February 16, 2023 edition of the Bay Area Reporter

Wiener, Low introduce Prop 8 repeal amendment

by Cynthia Laird

After months of discussions, two gay California lawmakers on Valentine’s Day introduced a constitutional amendment to repeal Proposition 8, the state’s same-sex marriage ban that remains on the books despite being ruled unconstitutional years ago.

Equality California, the statewide LGBTQ rights group, announced February 14 that Assemblymember Evan Low (D-San Jose) and state Senator Scott Wiener (DSan Francisco) have introduced Assembly Constitutional Amendment 5. It is intended to protect same-sex marriage with plans to remove Prop 8’s discriminatory language from the state’s constitution.

If approved by the Legislature, the amendment would go before voters in November 2024. It is unclear who would run the campaign to repeal the Prop 8 language from the state constitution, an effort that is expected to cost tens of millions of dollars.

In a text message Tuesday morning, Wiener said that a coalition will be behind the campaign to approve ACA 5, “but the campaign team is not yet set up.”

EQCA spokesperson Jorge Reyes Salinas told the Bay Area Reporter that the organization will be part of the coalition.

Equality California will be a part of the coalition of LGBTQ+ civil rights and legal organizations leading the effort,” he wrote in an email. “We are in the early stages of campaign planning, and our primary focus at the moment is getting the amendment through the Legislature.”

The amendment process is similar to last year’s constitutional amendment enshrining the right to abortion in the state constitution, which passed with 66.9% of the vote, according to the secretary of state’s office. Governor Gavin Newsom does not need to sign the legislation authorizing the amendment.

Prop 8, passed by voters in 2008 by a margin of 52.24% to 47.76%, was later ruled unconstitutional by a federal court, which an appeals court upheld. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2013 decided that the ruling against Prop 8 could go into effect, which resulted in

See page 10 >>

SF supes eye ending contract ban

by Matthew S. Bajko

Acontroversial proposal that San Francisco end its contracting ban with companies headquartered in states that have adopted anti-LGBTQ laws, abortion bans, or restricted voting access in recent years will be taken up by the Board of Supervisors in late February.

At this point, the city’s ban on most taxpayerfunded travel to the banned states would remain in place but is also being eyed for repeal.

Critics of the policy, known as 12X, contend it has not achieved its goal of convincing lawmakers in the covered states to repeal the laws that landed them on San Francisco’s banned list. As of September, there were 30 states impacted by the policy.

According to a 16-page memo the City Administrator’s Office sent to the Board of Supervisors February 10, in response to a request from five of the board members last October that it review the 12X policy, what its impacts have been “are not clear.” The office informed the board that it “was not able to find concrete evidence suggesting 12X has influenced other states’ economies or LGBTQ, reproductive, or voting rights.”

The review did conclude that the 12X policy “has created additional administrative burden for city staff and vendors and unintended consequences for San Francisco

citizens, such as limiting enrichment and developmental opportunities.”

District 11 Supervisor Ahsha Safaí, one of those who requested the review, last November authored the ordinance to do away with the contracting ban. At a February 13 hearing on it before the supervisors’ Rules Committee, on which he sits, Safaí acknowledged that he voted to institute the 12X policy. But he argued it has not done what it was intended to do and its contracting provisions need to be repealed.

“I believe this is the right step at this moment in San Francisco,” said Safaí.

Gay District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey, who now chairs rules, not only agreed with Safaí on the need to scrap the contract ban but also indicated his support for ending the travel ban as well. At a time when the city is facing a $728 million budget deficit over the next two years, ensuring the cost of construction projects are not inflated due to 12X could mean other pri-

See page 10 >>

New SF medical examiner ED seeks to restore faith in office

by John Ferrannini

The new executive director of the city’s medical examiner’s office said the department has cracked down on the loose handling of drug evidence.

“That’s something that can’t be tolerated in any office,” David Serrano Sewell, a straight ally, told the Bay Area Reporter during a recent interview.

KQED-TV reported in 2020 that former employees who’d worked in the toxicology lab said supervisors allowed illegal drugs to “pile up in the evidence room” and did not follow proper procedures regarding evidence mishandling. This came after a lab analyst was found with suspected crystal meth after being pulled over for speeding in Utah.

“Thankfully, it was addressed,” Serrano Sewell said. “The specimen retention and discard policy was updated. The office conducted a full audit and all of those findings were adopted in a pretty timely manner.”

Serrano Sewell, 52, took over as the executive director in December after being appointed to the position by City Administrator Carmen Chu. He had served as chief operating officer in the office since 2020, and said that there have been “no issues since then” regarding evidence storage.

Serrano Sewell also said that a major goal is to be respectful of transgender and other gender-

nonconforming communities, bringing up the ‘X’ marker people can put down for their gender on their driver’s license.

As COO, Serrano Sewell helped draft the office’s first policy on honoring the gender identities of decedents, particularly those who are trans and nonbinary.

“We’ve got to make sure everyone knows what ‘X’ is and this is how we note people in our system and that we’re doing the same for trans female, trans males,” he said.

Why Bank With Us?

Serrano Sewell, who lives in the Mission neighborhood with his wife, daughter, and two cats, went to the Golden Gate University School of Law in the city’s South of Market neighborhood, where he graduated with a J.D. He was admitted to the California bar in 2003.

It was during his time at San Francisco State University, where he did his undergraduate work after moving to the city in 1989, that he “totally fell in love with San Francisco and didn’t want to move back to Los Angeles.”

He has a long tenure in city government, first serving as an aide to then-mayor Willie Brown, then as a deputy city attorney for the Port of San Francisco and San Francisco International Airport.

It was in that capacity that he got to know gay District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey, who also worked in the city attorney’s office at the time. Dorsey recalled how he had seen “firsthand” his longtime former colleague’s “commitment to public service and professionalism” in a news release about Serrano Sewell’s appointment.

“David’s leadership and hard work were instrumental in gaining full accreditation from the National Association of Medical Examiners recently, and I have every confidence that he will continue to uphold the highest standards of professional excellence in his new role as the director for San Francisco’s Office of the Chief Medical

David Serrano Sewell is the new executive director of the San Francisco medical examiner’s office.

Courtesy City Administrator’s Office

San Francisco Supervisors Ahsha Safaí, left, and Matt Dorsey support ending the city’s contracting ban on states that have anti-LGBTQ laws, saying it has stifled competition.

Courtesy Twitter, Facebook

State Senator Scott Wiener, left, and Assemblymember Evan Low

Courtesy the lawmakers

Badlands could become new club soon, owner says

by John Ferrannini

The old Badlands space on 18th Street in the Castro neighborhood may be occupied by another nightclub in as little as eight weeks, property owner Les Natali told the Bay Area Reporter February 9.

Natali, 81, the longtime owner of the popular LGBTQ dance club that closed in 2020 during COVID, told the B.A.R. that he is going to call his attorney that day to finalize a deal with TJ Bruce, who owns a number of nightclubs, including Splash San Jose and Badlands Sacramento.

“TJ and I have been talking for quite some time and I think we have a deal,” Natali said. “TJ said he can get it open in eight weeks and that’s what I’d prefer. Hopefully, we’ll get a deal together today.”

It would follow the reopening this year of another long shuttered LGBTQ nightlife venue nearby in the Castro. As the B.A.R. reported February 8, Q Bar on the 400 block of Castro Street is working toward opening its doors this spring after a fire in 2019 heavily damaged its space. As of February 10, a deal has not been signed, Bruce confirmed to the B.A.R. Bruce and Natali did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday.

“Hopefully by Monday [February 13],” Bruce said. “We will see.”

Bruce did confirm that there were discussions about the potential deal earlier in the day on February 10.

Badlands, which had been open since 1974 and was a nightclub under Natali’s ownership since 1999, closed

three years ago, as the B.A.R. previously reported. A Facebook post at the time stated, “Later this fall a new bar, under new ownership, will open in the Badlands location.”

That didn’t happen, but Bruce, a gay man who is managing partner at Sacramento Badlands in the state capital, told the B.A.R. the following year that the space was being renovated.

“Basically the space is just being remodeled. It should be open by the end of the year or early, maybe, shortly after the year ends,” Bruce told the B.A.R. in summer 2021. “That’s basically all there is to say at the moment.”

At that time, Bruce also confirmed his involvement with the project, saying, “We both work together on it,” he said, referring to Natali who owns the Castro

Badlands space and liquor license.

Natali still holds the liquor license as of the publication of this report, according to the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, which states that the active license was issued on March 4, 1999 and will expire on February 28.

Natali told the B.A.R. that the renovations are “pretty close to being done right now.”

Bruce told the B.A.R. in a phone call February 8, “I’m hopeful to start working together real quick and get it open as long as we agree on something.”

He added, “I’m hoping to get it open early summer.”

When asked what the “something” was, Bruce said, “just me helping him open it. That’s all.”

“So that’s all the info I have at the moment,” Bruce concluded. “I’m really hoping to get it open.”

Natali said that Bruce is “going to buy it. He’s [Bruce] going to take over. His attorney and my attorney are going to work it out. He’s going to be the boss and have all the control.”

When asked if that means Bruce will own the property at 4121 18th Street, Natali was not clear.

“I don’t want to get into detail about this,” Natali said. “We’ve been negotiating [for] some time and it’s between his attorney and my attorney and this is what we’re working out –that he’s going to be in charge. People want to know who’s going to be running the place and it looks like it’s going to be TJ.”

Past controversies

Badlands and Natali had been under renewed criticism in the months prior to the announcement of its closure due to allegations of racial discrimination that surfaced in the 2000s.

A 2004 report by the San Francisco Human Rights Commission found that Badlands was discriminating against African Americans, but the findings were never official because Virginia Harmon, the HRC executive director at the time, did not sign off on the staff report. Natali and the complainants eventually reached a confidential settlement. Natali has always denied the accusations.

Natali later opened Toad Hall on the site of what had been the Pendulum, a bar that catered to Black LGBTQs.

In an email to the B.A.R. after this was brought up at a June 2020 Black Lives Matter protest in Jane Warner Plaza, Natali wrote that the allegations “were found without merit and were dropped.”

“We welcome people of all races and all colors and we probably have the largest, most diverse clientele of any bar in the Castro,” he stated at the time.

Badlands originally opened as a country western bar in 1974. Natali acquired it in 1999, when it became a video dance bar.

Other properties

Natali has been criticized over the years for leaving many Castroarea properties closed, sometimes for much longer than the Badlands space was.

Natali confirmed to the B.A.R. this week that Hamburger Mary’s on the 500 block of Castro Street is not going to reopen under that name, though he did say that Cheryl Maloney of Vanguard Properties was in charge of finding tenants for the spaces and he is “referring people to talk to her because she’s the one who’s working on the places.”

Before Hamburger Mary’s opened in 2018, the space had sat vacant nearly two decades since the closure of the much beloved Patio restaurant and its backyard dining area in 2002, as the B.A.R. previously reported.

Castro’s Q Bar to reopen this spring, co-owner says

by John Ferrannini

After a distressing launch to 2023 with the closure of longtime bar and restaurant Harvey’s, among other Castro businesses, the queerville finally has something to celebrate now that Q Bar co-owner Cip Cipriano has announced that his business will be reopening this spring.

“You’re not going to be able to avoid it,” Cipriano told the Bay Area Reporter in a phone interview February 8. “Brand new walls, bathrooms, and a brand-new shiny walk-in.”

Cipriano said an exact date for a soft opening and a large celebration will be forthcoming.

Prior to its forced closure, Q Bar had long hosted popular dance parties on multiple nights of the week. Its return will help to enliven the nightlife scene in San Francisco’s LGBTQ district.

An expected revival of the closed Badlands dance space on 18th Street under new ownership shows signs of moving forward. (See related story.) Meanwhile, The Cafe dance club overlooking Market, 17th and Castro streets is once again open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights, and only opens on Sundays for special events.

A fire on November 16, 2019 that left two injured and seven residents displaced also left Q Bar and Osaka Sushi shuttered. Body, a gay-owned

Castro clothing store that’d been around for 40 years, was forced to close shortly after, leaving Cafe Mystique as the only affected business that was able to keep chugging along.

The San Francisco Fire Department announced in 2021 that the cause of the fire was undetermined, as the B.A.R. reported at the time.

Since the fire, Cipriano said they’ve had to “rebuild the building” from the inside.

“As we have learned the last couple of years, there’s a lot of hoops to jump through with the city to make all of that happen,” Cipriano said.

He and co-owner John “JB” Bellemore were able to use money from insurance, Cipriano confirmed. Bel-

lemore has been a co-owner since 2009. Other co-owners, who also have stakes in The Edge, The Midnight Sun and Beaux, sold their shares to Cipriano in 2018.

Before it was christened Q Bar in 2009, it was Bar on Castro from 1998. For 21 years before that, it’d been Castro Station.

Cipriano said there will be a large celebration at the reopening. He added that instead of inflatable sky dancers, such as those outside of auto malls, there will be go-go dancers.

“We cannot wait to have everyone walk in and dancing again,” Cipriano said. t

Valor LX2 3-sided gas fireplace shown here with Murano glass, and reflective glass liner

Q Bar in the Castro plans to reopen this spring, according to a co-owner.

Scott Wazlowski

Negotiations are reportedly nearly finished between Badlands owner Les Natali and TJ Bruce, who plans to open a new club in the space on 18th Street in the Castro.

Scott Wazlowski

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MCC-SF congregation sees major changes

by John Ferrannini

Metropolitan Community Church

San Francisco has seen changes over the past few months with the departure of its pastor and a new location for its services.

The Reverend Annie SteinbergBehrman, a lesbian, retired from fulltime ministry on January 15, according to an email from MCC-SF.

