The owners of the Southern Voice and the Washington Blade abruptly announced the closure of both papers yesterday morning, along with four other big-name LGBT newspapers and magazines. Reporters and Editors arrived at their offices to find that Windows Media – who owned SoVo, the Blade, as well as David, 411, the South Florida Blade, and the Houston Voice – had changed the locks over the weekend. According to multiple reports, citing SoVo staffers, the parent company of the papers’ parent company ran low on private money, forcing them into receivership under the terms of a $39 million loan from the Small Business Administration. However, Gay City News reports that the SBA is being tight-lipped on why it chose to liquidate the assets of the Avalon Equity Fund, when potential buyers were in the offing.

In an interview with EDGE Boston, the former owner of Windows Media took a swipe at “homophobic” national advertisers like Target and Wal-Mart for not buying ads in his papers, as well as the familiar “Craigslist problem” that has brought down many newspapers by drawing away classified ads, a major source of revenue for most newspapers. David Unger also tried to defend against charges of mis-management that some have started to lob in his direction.

LGBT POV reports, though that the (former) staff of the Washington Blade are conspiring with the paper’s publisher to launch a replacement within the next two weeks! From one startup to another: Good luck!

Elsewhere…

Puerto Rico – The body of Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado, a 19-year-old gay man from central Puerto Rico, was found brutally decapitated, dismembered, and burned on a backroad in his hometown this weekend. After a comment from a police officer in the investigation suggesting that Mercado was ‘asking for it’, many in the local LGBT community were outraged at the possibility that the Puerto Rico Police would not seriously investigate the incident. Under the eyes of the FBI, who’ve announced they’re “monitoring” the investigation for compliance with hate crimes law, the police announced the arrest of an unnamed man and impounded two cars for forensic analysis. Puerto Rico news sources say they believe a Mercado was lured to his death by an offer of money for sex, but it’s not clear that Mercado regularly sold sex. (Back2Stonewall, Towleroad)

Georgia – A Georgia teacher has been arrested for threatening the life of a 16-year-old student because he thought the student was gay. (The Advocate)

D.C. – Someone’s been forgetting the condom: the CDC reports syphilis rates rose 63% last year among “men who have sex with men.” (The Advocate)

D.C. – A standard review of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act by the House Committee on Education and Labor has postponed, but no new date for the session has been set. Jillian Weiss points out that the earliest date for a new markup session would be December. However, with the 2010 midterm elections approaching, delays in the process could make the somewhat-controversial bill harder to pass.(The Bilerico Project)

New Jersey – A bill to create marriage equality in the Garden State before anti-gay Governor-elect Chris Christie takes office in January appears to be stalled in committee (The Advocate)

Utah – The Family Research Council condemns the Mormon Church’s recent decision to back a measure before the Salt Lake City Council banning housing and employment discrimination against LGBT people. A spokesman blames the church for trying to appease critics of its decision to support California’s Proposition 8. (Examiner.com/Associated Press)