passed away at a Toronto nursing home on Monday after several years of poor health, his lawyer Marian Hebb said Wednesday.

She remembered Symons as …

Gay Life to sparkle and shimmy at the Hilton

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — The community is some 50,000 to 60,000 strong on Staten Island, according to some estimates, and its members have money to burn.

The borough’s first-ever Gay Life Expo will include vendors, giveaways and a chance to get to know gay-owned and gay-friendly businesses, but it isn’t only about marketing to Staten Island’s largely affluent gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered residents.

See Gay Life to sparkle and shimmy at the Hilton
Staten Island Advance – SILive.com, NY -

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Update on Tennessee hotel dismissal of LGBT people

Hotel Owner Denies Firing Gay People @ MSNBC - reports:

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – A hotel manager who said the owner made him fire an employee for being gay has now been fired himself.

A number of other former employees said they were let go by the owner, Tarun Surti, because they were gay, while others said they were fired because they were women.

Channel 4 News first reported last week that employee David Hill’s said he was fired from the Arte’ Hotel in Brentwood because he was gay.

After the story aired, more people came forward with employment discrimination complaints and said they’ve filed complaints with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Pressure increases on Tennessee hotelier after more former … @ PageOneQ.com reports:

The battle against Tarun Surti, owner of the ARTE’ Hotel in Brentwood, Tennessee, is intensifying. More workers have come forward with discrimination complaints in the wake of two recent firings of openly gay staff members. At least two have retained legal counsel.

On January 8, WSMV-TV reported that David Hill, the hotel’s former director of human resources, had been terminated and “dared” to sue. His supervisor, assistant general manager Leonard Stoddard, told him that Surti ordered the firing specifically because he didn’t want gays in leadership roles at his establishment. Surti’s cultural background was a homophobic one, Stoddard explained to WSMV.

Mr. Hill has since filed complaints with the EEOC and Department of Labor, but has little hope, given that both Surti and his hotel are bankrupt. On finding out that Stoddard talked to the press, he too was let go via e-mail.

Tennessee hotelier fires second gay man after he talks to the press @ PageOneQ.com reported earlier:

The firings continue at a Tennessee hotel after its assistant general manager spoke out against its owner for dismissing a man for being gay.

David Hill, former director of human resources for ARTE’ Hotel in Brentwood, said that he was “dared” to sue after being told the decision by owner Tarun Surti to terminate his employment on January 8 was specifically on the basis of his sexual orientation; assistant general manager Leonard Stoddard confirmed it to the press.

“The owner, Mr. Surti, comes from a culture that is not very tolerant to the gay lifestyle,” Stoddard, who was ordered to dismiss Hill, told WSMV-TV, “and therefore he felt it necessary to have him removed from the workforce at the property.”

Stoddard, also openly gay, has since been given his walking papers, Out & About reported. “I am here in the office and shocked to hear what you had said to the media,” Surti e-mailed Stoddard. “If it is true that you told media that David was fired because he is gay, you obviously told them a lie. Such behavior is subject to immediate termination and I would like you to restrain (sic) from coming to the hotel.”

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The ultimate guide to gay gift giving

Stumped as to what to get the hard-to-buy-for gay in your life? Look no further than Mikey Rox’s annual guide to gay gift giving. This year’s guide truly runs the gamut; from Ginch Gonch’s Load’N & Dump’N briefs to Blitz from Verizon Wireless to a new adventure company geared specifically toward GLBT travelers, you’ll find just the gift at all price ranges. See The ultimate guide to gay gift giving
Gay and Lesbian Times, CA -