May 9, 2024 edition of the Bay Area Reporter

down Castro Street May 3.

Breed stumps for votes in Castro

by John Ferrannini

San Francisco Mayor London Breed told the Bay Area Reporter May 3 that she never intended to pit the Harvey Milk Plaza renovation project against San Francisco City Clinic in deciding what to fund in a bond measure.

“Harvey Milk Plaza is important. City Clinic is important. All of it is important,” Breed said. “It wasn’t about championing Harvey Milk Plaza over City Clinic. We need to stop telling one side of the story.”

Breed made the remarks during a campaign visit to the Castro LGBTQ neighborhood that preceded a nearby fundraising event.

As the B.A.R. previously reported, after an uproar from LGBTQ political leaders and activists, $27 million for relocating the Department of Public Health’s City Clinic was added May 2 to a bond measure Breed had unveiled April 29. Its initial omission had upset LGBTQ advocates, who noted the bond did include $25 million toward the project to reimagine Harvey Milk Plaza above the Castro Muni Station.

Breed told the B.A.R. that the building City Clinic is currently housed in is not owned by the City and County of San Francisco, and that the city has identified a building it owns for the relocation. On May 6, an oversight committee stacked with city administrators gave its stamp of approval to the bond measure, now including the full funding of $28 million for City Clinic, the funds for Milk plaza, and several other health department and infrastructure projects.

The mayor also talked about her selection of Honey Mahogany as the head of the city’s Office of Transgender Initiatives. Mahogany, who started in the position May 6, told the B.A.R. last week (https://www.ebar.com/story. php?ch=news&id=332924) that Breed’s office had reached out to her.

“When there was no funding, no office of transgender initiatives, Honey Mahogany was a huge advocate for all of the things we are doing now to support the transgender community,” Breed said. “She has done amazing work.”

Breed had passed over Mahogany two years ago when the District 6 supervisor seat became vacant and appointed gay man and former San Francisco Police Department spokesperson Matt Dorsey. He went on to win election that fall against several candidates, including Mahogany.

Gay Olympian Kenworthy promotes mental health at SF event

by Matthew S. Bajko

In Washington, D.C. for this year’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner in late April, gay former Olympian Gus Kenworthy was invited to tour the White House with first lady Jill Biden, Ph.D. Yet, when he arrived, he learned she was unable to attend and that President Joe Biden would be greeting him in the Oval Office.

He posted a photo of the two to his Instagram account, only to see a flood of comments from people upset with Biden’s handling of Israel’s war in Gaza, which has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, and calling him “Genocide Joe.” Kenworthy was also criticized for posing with Biden and peppered with questions on if he had asked him about the Israeli bombing of the Palestinian territory in response to the deadly attack by Hamas last fall that killed more than 1,200 people and hundreds more held hostage by the terrorist group.

The vitriolic response surprised Kenworthy, who had first visited the White House at the invitation of former President Barack Obama in 2014 following his winning silver in men’s slopestyle at that year’s Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

Kenworthy skipped going to the White House after the 2018 Winter Olympics due to Donald Trump being president. With Trump and Biden running against each other again this year for the presidency, Kenworthy is supporting Biden, who has championed LGBTQ rights during his first term.

“The alternative is President Trump. It doesn’t seem up to debate,” said Kenworthy. It was why he didn’t think twice about posting on his social media what he felt was a “little selfie” with Biden.

“I absolutely support Joe. I will vote for him and push for him to win in November,” said Kenworthy.

Seeing the negativity expressed about Biden in the comments on his photo does have him “nervous for the election,” said Kenworthy. And the reaction is illustrative of why he is not more active than he is on social media platforms.

See page 10 >>

2017 Media Kit 0 a

HIV advocates, Mahogany hope to protect services amid dire budget year

by John Ferrannini

As San Francisco faces a looming budget deficit, HIV/AIDS advocates and their supporters have set a goal this year to keep existing services funded. It could be a hard ask of city officials, though, who have been warning about the dire fiscal situation since last year’s budget negotiations.

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The San Francisco AIDS Foundation’s HIV Advocacy Network is gearing up for budget season – discussing what it plans to ask of San Francisco supervisors and Mayor London Breed in the coming months. But even dyed-in-the-wool advocates – including Honey Mahogany, the new head of the city’s Office of Transgender Initiatives – have conceded new funding will be hard to come by.

“Every single person in City Hall has been calling this a challenging budget year, or a very bad budget year,” Laura Thomas, senior director of HIV and harm reduction policy at the AIDS foundation, said during a May 6 teach-in at its Strut health center at 470 Castro Street titled “Queering the San Francisco Budget.” About three-dozen people attended the forum.

“The city’s revenues are lower than what is currently in our budget to spend so if you’re not bringing in as much as you’re spending, that’s when you bring out the credit cards or cut back on what you’re spending money on,” Thomas added. “So, the city doesn’t have a credit card like that, so they’re figuring out what to cut back on.”

Typically, the budget is introduced by the mayor in May and submitted to the Board of Supervisors, which holds hearings in June to analyze the budget, hear feedback from the public, and make changes. In July, the budget is finalized and approved by the supervisors and the mayor.

See page 11 >> See page 2 >>

Mayor London Breed, left, spoke with Andrea Aiello, executive director of the Castro Community Benefit District, during the mayor’s walk

Rick Gerharter

Ande Stone of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation urged attendees at a May 6 budget teach-in to contact local leaders for support of HIV/AIDS services during what’s expected to be a tough budget year.

John Ferrannini

Former Olympian Gus Kenworthy, left, talked about mental health with California’s first partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom at a dinner held by the Child Mind Institute in San Francisco April 29.

Stephanie Meyers Photography

SF panel adopts mayoral bond measure plan

by Matthew S. Bajko

An oversight committee stacked with city administrators has given its stamp of approval to a bond measure San Francisco Mayor London Breed wants to put before voters in November. It includes funds to rebuild Harvey Milk Plaza in the Castro LGBTQ district and to relocate the public health department’s City Clinic that provides services for HIV and sexually transmitted diseases.

It will now be up to the Board of Supervisors to finalize what the $390 million bond will fund, as the supervisors can make changes to what projects are included. At least eight of the 11 board members will need to vote in support of the bond by July 26 in order to make it onto the fall ballot.

As the Bay Area Reporter had reported last week, LGBTQ advocates had called out the inclusion of $25 million for the public parklet at what seemed to be the disadvantage of purchasing a new building for the health department’s STD clinic. The city has estimated doing so will require $28.5 million.

Following the uproar, which included seeing a protest in front of the clinic at 356 Seventh Street, Breed initially had announced May 2 that she would seek $27 million for the health facility after the

controller’s office announced the bond could increase by $30 million. Her office said May 6 it would now allocate $28 million toward City Clinic’s relocation.

The full amount of the bond is capped at a certain level so should the bond measure pass it replaces retiring bond commitments and doesn’t raise property owners’ taxes. With the bond measure needing two-thirds support from voters November 5 in order to be adopted, any opposition to it will cause headwinds for Breed and city leaders pushing for its passage.

LGBTQ advocates and others have

criticized the inclusion of various streetscape improvements in a bond they argue should solely be focused on public health projects. For instance, $70 million was slated for street safety projects and road repaving. Money would also be allocated toward improving Hallidie Plaza and repairing the elevator at the entrance into the Powell Street subway station.

to create a $5 million fund to activate recreation spaces across the city. Projects in the downtown public realm would still receive $46 million, while the roadway projects would receive $68.9 million.

The bond measure would also fund $167 million in public health infrastructure, including renovating and expanding the Chinatown Health Clinic, Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, and Laguna Honda Hospital. The city’s Homelessness Response System would receive $50 million to increase its capacity to house homeless families.

“The proposed bond will address critical needs to health care infrastructure, including a full renovation and seismic upgrade to the Chinatown Public Health Center, San Francisco Health Network’s most seismically vulnerable clinic,” according to the San Francisco Department of Public Health.

eral certifications to operate,” and “will significantly expand ZSFG’s Psychiatric Emergency Services, doubling the number of patients that can be served on a daily basis.”

The health department didn’t directly address the funding for City Clinic. It did state it “is grateful for this opportunity to continue to address our health care capital needs.”

At its meeting Monday, May 6, the San Francisco Capital Planning Committee voted 10-0 with one abstention to send the bond proposal to the supervisors for review. City Administrator Carmen Chu said she was “reluctantly voting for this” due to her wanting to see more health department projects funded by it.

Monday, Breed’s office also said it was taking $1 million from street safety projects and another $2 million for downtown projects, plus the remaining $2 million from the increase in the bond’s total,

In a statement last week to the B.A.R., the agency also noted that the bond will “address critical upgrades to Zuckerberg San Francisco General (ZSFG) and Laguna Honda Hospital to ensure San Francisco’s safety net public hospitals continue to deliver the highest quality care and meet strict state and federal regulatory operating requirements.”

As he will vote on the bond when it comes before the supervisors, Board President Aaron Peskin abstained from voting on it as a member of the planning committee. Peskin, who represents District 3 and is running for mayor against Breed this November, was critical of the choices made about the projects included in the bond measure.

“Once again, we are forestalling making tough decisions for making political decisions,” said Peskin.

It added, the bond funds will also “ensure Laguna Honda retains its fed-

Brian Springfield, a gay man who is executive director of the Friends of Harvey Milk Plaza, noted that the city funding will help bring the project forward and address its current staircase leading into the belowground Castro subway station that doesn’t meet Americans with Disabilities Act standards.

“The main stairs do not meet current building codes,” said Springfield. “They are groovy looking and wavy, but do not meet the ADA.”

Stephen Torres, a gay Castro bartender running this fall for the open District 9 supervisor seat that includes the Mission district, called for the public health department’s Silver Avenue Family Health Center in the Portola neighborhood to be added to the bond measure.

“It is one of the primary resources for Spanish-speaking patients in the city,” said Torres.

PRIDE2024

Jeffrey Kwong, a gay man who is president of the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club, had raised alarms about the City Clinic funding and helped organize the protest last week. He noted to the committee Monday his thanks to the controller’s office for finding the additional funds so the public health facility could be added into the bond.

He noted the Milk club over the last decade had “endorsed every single” bond measure put on the ballot. But Kwong also expressed a desire to see politics not intrude on the process to develop bond measures, noting the votes for them have grown closer in recent years. He expressed concern about seeing a bond measure in the future fall short of the two-thirds threshold.

“We want to make sure there is integrity in the process,” said Kwong, referring to the deliberative way the city plans capital planning expenditures. t

<< Breed

From page 1

Now, Breed is running for reelection in November against her predecessor, Mark Farrell, who served for six months following the death of then-mayor Ed Lee after the supervisors voted for him over Breed; Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin, who represents District 3; District 11 Supervisor Ahsha Safaí; and Levi Strauss heir Daniel Lurie. When asked what she would say to Farrell and Lurie – who are also running campaigns emphasizing public safety and economic revitalization post-COVID – she said, “My question is, where have they been?”

“These problems are not new problems,” she said, saying they are proposing initiatives her administration has already undertaken.

“The things they’re proposing, I’m already doing,” she said.

Edward Wright, right, from the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club, spoke at a May 2 rally to demand that funds for City Clinic be included in the mayor’s fall bond measure.

Rick Gerharter

Methodists remove anti-LGBTQ policies

by Brian Bromberger

After decades of strife over the role of out LGBTQs in pastoral life, the United Methodist Church has removed barriers against homosexuality. The changes may have been the most consequential in the Protestant denomination’s history since its official creation in 1968.

Long-standing barriers against LGBTQs were struck down with lightning speed at UMC’s quadrennial General Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina that took place April 23-May 3. The gathering was delayed for four years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The denomination’s ban on ordaining “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” was deleted from its rulebook to which it had been first added in 1972. Also overturned was the prohibition preventing clergy from officiating at same-sex weddings. Clergy or churches cannot be penalized for holding same-sex weddings, though they are not required to do so. Delegates also voted to end a ban on using church funds to “promote acceptance of homosexuality.”

Amazingly, all these changes occurred by delegates voting, 692-51 with 93% in favor, without any debate in an atmosphere described as upbeat rather than vitriolic, as had been the case at past general conferences.

According to the Reconciling Ministries Network, an advocacy group for queer people in the United Methodist Church, a total of 324 gay clergy, which includes ordination candidates, exist in the UMC, of which there are 160 in same-gender marriages.

UMC is the second-largest Protestant denomination in the U.S. with 5.4 million Methodists as of 2022, though that number will drop after last year’s departures. In 2019, at a special session of the general conference, delegates voted to tighten an existing ban on LGBTQ clergy and same-sex marriages. The action led to a schism that saw conservative Methodist churches – seeing that the changes enacted last week were on the horizon –leave the denomination. Those churches were allowed to keep their property and assets once they received approval to exit by the end of 2023.

Some churches joined the newly formed conservative Global Methodist Church, while others chose to remain independent. According to UMC, 7,600 traditionalist churches left, about 25% of the total number of UMC congregations. The departure of so many conservative delegates enabled progressive delegates to reject anti-LGBTQ policies at this year’s conference. Still, the conservative churches remaining in the UMC, while voting against the changes, wanted to move forward, despite their disagreements, according to reports.

The most significant vote occurred on the first day of the conference when delegates agreed to restructure the global denomination into large geographic regions, to allow each region greater autonomy in outfitting church life to its own traditions and customs, especially regarding the contentious sexuality/marriage issue. Each region can also customize part of the Book of Discipline (the UMC’s rulebook) to fit local needs. This provision needs to go before each individual province for two-thirds majority ratification by December 2025. This plan recognizes the divisive differences on sexuality driving worldwide Methodists apart. Many delegates believed regionalization was the only way Methodists could remain together.

Bishop Karen Oliveto was the first openly lesbian bishop to be elected in the UMC in 2016. She currently serves as the bishop of the UMC’s Mountain Sky Conference based in Colorado. She was formerly the senior pastor of Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco when it was part of the denomination.

“In too many churches, once young people begin to question their sexual

Bethany United Methodist Church pastor Sadie Stone spoke during

service.

orientation or gender identity, the message they receive is that God’s love is now conditional. This causes deep spiritual harm. Someone who doesn’t have a nurturing environment to grow into the person God created them to be lives a stunted life, never living into their full potential,” Oliveto stated in an email to the Bay Area Reporter.

“Church ought to be the place where every child of God will find a loving and accepting home to be who they are. The United Methodist Church made huge changes to be that loving place through General Conference actions,” she wrote.

Oliveto added that not all Methodists may be happy with the changes.

“There are some United Methodists who are going to think we went too far by removing the language that declared homosexuality as ‘incompatible with Christian teaching,’ allowing clergy to preside over same-gender weddings (if they choose to do so) and allowing LGBTQ clergy. I hope you will enter into a time of wondering: why would these pass overwhelmingly by delegates from around the world (the ban against LGBTQ clergy only had 51 no votes out of the entire body)? What scriptures would prompt people to adopt these positions? How do these statements help us ‘do no harm; do good, and stay in love with God?’” she added.

