News & Views of Phillips Since 1976
Friday December 26th 2025
It Is Summer and Time To Be OUT in the Backyard!
By Bernice Arias, a member of the Backyard Initiative OIBY Community Health Action Team
The OUT in the Backyard (OIBY), a Community Health Action Team or CHAT of the Backyard Initiative, continues to work toward improving the lives of the LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer) population living in the Backyard by connecting people to each other and to resources. We also work on reducing the gap between LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ people. We help to grow healthy queer communities by identifying LGBTQ ally providers, appropriate resources, and improving community relationships. The activities of the OIBY CHAT closely align with the Backyard Initiative”'s four health priorities: Social Connection, Social Cohesion, Health Education and Health Empowerment. (see shaded box.)
This past year we were able to sponsor several activities that included:
Community dinners where members of the community shared their “stories”. Story sharing over a meal helps build community and acceptance.
Three herbal classes centered around the seasons in an effort to learn how we can use local plants for healing and maintenance.
Free exercise classes (Yoga, Pilates, Zumba) six days a week and cultural dance classes (Bollywood) once a month. Each class is designed so that people at all levels of fitness and experience can benefit from them.… Read the rest “It Is Summer and Time To Be OUT in the Backyard!”
Keep citizen journalism alive!
FAKE NEWS SENT TO THE EDITOR: Conjecture, opinion, and prejudice
The Alley Newspaper has a firm policy excluding the printing of Letters to the Editor that are not signed.
In May an ANONYMOUS packet of papers was sent to the Editor. The Alley Newspaper is choosing to acknowledge receipt of these papers albeit with a label of FAKE NEWS/propaganda/revisionist history.
We believe it is important to acknowledge this repudiation of truth so that we realize the task at hand and its complexities in the 21st Century. See Spirit of Phillips cartoons with his quotes from the 19th Century about Freedom, Truth, and History. He lays bare “half of history is loose conjecture and much of the rest is the writer”'s opinion;” and “most men see facts not with their eyes but with their prejudices.”
The contents of the papers received bear witness to the words of Wendell Phillips in the mid 800”'s.
We assume the sender is aware of the absurdity of the pages sent or they wouldn”'t omit their name.
We hope the sender has the moral fiber, integrity, and honesty to identify themselves so that a dignified dialogue can happen with mutual benefit.
The papers are under two headlines: three and one third pages headlined Ancient Whites in North America: Why American Indian Activists Should Listen to the Ancestors;” and one page entitled Rapid City, S.D.… Read the rest “FAKE NEWS SENT TO THE EDITOR: Conjecture, opinion, and prejudice”