The August 13, 2020 Edition of the Bay Area Reporter by Bay Area Reporter

Strut serves everyone

SF candidates gear up

Natoli vote headed to supes

ARTS

Lovecraft Country

The

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

Vol. 50 • No. 33 • August 13-19, 2020

Biden picks Harris as Dem VP nominee by John Ferrannini

Brian Egg

Courtesy SFPD

Squatters take over Egg’s former home by Ed Walsh

n the two-year anniversary of the gruesome killing of Brian Egg, the case remains unsolved and neighbors are expressing a growing concern over squatters they say have taken over the South of Market house where the 65-year-old gay man had lived for over 40 years. Egg’s longtime friend, Scot Free, told the Bay Area Reporter that he plans to light a candle to commemorate the discovery of Egg’s partial remains two years ago this weekend. He also launched a Facebook fundraiser, “A tree for Brian,” to put a memorial tree and plaque in his honor. Free said he didn’t feel comfortable organizing a memorial vigil in front of Egg’s house as he did last year because of the squatters who are living in the home. “I would like to honor the occasion at his home but I’m afraid of having ANY contact with the squatters, who are most definitely junkies,” Free told the B.A.R. in an email. “People like that are unpredictable and could bash my car or me. They’re very shady, paranoid, and suspicious. I wouldn’t be surprised if they eventually set the place on fire.” Free said the squatters told him that the new owner is allowing them to stay there. During a recent visit to the property, this reporter did not see any squatters. Free said that there is a back door that can’t be seen from the street and that people have hopped over a big fence to get in.

Home sold

City records show that the home was purchased for $1.5 million last year by Sonoma resident Shahram Bijan, who is being represented by attorney Jody Knight. When asked about concerns from neighbors, Knight told the B.A.R. by email: “I do not comment on projects I am handling. Thank you.” Artist renderings submitted to the San Francisco Planning Department show that Bijan is proposing to build a five-story, nine-unit condominium complex on the site. The project is being called “224 Clara.” It includes one onebedroom unit and eight two-bedroom units. Egg’s property had a large yard and is considered as two lots by the city, 224 and 228 Clara Street. San Francisco planning communications manager Gina Simi told the B.A.R. this week that a planning commission hearing over entitlement for the property is scheduled for September 17. She said she could not predict a construction schedule because building permits have not been submitted. Planning department records show the building has received three formal complaints in June. One unnamed complainant wrote: “People are squatting in the house. Floor is full of needles. ... Back door was boarded up by a next-door neighbor but the boards were pulled down the next day. Evidence of a bonfire in the backyard.” See page 12 >>

alifornia Senator Kamala Harris was selected by presumptive Democratic Party presidential nominee Joseph R. Biden Jr. August 11 to be his running mate on the party’s 2020 ticket. If agreed to by the Democratic National Convention August 17-20, Harris will be the fourth woman on a major party ticket in United States history – after 1984 Democratic vice presidential nominee Geraldine Ferraro, 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. If elected, Harris would be the first female vice president and the highest-ranking woman elected in U.S. history. If elected, Biden, 77, will be the oldest person elected to the presidency. She is the first Black woman and first person of Indian descent on a major party ticket. LGBTQ advocates were quick to praise the decision. Gay San Francisco community college board Vice President Tom Temprano enthusiastically posted on Facebook, “Vice-

Courtesy Bloomberg

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joseph R. Biden Jr. named Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate.

President Harris, here we come. Let’s get a woman of color from the Bay Area into the White House.” Noting that Harris in 2013 had officiated the first marriage between a same-sex couple in the state of California between Proposition 8 plaintiffs and Berkeley couple Kris Perry and Sandy Stier, the national LGBTQ

rights organization the Human Rights Campaign hailed her selection as Biden’s running mate. “Senator Kamala Harris is nothing short of an exceptional choice for vice president,” stated HRC President Alphonso David. See page 12 >>

Rio Nido couple allege anti-gay harassment from neighbor by John Ferrannini

Sonoma County gay couple allege that a man in their neighborhood has waged a campaign of homophobic harassment against them, and has continued even after they received temporary restraining orders against him. John Orcutt, 72, and his partner, Jay Wescott, 53, moved into a two-bedroom cabin in Rio Nido – a town of 522 people adjacent to Guerneville, the LGBTQ vacation destination – in 2012. The couple had lived in San Francisco, meeting in 1994 at the South of Market leather bar The Eagle. Wescott is a veteran of the United States Air Force and Orcutt has a disability. “We were evicted from our apartment in San Francisco because of a loophole in the Ellis Act,” Orcutt said in a recent interview with the B.A.R. “We couldn’t find another apartment we could afford. The only place we could afford was up here in Rio Nido.” Since they moved, the couple alleges that Russel Vincent Olson, who rents other properties in the area, has been harassing them. Olson is not their landlord. “Russel said ‘why don’t you ladies go back to San Francisco where you belong?’ just a few months after we moved here,” Orcutt said. “After that, it was continual harassment.” Wescott said that on another occasion, “Olson got into a truck, slowed down in front of the house, and yelled ‘fucking faggots.’” The couple’s friend, Sharon Ray, was at their residence on one of several occasions when Olson allegedly yelled the slur. “I was over at their house,” she said in an interview with the B.A.R. “He came by in his big truck and was revving the engine, revving the engine, and I went up to see what was going on and he just yelled ‘fucking faggots’ and drove off after revving and I thought ‘are you fucking kidding me right now?’” “It came from absolutely nowhere,” she added. “That’s the one that really stuck out

Courtesy John Wescott

John Orcutt, left, and his partner, Jay Wescott, allege that a neighbor has harassed them for years.

in my mind. On other occasions [Orcutt and Wescott] told me they’re terrified to even walk around the neighborhood because other people give them a hard time. I feel so, so bad for them.” The issues are not limited to Olson. Over the Memorial Day weekend, Wescott said, Olson was joined by seven others in harassing them. “I went out and we found our recyclable can full of stuff – I guess from next door – and then one of our neighbors came across the street screaming, and her husband was screaming,” Wescott said in a subsequent interview with the B.A.R. They were then joined by several others, including Olson, Wescott said, who yelled “faggot” and “cocksucker” at them. “They were recording us on their cellphones and they said we’re going to get fucked in jail. They were blowing kisses at us,” Wescott said. “The [sheriff ’s deputies] were called by them. ... That’s what we have to put up with here. They use reverse psychology on people.” “These people are dangerous,” Orcutt said. “We can’t even go for a walk.”

Authorities called

The couple has reached out to the Sonoma County Sheriff ’s Office. “They’ll take a report but have not been

helpful at all,” Orcutt said. “They say things like ‘he’s a family man.’ They don’t understand that gay people get married and have children.” Ray said that the couple “called the [sheriff ’s office] several times and they just blew it off.” The Sonoma County Sheriff ’s Office issued a statement to the B.A.R. in response to a request for comment. “There are ongoing issues between neighbors involving Mr. Orcutt and Mr. Wescott. Deputies respond to every call for assistance and treat everyone fairly and with respect,” the statement reads. “When there is behavior that feels harassing but is legal, we recommend the person being harassed apply for a restraining order.” Regarding the concern that a deputy made excuses for Olson, the office said that “we treat everyone fairly.” “If Mr. Orcutt or Mr. Wescott believe[s] the deputy acted inappropriately, they should file a complaint with the sheriff ’s office for investigation,” another statement reads. Orcutt identified the deputy who he claimed called Olson a “family man” in a phone call with the B.A.R. August 6. The sheriff ’s office responded to a B.A.R. inquiry that Orcutt should file a complaint with its office. Things got so bad that in 2019 Orcutt sought a restraining order. At least two temporary orders were granted, according to court documents Orcutt sent to the B.A.R. Supporting documents included a letter from three doctors, 11 call records to 911, photos of Olson’s truck allegedly blocking Orcutt and Wescott’s place, and a sheriff ’s office incident report. However, according to Orcutt, the couple stopped seeking a permanent restraining order when government officials could not locate Olson to serve the temporary orders. During this time the couple stated that they did not see Olson around. “After three months we thought ‘we can’t just keep coming back to court to get this extended,” Orcutt said. See page 12 >>

<< Community News

2 • Bay Area Reporter • August 13-19, 2020

Strut adds services geared toward women

by John Ferrannini

1 Haight

Located at 1 Haight Street, San Francisco CA 94103 2 Studios at $1,116 a month; 2 One Bedrooms at $1,229 a month; 1 Two Bedrooms at $1,349 a month. Bicycle storage available to BMR renters, one space per unit. Must be income eligible and must not own a home. Households must earn no more than the maximum income levels below: 55% of Area Median Income One person - $49,300; 2 persons - $56,400; 3 persons - $63,400; 4 persons - $70,450; 5 persons- $76,100 Applications must be received by 5pm on September 8, 2020. Apply online through DAHLIA, the SF Housing Portal at housing.sfgov.org For help with your application please contact housing counseling agencies listed at housing.sfgov.org/housing-counselors. Please contact the 1 Haight Street BMR leasing team for more information at 415-508-8855 or HaightStreetBMR@gmail.com. Units available through the San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development and are subject to monitoring and other restrictions. Visit www.sfmohcd.org for program information.

ebar.com

agnet, the sexual health clinic located at the Strut community health center in the Castro, has quietly rolled out services to people of all gender identities and sexual orientations. The Bay Area Reporter reached out to the health center after the initial publication of an article about an event sponsored by Strut addressing racism and safety allegations in LGBTQ bars referred to it as a “men’s health center.” A reader told the B.A.R. that Strut is a “queer health center.” SFAF spokesman Chad Ngo clarified that Strut serves “individuals who identify as a sexual or gender minority, and that does include women.” Janessa Broussard, a lesbian who is the senior director of clinical services at the health center, clarified that it did not send out a release to the B.A.R. or other outlets about the change from a more male-focused clinic. Broussard told the B.A.R. in a phone call August 6 that it has been rolling out services for women and transgender men for about the past four years – but with little fanfare. “I was hired to help build services for the trans community and for cis women,” Broussard, who has been working at Strut since 2018, told the B.A.R. August 4. “It started out as gay men-focused, but in the last few years has expanded out of necessity.” The B.A.R. reported in 2012 that there was a dearth of health services available to women in the Castro neighborhood. Broussard said that some people wanted Magnet to stay focused primarily on cis, gay men.

