2019 INDIAN WELLS: Federer-Thiem and Kerber-Andreescu Finals

The finals of Indian Wells are now set. Sadly, Fedal39 ended up being a bust because Rafael Nadal withdrew from the tournament (and, eventually, the Miami Open) a few hours before his semifinal clash with Roger Federer. Bizarrely, after getting a walkover from Gael Monfils in the quarterfinal, Dominc Thiem defeated Milos Raonic 6-4 in the 3rd set to reach his first final in the Desert. So Federer and Thiem will compete for the first Masters series title of the year. The two have a 2-2 head-to-head record, but both of Federer's wins have occurred on hard courts. Federer is playing in his 9th final in Indian Wells, but last year he lost the final here (after having match point!) against Juan Martin del Potro. I suspect that won't happen this year. MadProfessah's prediction: Federer.

The women's side of the draw has been the more interesting tournament. After Belinda Bencic continued her incredible win streak by taking out World #1 Noami Osaka and Karolina Pliskova before falling to Angelique Kerber in the semifinals. Venus Williams had a resurgence in form, reaching the quarterfinals, winning one of the best matches of the tournament against Petra Kvitova. However, the biggest story of the tournament was the performance of 18-year-old Canadian wildcard Bianca Andreescu. She is in the final of her first WTA premier mandatory tournament on the strength of beating Garbine Muguruza 6-0 6-1 in the quarterfinals and outlasting Elina Svitolina in the semifinals (6-4 in the 3rd set). However, she will face Kerber, who has shut down the two other red-hot players in the tournament already (Venus and Bencic) and can probably do it a 3rd time. MadProfessah's pick: Kerber.

Ricardo Lara Becomes 1st LGBT Individual Elected Statewide In California

Ricardo Lara has been declared the winner of the California Insurance Commissioner race, defeating former Republican (and current Independent) Steve Poizner. Lara is an openly LGBT state Senator and as of today he leads Poizner 52%-48% (or 400,000 votes) with nearly 10 million votes tabulated:

Lara becomes the first openly LGBT individual elected statewide in California!

Hat tip to Equality California.

SATURDAY POLITICS: Poll Shows Close CA-GOV Race Between Newsom and Villaraigosa

There is a recent PPIC poll on the June 2018 primary in California which demonstrates the current state of play in the race for governor (which is open due to term limits preventing 4-term Governor Jerry Brown from appearing on the ballot again) as well as the race for the United States Senate seat currently held by Diane Feinstein.

As in every public poll that has been released testing the California governor's race, Lieutenant Governor (and former San Francisco Mayor) Gavin Newsom is in the lead, with 23 percentage of respondents expressing a preference for him while former Los Angeles Mayor (and former California Assembly Speaker) Antonio Villaraigosa relatively close behind at 18 and State Treasurer and State Controller John Chiang far behind at 9 tied with the highest Republican contender John Cox. In June 2018 all gubernatorial candidates will appear on one ballot and the Top 2, regardless of party will advance to the November 2018 ballot.

In the Senate race it appears as if Senator Feinstein is well ahead of her challenger, State Senate head Kevin de León since she leads by a massive 45% to 21% with "Don't Know" at 33%.
However, as most political pundits know anytime an incumbent (especially one who has been in office since 1994(!)) is below 50%, they should be nervous. That being said it is very likely that again that the two top candidates will now will be the two top candidates in June and thus these races could last until November 2018. This is one of the main problems with state's Top 2 primary (which was put into place by a ballot measure championed by "centrist Republican" Abel Maldonado during the Schwarzenegger era of California politics in 2004). It's very possible California voters will have a chance to repeal the Top 2 Primary system in a November 2018 ballot measure.

QUEER QUOTE: The entire Palm Springs City Council is LGBTQ!

The City of Palm Springs is Queer. Really, really queer! The Williams Institute at UCLA says that Palm Springs has the largest number of same-sex couples per capita in the state of California and is 3rd in the nation.

After last Tuesday's election, Palm Springs has another reason to be considered really queer. All 5 members of the City Council are members of the LGBT community (and Democrats!) Not even "Boystown, USA" (i.e. West Hollywood) has achieved that feat.

