Terrie Ladwig was found dead in 1994.
AUtah man was arrested January 27 in the 29-year-old cold case murder of a trans woman in Concord.
James Grimsley, 55, was booked into Salt Lake County jail on a $1 million fugitive warrant, multiple news outlets reported, and has been charged by prosecutors in Contra Costa County with the strangulation of Terrie Ladwig, 28, on December 2, 1994.
See page 12 >>
Agay member of an advisory body for San Francisco’s recreation and park department plans to call on the agency to rechristen a public playground named after the late mayor George Christopher due to his support of police raids on gay bars in the city during his administration in the late 1950s.
Ken Maley, who represents the city’s third supervisorial district on the Park, Recreation, and Open Space Advisory Committee, or PROSAC, announced at the oversight panel’s January 10 meeting his intention to seek a new name for George Christopher Playground in the Diamond Heights neighborhood. It is part of the city’s eighth supervisorial district that has long included the LGBTQ Castro district within its boundaries.
Maley told the Bay Area Reporter last week that he is working on bringing a more formal request to the committee, perhaps as soon as March. It meets the first Tuesday of each month, and were it to recommend the park site be renamed, then the city’s recreation and park commission would take up the request.
“I have begun to investigate with the rec and park department about renaming that park,” said Maley, 77, who has lived in San Francisco since
1964. “I think it is a shame to have a park, particularly any park in the city and particularly in District 8, that is named after George Christopher.”
He came to that conclusion after writing about the history of gay bars in the city’s North Beach
district starting in the 1930s through the 1960s for a neighborhood publication last year. In it, Maley noted that Christopher’s inauguration as
See page 7 >>
by Matthew S. Bajko
The Biden administration is moving forward on a plan aimed at improving the federal government’s knowledge about the needs of LGBTQ Americans. It is the latest development in a decades-long push by LGBTQ advocates to better track sexual orientation and gender identity data in the U.S.
It is laid out in the first-ever “Federal Evidence Agenda on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex (LGBTQI+) Equity” document that the White House re-
See page 13 >>
First it was Harvey’s bar and restaurant in the Castro that abruptly closed January 22, now, rumors are swirling that Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy in the LGBTQ neighborhood might shutter.
San Francisco Unified School District officials told the Bay Area Reporter this week that the public elementary school in the heart of the Castro is not on any closure list – nor are any other SFUSD campuses during the 2023-24 academic year.
Last month, a Facebook post speculated that the Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy in the Castro was slated for closure.
In a January 23 Facebook post, education advocate Gloria Maciejewski wrote that the “Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy is in danger of being closed by SFUSD.” The reason, she wrote, was that the school had to cut one of its kindergarten classes. “The District decided to cut one of 2 kinder[garten] classrooms, which puts the school into a position that it can’t get out of until the 2nd K class is reinstated. This is hence a ‘death spiral’ move.”
“It’s not just the BEST little public school in the Castro,” Maciejewski’s post concluded. “It’s the ONLY public school in the Castro. Don’t let the district destroy it.”
(The Milk school feeds into Everett Middle
San Francisco Unified School District officials said there are no plans to close Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy in the Castro, but some parents are concerned that declining enrollment may shutter the elementary school.
School, which is between 16th and 17th streets on Church Street. Sanchez Elementary School, which is between 16th and 17th streets on Sanchez Street, also feeds into Everett, making Milk one of three public schools in the Castro area.)
In a phone interview with the Bay Area Reporter Maciejewski said, “the reassurances of non-closure are empty promises” if the school does not try to expand its reach. She has a child at the school and said that cutting an entire kindergarten class last year has made the school less at-
tractive to parents considering sending their children to the campus. Some schools have as many as four kindergarten classes, she said.
“We had parents turn away from applying because they were told we had reached capacity,” Maciejewski said. “So we are being sabotaged, in a way.”
Superintendent Matt Wayne will be visiting this week, she said, and if teachers don’t like what he has to say, there may be a protest.
“I don’t believe they’re trying to keep schools open by cutting kindergarten classes,” Maciejewski said. “We feel like it’s being done on purpose. ... The school has a wonderful community, an incredible environment, and really lives up to the name.”
Laura Dudnick, interim SFUSD communications director, wrote to the B.A.R. in an email January 31 that the district is maintaining the 22 seats for kindergartners at the Harvey Milk school, the same as last year.
“We are committed to working with the Harvey Milk community as well as all of our other school communities to explore opportunities to increase enrollment as well as to thoughtfully manage our resources,” Dudnick added.
The school opened in 1891 and was named Douglass Elementary until it was rechristened for the gay slain trailblazing San Francisco supervi-
See page 12 >>
The creator of a new public art installation showcasing everyday LGBTQ people in Redwood City
hopes it will help counter harmful political rhetoric about the community.
The piece, titled “Ordinary People,” is from gay artist Peter Moen, a longtime San Jose resident. His exhibit fea-
tures more than 50 oil paint portraits of LGBTQ community members. The installation, a partnership between the Redwood City Improvement Association and Fung Collaboratives, will be on display 24 hours a day through March 12 at the city’s public Art Kiosk.
Moen, 65, had studied with Lance Fung, the chief curator of the Fung arts collaborative. Last year, while discussing ideas for exhibits at the Art Kiosk, which allows artwork to be displayed in a glassed-in area with the public viewing from the outside day and night, Moen said they decided to highlight the LGBTQ community.
Given the proliferation of antiLGBTQ legislation across the country, including the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law in Florida and a wave of new antitrans state laws, Moen said he wanted his artwork to show real community members. Florida’s law, signed last year by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, prohibits classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through third grade. Last Saturday, Utah Governor Spencer Cox (R) signed into law a ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth. The national Human Rights Campaign stated in a news release that it’s the first anti-LGBTQ law signed in 2023.
“People say a lot of things about us, but really most of us are just pretty ordinary people. Some of us are boisterous, some of us are shy. But we’re not all those evil things people say we are,” Moen said. “We’re just nice, normal people.”
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The exhibit opened with 53 portraits, all that Moen has painted since
he started working on the project last July. But that number is expected to grow, as Moen will continue painting LGBTQ portraits through the run of the installation.
His subjects include several acquaintances from the region along with members of his church, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. That includes his friend and fellow San Jose resident Melva Mack, who identifies as pansexual. Mack said she was thrilled to be part of the project.
“My child, my son, is trans, and I am always really mindful of just being there for him. I am also mindful that I’m African American, and in the African American community sometimes it can be more difficult to be accepted for who we are. This is a good way to say we’re out here, we’re accepting and loving,” said Mack, 61. “We’re here to make this world better. We’re all doing this together.”
Moen wants to have at least 75 portraits done before the installa-
tion closes. He also hopes to bring the exhibit to other venues, and will continue painting subjects as it goes along. The individuals can reside anywhere and do not need to call the Bay Area home.
People interested in having their portraits painted by Moen can reach out via email to pmoen@rocketmail. com. The sittings – which can be done in person or from a submitted photo – are done at no cost, and subjects can choose to keep their paintings once the Art Kiosk installation ends.
“We are just normal ordinary people. We have one difference and that’s in one letter of an acronym,” Moen said. “Once people see how normal we are maybe they’ll realize, ‘Oh yeah, they are just people like us.’”
The “Ordinary People” installation will be on display free of charge at the Art Kiosk, at 2208 Broadway Street in Redwood City, through March 12. Moen will attend a closing reception for the exhibit at 11 a.m. March 11.t
Members of the Alexander Hamilton Post 448 of the American Legion, under Commander Jimmy McConnell, joined with members of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and other community leaders to participate in International Holocaust Remembrance Day at Pink Triangle Park in the Castro Friday, January 27. The solemn tribute remembered the millions of victims of the Holo-
caust, including LGBTQ people. Pink Triangle Park is located at the northwest corner of Market and Castro streets (bordered by 17th Street), and is a permanent memorial to the estimated 15,000 gay men who were forced to wear pink triangle patches and were interned in concentration camps on charges of homosexuality during the Nazi era. The majority of them died in the camps.
At Gilead, we understand that it’s going to take a combination of both science and social change to help end the HIV epidemic for everyone, everywhere. It’s only by collaborating with advocates and organizations across the country that we can reach this collective goal. Together, we’re working tirelessly to improve health equity and bring awareness to the HIV epidemic.
by John Ferrannini
Acoalition seeking to preserve the Castro Theatre held a town hall January 26 ahead of two critically important public meetings about the theater’s landmark status and the preservation of its seats.
The San Francisco Historic Preservation Commission was set to hear gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman’s request to expand the landmarking of the theater to include the interior when it met February 1. (The exterior is already a city landmark.) According to the meeting’s agenda, planning department staff have issued a preliminary recommendation in support of the expanded landmarking. (For more on the commission meeting, go to ebar.com.)
The San Francisco Planning Commission is expected to discuss the theater in March.
The town hall, hosted by the Friends of the Castro Theatre Coalition, drew almost a hundred people to the parish hall at Most Holy Redeemer Roman Catholic Church in the Castro. It came, coincidentally, just after a letter from the Nasser family and Another Planet Entertainment was released proposing interest that a member of another coalition enter into a sublease agreement with them. Another Planet took over management of the historic theater a year ago. The Nasser family owns the movie palace in the heart of the LGBTQ neighborhood.
The letter, obtained as part of a public records act request from gay activist Michael Petrelis to the office of San Francisco Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin, was sent November 28. Addressed to Castro Theatre Conservancy Executive Director Peter Pastreich, the letter asks the conservancy to provide “an initial proposal (“term sheet”) for subleasing the Castro Theater within 10 busi-
ness days of the date hereof” due to “our mutual interest in participating in discussions about the potential of the Castro Theatre Conservancy, or a duly formed affiliate (‘Castro Conservancy’), entering into a sublease agreement with APESF, LLC (‘tenant’), which would be consented to by 429CASATROLLC (‘landlord’).”
The letter proposes that the conservancy “be responsible for required capital improvements to the building … estimated to cost approximately $20 million.”
Another Planet spokesperson David Perry, a gay man, issued the following statement late Thursday: “Another Planet met with the conservancy on October 27 at SF City Hall to hear their proposal. There was none. Another Planet sent the letter recently shared online one month later. In the intervening three months, the conservancy has offered no plans, no budgets, and no commitment to improve the theatre.”
Pastreich was contacted last week for a response. He said it was not a good time to talk and he would get back to a reporter.
The Nasser family could not be immediately reached for comment.
Petrelis posted the letter to his Facebook page just before the town hall meeting, but it did not come up there. As the Bay Area Reporter previously reported, Petrelis also published a text between Mandelman and a constituent dated December 7 – the day that the historic preservation commission’s hearing on the theater was continued to February 1 – in which Mandelman wrote “not even sure if APE is still interested; they’re acting like they’re done” and “they’ve definitely put their pencils down.”
‘There is only one Castro Theatre’
The historic preservation commission meeting prompted the town hall.
Subsequently, the planning commission is scheduled to take up the Castro Theatre matter on March 16.
Stephen Torres, a queer man who is executive co-chair of the Castro LGBTQ Cultural District, one of the many groups involved in the Friends of the Castro Theatre Coalition, narrated for the crowd the history of the community’s interactions with the Nassers – the longtime owners of the theater since it was founded by Abraham Nasser in 1922 – and Another Planet.
Torres said the cultural district approached the Nassers during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns asking if they needed assistance but “did not hear anything” back from them. Then, in January 2022, it was announced the day-to-day management of the theater would be taken over by Another Planet – the producer of the popular Outside Lands festival in Golden Gate Park.
“We sent a letter welcoming APE to the neighborhood,” Torres said. But the
initial meeting “was not productive.”
“It was apparent there was a significant lack of cultural competency, but we were cautiously optimistic,” Torres said. “We asked for subsequent meetings. That never happened.”
Subsequently, at a town hall last August, Another Planet “let us know they have plans for the theater that change the use of the theater altogether.”
One of these plans was the removal of the theater’s permanent orchestra seating so that the theater “would be able to function as a nightclub” while it hosts live music events, Torres said. That’s something he isn’t too sure is good for the Castro neighborhood.
“I’m a bartender at Twin Peaks Tavern,” said Torres, who is also a member of the city’s entertainment commission. “We have already experienced the crowds coming out of the theater under this stewardship and it’s not altogether clear all the impacts are positive.”
On January 26, the Castro Theatre’s Facebook page released a new video showing Another Planet’s latest seating proposal, which would consist of temporary seats that could be moved depending on the event taking place at the theater.
Gerard Koskovich, a queer public historian, said that under Another Planet’s plans, 14 times a month “crowds will pour out” into the Castro. “What effect will that have on the neighborhood?” he asked. “There are lots of places to put on rock shows in San Francisco. There is only one Castro Theatre.”
The landmarking of the theater’s interior would complicate APE’s plans to remove the permanent seating, according to Christine Madrid French, the director of advocacy, programs and communications with San Francisco Heritage, a local historical organization.
