Noted . Notable . Noteworthy . LGBT News & Views
Volume 23 . Number 20 February 7.2009 Printed on Recycled Paper FREE
q-notes.com
v" ■-
era
abruptly closes shop,
neuiname,
-is.""
- . •* ■
•Jjt' " ^
-t- - ^
County benefits
Mecklenburg
Commission votes
page 14
^ J)g lllatt Comer. Q-Hotes staff
CHARLOTTE — It is the end of an era, as Charlotte’s
largest AIDS service organization, founded by six gay
/ . men in 1985, comes to its end. After more than two
7 ." ■ .. decades of service in the greater Charlotte-Mecklenburg
rT" •'* j area, Metrolina AIDS Project (MAP) as the community
■ ■ has known it will cease to exist, as it shuts down and
•. " begins operation under a new name and leadership.
*wTt?;' ■** surprising move, never publicly announced, but
■'i- ;'f.t ^ revealed by The Charlotte Observer during the last week
* f. O. ■ January, comes after more than a year of speculation
:7.7^ that operations at MAP weren’t going all that smoothly.
■
7 ' MAP’s demise
On Jan. 26, former MAP executive director Ann White left her
position at the organization. Associate Director Robert Oltz declined
to discuss her departure with anyone saying only that White “left as
of 5 p.m.” that Monday. The same day, 32 MAP employees were told
they’d be laid off
Only two days later, however, Oltz said the decision to completely
'W shutdown had been reversed and that the employees would stay.
,“We thought we might be closing,” Oltz told Q-Notes. “We’ve had
discussions with other providers and we are working through a
* transitioning process so that we will continue to provide services.”
Dr. Jose Diaz, a consultant for the federal government, is current
ly aiding MAP with “technical assistance” during their transition
from the old organizational entity to a new one. Diaz told The '
Observer that federal funding for the organization — about $1.2
tf'i. million in R/an White CARE Act funds — had been “put on hold”
,. pending a “routine review.” Diaz said MAP was not under investiga-
- ^ tion and that the money could be restored to MAP’s successor.
'
HP ■■ ^
HRC Gala
Annual event brings
trans, ‘ex-gay’ protests
page 13
SEX, DRUGS, CHOLESTEROL..
(Check out our fullinigc ad on pagi' 'y lor more info!)
.^immmmmmuNow