He voted HOW? Sen. Royce West's votes on drag restrictions show LGBTQ Texans can't take the support of even long-time allies for granted
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He voted HOW? Sen. Royce West’s votes on drag restrictions show LGBTQ Texans can’t take the support of even long-time allies for granted By David Taffet, page 8
In This Issue April 14, 2023
Volume 39 | Issue 49
1825 Market Center Blvd., Suite 240, Dallas TX 75207 | 214-754-8710 | dallasvoice.com
NEWS
April 14, 2023 | Volume 39 | Issue 50 08 | ‘Reliable’ Senate ally voted for an anti-drag bill
PUBLISHER Leo Cusimano, leo@dallasvoice.com 10 | Dallas may regulate short-term rentals
18 | Honoring Rosa Lopez
MANAGING EDITOR Tammye Nash, nash@dallasvoice.com 10
SENIOR STAFF WRITER David Taffet, taffet@dallasvoice.com
STAFF WRITER Rich Lopez, rich@dallasvoice.com ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
PROOF READER Philip Burton 09 | Happy anniversary to the legendary Bass Hall
CONTRIBUTORS Chris Azzopardi, Sean Baugh, Gary Bellomy, Jenny Block, Joey Casiano, 12 | Timeless punk diva Debora Iyall
Jesus Chairez, Lawrence Ferber, Januari Fox, Hardy Haberman,
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CONTENT MARKETING SPECIALIST Mathew Dominguez, mathew@dallasvoice.com ON THE COVER
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CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Linda Depriter, distribution@dallasvoice.com ON THE COVER: Royce West at the Texas Senate (Associated Press)
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Queer Capitol March set for The address is 1800 Congress Avenue. p
Participants will then march down the Capitol
Saturday in Austin Mall to the north side of the Capitol Building
Transgender Education Network of Texas, s
“where we will rally among community in oppo- r
Equality Texas, Gordy Carmona and Sofia Sep-
sition to the more than 140 anti-LGBTQ+ bills t
ulveda are calling on LGBTQ Texans and their
moving through the Legislature.” h
allies to converge in Austin on Saturday, April
Organizers encourage those planning to a
15, for the Queer Capitol March.
participate to sign up to be captains and help I
“The attacks on LGBTQ+ Texans at the
recruit at least 20 others to participate.
Legislature are escalating, so we have to meet
that escalation with action,” organizers wrote — Tammye Nash m
in a post on social media. c
AP Inc. board appoints S
The march starts at noon, and participants
are asked to assemble for the march at the cor- Tamara Stephney as acting CEO w
ner of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Following the April 4 death of founder and c
Congress Avenue (near the Bullock Museum). CEO Kirk Myers-Hill, the board of directors of
Abounding Prosperity Inc. has voted unani-
Employment Discrimination Lawyer
F
Law Office of
Rob Wiley, P.C.
214-528-6500 • robwiley.com • 2613 Thomas Ave., Dallas, TX 75204
4 dallasvoice.com █ 04.14.23
mously to ap- worked alongside Mr. Kirk Myers-Hill for the
point Tamara past 12 years,” Stephney said in a written
Stephney as statement, adding, “The best way to honor his
the agency’s memory is to continue the work and carry his
acting CEO. legacy forward. I will continue that work, the
The board work to fulfill the mission of Abounding Pros-
voted on the perity, Inc. and the vision of Mr. Kirk Myers Hill.”
appointment in — Tammye Nash
an emergency
meeting held
on the evening Apply to be a
of Myers-Hill’s Dallas Pride beneficiary
death, and LGBTQ community organizations are invited
Tamara Stephney
“the appoint- to apply to become Dallas Pride beneficiaries.
ment went into immediate effect as part of To qualify, an organization must use the ma-
the agency’s succession plan,” according to a jority of its funds for direct programs, services
press release. or activities that provide significant support to
Board Chair Michelle Myers said in a written the North Texas LGBTQ community and have
statement, “Ms. Stephney has played a vital non-profit status. Dallas Pride then selects up to
role in helping Mr. Myers-Hill grow the agency six organizations to receive proceeds from that
to what it is today. We, the board of directors, year’s Pride weekend.
have no doubt that she is well suited to further If your organization would like to be consid-
advance the mission of Abounding Prosperity, ered for a 2023 Beneficiary, visit the Beneficiary
Inc., and the legacy of Mr. Myers-Hill.” Request for Proposal webpage at DallasPride.
The press release announcing her appoint- org.
ment described Stephney as “a long-standing, Applications must be submitted by April 28,
committed and visible part” of the organization. 2023. No applications will be accepted after
She has been with AP, Inc. for 12 years and that date. Organizations that have been select-
worked “side-by-side with Kirk Myers-Hill [as] ed will be contacted on or after May 12, 2023.
chief operating officer for the past six years.” Pride weekend is June 3-4.
“I am truly honored and privileged to have — David Taffet
!
People
T
g pion of
S
u t t i n ss cham
R
P 6
FI
A tirele nts of District
ide
the res
Successfully lead & passed the
1st ever Comprehensive
Environmental & Climate Action Plan
Lead to fully fund street
maintenance budget in decades
Voted four years in a row
to lower the property tax rate.
Helped pass an ordinance to
commemorate June as Pride Month
in Dallas annually and fly the official
City of Dallas Pride Flag at City Hall.
Advocated & added fully
comprehensive healthcare
benefits, including
gender-affirming surgeries
for transgender employees.
2020 Texan of the Year
Earned a 100% score all six years — Dallas Voice
serving on council for the HRC’s
Municipal Equality Index.
Reduced the tax rate six years
in a row for property owners
RECOGNITIONS EARLY VOTING:
ENDORSED BY
“LGBTQ North Texans of the Year”
April 24 - May 1
— Dallas Voice 2020 ELECTION DAY
May 6
“Best Dallas City Council Member” If you would like more information
— Dallas Observer 2018
on where and when to vote, go to
Dallas Pride Parade dallascountyvotes.org
Grand Marshall 2017 Omarfordallas.com
Pol. Adv. Pd. by Omar Narvaez Campaign.