See page 10 >>
Volume 53, Number 05
February 2-8, 2023
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The news that the federal Food and Drug Administration would ease guidelines on blood donations by gay and bisexual men at first blush seems like a positive development – and in a small way it is. After facing criticism for years over its hardline preventing of gay and bi men who have had sex with men from donating blood – even as new technology made it easier and more reliable to test for HIV – the FDA last week issued draft guidance that would allow gay and bisexual men in sexually monogamous relationships to donate blood.
The problem with this new draft proposal is a huge caveat – these men cannot donate blood if they are on PrEP, the HIV prevention regimen that is very successful when taken as prescribed. They must go off oral PrEP for three months if they want to donate. That, as gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) wrote in a tweet, essentially means that eligible gay and bi men will be forced to go off an effective HIV prevention method if they want to donate blood, which could, of course, increase their risk for HIV.
The New York Times reported that Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s biologics center, stated that the rationale for the PrEP restriction is because blood centers may not be able to detect HIV infection in donors taking the drugs. The news for those taking injectable PrEP is even more restrictive – they will not be able to donate for two years after their last dose. So, while it is progress that the FDA is removing sexual orientation as a means of restricting blood donors, and that all donors will be screened for HIV risk in the same way, a large number of gay and bi men would still be unable to donate.
The FDA and blood centers have a long discriminatory history when it comes to gay and bi men wanting to donate blood, though in recent years there has been incremental progress. The initial rule, formulated in 1983 during the early days of the AIDS epidemic, was a lifetime ban on any man
who had sex with another man after 1977. This was changed in 2016 to a 12-month deferral, and again in 2020 to a three-month deferral. As we reported last week, technology to screen blood samples for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, has rendered a blanket ban obsolete, according to the American Medical Association. LGBTQ rights groups have long argued that any ban should be based on reported behaviors, not sexual orientation. With the draft guidance, the FDA is moving in that direction. But HIV/AIDS continues to be a chronic disease with no known cure. There is no hope for a vaccine on the horizon – we reported last month that a large trial was halted when it failed to prevent infection. A companion trial was stopped in 2021 due to similar issues. That makes prevention tools like PrEP even more crucial. Since PrEP’s availability in 2012, more and more men who have sex with men are taking it, but as we’ve long reported, disparities remain, especially in communities of color. It’s important that local health
departments and community clinics get more men on PrEP to prevent HIV.
The Human Rights Campaign also bemoaned the PrEP exclusion in the draft FDA guidance. “In the meantime, it is absolutely essential that those who are currently receiving PrEP treatments continue to remain with their medication. We will soon be a step closer to ending the stigma that has existed for decades as a result of the harmful blood donation ban, and in the process, we will be able to ensure that the blood supply remains protected. Now the work must continue to refine this policy,” stated HRC President Kelley Robinson.
All of this comes as the nation’s blood supply remains critically low in many areas of the country. The Times reported that America’s Blood Centers, an organization that represents blood donation companies, stated that the COVID pandemic disrupted school- and work-based blood drives that were the “backbones of blood donation.” About a quarter of all blood transfusions are needed for cancer patients, the group noted, and those are needed about every two seconds in the U.S., the paper reported.
The FDA’s draft proposal does not mean changes will happen anytime soon. First, there will be a 60-day public comment period. After that, the FDA is expected to review and adjust its guidance. Then the various blood centers will need to update their donor history questionnaires and their computer systems as well as train staff, the Times noted.
We’re glad the FDA is finally moving in the right direction when it comes to gay and bi blood donors. But the agency is still discriminating against them if they aren’t in a monogamous relationship where both men are HIV-negative and not on PrEP.
Until there is real change so that more gay and bi men can donate blood, which likely would entail technological improvements in detecting HIV in donors taking PrEP, we are mostly unimpressed with the latest draft proposal.t
Bay area reporter
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The art of drag has never been more celebrated and simultaneously more under attack than it is today. Emmy-snatching “RuPaul’s Drag Race” is in its 15th season with franchises in countries around the world. HBO Max’s “We’re Here” is a hit, and Shangela stole the show on “Dancing with the Stars.” Drag queens are selling out world tours and filling some of the world’s most iconic theaters. From Fashion Week to music videos to local restaurants and bars – it’s impossible to turn on your TV or go to brunch without seeing drag.
While our community and our allies celebrate the progress of drag proliferation, some people are pushing back – hard. Under the guise of “protecting children,” Drag Queen Story Hour events from California to New York have been the target of armed protests from neo-Nazis, Proud Boys, and right-wing MAGA red-hat Christian extremists. Republican members in state legislatures from Arkansas to Texas have proposed bills that would classify drag performers as employees of an “adult-oriented business” similar to porn actors, massage parlors, and sex workers.
All of this is happening hot on the heels of proposed legislation introduced in 34 states that would make providing gender-affirming medical care to transgender minors a felony, and a federal “Don’t Say Gay” bill that would forbid all teachings about sexual orientation and gender identity in public schools to kids under 10 years old. These blatant acts of homophobia and transphobia are designed to erase, marginalize and, in some cases, criminalize LGBTQIA+ people.
Let’s be clear. Drag queens are not kidnapping children off the streets and reading to them against their will. Drag Queen Story Hour events have the blessing of the children’s parent or legal guardian, most of whom also attend and love shouting, “The hips on the drag queen go swish, swish, swish!” as much as their kids.
The fact that strangers armed with AR-15-style assault rifles and screaming obscenities at drag
performers think they are protecting children is ludicrous. These monsters are terrorizing everyone, especially the children.
Arresting a teacher who reads a story about the loving relationship between two same-sex penguins to her third grade class is not only censorship, it’s straight up fascism. Labeling drag artists or anyone who has the audacity to acknowledge the existence of queer and trans people to children as a “groomer” is dangerous and, quite frankly, laughable. I grew up at a time when every song on the radio, every television show, every movie, and every book we read in school lauded and encouraged heteronormative oppositesex attraction. Every bit of signaling I received from family, friends, teachers, and strangers on the street reinforced and rewarded clearly defined cis-male/female gender roles. I’m here to tell you, it doesn’t work. No one can change who
we are or who we love. Period.
In the face of these egregious assaults on queer and trans people, specifically drag artists, San Francisco has one thing to say: “Please welcome to the stage, San Francisco’s first Drag Laureate!”
As leaders of the Free Queer World, now is the time for us to stand up and send a message that drag will not be criminalized or silenced. Drag kings, queens and everyone in-between have always been here. From the Compton’s Cafeteria riots to the Cockettes, San Francisco has a rich and storied drag history. The Imperial Court and the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence were born here. Today, we’re excited by drag shows like “Reparations” at Oasis, which celebrates and elevates queer people of color like never before.
Not only do our drag artists provide endless entertainment, they raise a ton of money for those in need and, quite often, are the first ones to march, fight, protect and defend our civil rights.
As an official spokesperson for the LGBTQIA+ community, San Francisco’s first drag laureate should embody our diverse and inclusive drag culture. Through public appearances at events like San Francisco Pride and participating in, and producing, inclusive drag-centered events, our drag laureate will elevate our entire community on the national and international stage. As a member of the vetting committee, appointed by Mayor London Breed, I’m excited to find wellspoken, passionate candidates who respect and honor our history and represent the inclusive, diverse, and progressive drag culture of today.
If this sounds like you, applications for San Francisco’s drag laureate are being accepted until Thursday, February 16, at 6 p.m. Drag laureate candidates must live in San Francisco and be at least 21 years of age. To see a complete list of the duties, compensation, and requirements to apply, please visit https://bit.ly/DragLaureate2022.t
Sister Roma is a member of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, the well-known drag nun philanthropic organization, and a member of the vetting committee for the drag laureate position.
Atransgender veteran has fallen short in her bid for a city council seat in the seaside town of Seal Beach, California. Stephanie Wade’s candidacy had drawn attention within national LGBTQ political circles due to her vying to become the first trans person to win elected office in Orange County.
But based on the unofficial returns Wednesday morning, Wade ended up in second place in her runoff race for her city’s District 3 council seat. She received 710 votes, or 41.09% of the ballots counted.
Wade had been the top vote-getter in the three-person race on the November 8 ballot. Yet neither she nor her opponents had garnered more than 50% of the vote in order to win the seat outright. Thus, Wade ended up in the January 31 runoff race against Lisa Landau, who took first place with 1,018 votes, or 58.91% of the current count according to the Orange County Registrar of Voters.
An update of the vote count was expected in the afternoon of February 1. Wade, a divorced mother of two children who works for a county supervisor, did not immediately respond to a request for comment by the Bay Area Reporter’s Wednesday press deadline.
While Wade’s gender identity hadn’t been much of an issue ahead of the fall election, it became a main talking point among conservative supporters of Landau, a Republican, over the last three months. She had issued a statement last month decrying the transphobic attacks.
Due to the historic nature of her campaign, Wade had received a burst of support over the last week from LGBTQ political groups, with statewide advocacy organization Equality California having staff in town last weekend to help with get out the vote efforts for Wade. Both EQCA and the national LGBTQ Victory Fund had endorsed her council bid.
Meanwhile, Landau faced a number of questions about her candidacy and personal bio, from the ballot designation she used to her professed three decades of experience as an accountant, as reported by the Political Notebook last week. The Democratic Party of Orange County had created a website detailing
From page 1
mayor in 1956 brought about a new crackdown on venues that catered to gay and lesbian patrons.
Just the year prior state lawmakers had created the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, known as the ABC, in order to get around a California Supreme Court ruling in 1951 that had affirmed the right for gay people to gather in public. The decision came in Stoumen v. Reilly, brought by Sol Stoumen, the straight owner of the Black Cat bar in North Beach that catered to gays and lesbians.
Upset over the suspension of his liquor license, Stoumen sued a statewide tax board in order to have it be reinstated. His legal victory brought a brief period of relief for operators of gay and lesbian bars until the ABC ushered in a new era of raids on such establishments. The ABC made it illegal for people of the same sex to dance, hold hands, or kiss in bars, and in the city would work in tandem with the San Francisco Police Department to arrest patrons of such “illegal acts.”
The ABC and the election in 1955
the various accusations against Landau at http://lyinglisa.org/.
Several complaints were filed with city and county elections officials against Landau, who didn’t respond to the B.A.R.’s interview requests to address them. The election took place as scheduled because it was too late to do otherwise, Seal Beach City Clerk Gloria Harper told the B.A.R. in an emailed reply last week.
Emphasizing that she wasn’t taking a position on the allegations against Landau, Harper noted “there are remedies in State law to address candidate/elected official eligibility at the appropriate time.”
With there being “no provision in state or local law for changing the candidates on a ballot at this stage of the election,” Harper had urged voters to cast their ballots in the runoff race by the January 31 deadline to do so.
Following the departure late last year of its former legislative director, EQCA has brought on board Craig Pulsipher to serve in the role as California legislators begin their work for the 2023 legislative session. Pulsipher, a gay man, had been the associate director of government affairs at APLA Health in Los Angeles.
“Honored to represent the organization in Sacramento during such a pivotal moment for LGBTQ+ equality. Let’s get to work!” he tweeted last week.
He had worked for the nonprofit for nearly nine years, leading its statewide advocacy efforts on HIV and health care policy, legislation, and budget matters, as well as its political
of Christopher as mayor, the last Republican to lead San Francisco, “transformed the organization of policing in San Francisco, responding indirectly to civic concerns about liquor-related crime and homosexuality,” wrote Maley in the Spring 2022 edition of The Semaphore published by the Telegraph Hill Dwellers neighborhood association. “Mayor Christopher’s reorganization of the SFPD, in line with the ABC, ‘declared war on homosexual bars in San Francisco,’ reviving wartime anti-homosexual campaigns.”
“The basic thing is that Christopher, in his two terms, really was a rabid homophobe about gay bars and gay people,” Maley told the B.A.R.
He cited Nan Alamilla Boyd’s 2003 book “Wide-Open Town: A History of Queer San Francisco to 1965” as a source. Boyd noted that Christopher’s “war on vice” began immediately with his sacking of the city’s police chief and installing first Frank Ahern in the job then Tom Cahill after Ahern died. Due to Christopher’s election as mayor, noted Boyd, “the city of San Francisco became an increasingly hostile environment for queers.”
Nonetheless, it did not deter San Francisco officials from naming the public playground after Christopher
strategy. Over the last two years Pulsipher had worked with a coalition of AIDS advocates and service providers to secure tens of millions of new funding for various programs.
But APLA’s CEO had also lambasted lawmakers in Sacramento last year for funding just $38 million out of the $105 million in new funding the coalition of service providers had sought in the 2022-2023 fiscal year to address California’s twinned sexually transmitted infections and drug overdose epidemics. With the state projecting a deficit this year, Pulsipher’s experience with state finances will come in handy as LGBTQ advocates work to fend off budget cuts in the coming months.
Pulsipher succeeds Tami Martin in his new role. She left to work for gay freshman Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur (D-West Hollywood), EQCA’s former executive director, as his legislative director. Also joining EQCA this year is Theresa Carlisle as its director of human resources.
Carlisle had been working as the U.S. people and culture manager for Denmark-based Linkfire Inc., a music industry technology company. While she will be based in Los Angeles, Pulsipher will be based in Sacramento.
