LIMA, Peru - The men walked up and down the cement floor, the shy ones looking furtively, the bold ones casting an appraising eye at the women standing in the open doorways wearing nothing but bras, panties, high heel shoes and a beckoning smile. Traffic on a recent Saturday night here at one of the two legal borde
WASHINGTON - Plan Colombia , the United States signature international drug-fighting effort, is to get a major overhaul once its five-year term ends at the end of 2005, with policymakers looking to give it more of a social and less of a military character. Officials say the $3.5 billion program has succeeded in put
Steven Alicea, 17, once a troubled gay youth who has lived in 17 Miami-area foster homes, was honored with two awards for his courage and activism. Two years ago, at age 15 and living in his 15th Miami-area foster home, Steven Alicea came out of the closet. His foster parents at the time, both pastors, said he would go
Author of Life of Pi deftly explores death and redemption in four stories originally published in 1993. THE FACTS BEHIND THE HELSINKI ROCCAMATIOS. Yann Martel. Harcourt. 208 pages. $22. Yann Martel s bestselling, breakout novel Life of Pi explored the dilemma of surviving a shipwreck in a lifeboat with a hungry Bengal
Samaki Variety, admired for her work within South Florida s HIV/AIDS community, died Sunday in Atlanta of pneumonia. She was 47. Variety, the former community outreach director for Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, spearheaded several city-sponsored AIDS events, including the Tree Lighting Ceremony commemorating World AIDS Day a
After receiving complaints from residents about streetwalkers in their neighborhoods, one Lima- area mayor had an idea: Put them in discreet hotels. LIMA - The men walked up and down the cement floor, the shy ones looking furtively, the bold ones casting an appraising eye at the women standing in the open doorways wear
Samaki Variety, admired for her work within South Florida s HIV/AIDS community, died Sunday in Atlanta of pneumonia. She was 47. Variety, the former community outreach director for Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, spearheaded several city-sponsored AIDS events, including the Tree Lighting Ceremony commemorating World AIDS Day a
Just in time for the holidays, the Buena Vista East Historic Neighborhood Association is planning a Neighborhood Holiday Craft and Yard sale, with some of the proceeds benefiting various charities. The sale will run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, and will cover six blocks from Northeast 42nd Street to Northeast 48th S
The Coconut Grove Girls Group held a holiday party for Lennar Financial Services, which has been helping them with career tips and computer classes. Brimming with confidence, 13-year-old Darniqua Bogan sashayed toward her audience on the lawn of the West Grove s Gibson House, smiling and swinging her hips while the win
Students at a Miami Gardens school got a realistic voting experience when they held student council elections in the midst of the U.S. presidential campaign. Not satisfied with their school s A+ rating, teachers and administrators at Crestview Elementary are teaching their students the benefits of political involvement
Survivor athletes will now compete in Miami Runners Club events, beginning with Saturday s marathon. Under a joint agreement between the Miami Runners Club and Baltimore-based Active Survivors Network, athletes recovering or recovered from catastrophic illnesses or serious diseases will compete in their own divisions.
Imagine Jesus existed today. What if he s a soft-spoken kid, sensitive and artistic, born to a single mom in a Texas motel? He hears the voice of the Almighty. And he s gay. Nascent theater company The Baby Factor takes on Terrence McNally s personal interpretation of the Gospel of Matthew, Corpus Christi, in its Browa
Today -- International Human Rights Day -- presents an opportunity to stand up for women s human rights. Just prior to the U.N. designation of this day in 1990, we Nicaraguans were engaged in a violent civil war in which rape was used as a weapon against women. Despite the courage and determination of so many women, th
Bono has pledged to spend the rest of his life trying to help the impoverished around the world. The U2 frontman said in an interview with the BBC that he wanted the current generation to be remembered for something other than the Internet. It should be the first generation to eradicate extreme poverty, he said. I
Jane Wooldridge and Anne Tschida, jwooldridge@herald.com
A street party in downtown Miami drew hundreds of partygoers who were treated to free drinks, larger-than-life art and street performers. Can Miami throw a street party? It certainly can. From super-sized installation art to street performers, an area of downtown Miami was transformed into a festival Friday night.