Rick Gerharter

The San Francisco AIDS Foundation’s Strut health center now offers services for women.

fered to women and femmes are detailed on the website (https:// www.sfaf.org/communities/women-femmes/) of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, which runs Strut and Magnet. These include the aforementioned testing and treatment for STIs, pregnancy tests, PrEP and PEP, anal health care, individualized support for those using substances, and vaccinations. “We are looking at getting the capacity to do cervical exams and Pap tests, I imagine in the next couple of months,” Broussard said. Trans men are leading the charge on cervical screening, Broussard said, because such screenings can be “particularly traumatic to trans men on testosterone.” Magnet also provides emergency contraception. “I don’t think people are aware of this service but after an assault we are able to provide emergency contraception and the full scope of testing and treatment,” Broussard said. “We can’t do a forensic exam but we can connect people if they need that.”t

“In public health, there’s always this conversation around resources,” Broussard said. “As clinics expand where they offer services, there’s always that concern, but we are continuing to see just as many cis, gay men just as strongly. ... The approach we take at Magnet is that we are here for the entire LGBTQ+ community.” Broussard said that while people focused on men and sexually transmitted infections, some of the health challenges faced by members of the lesbian community often went unaddressed. “Cisgender women who identify as lesbian and bisexual have struggled to get the information about some of the risks found in that particular situation,” Broussard explained, citing the risk of acquiring bacterial vaginosis from sharing sex toys. “We do point-of-care for vaginosis, yeast infections, and can provide treatment with antibiotics,” she said. The clinic also provides services to heterosexuals as well. People of any gender identity or sexual orientation can receive testing and treatment for STIs, including HIV. The full array of services of-

NEW AFFORDABLE HOMES FOR SALE IN SOMA SLEEK AND MODERN CONDOS AT THE QUINN, 345 8TH STREET, SAN FRANCISCO 94103

6 “Below Market Rate” homes for sale: 4 onebedroom and 2 two-bedroom homes priced from $328,206 - $388,042 without parking

H O W T O A P P LY

1 First, please sign up for a free Program

Orientation at HOMEOWNER SH I P SF. OR G / H OM E B U Y E R S

2 Complete homebuyer workshops and individual counseling.

3 Get pre-approved for a mortgage loan by a MOHCD-approved lender.

4 Submit a lottery application before application deadline.

APPLICANTS MUST BE A FIRST-TIME HOMEBUYER AND EARN NO MORE THAN THE INCOME LEVELS LISTED:

MA X I MU M A N N U A L I N CO ME

PRICING

BMR UNIT 102 56 RODGERS

BEDROOM COUNT BATH COUNT

SQUARE FEET

1 person

2 person

3 person

4 person

5 person

$89,650

$102,500

$115,300

$128,100

$138,350

FLOOR #

PRICE WITHOUT PARKING

INCOME MAXIMUM

MONTHLY HOA DUES WITHOUT PARKING

Tw o B a t h s

1,074

$379,344

100% of AMI

$726.87

O N E B E DR O O M

One Bath

899

$328,206

100% of AMI

$680.90

T W O B E DR O O M S

303

O N E B E DR O O M

One Bath

631

$344,796

100% of AMI

$593.22

307

O NE B E DR O O M

One Bath

616

$344,796

100% of AMI

$593.22

404

T W O B E DR O O M S

Tw o B a t h s

887

$388,042

100% of AMI

$680.90

407

O NE B E DR O O M

One Bath

616

$344,796

100% of AMI

$593.22

Complete applications must be received by MOND AY, SEPT EMBER 14, 2020 AT 5:00PM.

Apply online through D AH L IA, the SF Housing Portal at HOUS ING.S FGOV.ORG. Due to COVID-19, applicants will apply online as we are not accepting paper applications. For more information and assistance with your application, contact HomeownershipSF: (415) 202-5464 or info@homeownershipsf.org. For questions about the building and units, contact The Quinn: (415) 515-5838 or info@thequinnsf.com.

Units are monitored through the San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development and are subject to owner occupancy and other restrictions. Visit www.sfmohcd.org for program information.

O P E N H O U S E D AT E S

All open houses are temporarily cancelled due to COVID-19.

Lottery drawing date is T UES DAY, O C TO B E R 6 , 2 0 2 0 , 1 1 : 3 0 AM .

Due to COVID-19, MOHCD will conduct an electronic lottery with the sales agent via video conference. The lottery will not be open to the public. Lottery results will be posted at H O USI NG. SF GO V. O R G within one week of the lottery. All adult household members who will be on the title of the BMR unit must complete first-time homebuyer education through one of the City’s 5 approved housing counselling agencies in order to apply. Applicants can visit HOMEOW NE R SH I P SF. O R G/H O M E B UY E R S for upcoming program orientations and workshops. Please sign up right away, as classes tend to fill up quickly. Applicants for 345 8th Street must obtain a loan pre-approval from one of the approved participating lenders listed at S FMOHCD.ORG/ M O H C D - AUTH O R I Z E D - LE ND E R - LI ST to apply. All applicants are encouraged to apply. Lottery preference will be given to: *Certificate of Preference, **Displaced Tenant Housing Preference holders, ***Neighborhood Residents and households that currently live or work in San Francisco.

*Certificate of Preference (COP) holders are primarily households displaced in Redevelopment Project Areas during the 1960’s and 1970’s.** Displaced Tenant Housing Preference (DTHP) holders are tenants who were displaced by an Ellis Act eviction, Owner Move In eviction and tenants displaced by fire. ***Neighborhood Resident Housing Preference (NRHP) are residents living in the same supervisorial district or within ½ mile buffer of the project. The specifications are subject to change at any time and should not be relied on as representations, express or implied. Square footage or floor areas shown in any marketing or other materials is approximate and may be more or less than the actual size.

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<< Open Forum

t B.A.R. ballot measure endorsements

4 • Bay Area Reporter • August 13-19, 2020

Volume 50, Number 33 August 13-19, 2020 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 CULTURE EDITOR Jim Provenzano ASSISTANT EDITORS Matthew S. Bajko • John Ferrannini CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Tavo Amador • Roger Brigham Brian Bromberger • Victoria A. Brownworth Philip Campbell • Heather Cassell Michael Flanagan • Jim Gladstone Liz Highleyman • Lisa Keen Matthew Kennedy • David Lamble David-Elijah Nahmod • Paul Parish Tim Pfaff • Jim Piechota • Gregg Shapiro Gwendolyn Smith •Sari Staver • Charlie Wagner Ed Walsh • Cornelius Washington • Sura Wood

ART DIRECTION Max Leger PRODUCTION/DESIGN Ernesto Sopprani PHOTOGRAPHERS Jane Philomen Cleland • FBFE Rick Gerharter • Gareth Gooch Jose Guzman-Colon • Rudy K. Lawidjaja Georg Lester • Rich Stadtmiller • Fred Rowe 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

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News Editor • news@ebar.com Arts Editor • arts@ebar.com Out & About listings • jim@ebar.com Advertising • scott@ebar.com Letters • letters@ebar.com

ere are the Bay Area Reporter’s recommendations for the California propositions on the November 3 ballot. Proposition 14: Authorizes bonds to continue funding stem cell and other medical research. Initiative Statute. Yes. This measure would authorize $5.5 billion in state general obligation bonds to fund grants from the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine to educational, nonprofit, and private entities. Voters approved stem cell research in 2004, and CIRM is now near the end of allocating its first $3 billion. Continuing medical research is vital. While CIRM board member Jeff Sheehy, a gay man who’s a former San Francisco supervisor, has been quoted as saying he is “troubled” by the proposal because he thinks it might oversell potential benefits of stem cell research, Robert Klein, the real estate investment banker who spearheaded the 2004 initiative, has created an accessibility and affordability working group. The state needs to continue this research. Vote YES on Prop 14. Proposition 15: Increases funding for public schools, community colleges, and local government services by changing tax assessment of commercial and industrial property. Initiative Constitutional Amendment. Yes. This is the split-roll fix for Proposition 13, the 1978 property tax measure that has decimated state funding for schools and local services. Prop 15 will subject commercial and industrial real property to cyclical reassessments to market value while retaining Proposition 13 protections for other real property (primarily residential real property), according to Tax News Update. For decades, funding for public schools and other city services have been starved because of the low property taxes enacted by Prop 13. Reassessing commercial and industrial property makes sense. It has support from Equality California and the Alice B. Toklas LGBTQ Democratic Club. Vote YES on Prop 15. Proposition 16: ACA 5 Repeal Proposition 209. Constitutional Amendment. Yes. The California Constitution, thanks to Prop 209 that was passed in 1996, prohibits the state from discriminating against, or granting preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in public employment, public education, or public contracting. Effectively it bans affirmative action, which allows racebased or sex-based preferences. This especially manifests itself in higher education, as the UC and CSU systems’ student body became more white when admissions officials couldn’t consider race. This year, Assemblywoman Shirley Weber (D-San Diego) authored the legislation that became Prop 16. She noted that with the coronavirus pandemic and the recent tragedies resulting from police violence, Californians are forced to acknowledge deepseated inequality. The UC Board of Regents unanimously endorsed ACA 5. Prop 209 was an unnecessary, divisive measure when it was passed; voters have a rare opportunity to right a wrong. Vote YES on Prop 16.

Published weekly. Bay Area Reporter reserves the right to edit or reject any advertisement which the publisher believes is in poor taste or which advertises illegal items which might result in legal action against Bay Area Reporter. Ads will not be rejected solely on the basis of politics, philosophy, religion, race, age, or sexual orientation. Advertising rates available upon request. Our list of subscribers and advertisers is confidential and is not sold. The sexual orientation of advertisers, photographers, and writers published herein is neither inferred nor implied. We are not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or artwork.

Courtesy Koret Foundation

College campuses like UC Berkeley were at the center of Prop 209 in 1996, which Prop 16 would repeal.