“After two years as a staff member, one year as provisional pastor, and five years as our senior pastor, the congregation will miss Annie terribly,” Chris Starr, the clerk of MCC-SF’s board of directors, stated in an email to the Bay Area Reporter. “We would have loved for her to have continued as our senior pastor and wish her well in her retirement. With God we say, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’”

Steinberg-Behrman declined a request for comment from the B.A.R.

She did reference her decision to

retire in a new year’s-themed email sent December 30.

“My intentions for the new year are to live in love as much as I can and to be true to myself and others. No matter what 2023 brings, Love will

see me through,” Steinberg-Behrman wrote. “2023 brings transition as I move into retirement and for you as you move to a new worship space and leadership. Remember YOU are the church, you hold the history and the

future of MCC-SF. I will continue to hold you in my heart and prayers as I love you so much and always will. You are a remarkable church community with enormous hearts. I look forward to hearing about all of the wonderful ministry you are doing together.”

Starr stated that the congregation is looking for a pastor.

“We are currently in contact with the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches in search of an interim (pastor) to lead us in the short term before proceeding on our search for a permanent senior pastor to lead us into the future,” Starr stated.

MCC-SF’s board of directors stated in an email that “Before Annie’s retirement service, the board reached out to, and are in regular contact with, the denomination to start the process. We are not searching for a new senior pastor at this time, but are looking for someone to work with us in some sort of interim process. We will keep you

Theater group to hold drag camp for kids

by Marijke Rowland

As drag events across the country are targeted for harassment, a youth theater group in Santa Cruz is planning its first-ever weekend camp focused entirely on the art form.

The Young Actors’ Theatre Camp will hold The Art of Drag weekend workshop March 3-5 at its site in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The new three-day, two-night camp will be dedicated to drag, with campers creating their own onstage personas and performances.

While the drag camp is new, the organization has been hosting drag nights as part of its general camps for more than a decade. Founded in 2001

by Shawn Ryan and John Ainsworth,

YATC is open to students ages 8 to 18 from anywhere. It offers weekend, weeklong, 10-day, 21-day, and 31-day overnight programs focused on performance and theater.

Ryan, who is gay, said it was the popularity of the drag nights at their other camps that prompted them to create a program centered around the performance art. He will lead the inaugural drag camp weekend with instructor Casi Kristant.

The new program will teach what goes into the creation, presentation, and performance of drag, and also its history. Ryan said the modern concept of drag stretches back to William Shakespeare and its mainstream popularity has continued over the decades with hit movies starring straight cis actors from Dustin Hoffman to Robin Williams to the current crop of well-known drag reality TV stars and hit shows like “RuPaul’s Drag Race.”

The latest wave of anti-trans laws and far-right agitators interrupting drag events is nothing new, Ryan said, but also one of the reasons the new camp is important. As the Bay Area Reporter noted in a recent LGBTQ Agenda column, there are anti-drag bills currently being debated in at least three states.

“We have always been inclusive and always taught our kids that love is love. Through the last 22 years (of the camp’s history) this is not the first movement of homophobic or transphobic legislation we’ve seen,” Ryan said. “But as camp directors we find this is what we can do for the future. The children literally are the future. The more kids see that expression and creativity, and however you present

up to date with announcements during the Sunday service as we have any new information on the process we can share.”

Meanwhile, members can send their own reflections to the board so congregants can get to know one another.

“During this period where we are without pastoral leadership, the board has been reaching out to ordained clergy to deliver our reflections on Sundays,” the email stated. “We also would love to have this period be a time where we tell our stories to each other. If you would be willing to share the story of your spiritual life path, the path that brought you to MCCSF and your first experiences with us, or something similar, please reach out to either Lisa Eller or Chris Starr, or email bod@mccsf.org. You’d only need to speak for 10 to 15 minutes during our reflection time.”

See page 8 >>

on the spectrum should be welcomed in this world, the better.”

Former camper and current instructor Logan Thomason began hosting the general camp drag nights about a dozen years ago. The program has become one of the most popular among participants, with the most campers dressing up and performing.

Logan said current right-wing attempts to “legislate (trans youth and people) out of existence” need to be met with more inclusion and support.

“When we talk about protecting trans youth, this is one of the forms that action takes: protecting and fostering safe spaces for trans and gen-

See page 10 >>

Metropolitan Community Church-San Francisco now holds worship services at Trinity Episcopal Church at Bush and Gough streets.

Courtesy NoeHill in San Francisco

Lexi Donovan performs during a Young Actors’ Theatre Camp Drag Night.

Young Actors’ Theatre Camp

Volume 53, Number 07

February 16-22, 2023

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Time for a winning campaign

Last summer, we wrote an editorial urging Equality California and the LGBTQ Legislative Caucus to think carefully before proceeding with a constitutional amendment to repeal Proposition 8 that would need to go before voters in 2024. Many people may wonder why, with same-sex marriage legal in California since 2013, such a move is necessary. The reason is that while Prop 8 itself was ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge, which was upheld by an appeals court and the U.S. Supreme Court, the language from that 2008 state constitutional amendment that voters initially approved 15 years ago remains on the books.

Known as the “zombie” Prop 8, repealing it has taken on new urgency. As we have explained, when the high court overturned Roe v. Wade last June, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, in his concurring opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, suggested that other precedents, including on same-sex marriage, contraception, and state sodomy laws, are also ripe for reconsideration. With the 6-3 conservative supermajority now on the high court, LGBTQ activists, legal experts, and others are concerned marriage equality could be next.

On Valentine’s Day, EQCA, the statewide LGBTQ rights group, announced that gay lawmakers Assemblymember Evan Low (D-San Jose) and state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) introduced a constitutional amendment to repeal Prop 8. If it passes the Legislature, which is likely given Democratic majorities in the Assembly and Senate, voters would be asked in 2024 to remove the antisame-sex marriage language from the California Constitution. The language of Prop 8 declared “only marriage between a man and a woman” as valid or recognized in California – and that’s what needs to be jettisoned from the document.

Wiener told us that a coalition would be formed to run the initiative campaign. EQCA confirmed that, and added it is in the early stages of campaign planning with other LGBTQ, civil rights, and legal groups. Right now, EQCA is focused on getting Assembly Constitutional Amendment 5, as it’s known, through the Legislature.

We cannot emphasize enough that planning should proceed quickly so that a campaign can be launched. We wrote before about the massive amount of money needed, and that remains the case. However, EQCA and the other coalition

partners should take a page from last year’s successful campaign for Proposition 1, which enshrined the right to abortion in the state constitution. It passed with 66.9% of the vote. According to the secretary of state’s office, the pro-Prop 1 side had contributions of just over $9.1 million, while opponents raised a paltry $69,681.

We can expect a more robust fundraising effort by our opponents on the Prop 8 repeal. Funds are critical for the all-important TV ads, but it would be better if the campaign doesn’t cannibalize other issues critical to the LGBTQ community: housing, homelessness, and trans access to health care, to name just three. Another thing to consider is this: for every dollar raised for the Prop 8 repeal campaign, that’s one less dollar to help elect LGBTQ candidates around the state. That’s the main mission of EQCA, and we would hate to see that effort diminished in any way because of the ballot measure.

In some ways, same-sex marriage is a moot issue in the state. The electorate has changed a lot since 2008, with more and more people supporting same-sex marriage. Throw in a presidential election year, and that likely will bring out more progressive voters. Though it’s important to remember that Prop 8’s passage also came in an election year that saw Barack Obama win the presidency. Back then, however, there was considerable opposition from the Mormon and Roman Catholic churches, as well as the red herring about kids being exposed to the topic in schools. However, we agree with Jennifer Pizer, chief legal officer for Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, who told us in December that she doesn’t see those old scare tactics used during the Prop 8 campaign –particularly around same-sex parents raising children and kids learning about LGBTQ issues in school – being met with the same level of support that they were 15 years ago. In California, there are now state laws mandating teaching about LGBTQ history and other topics in public schools. But the community certainly needs to be prepared for a potential backlash.

Faces of the campaign

Back in 2008, U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California) was an important backer of the No on 8 campaign (the side that was for samesex marriage). This week, Feinstein announced that she will retire at the end of her term next

year. It would be a fitting coda to her legacy if she would come out early in support of the constitutional amendment to repeal Prop 8, as would be the case for the candidates running to succeed her. The Senate contest will be a marquee race in the Golden State, and the two candidates who advance out of the March primary should make Prop 8 repeal a central focus of their campaigns heading into the November election – and help raise money for it.

Let’s add Governor Gavin Newsom to the list as well. As the former San Francisco mayor who helped launch the fight for marriage equality in 2004, he certainly understands the issue. In a statement Monday, he referenced the “Winter of Love” he ushered in after he ordered city officials to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. “Same-sex marriage is the law of the land and Prop 8 has no place in our constitution,” he stated. “It’s time that our laws affirm marriage equality regardless of who you are or who you love. California stands with the LGBTQ+ community and their right to live freely.”

Additionally, however, LGBTQ same-sex couples – of all colors, ages, and abilities – must be the face of the campaign. We’ve written many times that a glaring mistake of that 2008 No on 8 effort was the decision not to use many actual LGBTQ people in the ads. That turned off everyone. LGBTQ people felt invisible during a ballot campaign about their very lives, and straight allies, while incredibly important, are simply no replacement for us. This new coalition must develop campaign strategies showcasing LGBTQ people who can talk about why it’s important that the Prop 8 language be removed from the state constitution – and why voters, whether they be LGBTQ or not, must support us.

The LGBTQ community, frankly, does not have a good track record winning statewide ballot initiatives here. With the exception of the 1978 Briggs initiative (that would have barred gays and lesbians from teaching in public schools), which, by the way, featured a broad coalition of LGBTQ and straight allies, we lost the Knight initiative in 2000 (another anti-same-sex marriage proposition) and Prop 8 in 2008. Now, we will soon be asked to raise money and work for another statewide ballot measure that is perhaps the most important of all. We certainly hope our community’s leaders have learned something from those past losses and can put together a winning campaign. If same-sex marriage isn’t safe in California, it isn’t safe anywhere. t

MCC appears to be MIA

by Adam Allen

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My name is Adam Allen. I came out the first time as a lesbian when I was 19, and transitioned in my 20s. In the 1990s when I was first coming up, the fight for non-discrimination laws and marriage equality was front and center. AIDS was still a death sentence, and being gay was illegal in a lot of states.

And Metropolitan Community Churches were visible everywhere. For those who don’t know, the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches was founded in 1968 by a gay man, the Reverend Troy Perry. (Perry retired in 2005.) It’s the only Christian denomination by and for the LGBTQ+ community. Back then, you couldn’t turn on the TV news without seeing them. There was the annual mass wedding to call attention to the legal inequality of our relationships. They marched just about everywhere, and Perry knew to bring the media along whenever they protested against far-right bigots who wanted to dehumanize and murder us. At one time there were two thriving MCC congregations in San Francisco. Today, there is one, MCC-SF, which recently announced its pastor has retired. (See related story.)

Now, in 2023, trans and gender-diverse people are being dehumanized and killed in the largest numbers ever. According to a November 2022 analysis by NPR, at least 306 bills targeting trans people were introduced in state legislatures, and 15% of those became law. As I type this, North Dakota is debating seven anti-trans bills. One of them legalizes conversion therapy, and another bans trans people from using unisex bathrooms. (As an aside, I run the “Gender Identity and Faith” Facebook page. Friends and I started it to counteract an anti-LGBTQ book of the same title that promotes conversion therapy. We are accepting stories from people about their gender identity and faith issues.)

Courtesy UFMCC

The Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches was founded in 1968.

And is anyone from a local MCC church there speaking out against this? No. In fact, I haven’t seen an MCC pastor at any of these legislative debates. Not like with marriage equality or nondiscrimination law. They were all in there. Those things were important.

Now, this is a problem with all of the left, liberal, so-called open and af firming denominations. They’re all sitting on their hands, shaking their heads and talking about how sad it is that trans and gender-diverse people are going through this. But MCC is our church. They’re supposed to be caring about what happens to all of us. Not just taking their ball and going home because they got what they wanted.

You might be tempted to disagree about this, and bring up the fact that the MCC denomination ordains trans and gender-diverse people. How nice for it. But now that straight denominations are doing it too, it’s become a bare minimum. And ordination is a very narrow niche thing. Opening their doors to care for trans and gender-diverse homeless people, or families with trans youth fleeing hostile states would have a larger impact.

MCC has been involved in overseas work, and credited with saving LGBTQ lives. But in that

respect it’s also acting like straight churches – focusing on overseas missions while their communities in America are floundering. Our cousins in other countries should not be abandoned. But I’m pretty sure the MCC denomination can do two things at once.

The MCC denomination learned gifts that it could be sharing with trans and gender-diverse communities, such as what to do when no one will release a body to you because “you’re not family,” or mourning when someone’s biological family shuts you out, dishonors them in death, and denies anyone who loves them a chance to say goodbye. MCC could be paying for the funerals of trans folks. The blog PGH Lesbian Correspondents out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania recently wrote an amazing article about the economic costs of burying trans victims of violence. And MCC could be putting itself in between us and the people who want us dead. Seeing church members physically could be so important. Maybe I’m the only person who feels like this. Maybe it’s because I’m a transgender Christian whose life was saved knowing MCC existed when I was younger. Perhaps no one else feels the denomination’s absence.

Silence still equals death. Silence is still complicity. #whereismcc? t

Adam Allen is a trans man, Christian, and activist who lives on the West Coast. He loves to read, enjoys learning about new things, and is currently working on a project seeking positive stories about gender identity and faith. You can find the Gender Identity and Faith Facebook page at https://bit. ly/3K177G8.