PORT-AU-PRINCE - Gunfire from a political clash still echoed through the streets of Haiti s capital Wednesday as U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell came face-to-face with another of this nation s problems. I want to hear about your life, he asked a circle of 11 teenagers, peer counselors with the Foundation for Repro
Right after he had to retire from professional basketball, Earvin Magic Johnson established a foundation to fight HIV, the virus that ended his NBA career. That was 1991. Since then, the former Los Angeles Laker has expanded his philanthropic mission and built a sprawling business empire. On Thursday night, he flashed
Ashley Fantz, Jacob Goldstein and Gabrielle Banks afantz@herald.com
Four South Floridians were still hospitalized after receiving mysterious injections that may have caused their illness. Four South Floridians remained critically ill Thursday, more than a week after receiving what they thought were Botox injections at an Oakland Park clinic. Pray for her. That s all I can say, said Flo
Carol Marbin Miller and Wanda J. Demarzo, wdemarzo@herald.com
The Broward County Jail, which houses some 5,000 inmates -- many of them either physically or mentally ill -- has been turned over to a private healthcare management company that has yet to obtain a license to dispense prescription drugs. The jail s new healthcare provider, Correctional Health Services (CHS), apparentl
New HIV diagnoses are holding steady overall in the U.S., but may be increasing among men, a World AIDS Day study suggested. New HIV diagnoses remained stable in the United States at about 40,000 a year between 2002 and 2003, but new data released Wednesday from 32 states hinted at a resurgence among men -- especially
Today, World AIDS Day will honor those who have died as well as those living with the disease and those trying to find a cure. Community leaders, advocates and others will gather in Broward today to commemorate World Aids Day and to remind everyone that the number of new infections in on the rise. South Florida will jo
A study published in the American Journal of Public Health estimates that failure to deliver standard care to black Americans cost nearly 900,000 lives from 1991 to 2000. An important limitation of the study was that it looked only at mortality and did not examine the role increased illness or other factors (such as in
When Sandra Mikell learned she had HIV 13 years ago, she did not know another black woman grappling with what many considered an automatic death sentence. Her case surely was unusual, she reasoned, because in her mind the virus and its resultant ailment -- acquired immune deficiency syndrome -- only afflicted gay, whit
The Miami Beach Cinematheque, located at 512 Española Way, will present Derek Jarmen s 1993 film Blue at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday as part of AIDS Awareness Day. Blue was Jarmen s last work, and was made while he was dying of AIDS and had been stricken with blindness. With an unchanging blue backdrop on screen, a series of v
Village officials hope to open a community center offering services for students and seniors -- as well as various medical and mental health services -- within three months. El Portal Village Council voted unanimously Tuesday to enter into an agreement with North Dade Medical Foundation for a community outreach center
Volunteer elves and angels are needed for the Center for Positive Connection s seventh annual holiday party for people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS, taking place from noon to 4 p.m. Dec. 18 at the Knights of Columbus/North Miami Jaycees Hall, 12100 W. Dixie Hwy. The party will treat 100 children to gifts, lunch
Organizers of South Florida s premier fundraiser for HIV/AIDS services, the White Party, celebrate 20 years of charity, while worrying about complacency. Your 20th high school reunion was nothing like this: Roman gladiators, revelers in sailor suits and silk pajamas, the pageantry of a carnaval in Rio. All at Miami s m
With World AIDS Day approaching Wednesday, singer/songwriter Alicia Keys is calling upon her peers in the music industry to raise their voices to help millions suffering from AIDS in Africa, reports Billboard Online. Just for a moment, imagine the media hysteria and global outrage if 25 million Americans, many of them
The number of new cases of HIV remained flat in North America, but other regions of the world, including Latin America, saw big increases, and the impact on women continued to grow. Nearly five million people worldwide were infected with HIV during 2004, bringing the number living with the virus that causes AIDS to nea
As AIDS decimated their circle of friends in 1984, Frank Wager and Jorge Suarez began planning an event they hoped would raise awareness -- and a few dollars -- to help fight the virus in South Florida. They dropped leaflets outside gay bars all over Miami-Dade and Broward counties, got businesses to donate food and li
A licensed social worker has created the Victims Services Center. Rape and incest survivors. The victims of Colombian kidnappings, and torture in Haiti . All have walked into a nondescript, second floor office on downtown Miami s Southwest Third Street, seeking relief from the trauma that haunts them. There Teresa
Discrimination and violence against gays in Jamaica is undermining government measures to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic, a report said. HIV/AIDS is spreading quickly in Jamaica, yet government measures to fight the epidemic are hampered by discrimination and violence against gays and people living with the disease, acco
At the University of Miami Hospital and Clinics, bone marrow transplant recipients were first in line for flu shots. A few doors down, at Jackson Memorial Hospital, the old, those with compromised immune systems and toddlers under 2 had equal claim. At North Broward Medical Center, hospital employees who work with high
Visitors at the Refugee Outreach Fair in Hialeah got information on jobs, education and health services. Nadine Bruno emigrated from Haiti more than a year ago, knowing it would be a trying experience. Aside from settling in a new country, she would have to find work and learn a new language. So far, Bruno is close
A mom s experience with her paralyzed son led her to start Island Dolphin Care, a therapy paradise for disabled and sick children. Swimming with the dolphins helped Deena Hoagland s toddler son beat paralysis caused by a stroke. If it could help him, she thought, what about others? Thus began Hoagland s journey to laun
Brad Pitt spent four days in Ethiopia to learn more about AIDS in Africa as part of a fund-raising campaign to combat the disease on the world s poorest continent, reports The Associated Press. The trip was organized by DATA, a Washington-based lobby group co-founded by U2 frontman Bono that campaigns on Third World tr
The loser in the region s blood wars, South Florida Blood Banks is about to get taken over by an Orlando company. Florida s Blood Centers of Orlando has offered to purchase the assets of financially troubled South Florida Blood Banks, the loser in the region s blood wars, as its business has steadily eroded because it
