OutRight Action International Announces Selection of Maria Sjödin as New Executive Director

OutRight Action International, today announced the selection of Maria Sjödin (pictured) as its new executive director. With 25 years of experience advocating globally for LGBTIQ equality, Maria will lead the international human rights organization dedicated to improving the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer (LGBTIQ) people at a pivotal time of change, expansion, and renewal. This momentous occasion comes after a yearlong, extensive search process that involved highly-qualified, diverse and passionate candidates from around the globe.

Maria, who previously served as OutRight’s acting executive director, succeeds Jessica Stern who joined the Biden Administration last September as the United States Special Envoy to Advance the Human Rights of LGBTQI+ Persons at the State Department.

“I am honored and privileged to be given the responsibility to lead OutRight Action International,” said Maria Sjödin. “Our focus on accelerating legal and social change across the world is at a very critical moment. While LGBTIQ communities are more visible than ever, governments, in too many places, are trying to stop or even roll back on our rights and progress. My vision is that OutRight will be there, for communities in crisis, for emerging organizations in underfunded regions and for the work that creates sustainable change, ensuring that LGBTIQ people can live in safety, with dignity and with our rights protected.”

A member of the senior management team, Maria also served as OutRight’s deputy executive director, overseeing the communications and development teams. During this period, the organization saw significant growth in revenue, enabling strong programmatic expansion, as well as growth in donor engagement, strategic partnerships, and visibility. Maria also helped launch pioneering initiatives including the organization’s LGBTIQ-specific COVID-19 and Ukraine Emergency Funds. The latter is aimed at providing assistance to LGBTIQ people who are in need of safe shelter, basic necessities, and humanitarian support as a result of the ongoing Russian war on Ukraine.

Prior to joining OutRight, Maria was the executive director of RFSL, Sweden’s largest LGBT organization and one of the oldest LGBT organizations in the world. During their tenure, Maria established RFSL's international program and played a key role in advocating for marriage equality and the abolishment of forced sterilization amongst trans people as a requirement for legal gender recognition. 

“We are beyond thrilled to officially welcome Maria as OutRight’s executive director,” said Jenny Pizer, OutRight’s board co-chair and acting chief legal officer at Lambda Legal. “In the years I have had the pleasure of working with Maria, I have seen the extraordinary blend of intellect, empathy, and long-term strategic vision that is Maria’s leadership style.  It is rare that any one person can engage with such deep knowledge, sensitivity, and effectiveness in settings ranging so broadly from the United Nations to vulnerable community gatherings to academia to corporate boardrooms. The board of directors knows and has great, appreciative confidence that Maria will continue to steward the incredible impact and growth of this organization – always expanding our movement resourcing, research, and human rights advocacy on behalf of our LGBTIQ family around the world – in keeping with the mission and values of our global movement.”

Aalap Shah, OutRight’s board co-chair and head of product and design at Plume, commended the board’s decision, noting, “This appointment is the culmination of a robust and thorough search process. We are incredibly proud that from Julie Dorf to Jessica Stern and now Maria Sjödin, OutRight continues to attract, develop, and empower some of the most important leaders in our movement. And we are excited to continue to foster a culture where our external values are reflected in the diversity and resilience of our incredible internal staff. We hope to continue to be a beacon of talent for those that want to join us in this crucial, life-changing work.”

NMAC Statement on Monkeypox Federal Public Health Emergency

Following is a statement from NMAC Executive Director Paul Kawata on the federal declaration of a public health emergency on the spreading Monkeypox epidemic.  

“This declaration of a national emergency on Monkeypox is a good first step from the federal government. This declaration will allow federal agencies to prioritize resources to provide vaccinations and outreach for those at risk of infection.”  

“However, it is only a first step and there are many questions that must be answered. How will vaccinations be rolled out? How will the federal government ensure not just access to vaccinations but equity in that access? When will the CDC recommend that all gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men get vaccinated? How will they make that happen, given issues of stigma and vaccine hesitancy? And how can this be done in the current political climate without further stigmatizing the LGBTQ community?”

“Immediate clarity must be provided beyond this federal declaration. Making a declaration of an emergency is an easy step. The hard part starts now. How do we make this all happen?”

