Dr. Joel Weisman first aids doctor Died at 66
Los Angeles physician Joel Weisman, one of the first to identify HIV/AIDS in 1980 from his Sherman Oaks office, died Saturday. He was 66.
Known as “the dean of Southern California gay doctors,” Weisman made the discovery nearly three decades ago, when he realized that three of his male patients, all gay, started suffering from similar symptoms (including drastic weight loss, pneumonia, and fevers). With UCLA immunologist Martin S. Gottlieb — who also had a patient with similar symptoms — the pair wrote a report in a 1981 issue of the Centers for Disease Control’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, signaling the official start of the AIDS epidemic. The two doctors cited health information among five patients, who died shortly thereafter, of what would eventually be known as AIDS.
Following their report, cases of immunodeficiency were being reported globally. By the end of 1982, 618 cases were reported. Twenty years later, the full toll had reached 500,000.
Weisman became an advocate for his patients and others with HIV when in 1983 he became founding chairman of AIDS Project Los Angeles. There, Weisman played a critical role in increasing services to those with the virus.
He also helped establish the first AIDS-specific hospital unit at the Sherman Oaks Hospital and Health Center. Weisman also pushed to fund AIDS research as an original member of amFAR. He later became chairman of the organization from 1988 to 1992. Dr. Mervyn Silverman lead the board of directors of amFAR from 1986 to 1996, including the period while Weisman was chairman of the board. Silverman described his colleague as a diligent advocate in the early stages of the AIDS epidemic.
“Hearing about him really upset me because he was very caring, very compassionate, he wasn’t just part of the gay community, or the medical profession,” Silverman said. “He was someone who really cared about the issues, especially with his involvement with APLA and amFAR. I never got the sense, working with him, that anything he was doing was for self aggrandizement or to be in the spotlight. He just did what he did.”
Silverman remembers Weisman’s work with amFAR during the early years as being controlled during such a hectic time.
“The foundation was in its very formative years, and if you’ve worked with a new foundation, you’ll know that it can get crazy, especially because with amFAR you had people who were there for one reason, and it was to solve this mystery and get on with it,” he said. “When you have that kind of commitment and dedication, the organizational things get more difficult. So in the beginning, you have mostly people who are there volunteering because of the cause, during that time, it’s a very difficult maturation. I look at the board today compared to the board back then, and it’s like night and day.”
Weisman died in his home after suffering from heart disease and being ill for several months, his partner of 17 years, Bill Hutton, told the Los Angeles Times. He is survived by Hutton, his brother Mark, his daughter Stavey Weisman-Bogue Foster, a granddaughter, and two nieces. Donations may be made in his name to amFAR, AIDS Project Los Angeles, or the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Taco Bell Chihuahua, Gidget, dies at 15
Gidget the Chihuahua, whose Taco Bell commercials made her a star, has died. She was 15.
The owner of Studio Animal Services in Castaic says Gidget suffered a massive stroke late Tuesday at her trainer’s home in Santa Clarita and had to be euthanized.
Gidget was the sassy mascot in Taco Bell commercials from 1997 to 2000. While other dogs had bit parts, it was her bug-eyed, big-eared face that was seen pronouncing “Yo quiero Taco Bell,” Spanish for “I want Taco Bell,” in a male voice dubbed by Argentine actor Carlos Alazraqui. A few years later, Alazraqui 
landed the role for which he is best known: Deputy James Garcia on Comedy Central’s “Reno 911!”
The Taco Bell ads provoked some criticism from activists who said they used Mexican stereotypes.
Gidget also had a role in the movie “Legally Blonde 2,” but others associated with the ad campaign weren’t so lucky. Earlier this year, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the creators of the Chihuahua character hadn’t been properly compensated for their work, and Taco Bell was ordered to pay $42 million.
Gidget’s trainer, Sue Chipperton, in an interview earlier this year with the People Pets website, described the diminutive dog as a consummate professional on the set. But, she said, Gidget had been the victim of typecasting, which limited her career choices (or, rather, Chipperton’s choices on her behalf).
Nas ordered to pay Kelis $44,000 a month in child support for baby born Wednesday
LOS ANGELES – A judge has ordered Nas to pay Kelis nearly $40,000 in monthly support for the near future, a day after the “Milkshake” singer gave birth to the divorcing couple’s baby boy.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Louis Meisinger issued the order at a Thursday hearing. Neither Nas, whose full name is Nasir Jones, nor Kelis, whose full name is Kelis Rogers, attended Thursday’s hearing.
Rogers will receive $30,471 in spousal support per month; the couple’s son will receive $9,027, according to the court records.
Rogers gave birth to the boy, named Knight, at a New York hospital Wednesday. The 29-year-old filed for divorce from the rapper in April. The couple was married in July 2003.
The two have been sparring over support payments for several months, with Rogers contending that Jones hasn’t paid many of the costs of her pregnancy and her expenses. His attorney, Mark Vincent Kaplan, told the judge that the rapper has paid $30,000 in expenses and the former couple’s health insurance has been maintained.
A hearing on whether the payments should be altered will be heard on Sept. 8.
Kaplan proposed paying Rogers a one-time payment of $20,000 until the judge could settle on an appropriate spousal and child support amount at a later hearing.
Meisinger rejected that offer, saying more money per month would be needed to accommodate Rogers’ lifestyle and was warranted based on income declarations filed with the court.
Meisinger told Rogers’ attorney, Laura Wasser, that the singer has 30 days to decide whether to return to the couple’s Los Angeles home. Jones is paying to maintain the property in the meantime.
The judge also ordered Jones to pay $45,000 to pay Rogers’ attorney fees and for a forensic accountant.
That is a large sum of money for a baby just born, $528, 000 dollars a year. I can see she is smiling now and she does have a good reason. The one thing that you must understand is that Nas makes about 2 million a year and the income that he is paying is a lot. I personally think that is entirely to much, don’t get me wrong but $20,000 a month for a new born is more in line with what he should pay for now. As the child gets older then gradually increase the child support. The ideal is to allow the child to continue to live in a lifestyle that he is used to. So if the child knows not what to expect then why give his mother that much money? Child support is suppose to help the child not increase the mothers financial status.
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