Volunteer elves and angels are needed for the Center for Positive Connection s seventh annual holiday party for people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS, taking place noon to 4 p.m. Dec. 18 at the Knights of Columbus/North Miami Jaycees Hall, 12100 W. Dixie Hwy. The party will treat 100 children to gifts, lunch, gam
On Saturday, Hands On Miami is expecting its largest turnout ever for its annual community service event. Claudia Lopez knew that by the end of the afternoon, her clothes would be filthy with dirt and hair and slobber. She loves it when that happens. Once a month Lopez gives three hours of her time brushing, exercising
Elton John is planning to become a married man. The flamboyant performer is saying that he wants to wed his longtime companion, David Furnish, reports MSNBC.com. We haven t set a date and it surely won t be a big public ceremony but I would like to place my life in his hands with a wedding vow, the Rocket Man told the
Energized by President George W. Bush s support for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, gay activists in Broward have organized their biggest get-out-the-vote drive ever. That has gotten so many people riled up, that was part of the catalyst that brought to a head that we need some place to all get togethe
--Our Opinion: U.S. Must Lead Effort To Rebuild Haiti Or Face Recurring Crises Twenty-one years ago, a first-time visitor to Haiti was horrified by what he observed in the Western Hemisphere s poorest country: Division, injustice, excessive inequality, degradation of the quality of life, misery, hunger and the fear of
Laura Leyva, a political novice, will challenge Marco Rubio, the man voters sent to Tallahassee four years ago, for a seat in District 111. When Laura Leyva headed back home from a mall in Hialeah on Monday afternoon, she had wore down another pair of black heels and had swollen feet -- again. Leyva wasn t on a shoppin
Marking National Latino AIDS Awareness Day Friday, U.S. Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona announced a new national campaign of public service announcements promoting testing and HIV prevention. From 1999-2002 in the 29 U.S. states with long-standing reporting, HIV diagnoses among Hispanics increased 26 percent, Carmon
A group of middle school boys got a lesson on the dangers of sexually transmitted diseases as part of the activities of a role-model program aimed at mentoring them through their difficult years. The dangers of sexual intercourse were never taught to ninth-grader Kevin Vixama. That is, until now. Kevin, 15, along with
It passed. And now BSO plans to arm its deputies with the controversial stun gun. After a three-month trial late last year, Broward sheriff s deputies are getting Tasers -- the controversial stun gun that incapacitates by shooting electrically charged darts into an unruly subject. The two darts remain connected to the
* The Most Dangerous Woman in America. 8-9 tonight. WPBT-PBS 2. It s easy enough to sneer at Fidel Castro s quarantine camps for AIDS victims, and most of us do. But tweak your imagination a little bit: Make the disease more highly contagious, more easily spread, completely untreatable, and then move it to the
Lesley Clark and Andrea Robinson, lclark@herald.com
Cheney assailed for AIDS and black women remarks Democrats accused the Bush administration of being out of touch after Dick Cheney s comments regarding the AIDS epidemic in the United States . Vice President Dick Cheney s admission that he was not aware of an AIDS epidemic among black women in the United States drew a
Top-ranking officials at a Pasco County prison resigned or were fired for allowing a female inmate to be naked in her cell while on suicide watch, a violation of procedures. Five senior officials of a Central Florida prison have quit or been fired because an HIV-positive suicidal woman inmate was kept naked in her cell
Xavier Cortada s complex feelings about the Catholic Church are difficult to put into words, but they flow easily onto canvas. The Miami artist s work, filled with religious icons, pulses with love and disappointment, hope and frustration. I draw on my faith in my art, because that s who I am, said Cortada, 42. A lot o
State Medicaid fraud investigators arrested four people they said ran a scam out of a Miami treatment center for AIDS and Hepatitis C patients. Medicaid fraud investigators arrested four people connected to a Miami infectious disease treatment center, charging they were running a scam that beat the government out of $4
A Miami Beach child pornographer faces a potential 100-year prison sentence today after being convicted on charges of producing, importing and selling videos of underage girls. Armed with a search warrant, a U.S. postal inspector stumbled upon a clue to a Miami Beach child pornographer two years ago when he discovered
Voters must choose between the man they sent to Tallahassee four years ago and a newcomer who says she brings fresh ideas. For the past two elections, State Rep. Marco Rubio has been unopposed for the District 111 seat. But this year, a Democratic businesswoman says she wants to put her knowledge of healthcare issues t
This year s Miami-Dade County Heart Walk Honorary Survivor has been taking care of himself because I want to be able to see my grandkids grow up. Clarence Brownlee, who has been tapped as the Honorary Survivor of the 2004 Miami-Dade County Heart Walk taking place Saturday is grateful to be alive and able to help others
* Public hospitals treat all patients regardless of their ability to pay. At Jackson Memorial, the mission is said to deliver a single standard of care to all patients. * They treat large numbers of at-risk populations, including the elderly, low-income children and families on Medicaid, minorities, people with limited
On a quiet summer Saturday, 10 minority members of the U.S. Congress gathered in Miami to discuss the crisis in minority healthcare. For more than two years, stacks of reports have been piling up about what has become a raw, festering wound on America s social conscience. Dozens of studies make the point: Even if minor
This year s Miami-Dade County Heart Walk Honorary Survivor has been taking care of himself because I want to be able to see my grandkids grow up. Clarence Brownlee, who has been tapped as the Honorary Survivor of the 2004 Miami-Dade County Heart Walk taking place next weekend, is grateful to be alive and able to help o
Controversial Circuit Court Judge Cheryl Aleman holds onto her seat in a high-profile election race against a vocal critic. Incumbent Circuit Judge Cheryl Aleman held off challenger Robert Malove, a Pembroke Pines lawyer, in the most closely watched judicial race in Broward this season. Aleman, appointed by Gov. Jeb Bu
Roberto Santiago, rsantiago@herald.com and Jay Weaver
Allegedly cop killer Ken Wilk, who allegedly shot and killed a Broward Sheriff s Office deputy yesterday told a federal judge that he is broke, has dementia , and has AIDS. I have full-blown AIDS and AIDS dementia, Wilk, 42, told U.S. District John J. O Sullivan during a Friday afternoon hearing on child pornography ch
Thea Duncan of Palmetto Bay was crowned the first Miss CARICOM in July and wants to use her title to tackle the HIV/AIDS crisis in the Caribbean. When Thea Duncan was a child, her mother, a nurse, began to talk to her about the ravages of AIDS. The disease had hit close to home -- it took a relative at the age of 22.