Gay Vallejo councilman aims to address teen smoking

by Matthew S. Bajko

Vallejo’s new gay City Council member is aiming to address teen smoking in his Solano County city this year. The effort is particularly focused on reducing the number of LGBTQ youth who use tobacco products.

Peter Bregenzer won election in November to the council’s District 5 seat. He is the second out member of the governing body and the first elected since the departure of gay former councilmember Gary Cloutier 16 years ago.

Bregenzer is working with the group LGBTQ Minus Tobacco to bring forward new rules for the City Council to adopt that would raise the minimum prices for tobacco products sold in Vallejo and ban the distribution of coupons in the city for such items.

“One thing I am passionate about, and just been learning more and more about it, is the tobacco industry is really targeting LGBTQ youth, especially in high school,” Bregenzer, 48, told the Bay Area Reporter in a recent phone interview. “So I am really pushing to have our city do an ordinance to raise minimum prices and eliminate coupons.”

In a presentation the anti-tobacco group gave to Bregenzer, it noted the results of a survey about tobacco usage conducted during the 2019-2020 school year. Of the 1,922 students across grades seven, nine, and 11 in Vallejo’s public schools, 66 were gay, lesbian, bisexual or questioning, while two identified as transgender, and eight were unsure of their gender identity.

The LGBTQ students’ usage of ecigarettes in the last month was significantly higher than among their straight peers. It was 10% versus 4% among seventh graders; 20% versus 6% among ninth graders; and 14% versus 8% among 11th graders.

Significantly fewer students reported smoking cigarettes, though usage by LGBTQ students still outpaced that of their straight classmates. It was 2% compared to 1% in grades seven and 11, while it was 8% versus 1% in grade nine.

“What I see is empirical evidence children who are marginalized because of their gender and sexual identities do pick up on addictive substances like tobacco products and that is what the tobacco industry is looking for,” said Joseph Hayden, a gay Vallejo resident and married father who volunteers with LGBTQ Minus Tobacco and recently became co-chair of the Tobacco Free Solano program administered by the county health department.

Speaking to the B.A.R. about the local legislative push in Vallejo, Hayden said enacting a tobacco retail license for sellers of the products in the city would help pay for a code enforcement officer whose job would be to ensure the retailers are following state laws restricting the sale of tobacco to minors. In 2019, federal legislation raised the age nationwide to buy tobacco products to 21, which California had done in 2016.

Hayden pointed to survey data that found 52% of Vallejo juniors said it was “easy” to get vapes in town. The state health department’s food and drug branch also reported that 45.5% of Vallejo stores visited in 2018 sold tobacco to an underage decoy.

The main focus is on curbing the ability of adolescents to purchase tobacco products, stressed Hayden, 54, whose father and paternal grandmother both smoked and died at age 50.

“We are not telling queer adults what to do. I am not a prohibition-

ist,” he said. “It is the kids that are targeted.”

The city recently adopted an ordinance that makes multi-unit housing developments smoke-free. Among 105 people, 27% of whom identified as LGBTQ, the anti-tobacco group surveyed at an AIDS organization’s event in Vallejo, 71% agreed Vallejo should have a minimum sale price for tobacco and 84% supported ending coupon redemption for tobacco products.

“Many jurisdictions have their own tobacco retail licenses so they can regulate and fund code enforcement to check on actual enforcement of the non-sale to youth,” noted Hayden. “We have a shortage of code enforcement people to begin with. For something to help pay for that, we consider it a win-win.”

As of yet the presentation before the council has not been scheduled. But Bregenzer told the B.A.R. he hopes to have the ordinance enacted before the end of the school year.

“We have got to look out for our LGBTQ youth,” he said. Focus turns to vet care then politics

Bregenzer and his husband, Adam, who works in tech, moved to the bayside city in late 2014 after spending two years in San Francisco and bought a home in 2016 in Vallejo’s Grant Mahoney neighborhood. They had gotten married at Crissy Field overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge in 2013, and Bregenzer took his husband’s last name. (His family name is Petrich.)

They had first met in Atlanta in 2011, where Bregenzer was working for the Department of Veterans Affairs. They relocated to the Bay Area so Adam could be closer to Silicon Valley, and Bregenzer was able to transfer to the federal agency’s Mare Island office in Vallejo.

He became the business implementation manager for eight VA hospitals in Northern California, Nevada, Hawaii, and the Philippines, and was then able to retire after 25 years with the federal agency.

Two years ago Bregenzer went to work for his friend, Carrie Jurney, an ordained minister who married him, to help set up her specialty veterinary hospital in San Francisco called Jurney Veterinary Neurology.

Currently operating out of a location in San Mateo County, the practice’s facility at 216 11th Street at Howard in the city’s South of Market neighborhood should be open by May. It specializes in brain, spinal column, and nervous system issues in dogs.

“It has been a long road,” said Bregenzer, the chief operating officer, of navigating the onerous permitting process for a vet practice and building out the space.

In Vallejo, the couple connected with the local LGBTQ community

via monthly potlucks held in people’s homes. They also enjoyed the Pirate Festival held in town, as well as its art walk events and Pride celebration.

“There is a huge gay presence here in Vallejo,” said Bregenzer, adding that, “We instantly fell in love with Vallejo.”

Over the last decade the city’s political leadership has embraced the LGBTQ community, with the immediate past mayors turning up at the potluck get-togethers, noted Bregenzer. It caused him to have no concerns about running for a council seat as an out gay candidate.

Yet, in what he said was “an oversight,” Bregenzer didn’t reach out to many LGBTQ organizations or the B.A.R. to request an endorsement.

Having launched his bid last May, he found campaigning to be “overwhelming” and wished he had been able to start sooner in the year due to the amount of work involved.

But the previous council member only announced in April that he would not run again. With the seat open, Bregenzer entered the race, having thought about mounting a council bid for some years. He served on a number of city oversight bodies and joined several local choirs.

“I decided it was a good time in my life. We are busy but it’s not going to get any easier, so why not throw my hat in the ring,” he recalled thinking. “No, I never would have guessed I would be an elected official.”

Bregenzer credited his family and husband for their support during the campaign. He defeated four other candidates to win the council seat.

“In fact, I was selected from a whole group of really good candidates. That was a really great honor for me,” he said.

The son of a police officer, Bregenzer said public safety is a top concern of his, as is building more affordable housing. Tackling blight and graffiti are other priorities, as the city was hit during the holidays by a tagger that called for killing Democratic leaders like Governor Gavin Newsom and former President Barack Obama

“People saw I had the experience needed to move our city forward as being part of the council,” Bregenzer said.

His gay council predecessor, Cloutier, was first elected in 1999 and served two terms. He ran for mayor in 2007 and served in the position for seven days until a recount ousted him. As for Bregenzer’s political ambitions, he told the B.A.R. his immediate focus is serving out his first four-year term.

“I have only been three weeks on the council. I have four years ahead of me,” he said. “I am not going to run in two years when this mayor is termed out. I don’t know what my future holds to be honest.” t

Planning Ahead is Simple

Planning Ahead is Simple

The benefits are immense.

Planning Ahead is Simple

The benefits are immense.

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ahead protects your loved ones from unnecessary stress

When you plan your life celebration and lasting remembrance in advance, you can design every detail of your own unique memorial and provide your loved ones with true peace of mind. Planning ahead protects your loved ones from unnecessary stress and financial burden, allowing them to focus on what will matter most at that time—you.

burden, allowing them to focus on what will matter most at that time—you.

When you plan your life celebration and lasting remembrance in advance, you can design every detail of your own unique memorial and provide your loved ones with true peace of mind. Planning ahead protects your loved ones from unnecessary stress and financial burden, allowing them to focus on what will matter most at that time—you.

New Vallejo City Councilmember Peter Bregenzer is enjoying his work as an elected official.

Courtesy Peter Bregenzer

Gay psychiatrist David R. Kessler dies

by Cynthia Laird

Amemorial will be held next month for Dr. David Rudolph Kessler, who became the first openly gay psychiatrist at UCSF’s Langley Porter Psychiatric Hospital back in the 1970s.

Dr. Kessler died November 24, 2022 at the age of 92. His friend Dr. Demetri Polites told the Bay Area Reporter that Dr. Kessler had been in poor health for awhile and died after a long illness while in skilled nursing care at the Sequoias.

In an obituary he prepared before his death, Dr. Kessler wrote that he was inspired by Harvey Milk to come out in 1978 during a Langley Porter Institute grand round, becoming the first such openly gay faculty member on the campus. Milk, the first gay man elected to office in San Francisco in 1977, served 11 months on the Board of Supervisors before being assassinated by disgruntled ex-supervisor Dan White on November 27, 1978.

Polites said that Dr. Kessler gave one of the eulogies for Milk at his memorial at the San Francisco Opera House.

Dr. Kessler had other notable firsts, he wrote, including being elected president of the nation’s first gay doctors’ group, Bay Area Physicians for Human Rights (19781980), and then the first elected president of the national gay caucus

of Members of the American Psychiatric Association (1980-1982). He served on many boards, including the National Gay Task Force (now the National LGBTQ Task Force) and the NAMES Project, which oversaw the AIDS Memorial Quilt. (The quilt is now under the stewardship of the National AIDS Memorial Grove.)

In 1991, he endowed an annual lectureship on gay and lesbian issues at the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies at the Graduate School of the City University of New York.

Dr. Kessler was also generous with Yale. He directed $5 million from his estate to the Yale School of

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Public Health, part of which is intended for the creation of the David R. Kessler Endowed Professorship, according to a 2019 article in Yale School of Public Health.

And he made a gift of $200,000 to support the work of Yale School of Public Health Associate Professor John Pachankis, Ph.D., and his Esteem Research Group, according to the publication, which reported on the donation. The money was dedicated to addressing the depression, anxiety, and substance use problems that disproportionately affect the LGBTQ community and can erode healthy relationships and behaviors, the publication reported. A clinical psychologist, Pachankis, is internationally known for his development of novel psychosocial interventions to improve LGBTQ individuals’ mental health.

Dr. Kessler moved to San Francisco in 1962, where he became a full-time staff member at Langley Porter, his obituary stated. There, he helped to train many of the psychiatrists who would go on to practice in the Bay Area. He retired in 1986 as a clinical professor of psychiatry at UCSF. He was the author of several clinical papers and was co-author of an early textbook on marital and family therapy. For over 50 years he conducted a part-time psychiatric practice and was a consultant to the San Francisco Superior Court.

Dr. Kessler and his late partner,

<< MCC-SF

From page 4

New church location

Starr stated that the congregation’s last Sunday service at the First Congregational Church building at 1300 Polk Street was held January 15, and that on January 22 the congregation began meeting at St. Mary’s Chapel at Trinity and St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, which is located at Bush and Gough streets in the historic building.

(The two Episcopalian congregations have worshiped together at the historic Trinity building since 2012)

“With this move, we have changed our Sunday service time to 9 a.m., both in person and on Zoom, and will be continuing our Wednesday evening contemplative service at 7 p.m., also both in-person and on Zoom,” Starr stated.

Starr and the board of directors did not respond to a request for comment asking why there’d been a move from First Congregational to the Trinity building.

The Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches

Obituaries >>

Andrew Martin Galleni

May 5, 1968 – February 10, 2023

Sundance Saloon dancing fixture and former SF Movie Bears coordinator Andrew Martin Galleni, 54, passed away peacefully on February 10, 2023 after a year-and-a-half bout with cancer.

He is survived by his mother, Susan Jo Knedel Galleni; sister, Andrea Marie Galleni; and his adorable kitty, Zelda, on whom he bestowed the honorific “Her Fluffiness.”

Steven Del Re, enjoyed all things Italian, and traveled extensively throughout the Italian peninsula, the obituary stated. Del Re died of complications from AIDS in 1986. “I must have been Italian in a former life,” he quipped in his obituary. Dr. Kessler also enjoyed music, taking piano lessons on and off for years.

Early life

Dr. Kessler was born April 1, 1930 in Brooklyn, New York. He was the only child of Polish Jews, who emigrated to the U.S. shortly after World War I. His father, Benjamin, was a clothing manufacturer, and his mother later in life worked for the New York City Board of Education.

The obituary stated that he attended public schools in Brooklyn. In 1937, he accompanied his mother on a nine-month visit to her family in Poland. He served as student body president in junior high school. After graduation from Brooklyn College, he attended Yale Medical School, receiving his MD degree in 1955. Following three years with the U.S. Public Health Service, he returned to Yale for psychiatric training. He helped open one of the nation’s first psychiatric hospitals in an American general hospital.

Dr. Kessler wrote that during adolescence he changed his middle

name, adapting it from that of his musical hero at the time, Rudolf Serkin.

Several of Dr. Kessler’s close friends died during the early years of the AIDS epidemic, but he managed to maintain warm relationships with a small circle of intimate associates, he wrote in his obituary. He considered himself to be extremely fortunate. He escaped without grave consequences after a hot air balloon crash in France, and he successfully survived leukemia several years later. Most importantly, he wrote, was having the opportunity to contribute to the struggle for gay rights.

“It could be worse,” was one of his favorite retorts and expressed his sense of Jewish optimism.

“On his current voyage he hopes to meet up with Mozart and get a chance to hear some of his latest compositions,” the obituary stated.

Surviving relatives include two cousins and their families in Los Angeles.

A memorial service will be held Saturday, March 11, in San Francisco, delayed due to the COVID pandemic. For details, people should email dpolites@outlook.com with their name and phone number.