Human Rights Campaign Commends the Biden Administration’s Monkeypox (MPV) Public Health Emergency Declaration; Calls for Swift Federal Action

Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights organization, commended the Biden Administration for declaring the monkeypox virus (MPV) outbreak a national public health emergency while noting that more needs to be done to ensure equitable access to vaccines and treatment.

“Declaring MPV to be a public health emergency is a crucial step forward in sounding the alarm and bringing much-needed urgency to the federal response,” said Torrian L. Baskerville, director of HRC’s HIV and Health Equity program. “The window for immediate action is rapidly closing. We expect that the CDC, HHS, FDA and the White House will use this emergency to leverage every resource at our nation’s disposal to combat the virus. Communities across the country are in desperate need of more vaccines, increased and easier access to testing, more direct health care provider training, and funding for state and local health departments and sexual health clinics to effectively treat their patients. It’s imperative that we prioritize outreach to BIPOC and LGBTQ+ individuals to ensure equitable access to vaccines and treatment by partnering with community organizations and health clinics. A public health response that does not center equity is a failed public health response.”

HRC has been closely monitoring the monkeypox outbreak, especially as the virus spreads primarily among gay, bisexual and transgender men, and transgender women. According to the CDC, as of August 3, there were 6,617 confirmed cases of MPV in the U.S., though this number is likely an undercount due to limited access to testing.

In an effort to get accurate and timely information to the LGBTQ+ community, HRC launched a resource page that lays out what the virus is, how it spreads, symptoms to watch for and current vaccine information, among other crucial information based on CDC and HHS guidance. MPV is a rare but potentially serious, viral illness that typically involves flu-like symptoms, accompanied by a rash, which may look like pimples or blisters. This virus can be transmitted to anyone, anywhere through close, personal, often skin-to-skin contact.  

Biden-Harris Administration Bolsters Monkeypox Response; HHS Secretary Becerra Declares Public Health Emergency

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra announced today that he will declare the ongoing spread of monkeypox virus in the United States a Public Health Emergency (PHE). This action will further strengthen and accelerate the Biden-Harris Administration’s response in recognition of the continued rapid transmission of monkeypox in the U.S. and globally, and to signal the seriousness and urgency with which the Administration is responding. The announcement comes on the heels of President Biden appointing Robert Fenton of the Federal Emergency Management Agency as White House National Monkeypox Response Coordinator and Dr. Demetre Daskalakis of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as White House National Monkeypox Response Deputy Coordinator.

“Ending the monkeypox outbreak is a critical priority for the Biden-Harris Administration. We are taking our response to the next level by declaring a public health emergency,” said Secretary Becerra. “With today’s declaration we can further strengthen and accelerate our response further.”

“President Biden has called on us to explore every option on the table to combat the monkeypox outbreak and protect communities at risk,” said White House National Monkeypox Response Coordinator Robert Fenton. “We are applying lessons learned from the battles we’ve fought – from COVID response to wildfires to measles, and will tackle this outbreak with the urgency this moment demands.”

The PHE declaration is in concert with the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) work to explore new strategies that could help get vaccines to affected communities across the country, including using new dose-sparing approach that could increase the number of doses available, up to five-fold.

The public health emergency also carries important implications for data sharing with the federal government. Fifty-one jurisdictions have already signed data use agreements that will provide the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) with information related to vaccine administration. Declaring the outbreak an emergency may provide the justification that the remaining jurisdictions need to sign their agreements. Additionally, it provides authorities to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to collect testing and hospitalization data.

As of today, HHS has shipped more than 602,000 doses of the JYNNEOS vaccine to states and jurisdictions, an increase of 266,000 in the past week. HHS has allocated 1.1 million doses to states and jurisdictions in total and is making more doses available as jurisdictions use their current supply. HHS also announced today that it has accelerated the delivery of an additional 150,000 doses to arrive in the U.S. next month. The doses, which were slated to arrive in November will now arrive in the U.S. in September.

Today’s announcements are part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s comprehensive strategy to combat the monkeypox outbreak.  The strategy includes significantly scaling the production and availability of vaccines, expanding testing capacity and making testing more convenient, reducing burdens in accessing treatments, and conducting robust outreach to stakeholders and members of the LGBTQI+ communities.