“We are thrilled to welcome Theresa and Craig to our leadership team as we continue our mission to achieve full, lived LGBTQ+ equality in California and beyond,” stated EQCA Executive Director Tony Hoang. “We’ve had the pleasure of working with Craig in multiple capacities and we look forward to the wealth of knowledge and experience he will bring as we shape up our legislative package for the year. Theresa brings over two decades of experience in helping foster productive, inclusive, and efficient workplace cultures and will be an invaluable asset to our staff.”t
seven years after he left office. The park was dedicated on April 7, 1971 with then-mayor Joseph L. Alioto presiding and Christopher in attendance, and underwent a $5.2 million renovation completed 50 years later.
The 6.8-acre park site includes picnic areas, baseball and tennis courts, a public bathroom, and a clubhouse for a nursery school. Accessed from Diamond Heights Boulevard, it sits atop a hillside with trail connections into the city’s Glen Canyon Park. Christopher, a Greek immigrant, had owned a successful dairy business and would graze his cows by the parkland.
ebar.com
He won election as a city supervisor in 1945 and easily won a second term. After losing his 1951 mayoral bid, he ran again four years later and won. As mayor, Christopher lured the New York Giants baseball team to town and oversaw the construction of Candlestick Park for the team.
He later lost bids in the 1960s for lieutenant governor, U.S. Senate, and to be his party’s gubernatorial candidate. Instead, GOP voters chose Ronald Reagan, who went on to win the 1966 race, launching his political career and eventual election as president.
Christopher died September 14,
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Project Open Hand has announced that it will receive over $1.4 million in federal funding to support its efforts to provide life-saving, nutrition intervention services to its clients.
The nonprofit agency first started out providing nutritious meals to people living with HIV/AIDS in San Francisco, and then also offered groceries. In recent years it has expanded its mission to include meals to people with other serious illnesses in San Francisco as well as Oakland in Alameda County.
According to a news release, the new federal funding will help improve Project Open Hand’s infrastructure, including, but not limited to, purchasing new delivery service vehicles, adding a mobile pantry vehicle, and upgrading kitchen and preparation equipment.
Paul Hepfer, chief executive officer of Project Open Hand, stated that the funds were allocated to the agency by Congressmember Nancy Pelosi (DSan Francisco), who previously served as House speaker.
He added that the funds will “ensure that our programs and capacity continue to reach those in critical need of the medically tailored meals
we provide.”
Pelosi stated that the agency is an important part of the local safety net.
“The new federal funding headed to San Francisco for critical community projects like Project Open Hand is a major victory for families in our city,” she stated. “This investment in Project Open Hand’s mission to provide nutritious ‘meals with love’ in our communities will help ease food insecurity and advance Ruth Brinker’s vision of a hunger-free San Francisco.”
Brinker, a straight ally and grandmother, founded Project Open Hand in 1985. She died in 2011 at the age of 89.
The agency currently prepares 2,500 nutritious meals and provides 200 bags of groceries daily to sustain its clients, according to the release. It utilizes the services of more than 125 volunteers, according to the release. A spokesperson, citing figures from the agency’s 2022 annual report, stated that there are 3,773 clients in the wellness program in San Francisco and Alameda counties and 3,080 in the community nutrition program in San Francisco only, for a total of nearly 7,000 clients.
The release stated that the planned improvements that will be made with the new funding come at a time when the organization’s services continue to rise and requests for meal deliveries from clients continue to grow.
Project Open Hand’s funding is part of a larger $30 million government package aimed to help San Francisco neighborhood-serving organizations, the release noted. It was announced by Pelosi and signed into law December 29 by President Joe Biden.
For more information on Project Open Hand’s services, go to openhand.org.
New SF art exhibit highlights seniors
A new art exhibition from the San Francisco Arts Commission highlights the work of seniors and has its opening Thursday, February 2, from 5 to 7 p.m. in the North Light Court at City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place.
“The Power of Creativity and Community” showcases over 90 original paintings and drawings made by seniors participating in the Art with Elders program from many programming sites and community partners located throughout San Francisco and the Bay Area, according to a news release.
The exhibition is organized into four groups: Art with Elders’ 30th annual exhibit and Art with Elders Over the Years: Works from the AWE Archive, as well as artworks collected by artists participating in the AWE Senior Bridge Project: Mental Health and Social Connection, and in classes at Laguna Honda Hospital, the release stated.
Each artwork is accompanied with
a portrait of the artist and information about their life and experience. LGBTQ artists are included in the exhibition, an arts commission staff member told the Bay Area Reporter.
The San Francisco Arts Commission Galleries has partnered with Art with Elders on two previous occasions at City Hall, once in 2001 and again in 2012.
“The San Francisco Arts Commission is honored to once again partner with Art with Elders for this joyous exhibition that allows us to engage and uplift members of our elders community in ways that empower creativity, build community, and foster a sense of pride about the journey of aging,” stated Ralph Remington, the city’s director of cultural affairs.
Art with Elders was founded in 1991 and has brought creativity and connection to 12,000 older adults in 75 senior communities across the Bay Area with its free or low-cost art classes.
“While encouraging and maintaining life-affirming community connections, AWE remains a powerful tool in the fight against social isolation by empowering our too-often disenfranchised elders to be seen and heard,” stated Art with Elders Executive Director Mark H. Campbell.
Dr. Grant Colfax, a gay man who’s the city’s health director, noted that Laguna Honda residents have long enjoyed Art with Elders programming.
Laguna Honda, the nation’s largest publicly run nursing home, was recently the subject of a scathing federal report and decertified after regulators found it in a “state of substandard care.” The San Francisco Chronicle recently reported that city officials, including Colfax and Mayor London Breed, have asked officials to extend their moratorium on mandated transfers of the hospital’s frail patient population, which is due to lift February 2.
In addition to the opening reception, which is free, there are several public programs in conjunction with the art exhibition. All take place from noon to 2 p.m. in the SFAC Main Gallery at the Veterans Building, 401 Van Ness Avenue, Suite 125. “The Role of Arts in Building Social Connection” will take place Saturday, April 1; “Inclusivity and Accessibility: San Francisco Cares” will be held Tuesday, May 23; and “SFDPH Laguna Honda Hospital: Hidden Healthcare Gem” is scheduled for Tuesday, July 11.
The exhibit itself will remain on display in the North Light Court through August 25.
After 29 days of closure due to a massive sinkhole resulting from the recent rainstorms, the Oakland Zoo will reopen to the public Friday, February 3.
A news release stated that repairs are near completion, in collaboration with the city of Oakland and private contractors, on the 40-foot sinkhole caused by a collapsed culvert located under the vehicle entrance to the zoo (at Golf Links Road).
Starting Friday at 10 a.m., people with reservations will be able to visit the zoo, as well as attend the zoo’s popular nighttime lantern event, Glowfari, that evening. Glowfari, originally scheduled to conclude January 29, has been extended through March 4, the release stated.
During the zoo’s closure, staff have continued to care for the animals and maintain the grounds. The release noted that the volume and velocity of water flowing across zoo grounds caused incredible soil erosion, eucalyptus trees to fall, flooding in various buildings, and overwhelmed drainage systems.
Tickets and member reservations for regular daytime admission and the Glowfari lantern program are available at oaklandzoo.org.t
San Francisco officials announced a new, coordinated citywide response protocol to address hate crimes as the city’s Asian American community is in the midst of Lunar New Year festivities.
The new protocol features better support and connection to services and more multilingual services, officials said.
The January 26 news conference by Mayor London Breed came after backto-back mass shootings in California that impacted the Asian American community. On January 21, a gunman, who was an older Asian man, opened fire at a dance studio in Monterey Park (Los Angeles County), killing 11 Asian people. He was later found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot.
Two days later, on January 23, a gunman opened fire at two mushroom farms in Half Moon Bay, killing seven. Those victims were Asian and Latino. The suspect, also an older Asian man, was arrested.
Breed was joined by District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, Police Chief William Scott, and City Attorney David Chiu in making the announcement at a news conference at the foot of Russian Hill, near Chinatown.
In addition to the recent mass shootings, Asian Americans have seen a spike in being victimized by hate crimes in recent years, with a 567% spike reported in 2021 in San Francisco. Much of that is due to former President Donald Trump disparaging Asians during the onset of the COVID pandemic and his supporters mimicking his racist comments.
In their remarks, several officials mentioned the celebrations of Lunar New Year, which herald the Year of the Rabbit (or the Year of the Cat for the Vietnamese community), as well as how the recent mass shootings in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay have impacted the Asian American community.
Chiu, a former state assemblymember and city supervisor whom Breed appointed to the city attorney position in 2021, reflected on what his community has been dealing with.
“Over the last several years, our API [Asian Pacific Islander] communities have dealt with tremendous levels of loss, hate and violence directed at us,” Chiu stated in a news release from his office. “These incidents are inexcusable and have no place in San Francisco. I am grateful to our community partners for identifying ways to improve our city’s response to hate incidents, and appreciate the collaboration that has led to new policies implemented by Mayor Breed, District Attorney Jenkins, and Police Chief Scott. The city is working hard to demonstrate our commitment to supporting and lifting up victims and survivors of hate.”
The LGBTQ community came up only once in the news conference, from Chiu, who said at its conclusion that “what we are doing is creating the infrastructure for reporting hate crimes, whether you’re Black, Latinx, LGBT, a woman, et cetera.”
In San Francisco, there were 60 reported anti-Asian American Pacific Islander, or AAPI, hate crimes in San Francisco in 2021 compared with nine in 2020: a rise of 567%. LGBTQs were the second most-targeted group, with 15 reported anti-LGBTQ hate crimes in 2021, compared to nine in 2020.
Scott said that anti-Asian American hate crimes had seen a drop from 2021 to 2022, but SFPD told the B.A.R. that the official totals are being finalized and “will be released in the near future.”
New protocol will include multilingual services
The officials touted that under the new protocol, victims will receive better support and quicker referrals to services, get timely information about the legal system and be met with culturally-competent services.
Specifically, the DA’s Office of Victim Services will provide multilingual resources and education to victims who’ve experienced violent crimes, regardless of whether they’ve reported it before, according to the press release. The languages served will include Cantonese, Mandarin and Tagalog, according to the release.
Scott said during the news conference that for its part, the police department has 100 Cantonese-speaking officers, and 20 each who speak Mandarin and Tagalog who can speak to crime victims who have challenges speaking English fluently.
Furthermore, the DA’s victim services division has created a resource guide about hate crimes, which was handed out at the press conference but that was not available on its website as of Thursday afternoon.
(The DA’s office did not respond to a
request for comment on where people can see the resource guide as of press time.)
The resource guide advises people to call 911, or seek the help of those around them, if they are “hatefully harassed.” Afterward, it advises people to write down what happened and report it. When writing down what happened, the guide advises to “write down everything you remember about the perpetrator (gender, age, race, physical characteristics, etc.). Try to write a case description as specific as possible.”
Finally, the guide advises victims to make the incident report at “the closest police station” and contact the victim services division at the DA’s office “as soon as possible.”
The division’s number is 628-6524100. The DA’s office also has a hate crime hotline at 628-652-4311.
Protocol comes after Asian elder drops suit
Anh Lê, a 70-year-old Vietnamese American man who was beaten in Chinatown in late 2019, told the Bay Area Reporter that he is “the person they are going to talk about during the press conference.” He sued the district attorney’s office last year, alleging that his rights as a victim were violated after a racially-motivated attack.
Lê alleged that the office, which at the time was headed by since-ousted District Attorney Chesa Boudin, violated his rights under Marsy’s Law, or the California Victims’ Bill of Rights Act.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Lê said during a news conference last January that prosecutors didn’t inform him of plea-bargaining discussions with the convicted attacker, and didn’t notify him about hearing dates when he could have read a victim-impact statement before a plea agreement was agreed to allowing the attacker to plead to a misdemeanor with a year of probation.
“They did this without consulting me, without any input from me at all,
and in violation of my rights as a victim,” he said at that time.
Lê dropped his suit in March, and his attorneys told the Chronicle at the time that the end of the suit would allow Boudin “to collaborate and engage in mediation to improve victim services for Asian American victims of crime” with other city officials.
On January 26, Lê said he learned of the officials’ news conference secondhand. Chiu said from the podium that he wanted “to recognize Mr. Lê, who is here with us today.”
The release noted that “gaps that may exist in the city’s response to hate incidents” was the focus of Lê’s suit, which it assed was “brought to a resolution” by Chiu’s office.
Jenkins, Boudin’s successor, said during the press conference that “we must continue to uplift our AAPI community” and that while it is a good thing that the city is funding a senior escort program for the elderly, “I will not become complacent or satisfied that we have an elder community that thinks they need an escort to go to the bank or to a doctor’s appointment.”
Scott advised all people to report hate-fueled incidents, even if they don’t technically fit the legal definition of a hate crime, so that police and prosecutors can both recognize patterns and get people who may commit crimes on their radars. In California, in order to convict on a hate crime charge, a prosecutor must be able to prove that the victim was targeted because or their actual or perceived disability, gender, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics, according to the attorney general’s office.
“Please report these crimes and any types of crimes when they occur,” Scott said.