04.14.23 █ dallasvoice 5
VOICES
OPINIONS FROM THE COMMUNITY
Stand up for drag
Attacks on the drag
community are attacks
on everyone’s freedom
I
’ ve never accidentally run into a
drag queen. No drag queen has ever
come for me, seeking to steal my
rights or my autonomy. I have never
been sexually assaulted by or threat-
ened by or beaten up by or frightened
by a drag queen.
Conservative bigots, on the other
hand, are in my face day in and day
out. Republicans are after my rights, as often as I’d like. And I
my autonomy and my very existence. can only count a few drag
Straight white men and “religious” performers in my group
leaders have sexually assaulted, threat- of friends. So, why should Scarlet Envy helped Cornett launch a new drag-friendly company policy
ened and frightened me and every I care about drag being unique. That’s why our employees have You Go Down (I’m Goin’ Down Too)”
woman I know in one way or another. banned? the freedom to dress however they feel at the ceremony with RuPaul’s Drag
So why is it drag needs to be oblit- Because it’s not drag that’s being comfortable, including in drag. All we Race alumni Manila Luzon, Jan Sport,
erated or, at the very least, controlled? banned; it’s freedom. Period. ask is that you keep it fierce and keep it Kennedy Davenport and Olivia Lux.
The answer is simple. It doesn’t. It’s It’s freedom of expression. Freedom office-appropriate. That way, when you That’s another great example of no lon-
yet another distraction, another way to to live and love however you choose. show up to work, you show up ready ger just speaking our truth, but of yell-
trick the masses into believing that the Freedom to dress how you like, wor- to werk.” ing it until they have to listen.
good guys are the bad guys and vice ship (or not) how you like, entertain “We have to do whatever the fuck It ruffled feathers. So, it worked.
versa. yourself and others as you like, eat how we can to shift that narrative,” Deaver It’s getting scary. And we only have
It’s as genius as it is despicable. And you like, care for yourself as you like. said. “Businesses need to be using their two choices — curl up in a ball and
it’s working. The thing is, banning drag It’s about freedom, and freedom is a voice. We have the power to shift these hide, which is tempting to be sure, or
is just the tip of an enormous iceberg. much more delicate structure than you beliefs. We have to do more than do- start yelling however you can.
First, they came for the drag queens. might think. Once the chipping away nate during Pride month. We have to You can yell by changing your cor-
And I did not speak out begins, the collapse is not far behind. speak up. We should be celebrating our porate policy. You can yell by inviting
Because I was not a drag queen. We have to go to drag shows. We differences.” those who need a platform to join you
Then they came for the transgender men have to give money to drag organiza- To mark the addition to their hand- on yours. You can yell by voting, by
and women and children. tions. We have to vote in EVERY elec- book, RuPaul’s Drag Race alum Scarlet protesting, by donating, by educating
And I did not speak out tion against the conservative hate. Envy — along with Jenna Jive, Kali — by doing anything but keeping your
Because I was not a transgender man or We have to do all of those things, and Dupree and Uma Jewels — all came to- mouth shut.
woman or child. then we have to do more. We have to gether to give two Cornett employees, I hope they never come for you. If
Then they came for the young women. weave freedom into everything we do. Whit Hiler and Coleman Larkin, drag they do, I’ll be here to speak for you.
And I did not speak out We have to make expressing ourselves makeovers, transforming them into And I hope you’ll be there to do the
Because I was not a young woman. a protected right. Witty Comments and Sweet Evening same for me.
Then they came for me. I was recently inspired by the work Sleeze respectively. They seek to divide us. Freedom is
And there was no one left my friend Jamon Deaver is doing on Neither man had ever done drag. ours as long as we never stop standing
To speak out for me. this front with the PR firm where he Neither identifies as LGBTQ. Both together. █
It’s a take on the poem, “First they works, Cornett. They have initiated a stand as staunch allies of the communi- Jenny Block, author of the Lambda Lit-
came” by Martin Niemöller. I think campaign called “Work is a Drag” and ty and of personal freedom. erary Award-winning book Open: Love,
about it a lot. If we don’t stand togeth- added this to their employee hand- Kelsea Ballerini recently used her Sex, and Life in an Open Marriage, is
er, for one another, we will be obliterat- book: voice — in this case literally — to am- a freelance writer and a regular contribu-
ed — one by one, group by group — by “How you choose to identify and plify the voices of drag performers. The tor to Dallas Voice. Read her Girl On Girls
those who hate. express yourself is something we cele- night she co-hosted the Country Mu- column on the first Friday of every month
I don’t do drag. I don’t get to see drag brate — it’s what makes our workplace sic Awards, she performed her hit “If in Dallas Voice.
6 dallasvoice.com █ 04.14.23
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04.14.23 █ dallasvoice 7
Holding them accountable
ON THE LEGISLATIVE FRONT
After long-time ally Royce a key priority of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and But if SB 12 is signed into law, they
the anti-drag group Protect Texas Kids. could be next.
West votes for anti-drag bills, Of all the ways to protect children in Sen- This year’s biggest hit Broadway hit,
advocates warn LGBTQ voters ate District 23 this is not one of them.” Some Like It Hot is sure to send out a
not to take anything for granted Since the bill West voted for would touring company next year. In this sto- Sen. Royce West
impose $10,000 fines on drag perform- ry — based on the 1959 classic movie of
ers and West has represented Oak Lawn the same name starring Marilyn Monroe,
DAVID TAFFET | Senior Staff Writer since 1993, the senator was voting to Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon — the two
taffet@dallasvoice.com impose a fine on businesses in his own male leads hide from the mob by dress-
district. ing as women.
he Texas Senate re- In Senate Bill 12, drag is referred to as It’s drag. And while the film is general-
cently passed two a “sexually oriented performance” and ly ranked as one of the greatest comedies
anti-drag bills that restricts those performances on public ever made, that doesn’t make the musi-
have now been sent property, on the premises of a commer- cal version legal in Texas.