“We gain a bigger picture of who God is, particularly when we include those who don’t look like us, think like us, or love like us,” Oliveto stated. “There are people of all ages in your community who are looking for a grace-filled community that allows them to ask questions, to be able to take tentative and shaky steps to explore who God made them to be, to find themselves in a community who will cheer them on when they do so.”

“I pray that our United Methodist Churches will be such loving places. May no child of God ever think they are beyond God’s love. May they be able to sing throughout their life: ‘Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me, the Bible tells me so,’” she wrote.

Broader definition of marriage

Delegates also adopted a revised broader definition of marriage “as a sacred, lifelong covenant that brings two people of faith (adult man and adult woman of consenting age or two adult persons of consenting age) into a union of one another and into deeper relationship with God and the religious community.” They debated the issue for over an hour, accepting an amendment by a Zimbabwean delegate, Molly Mwayr, who wanted to reaffirm marriage as also between a man and a woman with the wording “consenting age” added because child marriage is common in Africa.

Among LGBTQ delegates there was jubilation, including singing hymns (i.e., “Draw the Circle Wide”), cheering, applause, and wearing rainbow colors. Religion News Service included a quote from the Reverend David Meredith, a gay Cincinnati pastor and chairman of the board of the Reconciling Ministries Network. “Today I feel for the first time in 43 years of ministry in the United Methodist Church that the church is not out to get me,” he said.

the May 5 worship

Brian Bromberger

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It’s on to November for Low

After a historic March primary, and an even more unusual recount, gay Assemblymember Evan Low (D-Cupertino) has advanced to the November general election for the open 16th Congressional District seat in the South Bay. We endorsed Low ahead of the primary and stand with him today. Readers should too. Low faces a daunting challenge and needs resources to compete with Sam Liccardo (D), the former San Jose mayor who came in first in the primary. The seat became open after longtime Congressmember Anna Eshoo (D-Palo Alto) announced late last year that she would not seek reelection.

Recap

Low and fellow Democrat Joe Simitian, a Santa Clara County supervisor and former state legislator, were behind Liccardo after the first ballots were tallied. As more votes were counted in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, which make up the congressional district, each see-sawed: Low was behind, then ahead; Simitian was ahead, then behind. In the end, they each garnered 30,249 votes. Under state election law, in the event of a tie under the state’s open primary system, the second and third place candidates would have both advanced to the general election. That would have seen three candidates on the ballot: Liccardo, Low, and Simitian.

Both Low and Simitian seemed content to let the process play out under that scenario. But at the deadline to request a recount, one voter did so. That was Jonathan Padilla, who once worked for Liccardo when he was mayor and donated to Liccardo’s congressional campaign last December. Padilla denied Liccardo was behind the recount request and wrote on X that he wanted to see every vote counted. A new political action committee, Count the Vote, was formed to pay the hundreds of thousands of dollars for the recount. Its donors won’t be known until July, when the PAC must file Federal Election Commission documents. Adding to the confusion, Padilla requested the recount on behalf of Low, though Low has always maintained he did not ask for one.

from the beginning, in our opinion, especially attempting to make it appear that Low wanted it. As it turned out, Low won the recount by five votes over Simitian and will face Liccardo - a result that Liccardo may not have anticipated.

Onward

Now it’s up to Low and his supporters to get him to the finish line and become the first LGBTQ member of Congress from the Bay Area. In an email message to supporters last week, Low stated, “We want to reiterate our thanks to the amazing staff at the Registrars of Voters for their hard work during a complex recount process. We also want to thank Joe Simitian, who was alongside us during this wild ride.

It’s easy to see from Liccardo’s perspective that he would prefer to face one opponent rather than two. But the recount request has been suspicious

“He ran an incredible campaign, and the Bay Area is a better place to call home thanks to his decades of service,” Low added. “His leadership and work continued to be a source of inspiration to me.” We have no doubt that Low is working to secure Simitian’s endorsement, as well as that of Eshoo, who backed Simitian in the primary. Both of them should support Low, who would be a tremendous asset in the House, where his legislative experience of serving in the Assembly and his executive experience as mayor of Campbell will help his constituents. Now that the COVID pandemic has entered a different phase – it’s not over but neither is it the crisis it was four years ago – Low stated to us that one of his goals in

Congress is to work to provide help to small businesses, which make up the backbone of the community. Low is also familiar with the tech companies that call the South Bay home. A fourth-generation Californian, Low was born and raised in Silicon Valley. In other words, he knows the people he’s seeking to represent in Washington, D.C.

LGBTQ rights

From our perspective, a Low victory would increase gay representation in the House at a time when LGBTQ rights are under attack by conservative forces. There’s a chance Democrats could retake control of the House, which would be an even greater benefit. But even if Republicans eke out a victory, Low, running in a safe Democratic seat, would utilize skills he’s honed in politics: namely, the ability to take on tough issues and to work across the aisle. As Low told us in the endorsement questionnaire we sent, “I intend to work in a bipartisan manner just as I have in the past to find consensus and build relationships across the aisle that will be critical in delivering results for CA-16.” Low will work with the out members who are already there, like Congressmember Mark Takano (D-Riverside), and hopefully, new members elected later this year. Takano, for one, was bullish on Low’s candidacy during a recent interview with the Bay Area Reporter, noting that if he’s elected, Low would be the second out Asian American and Pacific Islander representative.

Low is the co-author of Senate Constitutional Amendment 5 that will appear on California ballots in November. It would remove the “zombie” same-sex marriage ban language that was added to the state’s governing document by the passage 16 years ago of Proposition 8.  If the LGBTQ community is to have a real shot at making this country more equitable, we need out leaders in elected office. It’s something the late Harvey Milk emphasized, and it remains true 47 years after he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

But Low can only win with help. LGBTQ and allied supporters need to step up now as donors and volunteers, as the campaign fight is only beginning. t

Running for our lives: The urgency of LGBTQ+ representation in American politics

by Janelle Perez

In the world of American politics, one truth remains constant: the influence of our voices has the power to shape the future. As a former candidate for office, I’ve witnessed firsthand the transformative impact of grassroots activism and political engagement.

My journey has been deeply personal as a lesbian woman living in this country. I ran for office after having beat cancer, determined to make a difference in my community. After the Florida GOP poured nearly $10 million into defeating me, it unwittingly sparked a movement, shifting my attention to the nation. In my role as LPAC’s new executive director, my commitment to this cause has become an immovable determination to create a world where every queer individual can stand tall, unafraid, and unapologetically themselves.

It’s not just about us anymore; we’re fighting to empower our community to serve, because our struggle is far from over.

In recent years, we’ve seen a disturbing trend of hateful politics and a right-wing obsession with vilifying the LGBTQ+ community. From discriminatory laws targeting transgender individuals to attempts to roll back hard-fought gains in LGBTQ+ rights, our community has been under siege.

In states everywhere, lawmakers have proposed a slew of anti-LGBTQ+ bills. These attacks on our community are not isolated incidents; they are part of a broader pattern of discrimination that must be confronted head-on and LGBTQ+ representation in every level of government has never been more urgent.

But let me tell you, our stories aren’t just important – they’re vital. It’s time for our voices to ring clear and cut through the silence, claiming our rightful place in positions of leadership.

these communities that fuels our resolve. It’s the belief that every door we knock on, every speech we deliver, every battle we fight, is a step closer to a future where no one feels invisible or isolated.

Representation isn’t just about visibility; it’s about equity and justice, and to achieve that, we have to win.

When LGBTQ+ individuals are elected to office, they bring their lived experiences to the table, advocating for policies that reflect the needs of our community.

Whether it’s fighting for LGBTQ+-inclusivity or defending transgender rights, LGBTQ+ leaders play a big role in advancing social progress and justice.

Today, LGBTQ+ candidates are stepping up to run for office at record levels, determined to make a difference.

Let’s not sugarcoat it: running for public office as queer individuals means knowingly painting a target on our backs. We’re no strangers to the vitriol, the criticism, and the hateful attacks. Yet, despite the odds stacked against us, it’s the fire of representation and the hope of a new generation burning within

As the nation’s only organization dedicated to electing LGBTQ+ women and nonbinary candidates to office nationwide, LPAC helps elevate diverse voices to positions of power, and challenge the status quo. From local school boards to Congress, our goal is to ensure that LGBTQ+ individuals have a seat at the table and a voice in the decisions that affect our lives.

Today, we’ve endorsed over 700 candidates and successfully helped elect 275 women and nonbinary candidates to office, and we’re damn proud of the work we’ve done.

LPAC’s roster of endorsed candidates is not just participating in elections; they’re etching

their names into the archives of history with their groundbreaking campaigns. Julie Johnson stands at the threshold of becoming the first LGBTQ+ woman to represent the South in Congress and Jennifer Tran, Ph.D., in Oakland, California is set to break barriers as the first out LGBTQ+ Asian woman in the House of Representatives.

In Texas, Molly Cook’s bid for the state Senate could see her become the first openly LGBTQ+ individual in that body, while Emma MulvaneyStanak in Burlington, Vermont, emerged as both the city’s first female and LGBTQ+ mayor, reflecting the progress toward inclusivity.

With LPAC support, the Golden State might witness an unprecedented increase in diversity with Sade Elhawary, Christy Holstege, Marisol Rubio, Clarissa Cervantes, and Sasha Renée Pérez aiming to be the first bisexual women in the Legislature. Not to mention Lisa Middleton, who is on the cusp of becoming the first transgender California state senator, adding to a historic shift toward broader representation.

Lupe Valdez’s potential return as the nation’s first Latina LGBTQ sheriff, in Dallas County, Texas, radiates hope and resilience, while Ysabel Jurado’s lead in Los Angeles suggests a return of LGBTQ representation to the City Council. These campaigns are more than mere political victories; they are the embodiment of an unstoppable wave of change, propelled by an unwavering commitment to equality. When we say we’re “Running for Our Lives,” it encapsulates the spirit of our movement: a fierce determination to fight back against discrimination and injustice, to reclaim our voices and our power.  With each election victory, we send a powerful message to the world: that LGBTQ+ individuals belong in positions of leadership, that our voices matter, and that we will not be silenced or erased. t

Janelle Perez, a lesbian, is the executive director of LPAC, which is the nation’s leading organization dedicated to electing LGBTQ women and nonbinary people to public office throughout every level of government. For more information, visit teamlpac.com.

LPAC Executive Director Janelle Perez Courtesy LPAC

Congressional candidate Evan Low

Courtesy the candidate

t Politics >>

Gay men launch SF bids for BART, City College board seats

by Matthew S. Bajko

Gay men have launched bids for seats on the boards overseeing the regional transit agency BART and City College of San Francisco that will appear on the November 5 ballot, with a third expected to also seek the BART seat. Victories by the candidates would help bolster out representation on the respective governing bodies.

Luis A. Zamora announced in a May 2 post on X his campaign for one of the four community college board seats up this fall. He is one of six candidates, including incumbent straight allies Aliya Chisti and Alan Wong, the current college board president, to have pulled papers, so far, with elections officials.

In the next month or so Zamora plans to hold a campaign kickoff event, he told the Bay Area Reporter in a May 3 interview. Among his endorsers is bisexual CCSF Trustee Shanell Williams, who opted not to seek a third term this year and did not respond to a request for comment.

“I am a community college graduate. I know, first hand, the opportunities it can provide,” said Zamora, 38, who received an A.A. degree in liberal studies in 2005 from the Rancho Santiago Community College District in Orange County.

At an event Saturday, May 4, with his supporters, Joe Sangirardi kicked off his campaign to succeed gay BART director Bevan Dufty, who is serving as board president this year. He is solely endorsing Sangirardi in the race.

“I am very excited to talk to voters about the issues I care about, which is making sure public transit is safe and clean, so I can earn back their trust in the institution of BART. I feel confident meeting voters where they are will give us a win in November,” Sangirardi, 33, told the B.A.R. in an interview ahead of his campaign kickoff.

Last July, the Political Notebook broke the news that Dufty would not seek a third term in his District 9 seat that covers San Francisco’s eastern neighborhoods.

“I have found Joe to have a great work ethic,” Dufty told the B.A.R. “He listens carefully. He is grounded in policy. He gets things done.”

Also looking at entering the race is former Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club co-president Edward Wright, 32, who is gay and queer. A legislative aide to former District 4 Supervisor Gordon Mar, Wright now is an adviser for strategy and communication for the city’s Muni transit system.

He pulled papers to create a finance account for a BART campaign with Alameda County elections officials, who have oversight of the races for the multi-county transit agency. Widely expected to seek the seat, Wright told the B.A.R. May 3 that he has yet to make a final determination.

“I am always looking for opportunities to serve my city and serve my community, and I am actively considering whether I can be useful as a member of the BART Board of Directors given my experience with public policy, public budgets and public transit,” said Wright.

As the Political Notebook reported in November, lesbian BART director Rebecca Saltzman will also be departing later this year. She opted not to seek reelection to her District 3 board seat, which covers parts of Alameda and Contra Costa counties in the East Bay.

Queer BART director Janice Li, whose District 8 seat includes the western neighborhoods of San Francisco, is not up for reelection until 2026. To date, the race for Dufty’s BART seat is the only one with a known out candidate.

The regional transit agency has struggled to recover from the disruptions that the COVID pandemic wrought. With more people working from home, BART’s ridership patterns have changed over the last four years, leading it to alter its schedule to meet higher demand during non-commute hours and on weekends.

Long struggling to contend with fare evaders, the system has been rolling out new entrance gates to make it harder for people to skip paying to ride. With an overall operational budget of roughly $1 billion, BART is projecting a $26 million deficit at the end of its 2026 fiscal year.

State lawmakers this session are moving forward a bill to allow BART and other struggling Bay Area transit agencies to seek a new permanent source of funding on the ballot in 2026 so they aren’t so reliant on fares to cover costs.

The fiscal cliff BART faces is why Wright is contemplating a run for Dufty’s seat.

“In all honesty, if BART wasn’t facing this degree of challenge, I wouldn’t be considering it. If there is a way for me to be useful, I want to be useful,” Wright said.

“I think maintaining reliable and robust BART service is critical to San Francisco’s recovery, to our climate goals, to social and racial equity. I think whoever holds this seat needs to be someone that can build the biggest tent possible to support and secure new funding for transit.”

This is Sangirardi’s first time seeking an elected public office. Among those also endorsing him are gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), Assemblymember Matt Haney (D-San Francisco), and gay San Francisco Supervisors Rafael Mandelman and Joel Engardio. He told the B.A.R. the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund and the BART union AFSCME 3993 are among the groups supporting his candidacy.

A sci-fi geek, Sangirardi purposefully launched his BART bid on May 4 due to it being attached to the “Star Wars” franchise and its famous catchphrase of “may the force be with you.” Fans turned the pun “may the fourth be with you” into an unofficial holiday on that date each year.

“It felt cheeky and exciting,” Sangirardi said.

On a more serious note, he said he wants to lay the groundwork now as a BART director ahead of any ballot funding measure in 2026 to ensure voters will support it. And like with wanting to see the Castro Theatre survive amid cultural changes impacting the movie business, Sangirardi feels similarly about the need to preserve and expand BART service in the decades to come.