The five openly LGBT members of the City Council will be:

• Lisa Middleton*, transgender woman 

• Christy Holstege*, bisexual woman 

• Geoffrey Kors, gay man 

• Robert Moon, gay man 

• J.R. Roberts, gay man

Middleton and Holstege were just elected. The Los Angeles Times reported:

But now, the city is marking a new milestone in gay politics as well. When the two new members of the Palm Springs City Council are sworn in next month, every person on the panel will be a member of the LGBTQ community.

Lisa Middleton, a transgender woman, and Christy Holstege, a woman who identifies as bisexual, each won about 30% of the citywide vote to beat four other candidates and fill two vacant seats on the council. The pair will join three gay men on the five-person body.

Hmmmm, I haven't been to Palm Springs for awhile either. Time to make a trip!

hat/tip to Los Angeles Times

VIDEO: EQCA Encourages LGBT Community To Vote In June 7 California Primary

It's exactly two weeks until California's 2016 Statewide Primary Election on June 7th. Equality California, the state's largest LGBT political advocacy organization, is urging the LGBT community to vote, and will be running PSA on television in important markets like Los Angeles, San Diego and Palm Springs.

Serena-Azarenka XXI: 2016 Indian Wells Final

Serena Williams is in her first final at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells since 2002, primarily since she refused to attend the tournament for the years 2003-2014, famously coming back in 2015 (and retired before her semifinal match). Serena beat the new #2 player in the world, Aga Radwanska in an entertaining match on Friday night, 6-4 7-6(1) an earlier in the tournament dominated the former World #2 Simona Halep in the quarters. She will face what most people think is her primary rival, Vika Azarenka, in today's final (despite Serena's 17-3 overall head-to-head lead). Serena and Azarenka played some of the best women's tennis matches in 2015 (3 times) but Serena prevailed all three times they played last year. In fact, Vika hasn't beaten Serena since she won a 3rd set tiebreak in the 2013 Cincy Open final.

Vika has gotten her ranking up to #15 and will soon be back in the Top 10 where she definitely belongs. Serena is looking to reinforce her dominance after her surprising loss to Angie Kerber in the 2016 Aussie Open final and make new records, which she would do by becoming the first female player to win this tournament 3 times.

MadProfessah's pick: Serena.

Djokovic-Nadal XLVIII: 2016 Indian Wells Semifinal

The Indian Wells tournament is reaching the serious section of the draw with the men's semifinals being played today. The final four are David Goffin, Milos Raonic, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Somewhat unluckily, Djokovic and Nadal are in the same half of the draw, so their record 48th meeting will be occurring in the semifinal today and not tomorrow's final. The winner will face either Goffin or Raonic, who will be playing in their very first ATP Masters 1000 final.

Djokovic now leads his head-to-head with Nadal 24-23 and should be expected to win this match up today, but he has looked vulnerable this week in the desert, inexplicably being hit off the court for a set and a half against American Bjorn Santangelo and taken to two tight tie-break sets versus Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarterfinals.

Nadal is still looking for his first final of 2016, having lost (embarrassingly) 6-1 6-2 to Djokovic in Doha earlier this year.

WATCH: San Bernardino Cops Caught On Video Brutalizing Suspect

Hat/tip to The Daily Beast

SHOCK! Serena Agrees To Play At 2015 Indian Wells; Ends 12-Year Boycott

Serena Williams has published an article in Time magazine today to explain why she is ending her boycott of Indian Wells, the second most prestigious (and lucrative) tennis tournament held in her home country.

Thirteen years and a lifetime in tennis later, things feel different. A few months ago, when Russian official Shamil Tarpischev made racist and sexist remarks about Venus and me, the WTA and USTA immediately condemned him. It reminded me how far the sport has come, and how far I’ve come too. 

I have thought about going back to Indian Wells many times over my career. I said a few times that I would never play there again. And believe me, I meant it. I admit it scared me. What if I walked onto the court and the entire crowd booed me? The nightmare would start all over. 