to the House where cial enterprise or in the presence of a The other bill West voted for before
they must pass be- child. The bill authorizes a civil penal- changing his mind — SB 1601 — would
fore the bills could ty — presumably a fine — and creates a prohibit Drag Queen Story Time. More Dallas County Democratic Party Chair
become law. Sen. criminal offense. Someone who performs specifically, it would prohibit libraries Kristy Noble
Royce West, a Dallas Democrat, original- in drag and is charged under this law that “host certain events” from receiving
ly voted for both bills, but then changed would have a criminal record. state or other public funding.
his vote on one of them. He was the only While supporters of the bill claim its “Public funding” was amended to “a
Democrat to vote for either bill. purpose is to protect the children, the bill political subdivision” to prevent Dallas
Dallas Voice contacted West’s office is worded in such a way that drag per- from funding its own library system if it
for comment regarding his votes, but formances would be prohibited on pub- presented one of those “certain events.”
he had not responded as of deadline. lic property, in a private business OR in Another amendment inserted the
Should he or his office respond later, front of a minor anywhere. phrase “and appeals to the prurient in-
those comments will be posted online at The Rose Room at the Winspear per- terest in sex.” Of course, that was defined
DallasVoice.com. formances that sold out during the pan- by some of the most prurient minds in
West’s votes on the two measures sur- demic took place on public property the Texas Senate in three categories: “ap- Stonewall Democrats of Texas President
prised his LGBTQ constituents who have and thus would have been banned had peals to a minor’s interest in sex, nudity Jeff Strater
always considered him a reliable ally. SB 12 been in effect then. And in its cur- or excretion; is patently offensive to pre-
And the senator heard about it directly rent state, a number of Broadway shows vailing standards in the adult commu-
from some of them. that come through the Winspear and the nity as a whole with respect to what is
During a recent meeting of the Funky Music Hall at Fair Park would also be suitable for minors, and is utterly with-
East Dallas Democrats — known as the banned. out redeeming social value for minors.”
FEDDS — FEDDS member Kendall Tootsie opens at the Winspear Opera Obviously, those who are trying to
Scudder picked up his phone and called House next week, and under SB 12, the prevent libraries from presenting Drag
West as the rest of the group listened in. lead actor could be charged for perform- Queen Story Time have never been to a
Scudder is also vice chair of the Texas ing in drag on public property as well drag queen story time. Appeal to a mi-
Democratic Party. as in front of minors. And when Cassie nor’s interest in excretion? They’re in
“He doesn’t understand the histor- Nova performs in JR.’s or any Cedar princess costumes reading children’s
ical significance of drag to the LGBT Springs bar, she would be engaging in books to an enthralled audience. What Texas Democratic Party Vice Chair
civil rights movement,” Scudder said of criminal activity for performing “on the children’s books are about sex, nudity Kendall Scudder
West. “Drag queens were the first ones to premises of a commercial enterprise.” and excretion? LGBTQ voters to always contact their
throw punches when the police attacked, And since dressing up as a princess and And without social value? One hun- representatives about issues they care
so they’re sacred to us.” reading to children would be illegal, dred children sitting quietly for an hour about — even if your representatives
Scudder, who was raised by lesbian drag queen story hour events could send listening to stories being read is one of have always been allies. Never assume
moms, said West’s vote was “incredibly performers to jail. the best ways to interest children in read- an ally is going to support the communi-
frustrating,” adding that he is disap- Based on the current wording of the ing. And interesting children in reading ty on the next issue.
pointed in the senator’s vote. bill, only the person performing dressed is the most important job of a library. Let them know where you stand, she
Jeff Strater, president, Texas Stonewall as the opposite gender would be in legal Sen. West voted for the bill on first said.
Democrats and a Texas Senate District 23 jeopardy. So the rest of the cast of Tootsie reading, but, after the amendments, he Strater agreed: “It caught us by sur-
Democratic committeeman, this week would be safe. So would be Broadway decided to vote “nay” along with all oth- prise that a Democrat supported this bill.
said he is “disturbed that Sen. West was Dallas, which booked the show. And so er Democrats on third and final reading. Now we have learned that more than
the lone Democrat to follow the right- would be the staff of the Winspear and Kristy Noble, who chairs the Dallas ever we need to contact legislators both
wing Republican’s playbook to attack ATTPAC who presented the performance Democratic Party, expressed frustra- Democrat and Republican on our legisla-
LGBTQ+ Texans. This anti-drag bill was that would be equated to pornography. tion with West’s vote and encouraged tive issues.” █
8 dallasvoice.com █ 04.14.23
Happy anniversary to a legend
BEYOND THE STAGE
Bass Hall VP looks back at its
former Dallas Summer Musicals before to get caught
25 years of impact on switching over to a private events com- up chasing a
Fort Worth pany. rabbit down a
“My job is very demanding and defi- hole,” he said.
RICH LOPEZ | Staff writer nitely not an eight-to-five/40 hours a “The ex-
rich@dallasvoice.com week thing,” Wise said. “[Tony] gets it, citing
and that makes a huge difference. He thing
hether coming
you are
in formal loves Broadway,
wear or in so he’ll go scout shows with
jeans, the me. I love that we can chat about
classic archi- our perspectives after the show.
tecture and Jason Wise He still gets to be part of the industry
luxe interior of Fort Worth President and CEO Dione through me.”
Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth Kennedy said in a press release. “Wheth- With that kind of support at home and
make every visit feel special. From er you’re new to the area or have been a team that mixes well creatively, Wise out
Broadway shows to contemporary con- with us since the very beginning, I invite can perpetuate an optimistic outlook for of
certs, the venue offers an array of perfor- you to join us as we commemorate this his own sake and for Bass. Having open the pandemic
mances on its mainstage, and this year great milestone not just for the Hall, but discussions with colleagues can spark is that it allowed
marks its 25th anniversary of doing so. for Fort Worth.” new ideas even when everyone is on the a lot of us to look
Home to Cowtown’s major companies Helping Bass Hall and PAFW contin- same page. at things with a
— including the Fort Worth Symphony ue to make a big impression for 15 of “That’s the part I love. We all meet ev- fresh perspective.
