Money.ACTIVISM E*TRADE, Levinson withstand backlash When E*TRADE president and chief operating officer Chief Operating Officer (COO) The officer of a firm responsible for day-to-day management, usually the president or an executive vice-president. Kathy Levinson and her partner, Jennifer Levinson, donated $300,000 last August to fight Proposition 22, the successful March 7 ballot initiative that bans recognition of same-sex marriage in California Determining the status of same sex marriage in California has been an intense political battle for at least the last decade. As California is known for its large gay communities and generally liberal political climate, the issue continues to remain a prominent topic of debate. , they expected controversy. But Levinson is only now discussing how intense the controversy really was. At work, E-mail and phone calls poured into the online brokerage company's Menlo Park Menlo Park. 1 Residential city (1990 pop. 28,040), San Mateo co., W Calif.; inc. 1874. Electronic equipment and aerospace products are manufactured in the city. Menlo College and a Stanford Univ. research institute are there. 2 Uninc. , Calif., headquarters, she told The Wall Street Journal. Customers threatened to cancel their accounts and called on Levinson to resign. At home, Levinson said she had to hire a security guard, and her family stopped answering the phone. E*TRADE, though, never flinched in its support for Levinson, even as it required an intensive public relations public relations, activities and policies used to create public interest in a person, idea, product, institution, or business establishment. By its nature, public relations is devoted to serving particular interests by presenting them to the public in the most effort. "E*TRADE is a brand that stands for people taking control of their lives and being able to make informed decisions," Levinson told the Journal. "This is about individual empowerment. If people like me who are successful are not willing to take a stand, how can I expect anybody else to do it?" BENEFITS ExxonMobil fuels controversy Last year's merger of Exxon and Mobil did more than create one of the world's largest oil companies. It caused an uproar among the new company's employees. Although Mobil had offered benefits to employees' same-sex partners, ExxonMobil does not. Company officials say the move concerning the benefits is "simply a business decision," but now the gay corporate activist group Equality Project has set out to prove it's bad business Along with the New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. Employees' Retirement System, the group has launched a shareholder proposal to reinstate the benefits. Stockholders will vote on the proposal in May. "ExxonMobil has a lot of rhetoric about support for diversity," says Shelley Alpern of the Equality Project. "But it will remain rhetoric until domestic-partner benefits and sexual orientation sexual orientation n. The direction of one's sexual interest toward members of the same, opposite, or both sexes, especially a direction seen to be dictated by physiologic rather than sociologic forces. are in their nondiscrimination statement." --S.R. Transitions DIED: George Fadiga, 46, a Detroit gay activist, of a heart attack, February 25, Fadiga was active in several Day and lesbian groups, including the Human Rights Campaign and the former Detroit Area Gay and Lesbian Council. ADOPTED: A proposal that adds protections based on sexual orientation to the Davenport, Iowa Davenport is a city in the American state of Iowa that borders the Mississippi River. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 98,359. A 2006 estimate tells that the city had grown slightly to 99,514. , civil rights law, March 1, Three other Iowa cities--Ames, Cedar Rapids Cedar Rapids, city (1990 pop. 108,751), seat of Linn co., E central Iowa, on the Cedar River; inc. as a city 1856. The second largest city in Iowa, it is named for the surging rapids in the river. , and Iowa City--have enacted similar laws. APPOINTED: Jose Zuniga Jose Zuniga is an actor. Zuniga was born in Honduras.[1] He has appeared in several television shows including 24, Prison Break, Law & Order, The O.C., , Bones, and Dexter. References 1. , as executive director of the Chicago-based International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care, Zuniga, who previously served as the group's deputy director, replaces Gordon Nary nar·y adj. Not one: "Frequently, measures of major import . . . glide through these chambers with nary a whisper of debate" George B. Merry. . COMMERCE Putting the Mary in Hamburger Mary's There's no denying that many gay men and lesbians know their way around the kitchen. But does that mean they also know how to sell burgers? Hamburger Mary's, a Corona del Mar, Calif.-based restaurant chain, is betting just that with a new pitch to include lesbians and gay men in its franchising program. The operator of the "funky, no frills" restaurants, which officials say attract a 50% gay clientele, is now targeting gay and lesbian investors with an ad campaign in magazines, including The Advocate. "Hamburger Mary's is literally an institution among the traveling gay community," explains president Stan Sax. "And now with our owner's manual, marketing, training schedule, proven menu, and sources of funding for start-up capital, we have a complete support program for qualified franchisees." |
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