It has been difficult for me to forget spending hours crying in the Indian Wells locker room after winning in 2001, driving back to Los Angeles feeling as if I had lost the biggest game ever—not a mere tennis game but a bigger fight for equality. Emotionally it seemed easier to stay away. There are some who say I should never go back. There are others who say I should’ve returned years ago. I understand both perspectives very well and wrestled with them for a long time. I’m just following my heart on this one. 

I’m fortunate to be at a point in my career where I have nothing to prove. I’m still as driven as ever, but the ride is a little easier. I play for the love of the game. And it is with that love in mind, and a new understanding of the true meaning of forgiveness, that I will proudly return to Indian Wells in 2015. 

I was raised by my mom to love and forgive freely. “When you stand praying, forgive whatever you have against anyone, so that your Father who is in the heavens may also forgive you” (Mark 11:25). I have faith that fans at Indian Wells have grown with the game and know me better than they did in 2001. 

Indian Wells was a pivotal moment of my story, and I am a part of the tournament’s story as well. Together we have a chance to write a different ­ending.

Wow. I was going to go to Indian Wells this year  (like last year) anyway but this makes it 2-3x more likely I will go, and maybe for multiple days. It's only a 2 hour drive from Los Angeles, and near Palm Springs!

The only question now is, is Venus going also?

Robert Garcia Elected 1st Openly Gay and Youngest Mayor of Long Beach

Openly gay Robert Garcia was elected the first openly gay mayor of Long Beach, and at age 36, its youngest by defeating Damon Dunn with 52.1% of the votes cast yesterday.

The Los Angeles Times reports:

In Long Beach, City Councilman Robert Garcia won the mayor's race outright with 52% of the vote. Former NFL player Damon Dunn got 47%, a difference of about 1,900 votes. About 17.6% of Long Beach voters turned out for Tuesday’s election.

That was a better turn out than in Los Angeles County where a mere 13.19% of registered voters completed ballots. Openly gay Sheila Kuehl is going to be in a November run-off to become one of the "five little kings" that run Los Angeles County by winning 36.18% to Bobby Shriver's 28.80% in the 3rd Supervisorial District. Openly gay Jeffrey Prang will also be in a run-off to become the L.A. County Assessor by coming in first  in a large field with 18.06% of the vote. Hilda Solis will replace Gloria Molina in the 1st Supervisorial District.

SATURDAY POLITICS: Toni Atkins Sworn In As 1st Lesbian Speaker Of CA Assembly

History was made this week as openly gay Speaker of the Assembly John Perez presided over the swearing in of another openly gay Speaker of the Assembly, the first time the head of a state legislature has transitioned between two openly LGBT people. The new Speaker of the Assembly is Toni Atkins from San Diego.

Here is an excerpt of what Speaker Atkins said after she was sworn in:

We want to restore the Golden State that provided our kids the best education and good jobs. We want to ensure that the California Dream is alive and well for everyone in our state, and for everyone who, like me, comes here to achieve their dream. We want the Golden State to be the Gold Standard that others strive towards. 

For the last decade, and especially in light of the Great Recession, we’ve had to work our way back. And, California has finally turned the corner. 

We are still the 8th largest economy in the world. And members, regardless of how it may be misrepresented, we aren’t really in competition with Texas. We are in competition with Brazil and Italy and France. We are a $2 trillion dollar economy. We are the number one state for venture capital. We have 3.4 million small businesses that provide more than half the jobs in California. And last year we enacted 18 new business-friendly laws that will help business owners by removing regulatory burdens, restoring some investment tax breaks and by creating the “Made in California” program.

Hat/tip to Karen Ocamb 

Openly Gay Robert Garcia Takes Lead In Long Beach Mayoral Election

Municipal elections in Long Beach occurred yesterday and the results were somewhat surprising. The front runner, Bonnie Lowenthal, finished 3rd, missing the run-off. The top candidate was also the youngest, 36-year-old Robert Garcia, who happens to be openly gay. Damon Dunn, who placed second is only two years older, African-American and would be the city's first Black mayor if he wins the run-off.

The Long Beach Press-Telegram reports on the political earthquake that hit Long beach yesterday:

According to unofficial vote totals, Garcia, the 1st District councilman, had 25.4 percent of the vote, far short of the 50 percent mark required to win outright. Dunn had 22.3 percent. 

