Giro d'Italia

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AMSTERDAM – To the winner goes the cup, the champagne and a kiss from a couple of pretty girls, right?
Or maybe from a couple of guys.
A left-wing party in Amsterdam is proposing that gay men replace the miniskirted women who traditionally kiss the winner of the first leg of the Giro d’Italia, one of Europe’s premier bicycle races, which begins May 8.
“It should be possible for gay men to celebrate with the winner,” said Fjodor Molenaar, an alderman from the Green Left party, which is part of the city’s governing coalition. One rider in 10 is gay, he said.
The idea is winning support in this notably tolerant city, which annually hosts one of the world’s most elaborate gay pride parades.
But Albert van der Meulen, whose television station is arranging the ceremony, said he’d rather have women on the podium.
“I don’t even think the race participants want to be kissed by men,” van der Meulen said.
The station has arranged a beauty contest March 5 to select two people to present the flowers to the winner of the Amsterdam leg. Most entrants are young women, but van der Meulen confirmed three are gay men.
The municipality of Amsterdam says it will support whoever wins.
“It’s an appealing proposal that fits well with the Amsterdam’s tradition of supporting gay emancipation,” said city spokesman Bas Bruijn.
Philip Tijsma of COC, a Gay and Lesbian activist group, also embraced the proposal.
“There are Moroccan lesbians in veils. There are gay teachers in Christian schools. There are soccer players who are bisexual,” Tijsma said. “So why can the glamour girls not be replaced by guys?”
from The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – A California appellate court on Thursday reversed a $6.2 million verdict against the city of Los Angeles in a discrimination lawsuit filed by a black lesbian firefighter.
The 2nd District Court of Appeal issued its decision in the case brought by Brenda Lee of Mission Hills, who sued the city alleging the fire department discriminated against her based on her race, gender and sexual orientation and refused to transfer her after she complained of harassment.
Lee claimed her superiors yelled and made derogatory comments about her and put her through grueling drills without proper safety precautions. She also claimed someone put urine in her mouthwash.
The 2007 jury payout was the largest in a string of settlements in cases that alleged discrimination and retaliation against women and minorities within the Los Angeles Fire Department. The cases have cost taxpayers more than $15 million since 2005.
An investigation by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission concluded that the city fire department engaged in a pattern of discrimination, harassment and retaliation against black and female firefighters. There was sufficient evidence to show the department violated federal civil rights laws in Lee’s case, the commission said in an October 2007 letter to the department.
The appeals court found that Lee failed to pursue all administrative remedies following her termination in 2005. Lee claimed she was placed on unpaid leave in May 2005 “under the pretext that she was psychologically unfit to be a firefighter.”
The city also argued in its appeal that some evidence didn’t support the conclusion that Lee’s termination was discriminatory, and some evidence supporting the city’s case was excluded.
Allegations of racial and sexual discrimination at the 3,900-member department contributed to the early retirement of Fire Chief William Bamattre, who was blamed for failing to root out hazing and harassment during a decade on the job.
from The Associated Press