The Democrats who will square off in an Aug. 31 primary in U.S. House District 18 are taking shots at incumbent Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and her support for President Bush. The effort to unseat Republican congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen essentially comes down to this: a battle cry to defeat the woman who opponents sa
Casa de Campo, the luxury resort in La Romana in the Dominican Republic has become the St. Tropez of the Caribbean for European and Miami society. A playground for the jet-set who want a quick getaway during the summer -- much like Varadero Beach once was in Cuba .
Lawyer Robert Malove is challenging incumbent Circuit Judge Cheryl Alemán in a race that has become personal. In a rare challenge, a Pembroke Pines lawyer is trying to unseat Broward Circuit Judge Cheryl Alemán, who was appointed by Gov. Jeb Bush in 2001. The thrust of Robert Malove s campaign is to paint himself as co
Some patients can pay for emergency-room care. Others can t. That s the problem. Monday mornings are the busiest times for emergency rooms, and shortly after 11 a.m., the radio at the central nurse s station at Homestead Hospital squawked: A traffic accident victim was two minutes away. Twenty-five-year-old male. Abras
The Center for Positive Connections will host a ninth anniversary celebration from 9 p.m. to midnight Thursday at the Porterhouse Bar and Grill, 17004 Collins Ave. The event and is open to anyone infected or affected by HIV. The night will include music by DJ Buddy Bear, karaoke, a buffet with hot and cold finger foods
Wanda J. Demarzo and Sara Olkon, wdemarzo@herald.com
A man infected with HIV was charged with 22 counts, including sexual battery, after police say they saw him in the back of a van with a teenage girl. A young teen who police said has been sexually assaulted a number of times must wait for the outcome of tests to see if she is infected with HIV. The Miramar man who is c
MOVERS, the venerable HIV/AIDS agency that began as a church-based ministry to serve Miami s black community, is struggling with financial problems that have nearly put the organization out of business, county records show. A county-ordered management oversight team is trying to overhaul the agency s operations so it c
As a surgeon, Dr. Jose H. Valladares works 14-hour days. But he s closing his Little Havana office and taking off Friday for a nine-day trip to Africa. He s not going on safari to see giraffes and elephants, though. Valladares, 66, and his wife, Dr. Jacqueline Junco-Valladares, 38, a University of Miami physician and i
As Ricky Williams fights social anxiety disorder with marijuana, scientists are working to take advantage of the plant s anti-anxiety properties while avoiding the drug s side effects. Ricky Williams claim that marijuana helps stave off social anxiety may have scientific merit, but developing a drug that could produce
BANGKOK, Thailand - It s like a deadly game of chess, AIDS-drug researchers say. They make a move against HIV, the virus counters. At every AIDS conference, Big Pharma, as the international drug companies are called, announces a promising new drug or two. And other researchers hold sessions on how HIV has mutated, deve
Microbicides - vaginal gels, creams or foams -- can protect women during sex. BANGKOK, Thailand - With an effective AIDS vaccine a decade away, and no major new drugs making their debut, the most exciting scientific development is a new class of drugs that can protect women during sex. Called microbicides, they re
BANGKOK, Thailand - They had come seeking science, new medicines, ways of sharing what they knew with people from other countries. But what the three South Florida women who journeyed here to attend the XV International AIDS Conference came away with was far more emotional. They left impassioned, angry with their count
It was a small luncheon with a big goal: drum up practical solutions to complex international issues. Officials from about 25 Latin American and Caribbean nations gathered with Broward leaders in Tamarac to take small steps toward enhancing economic exchange between Broward s diverse communities and residents home coun
Critics at an international conference complained that the United States gives too little to the fight against AIDS and that the money has strings attached. BANGKOK, Thailand - In a fractious session at an international AIDS conference here, U.S. AIDS czar Randall Tobias on Wednesday defended President Bush s global pr
BANGKOK, Thailand - In the most fractious session at the XV International AIDS Conference here, U.S. AIDS czar Randall Tobias on Wednesday defended President Bush s global program for fighting AIDS, while about 50 protesters sat on the floor holding up signs that said, He s lying. This year America is spending ne
The HIV/AIDS rate among women is growing. The principal cause, researchers said, is women being infected by unfaithful male partners. BANGKOK, Thailand - A generation ago, one in 10 of new AIDS patients in the United States was a woman. It s now one in four. Worldwide, women made up nearly half of the adults living
A great deal more money than is now being invested needs to be put into the search for an HIV vaccine if the quest is to succeed, experts say. BANGKOK, Thailand - Worldwide efforts to create an AIDS vaccine have grown dramatically in the past two years but still fall far short of what is needed to succeed, leaders of t
A younger, less risk-aware population of gay men is responsible for an acceleration in the rate of HIV infection in the United States , medical experts and researchers said in Thailand . BANGKOK, Thailand - A new generation of U.S. gay and bisexual men is engendering a sharp increase in the number of newly diagnosed HI
At the world AIDS conference in Thailand , U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan pointed to key failures by world communities in the fight to stop the spread of HIV. BANGKOK, Thailand - Too few doctors treating AIDS. Continuing victimization of women by men who infect them. A lack of leadership from top government official
