Metro Weekly magazine — 2019-10-31 edition (PDF)
By Metro Weekly Contributor
on
October 31, 2019
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A judge denied Gerald Radford's attempt to invoke the Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law to avoid prosecution for fatally shooting a gay man in Tampa earlier this year. The 66-year-old will now face a jury trial on charges of second-degree murder and a hate crime enhancement for killing 52-year-old John Walter Lay at the West Dog Park on February 2, 2024.
Radford repeatedly harassed Lay for more than two years, calling him a homophobic slur and making derogatory remarks about Lay's sexual orientation, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. That harassment culminated in an altercation between the two men, which ended with Radford fatally shooting Lay.
In five decades of feature filmmaking, Pedro Almodóvar, like any great artist, has produced distinct periods: the provocative early comedies, star-driven mid-career dramas, and latter-day meditations on pain and glory.
Now, in the midst of his seeming Blue period, the quintessentially Spanish filmmaker dawns a new era with his first English-language feature, The Room Next Door. The dialogue flows to a different beat -- less rapid-fire staccato -- but the film looks and sounds like Almodóvar, from the bursts of color in the costumes and art direction to the dynamic strings-heavy score by longtime collaborator Alberto Iglesias.
A Virginia man has been arrested and accused of setting at least three fires outside the entrances of restaurants along 23rd Street South, including Freddie's Beach Bar, Northern Virginia's sole LGBTQ establishment.
The Arlington County Fire Department announced the arrest, which resulted from a joint investigation between Arlington County fire marshals and the Arlington County Police Department.
Investigators looked into a series of blazes ignited outside select businesses between the hours of 4 and 6 a.m. on January 9.
Three separate establishments were targeted in the attacks: Freddie's Beach Bar, Crystal City Sports Pub, and McNamara's Pub & Restaurant.