World of Wonder’s Podcast Network Champions Queer Voices In Upcoming Fall Slate

World of Wonder, the Emmy-award winning media company behind the RuPaul’s Drag Race global phenomenon, today announces an upcoming slate of podcasts joining the WOW podcast network. Included in the lineup is an expansive second season of the World of Wonder co-founder hosted “Night Fever,” and the inaugural season of “Gay Sex Ed: The Podcast,” which takes the popular WOW Presents Plus original series lead by Kameron Michaels and Vanjie Matteo into podcast form. From a celebration of the gay revolution begun in the 70s through to candid conversations about modern sex, this expansive slate champions a diverse array of queer voices and stories.

 

‘Night Fever’ kicks off the slate with a jaw-dropping second season which continues to explore the New York nightlife figures who defined the 70s, 80s, 90s, and beyond. Hosted by James St James and World of Wonder’s co-founders Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, this season will feature interviews with icons like Michelle Visage, where she discusses the teen dance scene in 1980s New Jersey, Susanne Bartsch who walks listeners through some of her most scandalous nights at the Copacabana, and Jayne County, a trans punk rocker, who relives the experience of being at Stonewall the night the first brick was thrown. These guests and more were revealed today in the all new Night Fever S2 first look trailer from World of Wonder.  Covering everything from important queer history to the most salacious tales of the New York nightlife, the upcoming season of ‘Night Fever’ promises an unmatched selection of camp, gossip, and nostalgia. 

“Gay Sex Ed: The Podcast” takes the popular WOW Presents Plus series format and brings it new life in a weekly episodic podcast. Together with certified sex therapist Dr. Chris Donaghue, RuPaul’s Drag Race alum Kameron Michaels and Vanjie Mateo bring you candid sex education from the gay male perspective. Each week will bring a new topic, discussed in depth with a surprising sincerity and non-stop laughs from the hilarious perspectives and anecdotes of the series hosts. 

In the new seasons of “UNHhhh: The Podcast”, “The Things That Made Me Queer”, “It Do Take Nerd”, and “The Pink Room,” the series will continue their beloved formats with a roster of fresh guests and storylines. Trixie and Katya bring fans their signature banter and beloved wit on “UNHhhh: The Podcast,” Dave Holmes and Matt McConkey grill even more your favorite LGBTQ+ celebrities on everything from their pop culture obsessions to their love lives, Drag Race UK’s Crystal will unpack the journey of self love and acceptance with a rotating list of celebrity guests on “The Things That Made Me Queer”, Jackie Cox digs even deeper into her love of nerd culture on “It Do Take Nerd” and Ash Kenazi will invite us into even more of the queerest backstages since the Blonde Ambition tour with a rotating queue of brand new artists on “The Pink Room.” 

Upcoming original series from the WOW Podcast Network include:

• UNHhhh: The Podcast - Now Airing

C'mon, season seven! Trixie and Katya are back for another season of a show about nothing because it's about everything. So come take a load off and watch, because it's their show - not yours. 

• Homophilia - Now Airing

Host Dave Holmes and Matt McConkey grill your favorite LGBTQ+ celebrities on what they’re loving, and who they’re loving. These queer-centric conversations spotlight our guests’ pop culture obsessions and personal experiences with dating, sex, and love.

• Night Fever S2 - August 8, 2022

Join James St James and co-hosts Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato as they talk to the leading New York nightlife figures of the 1970s, '80s, '90s, and beyond. Featured guests include Michelle Visage, Jayne County, Susanne Bartsch, and many more. It's campy, it's gossipy, it's jaw-droppingly funny - it's must-hear podcasting.

• Gay Sex Ed: The Podcast - August 18, 2022

Kamjie's back! Join Kameron Michaels and Vanessa Vanjie Mateo as they talk about all things sex, with certified sex therapist Dr. Chris Donaghue providing his expert opinion on the topic of the week. Gay Sex Ed - it's everything you didn't learn in High School, but probably should have.

• The Things That Made Me Queer S3 - Coming later this fall

Join Crystal from Drag Race UK as she sits down with a range of celebrity guests and friends to chat about the touchpoints of their queer journey through the items they “bring” along to the studio.

