Luis Xavier De Peña

Reporter, Producer, Photographer

NSM.today •

Library inventory issue felt throughout UCF community

Cancelled renovations to the Automated Retrieval Center at John C. Hitt Library are causing seismic issues across the UCF community.

Phase 2A of a four-part planned expansion of the ARC was canceled due to budgetary reasons, an anonymous source in the history department said. The expansion of the ARC on the fourth floor would have eased a current inventory issue at the library due to a lack of storage.

"And so now library has hit capacity, so to speak," said Sarah Bousfield, Graduate Student A
Watermark Online •

Orlando drag performer Leigh Shannon discusses drag on local PBS news program

Martin “Leigh Shannon” Fugate appears on WUCF TV’s “NewsNight” to discuss the state of drag in Florida. (Screenshot from “NewsNight” episode on PBS.org)

ORLANDO | Local drag performer and Watermark contributor, Martin “Leigh Shannon” Fugate appeared in a recorded interview on WUCF TV’s “NewsNight” July 14 as a part of the station’s look at the ongoing fight between Florida’s conservative lawmakers and the state’s drag community.

The story, which focused on the lawsuit filed by Hamburger Mary’s
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Orlando’s own Nurse Blake on his upcoming comedy tour and NurseCon at Sea

Blake Lynch, better known to his fans as Nurse Blake, is an Orlando native who has built quite a large following in the last 10 years. Thanks to his light-hearted, comical look at being in the U.S. health care industry, he has accumulated 191,000 followers on YouTube, 926,000 on TikTok, 984,000 on Instagram and 1.7 million on Facebook.

Lynch has turned his hysterical online persona into a successful brand that has taken him on the road with his 2022 PTO Comedy Tour, allowed him to author a chil
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PHOTOS: Koz and Friends jazz up the Dr. Phillips Center

ORLANDO | Dave Koz’s Summer Horn Tour, with special guest saxophone superstars Candy Dulfer and Tampa local Eric Darius, rocked the Dr. Phillips Center July 2.

Watermark spoke to Dave back in June, before rehearsals even began.

There were no nerves from this group as they played an electric mix of originals and covers. Koz and Dulfer even played pieces in memories of past bands and musicians they played with. Dulfer took a moment of the set to remember the late Prince, while Koz took his to re
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Orlando's St. Dorothy Catholic Community to hold special services for trans, drag communities

ORLANDO | Starting in August, an independent Catholic community in Central Florida will be hosting special religious services geared toward the LGBTQ+ community.

St. Dorothy Catholic Community in Orlando, which is not under the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orlando, had its parishioners vote to make the third Sunday of each month a special service dedicated to those in the drag and transgender communities.

“Considering all the recent political happenings across the country which have affected thes
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The impact of Florida’s anti-trans health care laws on Central Florida and Tampa Bay

When Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 254 into law May 17, many members of the transgender community were left unsure about where or how they would be able to access care.

LGBTQ+ civil rights organizations and activists throughout the state are working to change that, including Equality Florida.

“We want you to know that we have your back,” says Press Secretary Brandon Wolf. “We’re partnering with the Campaign For Southern Equality to provide grant funding for those who need to leave the s
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'Dreamgirls' prepares to open at the Garden Theatre

The Garden Theatre in Winter Garden, Florida, is bringing the Tony Award-winning musical “Dreamgirls” to its stage for its final show of the summer July 7-Aug. 6.

“Based in the 1960s, ‘Dreamgirls’ is about the journey of three friends experiencing the trials and tribulations of the music industry. ‘Dreamgirls’ will explore the themes of ambition, hope and betrayal to a soundtrack of gospel, R&B, pop, disco and more,” the theatre stated in a press release.

The musical is a fictional tale but fo
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UK Twitch streamer raises $50k for trans health care

Popular Twitch streamer F1NN5TER raised $50,000 in May for for the online transgender health and wellbeing clinic Gender GP.

Gender GP is a private, global-reaching transgender health care service headquartered in the U.K. It is the regions only provider outside the National Health Service that provides care for trans youth.

Since it is providing it’s care via telehealth the wait times are almost none existent for the roughly 9,000 patients that receive care.

Susie Green, program director at
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Seven years after Pulse: How Orlando and the nation remembered

THE COMMUNITY EMBRACES EACH OTHER AGAIN

Seven years after the Pulse nightclub shooting, the Orlando community continues to come together to honor and remember the victims and survivors of the attack through many events in the area.

“Inspiration Orlando United,” a mural by Michael Pilato, Yuriy Karabash and Chimene Hurst is currently on display at the Orlando Museum of Art through June 16. The mural includes victims, survivors, families and more affected by Pulse and gun violence.

Michael Pila
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PHOTOS: Prayer Ribbons for Pulse victims on display at Orlando City Hall

ORLANDO | A small gathering was held outside Orlando City Hall June 6 to commemorate the Prayer Ribbons for Pulse on display.

The project was started by Jay Critchley as a way to remember those that had lost their lives to the AIDS epidemic. After the horrific events that occurred at Pulse nightclub, additional ribbons were added with the name of the victims written on them.

Critchley presented the ribbons for the community to come and view in the hopes it will bring support and inspire.

Mayo
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St. Cloud Pride cancels events amid safety concerns

ORLANDO | St. Cloud Pride announced May 19 the cancellation of its 2023 pride events.

Event organizer Kristina Bozanich initially spoke to WESH 2 May 19 about concerns that led to the decision to cancel the event. They reiterated those concerns when they spoke with Watermark May 22 regarding the cancellation of St. Cloud’s Pride and what the future of the organization’s events might look like.

St. Cloud Pride first adjusted the events to comply with the new anti-drag law signed by Florida Gov.