As the International Conference on AIDS begins in Bangkok, Americans have reason to feel both shame and optimism. Shame because of our pitiful response to a global plague that is killing millions and ravaging entire nations; optimism because we have the intellectual and financial wherewithal to defeat this pandemic if
A man wanting to cheer up his girlfriend s granddaughter after her parents died made a doll in her likeness. He wants to distribute other dolls to kids in need but a disagreement with the manufacturer has delayed the process. Some parents buy toys to comfort a sad child. From the latest superhero action figure to the n
Thousands of AIDS specialists are gathering in Bangkok, Thailand , where a global spread of AIDS will come under scrutiny. AIDS, which was born in Africa and arrived in the United States as a gay men s scourge, is exploding across the globe with equal-opportunity fervor. It s infecting a new generation of women, te
The Herald will report from Bangkok on the activities of these three women this week. Sheri Kaplan of North Miami went to her doctor for birth control pills in 1994 and came away with an HIV-positive diagnosis: From regular old heterosexual sex, she says. Probably even the missionary position. I was in shock. She has d
When Antonio Seay returned to his Brownsville home last spring, a college degree in hand, he was proud. But somber. AIDS had ravaged the body of his 40-year-old mother. She barely remembered Seay and his siblings hospital visits, even though they commuted daily by Metrorail to spend final moments by her bedside. The
It is perhaps the last frontier in virtual reality. In the land of chips and circuitry, where technology enables us to create families, build cities and crash cars without leaving our chair, now we can make love, too. The Sims 2, scheduled to be released at the end of this summer, will feature characters capable of hav
for safe sex Richard Gere launched his new HIV/AIDS prevention campaign in India s financial and entertainment capital, using Indian film and sports stars to convey a safe-sex message. The Heroes Project is the latest initiative by Gere, who over the past year has become a vocal campaigner against HIV/AIDS in the regio
She did it! Macy Gray has fulfilled her pledge to perform nude -- by stripping during her London concert Monday night, reports IMDB.com. The eccentric singer, 33, appeared naked behind a chair onstage at the Coronet venue during a sterling rendition of Nina Simone s Feeling Good -- where she was photographed for a book
U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, D-Miami, and three other members of Congress will attend a summit at Miami Dade College that will discuss racial and ethnic disparities in health issues relating to tobacco, obesity, HIV/AIDS and immigrants. Summit panels will meet in Building 3 of the Champan Center of MDC s Wolfson Campus, 24
ST. GEORGE S, Grenada - The heads of government of Caribbean nations opened a summit here on Sunday, noting growing challenges such as helping Haiti and improving economic development and healthcare throughout the region. Leaders at the 25th conference of heads of government of the Caribbea
An AIDS organization has teamed up with a trendy Morningside barbershop to deliver condoms and HIV education to its customers. Twice a month, Alphene Rhone treks from his North Miami office to a barbershop on Biscayne Boulevard. He doesn t go for the regular haircut, trim or style. Instead, he delivers condoms -- and i
The 9-year-old girl with HIV squirmed in her chair as she discussed her daily medical routine. I got all these pills and some new liquid medicine, so I don t know what they are called, said Alexis, describing the five pills she takes every day. I got these other pills, they are so skinny, you don t have to drink any wa
At Youth Expressions in Little Haiti , at-risk teenagers use hip-hop to channel their frustrations and structure their lives. The teens gather every afternoon in the Little Haiti office of a nonprofit program that pulses with hip-hop -- and with purpose. Sabrina Abraham fiddles with a weathered stereo. A thick beat rum
Everywhere there were Jim Stork stickers, hats, posters, and pins. Wilton Manors gay mayor s bid for Congress had the annual Stonewall Festival focusing on politics as much as partying. The annual Stonewall Festival, a gay pride parade and street party, brought out the usual crowds -- men and women wearing pounds of Ma
The Coral Gables urologist accused of selling diluted cancer and AIDS medications won a bid for a lower bond Monday. Broward Circuit Judge Eileen O Conner cut Paul Perito s bond from $2 million to $1,175,000 after hearing arguments from defense attorney Jane Moscowitz Friday. The lower bond comes with several condition
Hispanics are more likely to suffer from certain chronic diseases and have less access to health care than non-Hispanic whites, panelists said at the kick-off for a series of nationwide conferences Thursday in Miami Beach. We re dying of some of these diseases because we re not getting the treatment, said Elena Alvarad
A urologist charged with dealing diluted cancer and AIDS drugs made a bid to reduce his $2 million bond by half. More than 50 of his friends and co-workers attended the hearing in Fort Lauderdale to lend their support. Inside a crowded Broward County courtroom Friday afternoon, two very different portraits emerged of C
Years ago, you might have seen Francois Leconte handing out AIDS-prevention pamphlets on street corners in Fort Lauderdale. What you didn t see: Leconte working for free to set up a nonprofit agency for struggling immigrants. He didn t take a paycheck from his Minority Development & Empowerment Inc. for three years