Proposition 17: ACA 6 Voting Rights for People on Parole. Constitutional Amendment. Yes. This would amend the state Constitution to allow Californians who have completed their prison terms to vote. The California Constitution currently prohibits convicted felons from voting while they are in prison or on parole. As a result, nearly 50,000 paroled Californians living in and contributing to their communities who have completed their prison sentences are denied the oppor-

Courtesy Stanford University

Funding for stem cell research is on the November ballot.

tunity to choose their political representatives and shape the policies that impact their daily lives. Not surprisingly, this disenfranchisement disproportionately affects people of color and the poor. Supporters note that Prop 17 will clarify state law so that anyone who is not in prison can vote. Vote YES on Prop 17. Proposition 18: ACA 4: Primary Voting for 17-year-olds. Constitutional Amendment. Yes. This would amend the state Constitution so that a U.S. citizen who is 17 years old, is a resident of the state, and will be at least 18 years of age at the time of the next general election is eligible to vote in any primary or special election that occurs before the next general election. This is an important opportunity to involve youth in the election process in order to foster civic participation throughout their lives. (A San Francisco ballot measure would allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in municipal elections.) Democracy is better served when more people can participate. Vote YES on Prop 18. Proposition 19: The Home Protection for Seniors, Severely Disabled, Families, and Victims of Wildfire or Natural Disaster Act. Constitutional Amendment. Yes. This measure changes the rules for tax assessment transfers. In California, eligible homeowners can transfer their tax assessments to a different home of the same or lesser market value, which allows them to move without paying higher taxes. The ballot measure would allow eligible homeowners to transfer their tax assessments anywhere within the state and allow tax assessments to be transferred to a more expensive home with an upward adjustment. Prop 19 would allow only an owner of a primary residence who is over 55, severely disabled, or a victim of a wildfire or natural disaster as defined, to transfer the taxable value (defined as the base year value plus inflation adjustments) of their primary residence to a replacement primary residence located anywhere in the state, regardless of the location or value of the replacement primary residence, that is purchased or newly constructed as that person’s principal residence within two years of the sale of the original primary residence. A person who is over 55 or severely disabled will be limited to three transfers under these provisions. Prop 19 also establishes a revenue stream for wildfire agencies and counties. Wildfires have become a regular occurrence in the state, causing massive damage. This gives homeowners options and provides some funds for agencies. Vote YES on Prop 19. Proposition 20: Restricts Parole for Non-Violent Offenders. Authorizes Felony Sentences for Certain Offenses Currently Treated Only as Misdemeanors. Initiative Statute. No. This proposition goes against the tide of proposed reforms for the criminal justice system. Prop 20 would change standards and requirements governing parole decisions; authorizes felony charges for specified theft crimes currently chargeable as misdemeanors, including some in which the value is between $250 and $950; and requires persons convicted of specified misdemeanors to submit to DNA collection for the state database. According to proponents, Prop 20 was designed to get tougher on crime after the passage of previous reform measures Props 47 and 57 and Assembly Bill 109. It also defines 51 crimes and sentence enhancements as violent in order to exclude them from the parole review program. Communities are debating reforms to policing, sentencing, and other criminal justice-related matters; this proposition will remove options that jurisdictions may want. Vote NO on Prop 20.

Proposition 21: Expands Local Governments’ Authority to Enact Rent Control on Residential Property. Initiative Statute. Yes. Two years ago, state voters rejected a similar proposal. Prop 21 would allow local governments to establish rent control on residential properties over 15 years old and exempt individuals who own no more than two homes from new rent control policies. While San Francisco and Berkeley have strong rent control laws, many other cities do not. Given the eviction tsunami that is expected after moratoriums that were instituted because of COVID-19 expire, we hope that voters will decide that rent control is essential to keep people housed, especially during the pandemic. Vote YES on Prop 21. Proposition 22: Changes Employment Classification Rules for App-Based Transportation and Delivery Drivers. Initiative Statute. No. This is an end run around California’s gig-worker law, AB 5. The proposition is bankrolled by Uber, Lyft, and delivery apps, which refuse to accept that their drivers should be classified as employees, but will not apply to other sectors negatively impacted by AB 5. A legislative remedy would be preferred over a proposition, but we’re not expecting one this year due to the pandemic. Vote NO on Prop 22. Proposition 23: Authorizes State Regulation of Kidney Dialysis Clinics. Establishes Minimum Staffing and Other Requirements. Initiative Statute. No. This is different from 2018’s Prop 8, which would have required dialysis clinics to issue refunds to patients above 115% of costs of direct patient care and health care improvements. This time, backers seek minimum staffing like at least one licensed physician on site during treatment at these outpatient clinics, but allows for the state to issue exemptions due to staff shortages. However, physicians claim they are often needed in multiple hospitals, dialysis centers, and clinics, and to mandate them to stay on site during treatments would be unproductive. Currently nurses and staff at dialysis clinics are trained and well-equipped to administer routine treatments and a physician can be contacted if necessary. Vote NO on Prop 23. Proposition 24: Amends Consumer Privacy Laws. Initiative Statute. No. San Francisco real estate developer Alastair MacTaggart is bankrolling this initiative, which would create a new state agency to enforce and implement consumer privacy laws. But in 2018, the Legislature passed the California Consumer Privacy Act, giving consumers the right to find out what personal data companies are collecting, to opt out of having data collected, and to have that data scrubbed. We think there should be time to see how the new law works, and the Legislature can make fixes later if needed. That will be difficult to do if Prop 24 passes. We are also concerned that major organizations, such as the American Civil Liberties Union of California and the Consumer Federation of California, have come out against Prop 24. Vote NO on Prop 24. Proposition 25: Referendum on Law that Replaced Money Bail with System Based on Public Safety and Flight Risk. Yes. State lawmakers approved legislation in 2018 to abolish cash bail after it was advocated by state Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani CantilSakauye. The bail bonds industry immediately challenged it, which is why Prop 25 is on the ballot. A yes vote would allow the law to go into effect. A no vote would keep the cash bail system. If enacted, judges would have the ability to determine if someone should be released while awaiting trial, based on the risks they pose to themselves or others, and would be a significant improvement of the state’s criminal justice system. Vote YES on Prop 25.t

Politics >>

August 13-19, 2020 • Bay Area Reporter • 5

Few out women run in SF

by Matthew S. Bajko

he number of out women in elected municipal positions in San Francisco has no chance of increasing this year, as it appears only one female LGBTQ candidate filed to run for a local race this fall. As such, just two out women are expected to appear on the city’s November ballot. Seeing additional LGBTQ representation on the city’s Board of Supervisors will be a long shot, as the two gay men seeking seats in November are both facing uphill climbs to victory. Neither secured support from the local Democratic Party and just one, Joel Engardio, nabbed a second choice endorsement from one of the city’s two LGBTQ Democratic clubs for his bid to join the board, on which the lone out member is gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman. Currently, two out women of color hold local offices in the city. Janice Li, who is queer, represents a portion of San Francisco on the regional BART transit agency board and is not up for reelection this year. The other is City College of San Francisco Trustee Shanell Williams, who is bisexual and currently president of the community college’s board. She is seeking a second four-year term on the November 3 ballot. Based on the latest candidate filings, Williams appears to be the lone out female candidate running for a city office this year. There is another out woman of color on the ballot, queer Native American educator Jackie Fielder, who is mounting a strong challenge for a state legislative seat against gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) this fall. The city’s elections department will not have a final candidate list until close of business Wednesday (August 12) as the filing deadline for both the college board and school board races was extended because incumbents opted not to seek reelection. In the college board race, gay trustee Alex Randolph and straight ally Ivy Lee both decided to step down when their terms end, while gay college board member Tom Temprano is seeking to be reelected along with Williams. As of the Bay Area Reporter’s

Rick Gerharter

City College board President Shanell Williams is one of just two out women running in San Francisco in November.

press deadline Wednesday, 11 college board candidates had qualified for the ballot. Among them is Geramye Teeter, a Black queer man who is an energy efficiency project manager. School board members Rachel Norton and Stevon Cook both decided not to run for another term. Seeking reelection are Jenny Lam and Mark Sanchez, a gay man who is currently president of the school board. The only LGBTQ non-incumbent candidate who had pulled papers for the school board race, Njon Sanders, announced Monday that he had decided not to seek a seat. As of the B.A.R.’s deadline Wednesday, 10 school board candidates had qualified for the ballot. Also on the ballot is the race for the BART board’s District 9 seat, held by gay former supervisor Bevan Dufty. Challenging Dufty are gay activist Michael Petrelis, Patrick Mortiere, and David Wei Wen Young.

SF supervisor races

In the races for the odd-numbered seats on the city’s 11-member Board of Supervisors, the lone incumbent assured of reelection is District 9 Supervisor Hillary Ronen. No one filed to run against her for the Mission district seat by the deadline to do so Friday, August 7. Of the two gay men running for supervisor this year, the one seen as having the strongest chance is Engardio, a former journalist. He is running for the open District 7 seat, having lost twice to Supervisor Norman Yee to represent the neighborhoods west of Twin Peaks. Term limited from running

again this year, Yee is backing former planning commissioner Myrna Melgar. She secured the local Democratic Party’s number one endorsement in the race, as voters will be able to rank their choices, and won the Alice B. Toklas LGBTQ Democratic Club’s first choice endorsement Monday night. Engardio was able to secure the club’s second choice nod after initially being snubbed by the club’s political action committee. Running to Melgar’s left is Deputy Public Defender Vilaska Nguyen, who has the local party’s second choice endorsement. Moderates Ben Matranga, a tech investor who lost to Yee four years ago, and former school board member Emily Murase are also running, as is Republican Stephen Martin-Pinto, a city firefighter, and Kenneth Piper. The other out supervisor candidate, Spencer Simonsen, a tech start up executive, is mounting an underdog campaign against District 3 Supervisor Aaron Peskin. He is seeking a fourth term representing Chinatown and North Beach. Also running to unseat Peskin are nonprofit executive Danny Sauter and Stephen Schwartz, who founded and runs the D.C-based Center for Islamic Pluralism. In the open District 1 seat representing the Richmond district, as Supervisor Sandra Lee Fewer opted not to seek reelection, moderate Marjan Philhour is running again, having lost to Fewer in 2016. The leading progressive candidate is Connie Chan, a former Peskin aide who now works for state Assemblyman Kevin Mullin (D-San Mateo) and is endorsed by Fewer. Also running are Sherman R. D’Silva, Veronica Shinzato, AmanSee page 6 >>

