Kocis killer files appeal
Lawyers for the man convicted of killing a local gay-porn producer filed an appeal last week with the Pennsylvania Superior Court, seeking to overturn the conviction and sentence.
A jury found Harlow Cuadra, 27, guilty last month in the January 2007 stabbing death of Dallas Township resident Bryan Kocis, and a Luzerne County judge sentenced him to two consecutive life sentences.
Cuadra’s attorney, Paul J. Walker, did not respond to calls for comment.
Cuadra’s former partner, Joseph Kerekes, pleaded guilty to the murder in December and is serving a life sentence.
Legal dispute in the Gayborhood
LGBT bar and restaurant Tavern on Camac, 243 S. Camac St., has filed a civil suit against the recently opened Gayborhood establishment Camac Martini Bar, 1305 Locust St.
The suit was filed with the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas March 17 by attorney Jeffrey Sotland of Center City firm Mintzer, Sarowitz, Zeris, Ledva & Meyers, LLP.
Sotland declined to comment on the suit.
Tavern on Camac co-owner Stephen Carlino also did not want to comment on the suit, but alluded that it concerned the similarity of the two businesses’ names.
“We have invested considerable resources in rebuilding the Tavern on Camac name and creating a premier space for the community,” Carlino said late last month. “It is disappointing that another business would want to trade off of our goodwill and use our name rather than build their own establishment on equal footing.”
Owners of Camac Martini Bar did not return calls for comment.
LGBT film festival calls for submissions
The organizers of Philadelphia QFest — formerly the Philadelphia International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival — are now accepting submissions from local filmmakers for this year’s festival, which will run July 9-19 at area theaters.
QFest is looking for short films to feature in the Out in Philly program, which showcases short films created by out Philadelphia-area filmmakers. Submissions, in DVD format, must be under 50 minutes and feature LGBT content.
Entry forms can be found at www.qfest.com. Submission costs $15 and $5 for students.
For information, e-mail Nick Strathern at [email protected] or call Robert O’Neill at (215) 733-0608 ext. 295.
Forum looks at black LGBT divides
The COLOURS Organization Inc., in collaboration with Philadelphia Black Gay Pride, will host its monthly community forum at 6 p.m. April 20 at Arch Street United Methodist Church, 112 N. Broad St., with this month’s meeting focusing on the divisions within the black LGBT community.
The free event, “The Pride Divide,” will feature a panel discussion that will analyze and create solutions to the issues that lead to divisiveness among sexual-minority people of color in the Philadelphia area and beyond.
For more information, call Lawrence Frazier at (215) 496-0330.
— Jen Colletta