Collectors took advantage of a rare opportunity Saturday when Barbra Streisand put hundreds of items from her films and personal life on auction to benefit several charities. The collection included everything from gowns Streisand designed and wore in movies and concert appearances to her prescription eyeglasses and cu
Jude Law, U2 frontman Bono and Coldplay singer Chris Martin are among a host of celebrities who have signed an open letter to Prime Minister Tony Blair requesting more aid money for the world s poorest countries, reports The Associated Press. The letter, also signed by Helen Mirren, Colin Firth, Joseph Fiennes and Minn
Karnita Dumas and Christopher Emile laughed in delight at the animation that appeared on the website: black and brown children reading books, dancing and painting -- the same things they like to do. This is great, said Karnita, 11, glancing up from the computer screen. Like Christopher, 10, she is a fifth-grader at Lin
The video projected on the floor in Miguel Angel Rojas solo show at Casas Riegner Gallery is brazenly, boringly simple. Over time, it s also hypnotically fascinating. This video by Colombian artist Rojas, On the Border of Panic, shows seven minutes of a white plastic-gloved hand drawing white chalk marks across the gri
A South Florida doctor was arrested, accused of selling diluted cancer and AIDS medications. Some of the sales took place at the strip club he owns. Coral Gables urologist Paul Perito was arrested Thursday, accused of selling diluted cancer and AIDS medications -- sometimes from the Homestead strip club he owns -- in a
David Mamet s plays are not for the faint of heart (or taste), and neither is the Sol Theatre Project s new production of his Sexual Perversity in Chicago. Director Robert Hooker s production of the young Mamet s 1974 play is, in fact, a winkingly campy exercise in excess, a show that combines period style and 21st-cen
Panic pulses -- first quietly, then insistently -- through the devastating revival of Larry Kramer s urgently galvanizing play, The Normal Heart. The Worth Street Theater Company production at the Public Theater, where the play was born in 1985, is both a window into history and a demonstration of what theater at its m
* Larry Kramer grew up outside Washington, D.C., and graduated from Yale University. He produced and wrote the Oscar-nominated screenplay for the Ken Russell-directed 1969 movie version of D.H. Lawrence s Women in Love. His successful, controversial 1978 novel Faggots detailed gay life in the 70s. The Gay Men s Health
NEW YORK - Larry Kramer walks up the steps into the Public Theater s cavernous lobby, trailing just behind a bundle of honey-colored canine friendliness named Tiger. The balding gray-haired man on the other end of the Wheaton terrier s leash certainly looks like a New York character: He s dressed in deep blue bib overa
Sharon Stone and Liza Minnelli dazzled the crowd at the Cannes Film Festival by hosting a charity dinner to raise money for AIDS that left the French Riviera town feeling star-struck, reports Hello! magazine. Have a cocktail kids -- it s gonna be a long night, said Stone to kick off the fun. The Basic Instinct star, de
The recent warning by the Chinese Government that HIV/AIDS is spreading rapidly in the country and that new and urgent measures to combat the infection are necessary is an important step in the fight against this killer. This is particularly remarkable because at the beginning of the epidemic the Chinese authorities we
In his initial report, the receiver overseeing the shut-down Mutual Benefits Corp. said he had found more than $218 million in various company bank accounts. Federal securities regulators were duped by state investigators into placing the Mutual Benefits Corp. in receivership and seizing its assets, according to a lawy
A Homestead woman who has labored for years to aid South Dade s migrant workers has won the prestigious Robert Wood Johnson Community Health Leadership Program award -- one of 10 people in the country so honored this year. Susan Reyna, a third-generation migrant worker, founded M.U.J.E.R Inc. in 1996 -- helping provide
Sheri Kaplan went to the doctor for birth control pills. Instead, she tested positive for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS -- the shock of my life. A virtual death sentence, she felt. Ten years later, Kaplan, 39, is robust and confident she can manage her life-threatening illness. Prayer and a spiritual awakening -- she
Several community-based groups and agencies are coming together to launch a campaign aimed at increasing the number of black registered voters and encouraging those who are registered to vote. The effort will kick off at Ingram Park, 2100 Burlington St. -- 142nd Street east of 22nd Avenue -- in Opa-locka, from 3 to 7 p
An HIV educator known as the Condom Lady has filed a wrongful-arrest suit against the Broward Sheriff s Office after she was placed in custody while distributing condoms at a Broward nightclub. To scores of young people around South Florida, Angie Lee is known as the Condom Lady, for her aggressive efforts to promote s
The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy and its founding partners, Teen People Magazine and TeenPeople.com, have developed an online quiz to encourage teens to think about how they might respond in various sexual situations and to raise awareness about consequences of their behaviors. This quiz, which will be p
Mutual Benefits Corp., the giant viaticals company in Fort Lauderdale, was shut down by regulators. The industry sells sick people s life-insurance policies to investors. State and federal regulators on Wednesday shut down Fort Lauderdale-based Mutual Benefits Corp., saying the nation s largest viatical-settlement comp
A local nonprofit group, is distributing free calling cards to middle and high school kids in Miami-Dade County for use in emergencies. Victory for Youth, a local child advocacy group, has teamed up with Miami-Dade County Public Schools to distribute 200,000 emergency power cards to kids in sixth through 12th grades.
