Steven Skelley

Floridians Commemorate World AIDS Day 2011 by Steven  Skelley EDGE Contributor Published at  http://www.edgeonthenet.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=local&sc2=news&sc3=&id=127468 LARGE MEDIUM SMALL It all began in June 1981. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention surveillance report indicated five healthy, gay men in Los Angeles were diagnosed with a rare lung infection and a puzzling attack on their immune systems. As soon as the CDC published this disturbing report, physicians across the country began reporting similar cases. One hundred twenty-one people had died by the end of 1981. Thirty years later, those who either have lost their battle with or have been affected by what became known as AIDS have grown to unimaginable numbers. More than 25 million people around the world have died from the virus, while more than 30 million live with HIV. In the United States, 1.2 million Americans live with HIV, while more than 600,000 people have lost

Georgia Receives $3 Million for AIDS Drug Assistance Program by Steven  Skelley EDGE Contributor Published at  http://www.edgeonthenet.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=aids&sc2=news&sc3=&id=126026 LARGE MEDIUM SMALL Daniel C. Montoya   Georgia’s Department of Public Health has received $3 million from the Centers for Disease Control for the state’s AIDS Drug Assistance Program to assist those living with HIV and AIDS. The grant will allow the state to move roughly 277 Georgians off the waiting list of those who need HIV/AIDS medications. There are 1,700 people with HIV/AIDS currently on the list. "AIDS Drug Assistance Programs are a payer of last resort for these drugs, so we must do everything possible to ensure that the programs have the resources to meet the needs of those who have no other avenue to receive them," said Daniel C. Montoya, deputy executive director of the National Minority AIDS Council. The AIDS Drug Assistanc

Georgians Commemorate World AIDS Day by Steven  Skelley EDGE Contributor Published at  http://www.edgeonthenet.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=local&sc2=news&sc3=&id=127457 LARGE MEDIUM SMALL It all began in June 1981. Five healthy, gay men in Los Angeles were diagnosed with a rare lung infection and a puzzling attack on their immune systems.  As soon as the Centers for Disease Control reported this disturbing news in a surveillance report, physicians across the country began reporting similar cases. And, by the end of the year, 121 people had died. Thirty years later, those who either have lost their battle with or have been affected by what became known as AIDS have grown to unimaginable numbers. More than 25 million people around the world have died from the virus, while more than 30 million live with HIV. In the United States, 1.2 million Americans live with HIV, while more than 600,000 people have lost their battle to the virus. More tha

Mai-Kai Restaurant and Polynesian Islander Revue by Steven  Skelley EDGE Contributor Published at  http://www.edgeonthenet.com/index.php?ch=entertainment&sc=theatre&sc2=features&sc3=performance&id=130561 MEDIUM SMALL The performers of the Mai-Kai Restaurant and Polynesian Islander Review  (Source:Mai-Kai Restaurant) The Polynesian culture of the South Pacific inhabits some of the most beautiful islands on our planet. When European explorers arrived, they wrote home that they thought they had discovered paradise.  The Mai-Kai Restaurant and Polynesian Islander Revue  in Fort Lauderdale. is the perfect place to experience a little bit of that Polynesian paradise vibe. The Mai-Kai Restaurant and Polynesian Islander Revue originally opened in 1956. The iconic South Pacific design cost more than $1,000,000. It was the most expensive restaurant built anywhere that year. The success of Mai-Kai was quickly apparent as it earned back that $1,000,00

State Lawmakers Introduce Non-Discrimination Bill by Steven  Skelley EDGE Contributor Published at  http://www.edgeonthenet.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=local&sc2=news&sc3=&id=125774 SMALL State Sen. Nan Rich (D-Sunrise)   Two state lawmakers have introduced a bill that would ban discrimination against LGBT Floridians in the workplace, public accommodations and housing. State Sen. Nan Rich (D-Sunrise) and state Rep. Scott Randolph (D-Orlando) introduced the Florida Competitive Workforce Act-Senate Bill 340 and House Bill 247-in Tallahassee earlier this month. Randolph said his bill would improve the quality of life of LGBT Floridians and extend additional economic opportunities to them. "The Florida Competitive Workforce Act would greatly improve that quality of life for our state’s growing GLBT population," said Randolph, noting a Human Rights Campaign report that shows 89 percent of Fortune 500 companies have already adopted LGBT-in