“For me this was an opportunity to really get at fixing another really important institution in our city and Bay Area,” he said. “I believe in public service. It is not about being fun; it is about being able to make a real, tangible difference in people’s lives.”

College board candidacy

In the March 5 primary he won a seat on the oversight committee that runs the San Francisco Democratic Party. A native of Tulsa, Oklahoma, who had been living in Washington, D.C., Sangirardi works as the development director for California YIMBY, the statewide housing advocacy organization.

“I am someone who works in housing, which is just so closely tied to transit. They are one and the same issue,” said Sangirardi, who lives in the city’s Castro LGBTQ district. “When I got to San Francisco, I had firsthand experience of how expensive living in this city is and trying to figure out how to fix it.”

The need for more housing in the region built near transit so people don’t need a car to get around is a large reason why he wants to serve on the BART board. For years the agency has been building dense housing developments on its parking lots and other land it owns near its transit stops, an effort Sangirardi wants to see it continue with.

“I want to build more housing in San Francisco so LGBTQ people can afford to stay here and live here and move here, and so young people can afford to live and stay here and move here,” said Sangirardi. “Basic problems like safety and cleanliness that need to be addressed are the same problems that BART has.”

Last year, Sangirardi was one of the more vocal supporters of the renovation project now underway at the Castro Theatre. His willingness to take on the controversial issue impressed Dufty.

“He is not afraid of a little controversy,” he said.

Zamora in late 2021 stepped down as a city immigrant rights commissioner when he was hired as City Attorney David Chiu’s director of executive affairs. He had worked for Chiu on his state Assembly staff. He is one of the city’s delegates to the California Democratic Party and was elected last May co-chair of the statewide party’s LGBTQ+ Caucus. Zamora was just elected a district-level delegate to the national party’s presidential convention in Chicago this summer.

He had sought a seat on the body that oversees the San Francisco Democratic Party on the March 5 primary ballot but came up short. Nonetheless, it laid the groundwork for his college board campaign, said Zamora.

He also has endorsements from Dufty, Wiener, Haney, and Mandelman. Gay former CCSF trustee Alex Randolph is also supporting Zamora, as are District 7 Supervisor Myrna Melgar, Teamsters Joint Council 7, and LiUNA! Laborers Local 261.

“Our team of supporters is continuing to grow, and I am excited for what our campaign will accomplish over the next six months,” said Zamora.

Like BART, CCSF has struggled to deal with the impacts it felt from the COVID pandemic. It saw enrollment initially drop but increase by more than 10% during the current academic year.

While the board was able to approve a balanced budget and set aside a 5% reserve, it faced harsh criticism from students and faculty over the cuts it made to do so. And it is already bracing for more fiscal challenges in coming years.

As Wong noted in a recent guest opinion piece in the SF Examiner, “the big elephant in the room is that beginning in the 2025-26 fiscal year, City College will no longer receive cost-of-living adjustments, and revenue will be frozen until City College is eligible for more funding under a revised state funding

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Castro resident Joe Sangirardi, left, is seeking a BART board seat in the November election, while Luis Zamora is running for the City College of San Francisco Board of Trustees.

Courtesy the candidates

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Bishop Tracy Smith Malone, the new president of the UMC’s Council of Bishops and the first Black woman to serve in that role, described the atmosphere in the room as a “Pentecost moment,” and called the vote “a celebration of God breaking down walls.” She also quoted Methodist founder John Wesley, “Although we cannot think alike, may we not love alike? May we be of one heart, though we are not of one opinion?”

The Reverend Kristin Stoneking, Ph.D., associate professor of United Methodist studies and leadership at Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, posted an open letter on the webpage of the PSR-affiliated Center for LGBTQ and Gender Studies in Religion, “While this is a celebration for those inside the

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denomination, it’s also a victory for champions of dignity and human rights everywhere. This change in UMC policy has been labored for by many, some of whom contributed decades of work but didn’t live to see this day.”

SF reaction

Five years ago, when the 2019 conference approved the Traditional Plan, which reaffirmed the denomination’s ban on the ordination and marriage of queer Methodists, the B.A.R. visited Bethany United Methodist Church in Noe Valley, a congregation that was half LGBTQ and half straight. The paper returned there to gauge members’ reaction to the general conference revisions.

Pastor Sadie Stone, a straight ally, told the B.A.R., “I’m so excited. I’ve been hoping for this day. I’ve been a United Methodist most of my life and its exclusionary

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language against LGBTQ clergy was put in the Book of Discipline in the year of my birth, so I’ve literally never known a fully inclusive church.

“It was a profound moment to watch the joy that erupted and to see the church I knew we were capable of being come into fruition, with an overwhelming vote, 93% approval. So it wasn’t even close,” Stone added.

“All the work and pain of generations of people fighting for this moment, many of whom are no longer here to see this change. I took time to remember some of the saints of Bethany, like Bruce Pettit, who didn’t see the fruits of his hard work,” she added, referring to the late former B.A.R. City Hall and political reporter, 1977-79, who also hosted the “Viewpoint” cable TV show on SFs politics, 1991-2006.

As for the future of the UMC, Stone continued, “It will only have positive effects. We’ve already done the split. My hope is that we can do the work of healing and recovery for those who had to leave in the less inclusive areas of the country. I hope they will be welcomed back into churches so they will be able to live into their call whether it’s becoming clergy or feeling fully welcome into the churches of their childhood and youth, recognizing they are fully loved by God, no matter who they are, a belief Bethany has always proclaimed.”

Lesbian longtime congregant Gloria Soliz was ecstatic about the news. “It’s been 52 years since that punitive language on homosexuality went into our Book of Discipline – and it’s the only punitive language that has ever been in there. It didn’t fit into who we understand ourselves to be, or fit into our understanding of what Jesus was about. I’m glad it happened in my lifetime.”

Soliz attended PSR in the early 1980s. “I was on the ordination track. It was hard for me not to be out. I am who I am, but the further I went on my path, the more punitive the language became. It was so heavy and oppressive. I could only progress to be ordained a deacon and didn’t continue to full ordination. It was actually a relief, as I could get on with my life.”

Bethany was very supportive to her. It was one of the churches that organized the Reconciling Ministries Network. “What happened at last week’s conference is a new day, now that the conservative disaffiliating homophobic congregations have left,” Soliz added. “We’re one of the last mainline Protestant denominations to make these pro-LGBTQ changes, so we can be in ministry in a really full way. We’re a lot leaner, but many positive things can now happen.”

Gay congregant John Nelson noted the changes “were long overdue. It’s been a battle and never made sense to me why these restrictions were there since we had gay and lesbian clergy in our midst. It’s history-making.”

“As for the future, I’m hoping the church will come together and realize we are all children of God even if we all have different beliefs,” Nelson added. “We are all here to worship the same things.”

His husband, Jeff Friant, felt sad about “the holdouts who see the world in a very different and unfortunately curious way with an out-of-touch view of the Bible which is anti-gay and lesbian. I would love to convince them our way is the more inclusive, more Jesus’ way, who loves everyone as they are. These traditionalist churches are places of harm and hurt, rejecting people. I hope we get the message out that everybody is welcome in the UMC. As for the future, I hope the UMC grows with this more inclusive spirit, opening up an engaging path to social justice.”

The Reverend Israel Alvaran has worked with Reconciling Ministries Network as an organizer since 2013. He attended last week’s general conference.

“This change didn’t just happen overnight. RMN has been doing this advocacy work for 40 years,” he wrote in an email. t A longer version is

Merchants want to burnish Castro’s nightlife Community News>>

by John Ferrannini

Business leaders in the Castro are working to put a new shine on the LGBTQ neighborhood’s nightlife reputation amid concerns it is losing out to the South of Market area.

Merchants also discussed upcoming daytime events, including the observance of Harvey Milk Day, the Pulse nightclub tragedy, and Juneteenth.

In terms of the nightlife scene, SOMA’s LGBTQ-owned Oasis nightclub remains popular and, last month, the Stud bar reopened in a new location at 1123 Folsom Street after having shuttered its former home at Ninth and Harrison streets. Add to that other gay bars in the area, the popular weekend beer busts at the SF Eagle, and nearby in the Mission queer-women focused bars Jolene’s and Mother on 16th Street, and it often results in people spending their leisure time and dollars outside of the Castro.

At the May 2 meeting of the Castro Merchants Association, President Terry Asten Bennett, a straight ally, said the neighborhood’s reputation needs burnishing.

“One of the things we’re hearing is we’re losing a lot of nightlife to SOMA because people hear it’s more fun,” she said. “Hell no! This is the Castro.”

In one attempt to address that, Andrea Aiello, a lesbian who is executive director of the Castro Community Benefit District, announced a new event to bring the rhythm of the night back to the streets of the neighborhood – Brite Nite, which will be Saturday, May 25, at 8 p.m., anchored in Harvey Milk Plaza at Castro and Market streets.

That night partygoers are invited to come dressed in clothing that glows in the dark along with neon accessories, such as that which can be bought at Knobs at 432 Castro Street. The event is a fundraiser for LYRIC, a San Francisco LGBTQ youth organization.

“Cash people will walk around with

buckets” to collect donations, according to Aiello.

The event is being put on in consultation with Comfort and Joy – the queer Burning Man group that produces popular parties several times a year, including at SOMA’s Club Six. It’s being funded by the Civic Joy Fund – which seeks to revitalize San Francisco post-COVID.

Manny Yekutiel, a gay man who is cofounder of Civic Joy Fund, told the Bay Area Reporter that “we’re just helping to fund it. The CBD is organizing it.” Civic Joy Fund provided $5,000, Yekutiel said.

“Everything we’re doing is all about activating the streets of San Francisco to help revive the city and recover, so every single thing is about activating the streets,” Yekutiel said. “Art, music, performance, drag, partying, activations, beautification, cleanups: those are all the things we’re funding, and I’m really proud to fund it. I live on Castro Street, so I’m excited to enjoy it myself.”

CBD board member Paul Miller said,

“the desire is to be a neighborhood party.”

“We do have packages for merchants who want to be involved,” he said. “Glow sticks and so forth” will be made available to merchants upon request.

Added Aiello, “For anyone who’s interested, we have a grant of $100 toward a dancer or entertainer, as well as glow-inthe-dark stuff.”

Even businesses that are closed during the event hours can still participate.

“Philz [Coffee, on Castro Street] is closed but they told me they are going to decorate their window,” Aiello said.

Another reason for the event is to liven up the neighborhood for Memorial Day weekend, when more locals than usual leave the city.

Anyone with further interest in participating can contact Aiello at andrea@ castrocbd.org.

Kompass(ion), board president of Comfort and Joy, stated to the B.A.R., “Comfort & Joy has been an early pioneer in reviving Halloween festivities in the Castro with our signature event, Glow in the Streets. When the Castro business district invited us back for Brite Nite, we were thrilled to bring the vibrant DayGlo art created by our resident artists to this celebration.

“We look forward to creating an immersive neon underwater oasis, bringing the joy of the open sea to the comfort of the Castro,” Kompass(ion) added.

LYRIC Executive Director Gael LalaChávez told the B.A.R. May 7, “I’ve been involved with the Castro Merchants for quite some time. They’ve been so supportive and I’d been going to meetings and they reached out to me and said we can have LYRIC be the beneficiary. I was so overwhelmed. We’re really looking forward to it.”

Castro Stroll offers daytime fun

Diana Brito of Art Walk SF came to share details of another new event, the Castro Stroll, which will start on Sunday, May 19, and continue every third Sunday henceforth from noon to 5 p.m. Participation is free.

The aim is to bring an art festival, entertainment, shopping, dining, and music to Castro Street, between Market and 19th streets, and 18th Street, between Hartford and Collingwood streets, Brito said. All merchants are invited to offer promotions and discounts, as well as to host their own artists and live music at their venues.

“There’ll be activities, and what we really

want to do, and the goal of this, is to drive business into different stores and restaurants,” Brito said. “We do not bring in food trucks; we encourage people to eat local.”

Commemorations

The first Castro Stroll will coincide with the observance of Harvey Milk Day, according to Tina Aguirre, a genderqueer Latinx person who is the manager of the Castro LGBTQ Cultural District.

Though officially May 22, the cultural district will be commemorating Milk –the first openly gay man elected to office in the Golden State when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977 – beginning at 1 p.m. Sunday, May 19, in front of his old camera shop at 573 Castro Street. The San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band (San Francisco’s official band) will be marching from there to Jane Warner Plaza. (Milk, who took office in January 1978, was assassinated, along with then-mayor George Moscone, 11 months later by disgruntled ex-supervisor Dan White.)

The observance will also include speeches, including one by Gwenn Craig, a Black lesbian and former San Francisco police commissioner who worked handin-hand with Milk in the heady days of 1970s queer liberation. Craig was on vacation and could not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“It really will be a great way, specifically, for people to understand Harvey Milk’s legacy of coalition building, and how he was with radical lesbians, gay liberation front members, laborers, people of color, and how he affected change,” Aguirre said.

One of those coalitions in those days was with the Teamsters labor union. In 1973, Milk and Castro neighbor Allan Baird, a straight ally who was a Teamsters leader, took on the Coors Brewing Company due to its anti-labor and homophobic stances.

Aguirre said a Saturday, June 22, event at Jane Warner Plaza will “commemorate what occurred in the 1970s.

“That is unfortunately still relevant,

because the Coors corporation and the family who own that are still contributing to right-wing political movements, so we want to connect some of our history to the present day,” continued Aguirre.

As the B.A.R. recently reported, there is currently an ongoing boycott of the Molson Coors Beverage Company (the product of a 2005 merger between the Coors Brewing Co. and Molson of Canada). Teamsters are accusing the company of not negotiating in good faith with Local 420 in Fort Worth, Texas.

That will come 10 days after a Wednesday, June 12, memorial the district is also facilitating to commemorate the anniversary of the Pulse nightclub shooting. On June 12, 2016, Omar Mateen killed 49 people and wounded 53 others at the LGBTQ nightclub in Orlando, Florida, reportedly in retaliation for the killing of an Islamic State leader by a United Statescoalition airstrike in Syria, according to multiple media reports. Mateen was killed in a shootout with police. Many of those killed or injured were LGBTQs of color.

A week later, Wednesday, June 19, is Juneteenth, which was made a federal holiday in 2021 by an act of Congress signed by President Joe Biden. Juneteenth commemorates the end of the slavery of Black Americans at the end of the Civil War.

Frameline48: the San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival starts the same day, but with the Castro Theatre closed due to renovation and construction work, the festival will be kicking off with a street party, according to Frameline’s Dan Shain, who addressed the merchants.

The 400 block of Castro Street will be closed to vehicular traffic from 2 p.m. to midnight, Shain said. A program of performances and speeches will start at 7 p.m., and the film “Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero” will be screened at 8. The film will be over by 10. Chairs will not be provided.

Once again there will be no food trucks, Shain said.  t

A longer version is online at ebar. com

People gathered at Badlands bar.