The fall election season gets underway as federal and judicial candidates begin qualifying for the ballot. Today marks the official start of the race to join the most exclusive political club in the country: the U.S. Senate. Candidates to replace the retiring Sen. Bob Graham must qualify for the fall ballot between noo
Drug-resistant gonorrhea is spreading among gay and bisexual men, adding to fears that unprotected sex could also lead to an increase in HIV. The rate of drug-resistant gonorrhea among gay and bisexual men nearly tripled in the United States between 2002 and 2003 -- and it has made its way for the first time into Miami
Fifteen Broward County students have shown their teachers, parents and peers how to make a difference in other people s lives. On Monday, they were honored with Silver Knight awards for their hard work. When super soccer player Tessa Krantz was invited by one of her coaches to practice with Latin American and Caribbean
Hugh Jackman and The Boy from Oz aren t just packing them in at the New Amsterdam Theater on Broadway. They are also doing a lot of good. The rousing, heartbreaking hit musical starring Jackman has raised $1,073,522 for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS since opening last fall -- the most money a Broadway show has rais
In Miami and across the country, blacks are sharpening their focus on the scourge of HIV/AIDS, which disproportionately affects their community. Students at a recent workshop on HIV/AIDS were asked to raise their hands if someone close to them had contracted the disease or had died from it. Nearly half of them raised t
After The Herald alerts them to the problem, officials shut down a state website that had made it possible for private nursing-home information to be accessed by any visitor. A glitch in the state s website, MyFlorida.com, allowed anyone to access confidential complaints and health information about people in nursing h
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- Angel Aloma crosses the threshold at the exit at Mais Gate Airport and wastes no time getting to work. Within minutes, he is on the dusty ground of a walled compound housing a school and AIDS clinic in Cite Soleil, the 25-square-mile slum that houses Haiti s poorest of the poor. Aloma warms the
Some dances at once capture an era and suggest what is to come. There is a moment in Agnes de Mille s The Other where dancer and dance become one with the tale, and the effect is devastating. The gesture is as dense as it is brief, one of those rare epiphanies of truth onstage that audiences can treasure for a lifetime
Critics charge that now that the AIDS caseload falls more heavily on minorities, government and social ser- vice agencies are losing interest. As the face of AIDS has changed from that of gay white males to blacks, Hispanics and other minorities over the past 20 years, critics charge that governments and community lead
AIDS is sneaking up on gray-haired America. It s fueled in part by men who suddenly can have sex again because of Viagra and other drugs and by post-menopausal women who don t demand condoms. It s complicated by researchers who don t include those over 50 in their studies because they don t think they have sex anymore,
Despite the stealing of ambulances by thugs during the recent violence, despite experts saying AIDS cannot be fought effectively in poor, rural settings, prominent AIDS fighters said Sunday there s good news from Haiti . While AIDS still claims 30,000 lives a year in Haiti and has left 200,000 children orphaned, innov
A Deerfield Beach charity tries to find Haiti s poor and make sure that they are fed. PORT-AU-PRINCE -- For more than 20 years, Raymonde Pun has combed the trash-lined alleys of Port-au-Prince searching for the poorest of the poor. Pun, the executive director of Food for the Poor, Haiti, has spent her life providing ho
Every day the world loses another 8,000 lives, And when we talk about the global AIDS epidemic, this includes the U.S. -- KATHLEEN CRAVERO, deputy executive director of UNAIDS Using words of war at an international AIDS conference in Miami on Saturday, some of the world s top AIDS fighters sought to shock world leade
PORT-AU-PRINCE -- While Haiti s political violence is on the wane, its people still face a health crisis that could reverse years of work to control or eradicate deadly diseases, international health experts say. Immunization campaigns and programs to prevent and treat such illnesses as HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis remain
AIDS experts convene in Miami to discuss the changing face of the oft-deadly foe HIV/AIDS, the quest for vaccines and the pandemic s global impact. After 14 years of meeting in San Francisco, the National HIV/AIDS Update Conference comes to Miami for the second consecutive year this weekend, as experts assert that the
Perched in front of a laptop in his South Beach apartment, Marc Cohen logs in to a popular South Florida gay Internet chatroom where men banter in hopes of finding sex partners, drugs or both. One guy zips into the room with a quick request: Hey, anybody know where I can score some Tina? Tina is street slang for metham
The Center for Positive Connections will hold its Funkadelic Playhouse fundraiser March 27 at the Where?House, 20204 NE 15th Ct. in North Miami Beach. VIP tickets are $50 for festivities starting at 6 p.m. and including hors d oeuvres, an open bar, a silent auction, live band and acoustic music, psychic/tarot readings,
Call it an object lesson in the quality of equality. I refer to last week s Senate subcommittee hearing on the proposed constitutional amendment outlawing same-sex marriage. And specifically, to an exchange between two leaders of the African-American community. The first, Hilary Shelton, director of the Washington bure
The Miami Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority is holding several HIV/AIDS awareness activities across the county Saturday. One will be an HIV/AIDS youth awareness workshop from 1 to 4 p.m. entitled: Why Keep It a Secret: A Straight-Up Discussion about HIV/AIDS. It will be held at Booker T. Washington High Sch
