Pride Source Media

Before Christian Styles, There Was Zack: Friends Remember the Man Beyond the P**n Star

The Michigan performer, born Zack Jaghab, died at 29 after mixing alcohol and kratom

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Pride Source Q***r News In Brief: Affirmations Honors Local Leaders, Give Like Dolly Day, Calvin U. Same-Sex Wedding Case Hits the Michigan Supreme Court

Affirmations is honoring this year's Aff Five on Sunday, including Rachel Crandall Crocker, who founded International Transgender Day of Visibility and Rev. Roland Stringfellow. Then on Oct. 8, the Michigan Supreme Court hears arguments in a case centered on Joseph Kuilema, the Calvin University professor fired for officiating a trans man's wedding. You can watch it live.

We also have an update on a case we first reported last year. Former Detroit medical resident Lincoln Erickson has been sentenced to nine years in federal prison in a child exploitation case.

Plus, get details on Vivent Health's new HIV health center in Highland Park, a Dolly-inspired fundraiser from Muskegon Pride and a steamy new cruise novel from Detroit author Jason A. Michael.

Catch up on it all at the link in the comments.

Back in 2018, we called Sharon Hughes "Nickki Stevens' Secret to Success." Anyone who spent time at Gigi's knew that was true.

Sharon, Nickki's mom and the woman so many knew as the "Purple Angel," died Sept. 19 at age 80. For nearly 30 years, she was a familiar face at the bar, selling her handmade Purple Angel Jewelry, cheering on her daughter and treating countless members of our community like her own kids.

We're sending love to Nickki, the Gigi's family and everyone who called Sharon "Mom." A celebration of life is planned for Sunday, Oct. 25, from 5–9 p.m. at Gigi's.

Read our remembrance at the link in the comments, and share your favorite Sharon memories below.

After more than 30 years on newsprint, Between The Lines is getting a glamorous glow-up! Our first glossy monthly magazine arrives the first week of October, with the same Michigan LGBTQ+ coverage you've always relied on and a bold new look to match.

Keep an eye out for it at your favorite spots around the state, and stay up on the latest in the meantime at pridesource.com.

Kal Penn Has Never Paid for a Drink at a Le***an

The ‘Harold & Kumar’ star on Anna Nicole Smith, Pride and how he never really ‘came out'

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Michigan P**n Star Dom King Talks ‘Crush House,’ Mencrush’s New Gay Reality Show

The Dearborn native talks s*x, stigma and getting blindsided by a $20,000 reality show

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There’s a version of this story that starts with a list. Like many good stories, though, it’s better to start at the bar, under a pressed-tin ceiling, past mirrors that don’t quite match and gnarled, wax-drenched candles that have melted into their own small sculptures. Roses, the 29-seat diner on Detroit’s east side, has always felt like this. A little worn-in, a little romantic, entirely itself. This September, The New York Times took notice, naming Roses to its 2026 list of best restaurants in the country, its critic noting the “colorful bouquets plucked from the parking lot garden out back” and comparing the dining room to the feeling of eating in “Grandma’s sunroom.”

First established in 2014, Roses (Roses) closed in 2023 after nine years in business, its final chapter clouded by pandemic-era pivots that left longtime regulars confused and chef-owner Molly Mitchell burned out. Roses reopened in the summer of 2025 under Mitchell, shifting from its longtime brunch identity into a dinner service. In February, the Detroit Free Press named Roses its 2026 Restaurant of the Year, calling the reopening “a coming-of-age story” for a restaurant built with intention.

Read the full story at pridesource.com. 🌹

Inside Roses, the Shuttered Detroit Diner Aaron Rush Helped Turn into a New York Times Pick

Rush on cultivating a culture where identity and leadership grow together

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