San Francisco’s 2023 parade for the Lunar New Year will be held February 4, beginning at 5:15 p.m. at Market and Second streets.t
The Transgender District remembered former staff member Ivory Nicole Smith, who died last week with a candlelight vigil in the Tenderloin January 27.
Smith, 27, had been a project associate with the district – the first legally-recognized trans cultural district in the world, comprising the southeast Tenderloin and two blocks south of Market Street. The vigil was held at Turk and Taylor streets, the location of the Compton’s Cafeteria Riot in 1966 that was one of the first LGBTQ riots in the United States.
Aria Sa’id, president and chief strategist of the Transgender District, stated in a Facebook post that the San Francisco Police Department was conducting an investigation, “but their preliminary assessment has ruled out foul play and homicide” in Smith’s death.
SFPD Public Information Officer Sergeant Adam Lobsinger confirmed that in an email to the Bay Area Reporter January 26.
“The SFPD is investigating, and foul play does not appear to be a factor in the death,” Lobsinger wrote.
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She said that the interior is as important as the exterior. The exterior of the theater was designated as the city’s 100th landmark in 1977.
“Imagine Mission Dolores – landmark No. 1 – without the pews inside it,” she said, referring to the church located at 320 Dolores Street. “It is the interior of a structure that makes a building a house, a theater or a church. It is the crown jewel of the Castro – indeed the queen of the neighborhood.”
Koskovich said sometimes it is the “intangible cultural heritage” of a place that is worth preserving. He tapped
Further details about Smith’s death were not available.
The San Francisco Office of the Chief Medical Examiner confirmed Smith died, her age, and that she lived in San Francisco, but added that “the cause of death and the manner of death is pending; the OCME has no additional information or comment.”
Gabby Burgos-Colón, a special project associate with the trans district who is nonbinary and gendernonconforming, told the B.A.R. that Smith had since “moved on” from working at the district, but that she was one of the first friends they’d made when they moved to San Francisco.
“I’ve known Ivory since I moved to the Bay Area,” Burgos-Colón said. “I moved here last year in January. We worked together at the district – we were both project associates – and worked at the same desk. We collaborated a lot and lived in the same building.”
Smith, who was born July 28, 1995, was a “daughter of the Bay Area,” Burgos-Colón said. The two had lived together in the Tenderloin.
“She definitely was very empowering,” Burgos-Colón said. “Every time we’d talk she’d say ‘Hey Gabby, love.’ It
into the emotions of the crowd, reminiscing about “quite possibly the most famous neighborhood theater” in the world.
“Inside the Castro Theatre, LGBT people and our friends have felt safe in a crowd – sometimes for the first time in our lives,” Koskovich said. “We’ve gone to countless films and singalongs and drag shows there. … We’ve formed a unique queer public at the Castro Theatre – what sociologists call a counter-public – against the grain of the culture.”
Koskovich said watching films as an LGBTQ community together taught people “how to respond to a culture that sometimes oppressed us.”
was a small thing, but it really made me smile, made me feel loved and made me feel seen in my own skin. She traveled the world by herself and she wanted to live life, live big and live unapologetically.”
Burgos-Colón said that “we were a little more badass when we were working together.”
“The amazing thing about the Castro Theatre is that it has an audience like nowhere else in the world – that’s us,” he said. “A unique queer public that does not exist at all anywhere else and will not if APE has its way.”
Pastreich, attending the town hall, argued that the theater should be run as a nonprofit.
“Neither APE nor the Nassers seem to have anticipated the strong community reaction to the plan to turn the theater into a live music venue unlikely to serve as a home for film,” he said. Pastreich said that Another Planet CEO Gregg Perloff has been keeping programming sparse at the theater as a negotiating tactic.
They added that as far as they knew, Smith had two jobs at the time of her death, one of which was as a navigator for the city’s initiative to facilitate access to housing for transgender people.
Pau Crego, a trans and nonbinary person who’s executive director of the San Francisco Office of Transgen-
“Given the lack of action at the Castro right now, I wonder how we’ll be able to tell” if the theater closed, Pastreich said, to the guffaws of the crowd.
When asked, Another Planet declined to respond to this allegation.
“The Castro should be run as a nonprofit,” Pastreich said. “Hundreds of movie theaters in the United States are run as an arthouse guided by a mission other than profit. Eighty-four percent of those are nonprofits.”
Pastreich said that the Balboa Theatre on San Francisco’s Westside and Roxie Cinema in the Mission have been preserved in their historic roles in just this way.
“These historic theaters contribute to the unique character of their neighborhoods,” he said. “But none of them is the Castro.”
Torres alleged that Another Planet gave film festivals an “offer they can’t refuse” by asking them to sign on to its changes or have problems rescheduling their festivals at the Castro Theatre. The San Francisco Film Noir Festival, for instance, is moving to Oakland’s Grand Lake Theatre.
When asked, Another Planet declined to respond to this allegation.
‘Wonderful solution’
When asked for comment on the Thursday town hall and specific allegations against Another Planet, Perry issued a statement about the revised seating rendering of a motorized floor that would make “both raked seating and tiered standing arrangements possible,” which was announced the same day in a video posted to Facebook.
“Another Planet Entertainment is excited to reveal its new floor rendering for the Castro Theatre’s planned improvements and look forward to presenting these plans to the Historic Presentation Commission on February 1,” Perry stated. “This video rendering illustrates Another Planet’s plans for a state-of-the-art motor-
Obituaries >>
Rick Emmons
February 2, 1949 – November 8, 2022
Rick Emmons, who lived in San Francisco for decades, died November 18, 2022 in Tucson, Arizona after a long illness. He was 73.
He was an architect and general contractor who designed and built projects
der Initiatives, expressed his grief at Smith’s passing.
“At the Office of Transgender Initiatives, we had the honor of working with Ivory over the past few years, including as a member of our Trans Advisory Committee last year,” Crego wrote in an email. “Ivory was a thoughtful and passionate community leader, and was truly one of the kindest people I have ever met. Her passing is heartbreaking, and she will be deeply missed by our community both here in San Francisco and throughout the country.”
Sa’id issued an official statement
January 26.
“As a former staff member of The Transgender District, Ivory was a fierce community leader and organizer, and a dedicated activist known for her unwavering love and appreciation of her community,” Sa’id stated. “Ivory was undeniably a pillar of our community and her passing is an enormous loss for us all. We recognize the importance of coming together to grieve and honor her life and legacy.”
“It was very unexpected,” BurgosColón said of Smith’s passing. “She was very loved.”t
ized raked floor. As the video demonstrates, the motorized floor makes both raked seating and tiered standing arrangements possible. In addition, this improvement creates a more accessible layout and better sight lines for patrons.”
Perry presented the floor proposal as a “wonderful solution” to the concerns of those afraid that the theater will no longer be able to serve as a moviehouse.
“We’re thrilled to have found a wonderful solution that guarantees not only a vibrant future for film, but also allows for an expanded repertoire of programing including a continuing commitment to the LGBTQ communities and Castro neighborhood that will ensure another 100 years of this beloved and irreplaceable institution,” Perry stated.
Koskovich derided the proposal. “Magical seats” is what he called it. “All of their magical talk about magical seats coming out of nowhere are irrelevant with respect to historic preservation and the space,” Koskovich said. “Their [the commissioners’] decision is based on the secretary of the interior’s historic preservation standards.”
Jeffrey Kwong, a gay man who is president of the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club, tied the theater fight into widespread anxiety that the Castro neighborhood is in decline.
As the B.A.R. reported last week, the longtime eatery and nightlife venue Harvey’s at the intersection of Castro and 18th streets closed its doors, while up the block the space that had housed dance club Badlands remains vacant and boarded up.
“These spaces are important to all of us and, as a former member of the [San Francisco] Gay Men’s Chorus, singing there on Christmas Eve to countless folks who have no family to return to, these sacred spaces are under attack,” Kwong said.t
all over the Bay Area.
Rick and his husband, Jeff Smithson, were avid country western dancers and were often seen dancing at the Rawhide II several times a week during the 1990s. Together they traveled the world on many cruises.
In 2005, Mr. Emmons and his husband of 29 years moved to Tucson to be near family and enjoy a slower pace of life and remained there until his death.
He was very loved and will be sorely missed.
can be yourself, live among friends and experience
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by John Ferrannini
The San Francisco Police Department has once again raised the reward amount in an effort to solve one of the most infamous cold cases involving the killing of gay men.
Police have increased the reward for information leading to the identification, apprehension, and conviction of the serial homicide suspect known as the “Doodler” to $250,000. The reward had been raised last year from $100,000 to $200,000 as the Bay Area Reporter previously reported.
The Doodler is suspected of killing at least six gay men in San Francisco between January 1974 and September 1975. He may have killed as many as 16.
A sixth confirmed victim was announced last January, at the time that the reward money was raised: Warren Andrews, a 52-year-old lawyer, was found unconscious after an assault at Lands End on April 27, 1975. He never regained consciousness and died several weeks later.
“In the mid-1970s the San Francisco Police Department investigated several violent assaults of gay white male victims,” a January 24 SFPD news release stated. “As a result of the investigation, at least one victim provided informa-
tion that led to a forensic sketch of the suspect that was developed in 1975. At least one of the victims provided information to police that the suspect said he was a cartoonist and the suspect was doodling while conversing with the victim in a late night diner.”
The release came just ahead of January 27, the 49th anniversary of the discovery of the Doodler’s first victim, Gerald Earl Cavanagh, a 49-year-old Canadian immigrant whose body was found fully-clothed, lying face-up at Ocean Beach. He had been stabbed
and had defensive wounds.
The Doodler’s modus operandi was to target gay men in the Castro neighborhood and other places, luring them into sexual encounters then killing them and leaving their bodies in parks and beaches around the city’s westside. He is described as Black, about six feet tall, and looked to be between 18 and 25 at the time of the killings.
All of the victims were white gay males. Three were found at Ocean Beach, one at the Spreckels Lake Model Yacht Facility in Golden Gate Park, one
at Lincoln Park (best known as the location of the California Palace of the Legion of Honor), and one at Lands End.
At the same time as the Doodler murders, in July 1975, there were two attacks on gay white males within a two-week period at the Fox Plaza apartments, according to the SFPD in a crime bulletin attached to the January 24 release. Though both victims lived on the same floor, they did not know one another.
SFPD homicide inspectors determined at the time that there was a connection between the Doodler murders and the Fox Plaza attacks.
“One of the survivors from the Fox Plaza attacks had met the suspect after the bars closed in July of 1975 at the Truck Stop diner near Market/Church St.,” the crime bulletin stated. “The suspect was drawing animal figures on a napkin. The suspect commented to the victim that he was attending art school and was studying to be a cartoonist. The victim believed the suspect to be skillful in drawing as he himself had a background in art.”
Then in October of that year the victim – who spent “the most significant amount of time” with the suspect compared to any other known person – provided information that generated a
composite sketch of the suspect believed responsible for the Fox Plaza attacks.
“Soon after the initial suspect sketch was released, an anonymous phone call was made by a female to SFPD. This anonymous caller provided police with a name and a vehicle plate of a suspect. This female called twice within 10 days. We are looking to identify this caller. After this caller contacted SFPD it is believed that at least two different people also contacted SFPD providing the same suspect name. We would also want to speak with these individuals. The person named was interviewed by SFPD Homicide in January 1976 and he was considered a strong suspect.”
It is this same person, police stated, who “is still the focus of our investigation in 2023. We believe there are other persons who may have survived attacks by this same suspect or may have information regarding this suspect and these attacks,” the crime bulletin concluded.
Anyone with information regarding the Doodler is asked to contact cold case investigators Tom Newland at 415-553-1144, Dominic Celaya at 415-553-9856, Daniel Dedet at 415553-1450, or Daniel Cunningham at 415-553-9515.t
Agay former Sebastopol mayor and cannabis entrepreneur was convicted of six felony crimes involving the sexual abuse of a child.
Robert Jacob, 45, pleaded no contest to the six counts in Sonoma County Superior Court on January 20.
Jacob had served on the Sebastopol City Council from 2012 to 2016 and was selected mayor by his colleagues in 2013.
The crimes Jacob pleaded to include
a number of activities, from contacting the victim with the intent to commit a specific offense and ultimately committing acts of sexual abuse against the victim, who was under the age of 15. As a result of Jacob’s plea, five other felony counts were dismissed, according to the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office website.
As the Bay Area Reporter previously reported, Jacob is also the co-founder of Peace and Medicine, Sonoma’s first cannabis dispensary, which later merged with SPARC, a San Francisco-
based dispensary founded by Erich Pearson, a gay man. After the merger, Jacob served as president of SPARC, although the affiliation ended several years ago.
“The allegations against Robert Jacob, who has not been affiliated or associated with SPARC for several years, involve horrible and unconscionable actions,” Pearson wrote on social media after news of Jacob’s arrest in 2021.
Charges against Jacob surfaced April 10, 2021, when Sebastopol police arrested him, based on informa-
tion they had received a month prior about alleged sexual assaults that may have happened in the city from December 2019 to March 2021. Following an investigation, he was arrested and initially held without bond in the Sonoma County Main Adult Detention Center.