In lieu of flowers, Dr. Kessler asked that people send contributions to PFLAGor to their favorite LGBTQ charity. t

Development and are subject to monitoring and other restrictions. Visit housing.sfgov.org for an application and further program information.

was founded by gay former Pentecostal pastor Troy Perry in 1968 to be a specifically-LGBTQ affirming Christian denomination. There are over 200 congregations worldwide, including San Francisco’s, which met at 150 Eureka Street in the LGBTQ Castro neighborhood till 2015, when it moved to 1300 Polk Street.

MCC-SF sold the Castro property – and an apartment building it owned – due to the high cost of repairing the aging structure, as the B.A.R. reported at the time.

cooking, playing music, and singing. He was a member of the Sacred & Profane Chamber Chorus in the East Bay (1996-2003) and Creative Voices (2003-08). He also sang in the Colla Voce choir.

Drew was an Italophile who embraced his Italian background. In 1995, he spent several months exploring big cities in northern Italy.

A detailed account of his life appears on his Facebook page (facebook. com/calicoon), and memorial service plans will be posted there soon. Photo: Gaku Shiroma

Donald Michael

January 10, 1951 – February 1, 2023

The building was sold and the new owner, developer David R. Papale, agreed to partially preserve it in 2018 by including a portion of its existing facade into a new condominium development, as the B.A.R. reported at the time.

Starr stated that, “We don’t have any information on the old Eureka location.”

Construction has started on the condo project at the former MCC-SF building in the Castro. t

(Etta) Harrison. Don is predeceased by his older brother, Jack Michael. He is survived by his loving sisters Diann Dorley and Joyce (Freiner) Kippenberger; brothers-in-law: William Dorley Jr., George Kippenberger, and Bud Freiner; a beloved niece; three nephews; and two great-nieces along with many cousins.

Don was a graduate of St. Mary Magdalene Grade School and Southwest High School in St. Louis, prior to his completion of a business degree in San Francisco. He had also obtained a real estate broker’s license in 1999.

Born in San Francisco in 1968, Drew spent his early years in the Temescal neighborhood of Oakland, and was raised in Berkeley, California. He was a graduate of Berkeley High School and received a B.S. in geology at UC Davis.

He was an active figure who enjoyed walking and hiking and preferred bicycling over driving. Among his creature comforts were gardening,

Donald “Don” Michael, 72, was a resident of San Francisco, California and passed away on February 1, 2023. Don was born January 10, 1951 in St. Louis, Missouri to the late parents Adolf H. Michael and Henrietta

In 1975, Don moved to San Francisco where he was employed at Mary’s Help Hospital (now Seton Medical Center) for 12 years. He served as resident manager of the Pierce Building from 1987 through 2016. After two years with Walden Management Group, he retired in 2018.

Don will be remembered for his kindness, consideration, and thoughtfulness. He was respected and admired by so many who knew and loved him. So loved, so missed, and so very dear to our hearts.

Dr. David Rudolph Kessler

Dr. David R. Kessler

Construction has started on a condo project at the site of the old MCC-SF building in the Castro.

John Ferrannini

Oakland LGBTQ center offers Black History Month films

compiled by Cynthia Laird

The Oakland LGBTQ Community Center is presenting its Black History Month film series that continues through February.

On Saturday, February 18, the center will screen “The Untold Story of Disco” (2017) at 3 p.m. and “Can You Feel It: The Black Queer Origins of House and Techno” (2018) at 4 p.m.

Then to round out the series, on February 25 the center will screen the classic “Paris is Burning” (1990) at 3 p.m. and “The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson” (2017) at 5 p.m.

The film screen ings are free. The cen ter is located at 3207 Lakeshore Boulevard (entrance on Rand Av enue).

Pre-registration is required due to limited seat ing. To sign up, go to https://bit. ly/3xczxoP.

Quake relief fund started for Turkey, Syria Rainbow World Fund, the LG BTQ humanitarian organization based in San Francisco’s Castro district, has announced it has set up a Turkey-Syria Earthquake Relief Fund. Both countries were hard-hit by a magnitude 7.5 tem blor February 6. Nearly 40,000 people have died and the death toll continues to rise, according to news reports. Winter storms have also hampered rescue ef forts, leaving survivors stranded in freezing temperatures.

Additionally, the earthquakes have severely damaged roads, fur ther complicating rescue efforts.

Jeff Cotter, a gay man who’s executive director of Rainbow World Fund, stated in an email announcement to supporters that the organization is working with in-country partners to deliver aid. “Our funds are being used to provide food, temporary shelter, and emergency supplies,” Cot ter wrote. “Please be part of the LGBTQ+ community’s response.” One hundred percent of dona tions will fund life-saving ac tions, Cotter added.

Donors should specify “Disas ter Recovery” when they make a contribution online or via a check. To donate online, go to https://www.rainbowfund.org/. Checks can be sent to RWF, 4111 18th Street, San Francisco, CA 94114

Contra Costa County seeks civil grand jury members

Contra Costa County Super visor John Gioia has announced that residents can apply to serve on the civil grand jury.

The body typically monitors city and county governments, special districts, and school dis tricts, Gioia wrote in an email to constituents. “Juries are often referred to as the ‘citizen watch dogs’ of local government,” he added.

In Contra Costa County, the civil grand jury is made up of 19 members who serve for one year. Gioia stated that the coun ty wants the body “to reflect the geographic, racial, ethnic, and gender diversity” of the area.

Superior court judges will in terview approximately 75 appli cants, with the final selection ex pected by June 16. The deadline to apply is March 24.

For more information and to apply, go to https://bit. ly/40MsWiN.

Free wildflower guide to Jack London park

The historic rains of January are expected to yield a bountiful wildflower season at Jack London Historic State Park in Glen Ellen in Sonoma County, and to help visitors, the park has compiled a free online guide.

“Blooming Now” is a guide to the latest blossoms at the 1,570acre park, with photos, names, and recently spotted locations, a news release stated. Visitors can seek out a variety of flowers, with names like California Buttercup, Pacific Hounds Tongue, and Checker Lily.

The guide will be updated every two weeks through August 31, the release noted.

For flower-finding success, park

don and his wife, Charmian, who made the place they called “Beauty Ranch” their home.

The park is operated and funded by Jack London Park Partners, one of the first nonprofits to be entrusted with management of a state park in California. Funding to keep the park going strong is generated by visitors, annual passholders, and donors. To download the wildflower guide, go to https://bit. ly/3HOWseY

For more about the park, go to jacklondonpark.com. t

Wildflowers are in bloom at Jack London Historic State Park in Sonoma County.

same-sex marriage becoming legal in the Golden State two years before the high court’s Obergefell v. Hodges decision did the same thing nationwide. Prop 8 had declared that “only marriage between a man and a woman” as valid or recognized in California.

Despite the federal win for samesex marriage, the Prop 8 language remains in the California Constitution.

“Californians believe in love, simply put. Repealing Proposition 8 is the right thing to do to ensure that marriage equality is protected now and for future generations,” Low stated in a news release. “California leads the way in LGBTQ+ protections and cutting-edge pro-equality legislation and our constitution should reflect those values.”

“Repealing Prop 8 is an essential step in protecting the freedom to marry for millions of LGBTQ Californians,” added Wiener. “This scar on our constitution is unconscionable, and it needs to be removed, especially with extremist Supreme Court Justices threatening to overturn marriage equality. It’s time to send this issue to California voters to right this wrong.”

Wiener has long advocated for re-

<< Contract ban

From page 1

orities like keeping libraries open and HIV services funded do not get cut in order to balance the budget, argued Dorsey.

“There has been a lot of frustration over the years about how cumbersome and expensive and labyrinthine our contracting processes can be. I am convinced if San Franciscans had any idea how much money, how much of their taxpayer dollars we are wasting on processes and the performative things we do with our contracting, they would be furious about it and rightfully so,” said Dorsey.

According to the memo about 12X, even though its exact cost to the city “is difficult to quantify,” the budget and legislative analyst has noted, “a loss in competition is likely to increase the city’s contracting costs by 10-20% annually. These costs could continue to increase and compound overtime as the city’s potential contractor pool shrinks if the list of banned states grows.”

Still pro-LGBTQ

Safaí stressed that doing away with the contracting ban should not be seen as the city eschewing its progressive values or support for local minority-owned and LGBTQ-owned companies. He pointed to other city contracting rules that would continue to be enforced to ensure locallyowned businesses do not lose out.

“This legislation does not change any aspect of our local subcontracting requirements or local hire rules. Any prime contractor must deliver local jobs regardless of where they are based and must follow 14B requirements,” said Safaí, referring to another city contracting rule aimed at supporting local, minority, and LGBTQ business owners. “It does not change the city’s commitment to LGBTQ equality.”

District 10 Supervisor Shamann Walton, the other rules member, criticized Safaí’s ordinance and voiced his opposition to it. He said there is no reason to reward companies headquar-

<< Drag camp

From page 4

der-nonconforming youth to express themselves without judgment,” said Logan, who is gay. “Fortunately, as the entirety of human history demonstrates, trans and queer people aren’t going anywhere.”

Over the years some 10,000 campers have come through YATC programs, Ryan said. The new

pealing what is known as “zombie”

Prop 8. At a December news conference with U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-California), Wiener said, “We need to get Prop 8 out of our constitution in California.”

Although marriage equality in the Golden State is currently protected by gay then-federal Judge Vaughn Walker’s 2010 ruling striking down Prop 8 and the 2015 Supreme Court decision in Obergefell, it has become increasingly clear that the Supreme Court cannot be trusted to protect LGBTQ couples’ civil rights and liberties, EQCA stated. If the court was willing to overturn five decades of precedent guaranteeing the right to abortion (as they did with the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision last year), EQCA noted, “it cannot be assumed it will uphold less than a decade of precedence protecting marriage equality, particularly in light of statements made by Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito referring to Obergefell as a ‘problem’ and ‘threat.’”

Last June, in overturning Roe v. Wade, Thomas, in his concurring opinion in Dobbs, suggested that other precedents, including on samesex marriage, contraception, and state sodomy laws, are also ripe for reconsideration. With the 6-3 conservative

supermajority now on the high court, LGBTQ activists, legal experts, and others are concerned marriage equality could be next.

EQCA noted that the recent passage of the Respect for Marriage Act was an important step forward – it requires the federal government to recognize same-sex and interracial marriages and affirms that states must recognize valid marriage licenses from other states – but it does not require states to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

President Joe Biden signed the bipartisan Respect for Marriage Act December 13.

“Today, on Valentine’s Day, we are reminded that marriage is about love, commitment, and family. Same-sex families should have certainty and the freedom to live without fear that their marriage could be taken from them,” stated EQCA Executive Director Tony Hoang, a gay man. “The overwhelming majority of Californians – 71%, an all-time high which includes people from across the political spectrum – support the freedom to marry for same-sex couples. Equality California is committed to continue addressing the pressing issues facing the LGBTQ+ community, including the alarming increase of anti-LGBTQ+ attacks against the trans community

while advancing this constitutional amendment.”

Leaders of several LGBTQ and allied organizations expressed support for the new constitutional amendment.

“While LGBTQ+ Californians enjoy some of the strongest legal protections in the country, vestiges of discrimination still linger in our Constitution and our culture. The repeal of Prop 8 is one critical step toward ensuring lived equality for all,” stated Carlos Marquez III, executive director of American Civil Liberties Union California Action. “We look forward to working with our coalition partners, Assemblymember Low, members of the LGBTQ Legislative Caucus, and legislative leadership on this repeal effort as well as the other work ahead, which must include making additional investments particularly in our trans communities, who continue to experience violence, discrimination, and injustice.”

The national Human Rights Campaign also weighed in.

“The right to marry is fundamental. All couples deserve to know that their marriages are secure and recognized in the eyes of the law,” stated HRC President Kelley Robinson, a queer woman.

“We are proud to support this effort to repeal Proposition 8, and we will do whatever it takes to ensure that mar-

riage equality remains the law of the land in this country. We also know that removing this hateful language from the state’s constitution will not end the ongoing deadly violence, legislative assaults and constant threats facing LGBTQ+ people across the country, especially our transgender community, and we look forward to continuing to fight for full equality for everyone in our community, without exception.”

Imani Rupert-Gordon, a queer woman who’s executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, in December declined to talk with the B.A.R. about what was at the time a potential amendment. She is now on board.

“We are grateful to Assemblymember Low and Senator Wiener for taking this critical first step to remove this shameful endorsement of inequality from California’s Constitution,” Rupert-Gordon stated. “Especially when LGBTQ+ people are under attack in so many states across the country, it is more essential than ever that California lead the way in affirming the equal dignity of every person, regardless of their race, religion, ethnicity, ability, gender, sexual orientation or gender identity. Repealing Prop 8 is an important part of a much larger battle.”t

the ban. Taking such a route, however, makes their bid more expensive because of the additional management needs and other costs such arrangements result in, according to city officials.

“We have been able to function, clearly, under 12X. But we have found it reduces competition on our projects,” said Judi Mosqueda, the chief development officer for San Francisco International Airport. “We seek the most highly qualified firms. It lends our contractors to look to subcontract under other entities in order to still provide services to SFO. It drives up overhead and management costs on projects.”

tered in states that have taken legislative action against the values that San Francisco and its residents support.

“Our local businesses need every opportunity to be successful,” said Walton. “This, as written, is basically a giveaway and is in direct conflict with San Francisco values. Unless our values have somehow changed.”

Walton said he saw no reason for why the proposal needed to be sent to the full board to be taken up at this time and voted against doing so. Dorsey and Safaí voted to pass it out of the committee without a recommendation to the full board, which will take it up at its February 28 meeting since it does not meet next week due to the Presidents Day holiday.

