October 26, 2023 edition of the Bay Area Reporter by Bay Area Reporter

Besties people and places

Besties Nightlife

ARTS

Defaced mural restored

ARTS

12-15

Besties Arts

The

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Serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer communities since 1971

Vol. 53 • No. 43 • October 26-November 1, 2023

Castro merchants to turn out treats for Halloween by John Ferrannini

Courtesy GLBT Historical Society Museum

The GLBT Historical Society wants to find a site for a free-standing museum to replace its small space on 18th Street in the Castro.

Search goes on in SF for LGBTQ history museum space by John Ferrannini

fficials at the GLBT Historical Society want to bid on a proposal to secure and operate a full-scale, free-standing museum even though they don’t have a site located. The search for a location for an LGBTQ history museum in San Francisco has been underway for several years. Despite $17.5 million in state and city funds earmarked for the project, officials have not been able to find a suitable site. And while society officials said they are ready to bid on a request for proposal, or RFP, it is unclear if that process can proceed without a location first being acquired. It has long been hoped that a site in the city’s LGBTQ Castro neighborhood could be secured for the project. According to Victor Ruiz-Cornejo, a gay policy adviser to Mayor London Breed, typically a site would be located by the city and then those interested would be allowed to bid for an RFP to operate a museum there. “The funds for the museum are centrally budgeted until a site is found,” Ruiz-Cornejo stated to the Bay Area Reporter October 10. “The real estate department has been leading the site search with the mayor and Supervisor [Rafael] Mandelman’s offices.” The city has budgeted $12 million for a museum, while gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) secured $5.5 million in state funds, as the B.A.R. previously reported. San Francisco’s Real Estate Division did not return requests for comment for this report. Requests to speak with the division through the mayor’s office were also not returned. However, it’s the position of the historical society that it should be allowed to bid for an RFP before a site is found, Andrew Shaffer, a gay man who’s the society’s director of development and communications, clarified to the B.A.R. October 23. His comments came after Executive Director Roberto Ordeñana, a gay man, told the B.A.R. that the society is now “ready to bid on an RFP to operate and acquire the space.” The mayor’s office did not return a request for See page 2 >>

hosts and goblins of the friendly variety will likely be among the revelers in San Francisco’s LGBTQ Castro neighborhood this weekend, as Halloween festivities will reboot for the first time in 16 years. The high queer holiday will see some changes, organizers said, and it won’t be the street party of years past. Most of the activities take place this weekend, October 28-29, as Halloween falls on a Tuesday. As the Bay Area Reporter previously reported, instead of the block party, there will be storefront activations, a movie marathon, a costume contest, and smaller gatherings. The effort to reinvigorate the festivities had been bandied about for years – in 2021 gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, who represents the Castro on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, said, “I’ve always felt it’d be great if we could figure out a way of how we can do these great parties,” referring to Halloween and Pink Saturday. Both unofficial street parties had been scrubbed due to past violence. In 2002, four people were stabbed on Halloween night in the Castro; but the death knell for the old-time Hal-

A skeleton crew was out in the Castro last year for Halloween.

loween festivities was in 2006, when nine people suffered gun-related injuries in a mass shooting while a 10th victim was trampled in the melee that marred the annual street party. The new push of reinvigorating Halloween is the brainchild of Manny Yekutiel, a gay man who owns an eponymously named cafe in the Mission and is a

Steven Underhill

member of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency board of directors. He told the Castro Merchants Association in August, “The original idea was to bring [the old Castro] Halloween back.” But upon further discussion he and other community stakeholders realized that what they wanted See page 20 >>

Lyon-Martin friends group shelves bid to buy historic SF lesbian property

by Matthew S. Bajko

group instrumental in preserving the twostory cottage once owned by lesbian pioneering couple Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin has determined it is unable to purchase the historic San Francisco property. It casts doubt on seeing the Noe Valley residence become a home museum or used as an artist or activist in residence program. Lyon and Martin had purchased their home at 651 Duncan Street in 1955, and it quickly became a gathering place within the city’s lesbian community. It was also the site of various meetings and events for the Daughters of Bilitis, the first political and social organization for lesbians in the United States that the women had co-founded that year. In 2008, the women were the first same-sex couple to legally marry in California that June. Their nuptials were due to a decision from the state’s supreme court that paved the way for such ceremonies to occur until the passage of Proposition 8 by voters on the November ballot that year. (Federal courts later ruled Prop 8 unconstitutional, and voters are being asked to strike the ballot measure’s language from the California Constitution on the 2024 November ballot.) Lyon died in 2020 at the age of 95, while Martin had died in 2008 at the age of 87 just weeks after the two had wed. With her mothers both gone, Kendra Mon put their home, surrounded by a vacant garden plot, up for sale three years ago. Paul McKeown and his wife, Meredith Jones-McKeown, bought

Matthew S. Bajko

The Friends of the Lyon-Martin House has determined it cannot raise the $1.2 million necessary to buy the historic home of late lesbian pioneers Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin.

it for $2.25 million with the intention of building a new home on the site for their family. News of the sale prompted preservationists and LGBTQ historians to work with gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, who represents Noe Valley, to have the city deem the property a local landmark. The Board of Supervisors approved doing so in May 2021.

2023 WINNERS INSIDE

But, at the request of the property owners, the landmark designation only included the cottage, as the Bay Area Reporter reported at the time. The decision allowed for the new owners to construct a new residence on the vacant section of the hillside parcel next to the Lyon-Martin home. See page 20 >>

<< Community News

t Woman speaks out in Emeryville hate crime case 2 • Bay Area Repor ter • October 26-November 1, 2023

by John Ferrannini

woman who is a resident at a senior housing facility in Emeryville is speaking out after her former neighbor allegedly removed a Pride-themed display in June. Meanwhile, the man has been charged with hate crime vandalism and is set for a diversion hearing in Alameda County Superior Court. Ayman Badr, 64, has been charged with one count of vandalism under $400 and another of “violation of civil rights.” He is alleged by Beth Rosales, a former neighbor at the Avalon Senior Housing community in Emeryville, to have torn down a Pride display in June after making a homophobic rant. Badr, who is not in custody, professed that his reputation has been unfairly tarnished by media coverage of the case. He had a hearing October 24 in the courtroom of Judge Armando Pastran Jr. in Department 108 at the Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse in downtown Oakland. Alameda County Deputy Public Defender Omid Khalilnaji represented Badr, and prosecutor Jason Quinn represented the district attorney’s office. Khalilnaji requested that the matter be set for diversion. Pastran offered November 1 in Department 106, to which Badr and Khalilnaji agreed. (The Alameda County District Attorney’s office had told the B.A.R. and Rosales that October 24 was Badr’s arraignment date; Khalilnaji told the B.A.R. October 24 that Badr “has had a number of court dates” thus far. The DA’s office has not returned a request for comment for this report.)

Jane Philomen Cleland

Beth Rosales filed a police report after a former neighbor at her senior living complex allegedly removed a Pride display from the common area.

Outside the courtroom, the B.A.R. asked Badr if he had a comment. “I don’t want to talk to you,” he said. “You published information that’s unfair and actually also you published information that’s not correct. I will hold you responsible for it. You tarnished my reputation and took one side of the story.” When told this was the opportunity to present his side of the story, Badr responded that the B.A.R. “also hurt other people you mentioned in that article too – not just me.” Before departing, Badr did not give a specific example of what was inaccurate in the August 25 report (https://www.ebar. com/story.php?ch=news&sc=antihate&id=327899) about the charges against him. That article had stated that the incident had first been reported to Emeryville police June 22 at Avalon

Senior Housing. The computer-aided dispatch or CAD, a call narrative search report, stated that “the victim, who’s part of a housing committee, placed pro-LGBTQ+ Pride posters in the lobby on behalf of the committee. Without provocation, an aggressive suspect verbally attacked the victim while going on an anti-gay tirade (hate speech). The suspect was interviewed and admitted to ripping down the posters. The theft of the posters was also captured on [closed-circuit television]. The victim indicated she fears for her safety due to the suspect’s threatening behavior, and she will be seeking a stay-away order.” Rosales, 71, came forward to the B.A.R. to tell her story in a phone interview Monday, the day prior to the hearing. Rosales said she was married to a woman for 13 years, but is now separated.

“We had just finished putting up Juneteenth [decorations] in our lobby – we are low-income senior housing – and we put up signs for Lunar New Year, Black History Month, women’s month, just to decorate our lobby,” she said. “We have a diverse culture and residents at Avalon. So we put up Juneteenth and Pride banners, and we had just finished and I was sitting in front of our elevators just casually having a conversation, and Ayman Badr was getting into the elevator with a little small cooking pot.” Rosales said Badr asked what Juneteenth meant. “I explained it recognizes the end of slavery and he said ‘oh, that’s good. What’s Pride?’ and I casually explained ‘it’s about celebrating, and also about the continuing struggles of, the LGBT community,’” Rosales said. “Before I was finished, he was just filled with absolute rage. He just went ballistic. We were both on the steering committee of the association – he was actually invited to increase the diversity of the steering committee. He said, ‘these people are disgusting, exposing their sexual mannerisms in public ... they shouldn’t be allowed in our society. They are against my culture and religion.’” Though he was four to five feet away, Rosales said, Badr was standing and she was sitting, and she was afraid the pot he was holding might fly out of his hand. “I got up and I said ‘Ayman, you are scaring us. You should go into the elevator and go away,’” Rosales said. The next afternoon, Rosales discovered that the Pride display was gone, though the Juneteenth display

was still there. She asked the management of Avalon to look at the surveillance footage. “There he [Badr] was, dragging the banners out, going around the back of the building and putting it in the trash,” Rosales said. “We went to the police department in Emeryville and made a report.” At that point, Rosales decided to stay with family in Los Angeles for a time. “I don’t want to put myself under the rage of this man,” she said. Badr has since been removed from the steering committee and was evicted from the complex. There’s a “zero tolerance policy” there for hate actions, Rosales said. She told the B.A.R. that Badr claimed he put a sign in between the LGBT banners saying that “he only supported heterosexual marriage,” and claimed it was torn down. “He said he tore down the banners because someone tore down his little comment,” Rosales said. “Whether or not he put up a note, he didn’t have the right to do that.” t The State of California offers help for victims or witnesses to a hate crime or hate incident. This resource is supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library in partnership with the California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs as part of the Stop the Hate program. To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to cavshate.org.

Supes OK firearms ordinance inspired by Brown case by John Ferrannini

he shooting death of unarmed Black trans man Banko Brown by an armed guard has led the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to pass an ordinance limiting security personnel from drawing their weapons. The supervisors approved an amendment to the police code prohibiting armed security guards from drawing or exhibiting firearms to protect property. The weapons may be in a holster. The legislation was introduced by District 5 Supervisor Dean Preston, who represents the Tenderloin, Western Addition, and Haight neighborhoods, after the killing of Brown, a 24-year-old unarmed and unhoused Black trans man, by a security guard at a Market Street Walgreens earlier this year. “Seeing no names on the roster, same house, same call, the ordinance is passed on first reading,” board President Aaron Peskin said October 17, before calling the next item. The ordinance was approved on a final vote October 24. The city’s police code had heretofore been more permissive than state law,

which only allows guns to be drawn in cases of imminent threats to human life. Brown was killed April 27 after allegedly attempting to shoplift $15 worth of candy. A video appears to show Michael Earl-Wayne Anthony, a security guard employed by Kingdom Group Protective Services, shooting Brown as he was leaving the Walgreens at 825 Market Street around 6:30 p.m. Anthony was arrested on suspicion of homicide. But San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins decided not to file criminal charges against Anthony, citing self-defense. Announcing her decision in a May 1 statement, Jenkins explained that the evidence in the case at the time, “does not meet the People’s burden to be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt to a jury that the suspect is guilty of a crime. The evidence clearly shows that the suspect believed he was in mortal danger and acted in self-defense.” That decision prompted an outcry in the city, and led to an inquiry into her decision from the office of California Attorney General Rob Bonta, as the Bay Area Reporter previously reported. (Bonta’s office did not immediately

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return a request for comment for this report.) It also led to a lawsuit from Brown’s family, who sued Anthony, Walgreens, and Kingdom Group Protective Services, as the B.A.R. previously reported. Longtime civil rights attorney John Burris, who is representing the family, told the B.A.R., “I think it’s a terrific decision.” “It’s terrific,” he said. “If it had been enacted beforehand, our young person would not be dead. Better late than never. There are issues around crime, no doubt about it, but security guards should not be able to use deadly force in situations when a police officer can’t use deadly force.” After Brown’s death, Preston pledged to introduce the legislation. “I am grateful that the board has taken this important step forward in ensuring that the people of San Francisco will be placed above property,” Preston stated in a news release after the vote. “We should be doing everything in our power to prevent something like the killing of Banko Brown from happening again.” Geoffrea Morris, founder of Black

History museum

From page 1

comment about whether it is possible for the society to bid for an RFP first, but during an earlier interview Ruiz-Cornejo said that it isn’t 100% assured any particular nonprofit will be the one selected. “There’s no one way we have to do this,” he said. “The funds were not promised to the society, which will have to go through a fair bidding process.” As the B.A.R first reported in 2021, Mayor London Breed had included the city’s funding for the museum project in her budget released that June. Gay former GLBT Historical Society executive director Terry Beswick had been advocating for City Hall to make such a commitment since the society rents both the

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors has approved an ordinance limiting when armed security guards can draw their weapons, which came about as a result of the shooting death of Banko Brown by a Walgreens security guard.

Women Revolt Against Domestic Violence, thanked the board for its passage. “The law has always placed a higher small storefront that houses its museum in the Castro and space in a Mid-Market Street building for its archives and offices. Over the years it has been suggested that the city could pair a building for the new museum with affordable housing, which is in particular need in the Castro district. But Ruiz-Cornejo said that the space ultimately selected does “not necessarily” have to include space for such housing. The GLBT Historical Society currently runs the world’s first stand-alone museum of LGBTQ history, at 4127 18th Street, though it is a small space. At its October 14 fundraising gala, “Reunion,” the society raised approximately $165,000, Shaffer said, though the final number is still being tabulated. The soci-

value upon human safety than upon mere property,” she stated in the release. “The passage of today’s legislation just reaffirms that Banko Brown’s life was greater than any alleged property he was accused of stealing.” Brown’s death happened in District 6, represented by gay Supervisor Matt Dorsey. Dorsey had expressed support for removing property from among the reasons security guards could draw weapons. Dorsey, who served as SFPD Chief William Scott’s communications director before joining the Board of Supervisors, told the B.A.R. that the ordinance is a “worthwhile update” to the law. “One of the things I pointed out is what Supervisor Preston is endeavoring to do is put the rules for security guards in line with the rules for police officers,” he said. “One of the rules of the San Francisco Police Department is that guns should be drawn only in circumstances where there’s a threat to life, safety. For me it makes no sense to have more liberal rules for drawing or pointing a firearm for property crime than it would for a police officer.” t

ety’s budget is about $1.4 million, Shaffer said. . Ruiz-Cornejo also told the B.A.R. that while several sites have been considered, none have ultimately worked out. When asked about the number of sites, Ruiz-Cornejo said he could not disclose that because it would “put us in a worse negotiation position as a city.” When pressed, Mandelman also would only say “several” sites have been looked at. In 2019, his office and Breed’s administration had approached the owner of the building at Castro and Market streets that had housed a Pottery Barn location about buying the building with the intention of building a combined LGBTQ museum and housing See page 4 >>

We stand with the LGBTQ+ community in health, harmony, and happiness. Everyone deserves access to inclusive and affirming care, no matter who they love or how they identify. We see you — and celebrate you — for all that is you. For all that is San Francisco. For all that is you.

kp.org/sanfrancisco 1091033773 May 2023

<< State News

4 • Bay Area Repor ter • October 26-November 1, 2023

US Senator Butler won’t seek full term by Cynthia Laird

ecently appointed Black lesbian U.S. Senator Laphonza Butler (D-California) said Thursday that she would not seek a full term to replace the late senator Dianne Feinstein. The New York Times reported that Butler had come to realize that serving in the Senate was “not the greatest use of my voice.” Butler, 44, was appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom October 1 following the September 29 death of Feinstein (D), who was 90. Feinstein had announced in February that she would not seek reelection next year, and there is already a crowded field of candidates vying to replace her. Butler is the third Black woman to ever serve in the body. She is also the third out woman to serve in the Senate. Both lesbian Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) and bisexual Senator Kyrsten Sinema (I-Arizona) are seeking reelection next year. Butler tested positive for COVID and is absent from the Senate this week, media outlets reported. It was announced Tuesday that she would fill Feinstein’s seat on the powerful Judiciary Committee that reviews appointments to the federal bench. In a thread on X, Butler explained her decision. “I’ve spent the past 16 days pursuing my own clarity - what kind of life I want to have, what kind of service I want to offer and what kind of voice I want to bring forward,” she wrote. “After considering those questions I’ve decided not to run for a full term in the US Sen-

Via Governor Newsom’s office

U.S. Senator Laphonza Butler will not seek a full term.

ate. Knowing you can win a campaign doesn’t always mean you should run a campaign. I know this will be a surprise to many because traditionally we don’t see those who have power let it go. “It may not be the decision people expected but it’s the right one for me,” she added. Butler, who lives in Maryland but also owns a home in California, stepped down from leading Emily’s List, the organization that works to elect Democratic pro-choice women to public

office. She’s a former labor leader and advocate for women and working people, according to a statement from Newsom’s office. But in the days since her October 3 swearing in by Vice President Kamala Harris, Butler had come under some criticism for work she did for Uber. In a recent interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, Butler said she believed Uber drivers and other gig workers deserve the full benefits of employment but she did not specify what she did while work-

ing for the ride-hailing company. According to the Times, Butler said she would be “the loudest, proudest champion of California” in the 383 days remaining in her term in office. Equality California, the statewide LGBTQ rights organization, praised Butler’s appointment when Newsom announced it. “Laphonza Butler is eminently qualified to represent California well in the United States Senate and we are thrilled to congratulate her,” stated Tony Hoang,

a gay man. “This historic appointment by Governor Newsom will give our LGBTQ+ community another voice in Congress at a time when our rights and freedoms are under attack across the country. We look forward to working with Laphonza as she steps into this new role and continues her lifelong fight for our shared values of equity, freedom and justice for all.” The organization did not respond to a request for comment on Butler’s decision not to seek a full term. In the meantime, three Democratic members of Congress – Adam Schiff of Burbank, Katie Porter of Irvine, and Barbara Lee of Oakland – have been campaigning and earning endorsement nods for months. Lexi Reese, formerly an executive at Google and the HR platform Gusto, is running for the seat on the Democratic side. On Tuesday, Christina Pascucci, a Democrat and journalist who has spent more than a decade reporting for Los Angeles TV stations, announced she’s running. Lee, who is the only Black person among the major candidates, issued a statement. “Senator Butler took on the enormous responsibility of filling an open Senate seat with grace, integrity, and a deep commitment to delivering for the people of California,” Lee stated. “I look forward to continuing our work together for the remainder of her term.” On the Republican side, former baseball star Steve Garvey recently announced his campaign. t

AG Bonta secures 2nd win in Chino Valley lawsuit by John Ferrannini

San Bernardino Superior Court judge granted a preliminary injunction October 19 against enforcing two parts of a California school district’s policy to out transgender and nonbinary students without their consent. These include the requirements that staff out students for identifying as transgender or gender non-conforming, as well as for accessing sexsegregated programs and activities that align with their gender. San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge Michael Sachs said the Chino Valley Unified School District can’t enforce its outing policy of transgender and gender-nonconforming students until its legality has been decided at trial, Courthouse News reported. Last month, San Bernardino Superior Court Judge Tom Garza had granted California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s request for a temporary restraining order on enforcing the policy, as the Bay Area Reporter previously reported (https://www.ebar. com/story.php?ch=news&sc=legal& id=328148), until the case could be heard, which it was October 19. In an October 19 statement, Bonta commended the court “for reaffirming and upholding the constitutional rights and protections of transgender and gender-nonconforming students.” “Today’s bench ruling is a significant step forward that will set a precedent in our efforts to ensure every student is guaranteed the right to learn and thrive in a school environment that promotes nondiscrimination, safety, and inclusivity,” he continued. “Let this decision serve as a stern

History museum

From page 2

on the site. But, as the B.A.R. previously reported, the city ended those negotiations due to the asking price ranging from $15 to $18 million. “Real estate has been looking at the feasibility of different sites,” Mandelman,

Jane Philomen Cleland

California Attorney General Rob Bonta spoke at the East Bay Stonewall Democratic Club’s Pride breakfast in September.

warning to other school districts that have passed or are contemplating similar policies: enforcing discriminatory practices will not be tolerated in our educational institutions.” The judge declined to completely enjoin a third provision that the school must notify parents if a student requests a change to their official or unofficial records because it applies equally to all students. The school may enforce that policy for students younger than 18, but not for older ones, the judge said, according to Courthouse News. The Chino Valley Unified School

District Board of Education adopted a policy in July on a 4-1 vote that parents will be informed when a student requests names or pronouns be used other than those listed on their official records. Kristi Hirst, a former teacher, parent, and co-founder of Our Schools USA, stated, “Today’s ruling is a win for students, parents, teachers, and community members across California.” “It’s embarrassing that this school board chooses to ignore the harm they are causing in Chino and in communities throughout California in order to pursue a political crusade,”

she stated. “Educating children works best with engaged parents and caring teachers working together to create a safe space for all children to learn – and that’s what school boards ought to be focused on.” State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond had been at that dramatic school board meeting; he was escorted out when he spoke against the policy proposal, championed by Chino Valley Unified Board President Sonja Shaw. “We’re going to safeguard parental rights,” Shaw said at that time. “We’re going to make sure that our parents

referring to the city department, told the B.A.R. October 4. “We haven’t found the right one yet, but the funds are still available in the city budget and the search continues.” The society would prefer a location in the Castro, Ordeñana said, but isn’t necessarily tied to the neighborhood, particularly if the most feasible space for the museum, archives, and offices can be

found in another neighborhood important to the city’s LGBTQ history, such as the Polk Gulch, he explained. “It is our priority to keep the museum in the Castro, especially since we have been in the neighborhood for over 12 years,” Ordeñana told the B.A.R. “At the same time, we have to keep open the possibility that the ideal space might be outside the neighborhood, perhaps even

in a neighborhood that has historical significance to queer history.” Mandelman told the B.A.R. he remains committed to seeing the city buy a site in the Castro. “I think the museum belongs in the neighborhood. For now, we are still looking for a space in the Castro, and I remain hopeful that we will find one,” he stated.

at Chino Valley know they’re sending their kids here to be taught, not to be anything else.” Shaw and the district did not immediately return requests for comment. Bonta previously said that he would fight the Chino Valley school board’s decision to adopt the policy. “We’re in court challenging Chino Valley Unified’s forced outing policy for wrongfully and unconstitutionally discriminating against and violating the privacy rights of LGBTQ+ students,” Bonta, a longtime straight ally, stated at the time. “The forced outing policy wrongfully endangers the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of non-conforming students who lack an accepting environment in the classroom and at home. Our message to Chino Valley Unified and all school districts in California is loud and clear: We will never stop fighting for the civil rights of LGBTQ+ students.” Bonta alleged in the lawsuit the policy was in violation of three areas of state law: first, the state’s equal protection clause, which Bonta said was violated by the new policy singling out those whose gender identity doesn’t align with the official documents; second, the state’s education and government codes on the same basis; and third, the state constitution’s right to privacy. Five other California school boards – Orange, Rocklin, Temecula Valley, Murrieta Valley, and Anderson Union High School District – have adopted similar forced outing policies, though so far, Bonta has not filed lawsuits in those cases. Those school boards adopted their policies in August and September. Bonta has issued statements critical of the copycat policies. t

Mandelman did not return a request for comment about whether the society should be able to bid for an RFP before a site is selected. The mayor’s office did not return a request for comment about whether the museum should be located in the Castro. t

T:9.75"

Schools are a top target for ransomware attacks

Ransomware attacks threaten to steal sensitive data, disrupt learning, and cost schools a lot of money. Of the 50 million Chromebooks used in education worldwide, there have been zero successful ransomware attacks to date, meaning no lost learning time, no data recovery costs, and no headaches for educators. That’s why Chromebooks equipped with Google Workspace for Education are the top choice for schools across the nation.

Explore how Google is keeping more Americans safe online than anyone else at safety.google/cybersecurity

F25178_25a_Bay_Area_Reporter_9_75x16-240u_EDU_R3.indd 09.26.2023 RQD EPSON

T:16"

So we’re protecting student and teacher data from hackers

<< Open Forum

6 • Bay Area Repor ter • October 26-November 1, 2023

Volume 53, Number 43 October 26-November 1, 2023

www.ebar.com

PUBLISHER Michael M. Yamashita Thomas E. Horn, Publisher Emeritus (2013) Publisher (2003 – 2013) Bob Ross, Founder (1971 – 2003) NEWS EDITOR Cynthia Laird ARTS & NIGHTLIFE EDITOR Jim Provenzano ASSISTANT EDITORS Matthew S. Bajko • John Ferrannini CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Christopher J. Beale • Robert Brokl Brian Bromberger • Victoria A. Brownworth Philip Campbell • Heather Cassell Michael Flanagan •Jim Gladstone Liz Highleyman • Brandon Judell • Lisa Keen Philip Mayard • Laura Moreno David-Elijah Nahmod • Paul Parish • Tim Pfaff Jim Piechota • Adam Sandel Jason Serinus • Gregg Shapiro Gwendolyn Smith • Charlie Wagner Ed Walsh • Cornelius Washington • Sura Wood ART DIRECTION Max Leger PRODUCTION/DESIGN Ernesto Sopprani PHOTOGRAPHERS Jane Philomen Cleland Rick Gerharter • Gooch Jose A. Guzman-Colon • Rudy K. Lawidjaja Georg Lester • Rich Stadtmiller Christopher Robledo • Fred Rowe Shot in the City • Steven Underhill • Bill Wilson ILLUSTRATORS & CARTOONISTS Christine Smith

VICE PRESIDENT OF ADVERTISING Scott Wazlowski – 415.829.8937

NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE Rivendell Media – 212.242.6863

LEGAL COUNSEL Paul H. Melbostad, Esq.

B.A.R. endorses 2 in special school elections V

oters in the Fruitvale neighborhood in Oakland and downtown San Jose will have an opportunity to elect members of the public school board and community college board, respectively. There are out candidates running in each, and we urge residents in those districts to vote by November 7 for queer education leader Sasha RitzieHernandez for the District 5 seat on the Oakland Unified School District board and gay educator Clay Hale for the District 7 seat on the San JoséEvergreen Community College District board in the South Bay.

Oakland

The special elections are being held because there are vacancies. In Oakland, it’s due to school board member Mike Hutchinson switching seats earlier this year. Because he was redistricted out of the District 5 area, which covers Oakland’s Fruitvale and East Oakland neighborhoods, Hutchinson ran in 2022 for the District 4 seat in order to remain on the oversight body, as we recently reported. Initially, transgender married dad Nick Resnick was declared the winner of that race. But in a shocking turn of events, Alameda County Registrar of Voters Tim Dupuis had disclosed December 28 that his office had not properly counted the ballots in the contest, and three others decided by ranked choice, and the true winner of the school board seat had been Hutchinson. Nonetheless, Resnick took his oath of office in January to serve in the seat. That led to Hutchinson waging a legal fight to have the courts order a recount so he could be declared the winner. Ultimately, Resnick decided to resign, paving the way for Hutchinson to be sworn in to the District 4 seat. Now the District 5 seat is vacant. Ritzie-Hernandez, 33, has worked on family engagement issues with the Bay Area Parent Leadership Action Network. Currently, she coordinates its collaborative initiative called the Bay Area Coalition for Education Justice. She told us that she’s running in part because of attacks on LGBTQ students in Alameda County. “To me, we need to move into a space where we are not just performative and not just saying we are going to wave our Pride flags. We need a welcoming environment for our students,” she said. “Inclusivity

Courtesy the candidates

Sasha Ritzie-Hernandez, left, and Clay Hale are running in special school board elections in Oakland and San Jose, respectively.

is so important and it starts with representation in my opinion. I never saw a queer board member I could identify with when I was a student.” The Oakland Unified School District is facing myriad issues, not the least of which is declining enrollment and the possibility of school closures or mergers, which often impact students of color. That always upsets teachers, parents, and students, and the board needs to resolve the matter as it faces a $121 million budget deficit by the 20252026 school year. Ritzie-Hernandez said she believes the board needs to assess district spending honestly. She would bring a unique perspective to the district and would join another queer board member, Valarie Bachelor, who has endorsed her.

San Jose

In the South Bay, Hale, 28, is seeking the college board seat vacated by Omar Torres, a gay man who was elected last year to the San Jose City Council. As we reported this summer, Hale teaches AP government and politics at the East Side Union High School District’s Yerba Buena High School. But two days a week he works at the campus of Evergreen Valley College assisting students from his high school who are enrolled in classes at the community college through a special program that prepares them to seek a college degree. “I am the only candidate who spends time at the San José-Evergreen district,” said Hale, who lives in San Jose’s Japantown district.