In third was Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal, who received 19.6 percent of the vote. The result is the first election loss for a Lowenthal since Rep. Alan Lowenthal won election to City Council in 1992. 

Finishing the top five was 6th District Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske, with 15.5 percent of the vote, and Long Beach City College Trustee Doug Otto, at 13.6 percent. None of the remaining five candidates reached 3 percent.

The run-off will be June 3rd, the date of the statewide primary election. Dunn raised the largest amount of money and appears to be aligned with the city's business interests while Garcia was endorsed by the outgoing Mayor, Bob Foster.

Los Angeles County Exceeds 10 Million Residents

Los Angeles is the largest county in the United States by population, officially exceeding 10 million residents according to the United States Census on July 1, 2013. According to Bloomberg news, the population of L.A. is greater than that of 43 states! Yet, the executive and legislative branches of Los Angeles county government are controlled by 5 people (no wonder they are called the "The Five Kings").

In fact, Los Angeles is bigger than the sum of the second and third largest counties (Cook: Chicago metro and Harris: Dallas Houston metro) combined. New York City consists of 5 mega-counties in close proximity, but no single one of them gets into the Top 5, although King County (Manhattan) and Queens County (Queens) are 8th and 10th, respectively.

Southern California has the 1st, 5th and 6th largest counties in the United States (Los Angeles, San Diego and Orange).

However, if you measure metro area population, the New York City area is still the largest, approaching 20 million, while Los Angeles metro exceeds 13 million (when you combine Los Angeles and Orange County).

Metro area Population  

1. New York-Newark-Jersey City, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa. 19,949,502  

2. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, Calif. 13,131,431  

3. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, Ill.-Ind.-Wis. 9,537,289  

4. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas 6,810,913  

5. Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas 6,313,158  

6. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md. 6,034,678  

7. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va. 5,949,859  

8. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Fla. 5,828,191  

9. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Ga. 5,522,942 

10. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Mass.-N.H. 4,684,299 

Interesting list. Curious that Phoenix (Maricopa County) is not in the Top 10, and that even though Houston is the largest city in Texas, Dallas metro is the largest metro area in the Longhorn Lone Star State.

LOOK: Davis Cup Teams For America and Britain In San Diego Now

The First Round Davis Cup is happening this weekend in San Diego. John Isner is injured so Donald Young will be facing off against World #6 Andy Murray.

The above photo shows the smartly dressed British team in blue suits contrasted with the casually dressed American team, in blue jeans.

HBO To Air Doc On Lawrence King Anti-LGBT Hate Crime Today

HBO is airing the Valentine Road, a documentary giving background on the lives of Lawrence King and Brandon McInerney later today. McInerney gunned King down in February 2008 at point blank range at a middle school in Southern California which both attended. McInerney was tried as an adult and eventually accepted  a plea deal leading to a sentence of 21 years in prison in December 2011.

Zack Ford at LGBT Think Progress summarizes the documentary on King and McInerney this way:

As both advocates and opponents of protections for LGBT students agree, bullying is not a simple issue that can be reduced to just one factor in any particular case.Valentine Road shows just how complex the circumstances were for both Larry and Brandon in terms of race, sexuality, gender, socioeconomic status, school support, and family support. It is also a reminder that the public understanding of LGBT issues does not evolve in one coherent block and as such, there is still much work to be done to ensure that schools are truly safe for all students, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other aspect of their identity. 

Watch the Valentine Road trailer:

I think watching the documentary is going to be pretty tough.

Hat/tip to LGBT Think Progress

Transgender Teen Voted Homecoming Queen At SoCal High School

An interesting LGBT landmark occurred in Southern California yesterday. A 16-year-old transgender girl named Cassidy Lynn Campbell was voted homecoming queen at a local Southern California high school.

Cassidy Lynn Campbell broke down in tears Friday night when she learned that she had been crowned homecoming queen. 

The senior at Marina High School in Huntington Beach was born male but told The Times she always felt like a girl. In high school, she began taking hormone blockers and estrogen injections prescribed by an endocrinologist and made the transition to living as a girl. 

