Appeal of SEPTA ruling possible
City officials say it’s possible a Commonwealth Court ruling exempting SEPTA from the city’s antibias rules will be appealed in state Supreme Court.
LGBT advocates blasted the Aug. 7 ruling, saying riders and customers would be negatively impacted if SEPTA doesn’t have to comply with local antibias rules.
The city has until Sept. 7 to file notice of an appeal.
SEPTA has about 9,000 workers and more than 1-million riders daily.
Mark McDonald, a spokesperson for the Nutter administration, said a decision on filing an appeal is pending.
“The city has a period of time within which to make a decision on an appeal,” McDonald said in an email. “By that deadline, we will do what we believe is in the city’s best interests.”
Deadline set for employer in trans case
A federal judge has extended a deadline for Cabela’s Retail Inc. to submit an export report in the Kate Blatt antibias case.
On Aug. 26, U.S. District Judge Joseph F. Leeson Jr. said Cabela’s has until Oct. 14 to submit its expert report on the case. Leeson also said both sides have until Nov. 16 to complete the expert-discovery phase of the litigation. Then, if the case isn’t settled or dismissed, a jury trial is expected.
Blatt, a Pottsville trans woman, is suing Cabela’s Retail Inc. for job discrimination.
She claims Cabela’s discriminated against her on the basis of her disability — gender dysphoria — by denying her access to a female restroom and name tag. Part of Blatt’s lawsuit challenges the ADA’s exclusion of gender-identity disorder as a protected disability. She claims the GID exclusion violates her constitutional right to equal protection under the law.
Blatt worked at the outdoor-sports store, located in Hamburg, as a seasonal stocker between September 2006 and March 2007.
Cabela’s denies any wrongdoing.
The ADA protects persons with disabilities from discrimination in private employment, public accommodations and governmental services.
Gay inmate transferred to Illinois
Kenneth J. Houck Jr., an openly gay inmate who was brutally beaten while in custody three years ago, has been transferred to a federal prison in Illinois.
Houck, 40, requested a transfer to the East Coast to be closer to his family. He was previously incarcerated Littleton, Colo. The move to a prison in Marion, Ill., brings Houck closer to his relatives, but still hundreds of miles away.
In 2011, two inmates at the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia entered Houck’s cell and assaulted him, causing multiple fractures to his right leg. That same year, Houck pleaded guilty to one count of transporting child pornography. His scheduled release date is May 18, 2018.
He’s suing the federal Bureau of Prisons for damages related to his assault. A BOP spokesperson had no comment for this update.
Asbestos illegally removed from church
Anthony Biello 3d is serving a one-year prison sentence for illegally removing asbestos-containing materials from the old Church of the Assumption, which is adjacent to AIDS agency Siloam.
The materials, which were removed in 2009, include insulation covering a boiler and piping in the church’s basement. Biello was paid $45,000 by a demolition and salvation contractor to remove the materials, according to court records.
The church, 1123-33 Spring Garden St., has been vacant for about 15 years.
Biello, 56, formerly of Ambler, was sentenced in March. He’s incarcerated at a federal detention center in Brooklyn, N.Y. His scheduled release date is Jan. 21, 2016.
In addition to his prison sentence, Biello was ordered to pay a $100 fine, restitution to the city of $12,000, a $100 special assessment and undergo two years of supervised release. The court also ordered that Biello not work in the asbestos-removal industry during his supervised release.
— Timothy Cwiek
LGBT night back at Six Flags
Six Flags Great Adventure is hosting its annual LGBT party 8 p.m. Sept. 5 at the park in Jackson, N.J.
The event, called Fairgrounds: Out at Night, goes until 2 a.m. and features a lineup of DJs.
Tickets cost $40 for season-pass holders and $50 for all others.
Proceeds benefit the National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund, World Wildlife Fund and Metropolitan Area Neighborhood Nutrition Alliance in Philadelphia.
The tickets include all-day access to the park plus the private party. The pre-party starts at 8 p.m. in the Movietown arena with DJs Ultra Nate, Joey Z and Kimani G.
The main event starts at 10 p.m. with Grammy-nominated DJ Dave Aude. DJ Steve Sidewalk will be the opening act. Miss USA Olivia Jordan, the first Oklahoman to win the crown, will also attend.
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.sixflags.com/greatadventure/special-events.
Session to look at discrimination
Same-sex couples can marry legally in the United States, yet the LGBT community still faces discrimination in employment and housing opportunities.
That imbalance will be one of the focal points of “Moving the World Toward Equality,” hosted by the Germantown Jewish Centre, 400 W. Ellet St. The free event takes place 2:45 p.m. Sept. 23 as part of the Yom Kippur Oscar Bregman Memorial Program.
Jane Greenspan, a retired justice from the state Supreme Court, will moderate. During her career, Greenspan worked on cases involving business and financial disputes and also dealt with domestic-violence and sexual-assault cases.
Greenspan will foster discussion about the struggle for justice, particularly why some causes succeed while others fail.
In addition to talks about issues facing the LGBT community, injustice toward people of color will also be discussed.
— Paige Cooperstein