Read More.NEW YORK - Celebration and pride mixed with defiance in New York City on Sunday as throngs of people crowded the streets, rainbow flags waving, for the annual gay pride march. Rick Claggett is a long-time employee of Watermark Media and former board member of both the Metropolitan Business Association and Come Out With Pride. Watermark Publishing Group, founded by publisher Rick Claggett, purchased Watermark in January of 2016. The award-winning newspaper currently maintains offices in Tampa Bay and Orlando and employs a full-time staff of 12, along with several part-time and freelance contributors.
The newspaper donates more than $200,000 annually in free and sponsor advertising to worthy local and national LGBT non-profits. Watermark prints up to 20,000 copies every other Thursday, and distributes them in more than 500 locations throughout Orlando, Tampa Bay, Sarasota and throughout the state. Dyer is an attorney, former board member of the Metropolitan Business Association and Tampa International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, and current advisory board member of the Harvey Milk Foundation. Watermark Media was founded by Tom Dyer in Orlando in 1994, and expanded to Tampa Bay in 1995. Watermark is a multi-faceted media company using opportunities and innovations to communicate and advance LGBT interests, with a corporate emphasis on professionalism while building strong relationships with our readers, customers and community. Helmut’s selfless act of defense warrants this honor and his stepping up and doing the right thing is even more special since he is straight and helped defend two gay victims from an attack related to their sexuality.”
“The City of Miami Beach Medallion is a special honor usually reserved for acts of bravery, heroism and other significant contributions to our city. “Helmut’s efforts helped stop the attack but not before he himself was injured requiring a visit to the hospital and staples in his scalp,” Miami Beach City Commissioner Michael Gongora said at the time. The attack was caught on camera and the four suspects have been charged with three counts of aggravated battery and a hate crime enhancement was added to the charges.Ī third person, Helmut Estrada, attempted to assist Chalarca and Logunov and was also attacked during the altercation and injured.Įstrada was later given an award from the City Commission for his bravery. “This was my first time going to a gay parade,” Chalarca said in 2018.
His boyfriend at the time, Chalarca, quickly intervened, but three more men jumped in and began to attack them both. The two of them stopped at a public restroom as they headed home for the evening.Īs Logunov walked out of the restroom he was allegedly called a “faggot” in Spanish, punched and then beaten unconscious. “We were walking and holding hands and needed to use the bathroom,” Logunov told SFGN in 2018. The attack took place when Rene Chalarca, 34, and Logunov were leaving a public bathroom in Lummus Park in Miami Beach on April 8, 2018.
“I am so tired of it,” Dmitry Logunov, 34, told SFGN when the trial was delayed in January. The four defendants - Adonis Diaz, Juan Carlos Lopez, Luis Alonso Piovet, and Pablo Reinaldo Romo-Figueroa - all in their early 20s, have pleaded not guilty.Īs the trial continues to be delayed one of the victims is growing increasingly frustrated. “Although we are all working remotely, our prosecutors continue to work up their cases so that there is minimal, if any, delay in proceedings when things are back to normal,” a spokesperson for the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s office said. There was supposed to be a status hearing April 23, but it’s been rescheduled for June 8. The May 5 trial of four men accused of attacking a gay couple in 2018 after the closing festivities of Miami Beach Pride has been postponed. ABOVE: Luis Alonso-Piovet, Pablo Reinaldo Romo-Figueroa, Adonis Diaz and Juan C.