Orchestra, the Fort Worth Opera, the Cl- those 25 years is Jason Wise, vice pres- ery two weeks and everyone has a seat We took everything
iburn concerts and international piano ident of programming and engagement at that table,” he said. “Some of our best we did in 2019 and threw it out the door.
competition and the Texas Ballet Theater management. He’s the guy who shapes ideas can come from other departments, “We decided to operate on a clean
— the hall celebrates its landmark year the Broadway season at Bass Hall and and that dynamic always helps us get to slate.”
by bringing the arts to downtown Fort books all the concerts happening there our end goals with a buy-in for every- Wise said that allowed him to throw
Worth. other than the resident companies’ one.” the playbooks away and expand his
On May 1, 1998, the Nancy Lee and events. Wise’s position oversees many When he began as the marketing di- own horizons. “We may not know what
Perry R. Bass Performance Hall opened, departments that help to perpetuate rector, Wise said, PAFW viewed itself will happen in a year, but that’s the ex-
built entirely with private funds. The Bass Hall’s reputation as an arts leader as a small nonprofit without a full un- citing part. We keep ourselves open to
2,042-seat hall was designed in clas- in Fort Worth and North Texas. derstanding of its breadth of resources. new ideas and what opportunities exist
sic European opera house form, with “The job goes from the time we book When he compares the programming for us.”
its 80-foot diameter Great Dome atop a show until the show leaves, and any- that Bass does now to its programming The 25th anniversary season launched
the Founders Concert Theater and two thing in between is under my umbrella back then, the successes are far different in last fall, and noted highlights of the
48-foot-tall angels at the building’s duties,” Wise said by phone. “But really, and far bigger. season so far have included A Tribute
Grand Facade which are now among I have 25 other coworkers who are the Now, Wise helps facilitate Bass’ lead- to Peace – North Texas Welcomes Kyiv
Fort Worth’s iconic signature landmarks. stars.” ership in the area arts scene. City Ballet, a collaborative presentation
Performing Arts Fort Worth, the Wise’s team includes the program- “It’s been nice to evolve as a city and with Texas Ballet Theater, and a senso-
nonprofit owner and operator of Bass ming and marketing teams, patron ser- community. We continue to test the wa- ry-friendly performance of Disney’s The
Performance Hall, celebrates 25 years vices (or box office), the VIP presenter ters and not program the exact same Lion King, a first for Bass.
of Bass Hall with public outreach this club, events and rentals and house pro- thing over and over,” he said. “On a per- The season concludes with Sunday’s
month. Last week, the first of two com- duction. sonal level, I’m proud and happy to see open house.
munity events was held with a Resident “It’s crazy to think I started just as the how we continue to grow.” “We couldn’t do what we do with-
Company Showcase giving visitors a director of marketing,” he said, adding As with every arts organization, the out our patrons, and we hope people
sample of what the hometown has to of- that his rise to VP is indicative of the pandemic delivered a hard hit to Bass’ who have never come by — this is their
fer. On Sunday, PAFW will host a Com- Bass/PAFW environment, a place where operations. But it also gave the team a chance. We always want to remind that
munity Open House where guests can team members have the opportunity to new perspective: What would the future all our welcome here, and we hope peo-
get a behind-the-scenes look at the Hall grow and expand. of the Bass look like? Not having a spe- ple new and returning will come cele-
— including on stage. Having a supportive husband who cific answer to that was almost the an- brate and have fun with us.” █
“For 25 years, Bass Performance Hall knows exactly what Wise has to deal swer. Community Open House, 1-5 p.m. at
has been a theater, a classroom and a pil- with doesn’t hurt. He has been married “The challenge was determining what Bass Hall. Free but ticket reservation is re-
lar of our community,” Performing Arts since 2014 to Tony, who worked at the the next thing is, but we didn’t want quired. BassHall.com/25.
04.14.23 █ dallasvoice 9
Dallas planning
to regulate
short-term rentals
CITY AGENDA
Party houses are rare and the
STR market generates revenue
and millions in business
DAVID TAFFET | Senior Staff Writer
taffet@dallasvoice.com
small fashion shoot and
little cooking shows
have been filmed at
a short-term rental
house in Oak Lawn
owned by Jamie
Schield, a for-
mer executive Lisa Sievers
director of Resource Center. He said
some of his regular customers are buy- Sievers said she has as many renters
ers who’ve come to Dallas to attend a who live in the neighborhood as she
market and want a safe place to park a does renters who come from out-of-
small U-Haul. town, so she knows she’s doing some-
Prospective UT Southwestern medi- thing right.
cal students often rent Schield’s house She’s had neighbors stay who were
to get a taste of what life’s like in the doing an extensive kitchen remodel at
neighborhood. And during opera sea- their own home. Others have rented
son, singers and those auditioning for from her for out-of-town guests they
the Dallas Opera stay at his quaint rent- had no room for. And some of her out-
al. of-town guests have been people mov-
“You don’t want an opera singer stay- ing to Dallas and who wanted to try out
ing in the hotel room next to yours, do the neighborhood before buying.
you?” Schield asked. During the height of the pandem-
Probably not, but the city of Dallas is ic, people rented private houses to get
debating what to do about AirBnBs and away and have limited interaction with
other short-term rental — STR — plat- others rather than staying at a hotel.
forms. Some want them banned within Unlike the “party house on a residen-
the city. Councilman Chad West favors tial street” reputation AirBnB has gotten
regulating them in some way rather thanks to a few bad actors, Schield said
than banning them. he’s always sweeping the street and
Lisa Sievers, a Dallas Short-term cleaning the yard at his property. And
Rental Association board member and one clean yard encourages others to get
STR property owner, also favors regula- out and clean their yards.
tions. She rents a pool cabana and a ga- Schield said his biggest problem is
rage apartment on the property where chasing down city garbage collectors,
she lives. because his is the only private house on
Sievers said people rent from her his block.
because they’re looking for something “We all want to get rid of the bad ac-
quiet. And her renters don’t cause ex- tors,” Sievers agreed.