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Endorsed by the national LGBTQ Victory Fund, Hale has attracted support from a number of South Bay leaders, including gay Cupertino City Councilmember JR Fruen and gay former Santa Clara County supervisor Ken Yeager, who became the first out person elected in the county with his winning a seat on the college board in 1992. Importantly, Hale himself attended community college, a point we admire for someone who’s seeking to represent students, faculty, and staff at such campuses. It’s a question we always ask of college board candidates. Hale noted that many of the district’s students face housing insecurity and other issues. He also entered the race to ensure LGBTQ students, faculty, and staff feel they have a voice on the college board. That’s also important, as queer students and teachers have been under attack in California over the last several months by social conservatives. Both Ritzie-Hernandez and Hale are first-time candidates, so it will be tough for each of them. But we’re reminded of comments that state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond made at the East Bay Stonewall Democratic Club’s Pride breakfast last month when he received the Ally Award. Thurmond, who endorsed RitzieHernandez, has been in the news this year for confronting conservative-led school boards who are passing “forced outing” policies that negatively affect trans students. He was even removed from a school board meeting in Chino Valley where he was speaking against the adoption of such a policy. “We also have to get political and have to elect more progressive school board members,” he told the audience. Thurmond, who recently announced he’s running for governor in 2026, has a point. And while both Oakland and San Jose are politically liberal cities, there has been a push elsewhere by conservative parents’ groups to install school board members who are aligned with their beliefs, which are not tolerant or respectful of LGBTQ students. Ritzie-Hernandez’s opponent is an older man who’s a retired educator. Hale is running in a crowded field that includes a gay Republican. We think both Ritzie-Hernandez and Hale would make great additions to their respective school governing bodies. t

The AIDS crisis brought out the best in Dianne Feinstein

by Sal Rosselli

Bay Area Reporter

he last time Dianne Feinstein, who died September 29, ran for U.S. Senate, the memberleaders of my union voted to endorse her opponent. At the time, the question seemed to be not so much why weren’t we endorsing her in 2018, but why had we endorsed her in every election dating back to the San Francisco mayoral recall of 1983. As a gay man, who came of age in the San Francisco of the late 1970s and early 1980s, supporting Feinstein through the years was an easy choice that could be hard to explain, especially to younger generations who only knew her as a centrist senator. Mayor Feinstein wasn’t any more progressive than senator Feinstein. She vetoed what would have been the nation’s first domestic partnership law in 1982. She also vetoed the expansion of rent control. And, she was hardly a reliable ally for union workers. One of my first private conversations with her came in 1981 when I was leading a small janitorial workers union that was on strike against United Artists Theaters. She puffed on a cigarette, blurted out some swear words, and made it clear that she would not be lending any political support. That same year, San Francisco’s first patient with what then was called Kaposi’s sarcoma, soon to be known as “gay cancer,” was diagnosed at San Francisco General Hospital. The epidemic was underway; healthy, vigorous men started getting sick in staggering numbers. Everyone in the community tried to do whatever they could to help. I volunteered providing in-home care to men, who were frail, frightened, and dying alone. Gay men certainly aren’t the only group of people who face hatred and discrimination. But our experience, at that time in particular, was unique because many people in our community weren’t just oppressed by the government, the police, and the prevailing majority, they were ostracized by their families. For so many gay men, San Francisco was the only

Rick Gerharter

The late U.S. senator Dianne Feinstein was a champion on AIDS funding.

place that ever felt like home. And their friends, many of whom were now sick and dying, were the closest thing they had to family. Feinstein did not understand gay people or gay culture. There were times when she said hurtful things and did hurtful things. But, she understood the devastation of AIDS. She genuinely cared for the people who were suffering and dying, and she made sure that the city wouldn’t abandon anyone. Gay former supervisor Harry Britt, who authored the domestic partner bill that Feinstein vetoed, recalled that (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/30/ opinion/being-san-francisco-mayordefined-dianne-feinstein.html) “Dianne spent more time visiting AIDS patients in hospitals than I did. She was a giver.” Fortunately for San Francisco, Feinstein was also a “doer.” Under her leadership, the city partnered with hospitals, community organizations, and federal authorities to build the “San Francisco Model” a network of AIDS-related services that was hailed as the best in the nation.

At a time when the president of the United States refused to acknowledge the existence of AIDS, Feinstein was dedicating more resources to address AIDS in San Francisco than the federal government was dedicating for the entire country. At this point, I was Feinstein’s appointee on the San Francisco Human Rights Commission and a leader in Service Employees International Union, Local 250, the San Francisco-based health care workers union. Our union played a role in the San Francisco Model by producing the nation’s first educational literature for caregivers, helping them be less afraid to treat people with AIDS. Feinstein’s stellar record on AIDS and commitment to helping those suffering from it wasn’t necessarily a political advantage in her quest for statewide office. In 1990, her Republican opponent for governor highlighted the fact that Feinstein had officiated a lesbian wedding two decades earlier. Meanwhile, Feinstein told the Los Angeles Times that if elected, “I’m going to see that AIDS is treated as the No. 1 health emergency. ... If that takes more money,” she added, “I’m not going to be shy. I’m going to find ways of getting it.” Feinstein lost the governor’s race, but was soon elected U.S. senator. She voted against the Defense of Marriage Act, which banned federal recognition of same-sex marriage and opposed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the policy that required LGBTQ members of the military to stay in the closest. Both initiatives were later repealed. Feinstein wasn’t for the underdog, but she had a sense of right and wrong, and she was able to grow and change. In my union, it’s the members who decide endorsements. Over four decades of Feinstein running for office, the only endorsement I wish we could take back is the one that she didn’t get. t

Sal Rosselli, a gay man, is a San Francisco resident and the president of the National Union of Healthcare Workers, which represents more than 17,000 health care workers in California and Hawaii.

Politics >>

October 26-November 1, 2023 • Bay Area Repor ter • 7

Time for Rustin stamp, national LGBTQ Black leader Johns says by Matthew S. Bajko

or the past several years the National Black Justice Coalition has called for the U.S. Postal Service to honor deceased gay Black civil rights leader Bayard Rustin with a stamp. A top adviser to the late Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rustin died August 24, 1987, at the age of 75. The LGBTQ+/SGL, short for samegender loving, advocacy group had hoped to see postage featuring Rustin be announced last year in honor of the 110th anniversary of his birth. Rustin’s birthday is observed each March 17. With 2023 marking the 60th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, for which Rustin had played a major role in organizing, the coalition again had hoped to see an announcement be timed with the commemorations of the historic event. But again, none came. Monday, the postal service announced 26 stamps it will be releasing throughout 2024, with one being the 47th stamp in the Black Heritage series honoring Constance Baker Motley, the first African American woman to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court and serve as a federal judge who died in 2005. None feature Rustin, though the list is partial, with more stamps set for issuance next year to be released in the coming weeks and months. “I find it frustrating that this year especially, as we marked the 60th anniversary of a seminal moment that reflects Bayard’s brilliance and leadership in spite of seemingly intractable problems we are still grappling with, that he hasn’t been honored in that way,” said David Johns, Ph.D., executive director of the coalition, during a recent phone interview with the Bay Area Reporter. Johns, a Black, same-gender-loving man who grew up in Inglewood, California, now lives in Washington, D.C. His organization had called on Congress last year to pass the Bayard Rustin Stamp Act, authored by Congressmember Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-Washington, D.C.), which would require the U.S. Postal Service to issue a forever stamp depicting Rustin. Since it was first introduced in 2019, the legislation has never been brought up for a hearing before the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability. Norton reintroduced it in August, with gay Black Congressmember Ritchie Torres (D-New York) again a co-sponsor, along with straight allies Shontel Brown (D-Ohio) and Jimmy Gomez (D-Los Angeles). “At this moment the U.S. House of Representatives is under siege by a very small and very loud group of fascists ... white supremacist fascists who are intentional and clear in obstructing the advancement of any public policy that is the result of, and would otherwise benefit, members of marginalized communities,” said Johns, who spoke with the B.A.R. two days after Congressmember Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) had been removed as speaker of the body. “Beyond that, the good Congresswoman is continuing to fight for representation in a district that is suffering, especially this legislative cycle under the thumb of those fascist representatives.” Johns told the B.A.R. he finds it perplexing that 36 years since Rustin died, they need to renew their calls for a stamp to be issued for him. He noted that the postal service had released October 2 a Forever stamp for the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg three years after her death at the age of 87 on September 18, 2020,

men, as is the director, playwright George C. Wolfe. Dustin Lance Black, the gay Oscar-winning screenwriter of “Milk,” shares a writing credit on “Rustin” with Breece. As the B.A.R.’s online Political Notes column first reported October 2, the producers of the “Rustin” movie have been using film screenings of it to encourage audience members to get behind the Rustin stamp campaign. The film will be shown at invite-only events for the LGBTQ community in San Francisco and Oakland next week. “I am very much appreciative of the gift of the film. It is beautiful,” said Attorney at Law Johns, who saw it at a special screening held in D.C. Since the Milk stamp was released, a number of other LGBTQ luminaries • Divorce w/emphasis on have been honored on U.S. postage. Real Estate & Business Divisions Last year, the postal service on a Black • Domestic Partnerships, Support & Custody Heritage Forever Stamp featured the • Probate and Wills late Edmonia Lewis. The first Afriwww.SchneiderLawSF.com can American and Native American sculptor to earn international recognition in the Western art world, Lewis *Certified by the California State Bar moved around lesbian art circles in Rome in the late 1860s. 315 Montgomery St., Ste. 1025, San Francisco, CA 94104 The Gay and Lesbian History on Stamps website has compiled a list of all the stamps ever issued that feature people from the LGBTQ community. It is long past due for seeing Rustin Vice President of Advertising be included, argued Johns, who told advertising@ebar.com the B.A.R. he is “hopeful” that Rustin’s story will reach a global audience via Netflix’s platform. “I am excited about people who report to care about Black people encountering Bayard’s unapologetic embracing of his super powers of being a Black, same-gender loving man,” said Johns. And he hopes it leads people to send in letters of support to the postal 44 Gough Street #302, San Francisco, CA 94103 service’s Citizens’ Stamp Advisory (415) 829-8937 • www.ebar.com Committee. The secretive body, currently with 11 members, meets quarterly behind closed doors to decide what stamp ideas to recommend to the U.S. postmaster general. The leader of the postal service makes the final determination on which commemorative stamps are issued each year. According to the committee’s website, ideas for stamp subjects should be received at least three or more years prior to the proposed issuance year. Only deceased individuals are eligible to be featured on a stamp, and they can’t be honored in such a manner until three years following their death. The approval process for new stamps usually takes about three years. If the committee decides not to recommend a subject for issuance as When you plan your life celebration and lasting remembrance in a stamp, the proposal can be submitadvance, you can design every detail of your own unique memorial ted again for reconsideration followand provide your loved ones with true peace of mind. Planning ahead When your celebration lasting ing a three-year interval, according to protectsyou your plan loved ones fromlife unnecessary stress and and financial burden, you remembrance plan your celebration and lasting remembrance in allowing themlife to focus on what will matter most at that time—you. its stamp selection process rules.When As in advance, you can design every its website notes, “The Postal Service advance, you canofdesign every detail of your ownand unique memorial detail own memorial provide Contact usyour today about theunique beautiful ways to create a lasting legacy will honor extraordinary and endurat the San Francisco Columbarium. and provide your loved ones with true peace of mind. Planning your loved ones with true peace of mind. Planning ahead ing contributions to American society, history, culture, or environment.” protects your loved onesProudly from unnecessary stressunnecessary and financial burden, ahead protects yourserving loved onesCommunity. from the LGBT In an emailed reply to the B.A.R. in allowing them focus on whatburden, will matter most them at thattotime—you. stresstoand financial allowing late September, postal service spokesperson James McKean encouraged focus on what will matter most at that time—you. those in support of the Rustin stamp Contact us today about the beautiful ways to create a lasting legacy or any others to send letters to the at the San Contact FranciscousColumbarium. today about the beautiful ways to create stamp advisory panel. “The Postal Service is always happy a lasting legacy at the San Francisco Columbarium. to hear about stamps subjects that the One Loraine Ct. | San Francisco | 415-771-0717 Proudly serving our Community. public would like to see. If you would SanFranciscoColumbarium.com Proudly serving the LGBT Community. like to suggest ideas for future stamps FD 1306 / COA 660 you must contact the Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee,” wrote McKean. “The Postal Service’s Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee receives over 30,000 suggestions for stamp subjects each year. From those suggestions it makes recommendations to the Postmaster General on each year’s stamp program.” For the address to submit letters, One Loraine Ct. | San Francisco | 415-771-0717 visit the advisory committee’s website at https://about.usps.com/who/ SanFranciscoColumbarium.com csac/#overview. t

Barry Schneider

Courtesy NBJC

David Johns, Ph.D., is executive director of the National Black Justice Coalition.

due to complications from metastatic pancreatic cancer. Hearing that the Ginsburg stamp was being released “was hard,” said Johns, because it was another reminder that “the continued erasure of the contributions to our democracy in this country and our shared history is very real. It is both maddening and frustrating.” Nine years ago the International Court System, the drag philanthropy organization founded in San Francisco, and the National LGBTQ Task Force had first launched the campaign (https://internationalcourtsystem.org/ projects/bayard-rustin-national-stampcampaign/) calling for a commemorative U.S. postage stamp in honor of Rustin. Among the co-chairs is Walter Naegle, the partner of Rustin.

LGBTQ support for stamp

Over the years a number of California leaders have backed the Rustin stamp campaign, from members of the West Hollywood City Council to gay San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria. Back in 2019 California state legislators passed a resolution written by Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo (DLos Angeles) in support of the Rustin stamp effort and also called on the U.S. Postal Service to issue it. In 2020, at the urging of then-assemblymember Shirley Weber (D-San Diego), now secretary of state, and gay state Senator Scott Wiener (DSan Francisco), California Governor Gavin Newsom posthumously pardoned Rustin. In 1953 he had been arrested in Pasadena, California on vagrancy charges leading to Rustin spending 50 days in Los Angeles County Jail and being ordered to register as a sex offender. Newsom’s doing so was aimed at removing a possible stumbling block for the issuance of a Rustin stamp. Now, with Netflix releasing the biopic “Rustin” next week, backers of the stamp campaign hope the movie will boost their efforts similar to how the 2008 movie “Milk” supercharged the drumbeat for seeing a stamp be issued on behalf of its protagonist, the late gay San Francisco supervisor Harvey Milk. Issued in 2014, the Milk stamp was the first to specifically honor a leader of the LGBTQ rights movement in America. Bruce Cohen, a gay man who helped produce both films, is now an honorary co-chair of the national campaign behind the Rustin stamp. “The fact this movie will be available instantly all over the world on November 17 is super exciting, and we hope will be completely transformative for Bayard’s legacy,” said Cohen. Julian Breece wrote the original screenplay for the film starring Colman Domingo in the title role. Both Breece and Domingo are gay Black

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t SF supes approve Castro Theatre 2nd floor plans 8 • Bay Area Repor ter • October 26-November 1, 2023

by John Ferrannini

he San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 10-1 to remove one of the last hurdles for renovations to begin at the Castro Theatre that will determine if the movie palace can sell liquor on the second floor. Board President Aaron Peskin was the lone dissent at the October 24 meeting regarding an allowance for second-floor nighttime entertainment in the Castro Street Neighborhood Commercial District. Since the measure is an ordinance, a second and final vote will take place next week. Peskin sits on the Land Use and Transportation Committee, which moved the ordinance to the full board October 23, as the Bay Area Reporter previously reported At Peskin’s request, the committee moved the ordinance forward without a positive recommendation. Peskin also cast the lone dissenting vote against landmarking the theater’s interior without including fixed, orchestra-style seating back in June, as the B.A.R. reported . He has also been critical of Another Planet Entertainment, which took over theater operations last year. At a land use committee meeting in April, Peskin admonished APE and said it had not met its obligations at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, which it also manages, as the B.A.R. previously reported. When asked by the B.A.R. October 23 if he planned to vote against the ordinance, Peskin responded, “I just want to be consistent with my earlier votes.” Peskin told the B.A.R. after the October 24 vote, “I continue to be-

Scott Wazlowski

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors has voted in favor of an ordinance that would allow liquor sales on second floors of buildings in the Castro Street Neighborhood Commercial District.

lieve that the historic Castro Theatre should remain the renowned film house that it has been for decades and that it is still economically viable.” The Board of Supervisors’ June decision to go forward with the landmarking the interior of the theater without protecting the orchestra seats was the death knell for those forces hoping to stop APE’s plans for making significant changes to the space. Following the supervisors’ vote, the historic preservation and planning commissions on June 15 both approved a zoning ordinance that allows a conditional use authorization for second-floor nighttime entertain-

ment throughout the Castro commercial district. No one appealed those votes, and the board had to weigh in with the ordinance allowing the second-floor nighttime entertainment. Only two people gave public comment at the October 23 committee meeting – Andrea Aiello, a lesbian who is the executive director of the Castro Community Benefit District, and her associate, Ralph Hibbs, who is on the CBD board. “I was here last week but I wanted to come again to affirm the CBD board’s support for this ordinance and zoning change, bringing the Castro NCD in alignment with the rest of

the neighborhood as far as zoning is concerned,” Aiello said. Added Hibbs: “I’m here to support what Andrea said.” The ordinance was voted on by the three-supervisor panel after having been pushed back twice, on October 1 and October 16. Both times it had to be delayed because it required a technical amendment, according to gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, who represents the Castro LGBTQ neighborhood on the board. Mandelman hailed the ordinance’s passage to the B.A.R. “I’m glad of course that the ordinance passed,” he stated. “The zoning change would have made sense with or without APE’s project. I am now looking forward to APE’s restoration of the Castro Theatre and eager to see its full activation as soon as possible.” Tina Aguirre, a genderqueer person who is director of the Castro LGBTQ Cultural District, told the B.A.R. Tuesday, “I have requested that Supervisor Mandelman meet with the Castro LGBTQ Cultural District to discuss questions we have regarding the impacts on residents and small businesses.” “We have not received a set day and time for this meeting,” Aguirre stated. “I have hope that we will be able to work with the supervisor’s office on how this rezoning legislation is implemented on a case by case basis so that tenants’ (including renters and small business proprietors) needs are taken into account when spaces change use to an entertainment business.” Mandelman told the B.A.R. that he hadn’t heard of the request, stating, “I’m always happy to meet with the

District; not aware of Tina’s request.” Joe Sangirardi, a gay man who is the co-chair of Restore the Castro Theatre, stated after the vote, “We’re thankful for Supervisor Mandelman’s leadership. The Castro Theatre’s future is bright and so too is the future of our neighborhood. Onward!” Aguirre also spoke last week at the committee meeting about the need for further study about the potential effects of the ordinance on the neighborhood. “We’d like the planning department to be utilized to consider the impact on housing units for this type of legislation,” Aguirre said. “The restaurant across the space from the Castro Theatre, that used to be a Thai restaurant, could be purchased to become a live event venue that would be detrimental to people living around the venue.” The imbroglio over the theater began nearly two years ago, when APE, which runs the Outside Lands music festival in Golden Gate Park and the aforementioned Bill Graham Civic Auditorium downtown, was announced as the new operator of the 101-year-old Castro Theatre. Some Castro neighborhood organizations, and LGBTQ and film groups – such as the Castro LGBTQ Cultural District and the Castro Theatre Conservancy – formed the Friends of the Castro Theatre Coalition in opposition to the proposed changes. APE and the conservancy did not return requests for comment for this report by press time. APE has stated that it will screen films about one-third of the time the theater is open, which has dismayed moviegoers and many others.t

this was a significant decision, and they faced their share of challenges during the transition. However, the improvement in my cousin’s health made it clear it was the right choice. A younger cousin of mine, who was also undocumented, wasn’t as fortunate. He worked as a busser at a bar in the Bay Area, the only job he could find that paid a livable wage. Unfortunately, the bar had an outdoor smoking area, and he had to endure secondhand smoke throughout his shift for the few years he worked there. This is the reality for many bar workers, who are often young, low-income, and of Latinx background, just like my cousin. A policy that promotes smoke-free bar patios would be incredibly beneficial for bar workers. With this reality in mind, I’d like to invite you to a community event called “Dine & Discuss,” hosted by the project I work for, LGBTQ Minus Tobacco. This gathering is designed to raise awareness about the importance of smoke-free bar patios and explore the positive impact of smoke-free environments, both for employees and those working to quit smoking. The event will take place in Oakland on Thursday, October 26, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the East Bay Community Space (507 55th Street), and dinner will be provided. To RSVP, visit the event page on Facebook.

heroism is finally revealed. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the 1995 film “To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything! Julie Newmar.” I remember when it came out I went to see the movie by myself. The film was too personal to watch with anyone because I couldn’t even begin to explain what I intuitively felt the film would mean to me. “To Wong Foo” made me laugh, made me cry, and made me see what I always knew: drag queens empowered not just the queer community, but everyone. Every time I have seen “To Wong Foo” has been a metaphor to Wong Foo’s metaphor, a metaphor for God, “because you have to thank God for everything. You have to be grateful for life. You just have to stop where you are and say thank you for everything.” In Spanish there is a fine line between the words for despair and desperation. Sometimes I do not know what to do but turn to God, and remember the late poet Francisco X. Alarcon always said writing a poem was like entering a temple of prayer. I have found myself writing the synopsis for a sequel to “To Wong Foo” – Wesley Snipes and John Leguizamo reprise their roles as Ms. Noxeema and Ms. Chi-Chi, respectively, and they team up with Paris Hilton, and the drag and poetry communities around the world. Everyone comes together to help a 47-year-old survivor of Provo Canyon school, and her two cousins, one of them a really annoying 49-year-old poet, who is always quoting other poets and losing the notebooks she writes in, and the other, a 52-year-old grandmother and former manager of a Hobby Lobby store, find their beloved cousin who had been a queer icon, labor activist, human rights activist, and harm reductionist during Spain’s transition to democracy. In this sequel there will be more discussions about the symbol of “To Wong Foo” that reveal how though truth is stranger than fiction, art can always help us find hope.

Letters >> Editorial puts the brakes on SFPD remedy

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The editorial in the October 19 Bay Area Reporter [“Breed’s ballot measure isn’t about public safety”] regarding the mayor’s attempts to avoid the roadblocks the police department faces when it is trying to do the job the residents of San Francisco want and need them to do is exactly the kind of pointless rhetoric that puts the brakes on any real attempt toward a remedy. What do you want? To maintain the status quo? Breed wants officers to be able to pursue suspects, she wants police to have access to cameras and surveillance technologies, and more of their time spent on the streets than behind a desk. Absolutely! The conclusion that “people are fed up with property crimes in the city” suggests the better alternative is to hire more officers. It doesn’t have to be one or the other. George Knuepfel San Francisco

Smoking on patios puts workers at risk

Regarding “Group advocates for SF, Oakland bar patios to be smokefree” [October 19]: I wanted to highlight how this is also a worker’s rights issue. It’s unfortunate that employees working at bars allowing smoking on their patios often find themselves facing hours of exposure to toxic secondhand smoke throughout their shift. This issue hits close to home, as I’ve witnessed the impact on my family members who’ve had to work in restaurants and bars where smoking was allowed. One family member, my uncle, used to work in the kitchen of a restaurant/ bar back when indoor smoking was still permitted. Each day after work, he would come home smelling like smoke, and my cousin would experience terrible coughing fits, which they later discovered were asthma attacks triggered by the lingering scent of smoke on my uncle and his clothing. The connection took some time to make, and it was a difficult decision, but my uncle ultimately had to quit his job to protect my cousin’s health. As the sole breadwinner for a family of four,

Jimmy Ancira (he/him) Community Health Outreach Worker LGBTQ Minus Tobacco San Francisco

Thinking of a sequel for ‘To Wong Foo’

My cousin was the Spanish activist, painter, and performance artist Jose Perez Ocaña, “La Ocaña.” In 1983, I was the victim of brutal hate crimes that were reprisals against my cousin’s art and activism. Though the main perpetrator is now finally facing justice for some of the crimes he committed, true justice will be when the history of my cousin’s unselfish

Nicole Henares, aka Aurelia Lorca Half Moon Bay, California

<< Community News

t Former B.A.R. columnist receives Waddell award 10 • Bay Area Repor ter • October 26-November 1, 2023

by Cynthia Laird

oger Brigham, the Bay Area Reporter’s former sports columnist, is one of the recipients of the Dr. Tom Waddell Award from the Federation of Gay Games. Brigham, a gay man, received the honor in recognition of his significant service and commitment to LGBTQ+ sport and culture, a news release from FGG stated. Emy Ritt, a lesbian and former longtime FGG board member who lives in Paris, France, also received a Waddell award, which the FGG gives to two people of different genders, according to the release. Both were selected from a group of six nominees. The next Gay Games is slated to be held simultaneously in Hong Kong and Guadalajara, Mexico beginning November 4. Ritt stated she was honored to receive the award. “Being associated in any way with Dr. Tom Waddell is an honor and a privilege that is a bit overwhelming and surreal for which I am very grateful,” she stated. In a phone interview, Brigham, 70, who lives in Oakland, said he would be traveling to Guadalajara to accept his award. He’ll also be coaching the Australian wrestlers. “It’s one of the most memorable awards I’ve received,” Brigham said, comparing it to when he was inducted into the National LGBT Sports Hall of Fame in 2015. And he was appreciative of receiving the award from the federation even as he has not always agreed with its decisions, as he had written about over the years in his Jock Talk column for the B.A.R.

Courtesy Roger Brigham

Dr. Tom Waddell Award recipient Roger Brigham, right, joined Australian wrestler Tony Galluzzo in Brigham’s garden in Oakland. Brigham will be coaching Galluzzo at the upcoming Gay Games in Guadalajara, Mexico.

In addition to his column and FGG, Brigham was a longtime member of Golden Gate Wrestling and Wrestlers WithOut Borders. “I’m very pro Gay Games but critical of things they considered,” he said, adding that he believed his role as a columnist for one of the country’s leading LGBTQ publications was to “hold people accountable.” “I respect the federation a lot for recognizing my contributions even though there were disagreements,” he said.

Brigham was elected as FGG’s officer of communications in 2004. He said that he was reelected in absentia in 2005 against his wishes and resigned within a couple of months. He became the sports columnist for the B.A.R. in January 2007. He retired the column in January 2022. Prior to his B.A.R. column, Brigham had a storied career at mainstream daily newspapers. He started work in 1976 as a news reporter with the Times Record in Troy, New York. At the age of 23 he

became the editor of the Daily Mirror in Kodiak, Alaska. In 1982 he became the first openly gay sports editor at a metropolitan daily newspaper, the Anchorage Daily Mirror, a biography on Muck Rack noted. His later daily newspaper stops included being a sports feature writer and columnist for the Los Angeles Herald Examiner; executive sports editor for the Albany (NY) Times Union; and deputy sports editor for the Oakland Tribune. He handled sports coverage for two early internet media startups, eWorld and @Home. A former rugby player, he bonded with the SF Fog rugby team in the months after 9/11. Mark Bingham, a gay man who was a leader and player on the SF Fog, had been killed on United Flight 93, which crashed into a Pennsylvania field. It’s widely believed that Bingham and other passengers were able to prevent the airplane from reaching its intended target, thought to be a government building in the Washington, D.C. area. “I was very down after 9/11,” Brigham recalled, and after meeting a Fog player at Oakland Pride, packed up his husband and dog and drove out to the team’s practice in San Francisco. He said he spent the day berating a reporter for not telling Bingham’s story earlier. He said Bingham represented the best of gay athletes and disproved those who believed LGBTQs could not play sports. Brigham said that he got involved with gay sports not because he was gay, but because he was disabled, having had hip replacement surgery. “After I had hip surgery I couldn’t run anymore,” he said, and he perused the Team SF website and

thought about wrestling. “I knew it’d be painful, but I went back to wrestling,” he said. There he met Gene Dermody, who was long involved with Golden Gate Wrestling. The club had to shut down during the COVID pandemic after 35 years, Dermody told the B.A.R. in a phone interview. “I was with Gay Games for 40-plus years and brought Roger in around 2005-06,” Dermody said. “He really distinguished himself with promotion, legal stuff, and coaching that I admired. “He was finally rewarded for that,” Dermody added, referring to the Waddell award. Dermody himself received the Waddell award in 2014 during Gay Games IX in Cleveland, Ohio. Of his fellow recipient Ritt, Brigham said that he’s known her for many years. “We formed an instant friendship when involved with Gay Games,” he said. “We were often on opposite sides but always respectful and worked together really well.” Waddell, for whom the award is named, was a gay man, physician, and Olympic decathlete. He founded what was first called the Gay Olympics in the early 1980s, with the first games taking place in San Francisco in 1982. The U.S. Olympic Committee sued over the name, however, and it became the Gay Games. Waddell was able to take part in Gay Games II in 1986 and died in 1987 of AIDS-related complications at the age of 49.t For more information on Gay Games, go to gaygames.org

Trick-or-treaters to rejoice at 3rd ‘Great Hauntway’ compiled by Cynthia Laird

‘Scaregrove’ at Stern Grove

rick-or-treaters will have plenty to be happy about at the third annual “Great Hauntway” along the upper Great Highway on San Francisco’s west side Sunday, October 29, from 1 to 4 p.m. Produced by Friends of Great Highway Park, it’s billed as the city’s largest car-free trick-or-treating event, according to a news release. The free, family-friendly Halloween get-together features over a mile of trick-or-treating along the Great Highway between Judah and Taraval streets. There will be kids’ activities, such as pumpkin decorating and bounce houses, and live music from Carry Nation. Organizers noted that Halloween is one of the most dangerous days of the year for youth pedestrians. The Great Hauntway was created in 2021 to provide kids with a safe, car-free, and fun place to celebrate Halloween with a scenic coastal backdrop. That first year drew thousands of participants and is now a new San Francisco tradition, the release noted. Gay District 4 Supervisor Joel Engardio, who represents the area, is a big supporter of the event. Engardio recently held a very successful inaugural night market in the Sunset. “The future of San Francisco depends on attracting families of all definitions,” Engardio wrote in a text message to the Bay Area Reporter. “The Great Hauntway is a great example of how we’re making our city more family-friendly. You will see thousands of people experiencing joy with the ocean as a backdrop. “There won’t be a

The San Francisco Recreation and Park Department will hold “Scaregrove at Stern Grove” at 19th Avenue and Sloat Boulevard in the city’s Parkside district Friday, October 27, from 4 to 9 p.m. The event is free and billed as a “Grimm’s fairy tale adventure in the woods.” All ages are welcome and there will be food for sale.

Oakland LGBTQ center to hold ‘Galaween’

Boone Ashworth, Friends of Great Highway Park

A young trick-or-treater made their way along the Great Highway at last year’s “Great Hauntway” event.

doom loop in sight,” he added, referring to the many media accounts of how San Francisco is experiencing empty real estate in its downtown area and the closings of various businesses, leading to what outlets have referred to

as a doom loop. At the Great Hauntway, community members are invited to set up decorated tables for children to trick-or-treat. Awards will be given to the best decorated tables. People can RSVP to greathauntway.com to sign up for a table. There is also information on the website about allergy-safe trick-or-

treating and transportation to the event. The Friends of Great Highway Park is an all-volunteer group focused on making the most of the city’s beautiful coastline for all to enjoy, the release stated.