Letters >> Rainbow flag is inclusive

Regarding recent efforts calling for a more “inclusive” flag to be flown on the flagpole at Harvey Milk Plaza [“Raise an inclusive Castro flag,” Editorial, August 6], as president of the Gilbert Baker Foundation I would like to make the case for preserving the flag that flies there now. First and foremost, Gilbert Baker, who created the LGBTQ rainbow flag with the help of over 30 volunteers, stated on many occasions that the flag was created “for all genders, all races and all ages.” A flag for “the rainbow of humanity.” Second, the flag and flagpole were designed as a work of art. Its placement, its height, everything about it was calculated for maximum visibility as a work of political art. To change the flag would be the equivalent of defacing a famous painting or sculpture. Third, achieving the goal of erecting a six-color rainbow flag at Harvey Milk Plaza was not only the culmination of a years long effort on the part of Baker and his political allies, it also coincided with Baker’s decades-long work in the flag industry itself. Baker spent years working for the Paramount Flag Company, convincing them to make the rainbow flag commercially available. In 1987 Baker addressed the World Flag Congress, convincing them to add the rainbow flag to its catalogue. Baker spent decades making this amazing icon one of the eight most recognizable symbols in the world. Changing the flag at Harvey Milk Plaza will not change that. It will only serve to diminish San Francisco’s importance as the birthplace of this worldwide phenomena. People travel from across the

country and around the world to see their flag they love at Harvey Milk Plaza. If someone wants to fly a new flag in San Francisco, or anywhere else for that matter, they can do what Baker did and lobby the city, community leaders, politicians, and the flag industry, and erect a new flagpole dedicated to the design they propose. We at the foundation would be happy to support that effort. Flags can mean many things to many people but the original rainbow flag is now, and will always be, a unifying symbol of hope and liberation for all oppressed people across the globe. Just because some people misrepresent the rainbow flag – remember Donald Trump waved one during the 2016 campaign – it doesn’t mean they represent the values of Baker and the volunteers who created it. And finally, I ask all of the citizens of San Francisco to join me in condemning some so-called social justice activists that have compared the original rainbow flag to Confederate monuments that need to be torn down. This is a preposterous idea that needs to be called out publicly. San Francisco is the birthplace of this amazing flag. It is the responsibility of the people of San Francisco to show the world that the original rainbow flag always has been, and always will be, a symbol of diversity and inclusivity. You can’t do this by changing the stripes on the original rainbow flag. You have to live up to the original ideals that were sewn into those original colors. Charles Beal, President Gilbert Baker Foundation, New York, New York

Barry Schneider Attorney at Law

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6 • Bay Area Reporter • August 13-19, 2020

Within ‘The Matrix’

95 Units of Affordable Housing in AFFORDABLE SENIOR HOUSING for Rent in San Francisco San Francisco’s Mission District! by Gwendolyn Ann Smith

ing present on screen.

CASA ADELANTE - 1296 Shotwell Street, San Francisco, CA 94110 Two decades after the film, and

8 one-bedroom rental units available at $1444/month here really wasn’t a lot out there both directors of the film, Lana 17 studio rental units available from $266 to $1,021 per month 45 two-bedroom rental units available at $1317 – $1606/month that was aimed at me when and Lilly Wachowski, have come 54 one-bedroom rental units available from $300 to $1,162 per month I was a young, closeted trans kid out as transgender women. What’s 42 three-bedroom rental units available at $1610 – $1770/month growing up in the suburbs. You more, in an interview recently, Lilly • New Units with Modern Design + On-Site Amenities (laundry facilities, resident services, might sometimes see trans characWachowski opened up about “The Community room & kitchen, and landscaped outdoor spaces) ters used as moral lessons and moMatrix,” confirming the many fans • Applicant’s household must meet the minimum monthly income ments of growth for the non-trans • Head of household must be 62 years of age or older who have long since felt the movie of two (2) times the rent and be able to demonstrate their ability main characters, such as TV’s “All could well tie into trans lives. • onHouseholds must have a minimum monthly income of two times the rent. *Section 8 & other to pay rent time. In The Family,” or as homicidal ma“I’m glad people are talking subsidy vouchers are exempt from this monthly income requirement. niacs in films like “Dressed To Kill,” about ‘The Matrix’ movies with a • Households must earn no more than the income levels listed below • listed Households must earn no more than the income levels listed below, based on number of people or trans characters as comedic relief trans narrative, and I’m grateful I based on number of people. Incomes are from the 2020 MOHCD in shows like “Soap.” in your household: can be a part of throwing them a 50-60% AMI: As a result, you might rope along their jour 50% of Median Income find yourself looking at ney,” said Wachowski in Size 1 Person 2 Persons 3 Persons an interview with Netflix One person -$44,850; 2 persons - $51,250; 3 Household persons - $57,650; films that don’t feature ex4 persons - $64,050; 5 persons - $69,200; 6 personsannual - $74,300; plicit trans storylines,$49,250 and Maximum income $43,100 $55,450 about the movie. “I’m 7 persons - $79,450 overlaying your own feelglad that it has gotten out ings to it all. Much like that that was the original Applications can be downloaded from San Francisco Housing Portal- DAHLIA at http://housing.sfgov.org 55% of Median Income generations of our gay, intention. The world or picked up from one of the housing counseling agencies listed at http://housing.sfgov.org/housingOne person - $49,300; 2 persons - $56,400; 3 persons - $63,400; lesbian, and bisexual wasn’t quite ready counselors. 4 persons - $70,450; 5 persons - $76,100; 6 persons - $81,750; siblings, we might for it. The corpo7 persons - $87,350 feel a longing akin rate world wasn’t Applications must be received by 5PM on Wednesday, September 11, 2019. Postmarks will not be to Dorothy Gale of ready for it.” 60% ofconsidered. Apply online to ensure your application is received on time. Median Income the “Wizard of Oz,” Wachowski also One person - $53,800; 2 persons - $61,500; 3 persons - $69,200; or might find a kinspoke about one char4 persons - $76,850; 5 persons - $83,000; 6 persons - $89,150; Applications must either be submitted online at http://housing.sfgov.org or mailed in with a selfdred spirit in “Mulan,” whose ties acter, Switch, who was edited in the 7 persons - $95,300 addressed stamped envelope to: Casa Adelante-BMR, P.O. Box 420847, San Francisco, CA 94142 to trans lives I don’t think I need to original film, initially having a dual explain much further. gender presentation, noting “‘The 1st, 5PM. Apply online though the APPLICATION DUE SEPTEMBER Not all films are as obvious as Matrix’ stuff was all about the deDAHLIA San Francisco Housing Portal - housing.sfgov.org Free Information Session that, however, which brings us to sire for transformation, but it was Tuesday, August 27th at 3:00pm – 5:00pm Lottery: Wednesday, September 16th, 2020 the 1999 sci-fi classic, “The Matrix.” all coming from a closeted point of San Francisco Main Library-Koret Auditorium When it came out, a lot of my trans view. 100 Larkin St. San Francisco, CA 94102 Lotteries are closed to the public. friends went nuts. It’s not that there “We had the character of Switch, at housing.sfgov.org. View lottery results were any obvious trans characters who would be a man in the real Lottery (Attendance is optional) in the story – more on that in a bit world and then a woman in the Mand For more building October 2 information at 2:00pm please contact – but we could relate to the story. trix,” Wachowski added, “and that’s th Chinatown Community Development Center at (415) 810-4036 MOHCD, 1 South Van Ness 5 Floor It showed characters who felt out where our head spaces were.” or 2060folsom@chinatowncdc.org. San Francisco, CA 94013 of place in the so-called real world, Of course, none of this seems who existed in a fabricated reality to be what people outside of the All applicants are encouraged to apply. Please see the project For more building information, please contact William Yee at (415) 984-1450 or far from their truth. trans community saw. It was a bit posting at housing.sfgov.org for applicable lottery preferences. 1296shotwell@chinatowncdc.org. The story included a couple badshoot-em-up good versus evil sto the San Francisco Mayor’s Office ass characters who were able to upry about a dystopian world, where Units are monitored through All applicants are encouraged to apply. Please see the project posting at http://housing.sfgov.org for applicable end the status quo and create their you could take a “red pill” to escape of Housing and Community Development and are subject to monitoring lottery preferences. Units are monitored through the San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community own realities, and that was someand fight back. Honestly, they’re and other restrictions. Development and are subject to monitoring and other restrictions. thing we could all relate to. It was not wrong – it’s just that there is so revolutionary in the community much more going on. Reasonable Accommodations upon request spaces I hung out in, even without That they missed the subtext to very obviously trans characters bethe story, let alone continue to ignore any of this in the years since the Wachowski sisters came out is, I think, an allegory of its own. When transgender people come out, even now, we often face a backlash. Family and friends, who may have told us that their love was unconditional, learn that this is simply not the case. Many are cast out from the places they once assumed would always welcome them. In many cases, too, we are told that we are wrong in our beliefs, and our very identities are ignored. People will continue to use the name we may have been given at birth,

Political Notebook

From page 5

da Inocencio, David Lee, and Andrew Majalya. District 5 Supervisor Dean Preston, a democratic socialist, is facing a rematch against Vallie Brown, whom he ousted last November from the seat that covers the Haight, Fillmore, and Western Addition neighborhoods. Also in the race are longtime community activists Daniel Landry and Nomvula O’Meara. In District 11 Supervisor Ahsha Safai, a moderate, is seeking a second term representing the city’s southeastern neighborhoods. He is fending off a challenge from his progressive predecessor, John Avalos, who had been termed out of office four years ago. Also on the ballot is Marcelo Colussi.

Other candidates on the ballot

Filling out the list of candidates on the November ballot are those who advanced from the March primary for federal and state races. Bisexual escort Starchild, a Libertarian, is running against Assemblyman David Chiu (D-San Francisco) for his 17th District seat. Republican John P. McDonnell

Christine Smith

and pronouns that simply do not fit who we are, as a way to punish our decisions, and somehow “prove who we really” are. Lately, too, the widely debunked concept of “rapid onset gender dysphoria” has been making the rounds, a notion that a person only “thinks” they may be trans because they see friends transitioning, or see information about transgender people. The assumption being that they never saw anything about their friend that made them think they were transgender before their friend came out. Hence the “rapid” part. I dealt with the same when I came out. I did a better than average job of appearing as a man, and my coming out surprised many – even knowing that I had, intentionally or not, dropped more than a few clues. My parents, for example, were blindsided, even though they had found caches of clothing and makeup hidden in my room dating back to my pre-teen days. We learn to hide ourselves, out of what is sometimes very justified fear. We often do the best we can to try to be the men and women everyone expects us to be, and have reinforced in us since birth. Nevertheless, our trans selves may well have been there all along, telling us that something isn’t right about all this – until, one day, we cannot keep it a secret no more, and need to, at last,speak our truth. Consider this time, at long last, to be the “coming out” of “The Matrix.” After all the clues, all the moments in the film that may have made it plain, people can now look beyond the more obvious story of murderous machines and heroes who can bend reality, and see a deeper meaning. Let Kansas go “bye-bye,” and see “The Matrix” as it truly is now: a trans allegory.t Gwen Smith used to take a couple red pills a day in the 1990s. You can find her at www.gwensmith.com.

is running against Assemblyman Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) for his 19th District Seat. Ting this summer acknowledged he had had an extramarital affair after a conservative online news site broke the news. Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-San Mateo), whose House District 14 includes parts of San Francisco, is running against GOPer Ran S. Patel. In the city’s 12th House District, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) is being challenged by democratic socialist Shahid Buttar. A cisgender heterosexual man who also identifies as queer due to his gender expression being fluid, Buttar’s campaign has been rocked by allegations he sexually harassed a woman he knew in D.C. and fostered a misogynistic workplace that led to 13 of his staffers, including his genderqueer campaign manager, to resign this spring. Buttar has denied the charges, but the accusations led the Democratic Socialists of America local chapter to rescind its endorsement of him last week. A vote by the SF Berniecrats last week to also unendorse Buttar fell short of the threshold required to do so. The Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club is set to vote on endorsing Pelosi in the race. t

Is your family prepared for any EMERGENCY? C R E AT E YO U R OW N P L A N TO S TAY S A F E .