tra traffic, because she has plenty of But if some of the rules proposed by
off-street parking on her large property the city are adopted, 95 percent of the
near White Rock Lake. short-term rentals will be shut down in
10 dallasvoice.com █ 04.14.23the city. Or will they? ated with their address. And short-term
Fort Worth tried to enact a short- rentals have no negative effect on prop-
term rental ban, Schield said. But go to erty values. Between 2016 and 2020, the
the AirBnB website, and you’ll have no average STR appreciated in value by 40
problem renting a room or a house in percent.
that city. One argument against short-term
Enforcement of a ban is complicated rentals is the effect on housing stock
and expensive, Sievers said. and homelessness. But less than half of 1
Speaking about who belongs to her percent of housing units is tied up in the
organization, Sievers said, it’s very di- short-term rental market in Dallas.
verse, including older women and teach- The proposed Dallas ordinance to reg-
ulate short-term rentals would require
owners/hosts to register with the city
annually and pay a $248 registration fee,
have a HOT (hotel occupancy tax) regis-
tration number, acknowledge occupancy
limits, parking requirements and noise
limitations and agree to a revocation
process. If not operated by the property
owner, the operator would have to pro-
vide permission to host from the owner.
The new law would require an inspec-
tion, and if violations exist, the operator
would be required to pay a $144 re-in-
spection fee.
Here, Sievers cautioned, is where the
city may be jumping into something it
Jamie Schield can’t possibly monitor: Inspecting each
of the city’s more than 2,500 short-term
ers. The highest concentration of short- rentals will require between 14 and 28
term rental units in Dallas is in Council new code officers plus staff. With train-
District 14 followed by District 2 — in ing and without disrupting the short-
other words in and around Oak Lawn. term rental market, she wasn’t sure how
But STRs can be found throughout the city could succeed.
South Dallas to far North Dallas. Other requirements in the new ordi-
Schield said his property has turned nance would require minimum two-
him into an employer. He hired a student night stays and occupancy limits of three
to do the yard work and help maintain people per bedroom and would limit the
and clean the house. That person now number of vehicles to the number of off-
works for several other short-term rental street spaces available. Noise restrictions
property owners and is turning his job and registration numbers would have to
into his own business. be included in the listing ad. A contact
In addition, Schield said he employs person would have to be identified who
an accountant and an attorney in the could be called seven days a week, 24
community, supporting other profes- hours a day and be available to get to the
sionals’ practices. property within an hour.
And both Schield and Sievers said Three citations would get an owner’s
they collect and pay local hotel occupan- registration revoked.
cy taxes. No two short-term rentals within 2,000
According to a report by the company of each other would be approved. That’s
Tourism Economics, 19.6 million Texas the requirement Schield and Sievers
visitors stayed in short-term rentals in objected to most. No property within
2022. STRs accounted for $14.3 billion in almost half a mile would cut the num-
Texas in 2022 and supported 83,552 jobs. ber of short-term rentals by quite a bit,
State and local governments collected especially in the most densely populated
$1.2 billion in taxes. areas of the city.
In Dallas, an estimated 2,564 owners But all this talk of regulations may be-
rent property. That generates $2.6 mil- come moot: While legislators talk about
lion in taxes and $340 million in local local control, the trend has been to strip
spending. cities of control. A bill pending in the
More than 90 percent of short-term Legislature would prevent cities from
rentals have no 911 or 311 calls associ- regulating short-term rentals. █
04.14.23 █ dallasvoice 11Timeless punk diva
SOUNDS ON VINYL
An interview with Debora Iyall Unquestionably, it was lead singer
Debora Iyall’s distinctive vocals, which
as Romeo Void’s 1980 live alternated between impassioned and in-
recording is finally released different (remember later singles “Never
Say Never” and “A Girl in Trouble”?),
GREGG SHAPIRO | Q Music that set Romeo Void apart from other
GreggShapiro@aol.com bands of the era. Debora was gracious
enough to make time to answer a few
R
ecorded in 1980, Romeo Void’s questions before the release of the new
Live From Mabuhay Gardens, No- album.
vember 14, 1980 (Liberation Hall)
is finally seeing the light of day in 2023 Gregg Shapiro: Debora, I’d like to begin
— on April 22, to be precise — as a Re- by asking you to confirm the story be-
cord Store Day release. The previously hind the band’s name Romeo Void. Is it
unreleased 11-track live set, on opaque true that it’s related to the shortage of
eligible straight men in San Francisco
blue galaxy vinyl, features songs such
in the late 1970s/early 1980s? Debora
as “Nothing For Me,” “Confrontation,”
Iyall: Yes. Actually, it was kind of inspired
“White Sweater” and “Talk Dirty To by the cover of a local magazine — I think
Me,” that would later make their way it was just called “San Francisco Maga-
to the San Francisco-based band’s ex- zine,” and the headline was “Why Straight
ceptional 415 Records debut It’s A Con- Women Can’t Get Laid in San Francisco.”
dition.
Debora Lyall (Photo courtesy Tony Smith) DIVA, Page 14
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12 dallasvoice.com █ 04.14.2304.14.23 █ dallasvoice 13
DIVA, From Page 12
A couple of band members and I were sitting keeping? Terry Hammer was the sound
around our kitchen table, and I had made person at the Mabuhay Gardens, which
lists of words to try to put together so we is where almost all the bands in San
can come up with the name of the band. Francisco were playing that were playing
We didn’t want anything that had a “the” around that time. … Everybody played
in it. I wanted something kind of poetic. this one little club. He recorded tons
Did you have an awareness that Romeo of bands. At some point, it might have
Void was getting airplay outside of San been in the ’90s, Terry approached and
Francisco? Not until we went on tour. said, “I’ve got these great recordings
But we went on tour pretty quickly once of Romeo Void, would you like to hear
we put out a record. We were on 415 Re- them? I’ll dub you some copies.” So, I
cords, an independent label. … We went had heard them a long time ago. … It’s
to tons of college radio stations. That was this formative picture of Romeo Void
where you met the greatest folks. Com- finding our sound a little bit. What strikes
mercial radio was harder. me when I hear it is how lucky was I to
have these musicians indulge me as a
I remember hoping for a Debora Iyall
singer and writer, let me create with them
sighting when Romeo Void was in Bos-
and make these new things happen from
ton recording the Never Say Never EP
nothing, from a jam. Because I had no
at Ric Ocasek’s Syncro Sound studio.
musical training.