“As written, this is not something I think we should be supporting,” said Walton. “This is not supporting businesses that share our values but those that have headquarters outside of the city to the detriment of our small businesses.”

Opposition

Various local minority business groups and LGBTQ advocates oppose Safaí’s ordinance and voiced their opposition to it at Monday’s hearing. They also criticized Safaí for not con-

weekend will have space for about 30. Lessons will include sessions on creating a character, costuming and makeup, and different kinds of performance styles – the same as any other performance arts. The campers will then create their own drag queen, king, or other nonbinary royalty and/or characters.

Fifteen-year-old high school sophomore Lexi Donovan, a nonbinary lesbian from Sausalito, has

sulting with them on it before introducing it last year.

Those speaking out included Nick Colina, a gay man who is the administrator of operations at Anco Iron & Construction Inc., which his grandfather and grand-uncle founded in San Francisco after emigrating from Mexico in the 1950s. He requested that the city show there is data that justifies changing the 12X policy.

“What would Harvey Milk say?

This is not going to help LGBTQowned businesses,” argued Colina, referring to the city’s first gay supervisor who was also a small business owner of a camera shop in the Castro LGBTQ neighborhood.

Paul Pendergast, a gay man who owns a public affairs firm that works with construction businesses, is president of BuildOUT California, an association that promotes LGBTQowned firms in the construction field. He also questioned the need to ax the city’s contracting ban and asked the city to determine how many companies awarded contracts have partnered with LGBTQ-owned firms on the projects.

“How many LGBTQ businesses currently or in the past have been brought on to your teams? Let us start

attended winter and summer camp sessions, and said the drag nights were always one of their favorite activities. Donovan took home the Best in Drag award for their drag king performance at the recent winter camp.

“There’s a lot of misinformation about drag. Like that we’re going to groom your children and it’s all hypersexual and will turn you gay. So it’s really important now, more than ever,

with that economic data point and then move forward,” said Pendergast.

Safaí said he is open to meeting with the business leaders over the coming weeks to hear their concerns.

First enacted in 2016

The 12X policy was first enacted in 2016 and initially only covered those states that had passed laws as of then that discriminated against their LGBTQ residents. In 2019, the policy was extended to include states that restricted abortion, and again in 2021 to include those with voter suppression laws. California also has a law banning most taxpayer-funded travel to states that have enacted anti-LGBTQ laws over the last eight years but does not ban contracts with companies in those states.

With more than half of the country now on San Francisco’s banned list, critics argue it is hampering the ability of city departments to find qualified contractors and is increasing the cost of projects because companies that could do the work less expensively are not bidding on them in the first place if they are located in a banned state. If they are submitting bids, they must do so by subcontracting with another company not impacted by

that we are educated about it,” they said. “Getting to see it for yourself is the best way to educate yourself.”

Organizers said the drag camp program, like any of their other camps, does not teach sexuality or gender identity. Instead, it allows for exploration of another form of expression and understanding of what goes into the final performance.

“It didn’t scare me to think that we would do this (drag camp),”

The impacts of the contracting ban gained widespread attention last fall over media coverage of the $1.7 million price tag to build a toilet at a public park in the city’s Noe Valley neighborhood. Facing political and public backlash over the high costs to construct a single-stall restroom, recreation and parks department officials entered into negotiations to accept a prefabricated toilet gifted from the Public Restroom Company based in Reno, Nevada.

The city agency’s oversight body is expected to approve the gifted loo at an upcoming meeting. Because Nevada is on the banned list due to enacting abortion and voting restrictions, the rec and park department is barred from paying for the roughly $135,000 toilet. It can accept it as a bequest, which is not restricted under the 12X policy.

Chad Kaufman, president of the company, noted he had installed toilets in cities throughout the Bay Area and across California. The majority of his business is in the Golden State, and he argued companies like his should not be penalized for the decisions made by their state legislators. A better policy would be to ask the business owners what their stances are on such things as LGBTQ equality, reproductive freedoms, and voting rights, he said.

“Obviously, I don’t set policy, but I am subject to what my state chooses,” said Kaufman. t

Ryan said. “What would really be scary is if we didn’t do this, if we didn’t continue.”t

Young Actors’ Theatre Camp’s The Art of Drag weekend workshop will be from March 3-5. Registration is $597 and scholarships/ financial aid are available upon request. For more information call (855) 462-9282 or visit www.campyatc.com.

A contracting ban has come under fire at San Francisco City Hall.

Steven Underhill

<< Medical examiner

From page 1

Examiner,” stated Dorsey.

According to a December 15, 2022 news release from Chu’s office, the medical examiner’s office achieved full accreditation from the National Association of Medical Examiners that month. Its accreditation had lapsed in 2017, the release stated, but received provisional accreditation in 2021, which was good for a year.

Case of gay man brings scrutiny to office

The fact that the office did not have accreditation for a period of time has played a role in the case of a gay 20-year-old man whose parents allege his death was not properly investigated due to homophobia on the part of the medical examiner’s office.

As the B.A.R. reported last week the family of the late Jaxon Sales sent a letter calling on California Attorney General Rob Bonta, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu, and San Francisco Police Chief William Scott to “compel the San Francisco Medical Examiner to fully investigate the circumstances of their

<< Badlands

From page 2

Maloney answered a phone call from the B.A.R., saying with regard to the Hamburger Mary’s space, “I was looking to lease and I’ve had a couple prospects for quite some time.”

When asked what the space will be, Maloney said, “a restaurant and a bar.

Legals >>

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-23-557689

In the matter of the application of AZUCENA LEMUS MARTINEZ, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appears from said application that petitioner AZUCENA LEMUS MARTINEZ is requesting that the name AZUCENA LEMUS MARTINEZ AKA AZUCENA LEMUS AKA AZUCENA MARTINEZ be changed to AZUCENA HUGEL. 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 7th of MARCH 2023 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

JAN 26, FEB 02, 09, 16, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0399261

The following person(s) is/are doing business as DAWSON’S WIG’S, 461 CASTRO ST #C, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JASON EPPS. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/17/2023. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/17/2023.

JAN 26, FEB 02, 09, 16, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0399264

The following person(s) is/are doing business as CLK BUILDERS, 238 RICHLAND AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed CHINSOO KIM. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/17/2023. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/17/2023.

JAN 26, FEB 02, 09, 16, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0399311

The following person(s) is/are doing business as FLINTSTONES MOTORS, 650 4TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JOSEPH PARK. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/24/2023. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/24/2023.

JAN 26, FEB 02, 09, 16, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0399295

The following person(s) is/are doing business as MIR CLEANING SERVICES, 318 ALEMANY BLVD #3C, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ANA MIRNA ORTIZ ORTIZ. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/20/2023. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/20/2023.

cluding gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid, cocaine, and methamphetamine. The manner of death is listed as an accident.

The family contends that the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner did not do its due diligence in investigating the death.

According to the Sales family, an official with the medical examiner’s office told them “no investigation is needed as ‘the gay community uses GHB,’” a statement they said is discriminatory, and which was previously reported by the B.A.R.

again confirmed the certification of cause of death as acute mixed drug toxicity; there was no evidence of life-threatening traumatic injuries or natural disease.

“As to the serious allegation that OCME staff were biased against Mr. Sales because of his sexual orientation and that it impacted the OCME’s approach to or findings in the case, OCME does not tolerate discrimination of any kind in our office or in our work,” Serrano Sewell continued.

being sufficient resources and bringing closure to families in an effective manner. I started in 2020 and [Chief Medical Examiner] Dr. [Christopher] Liverman was appointed in 2020.”

Liverman stated, “David has been an exceptional leader and fierce advocate for the OCME … I look forward to continuing working with him and the OCME team to excel at fulfilling all responsibilities of the medical examiner’s office with the highest standards of ethics and excellence.”

Courtesy Sales family

The death of Jaxon Sales has brought scrutiny to the medical examiner’s office.

son’s death.”

Jaxon Sales died March 2, 2020 in the Rincon Hill apartment of a 41-year-old man, as the B.A.R. reported in 2022. But his death was deemed accidental by officials and wasn’t investigated at the time by police as possibly a homicide.

The medical examiner’s report lists the cause of Jaxon Sales’ death as acute mixed drug intoxication, in-

A particular client who has stepped forward was looking at a non-alcoholic, after-hours club.”

At that point, however, Maloney said she was running late and that the B.A.R. could call back in 15 minutes.

The next day Maloney told the B.A.R. that there’s also a third prospect for the Hamburger Mary’s space that she will be speaking with next week. She also revealed that “we’re just about to

A news release from the family’s attorney stated that “further bolstering Jaxon’s parents’ petition is the fact that the San Francisco Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (“OCME”) was not accredited and conducted several faulty investigations during the time in which it considered Jaxon’s death.”

In a statement to the B.A.R. last week, Serrano Sewell stood by the agency’s findings.

“In [the] case of Mr. Sales, the OCME conducted a full forensic investigation, including complete autopsy and post-mortem toxicology testing,” he stated. The chief medical examiner carefully reviewed these records and the investigative file and

sign” someone to fill the space that until January was filled by El Capitan Taqueria, next to Toad Hall.

While Maloney wouldn’t say who will be leasing, she described them as a “very successful restaurant owner” with other locations in San Francisco.

The space at 541 Castro Street will continue to be leased to the campaign committee of Congressmember Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) on a

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0399241

The following person(s) is/are doing business as PRECITA VILLAGE, 3208 FOLSOM ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JERRY S. LIN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/28/2022. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/13/2023.

FEB 02, 09, 16, 23, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0399198

business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/17/2023. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/17/2023.

JAN 26, FEB 02, 09, 16, 2023

STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-0382470

The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as KILOWATT, 3160 16TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business was conducted by a corporation and signed by NSTB INC. (CA). The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/02/2018.

JAN 26, FEB 02, 09, 16, 2023

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE

OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-23-557697

In the matter of the application of JENCY GONZALEZ, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appears from said application that petitioner JENCY GONZALEZ is requesting that the name JENCY GONZALEZ be changed to JENCY GONZALEZ VARGAS. 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 9th of MARCH 2023 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

FEB 02, 09, 16, 23, 2023

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-23-557701

In the matter of the application of MINJI AGUILAR, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appears from said application that petitioner MINJI AGUILAR is requesting that the name MINJI AGUILAR be changed to OLIVIA IAN SON. 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 14th of MARCH 2023 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

FEB 02, 09, 16, 23, 2023

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-23-557702

In the matter of the application of LARISA DASHUT, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appears from said application that petitioner LARISA DASHUT is requesting that the name LARISA DASHUT be changed to LARA DASHUT. 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 14th of MARCH 2023 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

FEB 02, 09, 16, 23, 2023

The following person(s) is/are doing business as FIDUCIARY LAW ATTORNEY, FIDUCIARY LAW ATTORNEYS, 1109 VICENTE ST #104, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed EMILIE M. CALHOUN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/28/2008. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/10/2023.

FEB 02, 09, 16, 23, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0399353

The following person(s) is/are doing business as TACOS AGUILAR, 1538 PALOU AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed EVER AGUILAR. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/27/2023. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/27/2023.

FEB 02, 09, 16, 23, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME

STATEMENT FILE A-0399365

The following person(s) is/are doing business as AROMA NAIL SALON, 1414 CASTRO ST #B, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed LOC TIEN PHUNG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/30/2023. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/20/2023.

FEB 02, 09, 16, 23, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME

STATEMENT FILE A-0399372

The following person(s) is/are doing business as SIRENA’S PARADISE BEAUTY SALON, 4743-B MISSION ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MARGOTH MARTINEZ CABRERA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/03/2012. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/30/2023.

FEB 02, 09, 16, 23, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0399358

The following person(s) is/are doing business as SAMURAI KITCHEN COMPANY, 619 6TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed LAWRENCE LI KAI SO. 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 01/30/2023.

FEB 02,

“A decedent’s sexual orientation, race, religion, gender identity, or other factors do not influence our medical death investigations, findings, or conclusions.”

Getting accreditation restored

Serrano Sewell also worked as an “advocate for public and nonprofit hospitals,” he said.

He said that when he took over as COO back in 2020, his first task was to help get the office fully accredited with the National Association of Medical Examiners.

“The office had been without accreditation,” Serrano Sewell said. “They look at your policies and procedures with an eye toward there

month-to-month basis, Maloney said.

The 2020 Facebook post announcing Badlands’ closure had said, “The name of the new bar and other details will be announced later, closer to the opening date.”

When asked about this, Natali said Bruce would be in charge of naming the new establishment.

“TJ has mentioned several things,” Natali said. “He has Splash in San Jose

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0399130

The following person(s) is/are doing business as MONCHI’S RESTAURANT, 301 SOUTH VAN NESS AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed SERGIO MACIEL SANCHEZ. 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 01/03/2023.

FEB 02, 09, 16, 23, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0399330 The following person(s) is/are doing business as BENKYODO CO., 1747 BUCHANAN ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed RICKY T. OKAMURA & ROBERT OKAMURA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 04/01/1906. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/26/2023.

FEB 02, 09, 16, 23, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0399153

The following person(s) is/are doing business as CUIA ACAI, 3809 18TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed CUIA ACAI DOLORES PARK LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/05/2023. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/05/2023.

FEB 02, 09, 16, 23, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0399316

The following person(s) is/are doing business as JML LANDSCAPES, 1031 VALENCIA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed THE 519 CORPORATION (CA). 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 01/24/2023.

FEB 02, 09, 16, 23, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0399297

The following person(s) is/are doing business as NEPALESE INDIAN RESTAURANT, 1109 FILLMORE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed SANGAM STAR FOOD INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/06/2023. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/20/2023.