John Ferrannini

Cookie baker, screen printer set up shop in SF

by Matthew S. Bajko

From his apartment north of Golden Gate Park, Brennan Bowen has been baking up batches of chocolate chip cookies for his private classes about the history of the famed American treat. His tutorials have caught the ears of San Francisco librarians, who have been booking him at their branches to offer his unique take on the confections to their patrons.

Admittedly, Bowen prefers baking cakes. But with most taking about an hour to cook, it made more sense to create a class centered on cookies.

“Cookies have a quick turnaround time of 12 minutes in the oven,” said Bowen, noting that after participants mix up the dough, “We cook it and we eat it.”

Under a neon sign featuring a partially-eaten cookie and the queer-owned business’ name Golden Gate Cookie Co., Bowen welcomes up to six people per session to his dining table for the three-hour classes during which he recounts the creation tale of the chocolate chip cookie, conducts a blind chocolate tasting, and teaches attendees an “elevated recipe” for the gooey desserts. He welcomed the Bay Area Reporter over in late April to witness his culinary offering firsthand.

“My 2024 goal is to have more people in the Bay Area know about my business,” said Bowen, who has welcomed people from all over the world into his living room and kitchen since launching his business last fall.

Bowen also provides his cookie baking demonstrations as teambuilding offerings at various corporate businesses. His classes at public libraries are free for anyone to attend. He was at the Ocean View branch this week and is scheduled for the Noe Valley branch in September.

“I go to the library all the time. It is an under-utilized resource in San Francisco, in my opinion,” said Bowen, who also serves as vice president on the board of ImpulseSF, the local chapter of the queer nonprofit aimed at fostering community.

Political Notebook

page 5

formula enacted in 2017.” If it doesn’t see enrollment continue to grow, CCSF may not see its funding increase until the 2031-32 fiscal year, he warned.

The board must once again bring on a new leader of the college, as Chancellor David Martin will depart this summer to be an assistant superintendent and vice president of administrative services

Bowen, 30, grew up in Elk Grove, California near Sacramento, in a baking family. His maternal grandmother baked, while his mother had operated a wedding cake business in the 1990s but now runs yarn boutique Knitique

His sister and one brother are home bakers, while their other brother serves as the family’s “taste tester,” said Bowen.

After graduating UC Santa Barbara with a linguistics degree, he moved to Shanghai to teach English at a school run by the mother of a classmate. It is where he met his husband, Oliver Xu, who works in logistics.

The couple moved into their San Francisco apartment in 2022. Bowen had worked as an educator in Oakland until being laid off last summer. It prompted him to take the risk of launching his own cooking-based business.

He saw the chocolate chip cookie as the perfect treat to make the focal point of his workshops, as most people don’t know much about its history. (They cost $70 per person at his home, $99 per person for off-site events.)

“It is interesting to see how integral to our culture the chocolate chip cookie is, and it isn’t even 100 years old,” said Bowen.

Having met Bowen at the Sip Shop Eat holiday event last December in the city, Auriyon Jacobs, 29, signed up for

at Sierra College in Placer County. Hired in 2021, he was the ninth chancellor in eight years and leaves as CCSF is again being scrutinized by accreditors and state community college leaders, noted the San Francisco Chronicle last month.

At the top of the issues Zamora wants to address as a CCSF trustee, according to his campaign site, are “clarity and accountability” between the board and chancellor so that “appropriate authority is delegated while maintaining account-

his cookie class with her husband, Josh Soto, to celebrate their second wedding anniversary.

“We wanted to do something different,” said Jacobs, who owns the specialty wedding and birthday cake business

Chef Auri’s Suga Dotz

She also hoped it would teach Soto, who doesn’t cook, some pointers so he could lend a hand with her own baking business.

“Cooking is not my thing,” Soto, an East Bay parks ranger, admitted, saying of the class, “it’s been a learning experience.”

planned opening at 329 Noe Street at Market Street on Memorial Day weekend.

“People walking by have been super complimentary. People are already stopping and taking photos,” said Lintz, who is lesbian and queer and has lived on Treasure Island for 14 years. “It has been super nice since I painted it myself.”

The noticeably bright pop of color at what she has dubbed the “Rainbow House” hopefully will attract people to patronize the business, said Lintz, in addition to providing an Instagrammable photo opp. She was initially wary of the location since it is on a side street, but after being priced out of the 400 and 500 blocks on Castro Street, she reconsidered and signed a three-year lease with an option to renew.

With its rainbow paint job, the location is hard to miss. Situated a few feet from the major intersection of Noe, Market and 16th streets, the shop is also readily seen from the tourist-popular F-line trolley route that passes by and stops nearby.

Bowen said he created his class with people’s different kitchen skillsets in mind.

“It is for people who have never used an oven to professional caterers,” he said.

Screen printer takes over Castro storefront

Across town screen printer Danae Lintz is already making a splash in the Castro LGBTQ district with her first brick-and-mortar location to sell her queer-themed T-shirts and other designs under her brand Fave

Her painting the facade of her business the colors of the rainbow flag lit up social media in recent weeks ahead of her

ability.” He also wants better communication between college leadership and its various constituents.

Fixing its fiscal crisis will require attracting more students, said Zamora, who believes CCSF needs to do a better job of marketing itself. And he would like to see it partner with local high schools to pilot a Pathways in Technology Early College High Schools (P-TECH) program, so students unlikely to enroll in college can still earn their high school diploma, a cre-

“I am excited to create a landmark and for people to take a photo of it,” said Lintz, 44, who was born in Santa Clara and moved to Santa Rosa with her family at age 5. “Maybe they will come in the shop and check it out while taking a photo.”

She has split her roughly 2,000 square foot retail location into two distinct spaces. In the front half will be her screen-printing shop where half a dozen of her designs will be displayed on a rotating basis for those wanting to order tees. The cost will vary on the design, colors used, and how large the order is, though her pre-made T-shirt prices begin at $30.

In the back is a separate building that will house a queer mall of different vendors along with more of her own Fave merchandise. A small outdoor patio separates the two components of the store.

She has already lined up several queer vendors to join her in the space. The leather and kink scene retailer Byrd Beaks and apparel company Campfires

dential, or an associate degree.

“CCSF has some things they need to work on,” Zamora acknowledged. “I don’t shy away from a tough job. Usually, that is where I excel the most.”

He pointed to his prior work at law firms in managing the administrative side of things, from facilities management to overseeing teams working in reception and record keeping, as preparing him with the skill set needed as a college board member. He did so with an eye toward

& Coffee will both be selling their wares. Lintz’s business grew out of her creating tees in 2021 for fellow players in the San Francisco Gay Softball League. Her designs of a rainbow-colored player quickly sold out, leading Lintz to officially launch her brand in 2023.

At first she set up a table by the Castro Street entrance to the parking lot behind the Castro Theatre. Across the way was the closed clothing store Body, with the letters of its name spelled out in individual boxes above its window.

Dreaming of one day taking over the space, Lintz wondered what name she could use for the signage. Speaking about it to a random customer one day, the person suggested Fave, short for favorite, as in her designs are based on her favorite things.

To help her open up the store, the Castro Merchants Association awarded Lintz a grant of $20,000. She also secured a $25,000 grant from the city’s storefront opportunities program, while the Castro LGBTQ Cultural District kicked in another $6,000.

“It doesn’t feel like a risk because I’ve already done it,” said Lintz of opening up a retail location since she had her portable shop she would set up. “It will be nice to have a roof overhead and not have to schlep my stuff around.”

Eventually, Lintz wants to host classes and events in the space on a routine basis, from movie screenings to board game nights. The gatherings will require a small ticket fee, she expects, and will be alcohol free to provide an alternative to the LGBTQ bar scene.

“We will start with one or two events and go to a full calendar after we are open a few months,” said Lintz. Fave is scheduled to officially open to the public at 11 a.m. Friday, May 24. Lintz is still figuring out exact hours for the business but does plan to be open seven days a week from mid-morning until early evening. t

Got a tip on LGBTQ business news? Call Matthew S. Bajko at (415) 829-8836 or e-mail m.bajko@ ebar.com.

cutting costs for the firms, noted Zamora. “This is the kind of experience we need to bring to City College, especially at a time when its financial stability is coming back into question,” he said. Should he be elected, Zamora would serve alongside CCSF Trustee Vick Chung, the first, openly nonbinary, genderqueer person to hold an elected office in the history of San Francisco. Elected in 2022, Chung won’t be up for reelection until 2026. t

Brennan Bowen displays some of the chocolate he uses for his Golden Gate Cookie Co.

Matthew S. Bajko

Porter to headline SF Pride Community News>>

compiled by Cynthia Laird

Gay award-winning performer

Billy Porter will headline the San Francisco Pride celebration and be the celebrity grand marshal in the parade, officials have announced.

San Francisco Pride, which produces the mammoth event, also announced community grand marshals.

Porter, a Grammy, Emmy, and twotime Tony Award winner, will take to the main stage Sunday, June 30. He is known to many for his Broadway performance in “Kinky Boots” and for his portrayal of the character Pray Tell on the FX series “Pose.”

For community grand marshals, musician and vocalist Tory Teasley was the public choice, according to SF Pride’s website. The organizational grand marshal will be the nonprofit Children’s After School Arts, or CASA. The members of SF Pride selected Nicole Adler, a developmental disabilities and LGBTQ communities advocate.

Meanwhile, the SF Pride board of directors rounded out the community grand marshals with the selections of Rebecca Rolfe, a lesbian who’s the longtime executive director of the San Francisco LGBT Community Center; nonbinary queer activist Xander Briere; and Xavier Davenport, a trans masculine community leader.

“It’s a huge honor to be chosen by SF Pride’s mem bership to be the commu nity grand marshal this year,” Adler, who serves on the State Council of Developmental Disabilities, stated on SF Pride’s website.

The event is free. For more information and to register, go to https://tinyurl. com/yc3e7kzw

A sensory-friendly hour will precede the career fair from 11 a.m. to noon.

Glide to hold celebration of life for Rev. Williams

Glide Memorial Church will hold a celebration of life for co-founder the Reverend Cecil Williams Sunday, May 12, at 1 p.m. in the sanctuary at 330 Ellis Street in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood. There will be an overflow area outside for people to attend, as that portion of the street will be closed to traffic, as well as a livestream of the service, according to a news release from the church.

“I have participated in the San Francisco Pride celebrations the last several years, and when I see the caliber of marshals who went before me, I can’t believe I get to carry the torch.”

Teasley stated that she was “deeply humbled” to be representing the transgender community, the Black community, and the entertainment/nightlife community.

Rolfe stated that she has seen much change. “Over the past two decades, I have witnessed our community flourish and prosper despite the rise of antiLGBTQ+ sentiment,” she noted.

Davenport is a San Francisco native. “As grand marshal, leading the trans masc community in life’s parade to equity is crucial,” he stated.

For their part, Briere noted the beginnings of the San Francisco Pride parade.

“I would like to take some time to love and appreciate the Tenderloin community, which historically led the first queer liberation marches on Polk Street,” they stated.

This year’s SF Pride theme is “Beacon of Love.” The two-day event will feature booths and entertainment on Saturday, June 29, and the parade, main stage performers, booths, and more on Sunday, June 30. For more information, go to sfpride.org.

SF LGBT center to hold spring career fair

People looking for a job, or perhaps moving into a different profession, can find information at the San Francisco LGBT Community Center’s spring career fair that will take place Tuesday, May 14, from noon to 3 p.m. at 1800 Market Street.

An event announcement from the center’s employment services department noted that attendees would have an opportunity to meet more than 20 employers, all of whom are committed to LGBTQ+ inclusion. Additionally, people can get free professional headshots and drop by the TGNB lounge to network. Attendees can also print out resumes in the center’s cyber center.

Representatives from financial service companies, nonprofits, health services, hospitality, and government sectors are scheduled to be on hand, the announcement stated.

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Williams was an influential figure in San Francisco and built Glide into a powerhouse for social justice.

He died April 22 at his San Francisco home at the age of 94.

Williams was also a steadfast ally to the LGBTQ community.

During the 1960s Glide was part of a citizen’s alert group that documented incidents of harassment against LGBTQ people when possible, as the Bay Area Reporter noted in its obituary. The church also sponsored LGBTQ balls, including one five years before Stonewall that was raided by San Francisco police and resulted in numerous arrests. (All charges were eventually dropped.)

Speakers at the public memorial will include San Francisco Mayor London Breed; Glide minister Marvin K. White, a gay man; Glide President and CEO Gina Fromer, Ph.D.; current Glide board chair Kaye Foster; former Glide board chair Amy Errett, a lesbian; former Glide executive director Rita Shimmin; and Tom Johnston, founding member of the Doobie Brothers.

For more information, go to glide.org.

Eurovision watch party benefit canceled

A watch party in San Francisco for the Eurovision Song Contest that was to benefit Parivar Bay Area and the LGBT Asylum Project’s new Center for Im migration Protection organization has been canceled. The event was to have been held May 11 at the DNA Lounge.

In a message posted to social media, Okan Sengun, a gay man who is ex ecutive director of the asylum project, wrote, “We sincerely apologize for any distress or offense caused by our ini tial plans to hold a Eurovision-themed fundraiser. Our intentions for this event were to help us raise funds for the critical needs of our organization and its mission to support the vulnerable and marginalized TGNCI immigrant population.

“We reconsidered our decision to hold this event after we held conversa tions internally and we realized that this would not be in the best interest of those communities,” he added. “We recognize that going forward with this event might cause further harm to those experienc ing human crisis at this time.”

Organizers did not respond to an email message seeking additional in formation.

Performer Billy Porter

“I post as much as I have to to keep myself relevant,” he explained.

The Bay Area Reporter caught up with Kenworthy while he was in San Francisco as the featured speaker during the dinner portion of the SoFi Child Mind Institute Golf Invitational held April 29 at the private Olympic Club’s clubhouse and golf course near Ocean Beach. Invited to discuss his own mental health issues, Kenworthy was in conversation with filmmaker Jennifer Siebel Newsom, who has championed mental health services, particularly for youth, in her capacity as first partner to her husband, California Governor Gavin Newsom.

The impact of social media on Kenworthy’s mental wellbeing came up during their talk. “Social media stresses me out,” he acknowledged. His phone’s constant pinging him with notifications is “anxiety inducing,” he told Siebel Newsom.

“Most of my mental health issues come from my phone and social media,” said Kenworthy, 32, who lives in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles. “I will leave it alone and feel better.”

He tries to meditate daily for five to 10 minutes in order to ground himself and feel more present. Another technique he uses is breath work, something he picked up as an athlete, to lower his heart rate and anxiety.

“Your breath is the center of everything,” Kenworthy said during his talk.

Another way Kenworthy likes to unwind and decompress is to go for long walks with his dog Birdie, a 6-year-old Korean Jindo mix and “the light of his life,” he told the B.A.R.

He rescued Birdie from a Korean dog meat farm while competing in the 2018 Olympic Games in PyeongChang. They were recently featured on the WeRateDogs YouTube channel.

Today, “she is doing more than OK,” Kenworthy told the B.A.R.

