NEA KEPT OUT OF SCHOOL BOARD MEETING, WILL HOLD PRESS CONFERENCE: In the ongoing fight to protect lesbian and gay youth in the Wayne-Westland (Michigan) Community School District, the latest maneuverings by anti-gay school board members will block a representative of the National Education Association's (NEA) Gay and Lesbian Caucus from speaking. Earlier this year, the board voted to remove the words "sexual orientation" from the district's non-discrimination policies. The NEA representative asked to be placed on the October 15 agenda in advance of the board meeting, but the school board filled the agenda, effectively squeezing the NEA out and making it impossible to address them and present a letter from NEA President Bob Chase expressing concern about the policy change. The NEA will hold a press conference at the meeting at 7:55 p.m. at the Timothy Dyer Building of the Wayne-Westland Community Schools District at 36745 Marquette Road in Westland. For more information contact Trish Brown (former School Board president) at (313) 397-1856.

AIRLINE LEGAL ATTACK ON SAN FRANCISCO DOMESTIC PARTNERS UNDERWAY: On October 10 in a U.S. District Court in Oakland, California, the City of San Francisco began to defend its law requiring companies doing business with the City to provide the same benefits to domestic partners as they do to spouses of employees. The lawsuit, brought by Air Transport Association, the trade organization for the nation's major airlines, and the Airline Industrial Relations Conference, an industry lobby group, argues that only the federal government and not local bodies can impose such mandates on airlines. The City states that local governments have the authority to dictate how taxpayers' money is spent and the terms for doing business on city property. Joining San Francisco in the defense are the American Civil Liberties Union, the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund (LLDEF) and the National Center for Lesbian Rights. Officials in other cities considering similar equal rights laws, including Seattle, New York and San Diego, are closely following what City Attorney Louise Renne calls "a critical civil rights case." The ATA filed the suit after the Board of Supervisors granted United Airlines an extension on compliance so they could lease new space at the airport. United Airlines was to review the law, which they did, and then refused to comply. For more information contact Supervisor Tom Ammiano at (415) 554-5144.

TOWN MEETINGS AROUND COUNTRY ADDRESS ANTI-GAY CRIMES: In preparation for President Clinton's national hate crimes summit in Washington, D.C. on November 10, the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) recently announced a number of town meetings to address anti-gay violence in towns and cities beginning October 13 in Alameda, California and ending November 5 in Houston. At each meeting, NGLTF will provide petitions for participants to record their own experiences of hate violence. The petitions will be delivered to President Clinton by NGLTF Executive Director Kerry Lobel. For more information contact Mark F. Johnson (NGLTF Media Director) at (202) 332-6483, ext. 3314 or pgr. (800) 757-6476.

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is the only national lesbian & gay multimedia watchdog organization. GLAAD promotes fair, accurate, and inclusive representation as a means of challenging discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity. To subscribe contact Don Romesburg at (415) 861-2244 or at romesburg@glaad.org.