• It Do Take Nerd S2 - Coming later this Fall

Jackie Cox, queen nerd herself, is back, nerds! From sci-fi to fantasy, to video games – no four-eyed subject is off-limits as Jackie discusses the Queer impact that nerdy fandoms have had on her and her special guests!

• The Pink Room S2 - Coming later this Fall

Welcome to The Pink Room, the queerest backstage since the Blond Ambition tour. Each week, Ash Kenazi invites an artist backstage to discuss the scandals, the hijinks, and the pressures of a life on the road. Together we draw back the curtain on that elusive world and reveal the absolute carnage that ensues. And remember queens, what happens on tour gets shared in The Pink Room!

All these series and more can be found on the WOW Podcast Network and anywhere else you get your podcasts. 

The North Face Summer of Pride Series with Pattie Gonia Comes to Denver this Saturday

In May, The North Face unveiled its ‘Summer of Pride’ series of events, designed to bring people together and celebrate local LGBTQ+ communities all while connecting to the outdoors. Headlining the series is a collaborative partnership with Pattie Gonia (they/she), Drag queen, community organizer, environmentalist. Additionally, The North Face will build on its multi-year partnership with Brave Trails, an organization and residential summer camp for LGBTQ+ youth centered on leadership and skills development.

“We believe that exploration is for everyone and it is critical to empower and uplift voices in the LGBTQ+ community in order to make the outdoors an equitable and safe space for all. The Summer of Pride series is one of the ways we’re working to promote a more accessible and welcoming environment for individuals from all backgrounds to gather and experience the joy of the outdoors," said Mike Ferris , The North Face VP, Global Brand Management

The North Face Summer of Pride Series kicked off in Portland, OR on June 11 and will host community events in three more major cities: Denver, CO (August 6), Columbus, OH (August 30) and San Francisco, CA (November 5).

At each destination, events will include a half-day program led by Pattie, designed to foster community and celebrate the outdoors. Attendees will have the opportunity to “choose their own adventure” and connect with – and learn from – organizations and community leaders including The North Face Explore Fund grantee partners during breakout sessions, nature walks, and hikes, all designed to build and support local engagement.

“The LGBTQ+ community needs to be everywhere – especially the outdoors. We're here, we’re Queer and we’re enjoying the outdoors. I’m thrilled to partner with The North Face and other community leaders to create a safe space to celebrate the great outdoors with the Queer community. This collaboration helps expand exploration for everyone, especially the LGBTQ+ community who are vastly underrepresented in the outdoor community," said Pattie Gonia, drag queen, community organizer, and environmentalist.

Following the theme of local community, The North Face is partnering with retailers Public Lands, EVO and Sports Basement to help bring the Summer of Pride series to life.

This year, The North Face is continuing to support multiple LGBTQ-led and focused orgs, including a $100,000 donation to Brave Trails to support its work and the development of its “Forever Home” and new overnight summer camp facility based in Santa Clarita, CA on 54 acres in the Angeles National Forest. The camp will be the first LGBTQ+ camp solely dedicated to Queer youth leadership and community building in the world.

In addition, The North Face is releasing a Pride-inspired product collection featuring adult and youth styles available at https://www.thenorthface.com/pride.

This work is part of the company’s decade-long investment in increasing access and equity in the outdoors through The North Face Explore Fund (established 2010), and the Explore Fund Council (established 2020). Since 2010, The North Face has committed more than $10 million to more than 500 nonprofits through the Explore Fund, including Queer Nature, Out There Adventures, Outdoor Afro, Latino Outdoors, Native Women's Wilderness, among other organizations building equity in the outdoors and create opportunities for all.

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EPA Seeks Input on Latest Pollution Prevention Grant Opportunity Funded by $100 Million Investment from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced two listening sessions to collect input on the development of a new grant opportunity made possible by the $100 million investment in the agency’s Pollution Prevention (P2) program from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The new grant opportunity will encourage products, purchasing, and/or supply chains that are safer, more sustainable, and environmentally preferable and advance the Biden-Harris Administration’s bold environmental agenda.