Emergency supply kit checklist Radio

Non-perishable food, including baby and pet food

Flashlight

Tools and utensils Batteries

Medication and eyeglasses

Cash and credit cards

First aid kit

Blankets and clothing

Toiletries

Mobile phone and portable charger

Children’s activities

Important documents

UPDATE YOUR INFO FOR OUTAGE ALERTS

CONFIRM YOUR EMERGENCY EXITS

PLAN FOR YOUR PETS

Update your contact information at pge.com/mywildfirealerts so we can reach you in an emergency.

from your home and establish a location where your family or roommates can reunite after evacuating.

by including them in practice drills and helping them get comfortable with a leash or carrier during stressful situations.

LEARN HOW TO OPEN YOUR GARAGE DOOR MANUALLY in the event the door is unable to open automatically during an outage.

CHECK YOUR STANDBY GENERATOR and ensure that it is working properly because it can help avoid damage to personal property and keep emergency first responders safe.

To learn more ways to keep you and your community safe, visit safetyactioncenter.pge.com.

Drinking water

IMPORTANT FACTS FOR BIKTARVY®

This is only a brief summary of important information about BIKTARVY and does not replace talking to your healthcare provider about your condition and your treatment.

POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF BIKTARVY

MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT BIKTARVY BIKTARVY may cause serious side effects, including:  Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. If you have both HIV-1 and HBV, your HBV may suddenly get worse if you stop taking BIKTARVY. Do not stop taking BIKTARVY without first talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to check your health regularly for several months.

ABOUT BIKTARVY BIKTARVY is a complete, 1-pill, once-a-day prescription medicine used to treat HIV-1 in adults and children who weigh at least 55 pounds. It can either be used in people who have never taken HIV-1 medicines before, or people who are replacing their current HIV-1 medicines and whose healthcare provider determines they meet certain requirements. BIKTARVY does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS. HIV-1 is the virus that causes AIDS. Do NOT take BIKTARVY if you also take a medicine that contains:  dofetilide  rifampin  any other medicines to treat HIV-1

BEFORE TAKING BIKTARVY Tell your healthcare provider if you:  Have or have had any kidney or liver problems, including hepatitis infection.  Have any other health problems.  Are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if BIKTARVY can harm your unborn baby. Tell your healthcare provider if you become pregnant while taking BIKTARVY.  Are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed. HIV-1 can be passed to the baby in breast milk. Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take:  Keep a list that includes all prescription and over-the-counter medicines, antacids, laxatives, vitamins, and herbal supplements, and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist.  BIKTARVY and other medicines may affect each other. Ask your healthcare provider and pharmacist about medicines that interact with BIKTARVY, and ask if it is safe to take BIKTARVY with all your other medicines.

Get HIV support by downloading a free app at

MyDailyCharge.com

Untitled-8 1 BVYC0219_BIKTARVY_D_9-75X16_BayAreaReporter_Dimitri_r1v1jl.indd All Pages

(bik-TAR-vee)

BIKTARVY may cause serious side effects, including:  Those in the “Most Important Information About BIKTARVY” section.  Changes in your immune system. Your immune system may get stronger and begin to fight infections. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any new symptoms after you start taking BIKTARVY.  Kidney problems, including kidney failure. Your healthcare provider should do blood and urine tests to check your kidneys. If you develop new or worse kidney problems, they may tell you to stop taking BIKTARVY.  Too much lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious but rare medical emergency that can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: weakness or being more tired than usual, unusual muscle pain, being short of breath or fast breathing, stomach pain with nausea and vomiting, cold or blue hands and feet, feel dizzy or lightheaded, or a fast or abnormal heartbeat.  Severe liver problems, which in rare cases can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow, dark “tea-colored” urine, light-colored stools, loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, or stomach-area pain.  The most common side effects of BIKTARVY in clinical studies were diarrhea (6%), nausea (6%), and headache (5%). These are not all the possible side effects of BIKTARVY. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any new symptoms while taking BIKTARVY. You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.FDA.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088. Your healthcare provider will need to do tests to monitor your health before and during treatment with BIKTARVY.

HOW TO TAKE BIKTARVY Take BIKTARVY 1 time each day with or without food.

GET MORE INFORMATION  This is only a brief summary of important information about BIKTARVY. Talk to your healthcare provider or pharmacist to learn more.  Go to BIKTARVY.com or call 1-800-GILEAD-5  If you need help paying for your medicine, visit BIKTARVY.com for program information.

BIKTARVY, the BIKTARVY Logo, DAILY CHARGE, the DAILY CHARGE Logo, KEEP ASPIRING, LOVE WHAT’S INSIDE, GILEAD, and the GILEAD Logo are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc., or its related companies. Version date: February 2020 © 2020 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. BVYC0219 04/20

DIMITRI LIVING WITH HIV SINCE 2018 REAL BIKTARVY PATIENT

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BIKTARVY® is a complete, 1-pill, once-a-day prescription medicine used to treat HIV-1 in certain adults. BIKTARVY does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS.

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5/7/20 10:23 AM5/15/20 10:51 AM

<< Community News

10 • Bay Area Reporter • August 13-19, 2020

SF supes panel recommends Natoli for SFMTA board by Cynthia Laird

he San Francisco Board of Supervisors rules committee voted 3-0 Monday, August 10, to recommend the nominations of two women to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s board. The full Board of Supervisors is

expected to soon take up the matter. Jane Natoli, a transgender woman, was nominated by Mayor London Breed back in April. Her hearing was continued for several months as the committee had to hear potential ballot measures for November, chair Hillary Ronen said at the start of the meeting. She

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Thomas V. Halloran General Manager A native San Franciscan with 40 years of professional experience assisting families in need. A longtime resident of the Eureka Valley, Castro and Mission Districts; a member of the Castro Merchants Association and a 25 year member of the Freewheelers Car Club. At Duggan’s Funeral Service, which sits in the heart of the Mission, we offer custom services that fit your personal wishes in honoring and celebrating a life. We are committed to the ever-changing needs of the community and the diverse families we serve.

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was joined by committee members Supervisor Gordon Mar and Catherine Stefani. If confirmed by the full Board of Supervisors, Natoli would be the first out trans commissioner on the SFMTA board. “It’s an honor to be recommended for approval to the full Board of Supervisors from the Rules committee and I appreciate the diligent questions of Chair Ronen and Supervisors Stefani and Mar,” Natoli wrote in an email. “I look forward to sharing my skills, experience, and what I can bring to the SFMTA Board of Directors with the full board soon.” The committee also held a hearing on SFMTA board nominee Sharon Lai, a former senior planner with the San Francisco Planning Department. She was also nominated by Breed and, if confirmed by the full board, would be the only Asian and Pacific Islander SFMTA commissioner. SFMTA is a city department that’s responsible for all ground transportation. It has oversight of Muni, as well as bicycling, paratransit, parking, traffic, walking, and taxis. It is led by Jeffrey Tumlin, a gay man hired by Breed in November. Just before the committee’s vote, Ronen asked for a commitment from Natoli and Lai not to increase fares. “I would vote against a fare increase,” Natoli said. “I also support not increasing fares,” Lai said. Ronen said she would support Natoli’s nomination Monday, but did not commit to doing so at the full board meeting. During the hearing, Natoli said that SFMTA needs to look beyond data when determining which transit lines to restore amid the pandemic. “If we’re not bringing lines back, we need to be mindful,” she said, pointing out that some bus lines serve people in hillside areas. “We need to figure out other ways of serving people or get that service back.” On the issue of fare recovery, or people who don’t pay, Natoli said she has seen some of that on Muni lines she’s ridden. “I don’t think that should be the highest priority,” she said. “Which lines are we doing it on and who are we getting? I know it’s important in a theoretical sense, I really want to look

Screengrab via SFgovtv

SFMTA board nominees Jane Natoli, lower right, and Sharon Lai, upper right, appeared for the virtual Board of Supervisors rules committee meeting August 10.

at how we’re doing that – throughout the city and not just in some parts.” In terms of Muni recovering from the economic recession that’s a result of the pandemic, Natoli said that a stable funding source for Muni is important, but not fare increases. She mentioned vehicle license fees that gay former state senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) worked on that would have raised $73 million at that time. “Other sources that aren’t fare increases. Now is not the time for that,” she said, before more forcefully answering that question later. Natoli said in her opening remarks that she came to her interest in transit through work with safer streets. She is also a former board member of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition. Brian Wiedenmeier, a gay man who’s executive director of the 10,000-member organization, spoke during the hearing and voices the coalition’s support for both Natoli and Lai. “Jane Natoli was an elected member of our board. She is professional and hardworking,” he said. He added that representation of trans people on the SFMTA board is important, and cited her work as a board member of the San Francisco LGBT Community Center. Other speakers also praised both nominees. “As an LGBTQ+ member,” Martin Munoz said that Natoli’s representation is important, and as an immigrant he appreciates Lai’s experience. Martin Rawlings-Fein, a trans man and transit rider, voiced support for Natoli.

“As a trans person I know representation matters,” he said. Rebecca Rolfe, executive director of the LGBT center, urged the committee to forward Natoli’s nomination to the full board. The Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club opposed Natoli’s appointment. In a letter sent to the rules committee that was obtained by the Bay Area Reporter, it said that while it generally supports LGBTQ people for city boards and commissions, it said her record shows she won’t represent the interests of the most marginalized people, “particularly people of color, queer people of color, seniors, and people with disabilities who depend on safe pedestrian access and public transportation on a daily basis.” Ronen said at the end of the hearing that she would be reaching out to the club before the full board’s vote to further discuss the matter. The Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club sent a letter in support of Natoli. Many others spoke during public comment in support of Natoli, including two teachers, one also a trans mom, who said the city needs more positive trans role models in city government who are qualified to serve. Natoli moved to San Francisco in 2013 and became involved in local politics and community organizing. She serves as a mayoral appointee on the Citizens’ General Obligation Bond Oversight Committee, the release noted. Her day job is working as a financial crimes analyst at Stripe, where she specializes in antimoney laundering investigations. She has a B.S. degree from Iowa State University and is a resident of the Inner Richmond.t

Pandemic cancels in-person Castro Street Fair compiled by Cynthia Laird

We’ve expanded our services and kept the spirit and tradition.

