Charities are exempt from income and property taxes — and crucially, their donors are exempt from paying income tax on donations.

“Most nonprofits believe being charitable enhances their ability to raise money from the public,” explains Doug Kerr, a member of the executive committee for the Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Trans Giving Network. “Some sources of funding like foundations can only make grants to charities — organizations like community foundations and the United Way.”

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The chairs work by simulating music through vibrations and movement, explains Carmen Branje, a staff researcher at Ryerson’s Centre for Learning Technologies. “The big[est] chair has eight independent speaker channels, and also something we call the butt-kicker — an ultra low-frequency transducer that transmits sounds lower than you can hear — mounted to the base of the chair so you feel those vibrations all over.”

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Representatives from the city are out in force, with awards presented by City Councillor and TTC Chair Adam Giambrone, Councillor Gord Perks and City Councillor and Cycling Committee Chair Adrian Heaps. The awards, Perks reminds us, also bear the signature of Mayor David Miller, whose name elicits a few derisory noises from the crowd. Later though, Heaps reminds us that without the Mayor’s $70 million investment in cycling, “the Bike Plan would not exist,” keeping with the positive tone of the evening.

In between awards, we are treated to a musical number by Clay and Paper Theatre (“Two Wheels Are Better than Four”), followed by a delightfully silly, and surprisingly provocative, “Winter Layering Reverse Strip Tease” (who knew it was possible to look alluring zipping up a dayglo orange jacket?).

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"We’re committed to working with our own hands to effect change and raise awareness about pressing social issues in our own communities," says Justin Lee, one of UYI’s members. In addition to organizing larger projects, UYI holds regular "mousetrap meetings" — named after an icebreaking activity at one of their early meetings — at which members volunteer all across the GTA.

One Million Red Ribbons is the brainchild of 18-year-old Ryan Tremblay, UYI’s founder, who has been working on HIV/AIDS issues since he was in high school. "I did a survey at my school and I found out only two percent of students knew the difference between HIV and AIDS," says Tremblay. "That really shocked me and the more I looked into it the more I realized how many people believe incorrect information. That was a call to action."

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"No one’s really looked at Canada, which is surprising given that Canada has a longer history of gay rights than the US," says the paper’s author Christopher Carpenter, of the Paul Merage School of Business, University of California Irvine.

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This month will  see the return of Halloweek, a weeklong program of Halloween-themed events taking place in the gaybourhood in honour of the homo high holiday. But with funding for the festivities down from last year creative producer David Wootton says he’s had his work cut out for him.

"I’ve been working on Halloweek since May," says Wootton, who is the coordinator of the Church-Wellesley Village Business Improvement Area (CWVBIA), adding that although there isn’t as much money for the fest this year the offerings have been expanded from three events to seven including a family-friendly Village Fair and Fete presented by the 519 Community Centre.

Fright night has been celebrated on Church St for decades, but last year CWVBIA expanded the offerings to a weeklong celebration in the hopes of drawing more tourists to Toronto, with partial funding coming from Tourism Toronto. Last year a three-year agreement was struck that saw Tourism Toronto provide funding to kickstart the festival, with diminishing amounts each year.

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Turning cars will no longer have to compete with pedestrians, but the main advantage is to the pedestrians themselves, who—while they may have to wait longer for their turn—will be able to cross diagonally instead of waiting twice. Pedestrians also won’t be bothered by cars turning into their midst while crossing.

The most iconic intersection of this type is its busiest incarnation at Shibuya in Tokyo (perhaps best known to Westerners for its appearance in Lost in Translation). But they are also widely in use in some cities around the UK, where cars are never permitted to turn on a red light.

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There’s a new organization pushing for queer-friendly healthcare in Ontario. Rainbow Health Ontario (RHO) is now running training and outreach projects out of its new headquarters at Toronto’s Sherbourne Health Centre, although it’s not expected to launch officially until fall.

"Human rights legislation and our treatment of lesbian and gay and to some degree trans people has changed a lot for the better," says RHO executive director Anna Travers. "But people are still not very sure how to provide culturally competent care. People still encounter discrimination or, at least, heterosexist approaches in care and treatment, so we want to build knowledge and awareness."

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Blockorama, the all-day dance party celebrating black queer pride, is celebrating its 10th year as a fixture of Toronto’s Pride weekend. This year’s edition takes over George Hislop Park on Sun, Jun 29.

To mark the anniversary Blockorama’s organizers — a committee called Blackness Yes! — are pulling out all the stops with performances from surprise out-of-town guests as well as local stalwarts. (For details check out Xtra’s Ultimate Pride Guide in this issue.) Then, in case you haven’t packed enough dancing into the day, there will be a designated Blockorama room at Circa as part of the Pride afterparty, which also features cover guy DJ Jamal.

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"The self-perceived general health of gay men and lesbians was similar to that of heterosexuals," states the report, which draws on data from the 2003 and 2005 Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS). "By contrast, bisexuals were more likely than heterosexuals to report fair or poor health.

"Gay men and bisexual women tended to report more chronic conditions than did the heterosexual population…. When respondents were asked if they had been diagnosed with a mood or anxiety disorder, all sexual minority groups reported levels above those for the heterosexual population."

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