Jacob, who is currently not being held in jail, is scheduled to return to court for sentencing on March 23, a little more than two years after his arrest by the Sebastopol Police Department.t
Ward 86, the first dedicated HIV clinic in the United States, recently marked its 40th anniversary with a celebration at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital.
Since its inception, Ward 86 has been a key element of the “San Francisco model” of comprehensive community-based HIV care. Over the years, the clinic has pioneered innovations in HIV treatment and prevention that have been adopted nationwide and around the world.
“Treatment has dramatically changed the lives of our patients. But let me tell you what has not changed. Number one, [Ward 86] is patientcentered. And secondly, we are constantly figuring out better ways to deliver scientific advances in HIV to our patients,” said Dr. Diane Havlir, SFGH’s chief of HIV, infectious diseases, and global medicine. “Ward 86 is the Silicon Valley of innovation for AIDS care, and what we do here is transferred both locally and globally.”
During last week’s gathering, gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) presented a resolution from the state celebrating the anniversary, gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman offered congratulations from the Board of Supervisors, and Mayor London Breed declared January 25 “Ward 86 HIV Clinic Day.” In addition, Dan Bernal, a gay man living with HIV who is a president of the San Francisco Health Commission, presented a commendation on behalf of Congressmember Nancy Pelosi (DSan Francisco). For the past 21 years
From page 7
2000 at the age of 92. The San Francisco Chronicle’s news obituary made no mention of his campaign against gay bars, and instead quoted another Greek former mayor of the city, Art Agnos, saying that Christopher had “told the police, who were harassing gay people, to leave them alone. He was not a liberal in any sense of the word, but he was very strong on civil rights. He was one of my early role models.”
Newly-appointed PROSAC member from District 3 Therese Oxford, whose first meeting was in January, told the B.A.R. that she had looked up Christopher online after hearing Maley bring up the notion of renaming the playground. She didn’t know much
From page 1
sor in 1996. At the time the move was controversial according to a contemporaneous article in the San Francisco Chronicle that included a parent who said she’d take her two children out of the school if the renaming went through.
Over the years, the school has been embraced by the Castro community. Businesses like Cliff’s Variety have raised funds for supplies for the school.
“We have and continue to do so,” Terry Asten Bennett, a straight ally
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Grimsley, a trucker, was implicated by forensic evidence, Concord police Lieutenant Sean Donnelly said. He is still in Utah.
“He has to go through the extradition process this week and we’ll see what happens next,” Donnelly told the Bay Area Reporter. “We’ve been looking at this case for a while. It’s gained some traction in the past six to eight months but we aren’t ready to say any more yet. Once the person is here in Contra Costa County and arraigned we’ll be able to share out more info.”
saw it again with monkeypox. We said we’re going to treat health problems as health problems. We’re not going to rely on prohibition and moralism.”
During last year’s mpox outbreak, SFGH became a primary location for people to get inoculated against the virus, though there were long lines due to the short supply of the vaccine, which was distributed by the federal government.
Today, Ward 86 serves some of the city’s most disadvantaged people living with or at risk for HIV. Many are living in poverty, 96% rely on MediCal or Medicare, a third lack stable housing and rates of mental illness and substance use are high, officials noted.
Bernal has been chief of staff for her district office in San Francisco. Wiener recalled how Ward 86 and other local providers cared for the community in the darkest days of the AIDS epidemic.
“Our city government and our health care institutions stood up at a time when the federal government abandoned us ... when they considered people like me and so many others in this room to be human garbage,” he said. “San Francisco built this amazing infrastructure that is a model for the world, not just for HIV, but for so many public health epidemics. We
about him or his record, and what she found raised questions for her on why the decision had been made to honor him with the park naming.
An advocate for greening the city by planting a more diverse canopy of street trees and wanting more greenspaces in her part of the city, Oxford said she looks forward to learning more about Christopher before making a decision about the park name.
“I am curious as to why he got named in the first place. What’s the force that was behind that? There must have been a reason, but when I Googled it, I couldn’t find it,” she said.
Tamara Barak Aparton, a spokesperson for rec and park, said the final decision on park site names is up to the seven members of the city’s recreation and park commission. It ad-
who manages Cliff’s, wrote in a Facebook message this week.
The K-5 school has an enrollment of 228, according to U.S. News and World Report.
Dudnick stated to the B.A.R., “There are no school closures planned for the 2023-24 school year.”
“Like many districts across the state, SFUSD is experiencing declining enrollment,” Dudnick continued. “We are using a district-wide process to determine how many seats will be available at each school next year. This is done so that we align our resources and staffing with the number of stu-
The case was revived as part of a periodic review of open cold cases, Donnelly told the Mercury News.
The B.A.R. reported on the case at the time. The B.A.R.’s Dennis Conkin reported in the December 15, 1994 issue that Ladwig was “a devout Catholic Filipina who loved dogs and romantic waterfront walks with her Navy officer husband.”
Indeed, Terrie Ladwig had married Naval Petty Officer Steven Ladwig in Reno, Nevada the prior summer, Conkin reported. She planned to relocate nearer to the naval base where Steven Ladwig, a submarine crew member, was stationed at and
“The model of HIV care at Ward 86 evolved as the epidemic unfolded and has continued to adapt to the many changes seen in more recent years,” Dr. Paul Volberding, who founded the clinic with Dr. Donald Abrams and the late Dr. Constance Wofsy, told the Bay Area Reporter. “From the start, it brought needed services of many forms to a single site in a coordinated, compassionate and effective manner that is truly responsive to patient needs. It has had a community-informed and participatory philosophy and remains a vital model emulated worldwide.”
The Ward 86 outpatient clinic opened its doors in January 1983, followed by the opening of Ward 5A, SFGH’s designated inpatient ward for people with AIDS, that July – two years after the Centers for Disease Control
opted a policy in 1981 laying out the process for naming park sites. According to it, existing place names are considered “to have historic significance.” It will only consider changing the name of an existing facility, “particularly one whose name has city or national significance,” if there are “extraordinary circumstances” for doing so and a new facility can’t be “so designated.”
It further states that existing park names will be modified “only with the greatest reluctance and only to commemorate a person or persons who have made major, overriding contributions to the park, and whose distinctions are as yet unrecognized.”
The policy also says a park is not to be named after a person until two years after their death, “except in an
dents at each school, and in an effort to keep our schools open despite declining enrollment.”
Indeed, Axios reported that enrollment in the city’s public schools declined by 3,574 students, or 6.8% of the total student body, from the 20192020 school year to the 2021-2022 school year. In 2022, however, enrollment was 1,099 students higher than predicted, though it was still 500 fewer than the prior year, according to SFist.
“Revisiting school capacities and the assignment process itself are closely linked with the new elementary student assignment system that SFUSD is work-
also to undergo gender confirmation surgery.
The night of the killing, Terrie Ladwig called Steven Ladwig to tell him that someone was trying to break into their unit. He rushed back from Bangor, Washington to Concord, where he found his wife strangled at their home at the Sunset Pines Apartments on Adelaide Street.
Concord police didn’t consider Steven Ladwig a suspect. Nor did they find signs of a break-in or sexual assault.
When news came out that Terrie Ladwig was a transgender woman, the Navy conducted an investigation
and Prevention published the first medical reports about the disease that would come to be known as AIDS.
“Between the outpatient and the inpatient units, we launched a number of research initiatives and clinical care programs to improve the care of those living with HIV, not just in San Francisco but to provide models for HIV care around the country and internationally,” Ward 86 medical director Dr. Monica Gandhi told the B.A.R.
In the early years, SFGH helped lead the first clinical trials of investigational HIV drugs. In 2008, Ward 86 opened a women’s clinic. In 2010, Ward 86 and other San Francisco providers were the first to recommend antiretroviral treatment for all people diagnosed with HIV, regardless of their CD4 Tcell count, two years before national guidelines adopted this approach.
In 2013, Ward 86 created a RAPID ART program that helps people start antiretroviral therapy the same day they are diagnosed – or as soon as possible thereafter – to avoid people falling through cracks while they wait for test results or follow-up appointments. But Ward 86 does not limit itself to HIV treatment: It also runs a PrEP clinic that provides HIV prevention medications to people at risk.
Ward 86 also plays a role in HIV cure research. Dr. Steven Deeks and colleagues have been studying a cohort of elite controllers, people who manage to naturally control the virus and remain healthy without medications, in an effort to learn how to achieve long-term remission.
Ward 86 launched its SALUD clinic for Spanish-speaking clients in 2016.
extraordinary case of overwhelming city-wide civic importance.”
Maley said he doesn’t have a person in mind to rename the park site in honor of, though he suggested perhaps a lesbian owner of one of the North Beach gay bars would be an appropriate honoree.
“It may be premature to think about a subsequent name,” he said.
Gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman told the B.A.R. no one had discussed renaming Christopher playground with him and was unaware such a proposal has been broached until asked about it by a reporter. Mindful of the complaints voiced in 2021 that public input had been lacking when the city’s public school district convened an advisory group tasked with selecting school
ing to implement, focused on the goals of improving predictability, prioritizing proximity, and enhancing diversity at SFUSD schools,” Dudnick stated.
Lisa Weissman-Ward, the vice president of the city’s school board, told the B.A.R. over the phone that as far as she knew, “the school to the best of my knowledge is not in danger of closing.”
Tom Ammiano, a gay man who in the 1990s served as president of the school board before his time as an elected city supervisor and state assemblymember, told the B.A.R. that he heard from parents and others worried the school might be closing.
into Steven Ladwig. At the time, their relationship would have run a-foul of the United States Military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, which banned from the armed services people who were openly non-heterosexual.
Steven Ladwig did not consider himself gay, according to Conkin. He was given an “other than honorable discharge” for “misconduct” the following month, according to a 1995 story in the San Francisco Chronicle. A reason was not given though “he was investigated for homosexuality but that is not why he was discharged,” the paper reported.
Grimsley was charged with one
The following year saw the debut of the Golden Compass program, which provides one-stop comprehensive care for HIV-positive people over age 50. According to the San Francisco Department of Public Health’s annual HIV epidemiology report, 73% of the 15,631 city residents living with HIV are 50 or older.
Two years later, Ward 86 launched the POP-UP program (https://hividgm.ucsf.edu/pop-up) to provide specialized HIV care for homeless and marginally housed people. According to the DPH report, 24% of people newly diagnosed with HIV in 2021 were homeless, and HIV-positive people experiencing homelessness are least likely to have an undetectable viral load, at just 27%.
The latest initiative is SPLASH (Special Program on Long-Acting Antiretrovirals to Stop HIV), which aims to broaden use of long-acting injectable treatment. The federal Food and Drug Administration approved the first injectable regimen, Cabenuva (cabotegravir plus rilpivirine), in 2021, but it is only indicated for people with an undetectable viral load who wish to switch to a long-acting regimen. However, a recent pilot study showed that it may also be a viable option for people who are unable to achieve and maintain viral suppression due to challenges with treatment adherence.
“By trying to use these novel agents in patients with concomitant life challenges, we hope to get individuals suppressed on therapy who have never been suppressed before and change the trajectory of the HIV epidemic,” Gandhi told the B.A.R.t
sites to rename, Mandelman stressed the need for a well researched, community process around the name of the park.
“The idea requires a fair amount of socialization, I think,” said Mandelman, who is in the process of naming two of his constituents as members of the parks advisory committee. “We are changing the names of all sorts of parks. It is certainly open for conversation.”
As for Christopher, Mandelman said he did not know much about his mayoral record.
“I am not familiar with George Christopher’s time as mayor. What are his alleged sins?” asked Mandelman. “I look forward to learning more about George Christopher’s history. We will see where this goes.”t
When asked why they thought that, Ammiano said school board watchers are adept at reading the tea leaves.
“Harvey Milk fought for the school to remain open back when it was called Douglass,” Ammiano said. “It’s important to follow up so there’s no danger of closing.”
Mark Sanchez, a queer man who is the only LGBTQ member on the school board, did not return a message seeking comment.
The school is one of two in the United States named for Milk, the other being M586 Harvey Milk High School in Lower Manhattan in New York.t
count of murder, with no enhancements.
Contra Costa County District Attorney’s office public information officer Ted Asregadoo told the B.A.R. that the office doesn’t have a statement to make now.
“The court date has not yet been set,” he said. “Therefore, we can’t release the complaint. I can tell you it’s a murder charge with no enhancements.”
According to a police news release, “Concord PD worked closely with the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office and the Contra Costa County FBI Safe Streets Task Force to obtain the warrant and locate Grimsley.”t
leased January 24. The National Science and Technology Council’s subcommittees on SOGI and variations in sex characteristics data and equitable data created the 49-page report.
It is considered a roadmap for how federal agencies can collect SOGI data and other information for use in improving the lives of LGBTQI+ people across the country. The new report follows the issuance last June of a 15-page set of recommendations from the Office of the Chief Statistician of the United States for how federal agencies could gather self-reported SOGI data on their statistical surveys.
The White House noted in a fact sheet it posted to its website last week that the evidence agenda delivers on a commitment President Joe Biden made last Pride Month in an executive order he issued on LGBTQI+ equality. It called the document “an important step forward” in the Biden administration’s goal for expanding the federal collection of SOGI data and advancing equity for LGBTQI+ Americans.
