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A San Diego man claims he was ambushed and set on fire by a group of 'hate-filled' attackers after leaving a restaurant. Scott Rowin, 39, said he was attacked while walking through the city's Hillcrest neighborhood on June 18 as he was leaving a local restaurant. Rowin told ABC 10 that two attackers shouted 'f**got' at him prior to rushing up and dousing him with a liquid that had the consistency of water. 'Immediately after that, I went up like coals on a barbecue. It started off really big,' said the man who sustained serious burns in the incident. He...

SEATTLE--“They’ve taken an area that was formerly a home for gay people, for queer people, for artists,” says John Criscitello while showing me around Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, “and they’ve turned it into a destination drinking spot.” Criscitello, an artist who lives and works on Capitol Hill, is 48 years old but looks a decade younger. He’s tall and muscled, with tattoos covering most of his skin and blue eyes that stand out against the gloomy Seattle sky. He hasn’t been in the city long — he moved from New York just four years ago — but in that short...

Philadelphia Posts Gay-Welcoming Street Markers in Center City by KYW's John McDevitt A dedication ceremony was held Wednesday afternoon to unveil street signs to define Philadelphia's famed "gayborhood." Singing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," a group of about 100 gathered at the corner of 13th and Locust Streets, in the Washington West neighborhood, where one of 36 discreet rainbow signs were unveiled. The sign is the same size as the Locust Street sign and fastened directly beneath it. Tami Sortman is president of the Philadelphia Gay Tourism Caucus: "Philadelphia four years ago started a gay-friendly campaign here to bring gay travelers...

(CBS) PHILADELPHIA The city of Philadelphia is planning to unveil three dozen street signs marking the ‘Gayborhood’ Wednesday. The 36 signs adorned with the internationally recognized symbol of a rainbow, also known as the ‘Freedom Flag,’ will be placed from Chestnut to Pine Streets between 11th and Broad Streets. During a brief ceremony at 13th and Locust Streets, the Philadelphia Gay Men’s chorus is expected to sing “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” as confetti canons cap off the celebration. Philadelphia will join four other cities, San Francisco, Chicago, Montreal and Toronto, who have dedicated permanent installations designating gay-friendly neighborhoods.

SPOKANE, Wash. — Gay activists in this staid Washington city are planning to create a neighborhood of gay-oriented homes, businesses and nightlife — a development religious conservatives contend would clash with Spokane's family-centered culture. "A gay mecca is not what we'd like to see Spokane marketed as," said Penny Lancaster, director of Community Impact Spokane (search), a network of evangelical Christians. "I'd rather see us promoted as a conservative, family-oriented community without any reference to sexual orientation." But proponents of the plan say a gay district would signal that Spokane is tolerant and progressive. "There is a very large gay...