FEB 02, 09, 16, 23, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0399313

The following person(s) is/are doing business as SFHC, 1035 MARKET ST #400, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed SAN FRANCISCO AIDS FOUNDATION (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/01/1994. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/24/2023.

FEB 02, 09, 16, 23, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0399117

The following person(s) is/are doing business as THREE POLAR BEARS, 402 BALBOA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed NAILBOX, INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/06/2016. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/30/2022.

FEB 02, 09, 16, 23, 2023

In 2021 the office achieved provisional accreditation and, in 2022, the office received full accreditation.

The standard the office tries to meet is 90% of cases being closed in 90 days. Chu said she was “very pleased.”

“Over the last two years, David has proven himself to be a visionary and steadfast leader,” Chu said. “He’s focused on how the organization runs, implementing necessary operational improvements and ultimately driving towards our city’s successful reaccreditation. His commitment to excellence and his close partnership with our Chief Medical Examiner will serve our city well in the years ahead.” t

and Splash in Fresno and I don’t know how many Splashes he has. He has Sacramento Badlands. I think he’s going to have a Portland Badlands. He’s mentioned various things. It’s up to him; I won’t be involved in it.”

Bruce subsequently told the B.A.R., “if it is up to me it will always be Badlands.” t

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0399269

The following person(s) is/are doing business as SAN FRANCISCO COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER, 726 POLK

16, 23, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0399345 The following person(s) is/are doing business as POKE BOWL, 3251 20TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94108. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed POKE STONE INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 04/12/2017. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/27/2023.

FEB 02, 09, 16, 23, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0399346

The following person(s) is/are doing business as POKE ORIGIN, 716 IRVING ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed TAKUYA INVESTMENT INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/16/2017. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/27/2023.

FEB 02, 09, 16, 23, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0399161

The following person(s) is/are doing business as SHAMROCK; SHAMROCK REAL ESTATE COMPANY; SHAMROCK PROPERTY GROUP, 1563 LYON ST #2, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed RYJA BROKERAGE, INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/09/2023. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/09/2023.

FEB 02, 09, 16, 23, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0399312

The following person(s) is/are doing business as KILOWATT, 3160 16TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed NOBODYSBABY LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/24/2023. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/24/2023.

FEB 02, 09, 16, 23, 2023

FEB 02, 09, 16, 23, 2023

by Jim Gladstone

In December 2021, Claybourne Elder had just gotten over a case of COVID-19. About to return to his role in the acclaimed Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim’s “Company,” Elder –who will debut his new cabaret act at the Calmére Estate Winery in Napa on February 19 and bring it to Feinstein’s at the Nikko on the 22nd – posted an Instagram story offering a pair of free tickets to a follower who couldn’t otherwise afford them.

That initial gesture has since blossomed into a formal ongoing initiative, City of Strangers, run by Elder and his husband, fellow actor Eric Rosen (The men are fathers to a five-year-old son).

Their fundraising efforts have led to over 2,000 Broadway tickets being purchased and distributed to students, educators, artists, and others.

The founding of City of Strangers generally echoes Elder’s instinct to share his successes and support those in need (Two summers ago, he flew to San Francisco with just five days’ notice to perform, gratis, at a benefit for the Matthew Shepard Foundation). But the initiative also reflects specific elements of a remarkable Broadway backstory. Behind the curtain

In 2006, Claybourne Elder was convinced he had HIV.

After he and his first boyfriend had sex for the first time, they went to the health department in Salt Lake City to get tested. It was more about asserting their identities than about any real medical concern. Elder explained in a recent interview with the Bay Area Reporter.

“I tested negative,” he recalled. “But my boyfriend tested positive, and the doctor said that given the circumstances and the incubation pe-

Claybourne Elder

riod, it was fairly certain that I had it too.”

“We were devastated,” recalled Elder, who had been raised in a large Mormon family but was later kicked out of Brigham Young University for being gay and stepped away from the church. “But I decided that I was not going to just wallow in misery and let things fall apart. I was going to do things that I’d always wanted to do.”

Elder had long been passionate about travel. At age 16, he forged his parents’ signatures in successfully applying for a scholarship to study for a semester in France. He spent the subsequent summer with a friend in Moscow.

He’d also always been crazy about theater.

Sargent and Spain

shows

“Mormons love the performing arts and I feel very lucky that they do. Growing up, there wasn’t bullying because you liked to sing and dance. And there are certain select musicals that are really popular with Mormons. Of course, shows like ‘A Chorus Line,’ ‘Rent’ and ‘Hair’ are forbidden. But they love ‘Les Miz’ and ‘Phantom’ and ‘Fiddler.’”

Wait. “Fiddler on the Roof”?

“Yeah,” explained Elder. “I don’t exactly understand why, but Mormons are very Jew-thusiastic. The community theaters all seem to do ‘Fiddler’ once every few years.”

And so, the wanderlusting theater geek’s

stunned, reflexive reaction to his putative HIV diagnosis was to drain his bank account on a pair of plane tickets to New York, a few nights in a cheap hotel room and $20 rush tickets to whatever he and his boyfriend could get their hands on.

Between performances of “Spamalot,” “Jersey Boys,” and “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” Elder was doing research and making phone calls about how to get into experimental drug trials.

The inspiring stranger

The young men’s head-spinning escapade became even more so when, out front of the Circle in the Square Theater after “Spelling Bee,” a stranger approached them.

“He told us that he’d been watching us take in the show from our standing room seats,” Elder recalled, “And that we looked like we were enjoying the show more than anyone else in the theater.”

“Then he said he wanted to give us $200 if we would promise to use it the next day to buy tickets to ‘Sweeney Todd’ and that it would change our lives. I was very suspicious at first. We were having a great time and the guy seemed sincere, but all my life I’d been told that New York was the center of evil, so I felt uncertain.”

With a little prodding, Elder accepted, but only after insisting on buying the stranger an ice cream cone in gratitude.

Some kismet-kissed combination of Patti LuPone and Michael Cerveris’ performances in “Sweeney Todd,” an unexpected phone call from their doctor explaining that Elder’s boyfriend’s test result had been an error, and the whole perspective-shaking experience of that wildest of weeks indeed changed Elder’s life.

“Perhaps,” he recalled thinking, “New York wasn’t so evil after all.” Perhaps he could make a good life there, performing in musicals more nuanced and sophisticated than “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” and other Latter Day Saintly fare.

Serendipity and Sondheim

In short order, Elder decided to bite the Big Apple full-on, moving to the city and, without any professional representation, going to every open chorus call he could find.

“To ‘make it’ in New York theater really means having an unlikely crossing of talent and luck,” Elder noted, with gratitude. “Everyone at those auditions is talented.”

See page 18 >>

Sargent was born in Florence, of well-to do but not rich expatriate American parents, who traveled throughout Europe, depending upon the seasons. They had six children, of whom four survived into adulthood, and Sargent’s sister Mary also became a talented artist, without her brother’s acclaim. She is one of the women under mosquito nets in Sargent’s 1908 painting.

Sargent studied art in Florence and Paris where his prodigious talents in art, not to mention music, were recognized early and encouraged by his teachers and parents. He seems to have been born sophisticated. Henry James, the premier expatriate novelist who first encountered Sargent in Paris in 1884, described him as “a Franco-American product who has high talent, a charming nature, artistic and personal, and is civilized to his finger-tips.”

In the footsteps of El Greco, Valesquez and Goya

In Spain, Sargent made the important connections to his lifelong influences: El Greco, Velazquez and Goya. Prado Museum archives document the numerous visits Sargent made to the museum, making copies of these artists’ work, including the Velazquez masterpiece, “Las Meninas.” One very painterly copy is in the exhibit.

by Robert Brokl

Like a swank ocean liner of a bygone era, the John Singer Sargent exhibition, “Sargent and Spain,” at the Legion of Honor in San Francisco (Feb.11-May 14) from the National Gallery in Washington, is a welcome arrival, full of his trademark bravura painting and drawings. Since it’s Sargent, there’s also the whiff of bygone scandals (the coquettish “Madam X” and the

smoldering Doctor Pozzi), and lingering questions regarding Sargent’s sexuality, recently explored in other venues.

This definitive exhibition has been assembled by Sargent scholars Richard Ormond (Sargent’s great-nephew) and Elaine Kilmurray, and National Gallery curator Sarah Cash. With a few caveats, it’s the last word on Sargent and Spain.

Sargent traveled to Spain some seven times, from 1879 until 1912, beginning when he went with his parents, at 12. He wasn’t content to just stay in

Madrid, but traveled widely, from Gibraltar in the South, to Barcelona and Salamanca, to Andalusia and Granada for the Alhambra, even to the island of Majorca. Travel could be long and arduous.

That Sargent would be fascinated by Spain is no surprise, as it was a fascination shared by his contemporaries. Spain was considered exotic, more picturesque. It was somewhat off the beaten track, not on the traditional Grand Tours, separated as it was by the Pyrenees Mountains from Europe, nearer North Africa just across the Strait of Gibralter.

This seminal exposure would bear fruit in some of Sargent’s greatest, and earliest work, “El Jaleo,” and the “Daughters of Edward Darley Boit,” from 1882, at the Boston Museum of Art, with the precocious girls flanked by giant Japanese vases, emerging from darkness. Sargent borrowed from his predecessors the theatrical, dramatic use of light and dark, in expansive, moody spaces.

See page 14 >>

Gay Broadway star plays two Bay Area

Instagram/photo: Matthew Tyler Priestley

Installation view of ‘Sargent and Spain’ at the Legion of Honor

John Singer Sargent exhibit graces the Legion of Honor

Gary Sexton/courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

Sargent’s ‘Grand Affair’

by Brain Bromberger

Paul Fisher, professor of American studies at Wellesley College, begins his full-scale biography, “The Grand Affair: John Singer Sargent in His World,” with a confession that Sargent, a great American artist (18561925), is also an abiding enigma. He was a buttoned-up respectable persona yet he scandalized viewers with the frankness and sensuality of his work.

The enigma Fisher is referencing was the discovery in the 1980s of an extensive collection of the artist’s mostly private sketches and a few paintings of nude male models, which ushered in a radical reconsideration of Sargent personally and professionally, as an old-fashioned, superficial, “glitzy society painter or a fustian muralist.” It raised questions how his same-sex interests and fascination with gender nonconformity influenced his art, which then forced critics to review his entire oeuvre, seeing themes unnoticed or ignored, reevaluating whether past interpretations were still valid.

Also, Sargent’s “engagement with ethnicity, race, and emerging globalization, by his representation of an ever-more-complex modernity and an ever-more-diverse and multicultural world,” rendered a painter, formerly seen as stuffy, as occupying compelling 21st-century relevance.

Fisher’s book is his attempt to chart a more open and contextual exploration of Sargent’s life, his complicated historical world, and an artistic creativity more adventuresome and bold than previously suspected.

Family travels

Sargent’s “perpetual love affair with the visual world,” began at an early age, due mainly to his unconventional upbringing. His father was a physician. His mother Mary, a Philadelphia heiress and a watercolor-artist, received no support because it was considered an unrespectable occupation for a woman. She loved European culture, becoming a restless indomitable tourist.

The family, living on her small income, migrated to Switzerland, Paris, Salzburg, Milan, Genoa, and Rome. Sargent was born in Florence and wouldn’t visit the U.S. until he was 20. Mary conducted salons with well-known writers, society figures, musicians, architects, historians as well as artists.

Sargent lacked a traditional education and, because the family were

From page 13

His interest in the Roma people and the culture, especially their music and dance, is noteworthy for an artist so identified with the Gilded Age and lush society portraits; the Andy Warhol of his day, but so much better.

Roma (the term “gypsies” is eschewed from catalog and exhibition) were, according to the exhibition, “oppressed and marginalized,” “stereotyped as ‘picturesque’ flamenco dancers and fortune tellers, or considered to be ‘nomadic criminals.’” They were later sent to Nazi death camps. But the Roma were sought out by the adventuresome like Sargent.

Sargent memorialized their flamenco dancing with his monumental 12”X7’ “El Jaleo” from 1882, dramatic with theatrical light and dark now enshrined at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, and depicted their society in other works like “Spanish Roma Dwelling” in the exhibition.

The Legion exhibit has many fine examples of Sargent’s skill, appreciation of architecture, and bravura technique. Two dazzling, sun-drenched examples are “Court of the Myrtles” from 1879, and “Alhambra, Court of the Lions” painted on the spot in 1898.

A recently-unearthed photograph shows him painting that very subject.

permanent itinerants, he was rarely enrolled in local schools, nor did they have the money to send him to a boarding school. In a 19th-century version of home schooling, his father tutored him, but Sargent learned much from visiting museums, libraries, gardens, tourist sites and ancient ruins.

At age 21 the Paris Salon accepted one of Sargent’s paintings, a significant event in establishing a professional career and burnishing one’s reputation. Eventually he won all the medals permitted by the Salon. Receiving private portrait commissions (but publicly exhibited) often from society matrons, which provided most of his income, many of his most famous paintings were finished while in his 20s.

Like his mother, he was continually traveling and working, painting lots of non-Western subjects. Fisher writes, “In spite of his sometimes colonialist or orientalist formulations, Sargent’s unique transnational perspective her-

Biography of the painter brings new light on his life

tween respectability and challenging the artistic status quo to the point of transgression, not coincidentally seizing public attention.

Sargent left little behind in terms of diaries and letters, which are very light on any behind closed doors activities. Fisher analyzes his paintings and sketches as a source of feelings and thoughts about his psyche, a generous 60 illustrations in the book. His examinations are often enlightening and perceptive, particularly with regards to sexual innuendo.