The Oakland LGBTQ Community Center is getting into the Halloween spirit with its “Galaween” fundraiser Saturday, October 28, from 6 to 11 p.m. at Bloc 15, an event space located at 252 Second Street near Jack London Square. A nearby parking garage is available. A flyer promoting the event noted it will celebrate the center’s sixth anniversary. The center, located near Lake Merritt, has expanded its offerings over the years, including for LGBTQ seniors when it took over Lavender Seniors of the East Bay. Galaween will feature a costume contest, a DJ spinning the best of the 1980s music, and dancing. Celebrity MC will be Dashaun Wesley, a gay man and dancer known as the “King of Vogue,” according to his website. Wesley competed on the fourth season of MTV’s “America’s Best Dance Crew” and starred in MAX’s hit show “Legendary.” There will be a cash bar, mocktails, and food. The event is for those 18 and older. General admission early “bat” tickets are $35 or $50 for VIP, as indicated on the event’s website. (Those prices might increase.) For tickets, go to https://tinyurl. com/yj59znr2 For more information about the center, go to oaklandlgbtqcenter. org. t

Community News>>

October 26-November 1, 2023 • Bay Area Repor ter • 11

Defaced drag mural restored in the Mission by J.L. Odom

t the corner of Valencia and 22nd streets, music emanated from a speaker set up outside of Aditi restaurant as a crowd watched San Francisco artist Juan Manuel Carmona and volunteers chip away at a dark brown coating of paint on a utility box. Gradually, they unearthed the art beneath it: Carmona’s “Forever Drag.” As the Bay Area Reporter noted online October 19, the mural, featuring drag artist Juanita MORE!, had been defaced and a man who strongly objected to the art confronted Carmona in a threatening manner, he wrote in an artist’s statement this week. “I’m here to support the community, to fight queer erasure and to support the folks that need to be held up and embraced,” said Chris Pimentel, who identifies as queer, as he watched the group continue to work together, making enough progress with their tools to reveal the image of MORE!, to whom Carmona had painted a tribute. Pimentel and others had gathered in the Mission for “Restore Drag! Painting Against Homophobia,” an event held Friday to support Carmona’s repairing and repainting of his street art. “I’ve known Juanita for many years; I’ve been in the [Castro] neighborhood since 1994. ... I don’t know the artist, but I know his work because he’s got lots of artwork around the city,” explained Pimentel as Carmona used a pressure washer on the utility box. Carmona is the artist behind several public art projects in the city, including mural collaborations on the exterior of the LGBTQ+ clubs Oasis and El Rio. Carmona’s and collaborator Simón Malvaez’s work “Queeroes” appeared on the side of the SF LGBT Community Center from spring 2021 to summer 2023, a predecessor to Alma Landeta’s mural “Joy is the Fuel,” which was unveiled in July.

J.L. Odom

Artist Juan Manuel Carmona, left, restored his mural with the help of a volunteer as drag artist Per Sia, center rear, spoke about the importance of queer visibility.

Carmona, whose work celebrates Latinx heritage and queer identity, is also one of the artists participating in Paint the Void and Civic Joy Fund’s “Paint the City,” a project centering on creating public art on 100 city utility boxes. He was assigned three utility boxes to paint along Valencia, on 20th, 21st, and 22nd streets. The project was approved by the San Francisco Arts Commission and had the necessary permits, Carmona stated in an artist’s statement. The third box featuring MORE! was reportedly painted over by a resident shortly after Carmona’s completion of it in late September; the same individual continued to deface the mural when

OUR COMMITMENT TO YOU UCSF is deeply committed to providing care for LGBTQ+ people and their families that isn’t just equitable—as crucial as equity is. We’re committed to giving you care that’s warm, welcoming, and knowledgeable, too. That’s why we’re a longtime Equality Leader in HRC’s Healthcare Equality Index—and why we offer a uniquely wide range of support for our LGBTQ+ patients and employees. We look forward to warmly welcoming you— and offering the great, supportive care that you and your family deserve. ucsfhealth.org/lgbtq-care

Carmona attempted to repaint it in early October, stating that it should feature Cesar Chavez, the late founder of the United Farm Workers, and not MORE!. Carmona had stated that he called police after the October confrontation. The San Francisco Police Department has not responded to the B.A.R.’s request for comment. As Pimentel commented about the incident, “I think it’s just the lack of education and tolerance and empathy for other folks. We all live here; we’re sharing a community. And for someone to say that this shouldn’t be here or doesn’t belong is wrong, and so this is why we’re fighting back.”

At the event, Carmona spoke of how when he was a child he had to hide in his room to play with Barbies because his mother disapproved. He also shared that he’d been bullied and attacked by others because of being queer. He said he moved to San Francisco 12 years ago because he “wanted to be free.” His very first mural was of MORE!, at 18th and Sanchez streets in the LGBTQ Castro neighborhood. “That mural represented a big message. It was Juanita in front of the [Pride] flag protecting our rights. ... Today we’re here because a person was trying to erase us from Valencia Street, and our message today is killing it with kind-

ness but with a firm hand that we’re not alone and we’re not going to tolerate homophobia,” said Carmona. Friday’s gathering was hosted by MORE!; Honey Mahogany, chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party; drag artist Per Sia; Galería de la Raza; and the GLBT Historical Society. Speakers at the event included MORE!; Carmona; Ani Rivera, executive director of the Galería de la Raza; Roberto Ordeñana, executive director of the historical society; and Per Sia and Mahogany. All called attention to the importance of queer and transgender visibility in the city and through the LGBTQ+-centered work of artists like Carmona. “It has been completely disheartening to see the way that this mural was defaced and erased,” said Mahogany. “And let it be said that here in San Francisco, we will not be silenced. We will not allow our histories to be erased, and we are a queer and trans mecca for the entire world.” Mahogany, the first Black transgender person to lead city Democrats and who is district director for Assemblymember Matt Haney (D-San Francisco), noted that the city is likely to become increasingly trans and queer as individuals flee other states with anti-LGBTQ+ laws. “I am so proud of the fact that we are a sanctuary city for our community – that we are a safe space,” she said. “And all of us have to continue to fight to make sure that it remains that way. So this is a callto-action for more visibility, for celebrating our queerness, our transness but also for ensuring that when people come here … that we ensure that San Francisco is welcoming. And one of the ways in which we are doing that is by murals like this by Juan Manuel. “The Mission, Valencia Street, all of these spaces have such a deep history within the queer community – something that should be celebrated and uplifted,” Mahogany added.t

<< Besties 2023

12 • Bay Area Repor ter • October 26-November 1, 2023

Shopping and Services: New Ikea is a hit with readers compiled by Cynthia Laird

t might be the Swedish meatballs. Or maybe it’s the fact that after you have assembled much of the furniture on your own, you derive a sense of accomplishment when the project is completed. Whatever the reason, Bay Area Reporter readers gave a big thumbs up to Ikea, the Swedish-based home furnishings retailer that opened a store August 23 on Market Street near the Powell BART/Muni station in downtown San Francisco. It took first place in the best place to buy furniture category in the B.A.R.’s readers’ poll. Unlike many of the retailer’s other stores, the company’s first San Francisco location focuses on small-space living and storage. Smaller items can be taken home, while larger ones will be delivered, as media outlets reported when the store opened. A coworking space on the third floor is expected to open in 2024. And yes, there are two delis, including a second-floor cafe that sells the aforementioned meatballs.

Ikea, 945 Market Street, San Francisco. (888) 888-4532. www.ikea.com/us/en/stores/ san-francisco/

Scott Wazlowski

The Apothecarium on Market Street was voted best cannabis dispensary. Cynthia Laird

Ikea’s first San Francisco store, located at 945 Market Street, opened in August.

Street, San Francisco. (415) 2559096. www.joesbarbershop.com/

Runner-up Castro Barber Lounge

Runner-up Valencia Cyclery

Runner-up Room and Board

Best Bicycle Shop

San Francisco Federal Credit Union

A new winner this year is Mike’s Bikes. Located in the heart of the South of Market district, it’s a stepping stone to some of the best cycling in Northern California, its website states. The shop has a wide selection of bikes for all terrains, including electric ones. Its bike techs can provide tune-ups, and an event calendar has information on exciting rides in the Bay Area.

Best Bank or Credit Union

San Francisco Federal Credit Union is a repeat winner this year. SF Federal Credit Union offers a full range of financial services, from checking accounts and online banking to vehicle and home loans. When you become a member, you’re a part owner of the credit union, which gives you rights to elect members of the board.

San Francisco. (415) 241-2453. mikesbikes.com/pages/sanfrancisco

Best Bookstore

Mike’s Bikes

Mike’s Bikes, 1233 Howard Street,

Fabulosa Books Alvin Orloff, a gay man, has owned Fabulosa Books since 2021, when he bought the former Dog Eared Books in the Castro and rechristened it. Fabulosa is a repeat winner and, since he took over the business, Orloff has made the store into his own. This year, Orloff has fought back against homophobic and transphobic book bans in conservative states by sending boxes

Main branch: 770 Golden Gate Avenue (at Gough) San Francisco. (415) 775-5377. www.sanfranciscofcu.com/

of LGBTQ-themed books to community centers and other organizations, as the B.A.R. previously reported. “We’re eager to keep up the fight,” Orloff told the B.A.R. “Book bans are not slowing down and we’re in for the long haul.” Orloff was especially grateful to the community and Fabulosa’s customers, “for helping with this crusade.” Patrons are invited to buy books for the boxes that the store then ships at its expense. “We love, love, love our community,” Orloff said. Fabulosa Books, 489 Castro Street, San Francisco. (415) 6587015. www.fabulosabooks.com/

Runner-up Green Apple Books

The Apothecarium, 2029 Market Street, San Francisco. (415) 5002620. https://apothecarium.com/

Best Cannabis Dispensary

Runner-up Eureka Sky

The Apothecarium

Long a favorite of readers, the

Another longtime favorite with readers, Trader Joe’s can’t be beat for its selection of wines, cheeses, salads, and other unique and seasonal items. With the increase in food prices over the past year or so due to inflation, Trader Joe’s prices often are the most economical.

Best Barber Shop/Salon

Joe’s Barbershop

Joe’s Barbershop, 2150 Market

Best Grocery Store

Trader Joe’s

Runner-up Bank of America

Joe’s Barbershop is a repeat winner in 2023. This popular establishment has been serving the Castro since 2004, when Joe Gallagher decided to open up shop. Gallagher continues to be “very proud” of the shop, and credits his loyal customers. Stop by for a trim, or make an appointment.

Apothecarium retains its top spot in the poll this year. Its mission is to provide members with quality cannabis in a welcoming environment with empathy, education, and ongoing support, its website states. “Our dispensaries are known for emphasizing education and customer service for seniors, first-time dispensary visitors, and patients with serious medical conditions,” the website states. “We focus on providing our guests with in-depth, one-on-one consultations from highly trained cannabis consultants. We also provide free cannabis education events that are open to the public.”

Trader Joe’s, 555 Ninth Street, San Francisco, (415) 863-1292. Also various Bay Area locations. www.traderjoes.com/home Rick Gerharter

Joe’s Barbershop owner Joe Gallagher stands in the shop, which is a favorite of readers.

Fabulosa Books owner Alvin Orloff

Runner-up Rainbow Grocery

Best Gym

See page 13 >>

OKELL’S FIREPLACE

415-626-1110

130 Russ Street, SF

okellsfireplace.com

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

info@okellsfireplace.com

t <<

Besties 2023 >>

October 26-November 1, 2023 • Bay Area Repor ter • 13

Besties: Shopping

From page 12

Fitness SF Fitness SF in the Castro is a regular winner in this category. The over 16,000 square foot facility offers two floors of tools and equipment to keep a person’s workout fresh and challenging, according to its website. From free weights to cardio, the gym has it all. The gym also offers nationally certified personal trainers at an additional cost. “With a grassroots approach towards cultivating our staff and members, our mission is to lift up the local community,” its website states. “Together we will make the San Francisco Bay Area a happier, healthier place to live.” Fitness SF Castro, 2301 Market Street, San Francisco, (415) 348-6377. fitnesssf.com/location/castro/

Runner-up 24 Hour Fitness

Best Health Care Provider

Kaiser Permanente

Kaiser is a repeat winner this year. The health care provider has long supported the LGBTQ community. It was in the news recently, however, for some labor issues as health care workers waged a three-day strike. But the outcome was a major contract win that will see wages rise for Kaiser’s lowest-paid workers over four years. Additionally, Governor Gavin Newsom announced October 12 a settlement with California Department of Managed Health Care and Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc. to make significant changes to the plan’s delivery of behavioral health care services. The settlement agreement includes a $50 million fine and requires Kaiser Permanente to take corrective action to address deficiencies in the plan’s delivery and oversight of behavioral health care to enrollees.

Cynthia Laird

Trader Joe’s is known for its great cheese selection, as well as seasonal and unique items.

Healthcare Foundation, there are outlets in San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley. The stores offer eye-catching items and select locations offer HIV testing. According to its website, 96 cents of every dollar made goes into providing HIV services in the U.S. and around the world. Out of the Closet, 1295 Folsom Street, San Francisco. (415) 5587176. https://outofthecloset.org/

Runner-up Community Thrift

Best Variety Store

Cliff’s Variety There’s no stopping Cliff ’s, a Castro neighborhood institution and longtime winner in this category. Co-owner Terry Asten Bennett is the current president of the Castro Merchants Association, and the store has long been involved in the neighborhood. It sells many unique items and carries seasonal merchandise and decorations for the holidays. “We are so appreciative of the support of our community,” Bennet stated in a Facebook message.

Scott Wazlowski

Cliff’s Variety is a mainstay in the LGBTQ Castro neighborhood.

Check it out for the holidays – or any day. Cliff ’s Variety, 479 Castro Street, San Francisco. (415) 212-8400. cliffsvariety.com/

Runner-up Just for Fun

Best Vintage/Consignment Shop

Crossroads Trading Co.

Customers can browse through racks of curated secondhand finds that are not only fashionable, but also sustainable, the company’s website

states. “We buy, sell, trade and consign fashion every day and our inventory is continuously changing. From this season’s trends to one-of-a-kind vintage finds, we aim to carry the best of everything: women’s and men’s clothing, accessories, and shoes.” Stores are located in San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, and San Jose. Crossroads Trading Co. Stores are located around the Bay Area. https://crossroadstrading.com/

Runner-up Buffalo Exchange

Kaiser Permanente. Locations throughout the Bay Area. https:// healthy.kaiserpermanente.org/ northern-california/front-door

Runner-up UCSF

Best Pharmacy

Walgreens

Walgreens has been providing pharmacy services in the Castro and elsewhere for decades. In particular, the Castro store and pharmacy are open 24 hours (with a break from 1:30 to 2 a.m.), according to its website. People can also get COVID and flu vaccines. Walgreens, 498 Castro Street, San Francisco. (415) 861-3186. https://www.walgreens.com/ locator/walgreens-498+castro+stsan+francisco-ca-94114/id=1327.

Runner-up CVS Specialty

Best Thrift Store

Out of the Closet Out of the Closet is back in the winner’s circle this year. Owned and operated by the Los Angeles-based AIDS

Fitness-SF is the readers’ choice for best gym.

This resource is supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library in partnership with the California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs as part of the Stop the Hate program. To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to https://www.cavshate.org/.

<< Besties 2023

t Besties: Hawaii retains strong bond with Bay Area 14 • Bay Area Repor ter • October 26-November 1, 2023

compiled by Matthew S. Bajko

fter deadly fires ravaged the island of Maui this summer, Bay Area residents mobilized to help out by donating to various charities. A number of LGBTQ organizations also pitched in by launching fundraising drives to assist the residents of Lahaina and other West Maui towns who lost their homes and livelihoods to the conflagrations. There has long been a strong bond between the Bay Area and the Aloha State, as evidenced in Bay Area Reporter readers routinely voting for the country’s 50th state as their favorite place to vacation in the U.S. Hawaii once again took top honors this year. The people of Hawaii have also long embraced LGBTQ visitors, who have myriad lodging and nightlife options throughout the archipelago of eight major islands. Hawaii placed 11th among the 50 states for LGBTQ inclusivity on the 2023 Inclusiveness Index produced by the Othering & Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley. Its score this year was a marked improvement from its 20th ranking in 2022 on LGBTQ acceptance. Overall, Hawaii took top honors on the index for the sixth consecutive year as the country’s most inclusive state. As the B.A.R. reported in September, Hawaii officials are eager for vacationers to return to Maui due to the island’s economy being over reliant on tourism. As of October 8, the travel restrictions were lifted for most of West Maui though Lahaina remains closed to the public. For the latest travel updates, visit the website of the country’s tourism authority at https://www.gohawaii. com/ It has a dedicated page for LGBTQ visitors, with information about LGBTQ-friendly venues and community

Tiffany& Co.

Tiffany & Co.’s familiar blue box is a sign of luxury. Cynthia Laird

Diamond Head is easily seen by visitors to Honolulu on the island of Oahu in Hawaii.

events, that can be found at https:// www.gohawaii.com/experiences/lgbtq/lgbtq-nightlife

Runner-up Palm Springs, California

Best Local Getaway Destination

Russian River, California

In recent years fires, as well as floods, have also impacted the Russian River area, with the LGBTQ-friendly hamlet of Guerneville at its heart. Nonetheless, LGBTQ travelers continue to flock to this Sonoma County vacation hotspot. B.A.R. readers have once again named it their favorite place to visit in Northern California. Only a couple hours drive north of San Francisco or west of Sacramento, the area offers a plethora of LGBTQ-owned and LGBTQ-friendly lodging options and local businesses to patronize. Earlier this month Guerneville played host to a newly-revived Russian River Pride parade and celebration. Other LGBTQ events like Lazy

Bear Week and Women’s Weekend continue to go strong and are already planning for their 2024 iterations. For more information, visit gayrussianriver.com/

Runner-up Carmel/Monterey, California

Gooch

Nikki Jizz performed at Russian River Pride October 15.

Best Place to Buy Rings/Jewelry

Tiffany & Co.

Unlike other global and national brands, Tiffany & Co. hasn’t pulled up stakes in San Francisco’s beleaguered downtown. Its imposing doors continue to stand sentinel at 350 Post Street in the city’s Union Square shopping district. In return, B.A.R. readers are again showering their support on the 185-year-old company. They continue to name it the place for engaged couples to find their perfect wedding bands and other finelycrafted jewelry. The jeweler also hasn’t backtracked from its embrace of the LGBTQ community. While other retailers have caved to criticism from right-wing activists upset at their pro-LGBTQ marketing, Tiffany continues to showcase its “Stand For Love” campaign on its website. For more information about its local store, visit www.tiffany.com/ jewelry-stores/san-francisco/

Runner-up Shreve

Best wedding photographer

Steven Underhill

“We now live in a community that offers a unique place where we feel welcome, can be ourselves, live among friends and experience new adventures, with the peace of mind for our future.” - Brian H., resident

Northern California native Steven Underhill again takes top honors in this category for the second year in a row. He is a staple at LGBTQ events around the city, with his photos published weekly by the B.A.R. He also can be booked to take headshots and portraits. Meanwhile, Underhill is working on a new male photography site. For more information, visit https://www.stevenunderhill.com/

Runner-up Raul Salazar

Steven Underhill

Photographer Steven Underhill

Best Wedding Reception Venue

Legion of Honor

With its hilltop location by the Golden Gate, this city-owned fine arts museum has long proclaimed itself to be among “San Francisco’s most popular venues for weddings, receptions, and a variety of private events.” B.A.R. readers agree, again giving it top marks in this category. Couples have four different event spaces they can rent in or outside the neoclassical building. The Court of Honor surrounded by the museum’s columned wings can accommodate 450 seated guests. The Balustrade Lawn overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge and Marin Headlands has a capacity of 250 seated guests. There is also the Terrace Level providing indoor and outdoor through spaces between the Hall of Antiquities, Museum Café, and terrace. It can be configured to accommodate 150 to 350 guests. Indoors is the Rodin Galleries, whose three connected spaces can fit 80 seated guests or 200 standing. For more information, visit www.famsf.org/about/weddingsprivate-events

Runner-up Julia Morgan Ballroom

Independent Living • Assisted Living • Memor y Care • Skilled Nursing San Francisco Towers Spring Lake Village San Francisco, CA Santa Rosa, CA 415.447.5527 707.579.6964 sanfranciscotowers.org springlakevillage-sr.org CA LIC. #380540292 COA#350

CA LIC. #490107656 COA#352

St. Paul’s Towers Oakland, CA 510.891.8542 stpaulstowers.org CA LIC. #011400627 COA#351

Courtesy SF Travel

The Legion of Honor is once again a reader favorite for wedding receptions.

Besties 2023 >>

t Readers love their Pride, the Castro, and the Dubs by John Ferrannini

t’s no surprise that the San Francisco Pride parade and celebration has been chosen by Bay Area Reporter readers as the Bay’s best LGBTQ event. The parade purports to be the world’s largest, and it is tied with several cities for being among the oldest – having started in 1970, one year after the Stonewall uprising, which is considered by many to be the beginning of the modern LGBTQ rights movement in the United States. This year on June 25, thousands of people marched in 200 contingents up Market Street, as the B.A.R. reported at the time. The June 24-25 celebration in Civic Center also drew crowds of revelers to three stages of entertainment and dozens of booths manned by community organizations. “We are thrilled and deeply honored to announce that SF Pride has been selected as the ‘Best Community Event’ in the Bay Area Reporter’s reader poll,” stated Nguyen Pham, president of the San Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Celebration Committee board of directors. “This rec-

October 26-November 1, 2023 • Bay Area Repor ter • 15

ognition is not just an award but a testament to the incredible journey and the profound impact our event has had on the LGBTQ+ community and beyond.” Pham continued that Pride “has always been more than just a celebration,” as it showcases San Francisco’s central place as a “beacon of hope” for LGBTQ people “not only for the Bay Area but for the entire world.” “In a time when inclusion and diversity are more important than ever, SF Pride continues to represent the vibrant tapestry of our community, where every color, gender, and orientation is embraced and celebrated,” Pham stated. “As we accept this honor, let it serve as a reminder that we are all an integral part of the beautiful tapestry that is San Francisco and the LGBTQ+ community.” The 2024 Pride weekend will be held June 29-30. For more information, visit https://sfpride.org/.

Runner-up Folsom Street Fair

Gooch

Dykes on Bikes led off the San Francisco Pride parade June 25.

Best LGBTQ Fundraiser

Light in the Grove

Courtesy NAMG Fabian Echevarria

Tina Aguirre is the director of the Castro LGBTQ Cultural District.

Best LGBTQ Cultural District

Castro LGBTQ Cultural District

The Castro was established as an official LGBTQ cultural district by the city in 2019, joining the Transgender District and the Leather & LGBTQ Cultural District as the three catering to the queer community. The Castro cultural district’s leadership took a leading role in the fight to preserve the fixed, orchestra-style seats at the Castro Theatre after Another Planet Entertainment took over operating the space last year. While that effort did not succeed, the forces opposed to APE’s plans did win some concessions, such as a pledge to continue queer programming at the theater. “I am happy to learn that the community has voted for us as the best LGBTQ cultural district, especially considering that we are in good company with the Transgender Cultural District and the Leather LGBTQ Cultural District,” Tina Aguirre, a

Longtime AIDS survivor Cleve Jones received the National AIDS Memorial Grove’s Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2022 Light in the Grove benefit.

genderqueer Latinx person who is the district’s director, stated to the B.A.R. “I would like to believe that they voted for us because of the work we are doing to center LGBTQ people, places, and culture,” Aguirre added. Aguirre explained that work includes a mural commissioned by Serge Gay Jr. “featuring Black trans and lesbian women,” as well as “our work to preserve the Castro Theatre as a hub for queer and trans culture.” The district will be having a meet and greet at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, October 28, at the GLBT Historical Society Museum at 4127 18th Street. “Join us and we can share more about our plans,” Aguirre continued. “We look forward to building on these successes in the next year to further center queer and trans people, places and culture.” For more information, visit castrolgbtq.org/.

Runner-up The Leather and LGBTQ Cultural District

Light in the Grove is the National AIDS Memorial Grove’s annual fundraiser that takes place in Golden Gate Park, home of the national AIDS memorial, each November 30, the night before World AIDS Day. The benefit started in 2009. As the B.A.R. previously reported, last year’s event was the 13th and tickets started at $300. Cleve Jones, co-founder of the AIDS Memorial quilt, was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award. The event features awardees and panels of the AIDS quilt, of which the AIDS grove became the steward in 2019. “We are indeed humbled to again receive the best LGBTQ fundraiser as part of your annual Besties awards,” John Cunningham, CEO of the AIDS grove, stated in an email. For more information, visit www.aidsmemorial.org/grove

Runner-up Santa Skivvies

Best LGBTQ Nonprofit

Project Open Hand Project Open Hand provides meals to people living with HIV/AIDS, seniors, and people with disabilities in San Francisco and Alameda counties. Founded in 1985, each day Project Open Hand’s volunteers – it counts 125 per day – make 2,500 meals and provides 200 bags of groceries to its clients “as they battle serious illnesses, isolation, or the health challenges of aging,” according to its website. Project Open Hand did not return a request for comment. For more information, visit www.openhand.org/

Runner-up Transgender Law Center

See page 16 >>

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<< Commentary

t SF LGBTQ pioneers helped form the community 16 • Bay Area Repor ter • October 26-November 1, 2023

by Chuck Forester

Martin and Lyon were models for women everywhere, inspiring generations of women to be true to who they are. They were also models for queer couples, by example, giving others permission to be a queer couple. Martin died in 2008 and Lyon passed away in 2020.

hat gay person at the Pride parade is the result of an unusual social experiment that started in 1970 in San Francisco. Could gay men and lesbians from diverse backgrounds and ethnicities without prior experience violate social norms and lead normal lives? I reveal the origin story thanks to a hardworking immune system that has kept me going since I was infected with HIV before 1978. My blood and the blood of the love of my life for 18 years, Michael A. Schoch, was frozen as part of a 1978 hepatitis B vaccine trial. With a test for HIV, Schoch checked his blood, and it was infected with the virus. Throughout our time together, our sex life was heroic, so my blood must be similarly infected. Schoch succumbed to AIDS on February 25, 1994. I celebrate my 80th birthday, HIV-positive, on February 23, 2024. The change happened at a time when the queer community in San Francisco was known as the gay and lesbian community. In 1970, gay people did not appear in the media, Hollywood shied away from portraying gay characters, churches would not let them worship, and most families refused gay children. As far as straight people were concerned, we did not exist. But we did, and a gay man had to live in the closet because if his queerness were exposed, he would immediately

Jim Foster Courtesy Chuck Forester

Chuck Forester

lose his job, his family, and his self-respect. A man tortured by his sexuality and unable to accept reality could die by suicide. Other men used alcohol to ease the pain of a lifetime of denying who they were. A healthy libido was plum out of luck; there were no socially acceptable places for him to have sex. The same year, San Francisco was the only city in the country where a gay man held his lover’s hand on the street. Word spread through the queer underground, and the temptation of freedom whetted the appetites of frustrated men who yearned to live free. A thousand men a month likely moved to San Francisco in 1970, the first generation that refused to live in the closet. San Francisco’s tradition of welcoming outcastes, the substantial real estate left behind by the middle class that abandoned the city, and generous disability benefits allowed gay people to live normal lives with their unique queer twists.

Jane Philomen Cleland

Del Martin, left, and Phyllis Lyon were married in San Francisco City Hall in 2008.

These five provided the foundation so others could thrive.

Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon

On Valentine’s Day 1953, with their love superior to any law, Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon moved in together on Castro Street. They wanted lesbians to know the beauty of lesbian love, so in 1955, they founded Daughters of Bilitis, the first social group for lesbians in the country. Lesbians need a legacy of lesbian legends, so they published The Ladder. This happened during the 1950s, the Eisenhower years, when thousands of gay employees were fired or forced to resign from the federal workforce because of their sexuality. Dubbed the “Lavender Scare,” this

wave of repression was also bound up with anti-communism and fueled by the power of congressional investigation, according to the National Archives. We moved in different circles but saw each other at political events for 40 years, and Martin thanked me for raising money for the Hormel Gay and Lesbian Center (now the James C. Hormel LGBTQIA Center) in the new Main Library at the center’s opening dinner. They were the first lesbian couple to join the National Organization for Women, and on the first day same-sex couples could marry in California they were the first couple to tie the knot in San Francisco City Hall with then-mayor Gavin Newsom officiating.

I recognized Jim Foster as a political activist when we were having sex in the dirty bookstore on 18th Street in 1972, the Golden Years when sex was a privilege of gay liberation and a generation’s repressed testosterone was being released joyously in hundreds of bedrooms every night across the Castro. My political transformation started in a dark place. I was so Republican growing up that I supported homophobe Wisconsin senator Joseph McCarthy. I did not know what to think when the kids in the Universalist Unitarian youth group who talked about ideas were Democrats, but they had me questioning everything. I bought my first fundraising table at an Alice B. Toklas LGBTQ Democratic Club dinner because the dinner honored Foster. I asked his advice every time an election rolled around. Foster was a staunch Democrat who believed he could do more for the community working inside the system. If the community was going to win its civil rights, it had to have a queer political See page 21 >>

Besties

From page 15

Best LGBTQ Center

San Francisco LGBT Community Center Opened in 2002, the community center at 1800 Market Street provides economic and youth services and spaces for myriad gatherings. In June, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-California) visited and discussed his plans for a bipartisan mental health caucus, as the B.A.R. reported at the time. Padilla and several other senators launched the caucus just last week. Rebecca Rolfe, a lesbian, is the center’s longtime executive director. She was grateful for the votes, calling it “an incredible honor” to be named the best LGBTQ community center in the Bay Area by the B.A.R.’s readers. “For over two decades, we’ve served as a beacon of hope for the LGBTQ+ community. To this day, our mission

John Ferrannini

U.S. Senator Alex Padilla, center, spoke about LGBTQ mental health issues June 28 at the San Francisco LGBT Community Center, where he was joined by District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, left, and the center’s executive director, Rebecca Rolfe.

has rang true – to connect our beautifully diverse community to opportunities, resources, and each other,” Rolfe stated. “We believe that everyone deserves to feel safe, supported, and

Thank you for voting

Project Open Hand Best LGBTQ Nonprofit Help us celebrate over 35 years of meals with love by donating or joining us at an upcoming event between now and Dec. 31!

Attend the Hand to Hand Gala on Nov. 17 Scan the QR code or visit https://h2h23.givesmart.org

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celebrated for who they are, and we’re committed to making that a reality.” Rolfe thanked the community for its “unwavering dedication.” “Whether we are helping LGBTQ+ people find affirming jobs, celebrate their artistry, or access critical resources in the Bay Area, we’re always working to build a brighter, more equitable future,” she added. “Your support has been instrumental in helping us make a difference in the lives of thousands of LGBTQ+ people.” For more information, visit www.sfcenter.org/.

