Columbus-based Outlook Ohio Magazine has suspended publication and may be out of business.

The free, monthly magazine that calls itself "The Voice of Ohio’s GLBT & Ally Community" last published in May and no employees are working at its office.

Word of the magazine's demise began to spread after the cancellation of the annual June event, "Out With Our Elected Officials." The event was part of Network Columbus, a monthly networking gathering that Outlook had hosted.

Then came the arrest on July 3 of publisher, editor-in-chief and art director Christopher Hayes in Parkersburg, West Virginia.

Hayes, 44, was arraigned on two counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, specifically methamphetamines and oxycodone hydrochloride. Bond was set at $100,000, according to the Parkersburg News and Sentinel.

Hayes remains in custody and could not be reached for comment.

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The magazine's sales director, Mike Moffo, said he was "not at liberty to talk about" the magazine's fate. He declined to comment on Hayes' arrest.

Former associate publisher and ad director Chad Frye could not confirm that Outlook was completely finished, but said, "It appears to have fizzled out."

Outlook began as a newsletter in the late 1990s, then became a tabloid weekly and finally a magazine distributed throughout Ohio.

"Outlook has been an important voice in Columbus for the last 20 years," said Frye, who left the magazine late last year. "It changed ownership a couple of times, and print is a very difficult medium to work in.

"If it is indeed done, I would invite someone in the (LGBT) community to tell our story for us," he said. "Having an authentic LGBT voice covering the LGBT scene is important."

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tferan@dispatch.com

@timferan