Milwaukee Gaze

A man has confessed to the fatal shooting of Desiree Marie Harrell, a popular and beloved member of Milwaukee’s LGBT community. 

Raymond Earl Baker, 35, told police that he shot Harrell, who was romantically involved with his wife, in the early morning hours of Jan. 2, according to the complaint filed by prosecutors in circuit court. Harrell’s body was found in her car in front of a house at 3836 N. 24th Place. She’d been shot eight times, according to the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s office.

Representatives from the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center and the organization Diverse and Resilient are negotiating a possible merger, according to a statement released on Jan. 20.

“While it is too early to speculate on the outcome, a positive working relationship has been established and a single committee representing both organizations is working diligently on the many issues involved,” the statement said.

Employees who work with minors at the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center are required by grants to have background checks on file. But a routine audit of the organization's 2010 operations revealed that the center had failed to conduct a background check for one of the seven employees who fall into that category.

The glitch was not considered serious by Ritz Holman, LLP, the center's financial auditor. "We don't consider one out of seven to be pervasive," Andrew Holman, a principal in the firm, told WiG.

Maggi Cage is no longer employed by the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center.

The center’s former executive director, Cage stepped down from that position in November 2011 after five years. A Nov. 7 press release said that Cage, who has a doctorate in psychology, would not leave the center altogether but rather “lead the new LGBT Mental Health Clinic.”

A commissioner on the board that makes final decisions in cases involving workplace discrimination says Wisconsin law does not prohibit anti-gay harassment on the job.

Her two fellow commissioners strongly disagree.

Jason R. Rae is offering an investment opportunity. He’s hoping that people buy into the concept of Young LGBT Professionals of Milwaukee, a new organization.

"We really want this to be something organic that people can invest in and feel ownership (of)," said Rae, who works in public affairs, serves on the Fair Wisconsin board and serves an a member of the Democratic National Committee.