Intimate subjects

as Sargent’s live-in valet and assistant for 25 years; and 26-year-old AfricanAmerican Thomas McKeller, an elevator operator, hotel bellman, and sometimes contortionist, later the source for his large Boston-area mural projects toward the end of Sargent’s career.

There is no proof that any of these men had love affairs with Sargent.

“This book does not make a claim that Sargent was ‘gay’ in the present understanding of the word,” writes Fisher.

Unsolved riddle

alded the beginnings of an expanding polyglot global culture.”

Madame X marks

Probably his most notorious painting was his 1884 “Madame X (Madame Pierre Gaudreau),” a beautiful fashionable socialite and close friend, who appalled the city with her extramarital affairs. Sargent painted her in a coquettish pose wearing a black evening gown with the left jeweled strap off her shoulder exuding a moody elegance. It created a furious firestorm, such that he almost gave up painting and exiled himself to London. Today, this portraiture is considered his masterpiece.

The Madame X uproar illustrates the main tension of Sargent’s life be-

And now we come to the crux of Fisher’s book concerning whether Sargent was gay. Fisher is gay, and while reluctant to view his biography as an entry in queer studies, he certainly employs queer theory methodology. Sargent was a lifelong bachelor and though he had many close female friends, there’s no concrete evidence he had a romantic relationship with a woman.

Overall, they were more complicated relationships that can’t be labeled the way we would classify them today.

Sargent had many of these male romantic friendships including gynecologist Samuel Jean Pozzi (the source of one of his most-celebrated paintings), among others, most of whom were or later married to women.

Fisher rightly focuses on three of his models, who were the likeliest candidates as sexual partners: the AngloBelgian artist Albert de Belleroche who posed more than 80 times for Sargent; Nicola d’Inverno, a boxer and Italian immigrant to London, who served

The circumstantial evidence that Sargent was gay is almost overwhelming, yet there’s no documentary evidence that definitively corroborates the case, except some discredited hearsay unsubstantiated rumors.

What is clear is that any homosexual scandal would have destroyed him professionally and Sargent loved his high society connections.

Sargent was friendly with Oscar Wilde (though each critiqued the other’s artistry) and certainly would have interpreted his imprisonment as a warning. The other possibility, not advanced by Fisher, is sublimation. Sargent was a workaholic, sketching continually, especially his private male nudes. Perhaps much of his erotic energy was channeled into his creative work.

Fisher is superb at describing the emerging fin de siecle queer culture and the gay underpinnings and accomplishments of the many men Sargent knew. Fisher doesn’t solve the riddle of Sargent, but makes a valid case that his “engagement with ethnicity, race, and emerging globalism” as well as his ambiguous sexuality, makes him catnip to our sexually diverse, multicultural 21st-century world.

We may not understand all those complexities, but with Fisher’s stringent analysis of Sargent’s life, the world he lived in, and the art he produced, his reassessment makes him more vital and contemporary than ever. Sargent’s tantalizing ambiguity remains intact and one suspects he’d be delighted that whatever secrets he harbored, will remain forever insolvable.t

‘The Grand Affair: John Singer Sargent in His World’ by Paul Fisher. Farrar, Straus and Giroux/ MacMillan, $40, 496 pages. www.us.macmillan.com

Read the full review on ww.ebar.com.

ality and Art in the Last 100 Years in the West” from 1968, which seems both dated and clueless on Sargent:

“Ever aware of protecting his reputation, Sargent was cautious in the face of public comment. For example, he declined to become a regular contributor to ‘The Yellow Book’ for fear of being associated too closely with Aubrey Beardsley…Sargent offered little information about his work or his sexual preference. He is generally described as being ‘emotionally inhibited.’ Certainly he found great pleasure and security in the companionship of his sisters and nieces….But much of the ‘evidence’ of Sargent’s sexual interests lies in his drawings and watercolors rather than his more formal paintings.”

While Sargent was known for many preparatory drawings (several are on view), he was capable of fast, confident workmanship for the final product.

“El Jaleo” was done quickly, perhaps in one session.

Another fine work from 1908, a smiling, insouciant young man, is titled “Majorcan Fisherman.” We’re told Sargent didn’t title his work, which evolved over time, as these curators have made changes, especially regarding the Roma. Ormand, in a National Gallery YouTube video, muses that

the painting shows no fishing nets or boats, just the smiling boy with “piercing eyes,” a thatched roof streaming sunlight, and the bright blue sea. So why the job description (justification?) for the portrait of a young Majorcan man? Don’t miss the watercolor/gouache “A Falucho” hanging nearby, and spot the gamboling boys in the water.

Speculation on sexuality

The charming portrait of a sultry Albert de Belleroche, from 1882, the

year they met in Paris as fellow students of Carolus-Duran, depicts the skilled painter, wealthy enough to pursue painting as pleasure, not for income. He’s sporting a Spanish hat and cloak, likely picked by Sargent in his 1979 trip. This portrait hung in Sargent’s dining room, and he and Sargent traveled together. Wikipedia suggests he was Sargent’s “likely lover.”

The curators are mum on this score, reminiscent of Emmanuel Cooper’s “The Sexual Perspective: Homosexu-

“Sargent and Spain” is an important, deeply researched, and well-organized show, but if one wants to learn something more private and personal about the artist, the portraits of Lee/Page and McKeller, as well as previous exhibit catalogs, are well worth exploring.t

‘Sargent and Spain,’ at the Legion of Honor, through May 14. TueSun, 9:30am-5:15pm. Free/$15. 100 34th Ave., Lincoln Park. www.legionofhonor.famsf.org

Read the full feature on other Sargent works and exhibits on www.ebar.com

Biographer Paul Fisher

John Singer Sargent

The ‘repaired’ portrait of Madame X (Madame Pierre Gautreau) by John Singer Sargent, 1884

One of John Singer Sargent’s later discovered male nudes of Thomas McKeller

Left: ‘Mosquito Nets’ by John Singer Sargent, 1908, oil on canvas

Right: Albert de Belleroche, portrait by John Singer Sargent, 1882, oil on canvas

Courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.

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‘80

for Brady’

by Laura Moreno

Whenwas the last time a football film brought women, not to mention senior citizen women en masse to the theater?

An ode to New England Patriot’s legendary quarterback Tom Brady, “80 for Brady” boasts a most accomplished cast. The fabulous four are Sally Field as MIT math professor Betty, Jane Fonda as ex-model romance writer Trish, Rita Moreno as spitfire widow Maura, and Lily Tomlin as cancer survivor Lou who has a very special spiritual connection with Tom Brady. Plus, the film features the singular personalities of Billy Porter, Harry Hamlin, Guy Fieri, Sara Gilbert, comedian Jimmy O. Yang, football great Rob Gronkowski, and a beautiful new actor in his debut role: Tom Brady.

Billy Porter, as ever, fills the dancing shoes of his character Gugu, a choreographer, admirably. He calls the film, “‘Bridesmaids’ meets ‘Golden Girls.’”

Lily Tomlin’s 1000-watt smile lights up the big screen as the award-winning actresses make their on-screen antics look effortless. It’s truly encouraging to see that the team comes off looking just a tad superhuman, like Brady himself.

The film is based on the true story

Fabulous football foursome

of four die-hard Tom Brady fans, best friends over 80 years old, who attend the 2017 Super Bowl “to enjoy men the way the Romans did,” says Lily Tomlin’s character, where they witness the greatest comeback in NFL history.

The cinematography is at times breathtaking, as with absolutely beautiful scenes of Boston and the Charles River. And there are a few unexpected visual jokes thrown in, like Sally Field’s jersey having the “80” x-ed out and replaced with “70” in red. When the girls chant “80 for Brady,” Sally Field (born in 1946) adds, “I’m not 80.” And Rita Moreno replies that she’s not 80 either.

(She’s in her 90s.)

And when the four girls share two beds in the hotel, Jane Fonda’s arm is visible around Lily Tomlin’s waist in bed. Somehow, it’s totally in character. Fonda revealed to TheThings.com, “...without even thinking about it, I spooned her. It just felt really great. I don’t know of another actor I’d do that with.”

In the same interview, Lily Tomlin added, “After being Grace and Frankie for so many years, we often wound up sleeping in the same bed.”

Another memorable moment is when Jane Fonda opens her luggage to reveal that it’s full of nothing but wigs.

Lest anyone momentarily forget

that Trisha’s “giddy up glamor” and gaudy cowgirl boots are just part of a role she’s playing, Jane Fonda fearlessly appears in a scene without a wig at all, sporting her own short gray haircut. There are doses of reality, too, as when the women get suckered into eating gummy edibles, offering Rita

Billy Porter From Broadway to ‘Brady’

by Tim Nasson

Tony, Emmy and Grammy winner Billy Porter needs no introduction, especially to the many fans of his character Pray Tell on Ryan Murphy’s hit TV series “Pose.”

Porter stars as a Super Bowl halftime show choreographer opposite Oscar winners Sally Field, Rita Moreno, Jane Fonda, and Tony winner Lilly Tomlin, in the feel-good comedy “80 For Brady,” a comic homage to popular quarterback Tom Brady.

Porter rocketed to superstardom when he originated the role of Lola in the Tony-winning Broadway musical “Kinky Boots” just over ten years ago. But show business was always in his blood.

“I started singing in church at a very young age,” he said in an interview with the Bay Area Reporter. “By fifth grade the bullying had stopped and in middle school I got involved with the-

ater. I dreamed about being on Broadway and becoming the male Whitney Houston.”

Porter knew he was onto something when he won $100,000 on “Star Search” in 1992, but he never expected success would come easily.

“I took all of the necessary steps to prepare myself for a career in show business,” he said. “There have been moments of frustration, but no one is entitled to anything. I’ve practiced acting every day for decades. I went to Carnegie Mellon. I went to graduate school at UCLA. To this day, I still take singing lessons. I have the patience of Job. My best advice for anyone who wants to become a professional is to practice, even when no one is looking.”

How did Porter prepare himself for a trajectory in acting and a career in fashion?

“I decided at a very young age to dress for the job I wanted, not the job I have,” he explained.

The famous Oscar dress, which made Porter a viral sensation, wasn’t something that ‘just happened.’ In 2013, while Porter was in Chicago doing previews of “Kinky Boots,” he met with fans at the stage door after every performance.

“It was right at the time when social media was taking off, especially Instagram photos, and I was dressing geek chic,” he explained. “When I looked at the news the day after the first performance, I saw pictures of myself and I looked like a bag lady. From that moment on, I dressed up every day. After every show, before I went out the stage door to go home, I dressed up.”

From then on, any candid photos that people did take of Porter were not only flattering but trend-setting.

“For three years, while I was on Broadway with ‘Kinky Boots,’ I dressed up after every performance, just to go out to the car to go home.”

In 2019, just a year before the pandemic hit, Porter started to gain attention for some of the most fabulous outfits that have ever adorned any human. At the Grammy Awards, he wore an embroidered suit and pink cape. That same year, at the Academy Awards he wore the famous black fitted tuxedo and velvet gown created by Christian Siriano, accompanied by

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Moreno a chance to flex her powerful acting chops. And when the foursome gets stuck with fake Super Bowl tickets that look just like the real thing. They were purchased, buyer beware, online.

It’s a reminder that 20 years on, the internet is still the wild west.

The only thing missing from the

film, I thought, was Dolly Parton. But she’s in the opening music video with another fab four (Priscilla Presley look-alike Belinda Carlisle, Gloria Estefan, Cyndi Lauper, and Deborah Harry) who deserved more screen time in the film. The music video “Gonna Be You” is a celebration of friendship written by Diane Warren.

My only other beef with the film is its portrayal of a fairly new, anti-intellectual stereotype: Sally Field’s onscreen husband is shown as a head-inthe-clouds intellectual fuddy-duddy who can’t even remember to put his pants on. It’s a cheap joke that ignores how important the work of the MIT math department really is.

The film culminates in a colorful beach scene of the four stars lolling under beach umbrellas with Tom Brady in long white shorts. Festooned in leisurely outfits made of billowy fabric with innocent prints, large floppy straw hats, and a requisite large bow atop the head, the scene is reminiscent of 1930s beach fashion, which happens to be when three of the four living legends were born. There could be no ending more perfect.t In theaters in San Francisco until Feb. 16 and streaming on www.vudu.com

six-inch Rick Owens boots.

The gender-fluid outfits worn by Porter that are now famous the world over were not intended to be labeled.

“All of the outfits I have worn aligned with the roles I was playing,” he explained. “The term ‘non-binary’ never occurred to me.”

And now Billy Porter has become an inspiration for celebs such as Harry Styles, who posed on the cover of Vogue last year in a Gucci dress.

“You said that, not me,” Porter insisted.

“I have a calling,” he admitted. “It is funneled through artistry.”t

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Rita Moreno, Jane Fonda, Sally Field and Lily Tomlin in ‘80 for Brady’

Billy Porter with Rita Moreno, while Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin look on in a scene from ’80 for Brady’

Left: Billy Porter in a scene from ’80 for Brady’

Right: Billy Porter in his Christian Siriano tuxedo-dress at the 2019 Academy Awards.

An Age’

by Brian Bromberger

The struggle to find out who you are and accept who you are is a staple of LGBTQ films, with the coming out/coming of age couplet a frequent theme. But every once in a while, a movie arrives that gives this clichéd pairing a fresh cathartic twist and the new Australian dramedy “Of An Age” by Macedonian-born, Melbourneraised writer/director/editor Goran Stolevski, is that happy exception.

With the poster tagline, “All We Have Is Now,” as audiences will discover ‘Now’ is more than enough and rarely has seemed so edgy, romantic, or soul-expanding. And perhaps we can all relate when there’s one profound day, a mind-blowing 24 hours, coupled with the pangs of first love, that permanently changes our lives.

