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Quiet Goodbye: I'm not even a foodie but I was bummed (and surprised) to see that Balducci's -- a stone's throw away from my Chelsea apartment -- had closed on Sunday. (The West 66th Street locale is history as well.) To me, the real Balducci’s was always the flagship on Sixth Avenue in Greenwich Village, which closed in 2003 and is now the site of a Citarella. But it's still always sad to see a New York institution go under. (NYT)

Government-Sponsored Discrimination: President Obama has pledged to end it, yet the battle over Don't Ask, Don't Tell rages on. (NYT)

Unrepentant: Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., says she made a poor choice of words when she called the infamous murder of a gay Wyoming student a "hoax" to justify passing hate crimes bills, but she has not apologized for denying the killing was a gay-bias crime. (365Gay)

Coming Out: The New York Rangers file a complaint about homophobic taunts directed at the team by Washington fans and even name the players who were harassed. (CBS Sports)

Major Woody: Ken Levine has a loving tribute to Woody Allen's "Annie Hall," one of Manhattan's all time-great romances. (Kudos for not forgetting Christopher Walken as Duane!) (... by Ken Levine)

The Maine Event: The Maine Senate has backed the measure that would allow gay couples to marry starting later this year. It appears to have even broader support in the House of Representatives, which will take it up Tuesday. (NYT)

Iraqi Gays: Rep. Jared Polis has received a letter from Iraqi officials regarding reports of LGBT executions in the country, and he has sent a letter calling on the new U.S. ambassador to the country to investigate the charges. (Advocate)

Delayed Reaction: Public health officials say tests for new HIV infection are not widely adopted despite the great benefit of starting treatment early. (NYT)

Note to Sandra Bullock: Botox and other similar anti-wrinkle drugs must now carry the most stringent kind of warning label, the Food and Drug Administration said Thursday. (NYT)

Extra! Extra! The new issue of the New York Blade examines whether or not the Empire State will ever offer equality to gay men and lesbians. (NY Blade)

Lesbians of the World Unite: Lilith Fair is making a comeback in 2010. (ChartRigger)

Bombshell Arrest: The day after a woman came forward to claim her father was the notorious Zodiac killer, the Los Angeles Police Department announced the arrest of a 72-year-old man believed to be the Westside Rapist, who was responsible for the rape and murder of some 30 area women in the 1970s and 1980s. Police said they made the link when they collected a DNA sample from him in 2008 as part of a process to collect samples from sex offenders. (Pasadena Star-News) BTW: The alleged Zodiac daughter now says she has eyeglasses that belonged to the killer's last known victim, Paul Stine. Will be interesting to see if this can be verified in any way. (USA Today)

Groom and Doom: The fiancee of the Craigslist killer has finally decided to call off the wedding. Probably a good idea. (MSNBC)

Oh, Canada! Alberta has introduced legislation that critics say will make it the last province in Canada to enshrine gay rights in its human rights code. (TCP)