-- Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund has announced a $1.2 million grant aimed at increasing the number of people of faith supporting equality for LGBT people. The grant money was given to the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Foundation's Institute for Welcoming Resources and five partner organizations. Predictably, anti-gay right-wing Christian groups blasted the grant, claiming that gay-affirming churches are "rewriting the Bible".
-- Peel Regional Police are establishing an LGBT Hate Crime Hotline, believed to be the first of its kind in North America. Peel is a regional government entity encompassing the suburbs west of Toronto, including the city of Mississauga. The hotline will serve people wanting advice and follow-up on incidents where there is no immediate danger, police said. A spokesman said it will will also make it easier for people to come forward with complaints.
-- New Zealand's biggest gay and lesbian alpine party begins this weekend and ends Sept. 7, in -- well... Queenstown. It features the usual nights of parties and days of downhill boarding, skiing, and other winter sports at Coronet Peak.
-- An upstate New York LGBT advocacy group, The Bridge, will present its first annual award to state assemblywoman Teresa Sayward, R-Willsboro, who has a gay son, has supported legalizing gay marriage in New York, among other legislation. The award recognizes address "civil and human rights" issues for the LGBT community.
-- The season premier episode of In The Life on PBS will air never-before-seen footage of Del Martin and her partner of 55 years, Phyllis Lyon, becoming the first same-sex couple to wed in California. Martin died this week. The episode will also feature an in-depth look at the journey to marriage equality in California, and a conversation between Washington Post columnist Jonathan Capehart and Julian Bond, Chairman of the NAACP. They discuss the role of gays in the early days of the Black Civil Rights Movement. YouTube preview.