Call (415) 771-0717 One Loraine Court between Stanyan & Arguello

FD 1306

COA 660

he Castro Street Fair will not take place in person this year due to COVID-19, according to remarks made by Fred Lopez, a member of the fair’s board of directors, at an August 6 virtual meeting of the Castro Merchants association. “Because of the unique challenges of the pandemic and to comply with local mandates, the Castro Street Fair will not be taking place in its usual form this year. Our first responsibility is to protect the safety of our friends, families, beneficiaries, and supporters,” Lopez said at the end of the meeting, reading from a prepared statement. “The board of directors is currently working with our partners to find ways in which to highlight the Castro leading up to what would have been fair weekend, as well as encourage much-needed business to the local merchants.” Jenn Meyer, president of the fair board of directors, wrote in an August 9 email to the Bay Area Reporter that more information would be announced Thursday, August 13. As the B.A.R. noted in an online

Rick Gerharter

Crowds filled Castro Street during the 2018 fair.

article August 6, the fair would have been held October 4. “We want the community to support one another in the meantime,” Lopez said. “We hope to be back in the streets of the Castro, along with all of you, in 2021. Be safe and wear a mask.” Other major in-person LGBTQ events this year in San Francisco, such as the annual Pride festival and parade and the Up Your Alley and Fol-

som Street fairs, moved to virtual formats, and it is unclear at this time if there will be a virtual component for the Castro fair. As the B.A.R. previously reported, last year’s Castro Street Fair expanded to Market Street for the first time in several years. It has taken place in person every year since 1974, when it was founded by Harvey Milk, several years before he went on to become the first gay person elected to office in San Francisco and California when he won a seat on the Board of Supervisors in 1977. He and former mayor George Moscone were assassinated in 1978.

B.A.R. joins state news group

The B.A.R. was one of several newspapers approved for membership in the California News Publishers Association, the organization’s board announced August 4. Joining CNPA will enable the B.A.R. to join with fellow See page 11 >>

Business News>>

t San Francisco pet care provider pivots focus

August 13-19, 2020 • Bay Area Reporter • 11

by Matthew S. Bajko

an Francisco native Eric Curry always had a fondness for animals. At age 9 Curry found a cat lying in the middle of the road not far from his parents home and asked his father if he could keep it. Mistaking the feline for a fur coat, his father said yes, thinking it was a lost garment. “I knew it was a cat,” recalled Curry, 27, who named it Tiny. “Prior to Tiny, I was never allowed to own big pets. We had fish and birds.” Soon he was caring for his own menagerie of pets, including cats, dogs, birds, a chinchilla, rabbits, guinea pigs, and even a quail bought in Chinatown. Caring for his animals led Curry, who is genderqueer, to dream of attending veterinary school at UC Davis. But as he learned more about the stresses of the profession, he changed course and enrolled at UCLA. “In retrospect, I drove my parents crazy. But it made for really good essays for college,” recalled Curry. His love of animals never subsided, as he recounts in his selfpublished book “A Real San Francisco Story. With Pets.” In need of a job, he ended up launching Eric

News Briefs

From page 10

publishers as it seeks to navigate the troubled times in the industry that were exacerbated by the novel coronavirus pandemic this spring. The B.A.R., which covers the LGBTQ community, is published weekly and has seen significant declines in advertising due to the economic fallout from the virus. B.A.R. publisher Michael Ya-

Rick Gerharter

Eric Curry visited McLaren Park recently with his dogs Prince and Penny.

Curry’s Pets, and after two years of college, dropped out to focus on his own pet care business. A year later he enrolled at UC Santa Barbara and graduated in 2016 with a chemistry degree. All that time he continued to

mashita said that joining the group made sense. “I was warmly welcomed by CNPA. Reinvigorated by new leadership, CNPA is committed to supporting news publishers during these challenging times,” Yamashita stated. “CNPA has made outreach to local news outlets a priority and membership has increased despite the coronavirus shutdown.” The CNPA board also approved several other papers for membership.

care for people’s pets, and when he moved back to San Francisco last year, he relaunched his pet care business. Curry looks after both dogs and cats, offering everything from walking and grooming services to watching people’s pets while they are out of town. Business was booming, and two days after this past Christmas, Curry served his 1,000th unique pet. He was set to sign the lease for a new apartment at the start of this year, then the novel coronavirus outbreak hit. With people ordered to stay home, Curry’s customers no longer needed his services. “My business totally tanked at the end of February for a good two months. All of March and all of April I had nothing, a good deal of May too,” said Curry, who ended up moving back home with his parents. He landed a job at a pet store in Noe Valley in the spring, and by June with shelter-in-place orders eased, his business started to perk back up. “I was fairly busy on the Fourth of July,” he said. Then came the Black Lives Matter protests sparked by police kill-

ings of Black people. With friends, Curry helped launch the nonprofit 4OurKin to assist other local youth of color. “Our mission statement is we want to provide the next generation of Black, Indigenous, and other people of color with the tools that their privileged counterparts get,” said Curry, from financial education to tips on how to start your own business. “At the heart of the organization is the belief that we can’t create any change without education.” While Curry’s paternal family is mostly Irish and settled in San Francisco prior to the 1906 earthquake, his mother is from El Salvador. He is the first in his family to attend college. “My great-greatgrandfather raised 10 kids on Chestnut Street,” said Curry, the oldest of four siblings who are fifth generation San Franciscans. The health crisis also led Curry to once again re-examine his career plans, as he now plans to seek an MBA and become more of a consultant. Continuing to care for the pets of his current clients, he is not taking on anyone new ones at the moment. Instead, he is offering online

courses for others who want to go into the pet care business or launch their own web-based enterprise. “I am always going to be doing pet care really, at the end of the day that is my passion,” he said, but because of “these crazy times we are living in, I really learned one of the many definitions of being an entrepreneur is the best business owners are able to adapt to these circumstances.” To Curry, this is the time for people out of a job to launch their own online business. Having gone through the process himself, he wants to impart what he learned to others. “I see this huge need for people to generate incomes from home. Who knows how long this is going to last or if it will happen again,” noted Curry. “Also, I don’t think people want to jump back in to going back to work and I think companies know that too. Why should Bezos make all the money online?” For more information about Curry’s business and to order his book, visit https://www.ericcurryspets.com/.t

They are the Fresno Flyer (monthly), Santa Paula Times (weekly), and the South Pasadenan News (weekly).

perience memory loss over time and need early intervention, and matches them with the right Alzheimer’s study, as quickly as possible. According to a news release, 14% of Californians, more than 5.6 million people, are 65 and older, making the state one of the “grayest” in the nation. Consequently, it has one of the largest populations of people with Alzheimer’s disease – a projected 690,000. That number is expected to increase by 21% to 840,000 in

the next five years. Volunteers take no-cost memory tests online every three months to monitor memory changes over time. If changes are observed, volunteers may be invited to an in-person evaluation to determine eligibility for additional Alzheimer’s studies. To learn more and enroll, go to http://www.aptwebstudy.org.t

Online Alzheimer’s study seeks volunteers

Researchers at UCSF are looking for participants age 50 and older with no memory loss to take part in the Alzheimer Prevention Trials, or APT, webstudy. The APT is a first-of-its-kind online study that detects if people ex-

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

John Ferrannini contributed reporting.

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sfwater.org/COVIDhelp 415-551-3000

<< From the Cover

12 • Bay Area Reporter • August 13-19, 2020

Egg

No update in Egg killing

in an email that the denial was because “this remains an active and ongoing homicide investigation.” Neighbors say that their calls about Egg’s disappearance and suspicious activity to the home were not taken seriously. Police had previously said that they had been to the home three times for welfare checks but never entered the home. Egg had been last seen some time in late May or early June 2018. Police finally entered the home

on August 14, 2018, when neighbors reported that a crime scene cleanup crew showed up at the house. Three days later, after an extensive search of the home, police discovered Egg’s headless torso submerged in a fish tank. According to the autopsy report, the tank had been placed behind a door that had been blocked by a picture. A fan was also on the tank, blowing toward the door. Bleach, detergent, and “odor elimination” chemicals

were found in the room. Empty cans of Drano were found nearby and the remains were saturated with the drain cleaner. A sawhorse covered the tank and, when lifted, “human remains surfaced to the top,” the report stated. Robert McCaffrey, 54, was arrested at the home but later released. He had met the cleanup crew at the house. Lance Silva, 41, was later arrested. Neighbors say he was living in the house during the time Egg was missing. Neither man has been charged for Egg’s killing. Silva was released last year after serving time for an unrelated parole violation. Egg’s older brother, Devon Egg, 70, told the B.A.R. last week that he was not happy with the police response to his brother’s disappearance. “I’m very disappointed in the welfare checks and that the system failed,” Egg said. Brian Egg was survived by another brother and a sister, Devon Egg said. The Florida resident added that he was happy to be able to donate some of his share of his inheritance to the VA Hospital where he volunteers as well as the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. He noted that his brother was known for helping others in need, a trait that ultimately may have played a part in his death.t

forced to call the police due to this vulgar and harassing action.” The couple sought the assistance of Sonoma County Supervisor Lynda Hopkins, who represents the area. According to Wescott, Hopkins did not answer the phone, but staff members did and told the couple to call the Human Rights Campaign and GLAAD. When the couple called those national LGBTQ organizations, there was no reply. “A meeting was called in Guerneville at a town hall,” Wescott wrote in an August 4 email to the B.A.R.