What was that experience like for you?
It was a great town to be recording in, What does it mean to you to have these
because when you weren’t needed, there eleven songs available to Romeo Void
were things to do right in the neighbor- fans? I think it’s really cool that Terry
hood. That was awesome. Plus the people Hammer kept the tapes all these years.
around the studio were really friendly. Romeo Void (Photo courtesy Stefano Paolillo) That he was able to find an outlet like
Liberation Hall. A lot of good things
Sometimes some of The Cars would come Cars a couple of different times. that pre-dates the release of It’s A had to happen that weren’t on us. I just
by. They were like, “Oh, we’re going next The new, forthcoming Record Store Condition. Did you know the recording agreed to it when they put it together and
door for sushi, if anybody wants to join Day LP Live From Mabuhay Gardens, existed, was it in your possession, or I’m lucky for that, too.
us.” I think I ate sushi with a couple of The November 14, 1980 is a live recording did someone else have it for safe-
I’ve had a couple other lifetimes since
Romeo Void, doing other things. It’s been
a lot of long years. To have our fans, who
really understood Romeo Void, how it
worked in their lives, to be behind that.
Terry was obviously one of those people
and Liberation Hall has to be those peo-
ple, they put so much effort into making
this happen.
After Romeo Void, you’ve worked for
many years as a teacher. Have you
encountered students who are familiar
with your work in Romeo Void, and if
so, how did they react to you being
their instructor? I would have to say not
too much. But parents of students will tell
them, “You need to ask her if this is her!”
Or they’ll come to back-to-school night
to tell me, “I listened to all your records.”
Or even some grandparents, because
some of the students’ grandparents are
the ones that listened to my music.
Were you and the other members of
Romeo Void aware of an LGBTQ
following for the band, and if so, what
did that fanbase mean to you? Oh,
always! And they were some of our best
friends. Our sound man Louie, who did
the first recordings of us in the studio,
was my roommate. Different people that
we would connect with when we went to
New York, who were gay, that we knew
back in San Francisco. When we went
to New York, they came to our shows.
You just embrace and love who you’re
around.
14 dallasvoice.com █ 04.14.23EARLY VOTING ELECTION DAY
APRIL 24-MAY 2 MAY 5th
Resident of District 14 for 30 years
Committed Public Service for 14 years
Dallas Plan Commission for 8 years representing District 14
Represented District 14 on the Landmark Commission preserving Dallas’s Historic Neighborhoods
Greater Dallas Planning Council for 14 years
Volunteer of the Year from Dallas Housing Crisis Center
Oak Lawn Committee Outstanding Volunteer Award winner
Endorsed by For more information, If you would like more information on
please visit where and when to vote, go to
ridleyfordallas.com www.dallascountyvotes.org
Pol. Adv. Pd. by Paul Ridley Campaign. Norma Minnis, Treasurer
04.14.23 █ dallasvoice 15Honoring Rosa Lopez
RECOGNITION WELL DESERVED
City adds sign toppers in Los radio station KNON 89.3 FM for many
Alto neighborhood to recognize years. Lopez was a frequent guest on
the late Latina lesbian activist radio show, discussing issues and con-
cerns facing Latina lesbians. With the
Lesbianas Latinas de Dallas, she often
JESÚS CHAÍREZ worked together with the producer of
Courtesy of News Is Out | newsisout.com the radio show and owner of Arte Facto,
a gay Latino alternative art space in Old
ALLAS, TEXAS East Dallas, to have cultural events of
— Dallas’ gay poetry readings and Latina lesbian folk
Deputy Mayor singers, like prominent Puerto Rican
Pro Tem Omar folk singer Lourdes Perez.
Narvaez, who The Lesbianas Latinas disbanded af-
represents Dis- ter a couple of years, but Lopez contin-
trict 6 on the city ued volunteering her time in communi-
council, unveiled ty endeavors.
ceremonial street sign toppers Friday, In her final years, Lopez became a
May 31, honoring Rosa Lopez, the les- member of a new LGBTQ Latino group
bian Latina community activist who lost called LULAC 4871 — The Dallas Rain-
her battle with Hodgkin’s lymphoma on bow Council. The group that helped
Feb. 21, 2017. Rosa Lopez (Dallas Voice file photo), above. promote LULAC’s overall national and
Narvaez initiated the process of hon- Street sign topper honoring Rosa Lopez statewide missions but with emphasis
oring Lopez with the street sign toppers (Photo courtesy of Juan Contreras via on the LGBTQ Latino community.
Jesus Chairez), right.
in her West Dallas neighborhood of Los Lopez also participated frequently in
Altos, then the community stepped up open an ice cream shop called Suenos LGBTQ Latino(a) history seminars, be-
to help, said Mary Velez, board presi- Sabrosos (Sweet Dreams) in the Bishop cause she believed strongly in preserv-
dent, of Vecinos Unidos, a non-profit Arts District neighborhood where she ing LGBTQ Latino(a) history. LULAC
Lopez established to bring affordable lived. After spending her day at Veci- 4871 — The Dallas Rainbow Council
housing to Dallas’s lower income West nos Unidos, Lopez would head to her created a scholarship in Lopez’s honor
Dallas neighborhoods. It was, Velez said, ice cream shop where she spent the eve- to help students further their education.
really a big effort by the entire communi- nings and weekends doing what she al- After she passed, her hometown com-
ty to get the sign toppers approved, with ways dreamed of as a kid — owning her munity in Moline, Ill., also endowed a
many neighbors signing petitions, writ- own ice cream shop. scholarship in her honor.
ing letters and speaking at city council People visited Sueños Sabrosas to According to Narvaez, this is the first
meetings. not only enjoy some ice cream but stay Contreras said, to witness the unveil- time the city of Dallas has honored a fe-
Narvaez called Lopez a pillar of the awhile to talk about politics. And if a ing of the street sign topper honoring male, Latina and LGBTQ woman with
Los Altos neighborhood in West Dallas visitor came in feeling down, Lopez was Lopez, a trailblazing woman who shat- honorary street sign toppers.