The P2 program also delivers on President Biden’s Justice40 commitments to deliver 40% of benefits from climate, clean energy and pollution reduction investments, including from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, to underserved or overburdened communities.

“The products that we buy, use, and work with every day can have a real impact on our health and the environment like air and water pollution, waste disposal issues, and climate change,” said EPA Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention Deputy Assistant Administrator for Pollution Prevention Jennie Romer. “This new grant opportunity would leverage our existing tools and programs to increase access to safer and more sustainable products, like products that conform to EPA’s recommended standards and ecolabels, especially in disadvantaged and other communities with environmental justice concerns.”

A listening session on Sept. 7 will seek input from tribes on this new grant opportunity. Another session on Sept. 8 is for all potential applicants and stakeholders. Eligible applicants include U.S. states, Tribes, territories, or entities of these governments such as colleges and universities. Eligible applicants may also partner with interested stakeholders. Matching funds will not be required for these grants, making this funding opportunity more accessible to underserved and overburdened communities. The funding cycle for the new grant opportunity announced today would run in the off years of the traditional P2 grants.  

EPA is interested in understanding how these grants can be most accessible and useful to applicants. EPA will also seek additional insight into how funded projects can increase supply and demand for safer, environmentally preferable products, such as those certified by EPA’s Safer Choice program or identified by EPA’s Environmentally Preferable Purchasing program. Additionally, the agency is also interested in feedback on which projects would best support the grant’s goals, how to best encourage grantees to partner with other organizations to maximize project impact, how to best encourage projects that will benefit underserved communities and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and which barriers exist to potential applicants and what can be done to minimize those barriers.

This new grant opportunity is in addition to the P2 grant opportunities announced earlier this year for states and Tribes to develop and provide businesses with information, training, and tools to help them adopt P2 practices. These included a new P2 grant opportunity of approximately $14 million funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which built upon the traditional P2 grants program that has been administered by the agency for over 25 years. EPA anticipates announcing the awardees for these opportunities in the coming months.

Register for the webinars using the following links:

• Register for the Sept. 7 listening session for tribes and intertribal consortia: 2-3:30 p.m. EDT
• Register for the Sept. 8 listening session for other potential applicants and stakeholders: 1-2:30 p.m. EDT

Written feedback will also be accepted through Sept. 30 at EPP_SaferChoice_Grants@epa.gov.

Read more about P2 and the P2 Grant Program.

The Chicks Launch Exclusive Channel on SiriusXM

SiriusXM announced today the launch of The Chicks Channel, a limited-run channel celebrating the music of beloved musical icons, The Chicks. Listeners can tune in to The Chicks Channel beginning today on SiriusXM’s channel 104 and on the SXM App.

 

“Music has always been a medium that brings people together, a way to connect and find commonality,” said The Chicks. “As we continue to connect with our fans across the country on tour, we are so happy to also bring our music across the airwaves on our own SiriusXM channel.”

The Chicks Channel will explore The Chicks’ entire catalog, including some of their biggest hits like “Wide Open Spaces” and “Cowboy Take Me Away,” as well as deep cuts and live performances. The channel will also highlight their latest album Gaslighter, which charted No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Charts.

The exclusive channel will feature special commentary and stories from the band, intermixed with hand-picked music they love by artists, including Brandi Carlile, Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, Taylor Swift, Patty Griffin, James Taylor, David Gray, The Beatles and more.

The Chicks Channel will be available on channel 104 today through Tuesday, August 9, while the SXM App will broadcast The Chicks Channel through August 31.

The Chicks also announced today five new dates for their critically acclaimed The Chicks Tour, which kicked off to rave reviews earlier this summer. The band is set to perform on October 4 at the Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion in Rogers, AR, with additional stops confirmed in Oklahoma City on October 5 at The Zoo Amphitheatre, October 8 at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in Woodlands, TX, followed by back-to-back performances at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving, TX on October 10, and October 11. Public on-sale is set to begin Friday, August 5 at 10:00 am local time on https://thechicks.com/tour.

The Chicks, formerly known as The Dixie Chicks, began in 1989 in Dallas, Texas, and disrupted the country music scene, having since boasted more GRAMMY^® wins than any other female group. After nearly 14 years, the group made their long-awaited return in March of 2020 with the release of their hit single “Gaslighter,” the title track of their latest album which was released to rave reviews in July 2020.

