Richard Zaldivar

As Richard Zaldivar drove up Hyperion Avenue in Silver Lake last September, he saw police pointing flashlights into the faces of men going into gay bars. "An enormous fear entered my body," he recalls. "I thought, 'Why are they doing this? If I enter a bar, will they do it to me?' " Zaldivar called city officials, who didn't know what was going on. So, he put together a neighborhood meeting.

As Richard Zaldivar drove up Hyperion Avenue in Silver Lake last September, he saw police pointing flashlights into the faces of men going into gay bars. "An enormous fear entered my body," he recalls. "I thought, 'Why are they doing this? If I enter a bar, will they do it to me?' " Zaldivar called city officials, who didn't know what was going on. So, he put together a neighborhood meeting.

While acknowledging that recovery from drug or alcohol addiction isn't always successful, members of several East Los Angeles community-based organizations expressed their support Friday for Councilman Mike Hernandez. Hernandez, arrested in August after a two-month undercover law enforcement surveillance operation, plans to return to the City Council on Tuesday. Hernandez has admitted addictions to cocaine and alcohol and has spent more than a month in a rehabilitation center.

It was with great pride that I read the profile of gay Latino activist Richard Zaldivar ("He Leaves No Boundaries Uncrossed," April 14). Richard's dynamic leadership is essential to our community. Los Angeles is not only a center for activism, but one of the most organized communities throughout the United States. Gay And Lesbian Latinos Unidos (GLLU), one of the largest gay Latino organizations in the country, recently celebrated its 15th anniversary. They created Bienestar, the largest provider of HIV / AIDS services to the Latino community in Los Angeles.

Re "Church Is Monument to Activism," June 16: Bravo to Father Will Wauters and the Church of the Epiphany. They continue to be on the frontline of issues that affect their community. When the previous hosts of our ecumenical World AIDS Day church service backed out because of opposition to the AIDS monument we were building in nearby Lincoln Heights, the Church of the Epiphany welcomed us with open arms. We will never forget their support, love and compassion. Richard Zaldivar Executive director, The Wall- Las Memorias Project Los Angeles I took the photograph on Page B2 of Cesar Chavez at the Church of the Epiphany on Sept.

Parks officials Thursday unanimously approved the construction of an AIDS memorial in Lincoln Park in northeast Los Angeles, as long as the memorial's sponsors meet several conditions. Richard Zaldivar, a longtime Eastside organizer, conceived of "the Wall -- Las Memorias" project nine years ago to help raise awareness about the AIDS epidemic within the Latino community.

A community coalition formed after the Dodger Stadium beating of Bryan Stow called Thursday for a government audit of the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control because the agency has not issued a citation at the ballpark since the 1990s. "It seems like they're just ignoring the problem," Richard Zaldivar, who launched the coalition, said of the ABC's response to growing complaints about drunken hooliganism at the stadium. The Times reported last month that the ABC, the authority that enforces alcohol-licensing rules, last cited a Dodger vendor for a violation in 1999.

DIGNITY ANNIVERSARY: Dignity San Fernando Valley--a community of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Catholics--will celebrate its second anniversary with a banquet and awards presentation at 7 tonight at Porter Valley Country Club, 19216 Singing Hills Drive, Northridge. Father David Garrick will be the keynote speaker.

Plans were announced Thursday for "The Wall--Las Memorias," a proposed memorial to be built on Los Angeles' Eastside to alert the Latino community to the deadly threat of AIDS. Tina Escareno, whose 25-year-old daughter died of AIDS, hopes to see it built soon "so that grandmothers won't have to hear their 3-year-old grandson asking, 'When is my mother coming home?'

Over the objections of some vocal Lincoln Heights residents, the Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved the construction of an AIDS victims memorial in Lincoln Park. Although most council members said it is difficult to go against the wishes of angry constituents, they voted 10 to 0 to approve the proposal, saying it was the right thing to do. Several used the word "courageous" to explain their approval of the proposal.

Eddie Gonzales loves everything about his Mexican American roots, with one exception. He hates machismo, that domineering male attitude that is winked at by Latino traditions and culture. It can be the bane of lesser souls. When confronted with something unpleasant, the typical macho reaction is to steamroll it, or to ignore it. That's why Eddie hasn't told his father that he is HIV-positive. He's kept the truth from him for four years.