Runner-up Oakland LGBTQ Community Center

Steven Bracco

The SF Fury Unleashed A team traveled to Dallas in 2022 for the Gay Softball World Series. The team took second place in the A Division.

mosexuality was still illegal. The tradition of the teams playing each other continued through 1978, when the assassination of gay supervisor Harvey Milk and mayor George Moscone by former supervisor and police officer Dan White once again soured relationships between the communities. The role the softball league has in breaking down social barriers, however, continues to this day. The league’s inclusive and open attitude has not come without controversy. In particular, three San Francisco players – LaRon Charles, Jon Russ, and Steven Apilado – helped to spearhead changes to the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Association’s

Best LGBTQ Sports League

San Francisco Gay Softball League

A repeat winner in this category, the San Francisco Gay Softball League celebrated its 50th anniversary this year. As the B.A.R. previously reported, over the 50 years, the organization estimates that approximately 30,000 members have participated. The league is open to everyone in the LGBTQ+ community and allies, and has two divisions, the Open Division and the Women’s+ Division. A victory over a police softball team 49 years ago was big news, and the annual game between the gay and police softball teams helped ease tensions at a time when ho-

Jane Philomen Cleland

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr basked in adulation from fans during the team’s 2022 NBA championship parade in San Francisco.

rules to include bisexual and trans players. The case was settled in 2011. The league did not return a request for comment. For more information, visit www.sfgsl.org/.

Runner-up San Francisco Fog Rugby

Best Pro Sports Team

Golden State Warriors The Dubs may not have won the championship this year, but they did win an exciting playoff series against the upstart Sacramento Kings (they ultimately lost the next series to the Los Angeles Lakers). However, the 2022 Warriors’ NBA championship victory parade brought revelers to see stars Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green party up Market Street. (While live on Instagram from his boat heading into the city that day, Thompson’s hat flew off his head into the wind.) The 2023-24 season started Tuesday, and the Warriors hope to bring the championship trophy back to San Francisco. The Warriors did not return a request for comment. For more information, go to www.nba.com/warriors

Runner-up San Francisco Giants

Health News>>

October 26-November 1, 2023 • Bay Area Repor ter • 17

CDC issues 1st doxyPEP guidelines for STI prevention by Liz Highleyman

he federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued its first proposed guidelines for using the antibiotic doxycycline as post-exposure prophylaxis to prevent sexually transmitted infections, an approach known as doxyPEP. The draft will be open for public comment until November 16. The guidelines, published October 2 in the Federal Register, state that a single 200 milligram dose of oral doxycycline taken within 72 hours after sex should be considered for gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men and for transgender women who have had gonorrhea, chlamydia, or syphilis at least once during the past year. Due to a lack of evidence, “no recommendation can be given at this time” on the use of doxyPEP for cisgender women, cisgender heterosexual men, transgender men, or other queer or non-binary individuals, the proposed guidelines add. According to the guidelines, doxyPEP “should be implemented in the context of a comprehensive sexual health approach including risk reduction counseling, STI screening and treatment, recommended vaccination, and linkage to HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), HIV care, or other services, as appropriate.” The new prevention intervention makes its debut at a time when STI rates are rising steeply in the United States, though San Francisco saw a drop in 2022, (https://www.ebar.com/ story.php?323458) especially in syphilis cases. It is not yet clear whether the city’s early rollout of doxyPEP has contributed to the decline. “It is really essential to have national guidelines to make providers aware of doxyPEP, who may benefit from this new prevention tool, and how to approach providing it safely,” Dr. Annie

Liz Highleyman

Dr. Annie Luetkemeyer of UCSF co-led a doxyPEP trial and presented findings at the 2022 International AIDS Conference.

Luetkemeyer of UCSF told the Bay Area Reporter. “Guidelines are an important first step to address equitable access for those who are most impacted by recurrent STIs and who may be at risk for lack of access, given existing health disparities.”

DoxyPEP research

The draft guidelines are supported by results from the DoxyPEP trial, led by Luetkemeyer and Dr. Connie Celum of the University of Washington. The study, first presented at the 2022 International AIDS Conference, (https://www.ebar.com/story. php?319396) enrolled more than 500 men and transgender women who have sex with men at public health clinics in San Francisco and Seattle. About a third were living with HIV and the rest were taking PrEP. The participants were randomly assigned to receive a single dose of oral doxycycline within 72 hours after condomless sex or the standard of care, which is regular testing and treatment following an STI diagnosis.

The study was scheduled to run until May 2023, but it was halted a year early after an interim analysis showed that doxyPEP significantly reduced STI incidence. For people with HIV, doxycycline reduced the risk of acquiring gonorrhea by 57%, chlamydia by 74%, and syphilis by 77%. For those on PrEP, the risk reduction was 55%, 88%, and 87%, respectively. The French DoxyVAC trial also showed that doxycycline after sex reduced the risk of acquiring the three STIs. In both studies, adherence was good and doxycycline was generally safe and well tolerated, though the drug can cause side effects including gastrointestinal symptoms, irritation of the esophagus, and sensitivity to sunlight. However, a study of cisgender women in Kenya found that taking doxycycline after sex did not significantly reduce the risk of STIs in this population. Although the drug appeared to reach adequate concentrations in vaginal and cervical tissue, many participants reported that their

adherence was “imperfect,” suggesting that doxyPEP might protect women if they use it more consistently. The CDC guidelines recommend doxyPEP for cisgender men who have sex with men and transgender women with a history of STIs, the group with the strongest evidence of benefit, but “they leave the door open for other populations,” Luetkemeyer said. “We don’t have data for men who have sex with women, and we don’t have data to support its use in cisgender women yet. However, clinicians can use the guidance to have a case-by-case discussion with people who aren’t included in the recommendation to decide if doxyPEP makes sense while we are learning more,” she added. “The CDC could have stated that doxyPEP should not be given to anyone outside of the recommendation, but that would be overly narrow.” Preventive use of doxycycline is not without concerns. One is that widespread use of antibiotics could lead to drug resistance, although this did not appear to be a clinically significant problem in studies to date. Another is that frequent antibiotic use could disrupt the microbiome, the ecosystem of healthy bacteria that normally live in the gut and elsewhere in the body. The CDC guidance states that these potential risks “will need to be closely monitored.” Equitable access will also be an issue. Inexpensive generic doxycycline is widely available, but the cost could add up if people take it frequently. What’s more, everyone who could potentially benefit from doxyPEP may not have access to sex-positive providers who know about the new intervention and will offer it without stigma, advocates noted.

DoxyPEP in San Francisco

In keeping with its pioneering role in promoting LGBTQ sexual health, San Francisco was the first city to issue

doxyPEP guidelines last October. Since then, more than 3,000 residents have used doxyPEP, according to the SF Department of Public Health. “We know that our community is very interested in taking advantage of this innovation in sexual health,” SF City Clinic medical director Dr. Stephanie Cohen told the B.A.R. at the time. “We believe this is a really important, innovative public health strategy for STI prevention.” San Francisco’s doxyPEP recommendation is broader than the CDC’s, including cisgender gay and bisexual men, transgender women and transgender men who have had multiple male or trans woman sex partners during the past year, even if they have not previously been diagnosed with an STI. Based on these criteria, Cohen estimated that around 35,000 city residents could be eligible for doxyPEP. “We are pleased to see the CDC release draft national guidelines for the use of doxyPEP for prevention of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis. We are also proud to be the first health department in the nation to issue guidance and recommendations for doxyPEP,” SF DPH said in a statement sent to the B.A.R. “Many providers and community members in San Francisco have embraced this welcome advance in the field of sexual health.” “SF DPH has been offering doxyPEP to clients who meet eligibility criteria in our citywide guidance with a focus on equitable access, resulting in high rates of interest and uptake across race and ethnicity relative to the population,” the statement continued. “We remain committed to working with our SF Health Network clinics and community-based organizations so that doxyPEP, and all sexual health services and resources, reach previously underserved communities.” t

<< LGBTQ History Month

t Online archive features Gerharter’s B.A.R. photos 18 • Bay Area Repor ter • October 26-November 1, 2023

by Matthew S. Bajko

wo decades ago the San Francisco Public Library purchased a portfolio of photos from longtime Bay Area Reporter photographer Rick Gerharter. He selected most of the photographs documenting the city’s LGBTQ community. “I chose the photos I liked obviously for their coherence,” recalled Gerharter. “They were news photos so they’ve got to reflect the experience and reflect the news story, or whatever it is, so that is the limitation in the photos.” Jim Van Buskirk, at the time the program manager for the library’s Hormel Gay & Lesbian Center, now known as the James C. Hormel LGBTQIA+ Center, also selected several of Gerharter’s photos for the library’s collection. One showed the Dykes on Bikes going by the New Main Library under construction in the city’s Civic Center as they kicked off the June 19, 1994 Pride parade in San Francisco. “We were concerned about diversity. We are everywhere, and our goal was reflecting that as much as possible,” said Gerharter about their decision-making process behind which photos ended up being bought by the library. He received $10,000 for the portfolio of his work in July 2003. Until last fall, the photos could only be seen in person at the library. Now, anyone from anywhere on the planet can call up 26 of Gerharter’s photos on their internetconnected device. They are part of the library’s online Hormel LGBTQIA Center Collection and accessible at the webpage https://digitalsf.org/islandora/ object/islandora%3A194682. Dee Dee Kramer, a lesbian who is the manager of the library’s Digi Center, uploaded the Rick Gerharter Photographs Collection last fall. She did so as part of the library’s LGBTQ archival digitization effort, which the B.A.R. first

Rick Gerharter Photographs Collection, SFPL

Andy Ilves and Tom Tymstone kiss during a Queer Nation kiss-in at the Powell Street cable car turnaround in 1990.

reported about last October. “I am glad it is more accessible. I haven’t gotten any further inquiries from it,” said Gerharter. “Over the years there was always a verbal description of the photos on the Hormel website. What was always accessible was what was the day and event but not the photo itself. I would get regular inquiries about the photos.” One of his favorites in the collection depicts Andy Ilves and Tom Tymstone lip-locked during a July 28, 1990 Queer Nation kiss-in at the Powell Street cable car turnaround in downtown San Francisco. Tymstone is a fellow photographer, while Ilves was an aide to late former San Francisco supervisor and then district attorney Terence Hallinan. “He was Estonian. His brother, I believe, was prime minister of Estonia,” said Gerharter, referring to Toomas Hendrik Ilves, who served as the country’s fourth president from 2006 until 2016. On assignment for the B.A.R., which grants photographers the copyrights to their photos, Gerharter has used the image often, he said. For instance, he chose

it for the promotional cards of the show “Queer Pix” mounted in 1991 during Pride Month in the Castro at the defunct Josie’s Cabaret and Juice Joint. “I think it says San Francisco right away,” said Gerharter, who also likes its angular composition and truly gay content. “I just think it encapsulates, for me, a lot of what San Francisco is and a lot of the special qualities of San Francisco.” With the photos now being online, Gerharter said he hasn’t received an influx of queries about them. “Certainly, they are much more accessible, my god, so that is really nice to get that stuff out there,” he said. “Some of the things have more broad historical importance and some have had more interest certainly over the years, especially as people die too.”

Came to SF in 1977

Gerharter, 71, a gay man who grew up on a farm in Aberdeen, South Dakota, moved to San Francisco in 1977. The B.A.R. first published one of his photos in 1987. It was the same year that he sold a

photo to the California Lawyers for the Arts. It showed the late gay San Francisco supervisor Harry Britt on a panel with his then congressional opponent, Nancy Pelosi, who would go on to win the special election for the open House seat and is seeking her 19th term next year. “I knew I wanted to be a photographer,” recalled Gerharter, whose archival collection begins in 1986 when he traveled throughout South America with a friend. “I wanted to continue to travel and I knew getting a 9-to-5 job would not allow me to do that. Photography was a natural way for me to travel.” He ended up living and working in Fortaleza, Brazil for six months, having met a guy at a bar there. They returned together to the U.S. and dated for two years. Once back in San Francisco Gerharter enrolled in a photography class at City College. He did so mostly to learn how to develop film in a darkroom. “A lucky break for me was just at the time I was competent enough to sell photos, AIDS activism started. So there was a lot to take photographs of,” recalled Gerharter. “The protests were very visual, and in many cases, there was international interest in the activity. Selling that sort of sustained me.” His photos of the Castro Sweep, when police rioted in the city’s LGBTQ neighborhood the night of October 6, 1989, impressed then B.A.R. news editor Brent Averill. One of his pictures from that evening, of police arresting protestors, is part of the library’s digital collection of his work. “I got extremely dramatic photos of that,” said Gerharter, who was offered a staff position with the paper in 1990. The next year he left in order to travel in Europe. But he has remained one of the paper’s go-to freelance photographers to this day. “The paper over the years, and the various editors, have been extremely ac-

commodating with me being gone and coming back and not losing out,” said Gerharter. In February, during one of his out-ofstate trips, Gerharter passed out while driving his car in downtown Reno. Someone who witnessed his accident gave him CPR, likely saving his life, said Gerharter, who doesn’t know the person’s identity. He also happened to be one block away from a nonprofit run regional medical center. “I am extremely lucky to be alive. I really am,” he said. After nine days in Nevada, Gerharter was transported back to San Francisco, where he had double bypass surgery at UCSF. “I am good. The people of Reno saved my life. During my recovery, I also had incredible care,” said Gerharter. “A lot of gay people were involved in this too, especially in Reno. I have recovered, I am well healthwise.” He has been in talks over the years to donate the entirety of his archives to the library’s Hormel center. While Gerharter doesn’t know the exact count of photos in his archives, he estimated it runs in the tens of thousands. He does know the linear amount of space his archives cover is 22 yards. “We’ve not signed an agreement yet,” said Gerharter. He had toyed with giving it to the GLBT Historical Society, but Gerharter said he has had more of a relationship with the library, which has mounted several shows of his photographic work over the years. “I have had more exhibits at the library. In some ways they have been a bit more supportive,” said Gerharter. And he feels it will be able to care for the photographic collection for decades to come. “They will have the resources to maintain it for 100 years or 200 years, for forever and ever,” said Gerharter. t

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t LGBTQ+ online dating was created for community

October 26-November 1, 2023 • Bay Area Repor ter • 19

by Michele Zipkin

rom casual hookups to friendships to meeting the love of your life, LGBTQ+ online dating was created out of a need for community. When I first messaged my wife of six years on OkCupid in 2014, I didn’t realize I was taking part in an online LGBTQ+ culture that first manifested in the early 1990s. I turned to dating apps specifically to find a romantic partner and to take the guesswork out of flirting with women in real life. But little did I know that the world of queer online dating and connection was born in part out of the need for solidarity between gay men during the early years of the HIV/AIDS crisis. Andy Cramer, currently the CEO of Caregiving Network, launched the bulletin board system Gay.Net in December 1993. Bulletin board systems (BBSs) were the major online spaces. They were “local or regional dial-up networks – often running on a single computer or a handful of them – operated mostly by hobbyists or enthusiasts,” writer and software engineer David Auerbach wrote in the Slate article “When AOL was GayOL.” A lot of BBSs for gay men developed in the 1980s and 1990s, such as the Backroom and Gay.Net. Cramer came up with the idea for Gay.Net after he had been operating several Headlines stores on Castro and Polk streets in San Francisco, which were “the epicenters of gay life,” he said. When HIV/ AIDS hit the U.S. in 1981, Cramer and his employees across 10 stores became frontline workers over the next 14 years. “We had fundraisers, we sold condoms for a penny,” Cramer said. “We did everything that we could do.” Cramer thought about the thousands of people he helped over the course of a decade and a half, how he lost so many friends to AIDS and how lonely that was for gay men who felt disconnected from the community. “I went out and I bought a bulletin board system because at the time, there was nothing online,” Cramer said. Cramer launched Gay.Net using a BBS software with graphical overlays, and mailed out diskettes that allowed members to install the software. In the first year of its existence, 10,000 gay and bisexual men paid $10 a month to access Gay.Net, which was initially run on just 16 modems. “We had Prodigy, we had AOL and Compuserve,” Cramer said. “They were all heavily censored. I wanted to open up a site where people could be who they were. People first put on fake pictures, then they put on avatars and then they put on real pictures, but the real pictures contained all kinds of things.” Cramer even met his husband of 27 years, Al Farmer, through Gay.Net. Farmer initially couldn’t log onto the platform for a month because it was so popular and its modems were always tied up. After Cramer eventually took Gay.Net onto the web, Farmer, a technology expert who worked for IBM at the time, would sign on every day and help Cramer improve aspects of the site. Cramer later merged Gay.Net with Gay.Com, which grew from 1 million to 4 million users in 1999. He left the company later that year, and it went public in 2004. The site went through numerous leadership changes before it was eventu-

Obituaries >> Jamie Summers October 10, 1954 – September 28, 2023

One of the most beautiful souls in our community, Jamie Summers, died Thursday, September 28, as a result of a car accident on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. Our beautiful standard poodle puppy, Bijou, also died. Jamie was a chiropractor and body worker for over 30 years and was a respected healer. He loved singing and had been a member of the gay men’s chorus. He loved people and easily

Courtesy Grindr

Grindr pioneered geolocation technology so that people could hookup instantly.

Courtesy PGN

An early screenshot shows the old Gay.Net website.

ally sold to the Los Angeles LGBT Center. “I’m proud of it to this day,” Cramer said. “We created the first site where people can go who were lonely and unsure of themselves to be able to go meet each other. Some people met each other in many different ways, but it really was the first dating site. Even to this day, I get people walking up to me saying ‘thank you, I got married because of you.’ And ‘thank you, I got my first boyfriend.’ I was very happy to bring four to six million people together.”

Lesbian sites

Even though Cramer had lesbian friends at the time, he didn’t know how to foster the same sense of online community for queer women, he said. But that doesn’t mean that there weren’t digital spaces for lesbians in the early- to mid1990s. Even before email became mainstream, email lists became very popular for the lesbian community. Jean Marie Diaz created Sappho in the U.S. in 1987, which was ground zero for lesbian lists at the time, Auerbach reported in Slate. However, lists that were designated as solely for lesbians sparked debates regarding whether users felt comfortable with bisexual and trans women taking part, Amy Goodloe told Slate. Goodloe ran numerous LGBTQ+ lists and created lesbian.org in the mid-1990s, one of the first big lesbian websites. In a NetCafe video interview housed on archive.org, (https://archive.org/details/nc105_women) Goodloe said she built the site “for women to be able to find each other; to be able to communicate with other women going through similar issues that they might be going through; to find other lesbians in their area, or women just struggling with their identity.” She made the site for “people who want information about coming out; people who want information about support groups in their area; what is it like to be a lesbian mom?” She added, “I wanted it to be, more than anything, a place for a group of people who [don’t] have much visibility in the culture to come together and find each other and know that they’re not alone.” Despite the existence of some online formed deep bonds with friends and clients. He had a gift for seeing beauty and light in people, including the destitute on the street. He was the sweetest, kindest, most gentle, loving, affectionate man I have ever met. My man, my guy, my moose (I called him moosey) was fun, funny and soulful. Physical touch, acts of service, quality time, and words of affirmation were our love languages. He was “daddy” to our puppy, Bijou. She brought an amazing amount of joy to us; she was a happy, good girl. I hope he is with her now. Jamie is survived by two brothers, Don and Gary, who can’t imagine life without him. His best friend from childhood, Steve (a third brother real-

spaces and a variety of email lists for queer women, spaces for queer men continued to go full-steam ahead in the 1990s. Services like Compuserve and AOL made it easier to get online by providing community forums and chat rooms, according to Auerbach. Later in the decade, AOL became rife with gay-centric chat rooms.

Other gay sites

The website Gaydar, which launched in 1999, was another early mainstream gay dating site. It provided a space for queer men to talk to each other in chat rooms and one on one. “Gaydar was made to broadly appeal to guys wanting dates, relationships and just sex,” according to PinkNews. Gary Frisch and his partner Henry Badenhorst, two South African men who have since passed away, founded Gaydar. Although more queer-specific dating apps popped up in the 2000s as the internet became more sophisticated, one of the early web 2.0-era dating apps that attracted LGBTQ+ users was OkCupid, which came out in 2004. OkCupid matches people based on in-app questions, which are tailored for queer users and even vary for different sub-identities within the LGBTQ+ umbrella, said Michael Kaye, director of brand marketing and communications for OkCupid. “I think LGBTQ+ people were always really early adopters to online dating,” Kaye said. “Speaking from experience, we are limited to the safe spaces that we have available. However, when we first launched [OkCupid] and still to this day, we’ve always positioned ourselves as a dating app for everyone – no matter how you identify, no matter what you’re looking for.” OkCupid was the first dating app to expand gender and sexual orientation identifiers, which they fleshed out to 60 identifiers in 2021, thanks to a partnership with the Human Rights Campaign. The OkCupid team also works with GLAAD to expand pronoun options for users. “We are seeing that with each generation, they’re becoming more and more fluid,” Kaye added. “They’re becoming more open with sharing their identity. Al-

ly) can’t either. Neither can I. There are many dear friends who feel the same way. He is also survived by Robert, his former partner of 30 years. As his partner, lessons from him include: Always be kind, remember that everyone has an inner battle going on, be gentle with people, and greet people with love. If we could all be more like Jamie. Courage, dignity and grace, love and support from others, as well as gratitude for having Jamie as my life partner are what sustain me now. A Service will be held at 1 p.m., Saturday, November 18, at the Emeryville Senior Center, 4321 Salem Street. I love you, sweetheart – John Donohie

most 20% of daters in the United States on OkCupid identify as LGBTQ+. This was up from 18% in 2022 and 17% in 2021.” Timaree Schmidt, Ph.D., who goes by Dr. Timaree professionally, is a sexologist, professor, writer and human sexuality consultant. She said she thinks it’s helpful for people to have as many options as possible when it comes to making connections. “Whether you’re queer, poly, a parent, trans, have specific political beliefs, a positive STI status, a religious affiliation – whatever – there are advantages to putting these parts of your life front and center, even as they narrow your potential targets,” she wrote in an email, referring to sexually transmitted infections. “An early example of this was when OkCupid let users choose to only be visible to other queer folks. If you’re a lesbian who doesn’t want to hear from a bunch of straight men, for example, that kind of option makes the experience of the site much better.”

Grindr

The landscape of queer dating seemed to change again when Grindr came out in 2009, a men who have sex with mencentric dating app that probably needs no introduction. Co-launched by tech entrepreneur Joel Simkhai, Grindr was the first geolocation dating app and one of the first third-party apps for the iPhone. It was created “as a casual dating app for the queer community,” said Grindr’s Chief Product Officer AJ Balance. “Grindr is a community that welcomes anyone who wants to use the app,” Balance said. “We have users of all genders and sexualities who use the app. Queer men are the largest segment but over time, we’ve seen more user segments adopt the app and then find value in it. Over time, Grindr has become really important to a lot of folks in the community. Many users do use it for casual dating, and users also find dates and long-term

partners from the app.” As its usership grew over the years, Grindr started to provide sexual health resources to its userbase, including a blueprint for trans and nonbinary sexual health. The blueprint includes info on general sexual health concerns, the social determinants of health, sex work and other topics. Grindr also provides resources like free HIV/STI home tests, information about doxyPEP and vaccinations, and other connections to resources. (DoxyPEP involves using the antibiotic doxycycline as post-exposure prophylaxis to prevent sexually transmitted infections.) This effort is part of the social justice program Grindr for Equality, which centers on “LGBTQ+ safety, health and human rights worldwide,” according to its website. Grindr had been owned by a Chinese company for a time, but was sold to U.S.based company San Vicente Acquisition Partners in 2020, after the U.S. raised national security concerns, according to TechCrunch. However, Simkhai left Grindr in 2017 after spending years as its CEO, during a time when issues of transphobia, racism, and fatphobia permeated some of the app’s usership, NBC News reported in 2022. That year, Simkhai launched the dating app Motto, which he created to try to stave off the culture of “toxicity and discrimination” that has pervaded other queer dating apps, according to NBC News. Balance, Grindr’s chief product officer, said that the team takes safety and privacy very seriously, and takes measures to ensure that users’ experiences are safe and confidential. “We have both technology and operational processes to ensure user safety and privacy, including both proactive and reactive components,” Balance said. “For example, we have very robust moderation capabilities where users can report incidents and our team responds quickly to help address them. We also take proactive steps to help identify and prevent any negative experiences that users could face on the platform.”

Inclusivity

Like Simkhai’s Motto, some queer dating app creators who have launched products a little more recently are making concerted efforts to be more inclusive of trans and nonbinary users. One such app is HER, (https://weareher.com/) which describes itself as a “FLINTA (female, lesbian, intersex, trans and agender) community and dating app.” See page 20 >>

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20 • Bay Area Repor ter • October 26-November 1, 2023

Flicks and costumes at the Castro Theatre

Halloween

From page 1

to bring back was “a spirit of Halloween when it started in the Castro that was a community feeling,” he said.

Storefront activations

Civic Joy Fund, a $2.5 million project Yekutiel co-launched to energize the city’s commercial corridors, is spending between $100,000 and $150,000 on 43 storefront activations, he stated. Yekutiel told the B.A.R. last week that the merchants participating in the October 28 effort will be reimbursed. “That way we’ll have all the receipts and we’ll pay them for what they’ve spent,” he said. Surveying a map of the activations, Yekutiel said, “This is kind of overwhelming. Wow.” “I’m so proud over 40 Castro merchants are going to be organizing activations on Halloween,” he said. “This seems like the perfect way to bring back Halloween that’s community focused, that helps the local economy, and I’m so proud to help the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence bring back the historic costume contest that hasn’t happened in so long.” Mandelman is pleased with Yekutiel’s efforts. “When the Civic Joy Fund raised the idea of resurrecting Halloween in the Castro all stakeholders agreed it should be a family-friendly celebration and helpful to our merchants,” Mandelman stated to the B.A.R. “I’m so happy to see so many Castro merchants sign up to host activations and I’m grateful to the event organizers for putting in the hard work to make this a reality.” Among the merchants who’ll be activating her storefront is Terry Asten Bennett, a straight ally who is president of the Castro Merchants Association and the co-owner of Cliff ’s Variety at 479 Castro Street. “Cliff’s will have face painting and crafts from 1 to 5 [p.m.],” she stated. “Donations accepted.” There will also be a pie-eating contest there at 5 p.m., with a $5 entry fee and prizes. “I think it is going to be a really fun weekend,” Asten Bennett stated, adding

Steven Underhill

Pikachu made an appearance in the Castro last year for Halloween.

she’s happy with the number of participating businesses. “It should bring great energy and fun to our community.” Local Take at 4122 18th Street will be having do-it-yourself all-ages crafts, including creating felt pumpkins, from 1 to 3 p.m. “Make your own mini pumpkin patch with mini felt pumpkins, a ceramic pot, and felt pumpkin patch accessories,” stated Jenn Meyer, a straight ally who is the owner of the store. From 4 to 6 p.m. a psychic will come to Local Take to do tarot and palm readings. Over at Fabulosa Books at 489 Castro Street, there will be three events, gay owner Alvin Orloff told the B.A.R. “Starting at noon, there will be a bookmark making contest for children and that will end at around 2 p.m.,” Orloff stated. “After that, from 2 to 4 there will be an activity called ‘Ask A Witch,’ which is where all partygoers are encouraged to pick a question from the witches’ cauldron and will be given their answer in the form of a book title! There will be an actual witch presiding over this activity. Our final activity will be tarot reading from 5 to 7.” Welcome Castro, the new pop-up gift shop and welcome center at 525 Castro Street, will be having three live musicians that day, gay owner Robert Emmons told the B.A.R.

Steven Underhill

Two people donned carved pumpkins as part of their Halloween costume last year.

“From 11 to 2 we’ll have Clementine Darling, from 2 to 5 we’ll feature Sibly Moon Dreamer and we’ll end the day from 5 to 8 with A Talent for Mischief,” Emmons stated. There will also be a game of cornhole. The Castro LGBTQ Cultural District is hosting a meet and greet from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the GLBT Historical Society Museum at 4127 18th Street. “I am very happy that the Meet and Greet features comedians [former San Francisco supervisor and assemblymember] Tom Ammiano and Marga Gomez,” Tina Aguirre, a genderqueer person who is director of the district, stated to the B.A.R. “Community members – you’re invited to meet current and newly-elected advisory board members along with our staff. Costumes encouraged!” With support from Civic Joy Fund, the museum will be free for visitors throughout the day, according to Andrew Shaffer, the historical society’s communications director. “Spellbound” at the Academy, 2166 Market Street, will be from 7 to 11 p.m. Members can go for free but others will need to purchase a ticket, according to gay co-founder Nate Bourg. “We are excited about our Halloween event this Saturday,” Bourg stated. Other storefront activations include “Nightmare on Noe Street” at Flore Dispensary, 258 Noe Street; live music, free samples of fun buns and dough boys and

From page 1

Online dating

From page 19

“At HER, we aim to create a secure space for queer folks to unapologetically be themselves and build meaningful connections,” HER founder Robyn Exton stated in an email. “We have vigorous verification processes and community guidelines, all with user safety in mind.” This year, the HER team upped the ante on its “no TERFs” policy, or those who are hostile to trans people, and

chances to win cash at Chadwick’s, 2375 Market Street, from noon to 4 p.m.; a drag show and DJs at Freeborn Designs, 463 Castro Street; and contemporary gender-affirming haircuts, live entertainment, food, beverages, gift bags and photography at Headprint Studio, 4327 18th Street. The fun continues with “I Ain’t Afraid of No Ghost” at the Lookout, 3600 16th Street; “Little Shop of Spooky” at How’s It Hanging, 548 Castro Street; a Halloween tunnel and pumpkin decor at Hernandez Chiropractic, 550A Castro Street; “Naked and Unafraid: A Reading” at Theatre Rhinoceros, 4229 18th Street; a hot spot at Hot Cookie, 407 Castro Street; a “safe and fun Halloween event” at Oz Pizza, 508 Castro Street; a fortune teller at Does Your Mother Know, 4141 18th Street; and “Tricks For Treats” at Jeffrey’s Natural Pet Foods, 284 Noe Street; Other participants will be the “Halloween Extravaganza” at Eureka Sky, 3989 17th Street; “Halloween Airbrush” at Skin on Market, 2299 Market Street Unit C; the “Freak Show” at Queer Arts Featured, 575 Castro Street; “Dirty Carnival” at Copper, 4092 18th Street; “Spiders” at Adult Store, 518 Castro Street; and Friends of Harvey Milk Plaza’s “Castro’s Lesbian Bar” at Harvey Milk Plaza at Castro and Market streets. by a nonprofit committed to the mission of preserving Del and Phyllis’ memory.” He told the B.A.R. October 16 that he had not been apprised of the friends groups’ inability to raise the money needed to buy the home. “They have not communicated with me, so it’s hard for me to comment without knowing about their efforts,” said Mandelman. “It is disappointing, and a little surprising to me. But, again, I don’t know what they have done or tried to do.”