OUR OPINION: PROVIDERS SHOULD COOPERATE TO SUSTAIN GAINS South Florida s fight against HIV and AIDS has seen tangible victories and troubling setbacks. Through it all, people on the front lines -- researchers, outreach and medical workers -- face challenges that threaten to reverse the declining number of AIDS cases re
Three University of Miami medical researchers will share a $100,000 prize for work that has helped reduce the transmission rate of HIV from mothers to newborns. The winners of the 2004 Lois Pope LIFE International Research Award are Drs. Margaret Fischl, Gwendolyn Scott and Mary Jo O Sullivan of the UM School of Medici
Members of the Miami Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority will conduct an HIV/AIDS youth awareness workshop from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday as part of its International Day of Service. The workshop, entitled: Why Keep It a Secret: A Straight-Up Discussion about HIV/AIDS, will be held at Booker T. Washington High Sch
As a young adult, Lisa Sheffield left her Liberty City church and fell into a life of drugs, booze and indiscriminate sex to support her habit. She eventually found her way back -- sober, in a lesbian relationship and carrying HIV. But the comfort and caring she knew in her youth at the Church of the Incarnation, Sheff
The North Dade Medical Foundation is giving El Portal a $350,000 donation for a new community outreach center, village officials announced at a council meeting Tuesday night. The center will offer programs for senior citizens, children in grades K-6 and the mentally and physically handicapped. It will be housed at the
It s shaping up to be a very gay season, as the Great White Way takes on a lovely lavender hue. We re not talking the odd little play here and there. No, we re talking mainstream hits, the hottest tickets on and off Broadway, what American audiences are cheering in a burst of spring fever even as the culture wars gear
Swinging through the trees of prehistoric Europe, Asia and Africa, Old World monkeys encountered the HIV virus eons before humans did, and developed a unique defense against it. A Harvard study published today in the journal Nature identifies for the first time the simian protein that provides that defense, raising hop
Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist announced charges Tuesday against five men accused of putting millions of dollars worth of adulterated prescription drugs on the market -- including one batch of phony AIDS treatment drugs sold to undercover officers. Law enforcement officials believe the Broward and Miami-Dade me
A month after a federal appeals court upheld Florida s law barring gays and lesbians from adopting, the legal battle to overturn the controversial law still simmers. Lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union, which began its challenge five years ago on behalf of four gay South Florida men -- all of them guardians
The mayor of Miami joined volunteers to distribute HIV/AIDS awareness information at a housing project in a section of the city where the disease is taking a heavy toll. Gary Bryant has lived in the Model City area for 49 years, and he remembers a time when AIDS and HIV, the virus that causes the deadly disease, were u
MAC cosmetics has introduced five new celebrity spokespeople for Viva Glam products that will benefit the MAC AIDS Fund, reports The Associated Press. All proceeds from Viva Glam V Lipstick and Lipglass will go to the fund, which provides money to organizations that give care and daily essentials to those afflicted wit
Miami Mayor Manny Diaz and city of Miami volunteers will join high school students Saturday to distribute information about HIV/AIDS and testing locations in Coconut Grove, Model City, Little Haiti and Overtown in recognition of National Black HIV Awareness Day. The neighborhood outreach teams will begin gathering in C
South Florida s Herb Sosa says that being a high-profile gay activist provides him plenty of personal satisfaction, but that s not why he does it. It s not a question of satisfaction -- it s what you need to do, said Sosa, one of this year s Top 10 gay Latina/o activists, according to Tentaciones, a monthly national bi
Mount Tabor Missionary Baptist Church, one of the oldest houses of worship in Liberty City, will celebrate its 103rd anniversary on Feb. 8. The anniversary theme, Putting God First, is befitting the historic church, located at 1701 NW 66th St. According to church history, Mount Tabor was organized in 1901 by several fa
As a teenager in Ireland , when violence and unrest were escalating because of the conflict over Northern Ireland, U2 front man Bono longed for the voice of reason from somebody such as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Those thoughts and a deep understanding of King s teachings and life led the singer to write a song ab
Black people get crappy healthcare. If this comes as news to you, it s probably because you haven t been paying attention. Numerous studies have documented the fact that, regardless of income levels, African Americans and other minorities have less access to medical treatment, and the treatment they receive is often su
It s Friday night and you have unprotected sex. Or your condom breaks. Your doctor won t be in the office until Monday. Should you be able to pick up the morning-after pill -- which can help to prevent pregnancy if taken within 72 hours, the sooner the better -- in the aisles of your local drugstore? The Food and Drug
A drag bingo event hosted by Tammy Faye Messner drew about 700 people to raise money for an AIDS organization. The former Tammy Faye Bakker said she was one of the first women to speak out about caring for people with AIDS when she was on the The PTL Club television evangelism show with her ex-husband in the 1980s.
This information is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.