Let’s face it; when an occasion comes around to catch a glimpse of good-looking, athletic jocks playing hard and looking for a fun time in Fort Lauderdale, one can not pass up on welcoming them with open arms! This month’s most heralded competition; the South Florida Amateur Athletic Association’s 13^th Annual Hurricane Showdown comes to Fort Lauderdale again with nearly 75 teams converging to compete in this well-renowned gay softball tournament. The event draws players, coaches, and fans from both coasts and everywhere in between. It is anticipated that over 1,500 gay men and women representing cities such as Atlanta, Orlando, Boston, and London will be flocking to Greater Fort Lauderdale to compete for awards, honor and accolades. The Hurricane Showdown takes place from November 22 – 25.  During the Thanksgiving Day weekend, there are many parties, games, socializing, and friendly competition planned for the well-attended tournament. The event kicks off with a High Heel Race at 5pm on Thursday with a cash prize of $250.00 going to the winner. Their traditional Thanksgiving Day Orphans Dinner will be served ....then stick around and enjoy the fun at the annual Miss Hurricane Pageant, all at Georgie’s Alibi in Wilton Manors. The games begin on Friday, November 23^rd at Mills Pond Park at 3pm and culminate with a taste of high-stepping, knee slapping country western entertainment at our Host Bar Party at Scandals Saloon.  Saturday’s games continue at 8am at Mills Pond Park and Brian Piccolo Park finishing the day off with all the excitement sports can bring at their Host Bar Party, sponsored by the popular Sidelines Sports Bar. On Sunday, the games continue at Mills Pond Park with teams vying for Championship honors and the year’s bragging rights. The closing banquet begins at 5pm with the awards presentation at 7pm followed by, the Hurricane Extravaganza, all at Georgie’s Alibi. Once again, the host hotel is the Embassy Suites Fort Lauderdale on 17th Street. And again their corporate sponsors are Bud Light and Eastern Financial. If you’d like more information about the Hurricane Showdown, you can visit them online at www.hurricaneshowdown.com  or send an e-mail to Randy Gillund at HShow2006@aol.com.

The Fort Lauderdale Gay Men’s Chorus invites its patrons to participate in the popular “Adopt-a-Musician” program. Now in its third year, the program allows the Chorus to add the excitement of live orchestral music to its “Holiday Treasures” concerts at 8 p.m. Dec. 19 and 20 at the Amaturo Theater, Broward Center for the Performing Arts. This year’s goal is to underwrite the expense of up to 25 live musicians for the two “Holiday Treasures” concerts and to acknowledge the special role these musicians play in enhancing the live performances of the Chorus. The cost to participate in the Adopt-a-Musician program is $250 for each musician sponsored. Participants will be recognized in the concerts’ printed programs and in a special display in the lobby; and will receive a $250 tax-deductible receipt. “Live concerts are among the most expensive of all forms of entertainment to produce,” says Todd Wiley, Artistic Director for the Fort Lauderdale Gay Men’s Chorus. “Ticket prices cover less than half the cost of staging the concert, and the cost of musicians is a significant part of our concerts. Often we are able to use some of the best young musical talent in the area from the New World Symphony and local colleges and universities. This gives these budding professional musicians the opportunity to hone their skills and work in the professional theater, while rewarding our audience with the thrill of live music.” The Dec. 19 performance of “Holiday Treasures” is already sold out. The Chorus has added a second performance at 8 p.m. Dec. 20. Tickets for the Dec. 20 show are $20, $30 and $40 and are on sale now through the Chorus' web site, www.FTLGMC.org, or at the AutoNation box office at the Broward Center. To participate in the Adopt-a-Musician program, leave a voice mail message at (954) 832-0060; email a request for information to info@FTLGMC.org; or visit the website, www.FTLGMC.org. The Fort Lauderdale Gay Men’s Chorus is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. It is composed of more than 80 performers of all ages and from highly diverse professional, ethnic and economic backgrounds. While many members have previously performed professionally, the Chorus is a volunteer organization that thrives on the continued hard work, dedication and loyalty of its members and numerous supporters. Learn more at www.FTLGMC.org.

The Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners voted today to prohibit discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations based on gender identity or expression. "Equal opportunity should apply to everyone living and working in Palm Beach County," said Jeff Koons, Vice Chair of the Board of County Commissioners. Koons initiated the proposal to amend the County's Equal Employment Ordinance and Fair Housing Ordinance at the request of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council. The Council is a local nonprofit organization which is dedicated to ending discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. In late May, Council President Rand Hoch requested that Koons take the lead in urging the County Commissioners to amend the two nondiscrimination ordinances. "No one should be fired, harassed, or denied promotion simply because they don't fit the stereotypes for masculinity or femininity," Hoch told Koons. Koons, a longtime advocate of equal rights, initially raised the issue to the County Commissioner at a meeting held on September 11. The Commissioners formally voted to direct staff to amend the two ordinances to include "gender identity or expression" at their October 2 meeting.  In the weeks that followed, Assistant County Attorney Tammy Fields, with input from the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council, drafted the amendments which were adopted at today's meeting. "For the third time this year, elected officials in Palm Beach County have acted promptly to bring an end to legal discrimination," said Hoch. Earlier this year the cities of Lake Worth and West Palm Beach amended municipal ordinances to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity or expression. "Today's vote by the County Commissioners will help ensure that all Palm Beach County residents are judged on the quality of their work and given an equal chance to succeed," said Hoch.  "No longer will an employer be able to fire an employee solely because she is a woman with a masculine walk or he is a man with an effeminate voice." The ordinance covers public and private employers with fifteen or more employees. "Employers will still be able to enforce reasonable dress and grooming standards in the work place," said Hoch. "However, the Palm Beach County Equal Employment Ordinance will provide assurances that other aspects of a person's gender identity or expression can not be used as the basis for employment discrimination." County Commissioners must ratify today's vote on December 18 before the law goes into effect on January 1. With almost 1.3 million people, Palm Beach County will become one of the nation's largest jurisdictions to prohibit discrimination against transgender persons. "Based on estimates from the National Center for Transgender Equality, between five and ten thousand people in Palm Beach County are living as members of the opposite gender," said Heather Wright, who transitioned from male to female seven years ago. Wright, who works for a Fortune 500 company, is the facilitator of a gender support group that meets regularly at COMPASS, Palm Beach County's gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community center. Once the Palm Beach County laws take effect, close to 40% of the US population will live in jurisdictions where it is illegal to discriminate based on gender identity or expression. Last month, at the request of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council, Representative Kelly Skidmore (D-Boca Raton) introduced legislation that would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and on gender identity or expression throughout Florida. More than ten percent of the members of the Florida House of Representatives -- including local state representatives Mary Brandenburg, Susan Bucher, Richard Machek, Maria Sachs, Priscilla Taylor and Shelley Vana -- have already signed on as cosponsors of Representative Skidmore's anti-discrimination bill. "Palm Beach County's elected officials continue to lead the way to ensure equal rights for all people living and working in Florida." said Hoch. Thirteen states (California, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington) and the District of Columbia have enacted laws prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity or expression. In addition similar laws exist in more than 90 cities and counties across America. In Florida, the cities of Gulfport, Key West, Lake Worth, Miami Beach and West Palm Beach, as well as Monroe County prohibit both public and private employers from discriminating based on gender identity or expression. The cities of Largo and Oakland Park, and the Village of Tequesta protect their municipal employees from discrimination based on gender identity or expression. The Gainesville City Commission is expected to adopt an ordinance early next year which will prohibit discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations based on gender identity or expression. Civil rights activists are also working in both Broward and Pinellas Counties to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity or expression.