Lyon-Martin House

They offered to sell the existing building to the Friends of the Lyon-Martin House for $1.2 million, according to Shayne Watson, a lesbian and architectural historian who co-founded the group. Earlier this year the friends held a charrette inside the home to discuss its future usage and announced its desire to buy it in April on its Instagram page. “In seeking to acquire the house, the Friends of Lyon-Martin House need your support. The house requires significant structural repairs, and its small size, limited occupancy, and siting on a steep hill in a residential neighborhood present public access and accessibility challenges,” the group noted in its post. As of this month, it was the last post by the friends group on its page. During a phone interview in early October with the B.A.R. Watson said the group had been unable to raise the money needed to buy the Lyon-Martin House. She expects it will be put back on the market for sale at some point. “We couldn’t raise that money,” said Watson. “We have a plan in place for acquisition, but we are just a small com-

Hoping legacy is honored

mittee that I arranged. We don’t have expertise in terms of fundraising. None of us feel comfortable asking for money.” Whoever does buy the home hopefully will be committed to its preservation, added Watson. “We want it to go to someone in the community,” she said. Mandelman said it is “unfortunate”

that the friends group is not able to buy the historic structure, which is San Francisco’s 292nd city landmark. “It is good the building is still there and it is protected in as far as you can protect something with a landmark designation,” he said. “It is disappointing they were not able to come up with the money to ensure it would be operated

Even though it has landmark status, the house can still be acquired for use as a private residence. Should someone purchase it to be their home, Mandelman told the B.A.R. he hoped they would honor its legacy as an important LGBTQ historic site. “I think you have to do it with the clarity and a lot of care to preserving the historic integrity of the property. Maybe there will be someone for whom owning the Lyon-Martin House and being able to be the steward of that will be exciting,” said Mandelman. “A great outcome would be for it to be a museum or some nonprofit-owned resource. If a private owner wants to own it and use it in a

sent out user notifications and publicly conveyed an anti-TERF position on Lesbian Visibility Day, Exton said. Before launching HER in 2015, dating for LGBTQ+ women had its challenges, Exton said. “All of the online platforms for women were just reskins of sites built for gay men but turned pink, asking you how much body hair you had, or straight sites that were filled with guys asking you for a threesome. It felt crazy to me, at the time, that no one had truly made a dating product for women.”

Before rebranding the app to HER, Exton first released it as Dattch, which was solely a dating and hookup app designed for women seeking women. Exton found that Grindr was the first dating app that she thought created “an incredible experience for its users.” “It was a huge inspiration for starting HER,” Exton said. “When we first came out, we were very similar to Grindr – very hookup-focused and it didn’t really work for our community. We learned that the experience on so many dating apps was designed to serve men, including all the straight

apps. There was just nothing out there that displayed the information women wanted to see, that connected the community, that resonated with the young queer women I knew.” Currently, HER provides users with more content, events, and opportunities to connect with friends. “We listened really carefully to what people were asking for and as we realized so many people were using the app to make friends,” Exton said. “We realized their needs sat so much further outside of dating and we wanted to be a part of the total experience.”

Matthew S. Bajko

A view of the vacant plot of land, left, that is part of the property containing the Lyon-Martin House, seen at right.

A key part of the festivities October 28 will be $5 film tickets all day at the Castro Theatre, 429 Castro Street, punctuated by a costume contest hosted by Sister Roma and the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. The contest will be from 8 to 9:30 p.m. at the theater, followed by “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” at 10 p.m. Admission to all films is free with a costume, up to 200 people. Sister Roma did not return a request for comment by press time. David Perry, a gay man who’s a spokesperson for Another Planet Entertainment, which runs the theater, stated, “We are thrilled and honored to be part of this neighborhood celebration on one of San Francisco’s favorite holidays.” The other films are “Death Becomes Her” at 1:30 p.m., “Edward Scizzorhands” at 3:45 p.m. and “Hocus Pocus” at 6 p.m.

Don’t forget Sunday Funday

The weekend’s festivities don’t end there. On Sunday, October 29, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Noe Street between Market and Beaver streets will be closed for the Castro Family Halloween Block Party. Lauro Gonzales, founder of ArtyHood, told the B.A.R. that this is the second annual iteration of this event. Gonzales is expecting a crowd of 4,000 people throughout the day. “We’re organizing a mass trick-or-treat with the businesses in the Castro. That’s an important thing to highlight,” Gonzales said. “It’s mostly for people of all ages, the families, but mostly for the kids.” The trick or treating will be between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. During that time kids can also get free photos with the “Wicked Witch of the Castro,” watch a drag queen storytime at 11 a.m., and participate in a costume contest at noon (the winner gets a gift card to Cliff’s Variety) and an arts and crafts table. There will also be a pet costume contest at 2 p.m. (the winner gets a gift basket from Jeffrey’s Natural Pet Foods worth $150) and an adult costume contest at 4 p.m. (the winner gets $500 in cash). People and pet-owners interested in competing have to report to the main stage 15 minutes before the contest time. All contestants have to register in advance at https://forms.gle/ceqWWHRhiKWcQL8A9. t way consistent with its landmark status, I think it is a very good next best option.” The Mckeowns have not responded to the B.A.R.’s request for comment about what their plans are in regard to the Lyon-Martin House. Earlier this year, they received permission from the city’s planning department to build a four-story single family dwelling over a garage with a basement that will have 649 Duncan Street as its address. “No further environmental review is required,” wrote senior environmental planner Don Lewis in his determination dated January 17 that the project was exempt under the state’s California Environmental Quality Act. “There are no unusual circumstances that would result in a reasonable possibility of a significant effect … Building permit approved.” To date, no work has been done at the property. A visit to the site October 19 found the yard overgrowing with vegetation and no indication that any construction would soon commence. “Without the funds to acquire the property, and the longer the landmark is allowed to decay, the future of the LyonMartin House is uncertain,” Watson told the B.A.R. in a follow-up conversation October 19. t

Other dating apps exist that say they’re designed specifically for the trans community. One such app is Tser, (https://www.tser.app/) “a trans dating app for transgender people and their allies to meet online,” according to its website. It also brands itself as a social community where trans folks can go to find friendship and support. The app website says that trans people created Tser. However, Tser received mixed reviews on appfollow.com. One user See page 21 >>

t <<

Community News>>

LGBTQ pioneers

From page 16

presence, and you cannot do that in the closet. He urged intellectuals, artists, and the low-paid workers he worked with to come out to everyone because we had to be honest when confronting people who can’t abide the thought of us. Foster, Martin, and Lyon founded the Alice club, the first queer Democratic club in the country. After much agitation by gay people, the Democratic National Convention in Miami Beach, Florida in 1972 failed to add a gay civil rights plank to the party’s platform. Fearing what Foster would say, conference organizers scheduled him to speak after the vote on the plank was taken. He was not asking for special treatment; he was asking to be recognized as a fellow Democrat. Never had a gay person stood in front of a national audience and asked to be accepted as a gay person. He opened the door Harvey Milk walked through when he ran for Board of Supervisor in 1974. (Milk would go on to win a seat on the Board of Supervisors in 1977.) Foster died in 1990

Al Baum

Jane Philomen Cleland

Philanthropist Al Baum

I could not believe what I just read. This was 1973, 41 years before same-sex marriage was legal, so I read it a second time. Harvard law graduate Al Baum, the deputy director of the Bay Conservation and Development Commission, one of the first environmental groups, and a hot topic in civic-activist circles, told a reporter he was gay. Working for

Online Dating

From page 20

said that despite the app not sending them notifications, “I’ve been pretty happy with this app so far. I can actually message people and see who messaged me for free, unlike other apps.” Another user wrote on appfollow that they found Tser to contain “highly transphobic language everywhere, both from users and creators. Putting cis people in as ‘men’ and ‘women’ invalidates trans women and trans men as women and men.

mayor Joseph Alioto at the time, I was the only out gay man in government, but no one had exposed me in the media. I was thrilled I was not alone. I wanted to know him because, like me, he also had a city planning degree. He was eager to meet and told me he did not intend to come out, but he was proud of who he was, so he did not recant the reporter’s story. Baum had the courage to come out. His breaking the lavender ceiling gave other men working in government permission to come out, but the head of the Parks and Recreation Department, and the power behind the throne at the Redevelopment Agency, remained firmly in the closet. I was the first Ivy League-educated, sexually active gay city planner San Francisco’s civic-minded intelligentsia had ever seen, and Baum was the first Ivy League-educated, generous donor, gay Jew the Jewish community had ever seen. We did not need to come out to each other; we came out to the larger community. Baum’s donation to the old Lavender University began his queer giving. He liked to make friends with the executive director and board members of the nonprofits he supported. Given the number of times he was honored at nonprofit dinners, his gifts were critical to the early stability of the community. I find it curious that Baum never knew exactly where his money came from; he just knew there was enough in his account when he needed it. Baum loved travel, which made setting up a lunch date difficult because he was either just coming back from an extended trip or he was about to embark on one. Baum always wanted to know what I said about him, and while this barely scrapes the surface, he would be pleased to be here. Baum died in 2021

October 26-November 1, 2023 • Bay Area Repor ter • 21

was out of my league when he listed the men attending the retreat. I was a midlevel civil servant; other participants were Tom Waddell, an Olympic medalist, and Jim Hormel, a wealthy philanthropist. Berg’s mission was assuring the queer community had the social services the straight community took for granted. Our early nonprofits disintegrated either because they did not care to raise money, or the founder absconded with the bank account. The founder’s best intentions were not worth much when he didn’t turn those intentions into a service. As an attorney, Berg could secure the federal 501(c)(3) legal status nonprofits must have to operate. He knew our nonprofits had to be run professionally, so he identified queer leaders and experts and placed them in the appropriate places in queer nonprofits. His group organized a $1,000-a-plate gala (an outrageous amount of money in 1978). They used the money raised at the dinner to pay for polling that helped defeat the 1978 Briggs initiative that would have banned gays and lesbians from teaching in public schools. After the initiative was defeated, the group helped each other establish nonprofits such as the Freedom Day Marching Band, the Gay Men’s Chorus, and the Gay Olympics (later renamed the Gay Games after a court fight with the U.S. Olympic Committee). They were with me when I was raising money for the Hormel center in the New Main Library. I believe San Francisco is the national model for AIDS care and treatment because Berg saw the need for a network of queer social services. Berg

Courtesy Chuck Forester

Jim Hormel

ed an office in Hormel’s building. I frustrated a nonprofit client because the executive director thought that by hiring me, she was buying a ticket to Hormel. Our friendship was too precious to sully by using it. Hormel knew more about nonprofits than I did, and he made his decisions. A friend worked with her and did not have nice things to say, so even if Hormel had asked my opinion, which he never did, I would have argued against giving her a dime. Hormel asked my partner Schoch to design and install a garden for his home on Buena Vista Avenue. The three tiers astounded him, and his favorite spot to relax was under the oak. Hormel allowed me to hold Schoch’s memorial service in the garden. When Hormel made a gift to the National AIDS Memorial Grove, he put Schoch’s name near the center of the Friends Circle. I think of Hormel as my wealthy gay uncle whose generosity gave the queer community a good deal of its social infrastructure. Hormel died in 2021.

Oregon-raised, Stanford law graduate Jerry Berg was a tall, blond attorney with a commanding presence whose phone calls to then-mayor Dianne Feinstein were promptly returned. He thought I deserved to spend a weekend at Esalen with a group of exceptional men. I was new to California, but Esalen was mythical, so the thought was thrilling, but I

Hormel, heir to the Hormel meatpacking fortune, was born in Austin, Minnesota, a year after aviator Charles Lindberg’s baby was kidnapped. Fearing for his safety, his father had a guard watch Hormel as he grew up. That kept him from experiencing what kids often go through, so he turned that energy into being an accomplished pianist and reading books. To me, Hormel was a genius with the composure of a sage. He took his philanthropy seri-

ously and housed the operation in a building on Market Street near City Hall. His office was on the top floor. His desk and the credenza behind it sagged under the weight of annual reports, obscure publications, and funding proposals, and there were piles of scientific papers on the floor. On a visit, he plucked a paper from deep within a mound and asked if I knew this person’s work on why suppressed people laugh. I did not but thought the author’s unusual take on suppressed people’s laughter was brilliant. He devoted the second floor to his philanthropy, the Loose Change Fund. The receptionist was bright and quick to set up my lunch dates with him. Hormel was careful when donating because he didn’t want a nonprofit to depend on him. His donation to the gay and lesbian center in the New Main Library came with the stipulation that if the library’s funding for the center fell below what it allocated to the center the year the center opened, he would take his money back. Hormel wanted his money to spur the nonprofit to become self-sustaining. Once word got out that Hormel made a large donation, nonprofits afraid to raise money saw him as their silver bullet, and his office was inundated with requests from queer groups thinking he alone could save them. His assistant Ray Mulliner was a brilliant statesman when fending off proposals that just needed Hormel’s money. As a nonprofit consultant, I rent-

‘Transsexual’ is an outdated term that many trans people find quite offensive and dehumanizing.” Mary Richardson, who created the label-free LGBTQ+ dating app Bindr in 2022 with her business partner Brandon Teller, said they came up with the idea for it when “we felt like there wasn’t anywhere that we personally belonged in the dating scene.” Bindr doesn’t prompt users to share their sexual orientation or gender identity, but they’re welcome to include those details in their profiles. Richardson said that trans

women approached her table at Pride events and told her that they don’t typically feel safe on dating apps, but they would feel safe using Bindr because they know she’s in charge of it. Richardson reads every user support ticket herself, she said. “My main goal is for transgender, nonbinary, everybody in between, all of these [lesser] known sexualities and gender orientations to have somewhere they can go and feel safe and not discriminated against,” Richardson said. More of every kind of niche dating app exists these days, and because

more and more people identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community, there are more queer-specific dating sites and apps in recent years, Dr. Timaree said. “Whether it’s better or easier now is a matter of personal opinion,” she said. “More choices mean more opportunities but it also means a dilemma of too much choice. Dating apps create a marketplace-like dynamic where we’re more prone to see each other as products. We try to optimize what we get and we treat each as more disposable. “For most of history, we met peo-

ple at work, friends or family. There was an obligation to be baseline polite to each other, some accountability. Now you can talk to someone for weeks and then stop communicating suddenly without warning. It’s harder to be open to real connections when we’re guarding ourselves from that. t”

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0401417

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0401535

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0401545

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0401588

Jerry Berg

Jim Hormel

The experiment’s results

In the early 1970s, lesbians and gay men in San Francisco created a politically active, cohesive community that celebrates differences. They transformed the Irish working-class Eureka Valley neighborhood into the LGBTQ Castro neighborhood, the first queer neighborhood. The Castro Pride celebrations and Folsom Street Fair weekend made San Francisco a gay mecca for queers around the world. San Francisco was a forerunner of the gay and lesbian rights movement that inspired civil rights for LGBTQ people across the country and continues as a resource for scholars and activists. t Chuck Forester served as a special assistant to San Francisco mayors Joseph Alioto, George Moscone, and Dianne Feinstein. He was a board co-chair of the Human Rights Campaign and led the team that raised $3.5 million for the San Francisco Main Library. His memoir, “I Throw Like A Girl,” was published in 2021.

Michele Zipkin is a reporter at Philadelphia Gay News. This article is part of the LGBTQ Media History Project coordinated by Philadelphia Gay News.

Legals>> AMENDED ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-23-557995

In the matter of the amended application of OLIVIA RUTH HERNANDEZ BAMACA, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appears from said application that petitioner OLIVIA RUTH HERNANDEZ BAMACA is requesting that the name OSCAR MIQUEAS GUTIERREZ HERNANDEZ be changed to MIQUEAS GUTIERREZ HERNANDEZ. 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 1st of NOVEMBER 2023 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

OCT 05, 12, 19, 26, 2023

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-23-558252 In the matter of the application of JOHNSON LIAN CHENG WU, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appears from said application that petitioner JOHNSON LIAN CHENG WU is requesting that the name JOHNSON LIAN CHENG WU be changed to JOHNSON WU. 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 28th of NOVEMBER 2023 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

OCT 05, 12, 19, 26, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0401261

The following person(s) is/are doing business as DAZZLING HOMES, 12772 SARATOGA SUNNYVALE RD #1000, SARATOGA, CA 95070. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed LINDSEY ANNE DAZEL NICHOLS. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/15/2022. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/24/2023.

OCT 05, 12, 19, 26, 2023

The following person(s) is/are doing business as HJ CUSTOM CRAFT, 134 ARLETA AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94134. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed NORMA O. JUAREZ HERNANDEZ. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/13/2023. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/13/2023.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as CT DENTAL, 771 SACRAMENTO ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94108. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed SEEWAN CHIU DDS INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/20/2023. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/20/2023.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0401493

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0401554

OCT 05, 12, 19, 26, 2023

The following person(s) is/are doing business as CLUAIN MEALA PLUMBING, 545 VICENTE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed DAVID MCGRATH. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/22/2023. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/22/2023.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as CIRCLE OF FRIENDS ADULT DAY HEALTH CARE, 1550 STEINER ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed CIRCLE OF FRIENDS ADULT DAY HEALTH CARE, INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/29/2023. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/29/2023.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0401358

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0401564

OCT 05, 12, 19, 26, 2023

The following person(s) is/are doing business as PAPER BOAT ART STUDIO; PAPER BOAT STUDIO, 425 DIVISADERO ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed YING ZHANG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/05/2023. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/05/2023.

OCT 05, 12, 19, 26, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0401503

The following person(s) is/are doing business as FABIO’S PAINTING, 3288 21ST ST #180, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed FABIO PAINTING & DECORATING INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/25/2023. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/25/2023.

OCT 05, 12, 19, 26, 2023

The following person(s) is/are doing business as BAGATELLA, 3348 STEINER ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94123. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed 3348 STEINER INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/02/2023.

OCT 05, 12, 19, 26, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0401406

The following person(s) is/are doing business as MISSION LOTERIA, 4830 MISSION ST #104, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed L MISSION LOTERIA LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/15/2023. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/12/2023.

OCT 05, 12, 19, 26, 2023

The following person(s) is/are doing business as PET CENTRAL SF, 1411 POWELL ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed EJC GROUP LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/16/2023. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/28/2023.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as PADMA CONSULTING, 1150 LOMBARD ST #3, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This busin–ess is conducted by an individual, and is signed MARGARET W. SOUTHERLAND. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/09/2013. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/04/2023.

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-23558827

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0401432

OCT 05, 12, 19, 26, 2023

In the matter of the application of GAVIN OCAMPO SENORA, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appears from said application that petitioner GAVIN OCAMPO SENORA is requesting that the name GAVIN OCAMPO SENORA be changed to GAVIN OCAMPO. 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 4th of JANUARY 2023 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

OCT 12, 19, 26, NOV 02, 2023

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-23558268

In the matter of the application of ELIJAH TERRELL DONALDSON JR., for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appears from said application that petitioner ELIJAH TERRELL DONALDSON JR. is requesting that the name ELIJAH TERRELL DONALDSON JR. be changed to ELIJAH TERRELL BACCAL DONALDSON JR.. 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 21st of DECEMBER 2023 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

OCT 12, 19, 26, NOV 02, 2023

The following person(s) is/are doing business as RAMBO CLEANING SERVICE, 1495 CASA BUENA DR #205, CORTE MADERA, CA 94925. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed EVELYN PATINO. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/14/2023. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/14/2023.

OCT 12, 19, 26, NOV 02, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0401572

The following person(s) is/are doing business as PROSPERPLAY, 1787 OAK ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed LUCIE SCHULZ. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/21/2023. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/03/2023.

OCT 12, 19, 26, NOV 02, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0401457

The following person(s) is/are doing business as MI ZE LA, 777 JACKSON ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed CHUNXI LIU. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 03/16/2015. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/19/2023.

OCT 12, 19, 26, NOV 02, 2023

<< Classifieds

22 • Bay Area Repor ter • October 26-November 1, 2023

SUMMONS (FAMILY LAW) SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO, 400 MCALLISTER ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102 NOTICE TO RESPONDENT: DONALD CLARK CUNNINGHAM, YOU ARE BEING SUED BY PETITIONER: BERSATH VERDUGO DOMINGUEZ AKA BERSAIN VERDUGO-DOMINGUEZ CASE NO. FDI-23-798307

You have been sued. Read the information below. You have 30 calendar days after this Summons and Petition are served on you to file a Response (form FL-120) at the court and have a copy served on the petitioner. A letter or phone call, or court appearance will not protect you. If you do not file your Response on time, the court may make orders affecting your marriage or domestic partnership, your property, and custody of your children. You may be ordered to pay support and attorney fees and costs. For legal advice, contact a lawyer immediately. Get help finding a lawyer at the California Courts Online Self-Help Center (www.courts.ca.gov/selfhelp), at the California Legal Services website (www.lawhelpca.org) or by contacting your local county bar association. NOTICE – RESTRAINING ORDERS ARE ON PAGE 2: These restraining orders are effective against both spouses or domestic partners until the petition is dismissed, a judgment is entered, or the court makes further orders. They are enforceable anywhere in California by any law enforcement officer who has received or seen a copy of them. FEE WAIVER: If you cannot pay the filing fee, ask the court clerk for a fee waiver form. The court may order you to pay back all or part of the fees and costs that the court waived for you or the other party. The name and address of the court are: Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco, 400 McAllister St. San Francisco, California 94102. The name, address and telephone number of petitioner’s attorney, or petitioner without an attorney is: BERSATH VERDUGO DOMINGUEZ, 684 ELLIS ST #513, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109; (415) 509-4409. Date: 07/10/2023. Clerk of The Court, Damon Carter, Deputy. STANDARD FAMILY LAW RESTRAINING ORDERS: Starting immediately, you and your spouse or domestic partner are restrained from: 1. Removing the minor child or children of the parties, if any, from the state without the prior written consent of the other party or an order of the court; 2. Cashing borrowing against, canceling, transferring, disposing of, or changing the beneficiaries of any insurance or other coverage, including life, health, automobile, and disability, held for the benefit of the parties and their minor child or children; 3. Transferring, encumbering, hypothecating, concealing, or in any way disposing of any property, real or personal, whether community, quasi-community, or separate, without the written consent of the other party or an order of the court, except in the usual course of business or for the necessities of life; and 4. Creating a nonprobate transfer or modifying a nonprobate transfer in the manner that affects the disposition of property subject to the transfer, without the written consent of the other party or an order of the court. Before revocation of a nonprobate transfer can take effect or a right of survivorship to property can be eliminated, notice of the change must be filed and served on the other party. You must notify each other of any proposed extraordinary expenditures at least five business days prior to incurring these extraordinary expenditures and account to the court for all extraordinary expenditures made after these restraining orders are effective. However, you may use community property, quasi-community property, or your own separate property to pay an attorney to help you or to pay court costs. WARNING – IMPORTANT INFORMATION California law provides that, for purposes of division of property upon dissolution of a marriage or domestic partnership or upon legal separation, property acquired by the parties during marriage or domestic partnership in joint form is presumed to be community property. If either party to this action should die before the jointly held community property is divided, the language in the deed that characterizes how title is held (i.e. joint tenancy, tenants in common, or community property) will be controlling, and not the community property presumption. You should consult your attorney if you want the community property presumption to be written into the recorded title to the property.

OCT 12, 19, 26, NOV 02, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0401425

The following person(s) is/are doing business as FIRST CLASS PARKING MANAGEMENT, 22 HAWTHORNE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed NATHAN KOFF. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 04/14/2015. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/13/2023.

OCT 12, 19, 26, NOV 02, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0401378

The following person(s) is/are doing business as STATE MARKET; BIG TIME MARKET & DELI, 1231 GENEVA AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed NANCY S. KHARSA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/10/2003. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/07/2023.

OCT 12, 19, 26, NOV 02, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0401460

The following person(s) is/are doing business as METRO HONG KONG DESSERT, 928 STOCKTON ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94108. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed METRO HONG KONG DESSERT (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/19/2023. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/19/2023.

OCT 12, 19, 26, NOV 02, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0401585

The following person(s) is/are doing business as GIRON CONSTRUCTION, 1485 BAYSHORE BLVD #222, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed GECMS, INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/31/2012. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/04/2023.

NOTICE TO PROPOSERS : SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA RAPID TRANSIT DISTRICT’S (“BART”), REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (“RFP”) FOR ELECTRICAL AND MECHANICAL COMPONENTS REPAIR SERVICES, RFP NO. 6M3678, ISSUED WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2023 BART is now accepting proposals from Contractors (“Contractors”) to provide electrical and mechanical components repair services and more as indicated within the Request for Proposals (“RFP”). Contractor to provide all labor, supervision, management, engineering, training, documentation, materials, lubricants, spare parts inventory, tools, testing equipment and insurances and other resources as required to deliver full and comprehensive repair services for BART’s elevator/escalator equipment. Interested firms must register on BART’s Procurement Portal at: https://suppliers.bart.gov . All solicitation documents, including the RFP, must be downloaded directly from the Portal. A Pre-Proposal Meeting will be held on Monday, October 30, 2023, at 11:00 am local time via Zoom – instructions on registering are included within the RFP. The District’s Equity Program(s) will be explained, and participants can share contact details to network with other firms. The due date for submission of proposals for this RFP is 2:00 PM local time Thursday November 28, 2023. 10/26/23 CNS-3750090# BAY AREA REPORTER

OCT 12, 19, 26, NOV 02, 2023 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0401555

The following person(s) is/are doing business as PRESTON DILIGENCE, 1653 ALABAMA ST #A, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed KM PLANNING STRATEGY (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/29/2023. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/29/2023.

OCT 12, 19, 26, NOV 02, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0401594

The following person(s) is/are doing business as UPFRONT, 576 SACRAMENTO ST, 3RD FL, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94111. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed UPFRONT ENERGY INC. (DE). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/04/2023. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/06/2023.

OCT 12, 19, 26, NOV 02, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0401561 The following person(s) is/are doing business as ZIPPY LOCKSMITH, 674 11TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed QUICKSMITH LOCKSMITH LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/29/2023. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/02/2023.

OCT 12, 19, 26, NOV 02, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0401553

The following person(s) is/are doing business as ONESTOP EVENTS, 1373 CAYUGA AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed ONESTOP TRADING, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/01/2023. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/29/2023.

OCT 12, 19, 26, NOV 02, 2023

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-23558287

In the matter of the application of KADIATU HAJAH KOROMA, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appears from said application that petitioner KADIATU HAJAH KOROMA is requesting that the name KADIATU HAJAH KOROMA be changed to KADIA HAJAH KOROMA. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N on the 9th of JANUARY 2024 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

OCT 19, 26, NOV 02, 09, 2023

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-23558292

In the matter of the application of THOMAS YIM HUNG CHAN, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appears from said application that petitioner THOMAS YIM HUNG CHAN is requesting that the name THOMAS YIM HUNG CHAN be changed to YIM HUNG CHAN. 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 11th of JANUARY 2024 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

OCT 19, 26, NOV 02, 09, 2023

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-23558289

In the matter of the application of KAREN MARISOL GOMEZ MENDEZ & MAYNOR EDMUNDO FELICIANO TEMAJ, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appears from said application that petitioner KAREN MARISOL GOMEZ MENDEZ & MAYNOR EDMUNDO FELICIANO TEMAJ is requesting that the name ISABELLA ABIGAIL FELICIANO GOMEZ be changed to ILEANA ABIGAIL FELICANO GOMEZ. 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 10th of DECEMBER 2023 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

OCT 19, 26, NOV 02, 09, 2023

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-23558293

In the matter of the application of S. HEIDI ANDERSON, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appears from said application that petitioner S. HEIDI ANDERSON is requesting that the name S. HEIDI ANDERSON be changed to KAIA ANDERSON-BUCKLEY. 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 28th of NOVEMBER 2023 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

OCT 19, 26, NOV 02, 09, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0401606

The following person(s) is/are doing business as RITUAL ARTS TAROT ENTERTAINMENT, 1250 BRODERICK ST #6, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed THOM FOWLER. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/23/2023. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/10/2023.

OCT 19, 26, NOV 02, 09, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0401607 The following person(s) is/are doing business as YELLOWSTONE MARKET, 714 O’FARRELL ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed SAFWAN SHAIE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/10/2023. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/10/2023.

OCT 19, 26, NOV 02, 09, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0401593 The following person(s) is/are doing business as CHROMATIC FLOW, 3953 20TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed DEBORAH NUCCITELLI. 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 10/06/2023.

OCT 19, 26, NOV 02, 09, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0401611 The following person(s) is/are doing business as FRISCO KID LIFE COACH, 4048 FULTON ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed FRANK STROM. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/11/2023. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/11/2023.

OCT 19, 26, NOV 02, 09, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0401600

The following person(s) is/are doing business as GROUNDED THRU BIRTH, 2010 GOUGH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JOANNA TURNER. 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 10/10/2023.

OCT 19, 26, NOV 02, 09, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE

A-0401504

The following person(s) is/are doing business as YS+A ARCHITECTURE, 164 GAMBIER ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94134. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed YOUNG WOO SON. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/02/2019. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/25/2023.

OCT 19, 26, NOV 02, 09, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0401637 The following person(s) is/are doing business as SUN FLOWER STUDIO, 1541 KIRKWOOD AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed SARAH IVESON. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/08/2023. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/13/2023.

OCT 19, 26, NOV 02, 09, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0401652

The following person(s) is/are doing business as UNITED PAINTERS, 1080A CAPP ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed OVED MAZARIEGOS. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/01/2018. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/17/2023.

OCT 19, 26, NOV 02, 09, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0401509

The following person(s) is/are doing business as BABY FAMILY DAYCARE, 154 BRIGHT ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94132. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed SU NU ZHENG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/06/2012. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/25/2023.

OCT 19, 26, NOV 02, 09, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0401601

The following person(s) is/are doing business as MID CITY MARKET, 868 GEARY ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed 2 E SHQAIR INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/01/2008. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/10/2023.

OCT 19, 26, NOV 02, 09, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0401644

The following person(s) is/are doing business as DAJU VAI ENTERTAINMENT, 1411A WASHINGTON BLVD, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94129. This business is conducted by co-partners, and is signed NIROJ GURUNG & AMIT MALLA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/08/2023. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/16/2023.

OCT 19, 26, NOV 02, 09, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0401647

The following person(s) is/are doing business as PRAXIS, 3047 24TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed NORGANICS LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/11/2013. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/16/2023.

OCT 19, 26, NOV 02, 09, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0401437

The following person(s) is/are doing business as MCS; MCS-PORTSIDE; PORTSIDE, 401 MAIN ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed SILVA - MANAGEMENT AND CONSTRUCTION SERVICES, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/15/2023.