Included in it are specific questions that agencies can use to collect SOGI data, and guidelines for how to safeguard respondents’ individual privacy, security, and civil rights when seeking such information.
“The hope is that this evidence agenda will help point the way toward agencies across [the] federal
AMENDED SUMMONS SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO
NOTICE TO RESPONDENT: HONG CHEW, YI YA CHANG, STEVE LY AND DOES 1-10, YOU ARE BEING SUED BY PLAINTIFF: JULIE LEE
CASE NO. CGC-19-576859
NOTICE! You have been sued. The court may decide against you without your being heard unless you respond within 30 days. Read the information below. You have 30 CALENDAR DAYS after this summons and legal papers are served on you to file a written response at this court and have a copy served on the plaintiff. A letter or phone call will not protect you. Your written response must be in proper legal form if you want the court to hear your case. There may be a court form that you can use for your response. You can find these court forms and more information at the California Courts Online Self-Help Center (www.courtinfo.ca.gov/ selfhelp), your county law library, or the courthouse nearest you. If you cannot pay the filing fee, ask the court clerk for a fee waiver form. If you do not file your response on time, you may lose the case by default, and your wages, money, and property may be taken without further warning from the court. There are other legal requirements. You may want to call an attorney right away. If you do not know an attorney, you may want to call an attorney referral service. If you cannot afford an attorney, you may be eligible for free legal services from a nonprofit legal services program. You can locate these nonprofit groups at the California Legal Services Web Site (www.lawhelpcalifornia.org), the California Courts Online Self-Help Center (www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp), or by contacting your local court or county bar association. NOTE: The court has a statutory lien for waived fees and costs on any settlement or arbitration award of $10,000 or more in a civil case. The court’s lien must be paid before the court will dismiss the case. Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. The attorney for Plaintiff: SYDNEY JAY HALL (SBN 158151), LAW OFFICE OF SYDNEY JAY HALL, 3 EAST 3RD AVE #200, SAN MATEO, CA 94401; (650) 342-1830. OCT 25, 2019, Clerk of the Court, Edward F. Santos, Deputy. JAN 12, 19, 26, FEB 02, 2023
ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR
CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-22-557651
In the matter of the application of HALEY LARKIN ELIZABETH READ, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appears from said application that petitioner HALEY LARKIN ELIZABETH READ AKA HALEY
LARKIN ELIZABETH GRANOFF is requesting that the name HALEY LARKIN ELIZABETH READ AKA HALEY LARKIN ELIZABETH GRANOFF be changed to HALEY LARKIN READ GRANOFF. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N on the 16th of FEBRUARY 2023 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.
JAN 12, 19, 26, FEB 02, 2023
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0399020
The following person(s) is/are doing business as THE CITY COUNTRY GROUP, 2501 MISSION ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed RICHARD LESTER. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/12/22. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/16/22.
JAN 12, 19, 26, FEB 02, 2023
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0399134
The following person(s) is/are doing business as URBAN FLOWERS, 4029 18TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed VERONICA REYNOSO GUTIERREZ. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/02/23. The statement was
government collecting and using this data from external sources,” Meghan Maury, a senior policy adviser for data science at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, told the website Nextgov.
As the Bay Area Reporter has previously noted in its coverage on the issue, without such detailed information about the LGBTQ community, it is nearly impossible for lawmakers, policymakers, philanthropic entities, and advocates to know what sorts of programs are needed and how much to request in funding for them.
Demographic information is a ‘critical need’
“Demographic data collection is critical for enhancing our understanding of the specific health needs of and inequities faced by the LGBTQI+ community,” said Charly Gilfoil, who is gay and is the special projects attorney at the National Health Law Program. “By collecting data on sexual orientation, gender identity, and variations in sex characteristics, advocates and researchers, as well as health care programs, plans, and providers, can make greater strides in improving health and health care for LGBTQI+ folks.”
She added that the legal group was “especially encouraged” by the Biden administration’s acknowledgment in the report of the need for data privacy and anti-discrimination measures in conjunction with collecting SOGI data. Without such safeguards, LGBTQ people may be reluctant to divulge such
filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/03/23.
JAN 12, 19, 26, FEB 02, 2023
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0399154
The following person(s) is/are doing business as TALAVERA-BALLON STUDIO, 3712 25TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed CLAUDIO TALAVERA-BALLON. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 11/23/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/05/23.
JAN 12, 19, 26, FEB 02, 2023
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0399158
The following person(s) is/are doing business as MAZCULTURE, 2154 20TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MAURIZIO APRILE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/06/23. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/06/23.
JAN 12, 19, 26, FEB 02, 2023
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0399166
The following person(s) is/are doing business as ALL PRO CONCRETE PUMP + FINISH, 3520 20TH ST #5, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed CIAN RABBITTE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/09/23. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/09/23.
JAN 12, 19, 26, FEB 02, 2023
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0399160
The following person(s) is/are doing business as DCF BASKETBALL, 207 SKYLINE BLVD, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94132. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed HIEN TRAN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/01/23. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/09/23.
JAN 12, 19, 26, FEB 02, 2023
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0399067
The following person(s) is/are doing business as GREAT MISSION HAIR SALON, 2827 MISSION ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed DARWIN MENDOZA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/21/22. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/21/22.
JAN 12, 19, 26, FEB 02, 2023
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0399006
The following person(s) is/are doing business as DONJA’LANI FINA MAFIA PILATES, 844 WEBSTER ST #D, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed RUFINA T. CALDWELL. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/15/22.
JAN 12, 19, 26, FEB 02, 2023
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0399133
The following person(s) is/are doing business as AACES TOWING, 1425 WALLACE AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed ALONSO RIVERA & CHRISTINA RIVERA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/01/23. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/03/23. JAN 12, 19, 26, FEB 02, 2023
personal information about themselves to the government, particularly if they reside in states where lawmakers have been passing laws targeting the rights of their LGBTQ citizens.
“Federal agencies (and all organizations collecting sensitive data) must have stringent practices in place to protect the privacy of LGBTQI+ individuals, respect individual autonomy, and ensure that their data is used ethically,” stated Gilfoil. “NHeLP and our partners are excited to release a report series examining how effective and purposeful demographic data collection can foster health equity in a world where privacy and data misuse remains of the utmost concern.”
Sean Cahill, a gay man who is director of health policy research at the Fenway Institute in Boston, has been a vocal supporter for the collection of SOGI data for years. He took part in a meeting with federal officials last week about the release of the new report.
“The Federal Evidence Agenda on LGBTQI+ Equity is welcome, substantive evidence of the Biden-Harris administration’s strong commitment to LGBTQI+ equity and equality in all government programs,” wrote Cahill in an emailed reply to the B.A.R. “We look forward to working closely with the Department of Health and Human Services and other federal agencies as they develop their ‘SOGI Data Action Plans’ in the coming weeks. There are so many opportunities for the federal government to collect and use SOGI data, including
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0399152
The following person(s) is/are doing business as MIRRORFUL, 3127 FOLSOM ST #A, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed NORTH PARK LABS, INC. (DE). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/03/23. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/05/23.
JAN 12, 19, 26, FEB 02, 2023
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0399098
The following person(s) is/are doing business as TED’S MARKET, 1530 HOWARD ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed TED’S DELI INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/27/22. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/27/22.
JAN 12, 19, 26, FEB 02, 2023
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0399142
The following person(s) is/are doing business as LAKESIDE DENTAL CARE, 1185 VICENTE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed ARTHUR LOWE, DDS, TIM NG, DDS, & CECILIA LOWE, DDS, INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/03/23. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/04/23.
JAN 12, 19, 26, FEB 02, 2023
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0399118
The following person(s) is/are doing business as THOUSAND CRANES PHARMACY, 1832 BUCHANAN ST #203, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed THOUSAND CRANES PHARMACY, INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/22/03. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/30/22.
JAN 12, 19, 26, FEB 02, 2023
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME
STATEMENT FILE A-0399033
The following person(s) is/are doing business as 62-66 JENNINGS CT HOA, 62 JENNINGS CT, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by an unincorporated association other than a partnership, and is signed JOHN GAWRYCH, MAGDALENA M. ZEVALLOS, JASON PEEPLES & NATALIE I. SALGADO. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/01/22. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/19/22.
JAN 12, 19, 26, FEB 02, 2023
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0399097
The following person(s) is/are doing business as WORLD BEERS LIQUOR, 3495 MISSION ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed RAJPUT GROUP LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/27/22. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/27/22.
JAN 12, 19, 26, FEB 02, 2023
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME
STATEMENT FILE A-0399131
The following person(s) is/are doing business as AMORES CHILES, 1661 TENNESSEE ST UNIT 2K, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed AMORES CHILES LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/02/23. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/03/23.
JAN 12, 19, 26, FEB 02, 2023
sex characteristics data, to better understand how LGBTQI+ people are accessing government services, and disparities from mortgage loan access to experiences with elder services.”
Specifically, Cahill argued that the federal government should be collecting SOGI data as part of the nation’s cardiovascular and cancer surveillance systems, and on death certificates. He also called for SOGI data to be collected in COVID-19 testing, vaccination, and care, including on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID-19 case report form.
As the B.A.R. has extensively reported since 2020, even when state leaders push for the collection of such SOGI data in their states, as is the case in California, those efforts are hindered by outdated survey platforms and other technical glitches.
“We hope that SOGI data collection, use, and reporting will become a standard practice, and not something that we have to push hard to get government agencies to do,” Cahill told the B.A.R.
Reached in Ireland by email, where he now lives, retired researcher Gary Gates, Ph.D., a gay man who used to issue reports and studies about the country’s LGBTQ community while working for the Williams Institute, the LGBTQ think tank based at UCLA School of Law, told the B.A.R. that it was “about time” for the federal government to get serious about collecting SOGI data.
“While I very much welcome the
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0399149
The following person(s) is/are doing business as BIG BITES, 1661 TENNESSEE ST UNIT 2K, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed BIG BITES LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/01/23. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/05/23.
JAN 12, 19, 26, FEB 02, 2023
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0399162
The following person(s) is/are doing business as SMART BIKE WHEEL, 20 WHITNEY ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94131. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed EV WORKS (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/09/23. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/09/23.
JAN 12, 19, 26, FEB 02, 2023
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0399031
The following person(s) is/are doing business as THE A&L GROUP, 22287 STEVENS CREEK BLVD, CUPERTINO, CA 95014. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed THE A&L GROUP (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/01/22. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/16/22.
JAN 12, 19, 26, FEB 02, 2023
ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-23-557674
In the matter of the application of BRETT MARTINEZ-RASSO, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appears from said application that petitioner BRETT MARTINEZ-RASSO is requesting that the name BRETT MARTINEZ-RASSO be changed to BRETT RASSO. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N on the 23rd of FEBRUARY 2023 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.
JAN 19, 26, FEB 02, 09, 2023
ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-23-557677
In the matter of the application of SARA RANJBARVAZIRI, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appears from said application that petitioner SARA RANJBARVAZIRI is requesting that the name SARA RANJBARVAZIRI be changed to SARA VAZIRI. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N on the 23rd of FEBRUARY 2023 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.
JAN 19, 26, FEB 02, 09, 2023
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0399240
The following person(s) is/are doing business as DANY ROO’S KITTY CARE, 935 SUTTER ST #26, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed DANY PETELLE. The registrant(s)
news that the Biden administration is prioritizing the collection of more and better sexual orientation & gender identity data, I can’t help but think it’s about time. As policy debates that affect the lives of sexual and gender minorities continue across the U.S., the importance of good data to document their life experiences remains critical,” wrote Gates.
He pointed out that similar reports from the National Academies more than a decade ago and two more recent ones it published about the need of SOGI data on LGBTQ individual’s well-being (and how to measure SOGI data all highlighted the urgent need for high quality LGBTQ demographic information.
“Progress in advancing the collection of SOGI data on US federal surveys has been painfully slow. Let’s hope the administration’s new efforts will hasten that progress,” wrote Gates.
The evidence agenda comes as lawmakers in Congress are calling for SOGI questions to be added to the 2030 census form. In releasing the document last week, the Biden White House noted the administration had secured $10 million in the bipartisan government funding bill recently adopted to research in 2023 adding questions about LGBTQI+ Americans to the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, which is a vital statistical tool used by countless researchers and policymakers, in order to “illuminate disparities LGBTQI+ people continue to face.”t
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Given a seventh grade history assignment to make “Native American shields” decorated with imagery representing your image of yourself, Chingwe Padraig Sullivan recalls their Boston-area classmates working in media including “Styrofoam and chocolate chips.”
A member of the Montaukett and Shinnecock Nations of Long Island, Sullivan costars in the cast of “Cashed Out,” currently running at the San Francisco Playhouse.
In an interview with the Bay Area Reporter, Sullivan, 29, reflected on growing up in New England and pursuing a career in theater as a queer Native American.
“My mother and I contacted a family friend who was able to help us work with more traditional materials to build a shield out of tree limbs, leather, turkey feathers and otter pelt,” they recalled. “Some of the other students were grossed out by the fur with skin still attached to it.”