Coming out

Almost a decade ago Kenworthy came out on the cover of ESPN The Magazine, becoming the first athlete to do so in an action sport. Already a decorated skier, it catapulted him into being a global LGBTQ role model.

He told the B.A.R. he takes being a public figure “with a great deal of respon-

Breed dismissed Farrell’s call for use of the California National Guard to combat the fentanyl epidemic.

“Mayors don’t have the ability to do exactly what he’s talking about,” she said.  With regard to Peskin’s candidacy, she attacked his record on housing.

“We don’t need another ‘bureaucratic fix,’” she said. “A lot of his ‘bureaucratic fixes’ are being fixed by me because they amount to obstruction.”

The Farrell and Peskin campaigns did not return requests for comment. The Lurie and Safaí campaigns responded after the initial publication of the story online. Last week, Peskin opened a field office at 2055 Market Street, the site of a former nail salon, across from the Safeway shopping center in the upper Market Street area of the Castro district.

Lurie stated to the B.A.R., “The endless jousting from city hall insiders makes for great political theater, but it continues to deprive the community of the outcomes they deserve.  It’s time for a new era of accountable leadership from outside City Hall.”

Safaí told the B.A.R. he disagreed with Breed’s characterization that her opponents were AWOL on dealing with the city’s issues.

“My team has always said be careful what you say because the mayor will try to copy it,” he said. He said that he had spearheaded the San Francisco retail theft working group several years ago that lead to increased foot beats and that he had proposed the revival of the Homeward Bound program to pay for travel home for people experiencing homelessness.

sibility.” Over the years he has gotten more used to being in such a position, though it is taxing at times and his fear of saying the wrong thing can take a toll.

“I want to do right by this community. I love this community,” said Kenworthy.

His being open about his own mental health struggles and taking antidepressants is why Dr. Harold S. Koplewicz, president of the Child Mind Institute, wanted to feature Kenworthy at this year’s golf fundraiser, which raised $545,000 for the New York-based nonprofit that operates a clinic in San Mateo.

Young boys, especially, need to hear from other young men who have struggled with mental health issues, Koplewicz told the B.A.R. The nonprofit had featured a video in 2022 of Kenworthy discussing his living with depression.

“He is actually one of my heroes,” said Koplewicz, who pointed out that not only is there “so much stigma around mental health, there is even more stigma around taking medications for it.”

Kenworthy told the B.A.R. he hopes by speaking up that he can break down the stigma so other people dealing with mental health issues “feel a little bit better about themselves.”

After all, said Kenworthy, “We all face mental health issues in different ways.”

Parent, kids project

The institute partnered with Newsom’s administration and the California Department of Health Care Services to launch the Positive Parenting, Thriving Kids Project.

It is the second child mental health campaign funded by the state in partnership with the nonprofit service provider.

“So it’s funny to hear the mayor say people are taking ideas,” he said. “Homeward Bound was failing and flailing. Those are two examples that are centerpieces of why I’m running for mayor.”

Safaí said he visited the Castro two weeks ago, and was planning to return.

All in all, Breed said that the city has faced massive challenges since she was elected in a special election in 2018, mostly exacerbated by the COVID pandemic. Nonetheless, she insists things have turned a corner. (Breed won a full term in 2019. She faces reelection this year because voters passed a measure extending the terms of several city electeds so that they will be on the ballot in even-numbered years.)

“Now things are starting to look good and feel good,” she said.

Breed rode the spirit of San Francisco revival with her 90-minute tour of the Castro, stopping at mainstays such as Hot Cookie for a treat, coffee at the Castro Coffee Company, and a shot of tequila at Moby Dick.

The mayor also met with Terry Asten

profit endeavor created by friends of his to bring banned LGBTQ books to queer communities in the South and other parts of the U.S. where such titles have come under attack by conservatives. The event netted $15,000.

“I think it is a great cause. Obviously, I stand against book bans,” said Kenworthy. Professionally, Kenworthy is figuring out what his career path will be. After retiring as an athlete post the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, his plan was to pursue acting full time. It was partly behind why he had moved to Los Angeles years ago.

After conferring with experts and hundreds of parents on what issues they needed help with in addressing with their children, the project created a series of 20 videos on various topics it uploaded online in late March. One about sexual orientation and gender identity features a transgender youth talking about their own gender expression.

Others address bullying, coping with stress, and building positive friendships. One explains how to talk to kids about sex, while another zeroes in on social media and how children can use technology in a healthy manner.

“These are five-minute videos coupled with additional articles and resources,” said Koplewicz.

Free for anyone with an internet connection to access, the hope is the online materials will be a useful resource for families far beyond the borders of California.

“I know we are having an impact and making a difference, not just in California but across the U.S. and the entire world,” said Siebel Newsom, who noted during her remarks at the dinner that, “talking about mental health is so important.”

Aiming for an acting career

Two years ago Kenworthy created his own 501(c)3 charity called The Worthy Foundation. It is a way for him to raise money via his speaking engagements for LGBTQ causes and other issues he cares about, explained Kenworthy. One is animal adoption and rescue.

“Animals don’t have a voice,” he said. “We need to be a voice for them.”

He recently held a fundraiser at his home for the Rainbow Book Bus, a non-

Bennett, a straight ally who’s co-owner of Cliff’s Variety and president of the Castro Merchants Association, and Andrea Aiello, a lesbian who’s executive director of the Castro Community Benefit District.

“I am very glad Mayor Breed made a point of coming out to meet with some of our Castro Merchants Friday,” Asten Bennett told the B.A.R. “Our merchant corridors need the support of our city officials and a commitment to help us continue to build vitally. I would like to see every mayoral candidate come visit the Castro.”

Aiello did not return a request for comment.

Breed also talked to neighborhood merchants such as James Freeborn, owner of Freeborn Designs at 463 Castro Street. They discussed Downtown First Thursdays, which, as the B.A.R. previously reported, is a free, all-ages street party that takes place the first Thursday of the month from 5 to 10 p.m. It had its inaugural event the previous evening.

“I don’t know how much she had to do with it but I know she is mayor and she is doing things to allow more street events,” he said. “Our neighborhood, we need more outdoor celebrations.”

Earlier May 3, Breed announced legislation that would create and establish a legal framework for outdoor entertainment zones in San Francisco. The first is proposed for Front Street, between California and Sacramento streets.

“San Francisco’s downtown is seeing a new surge of excitement, and we are thrilled to be the first city in California to take advantage of this new law to bring opportunities that foster joy for our residents, workers and visitors. I want to

In 2019, he played Chet Clancy in the “American Horror Story” TV series and appeared in last year’s “80 for Brady” movie. Most recently, Kenworthy played the character Bruce in the remake of “Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter is Dead” released in April.

But last year’s strike by writers and actors interrupted his career plans. With the industry largely on pause for most of 2023, he enrolled in acting classes to improve his skills and chances of landing more roles.

“It is a tough, competitive career to break into,” said Kenworthy, who performed in theater as a kid in Telluride, Colorado, where his family had moved to from Great Britain when he was 2 years old.

His former boyfriend Matthew Wilkas is a professional actor whom Kenworthy assisted in his auditioning for parts and ran lines with. As he enjoyed doing it, it sparked his interest in also becoming an actor, especially with his sports career having “an obvious expiration date,” said Kenworthy.

“Like with skiing, acting is all about your performance,” he noted.

For the Olympic Summer Games held in Tokyo in 2021, delayed a year due to the COVID pandemic, NBC Sports hired Kenworthy as one of its Olympic reporters. As much as he would love to attend this summer’s games in Paris, he hasn’t been contracted again by the news broadcaster to cover them.

“I would like to do it again, but at the moment, I don’t have a plan locked in,” said Kenworthy.

With the Biden administration considering new guidance for schools on the issue of banning transgender students from participating on youth sports teams, and having just visited the White House, the B.A.R. asked Kenworthy where he stood on the issue. Since he

thank Senator Wiener for creating opportunities to bring more energy to our downtown and his unwavering commitment to bettering our city,” she stated, referring to gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco). “As we continue to do the work, our goal is to encourage more fun and accessible outdoor community events. Our message is clear: San Francisco is having fun, thriving, and open for business.”

Breed also stopped at the Castro Country Club, a sober community center at 4058 18th Street. Billy Lemon, a gay man who is executive director of the club, told the B.A.R., “I love that the mayor supports all aspects of recovery. Everything is included in the way she views harm reduction from partial abstinence all the way up to abstinence.

That’s what the country club is, and we appreciate her ongoing support.”

As Breed walked down Castro Street, she was trailed by Michael Petrelis, a gay man running for supervisor in District 9, who, through a bullhorn, asked her to fix potholes in Jane Warner Plaza.

“All you had to do was ask me, Michael,” Breed responded.

She later joked about it, listing fixing the potholes as among the things she will be working on while talking to a passerby.

As the B.A.R. previously reported, city officials are making another stab at upgrading the plaza. San Francisco Public Works presented a potential future design for the parklet at a meeting for Castro community stakeholders March 22.

Fundraiser

Breed’s campaign held a fundraising event on her behalf at the old Lucky 13 space at 2140 Market Street. There, sup-

hasn’t been following the rulemaking process closely, he didn’t feel he was educated enough to comment on it.

Speaking about the topic generally, Kenworthy pointed out that a main aspect of youth sports is “team building,” something any student should be able to experience. He was critical of those on the right who tend “to weaponize this issue and use it as a wedge issue.”

As for rules governing transgender adult athletes at the elite level, Kenworthy said it is a “tricky” and “tough” issue that is better addressed by those with more expertise on the subject than he has. He did say he believes sports officials are “trying to do the best they can to be inclusive and fair.”

With regulations and safeguards in place, he said he doesn’t see a reason for why trans athletes shouldn’t be allowed to compete.

“I am all for inclusivity and for transgender people to be given the same opportunities as their cisgender counterparts are given,” said Kenworthy.

In 2019, Kenworthy participated in the AIDS/LifeCycle fundraiser for the Los Angeles LGBT Center and San Francisco AIDS Foundation held annually in early June. He raised $250,000 doing the seven-day bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles, becoming its highest fundraiser.

“I enjoyed the ride from a physical and mental standpoint,” he recalled.

One of the enjoyable aspects of it was not feeling pressure to be the first one over the finish line, he said, the polar opposite of his thinking when competing on the ski slope.

“I took it leisurely. My competitive nature didn’t come out,” said Kenworthy.

The year prior he had made a donation for a friend doing the ride and went to greet them at the finish line. That day, he signed himself up as a participant of the next ride.

“I foolishly didn’t train. I assumed I would be fine, as I am a professional athlete,” Kenworthy admitted, saying his advice to anyone doing the ride is to get in some training ahead of it and do some test rides to get comfortable with their bike.

Kenworthy told the B.A.R. he would like to participate in the ride again but can’t this year because close friends are getting married.

“Maybe next year, I hope, if I have no conflicts,” he said t

porters told the B.A.R. why they think she deserves a second term.

“London Breed has been our most pro-housing mayor in my time living here,” said Martin Munoz, a gay man. “It shouldn’t take a software engineering job to live in San Francisco. People should be able to live here to escape from places less understanding.”

Another supporter who’s all-in on reelecting Breed is John Weber, the first Black person elected emperor of San Francisco.

“I am absolutely, without a doubt, endorsing Mayor Breed for a second term,” Weber said. “She has been a major force for inclusion, for example, her trans policies, having a department in this city so San Franciscans are empowered and are educated about trans people and trans rights. In addition to that, in my regular job I’m a diversity recruiter, and she opened up a career center in City Hall.”

In 2016, before the Office of Transgender Initiatives was formally created, Theresa Sparks, a trans woman, was named as Lee’s senior adviser for transgender initiatives, the first municipal position of its kind.

The career center opened up in March in Room 110, where it serves as the main onboarding point for newlyhired city employees and the principal career development location for current employees, according to Breed’s office.

“Our workforce makes our city run and delivers the services our residents rely on,” she stated at that time. “This career center will help us to attract new workers in the future and support our current employees as we work to create a stronger, more resilient workforce. This is just one part of our broader efforts to expedite and improve hiring and support workers across San Francisco.” t

From page 2

Former Olympian Gus Kenworthy, left, joined Child Mind Institute President Dr. Harold S. Koplewicz at a dinner in San Francisco April 29.

Stephanie Meyers Photography

Mayor London Breed, left, shook hands with a person during a walking tour of the Castro May 3.

John Ferrannini

t Community News>>

Already expecting challenges, Breed last December asked city departments for 10% cuts across the board. A deficit of about $800 million is expected over the next two fiscal years, and Breed has said it could reach $1 billion by Fiscal Year 2028.

Thomas said Breed had also asked department heads to come up with 5% in potential additional cuts.

“Unsurprisingly, the very first priority is to protect existing services, protect the safety net, and try to be sure we’re not losing any valuable services this year,” Thomas said.

Mahogany, who started May 6 in her new role, said in an interview last week that she, too, is fighting to prevent cuts.

“This is going to be an incredibly difficult budget year,” said Mahogany, who’s a trans person and has years of experience dealing with budgetary matters.

She previously worked as an aide to Assemblymember Matt Haney (D-San Francisco), first when he was District 6 supervisor then as his district director after he was elected to his Assembly District 17 seat representing the west side of the city.

“Part of my job is to work with the mayor’s office and the Board of Supervisors to protect the most vulnerable,” Mahogany said of her new job overseeing the trans initiatives office. “Certainly, the trans community is imperiled on a variety of levels, whether it be homelessness or suicidality. While we’re trying to solve the issues we are working on in San Francisco, we want to make sure trans people are part of that conversation. I don’t want to see any services for the trans community cut right now. I want to make sure we are staying true to our word.”

page 9

Tenderloin Tessie turns 50

Tenderloin Tessie Holiday Dinners, which has been providing meals every Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas to those in need, will celebrate its 50th anniversary at an event Saturday, May 18, from 1 to 4 p.m. at First Unitarian Church, 1187 Franklin Street (at Geary Boulevard).

A news release from board President Michael Gagne stated that the public is invited to attend and there is no entry

But changes in the federal government’s allocation of HIV/AIDS funding are likely. Thomas noted at the teach-in that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “has already let San Francisco know we’re going to get a cut in our federal HIV prevention dollars, and it will probably be $500,000-$800,000 in a cut. We don’t know exactly yet, but we should know in the next couple of months.”

The good news is that “one of the things we have done historically throughout the years is we have been very successful in getting the city to backfill those cuts and invest San Francisco general funds into those services,” Thomas continued. “We have not lost HIV services because of federal cuts, and that is our goal this year.”

The mayor’s office did not return a request for comment for this report.

2024-2025 budget proposal

The network – a group of HIV and LGBTQ activists in the Bay Area – has a detailed budget proposal for San Francisco for 2024-2025: $509,000 to preserve existing services in the HIV care safety net, $500,000 to support HIV care organizations (including a small increase to account for some of the inflation of recent years), and $3.6 million for 200 additional housing subsidies for people living with HIV.

