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WATCH: Openly Gay Latino Man to Become Mayor of Hartford, CT

Openly gay Hartford City Council President Pedro Pedro Segarra is expected to be soon be named the city's mayor. Mayor Eddie A. Perez was convicted on June 18 of bribery and extortion. Perez is expected to submit his resignation on Friday and by law the council president would assume office.

Segarra's journey has been described as a "Puerto Rican-American success story", reports News8.

"Segarra arrived here by bus thirty years ago as a teen aged runaway from New York. He lived at the YMCA and eventually went to law school. He's now faced with closing down the 25 year legal practice he built up himself. Segarra will also become the first openly gay mayor of the city. Pedro Segarra has been on the city council for about four years, but he is not new to city government. He served as Corporation Counsel, the city attorney, during the administrations of Mayor Carrie Saxon Perry and Mayor Mike Peters.  City Hall workers and residents need someone steady and everyone says Segarra will be the right person for the corner office on Main Street. 'It is a full time job and it should be a full time job, and I intend to make it a full time job,' Segarra stated. 'They can count on us to make sure that all the business is being taken care of.'"

The announcement is expected to be made Friday.

And tonight: Segarra and partner Charlie Ortiz are hosting a previously scheduled fundraiser for a local community theater and the special guest is Chita Rivera. "The party on the eve of Segarra's rise to City Hall's big office has taken on a little more prestige,' reports The Courant.

In his first formal news conference, City Council President Pedro Segarra attempted to calm residents' fears about the transition. Watch it WHEN YOU JUMP ...

VIDEO, PHOTOS: Hundreds Bid Farewell to Icon Lena Horne

Hundreds of mourners paid their final respects to the late Lena Horne on Friday, gathering in a New York City church to celebrate the life of the legendary jazz singer, actress and civil rights icon. The iconic entertainer died Sunday at age 92.

More photos and video from the service WHEN YOU JUMP ...

The funeral mass was at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola on the city's Upper East Side. Ms. Horne, whose signature song was "Stormy Weather," was remembered as a shy girl from Brooklyn who fought racism for decades to emerge as a world-class singer and social activist.

The New York Times:

"In the pews were hundreds of mourners, among them Jessye Norman, Leontyne Price, Dionne Warwick, Lauren Bacall, Chita Rivera, Cicely Tyson (right), Vanessa Williams and Gov. David A. Paterson. Leslie Uggams said that Ms. Horne had been someone to look up to. “When my father reluctantly figured out that I was going to go in show business,” Ms. Uggams recalled outside the church, he said, 'I want you to be like Lena.'

The service began with a cello piece by Bach. Later, Audra McDonald performed an arrangement of 'This Little Light of Mine' and 'Amazing Grace,' and one of four speakers, Representative John Lewis of Georgia, said Ms. Horne had been 'a light, and she did shine. She did not give in. She did not give up. She did not give out.' Mr. Lewis said he had known Ms. Horne since the civil rights demonstrations of the 1960s."

Other trailblazers such as Chita Rivera, Diahann Carroll and Dionne Warwick were present. Their photos and video from the service WHEN YOU JUMP ...

In related news: On Friday, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) introduced a resolution that passed unanimously, recognizing Ms. Horne's legacy as a Hollywood trailblazer and civil rights activist. President Obama's statement on Ms. Horne's passage can be read HERE. And at The Huffington Post: Irene Monroe remembers the icon as "more than skin deep".

Lena Horne: In Her Own Voice is scheduled to air on PBS  through May 23. The documentary also streams online.

Daughter Gail Lumet is above and the family gathers below. More photos and video WHEN YOU JUMP ...

 

News: Kennedy, Gina Gershon, Adoption, Abercrombie and Fitch

· The lifeguards of Santa Monica. Are you feeling safer already?

· Florida's gay adoption ban in appeals court.

· "Destiny's Child" Michelle Williams extends run as Roxie Hart in London production of Chicago. 