Written by, directed by, and cast with members of Native American nations, “Cashed Out” provides Sullivan, who uses he, she and they pronouns, a relatively rare opportunity to play a character written with an actor like them in mind.
“There was a lot of colonial history in my school system growing up. When you learn about Thanksgiving, it’s not just making hand turkeys,” Sullivan noted. “It felt like Native Americans were being talked about at a remove, as ‘a part of history,’ even though I was sitting there.”
Fortunately, said Sullivan, “My mother provided plenty of course correction at home and she also didn’t hesitate to tell the school administration that we had a different understanding of things and that it might behoove them to take that into consideration.”
An indigenous theater kid Sullivan’s mother, Quita, and father, Mark, who is white, met as theater department faculty at SUNY Stony Brook and went on to long careers in theater and arts administration. Theater is the family business.
“Growing up around theater people and hanging out with my parents at rehearsals as a kid,” Sullivan said, “I knew I wanted to be an actor from around the time I was five. My first show in middle school was Roald Dahl’s ‘The Witches.’”
Throughout their childhood, Sullivan’s mother
took them on annual visits to the indigenous community where she grew up on Long Island, adjacent to reservations where many of their extended family members still live today.
“In retrospect,” said Sullivan, “I was not as involved as I would like to have been. I was a kid with a Gameboy who would probably have been somewhere inside and air-conditioned when we were going to powwows.
“But the stuff I took for granted as a kid has started to matter a lot more to me now, especially since Covid kept me from going back to spend time with that community for a few years. Going back now, it feels like a place that belongs to me in a way, but also doesn’t quite. It made me realize that as I go forward in my work, I want to be spending a lot of time in Native space.”
Bringing self to the stage
As they advanced from high school plays into the theater studies program at Brown and the Trinity Repertory Company, Sullivan has made a concerted effort to incorporate aspects of their identity into their work.
“When I was 19 or 20, I started to wonder whether I was straight, like I’d always thought. I’d definitely been attracted to guys as well as women. At first, I thought that just meant I was bi, but eventually, I came out as Two-Spirit.”
Two-Spirit, Sullivan explained, “is a modern term, created in Winnipeg in 1990 at a gathering of queer Native Americans. It’s not only a gender identity, but a spiritual identity as well. For me, it’s about a lack of limitations. To say I was gay or straight or bi feels too limiting for me; any of those would feel more confusing and less comfortable.”
Sullivan feels that this sense of personal limitlessness informs his theatrical craft, noting that “there’s a comfort in stepping into new identities.”
Sullivan describes Levi, the supporting role they play in “Cashed Out,” which revolves around the conflicts between a reservation casino and Native traditions, as “slightly clueless, but with a heart of gold.”
“It’s nice for me to have a play written by a Native American, and a character who grew up on the rez and doesn’t want to leave,” they said. “There’s a paradox playing a character with a background closer to my own than most roles out there. In some sense it gives me more freedom than playing a character who is written as white.”
See page 18 >>
innovative LGBTQ offerings and this year is no exception. Bruce LaBruce, perhaps the most controversial/offensive queercore filmmaker, presents his latest, “The Affairs of Lidia” an erotic comedy custom-made for SF IndieFest. LaBruce loves exploring shocking sexual taboos in his unique explicit style, often using a fetish as a springboard (i.e. intergenerational relationships in “Gerontophilia;” twincest in “Saint-Narcissus,” and amputee fetishism in “Hustler White”) to lambast cultural norms.
Fashion model Lidia discovers her boxer husband Michelangelo, is having an affair with a fashion photographer named Sandro. She plots her revenge. LaBruce skewers the fashion industry, especially its woke mentality to sell products and how it plasters brands all over people’s bodies. “Lidia” presents his most transgressive subject ever, heterosexual sex, though despite ample nudity, there’s no penetration shown. High-end pornography, it works within its own perverse boundaries, but clearly won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. Still slaying haute couture’s sacred cows never seemed so hilarious, especially in the outrageous modeling paint scene. Warning: prolific straight copulation might be upsetting to queer audiences.
by Brian BrombergerSFIndieFest provides alternatives you won’t find at the multiplex or popular streaming services. The 25th annual festival will be presented at the Roxie Theater from February 2 to 9, and online through virtual cinema from February 2 to February 12.
Director Ken Kwek’s Singaporean film #LookAtMe,” revolves around twin brothers
Sean and Ricky Mazuki, who live with their mother Nancy. Sean is gay and Ricky has a girlfriend Mia, who invites the brothers to her evangelical megachurch where they hear Pastor Josiah Long preach a homophobic sermon, enraging them. Sean creates a vlog attacking Long that goes viral, resulting in him being arrested for defamation and sentenced to two years in prison. Infuriated by the injustice, Ricky becomes a prominent LGBTQ activist. The whole situation has tragic consequences for the entire family.
“#LookAtMe” succeeds most of the time, though there is dissonance between the family melodrama and prison exploitation scenes. The film was banned in Singapore for “its potential to cause enmity and social division.” The film spotlights the hypocrisy of homosexuality now being legal and tolerated as long as LGBTQ people keep a low profile. The ending, a sort of vengeance fantasy, takes a surprise twist, which queer audiences will relish.
The festival has always been noted for its
Charlie and Avery are a long-distance lesbian couple falling out of love in “Let’s Meet Halfway.” They link up once a month in a rural Northern Californian town. The film charts their relationship’s decline over six months where revealed secrets create upheaval. The premise is more promising than the execution. We never find out about the past history and background of their partnership, so we can’t empathize with
See page 19 >>
Queer Native American actor in SF Playhouse’s ‘Cashed Out’ ‘#LookAtMe’ ‘The Affairs of Lidia’ by Jim PiechotaContinuing on our Winter Books picks, here comes part two, which contains even more provocative reading material than the first group. Enjoy tales of thrillingly engrossing takes on wartime queer love, conversion camp survival, and speculative foreign lands. New memoirs include the lives of a talented veteran musician and a queer Black mother. Notes on modern sexuality and the experience of being Black and queer on college campuses are also featured. There’s plenty of winter reading material to chew on in the new year. Most have upcoming publish dates, so pre-order now from your local independent booksellers.
FICTION
“Tell The Rest”
by Lucy Jane Bledsoe, $28.95 (Akashic Books, March 7)
In Berkeley author Lucy Jane Bledsoe’s explosive new novel, two mixed-race childhood friends reunite after enduring a summer spent at a Christian conversion camp. Both Delia and Ernest were just teenagers when they managed to narrowly escape from Celebration Camp and as successful adults two decades later, each discovers a desire to return and bury the memories.
Delia, a youth basketball coach, and poet Ernest each return unaware of the other’s whereabouts, but when they reunite in Oregon, each shares their personal trauma and its impact on
their adulthoods. The story becomes a powerful reading experience on the resilience, determination, and personal pride required for queer survival. Bledsoe clearly demonstrates a knack for dialogue and swift plotting, and the reality of the theme itself will hit home for many readers.
“Different for Boys” by Patrick Ness, $18.99 (Walker Books/Candlewick, March 14)
In this moving young adult illustrated novella, the curse words, sex acts, and raw slang are redacted in big black blocks to emphasize their power in a society that rejects them, especially when emitted from boys who find themselves attracted to one another.
Ant Stevenson, 15, and his best friend Charlie Shepton have been fooling around sexually for a while as “just a release until we both get girlfriends,” but only recently has Ant wanted to kiss Charlie, which goes against their firm rules since kissing would mean they’re both gay. Enter Jack, a classmate who is assumed to be queer, and this dynamic throws Ant and Charlie’s arrangement up for renegotiation.
It’s a brief but heavy-hitting reflection on young men wrestling with inner desire. Black and white pencil illustrations by Tea Bendix are rough and scratchy and perfectly depict the raw emotions flowing throughout this taboo tale of young same-sex attraction and love drawn against the most unforgiving and intolerant of backdrops: youth.
“In Memoriam” by Alice Winn, $28 (Knopf, March 7)
Winn’s breathtaking debut is a moving portrayal of two men who meet in an English boarding school in 1914, fall in love, and soon after, enlist as soldiers to fight in the Great War. Through the turmoil, terror, and traumatizing machinations on the battlefront, both boys struggle to balance their fear with honest intimacy. The novel becomes a heartbreaking tribute to queer love and devotion against all odds once the men are completely separated and must search for each other across a war-ravaged European landscape. This is unforgettable fiction and a literary heartbreaker.
“Proud Pink Sky” by Redfern Jon Barrett, $21.95 (Amble Press, March 14)
Barrett, a Berlin-based, nonbinary polyamorous queer writer, sets their latest work of speculative fiction in the world’s first LGBTQ city-state, an idyllic post-war Berlin utopia. Fleeing from homophobic families to this 1990s paradisal queer homeland are William and Gareth, who hope to find a sanctuary within the borderlines of the city.
There is also Cissie, a cis, straight mother of two who together with her husband, struggle to find unity among the divided city. Employing kaleidoscopic creativity, Barrett incorporates underground factions into the story that seek to undermine and disrupt the law-heavy, conservative-led city leadership keeping alternative sexualities and identities separate from the
general population. This is a wild, colorfully imaginative tale of unrest and coalition in a city with its own vocabulary and secret historical gay slang (Polari), all meant for paradise, but only for a conforming citizenry.
MEMOIR
“Twist” by Adele Bertei, $28 (Ze Books, March 14)
In this distinguished memoir, multi-disciplinary veteran musician Bertei portrays her life story through an imagined character named Maddie Twist, who serves as a protective buffer between the author and the harsh memories of growing up “white, working-class, poor, queer, abandoned, and hungry for belonging” in Maple Heights, Cleveland from 1965-1972.
Removed from her childhood home after her mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia, Bertei bounced from numerous foster homes and encountered a host of gritty characters, most out to do harm, like a deranged Vietnam veteran who assaulted her and locked her in a room for days. Somehow, Bertei emerged whole and was able to expand on her love of music.
Throughout her career, she’s collaborated with Thomas Dolby, Culture Club, Whitney Houston, the Pointer Sisters, Oleta Adams, and writing and performing with Jellybean Benitez on the song “Just A Mirage” in 1988. This is a powerful testament to a creative woman’s personal strength and will to survive despite untenable circumstances.
“Choosing Family: A Memoir of Queer Motherhood and Black Resistance” by Francesca T. Royster, $26 (Abrams, Feb. 7)
Francesca Royster, the author of this evocative, memorable memoir, is a Chicago-born queer African American woman, who, together with her partner of 13 years, decided to adopt a Black child, Cece, and bring her into their shared home. The book details the author’s internal struggles to come to terms with raising a Black child in a world that sees her color before it sees her as a human being.
Throughout this process, Royster incorporates this parenthood journey into her experiences with her own mother and she reconciles the difficulties she dealt with as a child. A discussion on the reasons she opted out of marching in Black Lives Matter protests is illuminating and broadens the memoir’s meaning and impact. This reflection on family dynamics is an important addition to reading material on queer parenting, motherhood, and racial dynamics in modern society.
Andrew Spieldenner & Jeffrey Escoffier; $19.95 (Rutgers University Press, Feb. 10)
This important, didactic study on how gay sex has changed in a postPrEP era gathers multi-disciplinary and multigenerational artists, activists, and academics together to discuss the nature of queer biomedical prevention in the modern age of desire.
Included are surprising defenses on the value of promiscuity from popular porn film director Mister Pam; an older male perspective from acclaimed author Andrew Holleran; and even a cartoonist, Steve MacIsaac, who “speaks for all the young men who came out during the early and most devastating years of the epidemic.”
This is a provocative, contemplative book for anyone interested in the evolution of queer sex and where it’s going in the 21st century. It’s an educative, scholarly exploration of how we are reimagining queer sex in an age where a pill can offer defense against deadly disease and issue a new lease on life and love, in whatever form we choose.
“Unbound: A Book of AIDS” by Aaron Shurin, $16.95 (Nightboat Books, Jan. 24)
This reissued literary collection of essays, first published in 1997, provides an unmatched account of life in San Francisco in the 1980s and ’90s at the height of the AIDS epidemic. Reflective and deeply meaningful, the book offers an intimate glimpse into the nature of a deadly illness and how it directly affected the queer community through the lives of two men depicted with a poet’s shimmering prose. Shurin’s work deserves this reissuance as both a rosette on his distinguished career as a queer studies pioneer, poet, and author, and in reminding readers of the history of one pandemic and the perils of another which we are currently surviving.
“Black and Queer on Campus” by Michael P. Jeffries, $22 e-book (NYU Press, March 21)
Jeffries, who is Dean of Academic Affairs at Wellesley College, an author, and a critical essayist, offers this assessment of the experience of being a Black and queer student in today’s collegiate environment. He delves deeply into how Black queer students spend their time, the organizations they participate in, and reflections on how campus homophobia and racism darken what is meant to be an interactive learning experience for all students, regardless of race or preference.
