"The Gay and Lesbian Times" has reportedly laid-off its staff and shut its doors. A former staffer said he received emails from his old co-workers telling him they had been laid off.
"I know for a fact that their staff was laid off," said Mike Rosensteel, a former GLT sales representative. "Their doors are closed."
The magazine did not show up at its normal distribution points on Thursday.
"The paper didn't show up this week and nobody was around to give an explanation," said Brett Serwalt, Owner of Obelisk Bookstore in Hillcrest.
"We are huge distributors of the GLT and we have a lot of customers asking what is going on," Serwalt said. "We are in an awkward position of not knowing what to say to our customers. Tthey expect us to know and we don't."
Serwalt says he doesn't know what to tell them, "We don't want to say it has gone out of business and it hasn't, but we don't want to tell them to check back next week."
The GLT has reportedly been under investigation by the San Diego County District Attorney's office. The San Diego Reader reports the DA's office is investigating the paper for "overstating circulation figures and possible financial irregularities."
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A spokesperson from the DA's office would not confirm if the allegations were true.
Steve Walker, Deputy Communications Director for the District Attorney's office said, “I know other sources have reported we are conducting an investigation, but we can't speak on anything unless charges are actually filed.”
The GLT has been in publication for more than 20 years.
The publisher of the magazine's closest competition, "Gay San Diego", says their voice will be missed.
"We do have a great deal of respect for him for running a publication for 23 years," said "Gay SD" publisher David Mannis. "It is sad to know that there is one less voice for that community."