OUT on VOD: Exposing Muybridge

Inside Out Media’s documentary Exposing Muybridge, featuring Academy-Award winning actor Gary Oldman is now available on DigitalHD, Cable & Satellite VOD, Blu-ray and DVD from Gravitas Ventures. The latest documentary from award-winning filmmaker Marc Shaffer (“Marijuana Gold Rush”), Exposing Muybridge, was the recipient of The Writers Guild of America Award for Outstanding Documentary Screenplay, 2022.

Brilliant, ambitious, and mischievous, the 19th-century San Francisco photographer Eadweard Muybridge lived the lives of a dozen men before his breakthrough photographs of running horses set the course for the development of cinema and transformed the camera into a machine of unmatched perception and persuasion.

 

“Eadweard Muybridge changed the world with his camera,” Shaffer says. “That would be reason enough to make a documentary, but his story is so much more than that. He led a fascinating, dramatic life, and one full of delicious surprises.” 

Far from a relic of the past, Muybridge marks a beginning of “now,” his work catalyzing much of our modern culture, inspiring cutting-edge artists, scientists, and innovators, people who continue to reshape how we interpret and experience our world. Muybridge’s powerful influence on pop culture can still be seen today, as in Jordan Peele’s hit horror film “Nope,” currently in theatres.

 

Few figures have played so seminal a role in our moving picture storytelling culture as Eadweard Muybridge. At the behest of his patron, the railroad baron and former California governor Leland Stanford, Muybridge produced those unprecedented images of running horses.

Mischievous, resilient, deceitful, proud — Muybridge was a complicated man, and his personal story is as melodramatic as his professional one is distinguished, imbued with ambition and success, loss and betrayal, even the cold-blooded killing of a romantic rival.

 

“The machine cannot lie,” Leland Stanford declared of Muybridge’s horse-in-motion images. But what about the photographer?

 

Exposing Muybridge reveals long-buried secrets hiding in Muybridge’s photographs that force us to ask, can we truly believe what we see in a photograph?

Suki Waterhouse kicks off tour with Father John Misty, debut album I Can't Let Go out now

On Sunday night, multitalented British vocalist and songwriter Suki Waterhouse kicked off a run of tour dates with Father John Misty at the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheater, with further stops at Los Angeles’ Holllywood Forever Cemetery, New York’s Radio City Music Hall and more—see full routing below and get tickets here.

The tour is in support of Waterhouse’s debut album, I Can’t Let Go, out now via Sub Pop Records—get it here. Additionally, her 2017 single “Good Looking,” which peaked at #1 on Spotify’s Viral USA Chart, recently went viral on TikTok and continues to accumulate more than 700 thousand streams daily across Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music.

I Can’t Let Go was executive produced by Grammy-nominated Brad Cook (The War On Drugs, Bon Iver) and features previously released singles “Moves,” “My Mind” and “Melrose Meltdown.” More music from Waterhouse is imminent.

Aly Muritiba's Stirring Queer Romance PRIVATE DESERT Opens August 26

Boasting lush cinematography and a haunting atmospheric score, Private Desert is a swooning sun-baked romance, a powerful examination of masculinity, and a triumphant affirmation of queer love and humanity at a moment when LGBTQ+ rights are dangerously imperiled across the globe and in Brazil in particular, where annual recorded numbers of fatal violence against trans and queer people continues to be the highest of any other country in the world. 

“Remember when we talked about being alone in the world?” 

Sara (Pedro Fasanaro) is a genderfluid blue-collar worker who lives as her male birth identity Robson by day while caring for her religious grandmother in Sobradinho, a small town in northeast Brazil. Daniel (Antonio Saboia), who teaches in a police academy in southern metropolis Curitiba, has been placed on unpaid leave after a violent incident that’s all over the news. Tense and tightly wound, he comes from a long line of police and military men, including his ailing father with whom he is tender and patient, displaying none of the machismo his work demands.The only thing holding him together is his online romance with Sara, whom he has never met in person. When she suddenly disappears, Daniel drives 2,000 miles across Brazil to find her, and what follows is a journey of the heart that will change Sara and Daniel forever.