Culling interviews with dozens of students from a wide range of colleges, he examines how Black queer students struggle for a sense of belonging, the inherent pressures when compared with white peers and predominantly white learning institutions, and solutions for coping with and finding pride within the college experience, despite these obstacles. These critical perspectives shed much-needed light on the learning institutions where being Black and queer pose everyday obstacles for young men and women eager to learn and contribute. t
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T he beautifully balanced ensemble of five actors who play the owner and staff of a truck stop diner in “Clyde’s” are provided with a bumper crop of fresh, zesty dialogue by Pulitzer-winning playwright Lynn Nottage (“Sweat,” “Intimate Apparel”). They then serve it up with comic spice and energetic sizzle in an undeniably crowd-pleasing production under the sprightly direction of Taylor Reynolds.
The fun plays out on a set by Wilson Chin that’s so meticulous in its kitchen-sink realism that it practically begs for an Olfactory Design that allows audiences to smell the burgers being flipped on the flattop. Other than the visuals, realism is not the day’s special at Clyde’s. While the show has more weight and style than a television
sit-com, its characters are written to deliver well-crafted belly laughs more than grit or gravitas.
April Nixon plays Clyde, the joint’s diabolically demanding proprietor, with a serrated sharpness that she insists is necessary to keep her employees – all ex-convicts, like herself – in line and out of jail.
But she’s forever treading a fine line between tough love and sadism, and doing so on high heels, in questionably appropriate outfits and with a side order of unquestionably inappropriate innuendo. Her bling-trimmed Trashi Labelle lewks are by Karen Perry (costumes) and Megan Ellis (hair, wigs, make-up), whose creations for the entire cast are character-perfect.
One underling, the guileless, romantic recovering drug addict Rafael (Wesley Guimaraes) describes Clyde as “a licensed dominatrix.”
Another, wary and emotionally repressed Jason (Louis Reyes McWilliams), accurately assesses behavior Clyde calls well-meaning as instead being flat out “mean.”
Jason, a face-tatted white man with anger issues obscuring a sensitive soul, arrives in the kitchen eco-system as a new hire, inherently suspect and initially hazed by Rafael and Letitia (Cyndii Johnson), a teddy-bear-
And while Levi isn’t Two-Spirit, Sullivan has found that in works by fellow Native Americans, whether in traditional storytelling forms or contemporary plays like this one, “Our stories are built to encompass more things. The whole notion of Two-Spiritedness is non-pejorative to us, it’s complimentary to a certain openness about the whole culture.”
Going all in Sullivan described Levi, the supporting role they play in “Cashed
toting single mother who’s done time for robbing a pharmacy because she couldn’t afford to buy seizure drugs for her baby daughter.
And then there’s Monty, the preternaturally cool, dashiki-clad O.G. sandwich man who serves as father figure to this motley – and ultimately mushy – kitchen crew. Played with Zen-master intonations by Harold Surratt, he quietly serves as a peacekeeping buffer between his
Out,” which revolves around the conflicts between a reservation casino and Native traditions, as “slightly clueless, but with a heart of gold.”
“It’s nice for me to have a play written by a Native American, and a character who grew up on the rez and doesn’t want to leave,” they said. “There’s a paradox playing a character with a background closer to my own than most roles out there. In some sense it gives me more freedom than playing a character who is written as white.”
And while Levi isn’t Two-Spirit, Sullivan has found that in works by fellow Native Americans, whether in traditional storytelling forms or contemporary plays like this one, “Our stories are built to encompass more things. The whole notion of TwoSpiritedness is non-pejorative to us, it’s complimentary to a certain openness about the whole culture.”
The most common reminders of Native American culture to many frequent theatergoers in the Bay Area and elsewhere are the land acknowledgement statements incorporated in curtain speeches, noting the original nations who lived on the land a the-
immature 20-something coworkers and condescending Clyde.
To instill motivation and aspiration in the younger trio, Monty engages them in a ritual competition to conceive of and construct the world’s most sublime sandwich. While filling customer orders for mundane hamon-wheats and grilled cheeses that Clyde hands across a pass-through, they prayerfully recite the ingredients of imagined masterpieces.
Haloumi cheese, apricot chutney, barbecued duck, rosemary focaccia and other edible bourgeois exotica are the signposts in these fleeting reveries, pointing to worlds beyond the impoverished, hand-to-mouth parolee lives these folks are currently living. It’s all very funny, but a bit of a headscratcher, too. Is a life of Gray Poupon-dom really what characters like these should be striving for?
When Monty’s own long-ago crime is revealed, his transgression turns out to have been an act of love and selfsacrifice; victimless except for Monty himself. Perhaps playwright Nottage wanted us to consider how unfairly some of her characters have been treated by the American legal system. But while some of them have committed offenses that seem almost inoffensive, others suffer from excruciatingly guilty consciences. The script offers much more in the way of tasty laugh-out-loud snacks than fibrous sociopolitical nourishment. “Clyde’s” isn’t sharp satire; it’s cuddling edge comedy.t
‘Clyde’s,’ through Feb. 26. $30$109. Peet’s Theatre at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, 2025 Addison St. (510) 647-2949.
www.berkeleyrep.org
ater is built on.
“I like them in theory, but I have a difficult time with them,” admits Sullivan. “Even the most sincere ones grate on me a bit, because despite the fact that these statements are supposed to be a first step in engagement with the Native community, they tend to be the only step. Audience members are en-
couraged to go do more on their own. That’s a nice sentiment, but it’s rarely followed through on, individually or institutionally.”t
“Cashed Out,” through Feb. 25. $15-$100. San Francisco Playhouse. 450 Post St. (415) 6779596. www.sfplayhouse.org
It was the last dance, the last night, and last call for Harvey’s bar and restaurant on 18th and Castro on January 28, as drag queens and singers entertained the audience at a benefit for the nowunemployed staff members. The historic venue –formerly the Elephant Walk– has an uncertain future. But for one last night, fans, patrons and staff celebrated the bar’s 27-year history.
See plenty more photos on BARtab’s Facebook page, facebook.com/lgbtsf.nightlife. See more of Steven Underhill’s photos at StevenUnderhill.com.
sparked by the fires of hell.
I really love the brass on “I Want You to Know” and “Stones.” How did you know that Jonny Enright’s trombone playing would be a good fit for those songs?
God, those horns from Jonny are so beautiful! When I was finishing up production, those songs felt like they needed some grand emotions that I couldn’t capture with the guitar or piano. Horns just seemed right. I mapped out some really rough parts in midi first, but those midi sounds can’t carry the weight of a real player. So, I sent them to Jonny. He really captured the energy and emotions of the songs in those horn performances.
by Gregg ShapiroSometimes the most interesting queer music comes from the least expected places; Boise, Idaho, for example. That’s where out singer/ songwriter Jesse Blake Rundle is based. A Kansas native who spent a number of years living in Washington DC, Rundle has said that he crafted the songs on his new eight-song LP “Next Town’s Trees” during a period of “immense change,” when he left the church, uncovered his sexuality, began his first same-sex relationship, and became sober. The results are breathtaking, and blaze with beauty, emotion, and raw honesty.
Gregg Shapiro: Fire is a recurring theme in your music, as can be heard in the songs “I
Want You To Know,” “White Hot,” “Stones,” and “Fire.”
The fire theme wasn’t intentional and I’m not sure I’ve interrogated myself enough to even know where it came from. When I was working on the album art with my friend Tyson Gough, it became clear that fire was the key image recurring in the songs and needed to be represented in the art. Tyson and I grew up together in the flint hills of Kansas where the prairies get burned every year. So those prairie fire images are really part of our childhood experience of the world.
I think the theme of fire is about rebuilding from the scraps of what’s been burned down. It’s destructive and creative at the same time. And then there’s the idea that love – particularly the kind of gay love that was always off-limits before – is dangerous and
“Hand In Hand” might be the loveliest queer love song I’ve heard in a long time.
I don’t usually write songs that are this literal and personal, but it’s really just a recounting of my first date with a man. The streets were empty that night with a light rain, and it felt so quiet and private.
I was in a sort of trance the day after, and this song just came out of me. I was overwhelmed with the sense of freedom I never knew was possible. It was like all this weight of shame and anticipation for 30+ years was lifted. I didn’t even know that weight was really there because I was so used to it.
So, the song is about that feeling of safety, freedom, and intimacy. The ability to just be myself fully and not worry about the world outside at all. And the last line – “no one can hear me crying, because I’m not anymore”
– that was just real. I didn’t know how much my repressed sexuality was making me sad and lonely.
You’re currently based in Boise, Idaho. How does a gay man end up in Boise?
Well, I didn’t plan it out this way [laughs]! When I moved to Boise, I didn’t really understand my own sexuality. Once I decided (or maybe realized) I was going to come out, I was thinking about moving to a city that would feel safer than Boise, and also have more distance from the family and relationships I have here. It seemed easier to do if I was more anonymous. Then the pandemic hit, and I was stuck. I just couldn’t handle it anymore, so I decided to come out. It’s all gone so much better than I had imagined.
What about your experiences as a musician in Boise? Is there a music scene on the verge of
becoming the next big thing?
Boise is in a really good place with the scene right now. Treefort is an awesome music festival that happens every spring and brings the city to life. And there are a bunch of great bands with new acts popping up every month. I’ve been running a songwriting group for the last year and there have been so many great songs shared out in that group, in all sorts of genres. I think the pandemic gave us all a chance to really up our game, focus on our craft, and write some great songs. I’ve been so impressed by the releases and live shows of a bunch of local acts. I can’t wait for us to have our breakout artists in the next couple of years. I know they’re here, making something beautiful.t
www.jesseblakerundle.com
Read the full Q&A, with music clips, on www.ebar.com.
From page 15
either character nor the plight of their affair. The audience has to fill in too many gaps and the irregular pacing becomes tedious. Directors Dana Deveris and Max Schmita avoid making the film too talky and both actresses are doing their damnedest to create plausible chemistry between these mismatched characters.
The best queer films at SF IndieFest 25 are shorts. “Hotter Up Close” centers on geeky nerd barista Chris, who is dealing with two life crises: a recent break up with Brad, and turning 30. Glamour-puss Aiden walks into the coffee shop, wishes Chris a happy birthday, and invites him to a pool party. Chris is reluctant to attend, but fellow workmate and BBF Dana, encourages him to risk putting himself out there. Is Aiden flirting with him or just being a friend?
Christopher Matias Aquila wrote the script and stars as Chris. The story is somewhat predictable, but Chris –who starts off as an awkward stereotype believing he doesn’t deserve love–comes to realize that as a sensitive guy he has something to offer. It’s a subtle jab at image/ status-conscious LA with the film urging one to be true to oneself. Aquila is hilarious and the slick humor dialogue contrasts effectively with the pathos elements. He’s developing this short into an auspicious TV program. Not stellar, but “Hotter” is an unexpected charmer.
At less than four minutes, “Last Call” is a tender experimental magical realist montage salute to the closing of the landmark Stud bar here in San Francisco. It blends past and present to reveal how much history has been lost with its closure.
“Queer Science” focuses on a female scientist who accidentally shrinks her comedian girlfriend to the size of a Brussels sprout, and yes, it’s as dumb as it sounds. At 7.5 minutes, it’s just the right amount of time for a restroom break.
“The Sweetest Oblivion” is a kind of spy caper about two female lovers who discover a mysterious briefcase and get entangled in a larceny scheme involving their boss, with disastrous results. With too much ambiguity and not enough believable intrigue, this film noir wannabe winds up going nowhere.
“Albedo or Apples and Oranges” is billed as a “quiet rumination on the first stirrings of desire between two teenage boys after an ambiguous encounter.” We would substitute vague for quiet and emphasize ambiguous. This short is a meditation on desire, especially on what masculinity means in 2023, especially when challenging the grey line between friendship and relationship. It doesn’t deliver on its premise and you leave wondering what was the point of the story.
“The Girl That Got Away,” though a heart-wrenching cautionary tale, is a festival highlight. Angel, at 64, is an HIV+ Mexican-American actor in San Francisco, often playing heavies and villains, who must decide whether to continue playing cis male
roles on and offscreen after finally accepting that he identifies as female. Angel is in and out of the trans closet, suffers from depression, and is afraid of meeting other trans people because, “they would bring me all the way out.” Angel’s too scared to be the person he really is. While out to his Dixon, California family as gay (and attending the town’s first Pride), Angel’s reluctant to say anything about being trans, “because I’m afraid of losing them… There’s always something stopping me.” Angel remains hopeful his goal of transparency can be met this year and the audience in tears will be rooting for Angel every step of the way.
(In)Convenience” follows Kirby, a mid-twenties trans man, during his first few months on testosterone. He heads to the local mini-mart in San Francisco to pick up tampons for himself, where cashier Phoebe is impressed by a man secure enough to buy those feminine pads for his girlfriend. Kirby doesn’t correct her.
He continues to make regular trips to the store with best friend/roommate Kevin, encouraging his tentative but growing interest in Phoebe. Will Kirby tell Phoebe the truth and how will she react? The frisson between Kirby and Phoebe is playful and titillating. There’s more erotic tension here in 10 minutes than in 90 minutes of “Let’s Meet Halfway.” We really care whether Kirby and Phoebe can spark a romantic connection. “(In) Convenience” is a pure delight and the best queer film of SF IndieFest 25.t
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