San Francisco

The Bay Area Reporter announces an adoption agency's new campaign to place gay and lesbian foster youth in permanent homes. An Oakland-based agency called Family Builders by Adoption has been committed to placing kids with families since 1976. It focuses on children who have a tougher time in the foster system, such as LGBT children, those with special needs, and children who have been exposed to drugs or alcohol.

Southwest Airlines is "the airline of gay and lesbian San Francisco," for at least one year. The San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau and Southwest want to increase the number of gay and lesbian travelers visiting the city, so the $180,000 tourism campaign will focus on advertising and marketing - including ticket giveaways.

Hillary Clinton visited San Francisco this week to receive the endorsement of it's mayor, Gavin Newson.

Newsom used a separate ocassion - later that day - to discuss his pioneering efforts in the history of gay marriage.

The Mayor was honored by the National Lesbian and Gay Law Association of the American BAR Association.

The San Francisco Sentinel published portions of his speech he gave that evening.

That's the message behind a new Tourism Toronto campaign marketing the city as one of the world's top destinations for gays and lesbians.

As any marketer knows, gays are "high-value" travellers. Worldwide, the gay travel market is a $55-billion industry.

The San Francisco Department of Human Services has started a campaign to recruit more gays and lesbians to adopt foster kids, especially teens, who are among the hardest to place. The agency sees gays and lesbians as an underutilized pool of potential parents.

101: Number of San Francisco foster children adopted July 2006 through April 2007.

84: Percentage of San Francisco foster children adopted by relatives.

16: Percentage of San Francisco foster children adopted by nonrelatives.

88: Of San Francisco foster children adopted by nonrelatives, percentage whose adoptive parents identify as gay or lesbian.

500,000: Number of children living in foster care in the United States.