“[Hopkins] and about two officers spoke on homeless issues and other items on the agenda. When a friend of ours spoke up about harassment of us, we declined to comment at the meeting because we were in the process of trying to find a lawyer and people in the audience would have repeated back to their friends about us. So we didn’t say anything to Mrs. Hopkins and just left.” The B.A.R. asked Hopkins for comment, and she stated in an August 4 email that she did not recall speaking with the couple but that she has “zero tolerance for homophobia.” She asked for further details. “Homophobic harassment is a very serious charge indeed. I am a strong supporter of LGBTQI+ rights and will do anything I can to ensure our LGBTQI residents are treated with equality and respect in our communities. Despite local opposition, I worked with the LGBTQI community to fly the Pride flag year-round on a county-owned flag pole in downtown Guerneville. “We struggled for a time with the subsequent removal of the flag, which was ultimately prosecuted as a hate crime by our district attor-

ney. I share this story because it’s worth noting that while we continue to fight to create hate-free, safe communities for our LGBTQI residents, we do still struggle with hate crimes. I am open to any feedback from any residents on how to address this further.” Hopkins was referring to the case of Vincent Joseph O’Sullivan, who in 2018 was convicted of stealing a rainbow flag from the Guerneville Plaza flagpole. As the B.A.R. reported at the time, O’Sullivan was also convicted of a felony hate crime last year for threatening to kill LGBTQs in 2018. The B.A.R. recalled the reported phone call and the town hall to Hopkins, who stated in a follow-up email that she did not remember either, specifically. “I mean this with all respect, but that’s not much detail, so I’m not sure how to learn more about or provide substantive comments on the specific situation,” Hopkins wrote. “We receive hundreds of calls each month and we do our absolute best to assist constituents. We have also hosted many town halls on the topic of homelessness,

and so I’m not sure what town hall you’re referring to. If the constituents still need help, I can be reached at this email and am happy to attempt to assist them again.” A man who identified himself as Russel Olson answered a telephone number associated with him when the B.A.R. called it July 29. When asked for his comment on the allegations against him, Olson asked the reporter if “that’s for real?” and then said, “This has to be a joke.” “You called the wrong person. I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he added, before hanging up. Ray said she was surprised at the “level of homophobia” considering how close they are to Guerneville. “I don’t think anyone should be treated as less,” she said. “I’m really surprised at the level of homophobia. Guerneville is a real rainbow area and that Rio Nido is just a couple of minutes away is shocking.” As for Orcutt and Wescott, they said they couldn’t really leave the area. “We can’t afford to leave because our rent is so low,” Orcutt said. “We are on limited income and we are kind of stuck here.”t

As vice president, we are confident she will continue Vice President Biden’s tradition of using the office to champion and advance full, lived LGBTQ+ equality – and equality for the diverse communities to which LGBTQ+ people belong.” San Francisco Mayor London Breed also weighed in. “Senator Kamala Harris has been an incredible leader and inspiration for so many of us, and I’m proud to call her a friend and a mentor,” Breed wrote on Facebook. “I’m thrilled that Vice President Biden had the vision to recognize that Senator Harris can bring the integrity, intelligence, and commitment to justice for all that our country so badly needs during this difficult time. “I know how much it means to have leaders who reflect the people they represent, and today,” the mayor added. “I’m thinking about all those little girls in this country that will see a strong, principled woman walk into the White House and know that they too can make that same journey some day.” Biden committed to picking a woman as his running mate March 15 after running against several in

the Democratic presidential primaries, including Harris. Before becoming the presumptive presidential nominee, Biden was a two-term vice president under Barack Obama. Harris, 55, was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2016 after serving as California attorney general and San Francisco district attorney. She is a native of Oakland. Her prosecutorial style in congressional hearings and on the Democratic presidential debate stage earned her national notoriety – particularly during the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2018. Harris left the presidential primary race in December 2019, before a single vote was cast, but not before landing blows against Biden for his cordial words regarding southern Democratic senators who had supported racial segregation and his 1970s opposition to busing. “You also worked with them to oppose busing. There was a little girl in California who was part of the second class to integrate her public schools and she was bused to school every day,” Harris said. “That little girl was me.”t

From page 1

Another complaint mentioned broken windows in the home and squatters. Details of a third complaint were not specified in the record. When asked about the squatters, a neighbor who asked not to be named told the B.A.R., “I have called the non-emergency number about this. But as usual, they do nothing.” Free told the B.A.R., “My building has been vandalized and our mailbox was destroyed since they’ve taken up residence. Police have seemingly given up on fighting crime in SOMA. Criminals realize this and they are having a virtual field day. San Francisco is just so bleak and depressing now.” Joe Biden’s newly selected vice presidential pick, Senator Kamala Harris (D-California), once lived on the same block as Egg but it is unclear whether she ever met him. Free said that when Harris was running for the Democratic presidential nomination last year, the Secret Service was often stationed outside the condominium complex where she lived. Harris’s official U.S. Senate website says that she lives with her husband, Douglas Emhoff, in Los Angeles. San Francisco city records show that the Clara Street residence is owned by a trust.

Harassment

From page 1

In a written statement made last year while applying for the restraining order, Orcutt wrote that Olson (‘Respondent’) trespassed their property several times, blocked their driveway with his truck, and urinated in front of their home. “On March 13, 2019 Respondent was observed with his shorts below his waste [sic] preparing to urinate on our tomatoes growing in our garden,” the statement reads. “I was

Ed Walsh

Courtesy SF Planning Dept.

Left: Brian Egg’s former home is boarded up, but squatters are living in it, neighbors said. Right: An artist’s rendering of the proposed housing development on the site of Brian Egg’s former home.

San Francisco Police told the B.A.R. last week that that there are no updates on the Egg homicide investigation. The department also denied the B.A.R.’s Freedom of Information request for details on the number of calls the department received about Egg’s disappearance and the department denied a request for body camera video of officers’ response to the home. SFPD’s media relations department wrote

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Harris

From page 1

“Throughout her groundbreaking career, Senator Harris has been an outspoken advocate for the LGBTQ community, standing with us when many, even sometimes those within her own party, did not. As a presidential candidate, Harris spoke with deep understanding of and empathy for the issues our community faces. It’s clear the Biden-Harris ticket marks our nation’s most pro-equality ticket in history. Now it’s time to come together, unite like never before, and turn the page on the Trump-Pence brand of lies and hate.” Rick Chavez Zbur, executive director of Equality California, hailed the decision. “Senator Kamala Harris is an exceptional choice to serve as the next vice president of the United States, and Equality California is proud to stand with her and Vice President Biden in their historic campaign to take back the White House and restore the soul of America, Zbur stated. “Throughout her career, Senator Harris has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to civil rights and social justice for all LGBTQ+ people.

Legals & Classifieds>>

August 13-19, 2020 • Bay Area Reporter • 13

Legals>> NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF HUSAM MOUSA QANA AKA HUSAM M. QANA AKA HUSAM QANA IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO: FILE PES-20-303794 To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both, of HUSAM MOUSA QANA AKA HUSAM M. QANA AKA HUSAM QANA. A Petition for Probate has been filed by KAREN L. FISHER, CLPF #675 in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco. The Petition for Probate requests that KAREN L. FISHER, CLPF #675 be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent. 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: September 02, 2020, 9:00 am, Dept 204, Rm 204, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. 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 latter 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: LEE L. KASTER (SBN #208743), LAW OFFICES OF LEE KASTER, PC, 1806 BONANZA ST, WALNUT CREEK, CA 94596; Ph. (925) 280-6701.

AUG 13, 20, 27, 2020 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-20-555779

In the matter of the application of HOK-JIEN GERHARD CHOI, C/O ROGER S. KUBEIN (SBN 197360) 2171 JUNIPERO SERRA BLVD #530, DALY CIY, CA 94014, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner HOKJIEN GERHARD CHOI is requesting that the name HOKJIEN GERHARD CHOI be changed to HOWARD HOK-YIEN CHOI. 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 27th of August 2020 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

JUL 23, 30, AUG 06, 13, 2020 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-20-555783 In the matter of the application of YOSEF HABTEAB HADGU, 735 GOUGH ST #G, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner YOSEF HABTEAB HADGU is requesting that the name YOSEF HABTEAB HADGU be changed to YOSEPH GEBREMEDHN EMBAYE. 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 27th of August 2020 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

JUL 23, 30, AUG 06, 13, 2020 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-20-555785 In the matter of the application of JENNIELYN DINO ROSSI, 5 ELSIE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner JENNIELYN DINO ROSSI is requesting that the name JENNIELYN DINO ROSSI be changed to JENNIELYN DINO. 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 27th of August 2020 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

JUL 23, 30, AUG 06, 13, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039098800 The following person(s) is/are doing business as VIDEOAMP, 350 OCEAN AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed SKOT KUIPER. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/01/00. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/06/20.

JUL 23, 30, AUG 06, 13, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039103900 The following person(s) is/are doing business as SLEEPWELL BOOKS, 3740 25TH ST #405, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ANDREA FABIAN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 02/08/10. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/13/20.

JUL 23, 30, AUG 06, 13, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039095500 The following person(s) is/are doing business as TOWER LAUNDROMAT, 1800 STOCKTON AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed KHIM S. LIM. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/22/20. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/30/20.

JUL 23, 30, AUG 06, 13, 2020

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039103600 The following person(s) is/are doing business as ORBITLINE CORPORATION, 241 LIBERTY ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed ORBITLINE CORPORATION (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/01/20. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/13/20.

JUL 23, 30, AUG 06, 13, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039099600 The following person(s) is/are doing business as BAR PART TIME, 145 CARMEL ST #3, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed WINES FOR A BEAUTIFUL WORLD LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/07/20.

that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Rm. 103 on the 17th of September 2020 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

JUL 30, AUG 06, 13, 20, 2020 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-20-555802 In the matter of the application of YANAI HUANG & AICHAO LIU, 849 JAMESTOWN AVE #201, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124 for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner YANAI HUANG & AICHAO LIU is requesting that the name QINGPING LIU AKA QING PING LIU be changed to BENSON LIU. 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 September 2020 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

JUL 23, 30, AUG 06, 13, 2020

JUL 30, AUG 06, 13, 20, 2020

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF MELODY R. FULLER IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN MATEO: FILE 20-PRO-00811

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039106800

To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both, of MELODY R. FULLER. A Petition for Probate has been filed by ANN FULLER in the Superior Court of California, County of San Mateo. The Petition for Probate requests that ANN FULLER be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent. 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: September 01, 2020, 9:00 am, Dept. 28, Superior Court of California, County of San Mateo, 400 County Center, 1st Floor, San Mateo, CA 94063. 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 latter 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: JULIE FIEDLER (SBN 224855), HORIZON ELDER LAW & ESTATE PLANNING INC., 2333 SAN RAMON VALLEY BLVD. #145, SAN RAMON, CA 94583; Ph. (925) 244-1185.