who brought much needed affordable there to offer comfort and words of ad- tered many glass ceilings. Her presence West Dallas, the Dallas LGBTQ
housing to a community when no one vice. is greatly missed, he added, but her community and the city overall lost
else was even considering such an ef- Juan C. Conteras, a young gay Latino memory lives on in the hearts of those a one-of-a-kind leader with Rosa Lo-
fort. The West Dallas that Lopez fought activist and a co-founding member of she touched. pez’s death. But her memory lives on
for was a low-income Mexican, Mexi- Texas Latino Pride, attended the March Lopez also established Dallas’ first for all to see and cherish every day
can-American and Black neighborhood 31 ceremony. In a social media post af- organization for Latina lesbians: Lesbi- through the street signs toppers in
that included a lead smelter plant and terwards he recalled how, as a young anas Latinas de Dallas. On Nov. 9, 1996, West Dallas. █
two concrete batch plants. The lead teenager, he would frequently visit Lo- Lopez and the rest of Lesbianas Latinas Jesús Chaírez is an activist, freelance
smelter plant allegedly poisoned many pez at her ice cream parlor where they de Dallas became Dallas’ first LGBTQ writer and regular Dallas Voice contributor
children with excessive levels of lead would engage in lively conversations Latino group to hold a major commu- based in México City. News is Out is a pio-
over the years. But now it and the con- and how Lopez helped him through nity dance at a prominent Dallas hotel neering national collaborative of the leading
crete plants are gone thanks to the com- his coming out process. Contreras also when they hosted “La Noche de Gala — local queer news publishers. The collabo-
munity activists who banded together recalled how he would exchange tacos Formal Dance” at the Harvey Hotel. rative includes six of the leading local and
to demand they be closed. from his family’s restaurant, located Lesbianas Latinas de Dallas had an queer-owned LGBTQ+ publishers across
While Lopez dedicated herself to the around the corner from the ice cream open door to Dallas’s gay bilingual the nation. Join the News Is Out newslet-
affordable housing cause that took up shop, for some delicious ice cream. Latino radio show, Sin Fronteras, that ter here, https://newsisout.com/sign-up-for-
much of her time she also found time to It was an extraordinary privilege, aired Sunday evenings on community our-newsletter/?utm_source=DV.
18 dallasvoice.com █ 04.14.2304.14.23 █ dallasvoice 19
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‘Blue Hunger’ offers an brother, her only sibling died.
She was brushing her teeth when it
excitingly dangerous romance happened. Now, weeks later, she was
abroad while ‘Gray Love’ in his favorite city, a teacher of Italian
explores the pitfalls and languages in a Chinese culture, alone,
friendless.
possibilities of dating after 60 Then she met Xu.
It happened at the nightclub called
TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER | Bookworm Sez Poxx, and she later wondered, with a
BookwormSez@Yahoo.com thrill, if Xu had been stalking her. Xu
claimed that she was a student in the
Blue Hunger by Viola Di Grado, Italian class, but though she was usual-
translated by Jamie Richards. ly good with faces, she didn’t remem-
c.2023, Bloomsbury; $27; 216 pages. ber the slender, “glorious” woman with
You can’t stop milk-white skin and luminous eyes.
thinking about She did remember the first place she
it. It’s been roll- and Xu had sex. It was a hotel, but Xu
ing around in liked it outside, too — in public, on
your mind since sidewalks, in abandoned buildings
it happened, and in crowded nightclubs. They took
and you can’t yellow pills together, slept together in
stop. You replay Xu’s squalid apartment; she told Xu she
it over and over loved her but never got a reply except
— how it start- that Xu starting biting.
ed, how it pro- Xu had used her teeth all along, but
gressed, why it ended. You wonder if she started biting harder.
it’ll happen again. Soon, she was bleeding, bruising
And in the new novel Blue Hunger by from Xu’s bites, and seeing people in
Viola Di Grado, you wonder if you truly the shadows. And she began to under-
want it to. stand that Ruben wouldn’t have liked
Shanghai was not her first choice to Xu at all.
live. Sometimes, she wasn’t really even You know what you want. You’re
sure why she came there, except that it someone with determination. And you
was Ruben’s dream. may want this book, but there are a few
For months and months, he spoke of things you’ll need to know first.
Shanghai, showed her maps, talked of a Reading Blue Hunger is like watching
life as a chef living in a high-rise apart- a Stanley Kubrick movie. It’s surreal,
ment, taught her a little bit of the lan- kind of gauzy and loaded with mean-
guage. ings that are somewhat fuzzy until
She never fully understood why Ru- you’ve read a paragraph several times.
ben loved China, and she never thought And even then, you’re not quite sure
to ask before her other half, her twin
COLORS, Page 22
20 dallasvoice.com █ 04.14.23RE-ELECT
An Experienced
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04.14.23 █ dallasvoice 21COLORS, From Page 20
about it. ing for the restau- ing someone around to do it with would a while, you’re someone’s “sweetie.”
Author Viola Di Grado writes of sharp, rant, and, once be nice. You have company, but you are According to a study quoted in Gray
unfinished mourning with a grief-dis- you found it, you “without intimacy.” Or you don’t want Love, about 25 percent of American
tracting obsession layered thickly on top, learned that you a full-time someone, but it’s scary to adults live alone. If you’re one of them
of control and submission. And, while needed reserva- think about “falling off a ladder alone.” and open to a relationship, you need
the chapters are each brief, they feel too tions. Practically So you go online because, well, peo- this book.
long but not long enough. before the eve- ple don’t meet like they used to. That’s Just know that this is not a how-to
There are so many questions left dan- ning started, you when you learn that dating sites are manual. Editors Nan Bauer-Maglin and
gling within the plot of this story, so sensed that your generally rife with people who lie about Daniel E. Hood don’t offer advice in
many small bits unsaid, but also too food could be as their ages, who seem clingy or who their introduction, and most of their sto-
much information of the mundane sort. cold as your date. want things you can’t give, “the Uncer- rytellers didn’t Ann-Landers their way
You’ll feel somewhat voyeuristic with As in Gray Love, edited by Nan Bau- tain, the Angry... the Unattractive.” And into this book.