· TIME asks, "Is Abercrombie and Fitch the world's worst recession brand? The upscale teen retailer has suffered 10 straight months of double-digit same-store-sales declines. In the second quarter of 2009 alone, sales were down an eye-popping 30% across the company's three name outlets.'Abercrombie has mismanaged this economic downturn more than any other retailer.'"

· Gina Gershon on playing Bye Bye Birdie’s Rosie, the iconic role originated in 1960 by Chita Rivera: "If one more person says, ‘Oh, my God, how do you do Chita Rivera? ’The answer is, I can’t. I’d have an easier time being Harvey Fierstein."

 · Anti-gay groups such as the National Organization for Marriage now focus their energy on Iowa: "NOW has launched the Reclaim Iowa Project, targeting legislative races in the state in an effort to elect candidates who support putting the issue of gay marriage before voters. Even if NOW is successful in the Iowa House race, the state's political landscape will make it years before Iowa's gay marriage law could be changed."

· Kennedy: Obama issues executive order that flags be flown at half-mast until Sunday. LGBT leaders and legal analysts on the Kennedy legacy. Barney Frank will not run for Kennedy's vacant seat. The senator's work on ENDA.

· The New York Times recounts Senator Ted Kennedy's final days: "The once-indefatigable Ted Kennedy was in a wheelchair at the end, struggling to speak and sapped of his energy. But from the time his brain cancer was diagnosed 15 months ago, he spoke of having a 'good ending for myself,' in whatever time he had left, and by every account, he did. As recently as a few days ago, Mr. Kennedy was still digging into big bowls of mocha chip and butter crunch ice creams, all smushed together (as he liked it). He and his wife, Vicki, had been watching every James Bond movie and episode of 24 on DVD."

President Obama Awards Presidential Medal of Freedom to Billie Jean King and Harvey Milk

President Barack Obama presents the Medal of Freedom—the nation's highest civilian award—to 16 highly accomplished individuals including openly gay tennis superstar Billie Jean King and iconic gay activist and politician Harvey Milk.

Remarking on King, who became one of the first openly gay sports figures when she came out in 1981, the President said: "With Billie Jean King pushing us, the road ahead will be smoother for women, the future will be brighter for LGBT Americans, and our nation's commitment to equality will be stronger for all."

Presenting the posthumous award to Milk, which was accepted by his nephew Stuart Milk, the President remarked: "Harvey Bernard Milk dedicated his life to shattering boundaries and challenging assumptions. As one of the first openly gay elected officials in this country, he changed the landscape of opportunity for the nation's gay community."

Other honorees included Sidney Poitier, Chita Rivera, former SCLC President Rev. Joseph Lowery, Sen. Ted Kennedy, British physicist Stephen Hawking and Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu. WHEN YOU JUMP, a few more photos and video of the presentations to King and Milk.

Deidre Goodwin in "Chicago"

On Monday, you may have caught our gushing for Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life and, in particular, Deidre Goodwin. She was fabulous in the revival of Chicago as both Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart. Even her performance in the ensemble of the screen adaptation was brilliant. Here are a few captures from the "Cell Block Tango" number where Deidre, Catherine and the girls bring down the house with "He had it coming ..."

Of course, there's another reason why we're re-visiting this film: Screenwriter Bill Condon turns director for Dreamgirls. Of course, these are two different types of musicals but it's absolutely amazing to witness what he and Rob Marshall did for Chicago. Cannot. Wait.

Chita Rivera's Men

Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life has announced these are its "Final Weeks." Last week, the male cast members performed a special skit at Splash in Manhattan.

In addition to the dancing of Lloyd Culbreath, Richard Amaro and the other Chita men, super-fierce cast member Deidre Goodwin was also on hand. Broadway babes will know her from Nine and Chicago; most others will recognize her from the screen adaptation of Chicago and the fabulous "Cell Block Tango" number. "He ran into my knife ten times ..."

Yes. That was gushing.