The network’s proposal also includes $1 million for additional mental health services for long-term survivors, $500,000 for intensive case management, $500,000 for PrEP and PEP for Black and Latino communities, and $1-$2 million to open and fund supervised injection sites. City officials have recently been reluctant to fund the sites, which are a form of harm reduction that allow people to use their own drugs under the supervision of trained staff. That’s mostly

fee. District 5 Supervisor Dean Preston, a straight ally, will be the guest speaker. There will be a buffet dinner, and 50th anniversary awards for exceptional volunteers and supporting businesses.

The all-volunteer organization was started by Tessie, the drag persona of Perry Spink. According to the organization’s website, Spink was a local performer and bartender who was familiar with the Tenderloin neighborhood during the 1960s and 1970s. Legend has it that he started the dinners when he received some free turkeys in 1974 and decided to cook them for residents of the neigh-

due to federal legal obstacles and, if such a site were to open, a nonprofit would have to house and operate it.

As the B.A.R. previously reported, last year’s budget included $1.25 million for housing subsidies for people living with HIV for 2023-24 and $500,000 for 2024-25. The budget also included $500,000 to help HIV/AIDS nonprofits with rising costs. The funding was far short of the $7 million requested by HIV advocates.

According to Paul Aguilar – a gay long-term survivor who has been living with HIV since 1988 and who was a community grand marshal in last year’s San Francisco LGBTQ Pride parade – people living with HIV are two to four times more likely to develop major depressive disorder, highlighting the need for additional mental health services. There’s a need for culturally competent care, he stressed.

“People didn’t necessarily want to speak with someone professionally trained, but someone who had been where they’ve been, who’s walked that path,” Aguilar said. “Trans folks and others would walk in and there wasn’t representation.”

Vince Crisostomo, a queer Chamorro man who’s the director of aging services at the AIDS foundation, said that there’s an increase in the need for case management.

“Particularly for long-term survivors, they need case management because our care becomes more complicated and nobody coordinates those services,” he said.

Crisostomo said that the case management system is “kind of in shambles,” but there are stand-outs.

“The San Francisco Community Health Center is probably the most functional of all the case management systems. They have five tiers and they will work with you – they’re very good at responding very quickly and are

borhood, the website stated.

The dinners were at first held monthly, and the charitable work led to Tessie being crowned Empress 15 in 1980. Spink died in 1984, and the meals continued on an uneven basis. Three years later, Tenderloin Tessie Holiday Dinners was created to serve the meals on the three major holidays. The organization is now a nonprofit.

Though RSVPs are not required for the anniversary party, they can be made by calling Gagne at (415) 584-3252 to help let organizers know how much food needs to be provided.

good at offering limited mental health services,” Crisostomo said. “Ward 86 [at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center] has a team of case managers, social workers.”

PrEP and PEP

Jonathan Salinas and Alton Lou, community chair and outreach cochair of the network, respectively, discussed preventative care disparities. As the B.A.R. previously reportedphp, the budget deficit may imperil the city’s ability to respond to the fact that Latino cisgender men now make up the highest rate of new HIV diagnoses in San Francisco, and data that showed that Latinos were the only group to see an increase in new cases (67 of 157 cases, or 43% of new diagnoses, up from 36% in 2021).

Among cis men the rate of diagnoses surpassed all other racial or ethnic groups measured.

PrEP, or pre-exposure prophylaxis, refers to the use of antiviral drugs to prevent people exposed to HIV from becoming infected. The pill Truvada was first approved for PrEP use in 2012 by the federal Food and Drug Administration; since then the FDA has also approved the pill Descovy for some groups, and the drug Apretude as an injectable treatment. According to CDC statistics, only 25% of the approximately 1.2 million Americans who could benefit from PrEP had prescriptions in 2020. PEP, or postexposure prophylaxis, refers to taking HIV medicines within three days after a possible exposure to prevent HIV infection.

Salinas said that according to data from the Magnet clinic at Strut, “we are seeing a big gap as to who is getting access, who is allowed access, for prevention, and who is affected by transmission.”

“The largest group of people access-

For more information, visit tenderlointessie.com.

YMCA youth community festival in SF

The YMCA of San Francisco will hold its inaugural Y for Youth Community Festival, a free, family-friendly event, that takes place Saturday, May 11, from noon to 9 p.m. at Crane Cove Park, a seven-acre urban park located in Potrero Point at 18th and Illinois streets.

A news release stated that the festival would feature exhibits, activities, live music, food, and more. In addition, the

ing PrEP here at the foundation are white people,” he said, sharing data showing white Americans account for 36% of people in the PrEP program, while Black Americans account for 4.5%, Latino Americans account for 23.5% and Asian Americans 17.6%.

(Based on 2020 census data about San Francisco’s population, this would mean Black and Asian communities are underrepresented while white and Latino communities are overrepresented.)

“We’re asking for half-a-million to insure rates of HIV transmission do not continue to rise for the Latinx and Black communities,” Lou said. “We must invest in cultural competency and bilingual staff for PEP and PrEP programs.”

Life Day of Action

Ande Stone, senior community mobilization manager at the AIDS foundation, said that there are opportunities for advocacy coming up; for example, the Life Day of Action on Friday, June 7, which will consist of a teach-in at 11 a.m. at Civic Center Plaza, a noontime lunch, and meetings with members of the Board of Supervisors from 1:30 to 5 p.m.

“We’re going to be visible; we’re going to be out, loud, and proud about all the things we’re fighting for right at the seat of government,” he said.

Further, “we are asking people to email the mayor and the Board of Supervisors asking them to prioritize this crucial funding,” he added.

The May 6 teach-in ended with Aguilar sharing memories of the late Randy Leo Dudley, a queer man who’d been involved with the network.

Aguilar shared words written by Dudley about the LGBTQ community, poignantly including the line “the rainbow that connects us is glistening like the stars we all are.” t

YMCA’s Charles M. Collins Youth Impact Award will be presented to Festus Ezeli, a former NBA basketball player who spent five seasons with the Golden State Warriors, including winning the 2015 championship.

“We are excited to have this community event at Crane Cove Park to celebrate the impact of youth in our society,” stated Jamie Bruning-Miles, a gay man who’s president and CEO at YMCASF. The B.A.R. had a profile of Bruning-Miles in 2022. For more information about the community festival, go to ymcasf.org/y-for-youth. t

In the matter of the application of LILY-ANNE ROSE STEWART, for change of name having been filed in Superior

and it appears from said application that petitioner NICHOLE JANE NORIEGA is requesting that the name LILY-ANNE ROSE STEWART be changed to LILY-ANNE ROSE NORIEGA. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N on the 23rd of JULY 2024 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted. APR 18, 25, MAY 02, 09, 2024

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0403075 The following person(s) is/are doing business as KUTSARA, 88 SYLVAN DR, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94132. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed AUDREY GALIMBA. 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 04/08/2024. APR 18, 25, MAY 02, 09, 2024

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0403102

The following person(s) is/are doing business as ANTOJITO LA PATITA, 900 AVENUE D, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94130. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed EMMA MENDEZ PEREZ DE JOACHIN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 04/09/2024. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/09/2024. APR 18, 25, MAY 02, 09, 2024

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0403121 The following person(s)

by David-Elijah Nahmod

Oaklash, Oakland’s annual celebration of queer and trans performance, is back, and it promises to be wilder than ever.

The party takes place on the weekend of May 17.

So what exactly happens at Oaklash? Executive Director Mama Celeste explained it all in an interview with the Bay Area Reporter.

“Oaklash is a queer arts nonprofit that has been hosting the Bay Area’s first ever festival of drag and queer performance since 2018,” Celeste said. “We

Oaklash unleashed!

Oakland’s three-day celebration of trans and queer performance returns

produce large-scale events by and for the queer and trans community, mentor emerging leaders in nightlife, and provide small grants to help keep artists living and working in the Bay Area.”

The name Oaklash was initially an inside joke between Beatrix Lahaine and Celeste because

they felt that the Bay Area needed its own version of Bushwig and Wigstock, New York’s drag festivals. People thought that the name Oaklash was catchy and so it stuck.

by Jim Gladstone

“There’s nothing I need from anyone except for love and respect. And anyone who can’t give me those two things has no place in my life.”

This resounding assertion of self-worth was first made by Arnold Beckoff, the force-of-nature drag queen character written and originally played by Harvey Fierstein in his 1981 sentimental comic opus “Torch Song Trilogy.”

More than four decades later, these lines should draw snaps and hosannas once again when Fierstein’s streamlined 2017 revision of the show, retitled simply “Torch Song,” makes its Bay Area debut at the Marin Theatre Company beginning May 9.

Fierstein has trimmed and tightened his original for the age of attention deficit. The once fourhour-plus running time has been reduced to a quick-moving two hours and 30 minutes.

Evren Odcikin, director of the Marin production, was born the same year that “Torch Song Trilogy” debuted off-Broadway. He wasn’t familiar with the work until reading it in the 2000s, sometime after graduating from Princeton University.

Shifts and recurrences

“I feel like the play is both a period piece and also a work that’s remarkably current,” explained Odcikin, who identifies as queer, during a recent interview with the Bay Area Reporter.

“For a moment, earlier in the 2000s, it felt like there had been huge moves forward in queer

Beatrix LaHaine at Oaklash 2023

Dean Linnard in Marin Theatre Company’s ‘Torch Song’

t << Music & Drag

Aaron Lee Tasjan’s ‘Stellar’ achievement

by Gregg Shapiro

An early contender for one of the best albums of 2024, “Stellar Evolution” (Blue Élan) by queer singer/ songwriter Aaron Lee Tasjan is modern pop perfection. For his captivating and varied fourth, full-length solo album (available on orange vinyl!), Tasjan expertly navigates meaningful subject matter in songs that reveal something new with every listen.

From the accessible experimentation of “The Drugs Did Me” and “Alien Space Queen,” to the new wave nods “Horror of It All,” and “Dylan Shades,” to club banger “Nightmare” and gorgeous numbers including “Young” and “Ocean Drive,” Tasjan never fails to keep us mesmerized and enchanted.

Gregg Shapiro: I’d like to begin with something from your musical past, your membership in the band Semi Precious Weapons. When you look back on your time with that band, what do you recall about the experience?

Aaron Lee Tasjan: It was a great experience for me. I was much younger than everyone else in the group. I had been going to the Berklee College of Music in Boston and Nate at Rear Window Recording in Boston had recorded some of Justin’s solo records. He was the one who suggested that Justin and I get together.

Obviously, Justin would have their own perspective on this and everything, but from my vantage, it was when the two of us came together that the crux of Semi Precious Weapons was formed. The song “Rock’n’Roll Never Looked So Beautiful” and the eponymous Semi Precious Weapons song were all songs that Justin and I wrote together. In the early days that was kind of what the band centered around; the songs we were writing together.

I left the group in 2008 right before the debut record came out on (the) Razor & Tie (label). I left for personal reasons that had had more to do with the romantic relationship that Justin and I had had than anything to do with the band. Obviously, those kinds of things get messy and complicated sometimes.

But what I feel was a good thing, and continues to be a good thing, about our relationship is that at no point in time did we ever, or at least I never felt, any animosity towards him. I’ve always had the most tremendous respect for Justin as an artist, and as a songwriter, and always will. I will say

to this day, Justin is one of the most talented songwriters I’ve ever met in my entire life. I’ve gotten lucky to know a few great ones, and they are one of the very best.

Gregory Lattimer, with whom you co-produced your new album, “Stellar Evolution,” also co-wrote two of the songs, “The Drugs Did Me” and “Horror of it All.” What makes him a good collaborator?

A lot of times when I am co-writing on songs for my record, I’m really coming to my co-writer with a fairly fleshed-out song. I’m kind of asking them to cross my Ts and dot my Is, anything that I might have missed, anything that seems unclear, any of those kinds of things that can be helpful to have an outside perspective on.

One of the things that makes Gregory so great in particular is his ability to add something. And this is why I would consider what he’s doing just as much songwriting as production. To me, if you add something to my song, or make a suggestion about my song even, that changes the way that I perform it every time I do it, that’s songwriting.

“Horror of It All” perfectly encapsulates the complexity of adolescence, while also managing to maintain a sense of humor. To my ears, it sounds like a message of reassurance for those of us who experienced something similar, while also being a kind of gentle cautionary tale for the next generation. In other words, you are not alone, no matter your age.

Definitely! I knew from a very young age, as a lot of us do, that I was a queer person. That I was a little different that way than some of my classmates. Sometimes those first experiences that you have as a young person, when you’re a queer person there’s that added layer of…

…drama.

Drama! Right? There’s no other way to say it. It is what it is. You don’t know what can happen on a day-to-day basis, especially in an environment like school. I remember being at summer camp, when I was eight or nine years old, and my friend Hayden Stewart and I were just friends, but we were oftentimes walking around holding hands at camp, which I didn’t think anything of as an eight-or-nine-yearold. But the older kids in camp were merciless about making fun of us for it. It wasn’t even anything romantic. I suppose I probably internalized it even deeper knowing that I was attracted to the other boys [laughs].

“Nightmare” is a full-fledged

I would say so, definitely. It took a long time to write, too. I started writing it in 2015. I thought that I’d finished the song. As the next [laughs] administration and all that played out, I realized that there was a lot more that I needed to say in that song, and fleshed the song out so that each chorus was completely different.

In that way it kind of became, formwise I suppose, a more traditional kind of protest song, if you will. The protest thing is tricky. If you think of a song like “Ohio” by Neil Young, for example, or something like that, I think that song is a successful protest song in that it felt timely, certainly when it came out, but there are things in that song that still relate to what we’re living through today.

dance floor banger. What would it mean to you to become a disco diva and to have the song spun at tea dance?

Oh my God, that would be amazing [laughs]! That would be one of the greatest things that I could possibly imagine. I love the club scene. I love dancing. There are some great places here in Nashville to go and do that and be a part of that scene. That’s probably one of my most treasured memories from my time in New York in my 20s. Getting to be a part of that scene. Going to Michael T’s parties and being a part of that whole amazing scene. There’s nothing like it. The infectiousness and energy of queer joy in those spaces is so powerful. If that song somehow became [laughs] one of those, I would be for thrilled to death.

“I Love America Better Than You” is the serious/comic anthem we all need, especially in this most important election of our lifetime. Would you say this is the most political song you’ve ever written?

Home base

“Oakland is our home, and we want to put a lash on it for the weekend and have a little fun,” Celeste said.

Mama Celeste has been crossdressing since her days in New York many years ago. She recalls sneaking into clubs while still underage. When she moved to the Bay Area in 2015, she realized that drag was much more than just putting on a skirt. Drag, according to Celeste, is about finding community with great people and acting wild on stage.

“When I started going out in Oakland, Beatrix was throwing the best drag show I ever saw, Tragic Queendom, and I realized I wanted to work with her to make more opportunities for artists who live on this side of the bridge,” she said.

