23 Year Old Transgender Woman Killed At Washington D.C. Bus Stop

Deoni Jones, a 23 year old transgender woman was fatally stabbed on Thursday night at a bus stop at the 4900 block of East Capitol Street, N.E. in Washington, D.C.

Police issued a statement Friday saying that a Metro transit police officer was flagged down at about 8:15 p.m. Thursday to report an assault at the bus stop. “Upon arrival, the officer located a transgender female who was unconscious and unresponsive suffering from a stab wound,” the statement says. “Units from the Sixth District and D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services personnel responded to the scene. The victim was transported to a local hospital and was admitted in critical condition.  On Friday, Feb. 3, 2012, at 2:35 a.m., the victim was pronounced dead.”

 

Asked whether evidence exists to indicate the killing was a hate crime, Asked whether evidence exists to indicate the killing was a hate crime, Homicide Branch Lt. Robert Adler stated  “At this time we are still investigating if it is or is not a hate crime. And as the investigation proceeds we should probably get a better idea of whether that was a factor in the assault.”

HIV/AIDS Funds diverted to a strip Club? Scandal?

D.C. Attorney General Irvin Nathan has accused Miracle Hands, an HIV/AIDS service provider in Washington, DC that is owned by Cornell Jones, of spending nearly $300,000 in federal tax dollars to open a strip club.

According to the Washington Examiner, Cornell Jones “is a self-described former D.C. drug kingpin with convictions for narcotics distribution on his record.”
The lawsuit claims that the agency requested the funds to renovate a warehouse for use as a resident job training center for HIV-Positive individuals.

Funding for the renovation of the Queens Chapel Road warehouse was released in 2005, continued in 2006 and in April of 2007 Miracle Hands received an additional $139,000 to complete the renovations. The warehouse at 2127 Queens Chapel Road NE, opened as the Stadium Club in early 2010.

Washington DC Gay Men's Chorus Re-Imagines Nutcracker

Six years ago, Craig Cipollini was the Nutcracker prince in a Gay Men's Chorus of Washington production. Now, he's the king. That is to say, he's calling the shots as director of the revived and re-imagined Men In Tights: A Pink Nutcracker
 
''It's a very different production from the last one. It's really fresh, really fun,'' says Cipollini, who also choreographed the revival, to be staged next weekend at Lisner Auditorium. The first half of the show features over 200 singers plus an orchestra performing holiday choral music. The second half focuses on the gay Nutcracker, with 24 cast members and the chorus.

This time around, not only does the lead female role of Clara become Clarence, the tale also becomes ''a gay love story'' between Clarence and the prince. ''The brother Fritz is jealous because he wants the prince for himself," says Cipollini. "That's where the fight ensues from.'

Cipollini has carried over the original production's Sugar Plum Fairy, comically played by a drag queen. ''His looks are along the lines of the Ugly Stepsisters in Cinderella: very garish and over-the-top, larger-than-life,'' Cipollini says. ''Not the prettiest girl you've ever seen.''

''The two leads are really, really phenomenal dancers. They're just going to blow people away,'' says Cipollini, who started dancing when he was a teenager, growing up in the Baltimore area. He recently retired from performing with the DC Cowboys.

After some time as a ''starving actor'' and stage performer -- ''I was usually dancer boy No. 3'' -- he turned to choreography, working with a few theaters in Baltimore until he moved to D.C. seven years ago. And now, in addition to volunteer choreographer by night, he's the chorus's business manager by day.

Cipollini has never actually sung with the chorus. He doesn't plan to, either.
''I'm enjoying the behind-tne-scenes creative process much more than [I did] performing,'' he says.'
A Pink Nutcracker is Friday, Dec. 17, and Saturday, Dec. 18, at 8 p.m. Also Saturday, Dec. 18, and Sunday, Dec. 19, at 3 p.m. Lisner Auditorium, 730 21st St. NW. Tickets are $20 to $50. Call 202-994-6800 or visit gmwc.org.