OCT 19, 26, NOV 02, 09, 2023

AMENDED NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF IVY BEATRICE CARO IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO: FILE PES-23-306729

To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both, of IVY BEATRICE CARO. An Amended Petition for Probate has been filed by RIGOBERTO CARO JR. in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco. The Petition for Probate requests that RIGOBERTO CARO JR. be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent. The petition requests the decedent’s will and codicils, if any, be admitted to probate. The will and any codicils are available for examination in the file kept by the court. The petition requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important actions, however, the personal representative will be required to give notice to interested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action.) The independent administration authority will be granted unless an interested person files an objection to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority. A hearing on the petition will be held in this court as follows: NOVEMBER 20, 2023, 9:00 am, Dept: Probate, Rm. 204, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102.1. Remote Access to Department 204: A) Appearance or Public Access by Video and/or Audio via Zoom: Parties, counsel, and witnesses may appear by video or audio-only telephone through Zoom. For a video appearance, go to zoom. us, click ‘join a meeting” and input meeting ID 160 225 4765 and password 514879. For an audio-only telephone appearance through Zoom, call 1-669-2545252 and key in meeting ID 160 225 4765#, then participant ID 0#, then password 514879#. Toll rates may apply. Counsel, parties, and witnesses appearing by video must input their first and last name into the “’Your Name” dialogue box. B) Appearance by Audio via CourtCall: Parties, counsel, and witnesses may appear by audio-only telephone through CourtCall by calling CourtCall at 1-888-882-6878 and obtaining an appearance access code for the hearing’s scheduled date and time. A CourtCall appearance may be made by mobile phone. CourtCall appearances may require the payment of a fee, even for parties with fee waivers. C) Public Access by Audio via CourtCall: For audio-only access through CourtCall, call the mute public line for Department 204 at 1-415- 796-6280 and enter access code 12129865#. This line will allow a member of the public to listen to the proceedings; it will not support an attempt to appear before the Court. 2. Remote Access to Dept 202 (Ex Parte Proceeding): A) Appearance or Public Access by Video and/or Audio via Zoom: To appear by video, go to zoom. us, click “join a meeting” and input meeting ID 160 9249 7549 and password 002786. For an audio-only telephone appearance through Zoom, call l-669-254- 5252 and key in meeting ID I 60 9249 7549#, then participant ID 0#, then password 002786#. Toll rates may apply. B) Appearance by Audio via CourtCall: To appear by audio-only telephone through CourtCall, call CourtCall at 1-888- 882-6878 and obtain an appearance access code for the proceeding’s scheduled date and time in Room 202. Any party may make a CourtCall appearance by mobile phone. CourtCall appearances may require the payment of a fee, even for parties with fee waivers. C) Public Access by Audio via CourtCall: For audio-only access through CourtCall, call the mute publica line for Department 204 at 1-415-7966280 and enter access code 12129874#. This line will allow a member of the public to listen to the proceedings; it will not support an attempt to appear before the Court. If you object to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing. Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney. If you are a creditor or contingent creditor of the decedent, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal representative appointed by the court within the later of either (1) four months from the date of first issuance of letters to a general personal representative,

as defined by section 58(b) of the California Probate Code, or (2) 60 days from the date of mailing or personal delivery to you of a notice under section 9052 of the California Probate Code. Other California statutes and legal authority may affect your rights as a creditor. You may want to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law. You may examine the file kept by the court. If you are a person interested in the estate, you may file with the court a Request for Special Notice (form DE-154) of the filing of an inventory and appraisal of estate assets or of any petition or account as provided in Probate Code section 1250. A Request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk. Attorney for petitioner: MICHAEL WOODS, 377 WEST PORTAL #B, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94127; Ph. (415) 759-1900.

OCT 26, NOV 02, 09, 2023

CITATION TO APPEAR (FAMILY CODE § 7822) IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN MATEO IN THE MATTER OF THE PETITION OF: ANDREA ARMANINO, ON BEHALF OF ANAVA ANN ARMANINO, A MINOR, FOR FREEDOM FROM PARENTAL CUSTODY AND CONTROL. CASE NO. 124306-A THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA TO: MICHAEL TERRELL JOHNESE-PRESTON

By Order of this Court, you are hereby cited to appear before the Judge presiding in Department 5 of this Court on November 30, 2023, at 2:00 p.m., then and there to show cause, if any you have, why the request of Andrea Armanino to have the minor Anava Ann Armanino declared free from your custody and control. Please be advised that should you be unable to afford counsel, and should you request it, the Court will appoint counsel to represent you. The address of the Court is 400 County Center, Redwood City, California 94063. Parties may be able to appear remotely. Information on the rules regarding remote appearances can be found at https://www. sanmateocourt.org/court_divisions/family_law/calendars.php. Dated: 10/16/2023, 9:20am; Janet Rey, Clerk.

OCT 26, NOV 02, 09, 16, 2023

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-23558278

In the matter of the application of GABRIELLE LYNNE CAPILI, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appears from said application that petitioner GABRIELLE LYNNE CAPILI is requesting that the name GABRIELLE LYNNE CAPILI be changed to GABBY DRAGON CALDERA. 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 28th of DECEMBER 2023 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

OCT 26, NOV 02, 09, 16, 2023

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-23558301

In the matter of the application of SIN YU NGAI, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appears from said application that petitioner SIN YU NGAI is requesting that the name SIN YU NGAI AKA SINYU NGAI be changed to NATALIE SINYU NGAI. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 103N on the 26th of DECEMBER 2023 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

OCT 26, NOV 02, 09, 16, 2023

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-23558302

In the matter of the application of HELEN POE HEONG SIM WU, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appears from said application that petitioner HELEN POE HEONG SIM WU is requesting that the name HELEN POE HEONG SIM WU AKA POE HEONG SIM WU AKA HELEN POE HEONG SIM AKA HELEN P H SIM WU be changed to HELEN POE HEONG SIM. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 103N on the 28th of DECEMBER 2023 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

OCT 26, NOV 02, 09, 16, 2023

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE: JD22-3172

In the matter of the application of UNNAMED BABY GIRL, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appears from said application that petitioner MICHAELA ROBERTS is requesting that the name UNNAMED BABY GIRL be changed to BROOKLYN ERIN ROBERTS. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Rm. 425 on the 30th of NOVEMBER 2023 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

OCT 26, NOV 02, 09, 16, 2023

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-23558312

In the matter of the application of MAX MEREDITH VASILATOS, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appears from said application that petitioner MAX MEREDITH VASILATOS is requesting that the name MAX MEREDITH VASILATOS be changed to MAX VASILATOS RASMUSSEN. 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 21st of DECEMBER 2023 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

OCT 26, NOV 02, 09, 16, 2023

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-23558310

In the matter of the application of MOLLEN K. KAIRIA, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appears from said application that petitioner MOLLEN K. KAIRIA is requesting that the name KAIRIA be changed to NIA BETTY KAIGONGI. 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 JANUARY 2024 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

OCT 26, NOV 02, 09, 16, 2023

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-23558316

In the matter of the application of CHESTER VAN TRUONG & NGA THI PHUONG TRAN, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appears from said application that petitioner CHESTER VAN TRUONG & NGA THI PHUONG TRAN is requesting that the name NGHI AI TRUONG be changed to SALLY ANNA TRUONG. 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 JANUARY 2024 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

OCT 26, NOV 02, 09, 16, 2023

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-23558313

In the matter of the application of ANDREW WESTBROOKE GEORGE, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appears from said application that petitioner ANDREW WESTBROOKE GEORGE is requesting that the name ANDREW WESTBROOKE GEORGE be changed to ANDREW WESTBROOKE GIORDANO. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 103N on the 21st of DECEMBER 2023 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

OCT 26, NOV 02, 09, 16, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0401657

The following person(s) is/are doing business as SPARTAN INTERNATIONAL CONSULTING, 132 LISBON ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112 . This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed DINO ZOGRAFOS. 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 10/17/2023.

OCT 26, NOV 02, 09, 16, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0401527

The following person(s) is/are doing business as BEST TRAVEL, 317 HYDE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MAI XUAN LE. 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 09/26.

OCT 26, NOV 02, 09, 16, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0401669

The following person(s) is/are doing business as GUMMAAE, 447 SUTTER ST #405, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94108. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JEANNIE WU. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/28/2023. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/18/2023.

OCT 26, NOV 02, 09, 16, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0401671 The following person(s) is/are doing business as HIRAYA IMMIGRATION, 3229 B MISSION ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed RHODORA V. DERPO. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/13/2023. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/18/2023.

OCT 26, NOV 02, 09, 16, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0401446

The following person(s) is/are doing business as SMOOTH GHOUL DIGITAL, 1295 41ST AVE #103, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed PATRICK WHITE. 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 09/18/2023.

OCT 26, NOV 02, 09, 16, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0401676

The following person(s) is/are doing business as NEW HAIR; NEW HAIR FOR MEN; NEW HAIR FOR YOU; NEW HAIR FOR MEN AND WOMEN, 490 POST ST #1505, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed THOMAS MCKAY. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/18/2023. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/18/2023.

OCT 26, NOV 02, 09, 16, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0401665

The following person(s) is/are doing business as HAWAIIAN DRIVE INN, 2600 SAN BRUNO AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94134. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed HAWAIIAN DRIVE INN INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 03/10/2010. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/18/2023.

OCT 26, NOV 02, 09, 16, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0401655

The following person(s) is/are doing business as HAIR PLAY INC, 695 SAN JOSE AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed HAIR PLAY INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/17/2023. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/17/2023.

OCT 26, NOV 02, 09, 16, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0401629

The following person(s) is/are doing business as JLARAM HOTEL, 868 VALENCIA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a limited partnership, and is signed BALWANTSINH D. THAKOR & LATABEN B. THAKOR. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/05/2011. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/12/2023.

OCT 26, NOV 02, 09, 16, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0401694

The following person(s) is/are doing business as SF CHEF DANIEL, 610 28TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed MURPHY TRADES LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/23/2023. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/23/2023.

OCT 26, NOV 02, 09, 16, 2023

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Runners-up Best Cabaret Venue Martuni’s, Feinstein’s at the Nikko Best SoMa Bar SF Eagle, The Powerhouse Best Dance Club Beaux, DNA Lounge

Dancin’, drinkin’ & divas Besties nightlife venues & events D’Arcy Drollinger in Oasis’ current production of ‘The Rocky Horror Show’

by Michael Flanagan

hen you look over the list of this year’s Bestie winners and runners-up, you’ll notice something worth celebrating:

more new venues in more cities around the Bay Area, with performers like these drawing us back. While the Besties gives you a good excuse to check out your old favorites, perhaps it’s time to cross the bay and check out all the new (and some not so new) options in the East Bay as well.

It’s a joyful thing to have our community growing, particularly when we’ve heard so much about venues closing (and admittedly there’s one instance of that, too). The Besties are an opportunity to celebrate new places and there are lots of exciting options this year.

Oasis remains a powerhouse of a club again this year as the winner in multiple categories for the Besties. Again a triple winner, it’s this year’s best cabaret venue (again), best SoMa bar (again) and the best dance club, according to our readers. In a year when Oasis faced sadness at the loss of one of the original owners, Heklina, the bar showed that it was able to face a tragedy with grace and still entertain the community. When Lil Nas X performed in San Francisco last fall, where else would he go to catch a drag show with his dancers and security team but the Oasis? When San Francisco decided to create its first Drag Laureate, the city chose Oasis owner D’Arcy Drollinger to represent our values in the midst of the national anti-drag hysteria. So it has been a year of dazzling highs as well as tragic lows for the club. Once again this year the Cockettes graced the stage at Oasis, this time with wonderful Res-Erection. And this year it was Princess, the drag show and dance party that drew Lil Nas X to the club. When Lady Bunny went hopping down the bunny trail to San Francisco, where else would she perform? Who can forget this year’s spectacular 27th annual Drag King Contest on the Oasis stage in August? For theater performances like Ray Of Light Theater’s “Rocky Horror Show” (playing now through November 4), where else would you expect to see it but Oasis? In many ways it has been a year unlike any other (and soon we may get tired of saying that), but Oasis has come through it all in a spectacular fashion. Our readers are certainly impressed. Thanks for another award-winning year. www.sfoasis.com See page 27 >>

A.C.T. produced a remarkable variety of work this year, starting with local playwright Christopher Chen’s film noir-influenced “The Headlands” and moving on to the anxiously awaited “Poor Yella Rednecks: Vietgone 2,” a dizzily different “Wizard of Oz,” and the exultant Broadwaybound “Hippest Trip: The Soul Train Musical.” None of these shows was perfect, but all of them were fascinating. Every one of them benefitted from a brilliant syncing of script and set design. www.act-sf.com

Katrina Lauren McGraw as Glinda in A.C.T.’s ‘The Wizard of Oz.’

Best Modern Dance Company

ODC Dance

Kevin Berne

Besties Arts A winning year in local culture

Runners up Sean Dorsey Dance Joe Goode Performance Group Highlighted by the premiere of founder Brenda Way’s “Collision Collapse and a Coda,” which offers the solace to be found in personal relationships during times of distressing global upheaval, ODC Dance’s 2023 found the company’s Mission campus becoming an ever-more important hub for San Francisco’s dance community as a whole. Runners-up Sean Dorsey and Joe Goode also offered communal balms in their profound and uplifting works centered on trans and elder folks. www.odc.dance

Best Ballet Dance Company by Jim Gladstone

lmost all of the grumpy national news about San Francisco forgets to mention the fantastic array of arts institutions that the

folks who live here get to enjoy. Bay Area Reporter readers know better, making regular use of our print features and online arts calendar to explore dozens of enriching opportunities every week, and then speaking their minds in the Besties once a year. Here’s what they have to say this go-roun

Best Theatre Company

American Conservatory Theatre (A.C.T) Runners up Berkeley Repertory Theatre New Conservatory Theatre Center

San Francisco Ballet Runners up Alonzo King Lines Ballet Oakland Ballet

See page 28 >>

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<< Theater

24 • Bay Area Repor ter • October 26-November 1, 2023

Theater Briefs

Closing soon and coming soon

by Jim Gladstone

he fall theater season continues at a fast and furious pace, with plenty of openings still to come. Here are a few productions that should be on your radar.

Tiny Fires

Among smaller Bay Area theater companies, The Custom Made Theatre Co. put on some of the most consistently interesting and intellectually challenging shows in the few years leading up to the pandemic. But dwindling audiences and finances have taken their toll and after their current production of “Tiny Fires” which runs through this weekend, they’re putting themselves on indefinite pause. That’s all the more reason to savor this last (at least for the foreseeable future) show, a world premiere drama about two impoverished and orphaned young Filipina women, Trixie and Sugarpie, who survive by scavenging in a landfill and thrive on each other’s’ caring companionship. When a Filipino American man arrives on the scene, the pair’s mutual affection turns out to be unequal and their relationship begins to unravel. Through October 29. $25-$55. CounterPulse, 80 Turk St. (415) 7982682. www.custommade.org

Musical Café Showcase

Professionally-directed excerpts from four new musicals being developed by Bay Area creators will be presented to the public for the first time in an incubation showcase that lets audiences get an unusually early look at promising works-in-progress. Among the shows featured in this tenth installment of the event is gay writer/composer Joshua Gilstein’s “Jewish Boys: The Musical,” which follows a recent college grad’s plunge into big city life and gay dating. Audiences will also see samples of “The Very Last One and Only Highly Endangered Mountain Lion in Pennsylvania” by Greg Beattie and John Kull; “Legend of the Werewolf ” by Ray Christensen; and “Mirabai, the Barefoot Princess” by Leah Sirkin. October 29 and 30. $22-$58 (For a B.A.R. readers’ discount, use code MCShow23 at online checkout). Freight & Salvage, 2020 Addison St., Berkeley. www.playcafe.org

Above: MacKenzie Crane Belpw: Jay Yamada

Above: Joe Ayers and J.A. Valentine in Center Repertory Company’s “The Legend of Georgia McBride’ Below: Dom Refuerzo and Rae Yuen in ‘Tiny Fires’

Repertory Company in November. This 2014 comedy follows a young Elvis Presley impersonator who loses his gig and is eventually convinced to swallow his macho pride, put on a dress, and retake the stage as a drag queen. Lauded as “stitch-in-your-side funny,” it was a New York Times Critics’ Pick dur-

ing its original Off-Broadway run. Leading the cast are Bay Area stage veterans Joe Ayers as Casey, and J.A. Valentine as his drag mother. November 4-26. $45-$70. Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek. (925) 943-7469. www. lesherartscenter.orgt

Nollywood Dreams

This vibrant, laugh-out loud joy of a play by Jocelyn Bioh continues its run at the San Francisco Playhouse through November 4. Part rom-com, part sit-com and set in the Nigerian movie-making industry, the broad humor of this script lands perfectly thanks to the magnetic charisma of its four female cast members and Margo Hall’s spritely direction. As a pot-stirring Oprah-esque talk show host, Tanika Batiste gives a performance that manages to surpass her phenomenal comic turn in Magic Theater’s recent production of “The N— Lovers.” Special acknowledgement is due to dialect coach Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe: The convincing Nigerian-accented English of the entire cast brings musical bounce to the dialogue. Through Nov. 4. $15-$100. San Francisco Playhouse, 450 Post St. (415) 677-9596. www.sfplayhouse.org

The Legend of Georgia McBride

Playwright Matthew Lopéz won Tony and Olivier Awards for his queer history epic “The Inheritance.” And his knack for humor was recently showcased in the Amazon streaming smash “Red, White and Royal Blue,” for which he served as director and co-writer. But before either of those ballyhooed successes, he wrote “The Legend of Georgia McBride,” which is being staged by the East Bay’s Center

Above: Joshua Gilstein Below: Jordan Covington and Tanika Baptiste in San Francisco Playhouse’s ‘Nollywood Dreams’

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<< Besties 2023

26 • Bay Area Repor ter • October 26-November 1, 2023

From her performance in June 2022 at the Toro y Moi concert at Stern Grove (which sold out in 30 minutes) to her show on KALW (Wednesday nights from 10pm to Midnight) to her work as a co-founder of Soulovely (which “curates an extraordinary platform that celebrates and sustains the unwavering spirit and beauty of Oakland’s queer and trans-BIPOC communities”) Lady Ryan is a true force for good in developing a better and more accepting Bay Area. She has shared the stage with such luminaries as Diana Ross, George Clinton, Erykah Badu, Anderson Paak and the Indigo Girls, and most recently has been seen enchanting her fans at the Town Bar and the White Horse. Our readers truly appreciate you and the joy you share uplifting our community. www.ladyryan.com

Best Comic

Marga Gomez Runners-up Wonder Dave Lisa Geduldig

David Ayllon

Facebook

Marga Gomez is practically a force of nature. She has been paying her dues for so long in San Francisco that I hope she is getting compounded quarterly interest on them. I’ve seen her at venues all the way back to Va-

Best Drag Queen

Peaches Christ Runners-up D’Arcy Drollinger Juanita MORE!

Best Faux Queen

To say that Peaches Christ has had something of a rollercoaster year, from tragedy to triumph, is an incredible understatement. Last year’s “The Summoning,” the immersive theatrical experience at the Old San Francisco Mint to this year’s “The Initiation” at the same venue and her last appearance with the late Heklina on Hulu’s “Drag Me To Dinner” have been on the plus side of the ledger. Having Google pull out of a Pride event at Beaux would be on the negative side. And having lived through the events surrounding Heklina’s death in London are beyond words. Having just lived through the last year it would be considered an accomplishment for Peaches to be able to string a cogent sentence together. That she continues to grace us with performances, and stunning ones at that, is a testament to her strength and dedication as a performer. www.peacheschrist.com

Fauxnique

Runners-up Trixxie Carr Créme Fatale and Miss Shugana (tied for third) When Fauxnique won the Miss Trannyshack pageant in 2003 she pretty much put faux queens on the map, registering a whole new perspective on performance, gender and creativity. When her memoir, “Faux Queen: A Life in Drag,” was published last year, Monique Jenkinson, the person behind Fauxnique, shared her story and the path to that groundbreaking 2003 accomplishment. About performing in drag clubs, Jenkinson told Out in the Bay’s Eric Jansen in 2022, “Being invited into this weekly kind of down-and-dirty, loose, but very frequent and regular practice was, as they say, a game-changer.” Sharing her story and inviting more awareness to Faux Queens has been a game-changer as well. www.fauxnique.net

Best Bartender

David Delgado, The Cinch Runners-up Heather Dunham, Wild Side West and Johnnie Wartella, Pilsner Inn (tied for Second) Robbie Cheah, Oasis

David Delgado has been doing his bit to preserve LGBT culture in the Polk neighborhood for some time. He was assistant manager at Deco (510 Larkin) when it closed in 2012 and told the B.A.R. then, “Deco was such a fun place. It wasn’t the Castro. It wasn’t South of Market. It was just its own neighborhood bar.” He obviously knows how to keep the spirit of a neighborhood alive in a bar and is doing a great job of it at The Cinch. In 2020 he was a runnerup in this category and apparently he’s doing something right down on Polk Street, as his reputation has only grown since then. facebook.com/thecinchsaloon

Best Nightlife/Cabaret Performer

Katya Smirnoff-Skyy

Runners-up Paula West Suzanne “Kitten on the Keys” Ramsey

Upper Left: DJ Lady Ryan Upper Right: Marga Gomez Lower Left: Peaches Christ Lower Right: Alex U. Inn

Paul King

From their work founding hiphop drag troupe Momma’s Boyz to their work organizing the Drag Up! Fight Back! rally and march against anti-drag legislation, and their co-organizing of the fourth annual People’s March and Rally, Alex U. Inn has had a busy year and shown that activism and performance can live and thrive side by side. Regarding the People’s March and Rally Inn told the Bay Area Reporter in June, “We can’t just isolate ourselves. We need to fight all the battles so we keep all of our rights intact. That’s why we’re the People’s March.” www.facebook.com/alex.u.inn

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Runners-up David Harness Page Hodel

Runners-up Madd Dogg 20/20 Chico Suave

This year Katya Smirnoff-Skyy celebrated 18 years as the host of the cabaret show Katya Presents at Martuni’s. The Countess Smirnoff-Skyy has performed at Feinstein’s at the Nikko, Mr. Tipples Jazz Club, the Castro Street Fair, Boxcar Theatre and other venues. Earlier this year, J. Conrad Frank, the man behind the Countess, told the B.A.R.’s Christopher J. Beale, “We’ve tried to make Martuni’s sort of the hub for cabaret and encourage artists to do their own stuff and produce their own shows. We’re singing songs, telling stories, and serving strong drinks.” www.russianoperadiva.com

Courtesy Gooch

Lady Ryan

Alex U. Inn

Courtesy Katya Smirnoff-Skyy

Best DJ

Best Drag King

Gooch

rom your favorite DJs to drag performers of all kinds, you, our readers, selected their favorite people in nightlife. Live bands, bartenders, gogo dancers and more talented folks get a nod for 2023.

Marga Gomez

lencia Rose and Josie’s, and fondly remember her turn as Ricky Ricardo in the Frameline promo. So it is truly a joyful occasion to be able to announce that our readers agree that she is top comic this year. Earlier this year she curated and hosted “Who’s Your Mami Comedy” Brava Cabaret and is most recently at Brava in “Swimming With Lesbians,” her solo show inspired by her time working as an entertainer on cruise ships. She is a woman of a thousand characters! Last December she was the special guest of the San Francisco Symphony along with Peaches Christ. Congratulations to a well-loved performer. www.margagomez.com

Gooch

by Michael Flanagan

Drag queens & DJs & drinks, oh my! Facebook

Besties nightlife talents

Upper Left: Fauxnique Upper Right: David Delgado Middle Left: Katya Smirnoff-Skyy Middle Right: Middle-Aged Queers Lower Left: Emerson Silva Lower Right: Gooch

Best Live Band

Middle-Aged Queers Runners-up: Lolly Gaggers Planet Booty

With lyrics like, “To measure my worth, tape measure determines my girth, size queen, size queen, size queen you’ll fucking take it” from their song “Size Queen,” there is no question that Middle-Aged Queers have found a place in the hearts of those of us who used to haunt venues like Valencia Tool & Die and the Chatterbox. Middle-Aged Queers return to shred a spot they occupied in the 2020 Besties. Middle-Aged Queers are something of a local punk queer supergroup with former members of The Cost, Fang and the Insaints. Equally at home at the Folsom Street Fair (where they played this year) or at 924 Gilman (ditto) they put the hard back in hardcore. Like all good Middle-Aged Queers the band is off to recruit in Ron DeSantis’ Florida right now, with gigs in St. Petersburg and Gainesville, but they will soon be back home in the Bay Area to feel the Bestie love. Rock them like a hurricane, Middle-Aged Queers! www.middleagedqueers.bandcamp.com

Best Gogo Dancer

Emerson Silva Runners-up Chad Stewart Jella Gogo

Emerson Silva has performed at a dazzling number of spots around the

bay including The Café, The Oasis, The Port Bar, Splash San Jose, The Midway, Beaux, Midnight Sun and the Lookout. He’s stripped down at a few of REAF’s local iterations of Broadway Bares. Clearly he has worked hard to establish a reputation as an amazing dancer who gives his all to his audiences. He previously was runner-up in this category in 2020, but his hard work is obviously paying off. Be sure to tip this talented guy. www.instagram.com/gogoemerson

Best Nightlife Photographer

Gooch

Runners-up Steven Underhill Kid With a Camera Gooch returns again this year as your choice for Best Nightlife Photographer, the person whose lens most captures the essence of San Francisco nightlife. His photos this year from The Kiki at Beaux show off the wild vitality of the event and make it clear why he wins this category again and again. He even manages to capture when nightlife makes its appearance in the daylight, as he did with an amazing photographs of Juanita MORE! in this year’s Pride edition of the Bay Area Reporter. He previously won Besties as Best Wedding Photographer in 2017, 2018 and 2019 and is the official photographer for many local events. He somehow manages to blend into the background in order to get candid photos, and yet when you see him he never fails to charm. Thanks to Gooch for documenting the fun in style. www.photosbygooch.comt

GioTographer

Besties Nightlife

From page 23

Best Drag Show

Princess at Oasis

Steven Underhill

October 26-November 1, 2023 • Bay Area Repor ter • 27

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t <<

Besties 2023>>

Best New Venue

Town Bar Lounge, Oakland Runners-up Fluid510, Oakland Feelmore Lounge, Oakland

The White Horse

Best Beer Selection

Pilsner Inn

Runners-up SF Eagle, Toronado

Best East Bay Bar

The White Horse Runners-up Port Bar

Que Rico, Club 1220 (tied for third) The White Horse returns again as our reader’s favorite East Bay bar. That’s a sentence I used in the last Besties article I wrote about the bar, and it’s true once again. There are stories about the White Horse that go back to the 1950s. Iconic gay writers like Jack Spicer used to go to the bar when he attended U.C. Berkeley. Every first and third Wednesday of the month, the Rebel Kings of Oakland stage their “gender-bending exploration through performance art.” You can watch Monday Night Football with your friends and neighbors and enjoy drink specials for Industry Monday. On Tuesday nights there’s “Queeraoke” and there’s a dance party on Saturday night. There’s a reason The White Horse keeps returning to this spot on our Besties list. You owe it to yourself to check it out. www.facebook.com/whitehorsebar

Pilsner Inn is the winner of the best beer menu again this year. The bar features 18 handles on tap and whether you prefer an IPA, a Brown Ale, a porter, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale or Guinness you will find it here. For a current list of what is on tap, see the untappd website. Our readers know their beers. Aside from beer, the Pilsner has a large outdoor patio area with its beautiful plants. It’s the kind of place that I take visitors whenever they are in from out of town as it has the feel of a friendly neighborhood bar. And should you want to play a game of pool there are lively tables there as well. untappd.com/v/pilsner-inn/30564

Best Wine Bar

Blush

Runners-up Swirl, Decant SF Above: The White Horse Upper Middle: Katya SmirnoffSkyy and Joe Wicht at Martuni’s Lower Middle: Pilsner Inn Below: Blush

Best Cocktails

Martuni’s

Runners-up Blackbird; Port Bar, Oakland Whether you discovered their drinks while at one of their wonderful cabaret events (I saw an amazing Kurt

Steven Underhill

Town Bar Lounge describes themselves on their site this way: “We are a QPOC-owned Art Deco bar and lounge. Inspired by the iconic I. Magnin & Co. building located in the heart of Uptown Oakland, our colorful handcrafted cocktails were created to reflect the vibrance of our community and the city we love.” When it opened on April 20, owner Joshua Huynh told the B.A.R.’s Heather Cassell, regarding the community’s response to the bar, “It has been such a huge outpouring of support. Like they just never thought a queer space would be so elevated.” The article also notes that “Town’s seven signature cocktails are fashioned after the colors of the rainbow.” Our readers are happy to have a new venue in Oakland, Mr. Huynh. Note that Lyon & Swan, which closed Oct 1 after nine months, was a high-ranking contender in this category. The closure of the space in San Francisco’s Jackson Square neighborhood points to the fraught nature of starting a new business. www.goingtotownoakland.com

Sometimes the best things are the things that have been there all along (or at least for a very long time). I first wrote about the Twin Peaks in 2014, after the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to give the bar landmark status. In that article, I wrote, “Twin Peaks is indeed legendary as the first bar to install floor-to-ceiling windows, replacing the covered windows when it was purchased in 1972 by Mary Ellen Cunha and Peggy Foster. And ‘the girls’ (as they came to be known) were not opening up the bar to the world to make a statement. They simply wanted to be able to watch the world go by on the corner of 17th and Market.” As it turns out, many people want to watch the world go by from the windows of Twin Peaks. It was particularly gratifying to see the bar reopen after the pandemic and to make use of the outside space. Twin Peaks is a treasure that’s enjoyed by long-time patrons as well as tourists who come to town and want a cozy place to have a drink after spending a day in the Castro. Congratulations on making generation after generation of visitors to your establishment feel welcome.