In recent years Oakland’s reputation has taken a hit due to the rise in robberies, shootings, car break-ins and business break-ins. Many people are now hesitant to go to Oakland, while some businesses have left the city. Celeste assured us that there is nothing to worry about, that Oaklash will be a safe event for all. The organizers of the event take security very seriously, she prom-

That’s always the challenge of writing a song like that. The balance I was trying to walk with “I Love America Better Than You” was to create something that…it’s part of why I wanted to reference my dad being a Vietnam veteran, to show that these issues we’re facing in America we’ve been facing for a long time, we’re still facing them today.

We need to you know find ways to rise to those challenges as best we can. The song is certainly meant in that Mark Twain kind of observational way. Delivering a message about America that maybe speaks to more of the harder truth and complexities that exist within the fabric of our country. But also trying to do that in a way that is conscious of the fact that if we want to change someone’s mind, we have to do it through love. That’s the only real way to change the way that someone thinks about something. I was trying to strike that balance.t

Read the full interview, with music videos, on www.ebar.com.

www.aaronleetasjan.com

ised, especially now as queer and trans people are being attacked by right wing politicians all over the country.

“Our whole mission is to create safe spaces for queer and trans people to come and have the most fun they’ve ever had but without forgetting about all the injustice in the world,” she said. “We want mindful fun. We want people to fight for what they believe in. And we want to look fabulous doing it.”

Celeste added that she considers Oakland to be the best city in the country, a place where artists, queers and people of color can join together to create culture that will make the world a better place. Many of her favorite performers live in Oakland but have to travel to San Francisco in order to find paid work. Oaklash strives to create opportunities for those people to work in their own backyard.

Eco-sexual frenzy

The weekend begins on Friday May 17 at Oakland’s Nectar Social Club, which will be led by the Oaklash Skills for Nightlife Acceleration Program (OSNAP!) cohort, a group of five local queer and trans event producers that Oaklash has been mentoring to be the

<< Oaklash From page 13

Aaron Lee Tasjan

Rebel Kings at Oaklash 2023

Rachel Ziegler

Tchaikovsky’s ‘The Enchantress’

by Tim Pfaff

One of the peskier questions in the classical music world: Does lesser-known mean lesser? In short: Is repertory obscurity deserved, or in any case earned? New recordings of seldom-heard music by one Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, as familiar a composer as could be, say, No.

Tchaikovsky has long been a victim of his own success. Who could imagine ballet music without “Swan Lake,” opera without “Eugene Onegin,” symphonies without the “Pathetique,” the piano concerto without Van Cliburn, or Christmas without “The Nutcracker”? But, as has the critical establishment, we’re already veering off course here.

There must be something wrong, it’s surmised, with music that’s that well known and tirelessly adored by the public. The conundrum: If the public is so smart, why do some pieces fall by the wayside, at least at the box office?

One could cite the brilliance of the string quartets, rarely heard in recital these days, or the songs, which at least stand half a chance. But, as is the case with the music of the prolific Camille Saint-Saëns, too much of it deemed prolix, musicians themselves love the music of Tchaikovsky, and they know a thing or two. We should listen to them, and here we shall.

The meanings of charm

There are reasons we see a few of Tchaikovsky’s other operas more often than “The Enchantress,” one of the glories of his late years (1887), which the composer, later widely acknowledged as homosexual, thought one of his best. Sure, the operas that hold the stage today have a swifter, clearer, and more emotionally devastating dramatic arcs, but if there’s anything that keeps “The Enchantress” waiting in the wings, un-enchantingly, it’s its ambition to include everything.

But a new video of Oper Frankfurt’s 2022 captivating production of “The Enchantress” (Naxos) adds, not subtracts, from the work’s profligate offerings, more often than not to good advantage and even enhancing its sometimes latent drama. Then, too, it stars Asmik Grigorian as Natasya the Enchantress, sealing the deal on the darker meanings of the word “charm.”

These days Grigorian could sell out the house singing “Happy Birthday” in a hundred languages. But, as always with her, it seems, here she is the living, breathing, and not infrequently devastating enhancement of enchantment.

The untangled web

The story is less tangled than in many an opera. A prince falls in love with an innkeeper, Natasya; this bothers pretty much everyone else; the prince’s son sets out to avenge his father, only to fall in love with Natasya himself; Natasya dies in the princeling’s arms.

True, some of the “at first sight” love in the piece seems abrupt even for the wiles of romantic feeling. Everyone gets what they seem to deserve except the beloved (by all but the Princess and Mamirov, her clerical partner in hate) Natasya, adored as “Kuma” by her fans (and the Prince) and deplored using the same nickname by the bad guys and gals.

The opera’s title suggests that it might be a fairy tale, but it’s more grim than Grimm. The Frankfurt production, by Vasily Barkhataov, superbly conducted by Valentin Uryupin, and sung to something approaching perfection by the ensemble cast, is set in what might be called a universal present.

In the first act, Natasya vapes (as we Grigorian lovers fret), the Princess does Pilates with her daughter in Barbie pink, and Yuri, the young prince, hangs out in Adidas gym clothes carrying barrels of protein supplement, and the Prince confides his secret love to a real dog he doesn’t have to shoot. This being a German production, totemic animals of the stuffed variety appear pretty much everywhere (see the DVD

box cover and production photo), but they can easily be seen past.

Once you look beyond the production’s overall gaudiness and its often fetching surprises, what emerges is a cast of individuals sharply drawn, down to the last chorister. When they lift their skirts, the dancing girls at Kuma’s tavern turn out to be hot male dancers.

Perhaps only Tchaikovsky could have provided dance music this be-

guiling (but these guys are dolls in their own right). Paisy, for example (the wonderfully repulsive Michael McCowen), an obsequious fundy who, in this production, is a conflation of two characters in the original, is recognizable and even sympathetic, as evangelicals in opera seldom are. You almost get to like him, or at least don’t flinch more than you’re supposed to whenever he reappears.

Star in a constellation

The thing about artists as brilliant as Grigorian is that not only are they ensemble performers but they also seem to elicit the best from their onstage colleagues. Callas-like, Grigorian eschews gratuitous gestures, acts and sings with searing focus, and is the center of the stage whenever she is on it at all. She’s such a compelling presence that we excuse the director for including her, soundlessly, in the second act, where the libretto doesn’t place her.

The truth isn’t just in her acting, which doesn’t ever read like “acting,” but in singing with the kind of vocal focus that pierces the opera goer’s heart. It’s not about mere beauty of sound, but her sound is ravishingly lustrous anyway.

Her stagemates don’t let her down, musically, and every one of them sings as though their lives depend on it. Young Prince Yuri manages an otherwise baffling change of heart. He’s initially attracted to Kuma in that way all her devotees are, is convinced to avenge his spiteful mother (there’s a disturbing whiff of mother-son incest in the staging, but it helps more than it hurts), and dies, at his father’s hand, in full thrall to his now-beloved Kuma. Tenor Alexander Mikhailov vanquishes all improbabilities with a voice as dramatically insinuating as Grigorian’s.

Any initial questions about who the real Enchantress is here –several of the characters consider using potions of death as well as love– are resolved in the tragic realization that this ever-transfixing Natasya is as enchanting as the Princess accuses her of being, that is, a witch, but genuine rather than sinister.

While we’re in the hood

For no-doubt-about-it enchantment, Tchaikovsky’s “Souvenir de Florence,” composed in 1890 (after “The Enchantress”) is an exuberantly charming string sextet given a bracing reading by the Nash Ensemble (Hyperion). Its name comes from the fact that one of its four movements was composed when Tchaikovsky was in Florence.

Tchaikovsky devotees (and wannabes) will also want to check out the second volume of Chandos’s Tchaikovsky’s Orchestral Works by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra conducted by Alpesh Chauhan. It’s a fine series by any standard, and the repertoire contains pieces you’re unlikely to hear in concert, for example “Hamlet,” “Fatum,” and excerpts from

“The Queen of Spades,” “The Snow Maiden,” and “The Oprichnik.”t

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, ‘The Enchantress,’ Oper Frankfurt, DVD, Naxos www.naxosusa.com Also viewable on-demand at www.medici.tv

Tchaikovsky, ‘Souvenir de Florence’ (with the Korngold sextet), The Nash Ensemble, Hyperion harmoniamundi.com

Tchaikovsky, ‘Orchestral Works, Vol. 2,’ BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Alpesh Chauhan, conductor, Chandos www.chandos.net

Meet Arnold Beckoff, a nice Jewish drag queen with the biting wit of Fran Lebowitz, looking for love in NYC. Hilarious and moving, a brilliant night of theatre.

Asmik Grigorian in Oper Frankfurt’s production of ‘The Enchantress’

Composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

A.E. Hines’ ‘Adam in the Garden’

by Mark William Norby

n the cover of A.E. Hines’

“Adam in the Garden,” we view a presumed gay white man. However, consistent with the mission of giving voice to “otherized” people– LGBTQ in our case – we can easily suggest that you see a trans white man. We can further imagine viewing a white lesbian or a bisexual individual or stretching our thinking to propose that we picture a different skin color altogether.

For simplicity, we might as well settle on the label “queer.” But if you do not have an affinity with the word queer, settle where you’re comfortable. Some of us are doing the work to remove labels altogether.

Imagining a different world is precisely what poetry is all about: combining the different alongside the concrete world in which we live; of providing the context and content of the poet’s creative work and any creative artist’s life.

What I find valuable in Hines’ poetry is the opposite of labeling himself or others. His work is a true breath of fresh air in our universality. Not just our sameness but our kinship with human life, our beingness, our essence. In this, we share authentic power.

Hines builds the world of “Adam in the Garden” by beginning with his youth and proceeding through the aging process, proceeding through life. Your life. Anybody’s life. Now place yourself within the poem no matter how you or society have identified your individuality:

“Astronauts”

It was dangerous then, making love in a Carolina backyard. First, the hammock threatened to flip us to the ground, taking with it my nerve; then you gasped at the sudden reach of my hand, which woke your fear, but not our classmates asleep inside. I spread a blanket, and we undressed. Silent. Back to back. Much like we would have in the locker room, each man neatly piling his clothes in opposing corners. The night was clear, the sky knitted with stars. We floated toward each other, summer astronauts on our first expedition: at first

clumsy in our experiments, each of us taking our time as fireflies circled our naked bodies like blinking satellites or distant moons, each of us edging closer to discovery we could not yet name.

“We could not yet name.” In the context of imagination, only two words in the poem refer to the gender of the actors: “each man.” Remove those two words, and the poem is entirely anonymous. Creative work can venture toward this direction and work more deeply with our perceptive fascination. Taken together with the book’s cover, the criticism is accessible and, in what I propose, might even seem necessary. I was recently asked a question by

another (in this case, a straight white male) literary creative: “Haven’t we seen enough gay white men on the literary scene?”

It is entirely satisfactory that Hines has his moment in the spotlight as a gay white man, compassionate creative artist, and impactful poet. Hines is so good at navigating an individual’s life and growing older, plus the sudden ailments that pop up, in revealing the changes we endure.

He is excellent in carrying the reader with him, through different parts of the world where he has lived, from Portland to Colombia and various parts of the south. He is very fond of enjambment, the continuation of a sentence from one line to the next without any punctuation.

Here is a great poem and a strong example of enjambment:

“To My Flirtatious Friend Who Made a Pass at My Husband on Facebook”

You were right to call him beautiful. When I first saw him, I couldn’t stop staring: those soft hazel eyes framed by his thin wire spectacles, the fine toothy scruff of his beard. So yes, horny devil emoji does feel appropriate. WhenI awoke after our first night, the sun up making love to the room, I was afraid to open my eyes, the way a drunk fears being sober, wants to keep dreaming. When I did, I found no evidence

Medical memoir of a single parent

by Laura Moreno

Author Caitlin Breedlove’s debut book, “All In: Cancer, Near Death, New Life” is the fascinating

queer feminist memoir of a cancer survivor and single parent of a small child. But it is equally a memoir of grief, addiction, spirituality, and a memoir of migration, one of the most

he’d been there at all, the other side of my bed so recently his, now crisp and remade my sleeping hand reaching like that of the newly widowed into empty space.

Did you write sexy?

Oh yes. Yes indeed: one whiff that morning of the coffee brewing downstairs—my god—knowing he was still here, let me tell you, my friend, that was sexy. I wanted him then the way the beans long to be ground and pressed, then pummeled by relentless steam.

So, we have both enjambment and an alluringly sexy poem. Placing oneself in any gender, color, or other place upon the LGBTQ spectrum than where one presently lives is within our faculty. In fact, it strengthens our empathy toward others. Putting yourself in someone else’s shoes is an exciting way to think. It creates a more extensive, more diversified, and more interesting world.

Hines addresses an anxiety disorder, ocular migraines, and family history. He titles one poem “Adam in Another Garden.” His poems give us another Eden than the biblical Eden many of us have been taught. The writer’s work is concerned with perspective and perception. Hines’ poems give a sense of life, of living, of setting us more within the freedom we deserve.t

A.E. Hines’ ‘Adam in the Garden’ Charlotte Lit Press, $18. www.charlottelit.org www.aehines.net

Caitlin Breedlove’s ‘All In: Cancer, Near Death, New Life’

trying situations possible, although it’s not yet understood. Particularly when moving to the United States, or back to the United States, even when things go perfectly smoothly, the experience is often traumatic.

The book is dedicated to her ancestors, for all they suffered and endured without acknowledgment.

“This is the first time I felt entitled to write a book, and it took cancer,” Breedlove writes, echoing a version of a familiar self-debasing sentiment that aspiring to write a book is not a dream most people feel they have permission to harbor.

This beautifully written memoir is Breedlove’s tribute to the 85% of people who die quickly of ovarian cancer. It turns out that ovarian cancer is the most pernicious cancer for women.

“All In” is brimming with lyrical, rhapsodic insights. She ponders the birth of her child and her incredible eternal love for him. While undergoing cancer treatment she muses on her body weakening, breaking under the weight of the disease, and many other worthwhile topics.

Like Audre Lorde’s “The Cancer Journals,” Breedlove has written a powerful indictment of the strange impact of “toxic positivity,” a type of gaslighting, on women battling cancer. Her focus on addressing the wider social justice issues that undergird our individual experiences provides hope that future generations will be able to forge a better way of living.

Breedlove has written the kind of memoir she searched for and wishes she had been able to find after receiving her cancer diagnoses. Being privy

to the experiences of other queer women, mothers and immigrants battling cancer would have been of immeasurable value to her in that unspeakably difficult time.

A first generation American, Caitlin Breedlove is a board member and former Co-Director of Southerners On New Ground (SONG) where she worked on LGBTQ issues, and was Campaign Director of Standing on the Side of Love at the Unitarian Universalist Association. Her podcast, Fortification: Side With Love, features interviews about people’s spiritual journeys.

An excerpt:

“It seems to me some of us must chronicle the messy truths of it so that more of us can care for each other better in a time of profound alienation and isolation. Few have

written about what it is to suffer cancer surgeries and treatment during a pandemic. This experience only underscored and deepened the solitude intrinsic to all of us who come close to death, all of us who must build a new life.”

