Washington Blade - December 9, 2005

A report issued last week by Casa de Maryland found that agencies are not speaking about HIV and AIDS in a language that Latinos can understand - both literally and figuratively. The report follows meetings with Latino focus groups in Montgomery and Prince George's counties, as well as interviews with health care providers and government officials. Participants emphasized the need for "face-to-face" education about HIV/AIDS in schools, churches, health fairs, parades and sporting events. Simply providing pamphlets in health providers' offices is not effective because many people do not have access to health care, they said. Women and adolescents discussed the importance of schools teaching both students and parents about HIV. They also suggested new television ads as a more appropriate way to educate Latinos about HIV and AIDS. The current ads on TV and educational pamphlets are of "inappropriately high literacy," the report found. Providers differed on their use of bilingual services - from comprehensive to no systems at all. Nine of the 13 agencies that participated in the study had no training for patients with limited English proficiency. "Although there are state and federal laws requiring access to linguistically appropriate health-care they are largely unused in practice," the report states.

- Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

D.C. transgender homicide linked to robbery

More than 50 people turned out Dec. 2 at a vigil mourning the shooting death of 24-year-old transgender resident Elexuis Nicole Woodland, who died following a botched robbery attempt earlier in the day not far from her Savannah Terrace, SE, home. Mourners gathered in front of Woodland's apartment building in the 1900 block of Savannah Terrace, S.E., about 6 p.m. to pay tribute to her life. Police said Woodland was hit in the head and upper body in a hail of bullets fired by an unidentified assailant. The gunman and a second man approached Woodland and a male friend about 1:20 a.m. on Dec. 2 after the two left a convenience store, police said. The men demanded money, and one of them began shooting, police said. Sgt. Brett Parson, commander of the police Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit, said there was no evidence the shooting was a hate crime. The friend who accompanied Woodland received a non-life threatening wound, police said. Witnesses described the shooter as a black male, between 20 and 25 years old, wearing a green camouflage coat and black hat, with his hair possibly styled in dreadlocks. The second suspect, who reportedly drove a get-away car, was described as a black male about 25 years old with a light complexion. Witnesses said the vehicle was a large, four-door, light blue car, possibly with a Virginia license plate. Police have offered a $25,000 reward to anyone providing information leading to an arrest and conviction in this and all other D.C. homicide cases. Anyone with information is asked to call 202-727-9099.

-Lou Chibbaro Jr.

Mayor Williams names gays to taxi commission, rights panel

D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams last month appointed veteran gay activist and former Whitman-Walker Clinic director A. Cornelius Baker to the D.C. Taxicab Commission and appointed gay District resident Richard Tagle to the city's Commission on Human Rights. Williams also appointed gay Democratic activist and diversity training consultant Mario Acosta-Velez to a second term on the Commission on Human Rights. Acosta has served as vice chair of the commission for the past two years. Williams also named gay Democratic activist Kurt Vorndran to the D.C. Police Complaints Board, which hears complaints of police abuse. The D.C. Council must approve all four appointments. Baker's appointment to the nine-member Taxicab Commission comes at a time when Williams has sought to replace most of its members following complaints that internal bickering and controversial positions by its outgoing chair, Sandra Seegers, have prevented it from doing its job regulating the city's taxi industry. Ron Collins, director of the Mayor's Office of Boards & Commissions, said Baker, while associated mostly with health care issues, has management skills and extensive experience in D.C. government-related matters that make him qualified to serve on the taxi panel. Collins said about 90 gay residents serve on 41 of the city's 159 boards and commissions.

- Lou Chibbaro Jr.

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