It’s Summer 1999 in blue-collar North Melbourne. Awkward loner Serbian-born 18-year-old Kol (Elias Anton) is rehearsing his rhumba dance in the family garage on the day of the Year 12 Ballroom Finals competition. He receives a frantic panic call from his frenzied dance partner Ebony (newcomer Hattie Hook) stranded and hung over on an unknown beach to the west of the city. She needs to be picked up along with her sequined gown within an hour to make it to the finals in time.

Kol, in his gaudy blue outfit, jumps into her elder brother Adam’s (Thom Green) car, as they race to pick up Ebony. Kol is in a surly mood, but charming, sarcastic Adam discovers he’s articulate and engaging, so they can talk about both having read Kafka and Borges, as well as their favorite films, getting acquainted in real time. Kol learns Adam will be leaving tomorrow to travel to Buenos Aires to start his linguistics doctorate.

Adam also casually mentions he’s gay while sizing up Kol in longing stares, which initially mortifies Kol. But adorable nervous glances towards Adam awaken his sexuality and pique his interest. They find a sulky Ebony but miss the dance contest.

Later, Kol will meet up with Adam at a suburban party, along with some xenophobic girls, leading to a dreamy night drive orbiting Melbourne, as they circle closely around each other emotionally, climaxing in an intimate sexual encounter. Adam drops Kol off at dawn with a devastated Kol forced to say adieu after an all-consuming passion. “Have a safe and cool Ph.D.”

It’s now 2010 with Ebony’s wedding bringing Adam, happily married to a man and living in Canada, and self-assured gay but still pining for Kol back to Melbourne, for a bittersweet fateful reunion. Both men must confront the feelings that were unleashed that profound day a decade ago. Is there the same intensity as they now reconnect? Is there any future for them either as lovers or friends?

Singular charms

At first glance, the film promises to be a gay version of the 1992 Australian rom-com “Strictly Ballroom” about a

straight couple trying to win a dance championship, one of director Baz Luhrmann’s early successful efforts. However, there is virtually no dancing in “Age” except a brief two-minute rhumba toward the end of the film.

“Age’s” real pedigree is Andrew Haigh’s now classic “Weekend” (2011) about two guys who meet at a gay club for a hook up which extends to two days before one of them has to leave the country to attend a two-year art course. Truthfully, “Age” is not as exceptional as either of those two films, though it possesses its own singular charms.

Stolevski has incorporated some of his own memories of growing up as a queer teen into the film, beautifully paralleling the frenetic pace to reach the dance finals in time with the sexual tension of whether a brief romantic encounter will ensue between Kol and Adam. There’s also a contrast between Kol, who’s wounded and wrestling with his identity, versus the self-assured, confident Adam and his sexual swagger.

Stolevski’s keen to profile Kol as an outsider both because he’s gay but also due to his Serbian heritage, with Stolevski providing sly commentary (without scolding) on the casual racism experienced in this dull, homophobic suburbia, especially from his mean uncle who wants him to play soccer to become more manly rather than dance. The dialogue is naturalsounding with silence and nonverbal cues conveying complexity that are just as powerful and revealing as what’s expressed in words.

The film succeeds based on the electric, palpable chemistry between the two characters, despite their coming from two different worlds. We don’t know if the two actors are gay, though both have played LGBTQ roles previously. Regardless, they are totally believable projecting a tantalizing erotic spark that transfixes viewers.

The captivating kinetic camera work juxtaposes the tense claustrophobia and suffocation of filming inside a small car, with bodily move-

ments that express desire trying to escape the physical but also the social confines.

“Of An Age” is a freewheeling sensual, wistful romantic odyssey that is simultaneously uplifting yet heartbreaking to the point of sorrowful, but still expresses the disquieting wonder of queer yearning.

Stolevski is shooting a new film “Housekeeping for Beginners” about a lesbian in modern North Macedonia whose partner dies and she’s forced to raise the two children she left behind with little desire to be a mother. With “Age,” his auspicious sophomore effort, we can’t wait to see his next movie as the fulfillment of a burgeoning talent.t

‘Of an Age’ opens in US cinemas February 17. www.causewayfilms.com.au

John Fisher, Executive Artistic Director

America’s Premier and Longest-Running Queer Theatre

DIRECTED BY ALAN S. QUISMORIO PRODUCEd by JOE TALLY

‘Of

A freewheeling sensual, wistful romantic odyssey

Thom Green and Elias Anton in ‘Of An Age’

Hattie Hook, Thom Green and Elias Anton in ‘Of An Age’

New opera explores gender identity t

by Philip Campbell

“BABA: The Life and Death of Stana,” a new opera commissioned and performed by Kitka Women’s Vocal Ensemble, premieres February 23 at Z Space in San Francisco. Written, composed and directed by Karmina Silec, the production conveys stories of Balkan sworn virgins (women who live as men after taking vows of chastity and celibacy) in an original interpretation of epic story-singing traditions.

“BABA” explores Balkan gendertransformation stories with a liberal western stance and some theatrical artistic license.

The tradition of sworn virgins (burrneshas in Albanian) comes from a medieval social and legal code practiced in remote regions of Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia/Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Serbia. Women left defenseless by the loss of male relatives (the only rightful heirs to property) – or those who wanted to circumvent arranged marriages – could become men to secure the rights and freedoms given to community patriarchs. The reasons for this gender transformation were usually to maintain social responsibility and family honor, rather than sexual preference (a moot point) or feelings of being transgendered.

“BABA” examines the vanishing ritual of women who forfeit their sexuality and transform themselves

From page 13

Elder’s big break was being cast in the 2008 Public Theatre production of “Road Show,” the shape-shifting Sondheim musical that had, in earlier incarnations, been titled “Wise Guys,” “Bounce,” and “Gold!” That production’s leading man? (Cue eerie music):

Michael Cerveris

Having that opportunity to work

into men as a means of survival in a patriarchal and strictly gender-binary environment. As social mores relax somewhat and women’s rights are endlessly debated in western societies, those essential rights remain stubbornly unsatisfied.

Culture wars still rage everywhere. The bizarre sworn virgin loophole in the ancient Baltic code at least offered an “If you can’t beat them, join them” escape clause. Living as a man in a man’s world took away sex and procreation with unsubtly misogynistic requirements, but it also guaranteed existence as a respected member of society. Adherents were even allowed to smoke!

Slovenian director, composer, author, and conductor Karmina Silec, internationally recognized as a potent force in the contemporary music and theatre scene, makes a wonderfully organic match with Kitka.

Kitka’s many successful collaborations include A.C.T.’s “Hecuba” with original music by David Lang; “Songs from Mama’s Table” with Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir; Ensemble Alcatraz; Meredith Monk’s Vocal Alchemy; composers Chen Yi, Eric Banks, Pauline Oliveros, Mariana Sadovska, and Richard Einhorn and, “Iron Shoes,” a contemporary folk opera by composer Janet Kutulas and playwright Michelle Carter.

The commissioning and presentation of “BABA” is supported by The

with Sondheim, director John Doyle and casting director Jordan Thayer made an enormous impact on his career. It means something to be “in that Sondheim club,” noted Elder.

In the 15 years since “Road Show,” he has played roles in Sondheim works including “Do I Hear a Waltz?”, “Sunday in the Park with George” (three productions, including understudying Jake Gyllenhaal on Broadway), “Passion,” “Sondheim on Sondheim,” and,

Hewlett50 Arts Commissions, The National Endowment for the Arts, New Music USA, Mills College Performing Arts, The Djerassi Resident Artists Program, Berkeley Repertory Theater’s Ground Floor Artist Residencies, and the City of Oakland Cultural Funding Program. It really does take a village, but this one has an encouragingly supportive attitude.

most recently, “Company” with (eerie music again) Patti LuPone.

When Elder, who can currently be seen as gay character John Adams in HBO’s “The Gilded Age,” made his first offer for free “Company” tickets on Instagram, he included not just the story of the giveaway’s inspiration, but a photograph taken 15 years prior after that fateful “Spelling Bee” performance.

Shortly after posting, he received a

The production team includes Scenographer: Dorian Silec Petek; Movement advisor: Sidra Bell & assistant Sarah Lisette Chiesa; Projection design: Dorian Silec Petek, Miha Likar; Lighting design & technical director: G. Chris Griffin; and Costume design: Karmina Silec & Vesna Novitovic.

To say the themes being explored in “BABA” resonate in the current politi-

message from a Broadway colleague who recognized Elder’s long-ago patron as a friend of his named Mark Howell and set up a Facetime call to introduce the two men. The tearjerking conversation was recorded and has subsequently been broadcast on public radio’s “This American Life.” In his upcoming cabaret performances, Elder will sing “Something’s Coming” from Sondheim’s “West Side Story.” It’s a song that suits the singer almost perfectly; an ode to harbin-

cal climate is understatement. Karmina Silec and Kitka tackle the intriguing subject matter offering thought provoking and musically adventurous insight.t

‘BABA: The Life and Death of Stana,’ February 23–26, Thu-Sat. 8pm. Sun 2pm. Z Space, 450 Florida St. $25 - $125 www.zspace.org/BABA

gers, premonitions and, ultimately, optimism.t

Claybourne Elder “If the Stars Were Mine,” Feb. 19, 3pm. $95 includes wine tasting. Peju’s Calmére Estate, 2750 Las Amigas Rd, Napa. www.broadwayandvine. org/tickets Feb. 22, 8pm. $65. Feinstein’s at the Nikko, 222 Mason St. (866) 663-1063 www.feinsteinssf.com www.instagram.com/ claybourneelder/

Doxy PEP prevents STIs including chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis. When used within 24 hours (no later than 72 hours) after sex, it reduces infections by more than 60%.

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Workshop version of ‘BABA: The Life and Death of Stana’

Dorian Šilec Petek

Above Left: Claybourne Elder in a recent performance

Above Right: Katrina Lenk and Claybourne Elder in ‘Company’

Below: Claybourne Elder and Blake Ritson in ‘The Gilded Age’

by Marijke Rowland

History happening in real-time changed not only the course of the U.S. Supreme Court last year, but also a new musical coming to the Bay Area about its trailblazing female justices.

The Marin Theatre Company staging of “Justice: A New Musical” will technically be its second production after its world premiere last spring in Arizona. But the confirmation of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first Black woman to serve on the nation’s highest court resulted in some significant rewrites to the new piece from longtime composer/lyricist duo Bree Lowdermilk and Kait Kerrigan. The production will run Feb. 16 to March 12 at the Mill Valley theater company.

Lowdermilk, a transgender woman, and their creative partner Kerrigan have been collaborators since they were in middle school in Pennsylvania. They have teamed with MTC’s Mellon National Playwright in Residence Lauren Gunderson and director Ashley Rodbro for the new musical about the first three women confirmed to the court: Justices Sandra Day O’Connor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Sonia Sotomayor.

The piece originally focused on O’Connor, the first woman on the Supreme Court, Ginsburg and a fictional first Black female justice. But since Justice Jackson joined the bench, the creative team behind the piece reenvisioned it to include Sotomayor, the first Latino person and woman of color confirmed to the court.

“What we really wanted to celebrate was actual history and living through these actual events,” Lowdermilk said in an interview with the By Area Reporter. “I think that this is a piece that

in its DNA is always going to feel of the exact moment it is written in. The way the show felt each night was literally shifting from outside event (during the Arizona premiere).”

The musical explores the three female justices at the height of their power. The production’s songs and dialogue focus on the sisterhood between the justices, and also looks toward the next generation of judicial trailblazers.

Other current events, including the recent overturning of Roe v. Wade, have informed the new version of the show, Kerrigan said, as the production addresses the future with the court’s hard-right turn.

“If I were going to see a musical about the most inspirational figures of the Supreme Court, specifically

the first women justices, I would be looking for answers,” said Kerrigan.

“I would be looking for ‘What do I do now?’ since Roe v Wade has been overturned. Affirmative Action is hanging in the balance. Voting rights have been stripped way back. What do we do? That was the question that each of us entered this new draft asking ourselves. What can we say? How can we tell people not to despair? How can we tell people that the court will survive?”

That more hopeful outlook is one Lowdermilk said they want people to take away from the show. That includes the possibility of one day seeing the confirmation of the first transgender justice.

“The idea that there might be a trans person on the Supreme Court is an unimaginable hope right now. But thinking about other people who have witnessed unimaginable hope change to reality in their lifetimes is something I feel really privileged to get to write about,” Lowdermilk said. “It’s really cool as a transfem person to be on a team of women…I feel very inspired right now to try and tell stories, even if it’s not about queerness or transness in any way. The fact that I’m here and working on it speaks to representation and justice.”t

‘Justice: A New Musical,’ Feb. 16 to March 12, Marin Theatre Company, 397 Miller Ave., Mill Valley. $25.50-$60.50. (415) 388-5200 www.marintheatre.org

‘Justice’ Composer and lyricist on their Supreme Court show

Composer/lyricist duo Bree Lowdermilk and Kait Kerrigan

(L-R) Karen Murphy (Sandra Day O’Connor), Stephanie Prentice (Sonia Sotomayor), and Lynda DiVito (Ruth Bader Ginsburg) in rehearsal for Marin Theatre Company’s ’Justice: A New Musical’

Photo by Steven Underhill

Cast members from the touring production of ‘Mean Girls’ gave rousing performances at the One Night Only REAF benefit concert, held at the Marines’ Memorial Theatre February 13, with guest performers D’Arcy Drollinger and Shawn Ryan. See plenty more photos on BARtab’s Facebook page, facebook.com/lgbtsf.nightlife. See more of Steven Underhill’s photos at StevenUnderhill.com.