These words are for all of us who know in our bones or seek a different way of being alive, nearing death, suffering, and even dying. They are for all of us who love someone going through these cycles. They are for all of us who want to reach beyond the numbing gauze of our times to know what suffering means, to be fully alive again, in order to be whole, again and always.t

‘All In: Cancer, Near Death, New Life” by Caitlin Breedlove. $18. AK Press. www.akpress.org

Author Caitlin Breedlove

Poet A.E. Hines

Kaveh Akbar’s poetic meltdown saga

by Brian Bromberger

Perhaps the only way one can find purpose in life and avoid meaninglessness is to author one’s own story, or so asserts Iranian-American poet Kaveh Akbar in his wondrous, incandescent new novel “Martyr!”

What starts as the story of a sad, grieving wounded addict named Cyrus (“Maybe he had done the wrong drugs in the right order, or the right drugs in the wrong order.”) evolves into a tentative song of hope. Desperate for a doover, he slips into a tenuous sobriety as he grapples with an inheritance of violence and loss, trying to distill meaning in an often uncaring and cruel world.

Cyrus Sham (the name of the spiritual mentor and perhaps lover of the great Sufi poet/mystic, Rumi) born in Tehran, a few months after he’s born, loses his mother, Roya. She was flying to Dubai to visit her brother Arash, who is unwell after serving in the Iranian Army against Iraq, when her plane was blown up by a missile accidently fired from a U.S. Navy warship.

This incident refers to Iran Air Flight 665 which was shot down by the U.S.S. Vincennes in 1988 after it was mistaken for an attacking fighter jet. 300 passengers were killed, including 66 children, which in “Martyr!” should have included Cyrus, but Roya left him home, because he was so young.

Out of grief and sorrow, Cyrus’s father Ali emigrates to Indiana, where he finds work on an chicken factory farm, resulting in omnipresent talon scratches on his arms. Bitter and lonely, ridiculed as an immigrant, Ali drinks gin at home, becoming an alcoholic. He dies of a stroke when Cyrus attends college.

“My dad died anonymous after spending decades cleaning chicken

rights, and there have, but now we’re experiencing this backlash.”

Odcikin pointed out that, in the 1970s Manhattan milieu of “Torch Song,” Arnold is viewed by much of the gay community (and, in darker moments, by himself) as the low man on the homo totem pole.

At the height of clone conformity (blue jeans, leather jackets, flannel), an unabashedly effeminate gay man who does drag was subject to disdain and othering by the status queer.

“In some sense, with the popularity of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race,’ drag queens have moved more toward the mainstream of gay culture,” observed Odcikin. “But there is also this de-

shit,” Cyrus informs his A.A. sponsor. “I want my life –my death– to matter more than that.”

Life/death

His remaining connection with Iran is through his Uncle Arash, a PTSD-afflicted veteran of the IranIraq war, who hovers between life and death near the Alborz Mountains. Arash, dressed like an angel with a flashlight under his face after the battles were fought, kept soldiers dying in agony on the field from committing suicide, a mortal sin.

Set in 2017, Cyrus has struggled with depression, insomnia, and addiction his whole life, “a steady procession of him passionately loving what other people merely liked, and struggling, mostly failing, to translate to anyone else how and why everything mattered so much.”

At 29, he considers himself a bisexual (but mostly gay) poet (“a good one when he wrote, but he rarely actu-

monization of drag going on in the larger society.”

Drag is just one aspect of queer culture that takes on multivalent, multigenerational resonance in “Torch Song.”

Another is casual, anonymous sex.

Sex-positivity

“I’m very curious to see the audience reaction to the backroom sex,” said Odcikin, referring to an early scene in which Arnold ventures into a bar’s dark room seeking close encounters.

While not visually explicit, what’s left to the imagination will be extremely easy to imagine, thanks to Odcikin’s direction, Fierstein’s uproarious dialogue, and the physical comedy of Marin’s lead actor, Dean Linnard.

ally wrote”), but to pay the bills, works a part-time acting job at a hospital, pretending to be a dying patient for the benefit of doctors-in-training to practice their bedside manner.

Barely in recovery, (“Beautiful terrible, how sobriety disabuses you of the sense of your having been a gloriously misunderstood scumbag prince shuffling between this or that narcotic crown…it can feel like nothing in every direction”), alienated from his AA sponsor (who tells him he’s not straight-passing), he lives with Zee, his male roommate-turned sexual partner, who’s in love with Cyrus.

He’s writing a book with stories and elegies about historical martyrs, intrigued by those people who die for others, who gave their lives to something larger than themselves. Their deaths retroactively gave meaning to their lives, such as Joan of Arc, Irish Republican Army militant Bobby Sands, and the anonymous Chinese man standing before a tank in Tiananmen

“In the post-Stonewall, pre-AIDS period of the play,” said Odcikin, “spaces like this were a really important part of gay culture, places to feel comfortable exploring your sexuality.”

Gay audience members who came of age with PrEP may be nonplussed by the scene and even find it exhilarating. But for audience members old enough to have lived through the AIDS epidemic, the vignette may evoke very different feelings as a harbinger of darkness.

And, of course, the theater, in suburban Mill Valley, surely has some conservative subscribers.

Perspectives on progress

Ironically, “conservative” was one of the terms that some LGBTQ review-

Square. Cyrus may or may not commit suicide when he finishes the project.

Neither/nor Cyrus feels “awash in the world and its checkboxes, neither Iranian or American, neither Muslim nor not Muslim, neither drunk nor in meaningful recovery, neither gay nor straight. Each camp thought he was too much the other thing. That there were camps at all made his head swim.”

However, a conversation with Zee leads him to journey to New York City to meet and talk with Orkideh, an Iranian-American artist dying of breast cancer, (“I sacrificed my entire life; I sold it to the abyss. And the abyss gave me art.”). She’s spending her last days in a Brooklyn art museum talking to visitors about dying as part of a performance piece. Through an unexpected closer connection with her, Cyrus will make some startling discoveries about his family and gain insights about himself. (“We spend our lives trying to figure out how to pay back the debt of being. And to whom we might pay it.”).

Throughout the book, there are dream sequences, with Cyrus conversing with Lisa Simpson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Rumi, and a Trumplike president, as well as excerpts from BOOKOF-MARTYRS.docx. There are chapters told from the perspectives of his parents, Arash, Zee, and Orkideh. A stunning surprise twist towards the end compels the reader to reevaluate everything they’ve read so far.

Art/love

The book has several concerns: death, being an immigrant, addiction/ recovery, heteronormativity (though one’s sexuality is a given and not a struggle here), the role of art, depression, grief, PTSD, suicidal ideation,

ers used to critique the original “Torch Song Trilogy.”

Its indelible dark room scene aside, the play advocates for monogamous gay relationships and for same-sex couples’ adoption of children, which factions of the queer community viewed as problematically heteronormative and insufficiently progressive.

That said, Fierstein’s vision fairly accurately foreshadowed the arguments and movements that ultimately led to expansion of queer American civil rights in the 21st century.

“I think he’s incredibly smart,” said Odcikin of the playwright, “in the

and the fluidity of identity. With all these themes it could have been a disjointed hodgepodge, but Akbar manages to integrate all these sundry voices and perspectives into a cohesive whole that is simultaneously both deadly serious and absurdly humorous, all in glorious poetic prose.

Cyrus is searching to find out how people give purpose to their lives. He believes, “we are all just a long emptiness,” a space for meaning yet to be filled. For Cyrus, the only refuge is art and love, especially, creating meaning through his poetry and in his relationship with Zee which will center on vulnerability, honesty, and renewed intimacy. But it’s his anger, channeled through grief, that will keep him alive and not commit suicide.

The novel is nonlinear, jumping around in time and space. The surreal sequences, mixing the imaginary and ordinary, though funny, really don’t add much to the push and pull of the narrative.

Cyrus is motivated by creativity with language, despite “its finite set of shapes, able to produce almost anything.”

Akbar, in this fearless, relentlessly compelling novel, assets that while language can never fully capture life, it can point us towards its truths and pleasures, notwithstanding all the pain and inevitability of death. We find grace in our choices, finding dignity in our brokenness, creating meaning over a haphazard existence. With its poetic intensity and testament to the healing power of art, “Martyr!” is likely the best LGBTQ novel, so far, of 2024.t

‘Martyr!’ a novel by Kaveh Akbar. Alfred A. Knopf, $28. www.penguinrandomhouse.com www.kavehakbar.com

way he leaned into familiar ideas and structures in order to help gain acceptance for gay people, who were not at all mainstream at the time.”

“Torch Song” offers an opportunity for queer audiences of all ages to reflect on the commonalities and differences of our experiences.

Consider crossing the bridge to Marin to build generational bridges within our community.t

‘Torch Song,’ May 9-June 2. $12$72. Marin Theatre Company, 397 Miller Ave., Mill Valley. (415) 3885200. www.marintheatre.org

<< Torch Song Trilogy

From page 13

Dean Linnard and Nancy Carlin in Marin Theatre Company’s ‘Torch Song’

David Allen

Author Kaveh Akbar

‘A Strange Loop’ Pride night

Photos by Steven Underhill

Cast members of Michael R. Jackson’s Pulitzer and Tony-winning musical “A Strange Loop” schmoozed with patrons at a special LGBTQ Pride night on May 1. The unique must-see play, about a Black queer playwright, wowed audiences.

“A Strange Loop” runs through May 12. $25-$137. A.C.T.’s Toni Rembe Theatre, 415 Geary St. (415) 749-2228. www.act-sf.org

For more Steven Underhill event photo albums, visit www.facebook.com/lgbtsf.nightlife and www.stevenunderhill.com.

For more arts and nightlife events, see Going Out on ebar.com.

by Gregg Shapiro

Although it isn’t being promoted as such, “Queen of Knives” (Freestyle Digital Media/Pope 3), now available on VOD platforms and DVD, is a sequel to 2020’s “King of Knives.” In fact, it features many of the same lead characters and actors, including father Frank (Gene Pope), mother Kathy (Mel Harris, whom some will remember from her Emmy-nominated turn as Hope Steadman on “thirtysomething”), and daughters Sadie (Emily Bennet) and Kaitlin (the Liza-esque Roxi Pope).

Wake-and-bake pothead Frank, who left the cutthroat world of being a bigwig at an ad agency and wears a ponytail, lives in Brooklyn near where he grew up. Newly out lesbian Kathy is divorcing Frank and got to keep the house in Westchester. Her girlfriend is Joanne (Tara Westwood), who also happens to be Kathy and Frank’s accountant.

Daughter Sadie has a good job that she regularly jeopardizes by having sex with hot co-worker Jay (Arthur Langlie) on her boss’ desk which is all

<< Oaklash

From page 14

next generation of emerging leaders in nightlife. This is their anti-gatekeeping program where they spend two months showing people how to do exactly what they do. Among those being worked with are Piss E. Sissy, Jasmine Robinson, Andrea Wang, Holden Wood and Vanessa Hernandez.

“It will be an eco-sexual frenzy of queer performance and music all night long,” said Celeste.

The main event happens Saturday May 18 when Oaklash holds its flagship block party in Old Oakland. There will be more than 40 vendors and two stages where performances will take place all day long. Performers will include “RuPaul’s Drag Race” Season 15 winner Sasha Colby, and “Dragula” Season 3 winner Landon Cider, plus more than 60 other queer performers from around the Bay and beyond.

“The block party is everything you’ve come to expect from Oaklash,” said Celeste. “Amazing looks, lots of local food options, jaw-dropping performances, and a whole world of the coolest people you’ll ever meet. It’s the most fun you’ll ever have.”

On Sunday they close out the weekend with a new performance they’ve commissioned from Hollow Eve and the House of Rude, who will be hon-

oring the three-year anniversary of the passing of their late drag mother Phatima Rude. The performance will be an immersive drag installation at the Omni Commons called “Rebirth: The Death of Drag.”

“It’s going to be intense,” promised Celeste. “It’s going to be very emotional and also very silly. Don’t come if you don’t want your mind blown. Phatima was someone who lived and died by her art and put every bit of her soul into every performance, which is why she’s left such an amazing legacy. The performers you see at ‘Rebirth’ will be carrying on that legacy.”

Celeste is ready for the weekend.

“Drag is weird,” she said. “Drag is messy. Drag is chaotic, but that’s what makes it fun. Let’s party.”t

Oaklash 2024 Events:

May 17, O-SNAP!, Kickoff at Nectar Social Club, 8pm, 408 15 St. 21+

May 18, Oaklash Block Party at Old Oakland, 1pm, 9th St. at Broadway

May 18, Oaklash Afterkiki at For the Culture, 8pm, 701 Clay St. 21+

May 19, Rebirth: The Death of Drag at Omni Commons, 6pm, 4799 Shattuck Ave. 21+

$20-$50 for all events. www.oaklash.com

at a restaurant in DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass).

Not to be outdone in the relationship department, Frank is suddenly involved with woo-woo Autumn (Alexandra Renzo), after she runs him over with her bicycle on the Promenade.

With a setup and kooky cast of characters such as this, you might expect “Queen of Knives” to be predictable (it is), cliché (it is), and full of comedic and serious moments (it is).

It’s also even queerer than just Kathy and Joanne, as well as Kaitlin and Mattie’s, relationships. There’s a whole subplot involving the death of Frank and Kathy’s son Danny.

kind of against company policy.

Queer daughter Kaitlin is a writer who is in a relationship with nonbinary Mattie (Carmen Lobue), a chef

FERIA

While never actually coming out and saying it, there’s an implication that not only was his death a suicide, but also that he might have ended his life because his parents didn’t accept him. The vagueness of this doesn’t do the movie any favors.

Additionally, Autumn has many

MARIN

queer friends, which leads to a scene at a gallery opening for Braden (Neptune), who makes phallic art. Then, as if we were a bunch of Dorothys in Oz, we are whisked through a secret phone booth into a speakeasy for a drag show. It is there that we encounter performer Enchantress aka Sebastian (Justin Sams), whom Frank recognizes as the tarot card reader who had an impact on his life (hence the movie’s title).

One of the biggest issues with “Queen of Knives” movie is the acting, especially in the case of Gene Pope, who muddles his way through every scene in which he appears (and there are many, as he also co-wrote and produced the movie). Harris does her best with what she’s given, and supporting players, including Barbara Tirrell (who plays Masha, a neighborhood woman Frank befriends), add a little variety to the story. Rating: C-

www.freestyledigitalmedia.tv

Be proud and join the crowd for Pride Day at the Fair on July 5th! Sport your pride colors and join us for Pride programming throughout the day on the Community Stage from Drag Story Time, The Glam Show, DJ Cisco, and more. Ride the rides, explore the Barnyard, enjoy the fine art and photography exhibits, and stay for Brandy Clark on the Island Stage at 7:30pm followed by fireworks over the Lagoon.

3-7, 2024

Naomi Smalls performs to an enthusiastic audience at Oaklash 2023. Rachel Ziegler

Pop Rox performing at Oaklash’s 2023 Grand Finale at Children’s Fairyland.

Fred Rowe

Gene Pope and Barbara Tirrell in ’Queen of Knives’ Freestyle Digital Media