. Dangerous cocktail LOS ANGELES —- Health offi- cials are warning of a danger- ous new cocktail combination. Combining the new anti- impotence drug Viagra with ”poppers” could prove to be I deadly, doctors warn. Poppers are inhaled stimulants that heighten sensa- tion by dilating blood vessels. The impotence pill Viagra also dilates blood vessels, and com- bining the two drugs can result in a dangerous drop in blood pressure. Three men reportedly died after using Viagra, pop- pers and crystal methamphet- amine earlier this month, said Kathy Watt, executive director of a drug treatment center. ”As Viagra becomes more available through the party circuit, the combination is just going to turn deadly,” said Steve Martin, mayor of West Hollywood, where about a third of the city is gay. ”You’re just going to see people dropping like flies.” Many take crystal meth- amphetamine for the high. They swallow Viagra pills to restore the sexual potency that the meth takes away. They snort poppers to enhance their sexual experience. Mayor Diversity NEW YORK —— Just call him the mayor of diversity. New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani says promot- ing diversity in his town has made it a better place and has helped to its revitalization. ”Our society has to be better off as we go through sometimes the pain of opening society up, so that everyone _gets a chance to make their maximum contribution,” the mayor said during a ceremony recognizing homosexuals working in city govermnent. "When you think back to 100 years ago, when lots of people were excluded from government, some based on race, some based on gender, some based on sexual orienta- tion, we were working with half or less than half of the po- tential talent that was avail- able," Giuliani said. J ”Maybe that’ 5 one of the reasons why the city does so much better now than it did 20 and 30 and 40 years ago,” the mayor added. I Britishconsent LONDON —- Here's another step toward equality in Britain: The House of Commons has voted to lower the age of con- sent__for homosexual sex to 16. I partner identified in same for heterosexuals. The measure pitted Prime Minister Tony Blair, who favored the measure, against the Church of England leader- - ship. Opinion polls indicate that most Britons opposed the measure. The House of Com- mons approved the proposal 333-129. . There have been some efforts to block the measure in the House of Lords. Gay rights groups ex- pressed delight and the Com- mons rang with cheers when the bill passed. ”It cannot be the role of the state to work out people's sexuality for them nor to co- erce gay men to be hetero- sexual,” said Labor lawmaker Ann Keen, who initiated Monday's move, opening the parliamentary debate. Archbishop of Canter- bury George Carey personally appealed to Blair to stop the change, and Cardinal Basil Hume, leader of Catholics in England and Wales, said all homosexual acts are morally wrong. BC benefits VICTORIA, British Columbia — Lawmakers in British Co- lumbia would appear to be a forward—thinking lot. The province has intro- duced a bill that would make it the first province in Canada to voluntarily grant pension benefits to same-sex couples who are public employees. Some other provinces have moved that way, but un- der pressure from legal action. The new legislation af- fects British Columbia's 235,000 public employees, in- cluding government workers, municipal employees and pub- lic school teachers. Lesbian custody NEWARK, N .J. -——A child cus- tody case in New Jersey ap- pears likely to set_precedents for lesbian and gay parents. A lesbian couple who broke up in New Jersey are fac- ing off in court over visitation‘ and custody of the twins they helped raise until they split up. The biological mother of the twins and the woman's ex- partner are asking a court to deterinint their parental V.C. said she did eve.ry— thing a parent would for a child and planned to adopt the twins when they got older. M.B. lik- ened V.C.'s connection to the children as that of a nanny. Cummis is likely to issue a decision in the case in Au- gust. A ruling for V.C. would be one of the first in the coun- try to give custodial rights to the former partners of lesbian mothers, said Kate Kendell, executive director of the Na- tional Center for Lesbian Rights in San Francisco. "It will be a decision of some -historic proportion,” she said. Vaccine pioneers PHILADELPHIA — Dr. Mark Watkins is a pioneer. He was the very first vol- unteer to be injected in the first broad human test of what re- searchers hope will be an AIDS vaccine. Watkins, and the other 5,000 volunteers who will fol- low him, have no know way of knowing whether the needle stuck in their arms was pump- ing a placebo into their bodies or copies of a protein envelope that covers the AIDS virus. The three—year trial" of VaxGen Inc.’s AIDSvax is de- signed to show whether it can protect people from infection. The testing that began in July is the final step before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration makes a decision on whether to approve the drug. Volunteers like the 150 in Philadelphia are injected with either a placebo or AIDSvax, which scientists say isn't dan- gerous because it is not a live strain of the AIDS virus. Trials begin later this year in more than 30 U.S. cities, including New York, San Francisco, Bal- timore, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles and St. Louis. The tests are open to people considered to be at high risk of contracting the virus, such as gay men and WOTIIEII. whose sexual partners are in- fected. “In treating HIV patients, ‘ I realize the devastation this disease causes, and I thought this was a worthwhile trial,” said Watkins, a gay 38-year-old physician who specializes in patients with AIDS. = Bridge Street Richmond OUT IN THE MOUNTAINS - AUGUST 1998 — 7 Every batch made from scratch... Sweet Rolls - Muffins ° Granola Bars Cakes ° Cookies— including low-fat, naturally sweetened 8: vegan selections BAKERY OPEN: M-F 6-6 Sat 8: Sun 6-4 Breakfast Mon - Fri 6-11 Brunch Sat & Sun 8-1 Lunch Mon - Sun 11-4 W I l NATURAL FOODS, ORGANIC PRODUCE, SUPPLEMENTS E vwvroovcoor ' offuiallllillboolks with this coupon - open to the public - Monday-Saturday 9-7 Sunday 11-5 - 49 N. Main Street, WRJ, VT A Communigl Owned Natural Foods Market &DeIi specializing in Organic Choices! 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