The Red Cross has become the first relief agency to include gay and lesbian families in its Sept. 11 relief guidelines, reports PlanetOut and other media sources. The agency has specified gay and lesbian family criteria. Eligibility is determined by joint bank accounts, home ownership, powers of attorney and several other circumstances.
Openly lesbian Portland, Maine, Mayor Karen Geraghty was sworn recently, and included housing among her top agenda items. Geraghty is the city’s first openly gay mayor.
In Dover, NH, two girls will be listed as “class sweethearts” in their high school yearbook after a dispute over whether same-sex couples were eligible for the honor, reports AP. Nicole Salisbury and Ashley Lagasse, both 17, overwhelmingly led other couples when the yearbook staff conducted its annual “senior superlatives” survey two weeks ago. But when Principal Robert Pedersen heard the results, he declared the vote invalid. Superintendent Armand LaSelva stepped in and said the original results, wherein the girls won 77% of the vote, will stand.