Private Desert will open theatrically on Friday, August 26 at the Quad Cinema in NY and on Friday, September 9 at Laemmle Theatres in LA, with rollout to follow.

EPA, Justice Department, and State of Colorado settlement with DCP Operating Company LP Resolves Clean Air Act Violations at natural gas plants in Colorado

The Department of Justice, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the State of Colorado recently announced a settlement with DCP Operating Company LP and five other subsidiaries of DCP Midstream LP that will strengthen leak detection and repair practices at eight natural gas processing plants in Weld County, Colorado, located within the Denver Metro/North Front Range Ozone Nonattainment Area.

The settlement was filed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado along with a complaint that alleges DCP violated leak detection and repair requirements in federal and state clean air laws, resulting in excess emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC) and other pollutants to the atmosphere. As part of the settlement, DCP will take corrective actions and pay a $3.25 million civil penalty for the alleged violations.

“Leaks from equipment like valves, pumps, and connectors are a significant source of harmful air pollutants,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “Enforcement actions like this are critical to improving air quality, particularly in places facing air quality challenges like Weld County.”

“EPA continues to deliver cleaner air through the rigorous enforcement of the Clean Air Act,” said EPA Regional Administrator KC Becker. “This settlement will reduce emissions of over 288 tons of volatile organic compounds and 1,300 tons of methane from production areas near northern Colorado communities, a majority of which are disproportionately impacted by pollution.”

“The Air Pollution Control Division’s Leak Detection and Repair Program is among the most innovative programs in the nation. Because of our inspectors and enforcement action team, we are able to hold DCP accountable to reducing their emissions from potential leaks,” said Jill Hunsaker Ryan, Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment (CDPHE). “The resources obtained from the settlement will help contribute to our Community Impact Fund, a program which supports community-led environmental justice projects.”

“The Colorado Attorney General’s Office is proud to support the Air Pollution Control Division in this important work to protect and improve Colorado’s air quality, particularly in communities disproportionately impacted by air pollution,” said Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser. “This settlement serves as a model for addressing complex issues through collaboration between our state agencies and federal counterparts like EPA and the Department of Justice.”

Under the settlement, DCP has agreed to strengthen its leak detection and repair practices at the Greeley, Kersey/Mewbourne, Platteville, Roggen, Spindle, O’Connor and Lucerne natural gas processing plants, as well as the to-be-constructed Bighorn natural gas processing plant. These commitments include installing equipment that leaks less pollution to the atmosphere, reviewing compliance with leak detection and repair requirements, and repairing leaking equipment faster. DCP will also improve staff training for leak detection and repair at its facilities. Additionally, DCP has agreed to use optical gas imaging technology to improve the visual detection of leaks and address them quickly.

DCP will also install additional pollution reduction measures at the Kersey/Mewbourne natural gas processing plant that are intended to mitigate the harm caused by its past emissions. Specifically, DCP will install a dry seal recompression system on two turbines at the Kersey/Mewbourne plant. This project will cost an estimated $1.15 million and is expected to reduce VOC emissions by 26 tons per year and methane emissions by 375 tons per year.

The Denver Metro/North Front Range nonattainment area, which includes Weld County, does not meet national air quality standards for ground-level ozone pollution. Equipment leaks at DCP’s plants emit VOCs, which lead to the formation of ground-level ozone. Ozone contributes to serious public health concerns, including respiratory illness, aggravation of existing heart disease and temporary breathing difficulty for people with asthma. Young children and the elderly are especially sensitive to these impacts. Leaks from equipment at DCP’s plants also emit methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.

Working with CDPHE, EPA’s enforcement program is increasing efforts in Colorado to ensure compliance and protect the health of vulnerable populations. Several of the natural gas processing plants covered under this settlement are located in disproportionately impacted communities.

The consent decree is available for public viewing at https://www.justice.gov/enrd/press-room. The United States will publish a notice of the Consent Decree’s lodging with the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado in the Federal Register, and will accept public comment for 30 days after the notice is published. The Federal Register notice will also include instructions for submitting public comment.