this book in your hands, until you no- er-Maglin and Daniel E. Hood, looking — let’s be honest — the jerks. Instead, you’ll read tales of dating
tice that the sex scenes here are humidly for love wasn’t like this when you were Unlike real life circa 1973 or 1993, and mating gone happily right and
uber-fiery but not very detailed. younger. You thought you’d be happy there’s nobody to vouch for singles on- very, very wrong, told in ways that will
Overall, then, Blue Hunger is different alone. line. make you laugh, sigh and know that
but compelling, short enough to read After the divorce, the funeral, the last You wonder, “What would I wear?” you’re not alone in your late-life search
twice, quickly. It’s lush, dreamlike, and break-up, you didn’t think a little you- You learn about scams the hard way, for love.
once started, you won’t be able to stop time was a bad idea. And it wasn’t. But while tales of love at way-up-there-ages The mixture here is diverse and wide:
thinking about it. love — someone to go to the movies are inspirational. Experimenting with If one tale makes you want to swear off
with or dine with or snuggle with — same sex, different sex, different race dating forever, the next one offers Hap-
Gray Love: Stories About Dating and seems more and more appealing now. isn’t off the table, but nobody’s asked — pily Ever After.
New Relationships After 60, edited Today, though, as the 42 essays in this or you did, and it was wonderful and Be aware that a few of the tales inside
by Nan Bauer-Maglin and Daniel E. book confirm and as you’ve learned, why didn’t you do that before? Gray Love flirt with the explicit, and oth-
Hood. c.2023, Rutgers University that’s easier said than done. Love is love. ers might ruffle a feather or two. Still,
Press; $24.95; 303 pages. You want a partner, someone your You date the wrong people; you date it could be great to share it with a mil-
It was supposed to be a nice night out. age, but you fear becoming a caretaker. the right people, you’re exhausted and lennial or older GenZ-er. If you see this
But you drove around and around look- You like doing your own thing, but hav- disappointed. And sometimes, even for book on a bookshelf, take it out. █
22 dallasvoice.com █ 04.14.2304.14.23 █ dallasvoice 23
Progress?
ON THE TRANS FRONT
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre
Trans athletes saw 2 victories changes any law at this time, but both
last week, but will it last? represent powerful pushbacks against
a wave of hostile legislation in many
LISA KEEN | Keen News Service states.
lisakeen@mac.com The Supreme Court vote announced
on April 6 temporarily stops a recent-
ransgender athletes ly-passed ban on competition by trans
saw two significant athletes in West Virginia schools. The
victories last week: law is a variation on numerous similar
one from the con- laws being enacted around the coun-
servative U.S. Su- try. The West Virginia law requires that
preme Court and public secondary schools and universi-
the other from the ties bar any student identified as male at
LGBTQ-friendly birth from participating in a sport desig-
White House of President Joe Biden. nated for female students.
The events triggered a flood of national The Supreme Court voted 7-2 in West
media attention and found lesbian ten- Virginia v. BPJ to reject the state’s re-
nis legend Martina Navratilova on the quest that the Supreme Court vacate a
side of those wishing to bar transgender federal appeals court injunction in Feb-
females from participating in female ruary that prevented the anti-transgen-
sporting events. der law from taking effect. The injunc-
Neither of the two developments tion is set to remain in place until the
24 dallasvoice.com █ 04.14.23appeals court rules on the constitution- Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel
ality of the law. Alito, the Supreme Court’s most consis-
tently anti-LGBTQ members, submitted
a dissent to the majority’s denial of West
Virginia’s request. They said the court is
“likely” to take up the issue “in the near
future.” Specifically, they said, the issue
will be whether Title IX of the Educa-
tion Amendments of 1972 or the 14th
Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause
prohibit a state law “restricting partici-
pation in women’s or girls’ sports based
on genes or physiological or anatomical
characteristics.”
The dissent also hinted that the ma-
jority’s vote may have been based on a
procedural matter: that West Virginia
took 18 months before seeking to vacate
the lower court injunctions.
The West Virginia law was due to go
into effect in July 2021, but the ACLU
and Lambda Legal filed litigation, BPJ v.
West Virginia, to challenge the constitu-
tionality of the law and prevent it from
taking effect. (Subsequent to filing the
lawsuit, the plaintiff in the challenge
has been identified as now 12-year-old
Becky Pepper-Jackson.)
Biden crafts a
moderate proposal
The Biden administration’s proposed
rule change, from the U.S. Department
of Education, cannot take effect until
The Alliance Defending Freedom after a 30-day period during which the
joined the state of West Virginia in its public can comment on the proposal
request to vacate the Fourth Circuit U.S. and the Biden administration can take
Court of Appeal’s injunction. Twen- those comments into consideration.
ty-one states joined a brief supporting The 115-page proposed rule change
West Virginia’s request, including Flor- would amend one section of Title IX
ida, Georgia, Texas and Virginia. And a of the Education Amendments act, the
group of 67 female athletes, coaches, and federal law which prohibits discrimina-
parents, including lesbian tennis legend tion “on the basis of sex” in schools that
Martina Navratilova, submitted a brief receive federal funding. The section
in support of the West Virginia law. (106.41b) says schools can have separate
“At every level, we are aware that less teams for males and females for con-
skilled, less determined males beat high- tact sports. The Biden administration
er level female athletes because of innate proposal seeks to add that, if a school
physical difference in the sexes,” said refuses to allow a transgender student
the group’s brief. “…When women and play on a team that matches their gen-
girls are asked to compete against male der identity, the refusal must be based
athletes, they are asked to ignore biolog- on a need to “minimize harms” and “be
ical reality, the reality that defines female substantially related to the achievement
physical bodies.” of an important educational objective.”
Navratilova has long been public “This clarification regarding Title IX’s
about her opposition to trans women
competing in women’s sports. PROGRESS?, Next Page
04.14.23 █ dallasvoice 25You can also read