Weill tribute there this year) or if their reputation for wonderful drinks has drawn you in, once you go you’ll be back for more. The pun in their name for martinis is intentional, of course. The martinis are astounding, and will have you calling them “Martuni’s” in no time. One of my favorite drinks there are their lemon drops, and they also have wide variety of Cosmopolitans. There are several options for those readers with a sweet tooth including watermelon martinis, sour apple martini, peach fuzz (with peach vodka), and a cherry blossom with black cherry rum. Whatever is your poison, you have come to the right spot if you’re at Martuni’s. www.facebook.com/martunissf

Left: Folsom Street Fair Middle: Good Vibrations Right: Steamworks Berkeley

Blush returns as the best wine bar this year. Inspired by European wine bars, owner Jef Pauly is proud to be a home to provide live music Tuesdays through Thursdays and Tarot readings on Mondays. Check the events calendar at the website to see who is playing on any given night. Selections of their wines including Prosecco, Rosé, Zinfandel, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir and more can be found by looking though the menu, which is available online should you want to make your decisions ahead of time. Whatever your choice, you’re certain to have a marvelous time. www.blushwinebar.com Steamworks Berkeley

Launched by Carol Hill and the late Chantal Salkey in 1996, Mango has been the go-to scene for women, and is particularly welcoming to women of color in a world in which that cannot be frequently said. London lesbian author Claire Hand remarked in a 2019 article about the event that though she often makes notes on her phone for later articles, when she woke up the day after a Mango party, all her note said was, “ridiculously good party.” She was so busy having fun that there was little else to say! Any event that’s managed to keep a loyal (if not fanatic) following for nearly 30 years is doing something right. www.instagram.com/mangosf

Runners-up Lookout, 440 Castro

Pilsner Inn

Runners-up Disco Daddy at the SF Eagle Daytime Realness at El Rio

Twin Peaks

Blush

Mango at El Rio

Best Castro bar

Good Vibrations

Best Nightlife Event

Left: Militia Scunt at Princess at Oasis Middle Left: Mango at El Rio Middle Right: Town Bar Lounge Right: Twin Peaks

Katya Smirnoff-Skyy

The combination drag show and dance party Princess has had a spectacular year all the way from their “Moulin Rouge”-themed New Year’s Eve party to nights with Militia Scunt, Jessica Wild and Sasha Colby. Princess was there with a tribute to Kylie Minogue for the release of her album “Tension” in September and an Ariana Grande tribute the same month. It’s been a year of nonstop enjoyment and our readers want to thank them with this award. We look forward to what’s in store for us in the coming year. www.sfoasis.com/princess

Instagram

Runners-up Reparations at Oasis Oaklash in Oakland

Best Leather Event

Folsom Street Fair

Runners-up Up Your Alley Street Fair International Ms Leather and International Mr. Bookblack Weekend, San Jose (tied for third) The Folsom Street Fair has been an institution in San Francisco for nearly 40 years, and the attendance is second only to Pride in terms of the crowds of both serious leather aficionados and those who are simply curious. Whereas many events are trying to become more “family-friendly” the Folsom Street Fair is proudly and happily and adults-only event. Many events around the world have tried to replicate the interest and affection it draws, but in that we see that imitation is the highest form of flattery. We kneel before you in supplication and offer our congratulations. www.folsomstreet.org

Best Place to Buy Sex Toys

Good Vibrations

Runners-up Mr S Leather, Does Your Mother Know The charming, sex-positive message on the Good Vibrations’ website speaks volumes: “In our world, pleasure is celebrated. Shame is erased in favor of empowerment. Why? Is replaced with How? Or maybe How Often? Curiosity is revered and encouraged. Information is openly shared. And sex, in every form, can be nothing short of extraordinary. This is the world of Good Vibes. Come join us here. We’ll be your guide.” Good Vibrations first opened in 1977 and is dedicated to being sexpositive, shame-free and womanfriendly. And for those of you who weren’t around then, that was quite the revolution. They continue to be amazing, both online and in their stores which are staffed with friendly, knowledgeable and helpful staff. In short they know what they’re doing, and so do our readers, who awarded them the Bestie in this category. www.goodvibes.com

Best Sex Venue

Steamworks Berkeley Runners-up Eros, Transform 1060

The Steamworks chain of bathhouses, which along with its Berkeley location have four other bathhouses in both the United States and Canada, was initially opened by the late San Francisco Supervisorial candidate Rick Stokes in Berkeley in 1976. Steamworks is the only traditional bathhouse open in the Bay Area, as it survived the closing of the bathhouses in San Francisco during the 1980s. Steamworks offers a wide variety of events at its location including Hombre Leche, Gender Fuck, Bears the Baths and Beyond and Sunday Service. For more information on the events (this is only a sample, they are wildly creative) check out the events page on their website. w w w. ste amwork s b at hs . c om / berkeleyt

The SF Ballet ushered in its 90th season with its diverse and ambitious next@90 festival of nine world premieres, including works by two gay choreographers, Val Caniparoli and Nicolas Blanc. In addition to sterling productions of the classic “Giselle,” “Cinderella,” and “Romeo and Juliet,” the season’s included stunning contemporary pieces, including the stage premiere of Myles Thacher’s “Colorforms,” first created as a dance film during the pandemic; and William Forsythe’s suite set to songs by avantpop recording artist James Blake. www.sfballet.org

Best Ethnic/International Dance Company

Theatre Flamenco of San Francisco Runners up Nā Lei Hulu I Ka Wēkiu Likha Pilipino Folk Ensemble

In a triumphant return after three painful years of pandemic dormancy, Theatre Flamenco took the stage of the Herbst Theater this past May with a thrilling evening-length debut inspired by artistic director Carola Zertuche’s visit to the Jordanian desert Wadi Rum. Featuring an innovative hybrid of traditional flamenco with

electronic music, “Transitar por un Mundo sin Tiempo” set a high bar for bringing fresh perspectives to enduring art forms. Just weeks after the premiere of “Ritual,” by hula company Nā Lei Hulu I Ka Wēkiu, its artistic director Patrick Makuakane, a gay man, was named a 2023 MacArthur Fellow, a stunning achievement that should help the company further build its devoted local following. www.theatreflamenco.org

Best Live Music Venue

Fox Theatre, Oakland Runners up The Fillmore SF Jazz

Going to see a show at the Fox always feels like a special event. Beyond the opportunity to enjoy a favorite band with great sound and sightlines, there’s the grandeur of the 1928 hall itself, a fantastic amalgam of Indian, Moorish, and Ali Baban design flourishes that underwent a $75 million restoration in 2009. Nota bene kvetchy queers: the glorious Fox is operated and lovingly tended to by Another Planet Entertainment, who, following all-to-much rigamarole, are now at the helm of our beloved Castro Theatre. For some glittery gay vibes, hit the Oakland landmark on November 17, when queer wunderkind Jake

Who doesn’t love El Rio? For queerdo dancing with crazy drag and killer DJs, the Mission staple can’t be beat. But we want to throw some extra love at first runner-up Café du Nord, because a category misnomer distracted from our goal of celebrating small spots to hear live music. Sure, El Rio hosts the occasional live gig from the likes of Fatty Cakes and the Puff Pastries; but night after night, Café du Nord presents an eclectic array of concerts that run from electronica to Americana to hip-hop to straight-up rock in their intimate subterranean digs. Not to miss on the upcoming CDN schedule: Two nights with the irresistibly artsy-fartsy Lemon Twigs on December 11 and 12. www.elriosf.com www.cafedunord.com

hibition of sculpture and painting by Black gay artist Kehinde Wiley, was without a doubt the highlight of the deYoung’s offerings this year. Through January 7, the second triennial DeYoung Open showcases 883 works by Bay Area artists chosen from submissions to an open call. And next spring brings a major retrospective of Irving Penn’s influential 20th-century photography. While not exactly an art-centric institution, it’s great to see the outpouring of voter support for the GLBT Historical Society Museum, which is currently featuring an exhibit on legendary San Francisco queen Doris Fish and the social impact of drag. And then there’s SFMOMA, which is currently promoting “Yayoi Kusama: Infinite Love” as if it’s a sprawling blockbuster. Gallery-goers beware: You will stand in line for considerably longer than the six minutes you’ll then be permitted to spend with the exhibit’s two Insta-bait installations and the sparse information accompanying them. It’s an anti-intellectual fiasco, deceptively marketed. www.famsf.org

Best Classical Music Venue

Best Nature/Science Museum

Wesley Rogers returns to the Bay Area to open for Kesha. www.thefoxoakland.com

Best Small Music Venue

El Rio

Runners up Café du Nord The New Parish

Davies Symphony Hall

Runners up San Francisco Conservatory of Music War Memorial Opera House No surprises here, but make note of a few upcoming shows. At Davies on November 29, Broadway’s Audra McDonald joins the San Francisco Symphony; on December 15, the orchestra’s “Holiday Gaiety” guests include Bianca del Rio, Dylan Mulvaney and the boys from Baloney. At the SF Conservatory, there’s a regular slate of free first-class recitals, the city’s best ongoing arts bargain. And at the War Memorial Opera House, 2023 Pulitzer-winning opera “Omar” by Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels plays six performances in November. www.daviessymphonyhall.org www.sfcm.edu www.sfwarmemorial.org

California Academy of Sciences Runners up Exploratorium San Francisco Botanical Garden

Pro tip: One of these institutions is not like the others. Which is to say that, since 2022, the San Francisco

Steven Underhill

Besties Arts

From page 23

Above: Fox Theatre, Oakland Middle: El Rio Below: Davies Symphony Hall

Botanical Garden has offered free admission to city residents every day. Meanwhile, the California Academy of Sciences and the Exploratorium remain generally pricey propositions, with adult ticket starting at around $36. But you do get to see giant dinosaurs, and both venues host frequent 21+ and also kid-friendly events. www.calacademy.orgt Stefan Cohen

Drew Altizer

Theatre Flamenco of San Francisco

Erik Tomasson

ODC Dance

Left: ODC Dance Middle: San Francisco Ballet Right: Theatre Flamenco of San Francisco

de Young Museum

Best Choral Group

San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus

Runners up Queer Chorus of San Francisco Chanticleer

CongratulAtions 2023 BESTIES WINNER David Delgado Best Bartender

California Academy of Sciences

The SF Gay Men’s Chorus began a successful new chapter this year under the leadership of conductor/artistic director Jacob Stensberg. Their holiday spectacular concert will tour the Bay Area in December, with shows in Sonoma and Berkeley as well as the Sydney Goldstein and Castro Theatres in the city. The year ahead will feature programs built around movie music and love songs, not to mention the chorus’ development campaign for a new headquarters at the Pansy L. Chan and Terrence D. Chan National Queer Arts Center. www.sfgmc.org

Best Art Museum

de Young Museum

Runners up SFMOMA GLBT Historical Society Museum “An Archaeology of Silence,” the heartbreaking yet awe-inspiring ex-

Fox Theatre Instagram

<< Besties 2023

28 • Bay Area Repor ter • October 26-November 1, 2023

Above: San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus Middle: Kehinde Wiley’s ‘An Archaeology of Silence,’ at the de Young Museum Below: California Academy of Sciences

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<< Besties 2023

30 • Bay Area Repor ter • October 26-November 1, 2023

Nopalito

Poesia

Flour+Water

Eat me, drink me, take me to-go Catch

Besties dining

Devin Shand

Left: Ashley Lopez, Sister Roma, Liam Mayclem and Devlin Shand at Orphan Andy’s

Runners up Blind Butcher Lark

Runners up Grubstake Lers Ros

Even if you haven’t caught on yet, Catch remains a straightforward neighborhood favorite year after year.

Orphan Andy’s

A witching hour restaurant’s allure goes beyond the food itself. While their omelets, club sandwiches, burg-

Best Brunch

Starbelly

Runners up Café Mystique Wooden Spoon Fine choices all. Those Starbelly chilaquiles really hit the spot. But why is it that our voters only seem to brunch in the Castro? In the year ahead, hop on MUNI and explore what other areas have to offer: In North Beach, try Hilda & Jesse; in the Richmond, hit Breadbelly; in Cole Valley, there’s Zazie; and in the Mission, Foreign Cinema is a great pick when you’ve got out of town guests. You could even get on BART to have brunch at F.O.B. Kitchen and spend a lovely afternoon exploring its Temescal neighborhood. www.starbellysf.com

Best Upscale Restaurant

Flour & Water

Runners up Tartine Manufactury Frances

Club on Mission is fantastic), Korean food (San Ho Wan), Burmese (Mandalay) and Thai (Nari)? These last four are not just Asian. They’re also among the city’s best restaurants, period. www.asiasf.com

ber Francesco D’Ippolito treats his guests to pure Italian flavors cooked with impeccable technique. And while the restaurant is open only for dinner, a recently opened downstairs café/bakery serves sandwiches and some of the city’s best pastries all day. www.poesiasf.com

Best Italian Restaurant

Poesia

Best Mexican Restaurant

Runners up La Ciccia Café Zoetrope

Nopalito

Runners up Puerto Alegre Papito

Call it a stairway to heaven. To take the flight of steps that leads from 18th Street to the cozy roost of Poesia’s second story dining room is to reach paradiso for the palate. From homemade agnolotti al plin pasta filled with a mix of veal, pork and rabbit; to a carmelized fig-topped pork filet with maitake mushrooms; to a berry-topped lemon custard tart, restaurateur and community mem-

With a main location in the Panhandle and a limited menu take-out window on 18th Street, Nopalito has become the go-to Mexican restaurant for diners looking to take a step up from the simple satisfactions of Mission burritos and tacos. On a See page 31 >> Brenda’s

Best Late Night Restaurant

Catch

Above Left: Tasty seafood at Catch Above Right: Pizza pie at Flour+Water Lower Left: Pasta perfection at Poesia Lower Right: Tostada de Trucha at Nopalito

All three of these rock-solid choices serve up truly fine cuisine without the preciousness or condescension of the Bay Area’s most expensive tech-money and tourist lures. Likewise, their fourth place follower, Rich Table. At Flour & Water, you can always split a pizza plus a pasta or two, but if you’re feeling indulgent, splurge on the tasting menu, which includes wee portions of four or more inventive pasta dishes along with vegetables, crudo, dessert and more. www.flourandwater.com

Best Asian Restaurant

AsiaSF

Runners up Mama Ji’s Mister Jiu’s Ji’s, Jiu’s and geez! AsiaSF? The voters have spoken and what they seem to have said is “Entertainment is more important than food.” There is nothing wrong with a sexy floor show every once in a while, but please, people! Are you voting for the kitsch or the kitchen? An outpost of the excellent Dumpling Kitchen opened right on Castro Street this year. Have you tried it? And what of sushi (Chisae Sushi

Above Left: Chicken Shawerma Salad at La Mediteranée Above Right: Pasta Orleans at Brenda’s Lower Left: Classic burger and fries at Hi Tops Lower Right: Sweet cheese pound cake at Devil’s Teeth Baking Company

Devil’s Teeth Baking Company

Best Castro Restaurant

ers and other diner staples are unquestionably on par for nocturnal nibbling, it’s Orphan Andy’s seen-itall staff, carnivalesque clientele and neon-trimmed ambience that make it the preferred wee hours shelter for the Castro’s lost boys and girls. Ditto Grubstake for Polk folks. Lers Ros, on the other hand, serves up authentically tasty Thai, but its locations all close at 10pm. Wake up and smell the nightlife, voters! w w w. a l l m e n u s . c o m / c a / s a n francisco/63695-orphan-andys/ menu/

Hi Tops

n a city renowned for fetishizing its food, Besties dining voters once again reveal themselves to be surprisingly vanilla, and reluctant to stick their tongues out much further than the Castro. Can the Venn diagram of San Francisco’s queer and gastronomic communities really have such a scant overlap? Call it “The Mystery of the Meat and Potato Gays” and hope next year’s chapter contains a few more surprises.

It’s the kind of consistent yet versatile spot where you can grab a quick lunch once a week or bring a group of friends for a birthday dinner. Regulars vouch for the seafood chowder, which features mussels in addition to clams; the amply portioned fish and chips; and the sizable salads (try the persimmon and pomegranate if it’s on offer). Close on the heels of our voters’ Top 3, and on the tip of our editorial expert’s tongue, were Beit Reima and Vico Cavone. www.catchsf.com

La Mediteranée

by Jim Gladstone

Besties 2023>>

October 26-November 1, 2023 • Bay Area Repor ter • 31

420 CASTRO STREET Asia SF

Starbelly

Philz

Bob’s Donuts

Left: Pizza and pals at Starbelly Right: Showtime at Asia SF

in any of our dining categories have all been located out of San Francisco city limits. Given our voters’ apparent predilection to stay as close to the Castro as possible, that’s a mighty serious endorsement for this trio of establishments. Brenda’s Oakland – the newest, brightest most well-rounded member of the restaurant family that includes outposts on Polk and Divisadero – slays with New Orleans-style Po Boys (We love the fried oyster version), gumbo, shrimp and grits, and sweet fresh-fried beignets. Everett & Jones does lip lickin’ links, ribs and chicken at its Oakland and Antioch locations. And Sol Food shines with Puerto Rican cuisine so authentic it brought Bad Bunny and his whole tour crew to Mill Valley. www.brendasoakland.com

Best Bar Menu

Hi Tops

Runners up Lookout Jolene’s

Above: Time to eat the donuts at Bob’s Donuts Below: Sipping good at Philz

Besties Food

From page 30

cool foggy day, a steaming bowl of the Panhandle branch’s pozole rojo is just the ticket. The chicken mole, cinnamon-scented carnitas and fresh vegetable quesadilla are also guaranteed palate pleasers. Wash your meal down with top-notch horchata, aguas frescas and, in the Panhandle only, tequila cocktails. www.nopalitosf.com

Best Middle Eastern Restaurant

La Mediteranée Runners up Beit Reima Old Jerusalem

The Noe Street location of La Mediteranée (There’s another branch on Fillmore) has been serving Levantine staples to the Castro since 1981, becoming a community staple itself. Their $28 meza platter is a savory smorgasbord of dips, salads, filo wrapped turnovers and kebabs that makes a weekday lunch or dinner feel like a party. www.lamednoe.com

Best Soul Food Restaurant

Brenda’s Oakland Runners up Everett & Jones BBQ Sol Food

Get outta town! If institutional memory doesn’t fail us, this is the first time that the winner and runners up

Not only can you see the action better than at Oracle Park or Levi’s Stadium at Hi Tops, but the sports bar’s concessions are much less expensive. Burgers, soft pretzels, corn dogs and the famous pork chop on a stick are hotter, fresher and served up faster than anything you’ll find a game. Not to mention the beers, which are way less than $20 a pop! At Jolene’s we stan the sliders, and an afternoon with the Lookout jocks just isn’t complete without an order of Dirty Balls (known in polite circles as arancini). www.hitopsbar.com

Best Bakery

Devil’s Teeth Baking Company Runners up Thorough Bread Boichik Bagels

The satanically toothsome breakfast sandwich at this year’s top bakery will leave your face and fingers dripping with lemon-garlic aioli and bacon fat and fill your belly for the rest of the day. Its reason for being is the facesized buttermilk biscuit that holds the eggs, bacon, avocado, pepper jack cheese, et. al. together. But don’t let this local celebrity sando steal the spotlight from the bacon cheddar beer muffins, country loaves, peanut butter cookies and truly diabolical brownies. devilsteethbakingcompany.com

Best Desserts

Bob’s Donuts Runners up Salt & Straw B. Patisserie

You wouldn’t be wrong to bet on this trifecta, but frankly these winners belong in three different races. In which case Bob’s would be feeling the sugary breath of Potrero Hill’s Magic

Donuts on its neck; Salt & Straw would be neck and neck with the brand new Jack and Remi ice cream (www.jackandremi.com); and B. Patisserie would still lead the kouign amman pastry derby by a country mile. www.bobsdonutssf.com

Best Coffee Shop

Philz

Runners up Wicked Grounds Blue Bottle The original 24th Street Philz left us this year, but its caffeinated kin remain with us. Their bean blends are deftly described with flavor notes that actually align with the way the resulting coffee tastes. And once you try their iced Gingersnap – spicy, sweet and creamy –you’ll wish a certain mega chain’s PSL R.I.P. www.philzcoffee.comt

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<< Theater

32 • Bay Area Repor ter • October 26-November 1, 2023

John Cameron Mitchell

On playing ‘Cassette Roulette’ with Amber Martin

Betty Can Snap

Amber Martin and John Cameron Mitchell’s ‘Cassette Roulette’

by Jim Provenzano John Cameron Mitchell is a lot of things; an actor, a musician, a director, screenwriter, podcaster, and even a nightlife host. Of course he’s best known for his rock musical “Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” which started Off-Broadway at the Jane Street Theatre in 1998, winning two Obies and an Outer Critics Circle award, went to Broadway in 2014 with a series of impressive lead actors. That production won four Tony Awards (and an additional one for himself in 2015) and then toured around the world,

and has been produced in hundreds of productions in multiple languages. His 2001 film adaptation of “Hedwig” also won acclaim. Beyond the wig, Mitchell has won acclaim for his acting in the limited series “Joe and Carole,” about the Tiger King scandal. He’s also had numerous guest spots on creative series like Neil Gaiman’s “Sandman.” An actor since his teenage years, Mitchell, now 60, can be seen on multiple television series. His background in theater is strong, from playing Huck Finn in “The Big River” to Dickon in “The Secret Garden.” He won an Obie

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Award for his role in Larry Kramer’s “The Destiny of Me.” Next, he takes to the stage on November 4 at Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall with multi-talented singer Amber Martin, who’s also an old friend. The duo will play “Cassette Roulette,” a fun night of prepared and audiencerequest songs performed with their band. Mitchell will also host Mattachine, his roving vintage vinyl club event, at Oasis on November 5. In a phone interview from his new home in New Orleans, Mitchell was gracious enough to not only discuss his upcoming shows but his previous accomplishments, and also delved into some queer theory as well. Jim Provenzano: “Cassette Roulette” sounds like a fun live mix tape night where the audience gets to pick the songs you and Amber sing. John Cameron Mitchell: About 40 percent is preset and 60 percent is random, depending on the audience. I kind of got the idea from Elvis Costello, who did a show where he just spun a wheel. It’s very fun to be doing this kind of show. I was trying to find a way to show off Amber Martin, who is probably one of the most powerful performers today. We’ve been working together a long time and I finally wanted to make something that was truly showing her off because she’s got a million characters. She’s like a kind of Bette Midler meets Madeline Kahn with a little bit of Carol Burnett. So I wanted to find a way that she could show her characters and her incredible voice that still allowed for Hedwig fans and fans of me to enjoy. It’s a very integrated type of show and I would say it’s the most fun I’ve ever had on stage.

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And you’ve known her for decades. Yes. We’ve been doing the party Mattachine for about 16 years. We’ve done it a few times at El Rio over the years. And we always have a blast in the Bay Area, of course. And our favorite shows, favorite dance parties, and favorite screenings. Of course, my favorite screening of “Hedwig” ever was at the Castro Theatre, and same with “Shortbus.” So there’s always a great joy in coming back, even though lately the Bay Area is getting a bad rep in the world, right?

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You’ve shifted gears over the years so deftly from being a musical theater kid performing on Broadway, to creating “Hedwig” with Steven Trask, starring in it,

lamednoe.com

Both photos: Matthew Placek

Above: John Cameron Mitchell Below: Amber Martin

and directing films like “Rabbit Hole.” Is this show another gear shift? It doesn’t feel like a gear shift as much as what I’ve always done since college. When you’re in college, you try everything, right? When you’re young, you experience everything. You have different kinds of sex. You find out about different kinds of art. From the beginning I was always just writing, directing, singing, acting, and so I just continued that. People are like, “Wait a minute, what are you?” I was like, “I don’t feel the need to identify myself.” And that follows through with things like gender and things like... There is lately, understandably, a kind of desire to correctly and precisely identify who you are in order to protect yourself. It feels a little defensive as opposed to proactive. “I’m this therefore you’re offending me.” As opposed to, “I’m this. What can we do together?” “Hedwig” was so pioneering and explored many issues, but it seems like it came more from a creative idea, not, “I’m going to declare these things.” Yes, and we were too busy just surviving to identify ourselves. We didn’t have a lot of energy for that with AIDS, and just being beaten up all the time. So to me it’s like identity and pronouns are all important, but they happen in peace times, or let’s say relative peace, because there’s still obviously no peace, especially for trans folks right now. And your love and your pride is absolutely vital to survival, and your sisterhood and your brotherhood. When identity separates natural friends, I get annoyed, also when a sense of humor disappears and a sense of play, because as queer people we’ve always played with language. We’ve always been right on the edge of offensive, but we understand that it’s about intention rather than the actual words. It’s how you use them and what you

need to do with them. Do you need to hurt? And some would say, “Oh, there’s casual transphobia and racism.” Which I agree, it can be there too and you’re not thinking clearly. But it’s all case by case for me. I don’t believe in a blanket statement and I don’t believe in censorship. I believe in saying what you think and if it does bother you, talk about it. But let’s talk about it rather than cancel. So I am working on actually a new podcast series called “Cancellation Island.” Holly Hunter plays a woman who’s sort of a Gwyneth Paltrow-type wellness person who starts a rehab for canceled people… (Laughs) Oh my God. …on an uninhabited island that used to be a CIA black site. We want it to be an animated show. We’re already developing the look of it. It’s a lot of fun and I’m putting my money where my mouth is. So in effect, it’s a left-wing critique of cancel culture as opposed to letting the right-wing people run with it. Because they can’t understand the nuance of anything that’s going on, they just want to use it as a weapon. No, they can’t even define the word ‘woke.’ They don’t even know what it means, but they’re marketing it as something that’s not good for the socalled regular folks. So we are trying to have a little fun with some of this stuff and over-PC policing and remembering how we grew up in ’80s and ’90s. Which is not to say any way things were better then, because we were dying of AIDS. All hell was breaking loose. But we had a clear goal to stop AIDS, get those drugs out, and ‘anything goes’ to get that goal. It was like interacting with corporations, there was shaming politicians, there was whatever fucking works. And that’s See page 33 >>

Theater>>

October 26-November 1, 2023 • Bay Area Repor ter • 33

Anna Minerva

Greg Juppin

Left: John Cameron Mitchell with Steven Trask last week in a Nashville performance of “Cassette Roulette,” which was a benefit for the Tennessee ACLU. Right: John Cameron Mitchell at the September 2023 opening night of the Paris production of ‘Hedwig and the Angry Inch.’

Cameron Mitchell

From page 32

how I feel about my work today. I do not want to be censored. “Hedwig” was kind of canceled in Australia. Yeah, there was a major production with a cisgender queer guy, Hugh Sheridan, who was just then coming out. And a recent Australian “60 Minutes” episode all about the cancellation wasn’t very complex but it was definitely sympathetic. And he got into a fight with the young people who had started a petition saying, “But this is trans, therefore the actor must be trans.” And probably like a 20-ishyear-old person started this. And basically I think they wanted to play the role. Interestingly, they didn’t cancel the piece because I wasn’t trans, which if you’re going to be consistent you might as well cancel the whole thing. But they canceled the cast. And Steven and I responded saying, the character... I don’t know if you would call it a trans story when your boyfriend forces you into a sex change against your will to get married. That’s the complexity that they can’t imagine. And I don’t really care about my own gender or pronouns, but I understand why other people do. And after that, Steven and I were both, we had never been asked before, but I guess we’re non-binary. I think we all are, if you think about it. But I don’t feel the need to change my pronouns. I’m too old. I can barely remember my phone number. Non-binary feels like a temporary term because it’s a negative term. It didn’t feel like it’s going to last. I prefer androgynous. But it feels very medical, right? Non-binary. Not binary.

Above: Peacock, Below:New Line Cinema

Above: John Cameron Mitchell in ‘Joe vs. Carole’ Below: John Cameron Mitchell in the film ‘Hedwig and the Angry Inch.’

You said in an interview that you wanted to do Shakespeare later on, to play elder roles if possible. Is that something that you hope to do? I still look younger than I am, so I don’t necessarily get offered 60-yearold roles. But my favorite roles are older gentlemen, and ladies. I’d love to play Blanche DuBois. I love Beckett. I love Pinter. I love Joe Orton. It’s like there’s all kinds of things I’d like to experiment with. I’m writing a new play, for the first time since “Hedwig.” And it’s about Claude Cahun, who did a lot of theater and photography and writing in the surrealist era, 1920s and ’30s, in

France, who was a queer icon that sadly is not known as well as she should be. She was kind of almost a proto-trans lesbian who worked with her wife, in effect, to make the work. And then later they settled on the Isle of Jersey and they fought the Nazis in the Resistance. Will it be a play or a musical? I don’t know. There will be music. There’s always a bit of music. I just don’t know if it’s more like a play with songs; probably not a full-on musical. Have you been asked to play certain roles that you didn’t want to do? I could see you as the Emcee in “Cabaret.”

I’ve actually been offered that a few times. When I was younger, I certainly wanted to play it. But after “Hedwig,” it felt like it was not as interesting a German androgynous person. And he doesn’t have as much going on character-wise. To be honest, I’m not a big fan of the “Cabaret” musical. The movie improves on the musical. The musical is just like ‘scene’ and then ‘song about scene.’ And it feels very ‘plotting by the numbers,’ even if the songs are great. Whenever they do a new production, it’s like, “Ah, it’s so racy.” And I’m like, if you really want to do something crazy, then have a fucking orgy on stage.

You’ve worked with some brilliant people. Are you more selective now with projects? It’s lovely to be my age and feel like people think of me as a pro; “Oh yeah, John’s going to make that great.” And I’ve paid my dues. I feel proud. But for me, I just moved to New Orleans and a lot of that has to do with finding a smaller community that I can be part of, to know my neighbors. I have a ballroom in my house that has a stage, and people are going to be performing there, and it’s a 150-year-old building that was many churches including an occult church, nearby. I want to make it an artists’ residence. So I’m trying to pull up its profile and do some press stuff to get people excited. So that’s what I’m doing the next couple of weeks apart from these shows.t

Read the full interview, with several music clips, on www.ebar.com. John Cameron Mitchell and Amber Martin’s “Cassette Roulette” $42-$120. Nov 4, 8pm at Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley campus. www.calperformances.org Mitchell and Martin host Mattachine, $20-$60. Nov. 5, 4pm-9pm at Oasis, 298 11th St. www.sfoasis.com www.instagram.com/johncameronmitchell

<< Film

34 • Bay Area Repor ter • October 26-November 1, 2023

‘My Animal’

A howling good film

Paramount

Amandla Stenberg and Bobbi Salvör Menuez in ‘My Animal’

alloween is just around the corner. Fortunately, we have movies such as “My Animal” (Paramount) to put us in the (f)right mood. While there are some vague, yet highly stylized, elements such as the time period (could be any time between the 1990s and present day) and the location (some of the accents scream New England), there’s nothing ambiguous about the way it equates queerness with supernatural otherness. Heather (Bobbi Salvör Menuez) is a lone wolf in more ways than one. Like her father Henry (Stephen McHattie), Heather has lycanthropic tendencies. Her alcoholic mother Patti (Heidi von Palleske) is unaffected, and the same is

true of her younger, hockey-obsessed twin brothers Cooper (Charles F. Halpenny) and Hardy (Harrison W. Halpenny). When the moon is full, Heather must be shackled to her bed, and the padlocks on her bedroom door must be firmly locked. During the day, and before the moon is out, Heather has ambitions of being a goalie. However, Coach Dutch (Dean McDermott), doesn’t think she has what it takes to make the team. While at the rink, in between Zamboni-ing the ice and working the concession stand, Heather meets Jonny (Amandla Stenberg), a figure skater. Jonny is controlled by two men – her queeny father/coach/skating partner (out actor Scott Thompson) and her macho boyfriend Rick (Cory Lipman). Nevertheless, that doesn’t stop Jonny from flirting with Heather. Heather, whom we’ve seen masturbating while watching female wrestlers on TV, is fully aware of her queerness. The sexual tension between them is palatable. It oozes

from their pores, whether they’re dropping acid and tripping at a casino, or just hanging out at Heather’s house. When they finally do have sex, Jonny becomes aware that there is more to Heather than meets the (glowing) eye. Before long, Heather is outed as queer (after her underage brothers catch her at the local bar getting familiar with Jonny in front of the jukebox), and her life gets even more difficult. To add insult to injury, Heather blows the tryout for goalie because she’s distracted. Making matters worse, Jonny distances herself from Heather. As if all of that wasn’t enough, Henry has a heart attack and dies. The movie reaches its vicious peak during the blood moon when Heather and Rick have a violent confrontation. “My Animal” fits in well with the other recent horror flicks that borrow from the groundwork laid by its predecessors and eventually putting a 21st-century spin on the storytelling. Rating: Bt www.paramountmovies.com

Going out Halloween’s on Tuesday, but you know there’ll be plenty of creepy costumed fun through this weekend. We also have plenty of arts events that are a bit less scary. Check out our online listings, eight days a week, on www.ebar.com.

