PAC temporarily suspends public meetings
Members of the Police Advisory Commission say their monthly public meetings have been suspended temporarily while they try to resolve internal personnel issues at the agency.
“The public activities of the PAC have been temporarily suspended while we’re resolving personnel issues,” said PAC chair Ronda B. Goldfein.
Goldfein declined to go into specifics about the personnel matters being addressed by the commissioners.
The PAC didn’t hold a public meeting in May or June, and no public meeting has been scheduled for July, according to the PAC’s website.
The April PAC meeting was particularly stormy, when PAC executive director William M. Johnson publicly disagreed with the commissioners’ decision to close about 100 police-misconduct cases.
Johnson, 54, supervises four PAC staffers and oversees an annual budget of about $300,000.
He has served as executive director since June 2004.
Johnson had no comment about the suspension of PAC’s public meetings, nor his future with the agency.
The PAC was formed about 18 years ago in response to concerns from LGBTs and others that police misconduct wasn’t being addressed properly by city officials.
Though it has no enforcement powers, the PAC investigates complaints of police misconduct, and makes recommendations for corrective action when appropriate.
The PAC is currently investigating the case of Nizah Morris, a transgender woman found with a fatal head wound in 2002, shortly after she received a courtesy ride from Philadelphia police.
A new set of commissioners reopened the Morris case two years ago, and they hope to issue a revised report within the next few months.
— Tim Cwiek
Uncles to get remodel
Uncles bar will shut its doors next week for a remodeling initiative that could keep the Gayborhood staple closed through most of the summer.
Uncles, 1220 Locust St., will close July 1. Owner Steven Carlino estimated the bar will remain closed four to six weeks but said the project could take longer.
Carlino said the bar will be remodeled and new floors, ceilings and a sound system will be installed. There will also be windows installed along Camac Street to open up the venue.
Free tour of LGBT history
Free Tours by Foot is launching its latest venture with a tour of Philadelphia’s LGBT history.
The LGBT Tour will run the first and third Sunday of July and August at 2 p.m., departing from the Independence Visitor Center, Sixth and Market streets.
The free tour will stop everywhere from the site of the Annual Reminders of the 1960s to Washington Square for an exploration of Baron von Steuben’s past. The tour will also look at the LGBT community of more recent times, with visits to Giovanni’s Room, William Way LGBT Community Center, Woody’s and The Bike Stop.
The tour will run approximately two hours.
Reservations can be made at www.freetoursbyfoot.com.
Philly vigil for Texas shooting
The Philadelphia LGBT and ally community will come together Friday night to pay tribute to a young lesbian couple shot last weekend in Texas.
The vigil will be held from 7:30-9 p.m. June 29 at Love Park.
Mollie Judith Olgin, 19, and Mary Kristene Chapa, 18, were both shot in a park in Portland, Texas, last Friday night. Olgin died, and Chapa is in stable condition.
Police have not confirmed that the couple was targeted for their orientation but said the attack did not appear to be random. The couple had been together for five months.
The local vigil, hosted by organizers of the Philadelphia Dyke March, will include speakers who will address violence against lesbians, as well as a moment of silence.
For more information, visit www.facebook.com/events/201502233309303/.
— Jen Colletta