Do New Gay Census Statistics Matter to Fla. Lawmakers? by Steven  Skelley EDGE Contributor Published at  http://www.edgeonthenet.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=local&sc2=news&sc3=&id=124045 MEDIUM SMALL Gov. Rick Scott   Statistics from the 2010 census show the number of same-sex couples in Florida increased by more than 21,000 over the last decade, but the question remains whether these figures will translate into any tangible LGBT legislative advances in Tallahassee. The 2010 census showed there are at least 65,601 same-sex couples Florida--these identified couples comprise only about a tenth of the more than 610,000 gay, lesbian and bisexual people who live in the Sunshine State, according to research the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law published "I think it is great that they marked it on form and are comfortable," said Brian Longstreth, owner of the Gay StPeteHouse bed and breakfast who organizes the annual St. Pete P

Steven Skelley's UM News Service articles. Approximately 100 of Steven Skelley 's articles and photos were published by the UM News Service. He was a staff writer whose articles focused on churches that were successful in reaching out to people in need. A list of his articles can be found at  http://floridaconferenceconnection.info/site/search?keywords=Skelley ______ ______ Steven Skelley is a published author of several nonfiction works and the novella The Gargoyle Scrolls. He has been a newspaper columnist, travel writer, news writer, ordained minister, music director, creative arts director, theater reviewer and tennis instructor.

Miami Beach church spreads healing through arts By Steven Skelley Published by UM News Service at  http://floridaconferenceconnection.info/newsarchives/detail/2435 More than 14,000 people have attended events provided through Arts at St. John’s since the program began eight years ago at St. John’s United Methodist Church in Miami Beach. Photo by Steven Skelley. Photo #07-0667. MIAMI BEACH — St. John’s United Methodist Church is just 10 blocks from the mansion of megastar Jennifer Lopez, and nearby residents range from the mega-rich to the disillusioned, homeless and abused of all ethnicities. Amidst this diversity St. John’s has found a common thread: the arts. “St. John’s is a reconciling church,” said Dr. Carol Hoffman-Guzman, director of Arts at St. John’s. “We are diverse ethnically. We welcome the gay community and those people who were disillusioned by churches in the past. Now, they have a safe way to peek inside a church again because of these arts progr

‘Revolutionary’ bishop celebrates 100th birthday By Steven Skelley Published by UM News Service at  http://floridaconferenceconnection.info/newsarchives/detail/2006 Nature Coast Clowns help Bishop Ralph E. Dodge celebrate his 100th birthday. The bishop is considered revolutionary by many for his efforts to improve social conditions in Africa from 1937 to 1964 while serving there as a missionary and bishop of the Africa Central Conference. Photo by Steven Skelley. Photo #07-0530. INVERNESS — Some people call the career of Bishop Ralph Edward Dodge a beacon of interracial healing and acceptance. Others call him revolutionary. His friends and family were able to share those sentiments and what his ministry has meant to them at the celebration of his 100th birthday earlier this year. Retired Bishop James Lloyd Knox, who lives in St. Petersburg, counts himself among those who say Dodge was a visionary bishop. Dodge served as a missionary in Angola from 1937 until his ele

United Methodists celebrate growth of Haitian church from Miami to California By Steven Skelley Published by UM News Service at  http://floridaconferenceconnection.info/newsarchives/detail/1717 The Rev. Luc Dessieux and Jocelyne Jean-Baptiste help others remember the birth of  Haitian United Methodist churches in Florida and the United States. Dessieux helped launch Grace Haitian United Methodist Church, the first Haitian congregation; Jean-Baptiste was one of its first worshippers. Photo by Steven Skelley, Photo #06-441.  Web photo only. In 1979 a man named Luc Dessieux fled his Haitian homeland in fear for his family’s lives. An illegal immigrant, he was imprisoned in the United States for three weeks. Just two years later, God led Dessieux to launch the first Haitian United Methodist Church in his new homeland. From this one small beginning in Little Haiti, Miami, 18 Haitian United Methodist congregations in Florida and across New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Ge