She decided to run for homecoming queen, in part, to make a statement. 

"If I win it would mean that the school recognizes me as the gender I always felt I was," Cassidy, 16, told The Times before the election. 

"But with all the attention, I realized it's bigger than me," she said. "I'm doing this for the kids who can't be themselves."

She may be the first but will almost certainly not be the last transgender homecoming queen. As I've said before, the more people realize that gender is not a binary phenomenon, the more progress will be made for LGBT equality, so I see this as a big step forward for LGBT rights.

Hat/tip to Wonder Man

POLL: Support for Marriage in California At 55%

A new poll commissioned by Equality California from David Binder Research indicates that support for marriage equality in California is a majority position, with the number of people who strongly support equal civil marriage rights for same-sex couples outnumbering opponents for the first time, 42% to 31%. Overall, 55% of California voters respond positively (support marriage equality) while 37% respond unfavorable (oppose marriage equality) to the query: "Do you strongly favor, somewhat favor, somewhat oppose or strongly oppose allowing same sex couples to be legally married?” This number is lower than the 61% support for marriage equality found by the Field Poll about 3 months ago prior to the Supreme Court oral arguments in the Hollingsworth v Perry case which will determine the federal constitutionality of California's Proposition 8.

Some key findings from the DBR polling memo on marriage are:

• Over the past four years, support for same sex marriage increased by 8, from 47% to 55%. At the same time, opposition dropped by 12, from 49% to 37%. This resulted in an increase in net support of +20.
  
• 
  Gains in support are greatest among Republicans (+12), middle aged voters (+13 for 30 to 44 year olds and +17 for 45 to 64 year olds), African Americans (+14), and those who know a gay or lesbian personally (+10). 
  
  Those who know gays or lesbians are significantly more likely to support same sex marriage. Those who know a gay or lesbian person are 62% supportive and only 32% opposed. Those that do not know anyone who is gay or lesbian are 36% supportive and 53% opposed. 
  

It will be interesting to see how this new data influences the discussion after the Supreme Court ruling comes out in the next 3-4 weeks.

Going to BNP Paribas Open Wednesday!

I am in Southern California for Spring Break and unlike Serena Williams I will be going to Indian Wells, CA in order to attend the BNP Paribas Open. Tickets are not too expensive, and there are some good match-ups during the day session:

STADIUM 1[5] Petra Kvitova (CZE) v. Maria Kirilenko (RUS) [18] Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) v. [2] Roger Federer (SUI)[5] Rafael Nadal (ESP) v. [Q] Ernests Gulbis (LAT) 

STADIUM 2[17] Milos Raonic (CAN) v. [8] Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA)[6] Tomas Berdych (CZE) v. [10] Richard Gasquet (FRA)

I doubt I'll be able to do much live-blogging, but I may be able to send some tweets @Madprofessah, so follow  me!

Space Shuttle Endeavour Arrives in California!

The 4th Space Shuttle, Endeavour, has arrived in California en route to its final destination at the California Science Center in Los Angeles, where it will be part of an exhibition that opens on October 30, 2012.

Mark Takano May Become 1st LGBT POC U.S. Rep

Mark Takano, 50, is a serious contender to become
the first openly gay person of color elected to Congress

Mark Takano, a former school teacher who has been a longtime member of the Riverside County LGBT Asian Pacific Islander and Democratic Party communities, placed second in Tuesday's Top 2 primary election for California's 41st Congressional District, with 16,005 votes (36%) to Republican John Tavaglione's 19, 815 (45%). The Los Angeles Times describes the 41st District as having 42.3% Democratic registration and 34.9% Republican with 22.8% either Decline to State (Independent) or "Other." The 41st District is a new district drawn by the non-partisan redistricting commission and according to The Times is 6.5% Asian, 10.1% African-American, 55.9% Latino and 26.1% White. Twenty years ago, Takano lost a race to Republican Ken Calvert by 550 votes in the then-43rd Congressional district, the smallest margin in a Congressional race in the state's history.

Takano is endorsed by the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund and, if elected in November 2012, would become the first openly gay person of color elected to Congress.