Steven Underhill

by Gregg Shapiro

<< TV

36 • Bay Area Repor ter • October 26-November 1, 2023

‘The War On Disco’

PBS documentary recalls Disco Demolition Night

PBS

Diane Alexander White

Left: Disco Demolition Night at Comiskey Park, Chicago Illinois, July 12, 1979.

by Michael Flanagan

hat cultural conditions lead to a rock shock jock blowing up disco records and starting a riot at a ballpark? That is the question that “The War on Disco,” the October 30 American Experience documentary on PBS, seeks to answer regarding the “Disco Demolition” at Comiskey Park in Chicago on July 12, 1979. One of the things the documentary has going for it is a wide range of interviewees discussing the topic. Rich King, a former sportscaster from WGN-TV in Chicago, discusses the 1970s and the origins of white working class unrest that lead to the riot at Comiskey Park. “Everything changed. We’re running out of gas, all kinds of economic problems, the Vietnam War ended poorly. Malaise was a perfect description of the ’70s.” Professor Adam Green of the University of Chicago puts the incident in the context of conflicts that are all too familiar, saying, “This is an early episode in what we call the ‘Culture Wars.’ People were fighting over what is the kind of music that should be valued.” Professor Jefferson Cowie of Vanderbilt University adds further context. “I think in many ways the ’70s are the roots of our own time,” he says. “All the questions that emerged in the 1960s; about race, about gender, about sexuality; those answers are being fought over in the 1970s. But in the 1970s it’s a completely different economic and political climate than it is in the 1960s. The psychology of the 1970s is both a sense of loss and

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Right: A scene from ‘The War On Disco’

a sense of unknowing. What terrible thing is going to happen next?” Green further discusses white grievance in the rust belt due to the economic downturn related to the closing of auto plants and related industries: “A young white male, seeing the closing of these plants and he’s saying, ‘Well what’s going to be my future? Am I going to actually have a job?’”

Boogie fever

Joe Shanahan, former owner of the Chicago club Metro, tells how a gay Black club led to the rise of disco music in New York in 1972. “There was a club in New York called The Loft, an underground gay basically black club,” he says in the film. “From The Loft we find out about a very important record called Soul Makossa. And Soul Makossa was this kind of African beat.” Ray Smith, a New York club patron, gives a feeling of the joy of disco. “With the trauma and the darkness of those early ’70s years there was a clamoring for something light, something to happen. It was disco.” Smith also talks about the Firehouse, the Gay Activist Alliance dance club. “A few years after I moved to New York, the Gay Activist Alliance purchased an old retired firehouse in SoHo,” he recalls. “It was the first club owned outright by gays – and it was ours, we owned it. We felt free!” At this my ears pricked up, because here in San Francisco there had been clubs owned by both gays and lesbians since the 1950s. It was a sign of problems to come with “The War on Disco.” Daphne Brooks, Professor of African American Studies at Yale University, talks about the importance of disco music and liberation in the ’70s. “For Black and brown LGBTQ communities, where can you find the space to engage in everyday dreaming and to be able to collaborate in that dreaming with dance floor partners?” she asks. “Disco was finding joy in your body. So it made so much sense that in the ’70s you would see this kind of turn towards pleasure and disco became kind of the sonic accompaniment to those joyous revolts against patriarchy and homophobia.” The film “Saturday Night Fever” was released on December 12, 1977. Cowie addressed its impact. “’Saturday Night Fever’ surprises everybody by its scope and its power. Everyone responds; it’s enormous. The soundtrack is enormous, the movie is

Alamy

Felipe Rose of the Village People dances on a bar, 1980.

enormous.” Studio 54, which opened on April 26, 1977, also provides a context for the coming backlash with its velvet rope and door policy. Green explains, “The idea that the doorman looks at you at the door and says ‘You can go in. You can’t go in’ to the working class guy who goes to Comiskey Park, the guy who’s wondering how he’s going to make a living – to that guy that doorman outside the club is a sign of exclusivity and elitism.”

Personal grudge

Steve Dahl had been a rock disc jockey at WDAI in Chicago. He was fired on December 24, 1978 when the station moved to a disco format. Hired by WLUP, he began using the phrase “disco sucks” on his radio station. Dahl thought up the Disco Demolition promotion. Ayana Contreras, music director at Chicago NPR affiliate 91.1 FM, discusses the Bridgeport neighborhood where Comiskey Park is located. “Bridgeport was sort of like a sundown neighborhood, where it was evident that you were not supposed to be there after dark if you were a Black person,” she says. Disco Demolition went wildly awry. They were hoping for 20,000 fans to show up (about 5,000 more than usual). More than 50,000 people showed up. Dahl made announcements over the loudspeaker like, “They’re not going to shove it down our throats. We rock and rollers will resist, and we will triumph!” After the first game, when the demolition occurred, fans streamed onto the field and a riot ensued. There were fires on the field and the second game was cancelled. There was an almost immediate reaction. Felipe Rose of the Village People tells of that reaction. “The event at Comiskey Park was the moment that set the fuse,” he says. “And some of the radio stations stopped playing disco music. Not

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slowly – overnight.” Singer Linda Clifford relates the heartbreaking effects of this change. “The bookings stopped,” she says. “The phone calls stopped. There was no work. I don’t think they thought about how badly they could hurt people – women especially, because this was a time when women were really moving into the music industry and having successes. My heart dropped. I don’t know what the effect might have been for the average person out there to see it. I know what it did to me.”

The major problem with The War on Disco is that it describes a thing that did not happen. Dance music did not go away after the Disco Demolition. I was working at a record store in East Lansing and my local gay bar in Lansing hired me to do a rock dance night in 1980 where I played music by Devo, the B-52s, OMD, Gary Numan, and Fad Gadget. Rock music, New Wave particularly, incorporated the dance rhythms of disco. In clubs around the country, dance music continued to be wildly popular. Diana Ross had a gigantic hit with “I’m Coming Out” in 1980 – written and produced by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rogers of Chic, who did not stop working in the music industry. “Funkytown” by Lipps Inc., also released in March 1980, was inescapable. “Celebration” by Kool & The Gang was released in 1980 and became a Billboard #1 hit in February 1981 – and if you have been to a wedding between then and now you have heard it. The documentary also has an Eastern insularity to it. A certain San Francisco musician you may have heard of by the name Sylvester did not stop recording in 1979 after the Disco Demolition. Still “The War on Disco” is interesting and well worth watching. It will spawn hours of debate. The music is fabulous, of course. They even manage to include a song by MFSB, a Philadelphia band that represents a disco sound from a city that somehow escapes mention in the documentary.t “The War on Disco” airs Oct. 30. www.pbs.org

Above: PBS Below: Chicago History Museum

Above: The riot at Disco Demolition night, Comiskey Park Below: The crowd sets records on fire at Disco Demolition night, Comiskey Park, Chicago, Illinois, July 12, 1979.

Lectures>>

October 26-November 1, 2023 • Bay Area Repor ter • 37

Roz Chast

Graphic novelist’s dream come true

Bill Hayes

Comic artist and graphic novelist Roz Chast

by Gregg Shapiro

ward-winning cartoonist and graphic novelist Roz Chast has a knack for putting a smile on people’s faces in record time. Her cartoons in The New Yorker, which have been delighting readers of the magazine for 45 years, are as distinctive as they are memorable. Her numerous books, including 2014’s National Book Critics Circle Award and Kirkus Prize-winning “Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant?” should be on everyone’s bookshelves, if they aren’t already. Chast’s new book, the wonderful “I Must Be Dreaming” (Bloomsbury, 2023), is as dreamy as the title suggests. Dedicated “to the Dream District of our brains,” Chast shares her own dreams – recurring, lucid, cartoon-idea, and body horror, among others – giving us plenty to ponder, and often, laugh about. Roz generously made time for an interview about the book. Roz Chast will be at the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco on Nov. 2. Gregg Shapiro: In the introduction to your new book, “I Must Be Dreaming,” you write, “According to many people, dreams as a conversational topic should be avoided, along with aches and pains. Only shrinks are interested, and maybe not even them.” Roz Chast: I’ve never felt that way. I think dreams are interesting. Telling people your dreams, as it is with any kind of thing that people talk about endlessly as if somebody’s monologuing, then it’s very boring. But dreams, as a topic, I think are very interesting and I always have felt that way. How much, if any, of “I Must Be Dreaming,” was written during the pandemic? I started making cartoons about the dreams before the pandemic. Then I just continued to do it. I kept a dream journal, and I picked out my favorite ones. Some of it was during the pandemic and some of it… I mean, the end of the pandemic… when did it actually end? Did it end when we got vaccinated? Did it end in 2022? I got COVID in 2022, but it was very mild. It was the omicron variant, I think. But there are still people who are getting it. There was an uptick recently. We know when it started, but when did it really end? It hasn’t really ended. Have you told any of the famous people, including Glenn Close, Danny DeVito, Chris Rock, or Wallace Shawn, that you dreamed about them and that they’re in

your book? No [big laugh]! I don’t know why! And that’s the other thing that’s so weird. The Danny DeVito dream! I think he’s really funny, but I don’t think about him during my waking hours. It’s so funny to me, the people who pop up in your dreams. Freud talks about something that I think I mentioned in the book, called “day residue,” where it’s possible that maybe I was watching TV and somebody mentioned Danny DeVito and that came up in a dream. But, as far as I know, consciously I have no idea why. Or (the dream about) Elizabeth Taylor and her stove. To me, that’s part of the charm of dreams. Additional aspects of pop culture pop up in the dreams in the book. I think part of it, as a cartoonist, and for whatever reason, just personally I’m interested in pop culture. I’ve always been interested in it. Sometimes I think about the way that Mad Magazine was interested in it. Pop culture was so funny and so pitch for writing about or drawing about. Sometimes I’m shocked and dismayed at how much of my memory is taken up with theme songs from “Green Acres” or something. [Laughs] I don’t remember a conversation I had with somebody two weeks ago, but I can sing the “Green Acres” theme song. It’s sort of disturbing.

In addition to the blurb from Alison Bechdel, “I Must Be Dreaming” features lesbian representation in the form of Nan Goldin and Fran Lebowitz. You also collaborated with queer musician Stephin Merritt (of The Magnetic Fields) on the 2014 book “101 Two-Letter Words.” Because this interview is for the LGBTQ media, would you mind saying a few words about the role these people play in your life? It actually plays a very large role in my life. I have a kid who is trans. I don’t

Courtesy: Bloomsbury

Comic panels from Roz Chast’s “I Must Be Dreaming”

even have words for how grateful I am. I mean, I’ve always felt grateful for him. Born as my daughter, cisgender female, I guess, and he told me when he was about 19 that he was trans. I’d always had a lot of gay friends. I didn’t know exactly what that meant or what it was. He’s now 32 and is just the most wonderful person, and always has been. I feel like I’ve learned so much from him. I can’t generalize because I know that with everything it’s so individual. What somebody feels about being trans might be very different from somebody else. I’m wary of making any kind of generalizations, but I’ve always questioned a lot of ideas about gender, since I was a kid. I think, partly, because in my family, my mother was an assistant principal. She was like such a bossy boots and she ran the show and my father and I were kind of afraid of her [laughs] in a lot of ways. Of course, my father worshipped the ground she walked on. He was a French teacher, and he was just a gentler sort of person. I bonded more with him as this non-confrontational sort of person. She chose a different way to be female. I didn’t think it meant that she wanted to be a man. She wanted the freedom to be a person. The idea of being this passive sort of person, who didn’t want to do anything else except be a wife and mother – which is perfectly fine if that’s what you want to do – never even crossed my mind. I wanted to be a cartoonist. I never thought, “I’m a woman. I can’t possibly be a cartoonist.” I never, not for a second, thought that way. It makes a lot of sense to me, and it always has, that people should be able to be who they want to be.t

Read the full interview on www.ebar.com. “I Must Be Dreaming” by Roz Chast, Bloomsbury Press, $25 hardback, $19.50 ebook www.bloomsbury.com www.rozchast.com City Arts and Lectures hosts Roz Chast at the Sydney Goldstein Theater, Nov. 2, 7:30pm. 275 Hayes St. $49. www.cityarts.net

Courtesy: Bloomsbury

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<< Books

38 • Bay Area Repor ter • October 26-November 1, 2023

Ryan Pfluger’s ‘Holding Space’ by Mark William Norby

here exists both confidence and vulnerability in LGBTQ relationships where the observer and the observed find themselves beautifully united. Indeed, only a handful of artistic examples assert themselves so effectively as Ryan Pfluger’s “Holding Space: Life and Love Through a Queer Lens” (Princeton Architectural Press). His series of portraits show how intersectional queer relationships really are and how effective in them we can actually be.

As we have found ourselves breaking up more than making up our own definitions of how we choose to live together, Pfluger’s photographic and biographic chronicles will fit into your life and banish the limitations of what we have understood as the state of being connected. Having chosen authenticity over the brashness that pride can stir, Pfluger knew precisely what he wanted to create. He wanted to create intimate, often very sexy full-color portraits of difference celebrated. Page after page of photographs merit display in any museum, reveal

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emotions and invite the viewer to step into their lives. Every couple has a good story to tell about what makes their relationships work. Take Christine and Hanna, who met in New York City and eventually settled together in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Christine and Hanna experimented with different aspects of relationships; visiting New York City’s Museum of Modern Art, talking sex for hours on end, and exploring ideas for travel together and getting lost in Berlin nightclubs. Yet they never committed to partnership in the conventional sense. Rather, they chose to be together, to love and live and share their lives in the same space contented with one another as deep soulmates. The biographies of the lives displayed here in what is, after all, a coffee table art book, are as eye-popping as the tantalizing, inviting photographs. “I never felt more in the world, or of the world, than when I was with her. It’s maybe ironic then that it felt like the outer world pulled us apart. Or maybe it was the unkind part of the outer world that I had internalized and couldn’t kick.” Christine doesn’t go into why she and Hanna were pulled apart, but rather focuses on what has kept them together.

‘Life and Love Through a Queer Lens’

Photographer Ryan Pfluger

the point of the book. With celebrity endorsements by Jamie Lee Curtis, queer author Alexander Chee, actor/director/producer Elliot Page, author Xochitl Gonzalez (“Olga Dies Dreaming”) and others, plus a foreword by writer and director Janicza Bravo (“Zola”), Pfluger’s book is definitely worth owning. At a time when queer people are increasingly

attacked across the country, Pfluger puts us out there colorfully and with a distinct dignity that says, I am here.t “Holding Space: Life and Love Through a Queer Lens” by Ryan Pfluger, Princeton Architectural Press, 223 pp., $29.95 www.papress.com www.ryanpfluger.com

Couples and their stories

Take Alyss and Angelica. Extremely candid about their mistakes, Alyss left a conservative Christian life in Texas only to find themself enrolled in the Bethel Conservatory of the Arts in Redding in order to earn a BA in performing arts. They wound up in a conversion therapy program at Bethel, whose sole goal was to convince them that God didn’t make them gay or transgender. But somehow Alyss found the strength to affirm their own sexuality. “I realized that I didn’t hate myself or my queerness. I had just been acting under the influence of people who think it is an abomination for me to exist.” They left Redding for Los Angeles, where they met Angelica. “Angelica made my life worth living.” Meet Court and Adaris, two daddies living in Los Angeles. A traditional gay couple who met on Scruff. Hot. These two will make the men at the Lone Star Saloon weep. Court gets right to the point. “When we finally met, we had really incredible sex and I invited him to have dinner with me after. We were fuck buddies for a few months with no intention of getting into a relationship, and then it just sort of happened.” Court took off to Italy and while there, realized that he wanted Adaris “to be my person. When I came home, I asked him to be my boyfriend and he said yes.” “Holding Space” is filled with biracial couples in interesting relationships that should keep you thinking about how we all navigate the world. Take Sarah and Oliver, another couple living in L.A. Sarah is lesbian and Oliver is a queer trans man. “Seeing other people’s reaction to Oliver has made me protective of him. As a brown person, he’s been pulled over by cops way more than I have, and when we were signing our mortgage papers, the white mortgage broker who had met us three times and had seen his name on all the papers called him Javier.” We meet Martin and Zack from San Francisco. With an eleven-year age difference between them and a bit older than the majority of younger couples that populate “Holding Space,” it was a breath of fresh air to receive the affirmations that come with age and experience. “Understanding what kind of relationship you actually want to share versus the kinds that have been modeled for you, and ultimately the neverending change that comes with growing more and more every day,” they stated together. Which is, of course,

All photos: Ryan Pfluger

Above: Portrait of Christine and Hannah in ‘Holding Space’ Middle: Alyss and Angelica in ‘Holding Space’ Below: Zack and Martin in ‘Holding Space’

Books>>

October 26-November 1, 2023 • Bay Area Repor ter • 39

Witch Ways

Christine Cunningham Ashworth’s ‘Scott Cunningham: The Path Taken’

by Jim Piechota

ritten by his younger sister, Christine, this biography of Wiccan trailblazer Scott Cunningham (1956-1993) is a fitting and loving tribute to a queer man who helped usher witchcraft into the mainstream. His 1988 guidebook, “Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner,” is one of the most popular and bestselling books on the subject ever sold. That book joins an influential oeuvre of well-received volumes and collective series on metaphysical and organically magical art forms of witchcraft, the elements, astrology, Tarot practices, crystals, herbology, and nature, among others. His books were heralded for their smooth yet instructional prose, nonconfrontational openness, and kind approaches to often tabooed or harshly criticized practices, particularly within queer communities. Cunningham’s unparalleled knowledge of these subjects as a seasoned practitioner reflects a lifelong passion for nontraditional spirituality. As his sister notes about her beloved brother in her book, “Scott Cunningham – The Path Taken: Honoring the Life and Legacy of a Wiccan Trailblazer,” he “gave not only permission, but the tools, to anyone who wished to follow a Wiccan path without having access to a coven.” Christine describes her brother as a deeply private person, but someone who openly and prolifically shared his experiences, practices, advice, and

Christine Cunningham Ashworth

vast Wiccan knowledge on the page. But she also reveals the fact that she began to see her brother’s life more clearly only after his death by reading his many publications. “In reading those books he wrote,” she reflects, “I saw a side of him I never saw in person, heard a voice I had never heard from him before.”

Earth magic

The modern Pagan movement will forever applaud the efforts of Scott Cunningham for his trailblazing wisdom, early teachings, and intuitive Earth magic nature, and a collection of contributing Pagan and Wiccan writers, herbalists, numerologists, and occultists join in throughout the book to reflect back and offer illuminating perspectives on Cunningham’s influ-

ence on their lives and teachings. Tarot authority and illustrator Benebell Wen offers Cunningham’s Natal Chart which nicely compliments his numerology chart in uniquely describing his life path, personality, expression, and Heart’s Desire number, calculated by adding only the vowels in a person’s birth name. The biography chronicles Cunningham’s childhood growing up in San Diego where the medium-sized family shared birthdays, holidays, and joyous events, while Scott began to develop his own penchants for gardening and unconventional spirituality. Since the book is written by Scott’s sister, the prose is beautifully intimate, moving, and descriptive as she moves across the years of her brother’s life learning from him, and particularly

developing a love of books, camping at the family’s summer cabin in the Laguna mountains, cultivating plants, and also incense, which she still lights when in need of reassurance or comfort. The book makes for exquisitely somber reading, however, when the author describes, from her intensive perspective, the emotional pain of losing her beloved brother and how, even now, she and a great many in the global Wiccan community at large miss his physical presence and sage mentorship, even from a distance. A particularly sobering chapter describes Christine discovering Scott’s wallet after his death in a box of his belongings and how, many years later, she still cannot bring herself to discard it, just as she refuses to delete her deceased father’s number from her cell phone. “Grief is something no one can get a handle on, until it happens to them.” Sadly, Cunningham died young at age 36 from AIDS-related infections including lymphoma and cryptococcal meningitis, yet his spirit, teachings, and leadership live on in the Wiccan community and beyond. His instructional books bring a unique inclusivity to folks new to the craft as well as to more independent practitioners who prefer solitary worship. But for his sister, she still wishes it hadn’t been so difficult for Scott to live his life as a witch “hiding in plain sight.” She openly laments in wishing “he hadn’t been quite so discreet, so circumspect with his witchery. It still makes my heart ache. How I wish he

Chet Cunningham

Scott Cunningham with Christine Cunningham Ashworth in San Diego, 1982

could be here, now, and see how far we have come…and yet, I’m sure his heart would break at how far we have still to go.” For Pagan and Wiccan readers, queer Crafters, and those curious about the magical artistry and timeless history of witchcraft, both and modern, this is a bittersweetly fond, appreciative, and intimate portrait of a brother, innovative spiritual leader, mentor, and revolutionary Wiccan pioneer whose legacy continues to influence three decades after his passing.t “Scott Cunningham: The Path Taken” by Christine Cunningham Ashworth. Weiser Books, $21.95 www.redwheelweiser.com www.christine-ashworth.com

‘Mary and the Birth of Frankenstein’ ter, but over the following year, Mary, the 18-year-old, perpetually pregnant, mourning mother of dead children came forth with a horror story that put centuries of more distinguished literary ghosts, you should pardon the expression, to the pale.

What Eekhout hath wrought

Keke Keukelaar

Author Anne Eekhout

by Tim Pfaff

mong the many things they don’t tell you about Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” is that it’s a deeply moving novel, not the least in its proposal of a tender, unnamed monster done and gone wrong. His creator, Doctor Victor Frankenstein, is like Captain Ahab, undone by his creation, a fatal obsession. Against the odds, by concentrating on its author, Anne Eekhout’s new novel, “Mary and the Birth of Frankenstein” (HarperVia, superbly translated from the Dutch by Laura Watkinson), makes it even more involving. Writers revisit classic books at their peril. The literary graveyard is full of headstones marking re-thinks of Melville and completions of novels by Charles Dickens and Jane Austen. The pull of Eekhout’s story is its avoidance of any trace of revisionism in the interest of producing a fantasia on the original. As it happens, Shelley makes a superb central character.

Shelley. New readers did not have to be inducted into the idea that the “latter” Mary was second to neither as a writer, her work patently more enduring –and read outside academia. “Frankenstein,” which Shelley subtitled “The Modern Prometheus,” was written on a dare by Lord Byron, who was staying with the Shelleys during a gloomy, socked-in Geneva winter. He proposed that each member of the stranded company, wannabe genre fabulists before their time, write a ghost story to entertain the others. None rose to the challenge that win-

The other bicentennial

The bicentennial celebration of Shelley’s 1818 novel (first published anonymously because it was by a woman, never mind her pedigree) proved newly revelatory. “Frankenstein” had long been acknowledged as the first work of science fiction, and its author was hardly undervalued, being the daughter of feminist crusader Mary Wollstonecraft and the wife of English poet Percy Bysshe

hellboy.fandom.com/wiki/

The cover of an 1818 first edition of ‘Frankenstein’

“Mary and the Birth of Frankenstein” takes us back to the Swiss chalet but does not strand us there. In the Alpine retreat, Mary sees Percy dawdling with another of the guests and Byron being flagrantly sexual with John Polidori, who also makes a pass at Mary. But even at its most lurid, that narrative choice is overtaken by the newly pregnant Mary’s threnody of inconsolable grief at the crib death of her daughter, which sets the tone of the novel as a whole. For the historical Shelley, more dead children – miscarriages, stillbirths, and yet more early deaths– were to come. Formative as those experiences were, none stopped the prodigious flow of Mary’s writing. Eekhout leaves few of the standard stones of gothic fiction unturned. Creatures with gills and scales make frequent appearances, but with a literary daring all her own, Eekhout locates the genesis of “Frankenstein” in the adolescent tryst of the historical Mary and Isabella Baxter, the daughter of Mary’s father’s friend with whom she passes a fateful sojourn in Scotland. A budding erotic relationship between the girls blooms, with all the ecstasy and calamity of young, forbidden love. Mary refers to Isabella’s “reckless, magnificent intensity,” though there’s a fair amount of projection there. The climax of their “affair” comes in an episode of Victorian skinnydipping that shimmers with eroticism. Mary recalls it later: “[Isabella’s nipples] were dark, dark and hard, and when I pressed my lips to her nipple, took the firm bud into my mouth, that hardness drove itself into my body, through my entire self, downwards, downwards.” There’s a lot more where that comes from.

Monster mash

The most direct, verbal censor of the girls’ relationship is by the sinister Mr. Booth, who has his eye on Isabella, too, but, importantly to the larger plot, has a reputation for experimentation with various life forms in his abandoned brewery. Mary imagines him as a man with a snake, another snake, real of not, having just bitten Isabella in a quiet invocation of the serpent in Genesis. A monster with characteristics remarkably like those of the historical Shelley’s ghoul appears at their every sexual act. Is it the monstrosity of their love? Such as there’s philosophy in “Mary and the Birth of Frankenstein,” it’s about the wafer-thin membrane that separates fact from fiction, not just in this tale but in the life we all live. “Stories are a mirror,” the fictional Mary comments. “You see yourself but

not always as you had expected. A story like a mirror; not real but still true.” The writing itself verges on the surreal when it is not frankly hallucinatory. Dreams abound, mostly nightmares. The prose has a strange, hypnotic, enveloping beauty, the guarantor of a good horror story. Deliriously yet pellucidly run-on sentences jostle with sentence fragments and totemic individual words, all under Eekhout’s sure control. In hands other than Eekhout’s, and the two Marys’, this might all be aggravating to the most careful reader. Instead it is narratively life-giving, in the nonelectrical sense.t ‘Mary and the Birth of Frankenstein,’ by Anne Eekhout; translated from the Dutch by Laura Watkinson. $24. HarperVia, 300 pages, www.harpercollins.com

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Cal Performances music

U N I V E R S I T Y

O F

dance

C A L I F O R N I A ,

Kristin Chenoweth For the Girls

theater

B E R K E L E Y

The English Concert

BAY AREA PREMIERE

Harry Bicket, conductor

Hair & Other Stories

Handel’s Rodelinda

Lucy Crowe (Rodelinda), soprano Iestyn Davies (Bertarido), countertenor Eric Ferring (Grimoaldo), tenor Christine Rice (Eduige), mezzo-soprano Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen (Unulfo), countertenor Brandon Cedel (Garibaldo), bass-baritone

Musical comedy diva and winner of Emmy and Tony Awards for both her singing and acting, Kristin Chenoweth presents an evening of unforgettable songs made famous by great women singers who have inspired her, from Barbra Streisand’s “The Way We Were,” to Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You,” and much more!

// 2023–24 Season

Britain’s premier early-music ensemble returns in its annual season engagement for a concert performance of Handel’s masterwork Rodelinda, a story of enduring marital love that remains steadfast through every adversity.

Urban Bush Women The formidable Brooklyn-based performance ensemble Urban Bush Women visits with Hair & Other Stories, a full-length dance-theater work exploring race, identity, and concepts of beauty through the lens of Black women’s hair.

Nov 15

Nov 19

Dec 1–3

Matthew Whitaker

San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus

Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo

ZELLERBACH HALL

There is a playful spirit of curiosity and exploration in jazz pianist’s Matthew Whitaker’s approach to the keyboard, whether he is tackling bebop, electric fusion, R&B, or Latin rhythms as part of his omnivorous approach to jazz.

Holiday Spectacular More than 100 voices strong and dressed in fabulously festive attire, the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus celebrates their 45th year performing beloved holiday songs and acting out timely, funny sketches in an event that has become a much-anticipated season highlight.

“It is astounding. The fleetness of finger, the touch and taste, the grit and grime when he needs it, the lightness and airiness when it’s called upon— Whitaker has it all.”

Z E L L E R B A C H P L AY H O U S E

Celebrating its landmark 50th anniversary season, the exquisite technique and elegant styling of the Trocks, deftly delivered with a hilarious punchline, continues to offer laughs for aficionados and novices alike.

—Downbeat

Dec 8

Dec 17

Jan 27–28

The Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Great Artist Performance

BAY AREA PREMIERE

WEST COAST PREMIERE

by Germaine Acogny & Malou Airaudo

Bark of Millions

Z E L L E R B A C H P L AY H O U S E

Renée Fleming, soprano 2023 KENNEDY CENTER HONOREE

ZELLERBACH HALL

common ground[s] The Rite of Spring by Pina Bausch

Radiant soprano Renée Fleming graces Berkeley with her star power once again, lending her warmth and sensitivity to a recital program of songs and arias in several languages.

Feb 9

ZELLERBACH HALL

A Pina Bausch Foundation, École des Sables, & Sadler’s Wells production

In this double-bill production, Pina Bausch’s iconic The Rite of Spring is performed by an ensemble of more than 30 dancers from 14 African countries. The companion piece common ground[s] is a new duet co-created and danced by Germaine Acogny, known as the “mother of African contemporary dance,” and Malou Airaudo, a longtime dancer with the Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch.

Feb 16–18

ZELLERBACH HALL

Taylor Mac & Matt Ray’s A Parade Trance Extravaganza for the Living Library of the Deviant Theme Taylor Mac visits with an epic four-hour rock opera meditation on queerness. Featuring 54 original songs—one song per year since the Stonewall uprising— this West Coast Premiere is inspired by queer antecedents throughout world history and is performed by a diverse cast of 13 ensemble members and a band of 11 musicians.

“This four-hour musical-opera-variety show from the celebrated US performer is a moving, witty, extravagant exercise in pure pleasure and spectacle.” –The Guardian

Feb 23–25

ZELLERBACH HALL

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