JUL 30, AUG 06, 13, 2020 NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF TUAN VAN TRAN IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO: FILE PES-20-303770 To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both, of TUAN VAN TRAN. A Petition for Probate has been filed by HUY NHAT DO & LAM TRAN in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco. The Petition for Probate requests that HUY NHAT DO & LAM TRAN be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent. 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: August 18, 2020, 9:00 am, Dept. 204, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. 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 latter 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: CHARLES R. PERRY (SBN 124828), LAW OFFICES OF CHARLES R. PERRY, 100 PINE ST #1250, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94111; Ph. (415) 800-3937.

JUL 30, AUG 06, 13, 2020 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-20-555803 In the matter of the application of MARIA DELIA ELIZABETH NUNEZ GUTIERREZ, 1770 SAN JOSE AVE #5, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112 for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner MARIA DELIA ELIZABETH NUNEZ GUTIERREZ is requesting that the name MARIA DELIA ELIZABETH NUNEZ GUTIERREZ AKA DELIA E. NUNEZ AKA ELIZABETH NUNEZ be changed to ELIZABETH NUNEZ. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered,

The following person(s) is/are doing business as AMIA LUXE, 1315 QUESADA AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed LADAVID ANDERSON. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/09/20. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/17/20.

JUL 30, AUG 06, 13, 20, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039096900 The following person(s) is/are doing business as FRISCO’S FAMILY DELI, 28 LELAND AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94134. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed ISSA NAFE & OMAR HANNA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/01/20. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/30/20.

JUL 30, AUG 06, 13, 20, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039107500 The following person(s) is/are doing business as DISC ALIGN, 644 11TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed BACK-A-LINE 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 07/17/20.

JUL 30, AUG 06, 13, 20, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039107200 The following person(s) is/are doing business as GRACE DENTAL GROUP, 1426 FILLMORE ST #215, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed WOO YOUNG LEE DDS, INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/10/07. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/17/20.

JUL 30, AUG 06, 13, 20, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039111800 The following person(s) is/are doing business as KITCHEN ALOHA, 752 VAN NESS AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed KITCHEN ALOHA (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/01/20. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/24/20.

JUL 30, AUG 06, 13, 20, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039106300 The following person(s) is/are doing business as CURRENT SF, 810 GONZALEZ DR #4F, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94132. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed CURRENT SF LCC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/10/20. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/16/20.

JUL 30, AUG 06, 13, 20, 2020 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-039051600 The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as SIMPLY NAILS, 5933 MISSION ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business was conducted by an individual and signed by WENDY DANG. The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/22/20.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039110900

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT F ILE A-039116600

The following person(s) is/are doing business as THE FRAME & EYE OPTICAL, 319 JUDAH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed RICHARD L. NELSON. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/13/80. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/24/20.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as PHILTRE; HEROIC; 121 BANKS ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed PHILTRE LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on PHILTRE 07/16/15; HEROIC N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/30/20.

AUG 06, 13, 20, 27, 2020

AUG 13, 20, 27, SEP 03, 2020

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039109000

STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-036514800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as HONEYCOMB BEHAVIORAL HEALTH GROUP, 2211 POST ST #300, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed HONEYCOMB THERAPY, A MARRIAGE & FAMILY THERAPY CORP (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/29/20. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/21/20.

AUG 06, 13, 20, 27, 2020

In the matter of the application of KAREN BETH HANDLEMAN & KAREN LEE MILLER, 648 GATES ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioners KAREN BETH HANDLEMAN & KAREN LEE MILLER are requesting that the name BEN HANDLEMAN be changed to BEN MILLER HANDLEMAN. 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 September 2020 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

AUG 06, 13, 20, 27, 2020 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-20-555817 In the matter of the application of DANNY STEVE GONZALEZ & JI-HYUN JENNIFER LEE, 563 BELVEDERE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner DANNY STEVE GONZALEZ & JI-HYUN JENNIFER LEE is requesting that the name AE SOLEDAD LEE GONZALEZ be changed to ELODI SOLEDAD EUN-JI GONZALEZ LEE. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 103 on the 15th of September 2020 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

AUG 06, 13, 20, 27, 2020

AUG 13, 20, 27, SEP 03, 2020

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039112600 The following person(s) is/are doing business as UNSHIPPERS, 1251 ARMISTEAD RD #B, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94129. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed WATKINS COMPANY LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 11/01/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/24/20.

AUG 06, 13, 20, 27, 2020 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-20-555823 In the matter of the application of YIRONG ZHEN, 542 MASON ST #60, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner YIRONG ZHEN is requesting that the name YIRONG ZHEN be changed to JOHN Z MARTINEZ. 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 17th of September 2020 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

AUG 13, 20, 27, SEP 03, 2020 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-20-555821 In the matter of the application of SOPHIA DIANE PETRUCCI, 1514 PERSHING DR C, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94129, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner SOPHIA DIANE PETRUCCI is requesting that the name SOPHIA DIANE PETRUCCI AKA SOPHIA DIANE TRUMBAUER AKA SOPHIA DIANE TRUMBAUER PETRUCCI AKA SOPHIA D. PETRUCCI be changed to SOPHIA ARTEMIS LENNOX. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 514 on the 15th of September 2020 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

AUG 13, 20, 27, SEP 03, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039120900 The following person(s) is/are doing business as CAMITH, 36 FORD ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JEFFREY SMITH. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/05/20.

AUG 13, 20, 27, SEP 03, 2020

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JUL 30, AUG 06, 13, 20, 2020 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-20-555810

The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as SAGEKAT; THE SAGE REVIEW; 121 BANKS ST, SAN FRACISCO, CA 94110. This business was conducted by a limited liability company and signed by PHILTRE LLC (CA). The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/02/15.

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 Yelp reviews

Jonathan Majors and Jurnee Smollett in ‘Lovecraft Country’

by Victoria A. Brownworth

ovecraft Country is HBO’s new signature Sunday night series, premiering August 16. It is perfect viewing for this complex summer from hell that somehow manages to be set 70 years ago while also being very much about the issues facing us right now. Based on Matt Ruff ‘s novel, Lovecraft Country follows Atticus Freeman (Jonathan Majors) as he meets up with his friend Letitia (Jurnee Smollett) and his Uncle George (Courtney B. Vance) to embark on a road trip across 1950s Jim Crow America in search of his missing father (Michael Kenneth Williams). HBO says, “This begins a struggle to survive and overcome both the racist terrors of white America and the terrifying monsters that could be ripped from a Lovecraft paperback.” HBO does a disservice with this tepid description of a series that has all the elements of Get Out that made your skin crawl and your heart stop, while also being a lush period piece that sometimes feels like Masterpiece Mystery with Black people. Lovecraft Country is Black Lives Matter, the prequel, when a wrong look could get a Black man lynched and a Black woman on her own was a target for assault. It is every Black person being profiled and every cop being a white supremacist. In this world, when the sun sets, terror begins. Not everything works in Lovecraft Country, but this isn’t one of those The Help-style dramas where benevolent white saviors help the Black people who can’t help themselves. This is terror and rage, repressed

Terror, time travel & tentacles The Lavender Tube on sci-fi and horror TV series

emotion and the frog boil that is microagression writ large. It’s a must watch–but not for the faint of heart or anyone tempted to say “not all white people.” Be prepared to squirm in your seat. The Umbrella Academy Season 2 of the quirky queerish sci-fi/time travel/fantasy Netflix series dropped July 31 and it is even more fabulous than season 1. The Umbrella Academy has a complex premise. On October 1, 1989, 43 women around the world gave birth simultaneously. The creepy part is none of them appeared to be pregnant prior to the onset of labor. Seven of the children get adopted by a strange billionaire, Sir Reginald Hargreeves (Colm Feore), and turned into a superhero team that he calls “The Umbrella Academy.”

Lockdown Comedy Stand-Up in the Age of Covid

or many years, Lisa Geduldig hosted and performed in her monthly comedy shows at El Rio, but those shows had to be put on hold due to the pandemic. Undaunted, Geduldig is bringing her particular brand of diverse comedy to cyberspace. On the third Thursday of every month, Geduldig is offering Lockdown Comedy, shows in which her comics perform online via Zoom. This month’s show takes place on August 20 at 7pm PST and promises to offer lots of laughs. The line-up includes Cathy Ladman, one of the country’s top comics. Ladman has amassed quite a following due to her nine appearances on The Tonight Show, as well as countless other TV and film gigs. Geduldig will emcee all of the Lockdown Comedy shows, and her mother, Arline Geduldig, will be a special guest performer each month. A San Francisco resident, Lisa was visiting her mom in Florida when the pandemic began, and she’s been hunkered down with mom ever since, though she does plan to return to the Bay Area post-pandemic. “I came to Florida to visit my mom in early March and I’m still here,” Geduldig told the Bay Area Reporter in a phone interview. “I can’t believe it’s August. I think it’s still March. March 135th?” Geduldig had been flying back and forth between San Francisco and Florida since last August to help her mom out, due to some health

problems. The trip was originally planned to be a two-week visit when, as she puts it “the shit hit the fan.” She kept changing her flight back to San Francisco and finally cancelled it. “I’m living with my mom for the first time in forty years,” she said. “I’m living in an over55 retirement community in Florida, where I’m actually old enough to live. It’s a little frightening being in Florida because the coronavirus cases are so high and the governor is a Trump-ite a-hole and there’s no mask mandate. I’m not really going out much and we’re

NOS4A2 Season 2 of NOS4A2, based on the novel by Joe Hill (Stephen King’s son), is better than season 1–more frightening, better character and plot development, more queers. Charlie Manx (out actor Zachary Quinto)

Comedians Cathy Ladman, Michele Balan, and Joe Klocek

ordering groceries on Instacart.” That first Lockdown Comedy show drew about 170 people from all over the country as well as one from Berlin and one from Kathmandu. Two of the three comedians performed from their homes in London at two in the morning. Geduldig was pleased with the turnout and plans to continue. She’ll also be bringing her annual Kung Pao Kosher Comedy show (Jewish comedy on Christmas in a Chinese restaurant) to Zoom from December 24-26. “I’m working on figuring out how to transLockdown Comedy host Lisa Geduldig and her mom Arline

Photos courtesy Lisa Geduldig

by David-Elijah Nahmod

Hargreeves gives the children numbers rather than names, but they eventually are named by their nanny robot-mother, Grace (Jordan Claire Robbins), as: Luther, Diego, Allison, Klaus, Number Five (his only name), Ben, and Vanya. While putting six of his children to work fighting crime, Sir Reginald keeps Vanya (Ellen Page) apart from her siblings’ activities, as she supposedly demonstrates no powers of her own. The siblings are growing and changing and the series itself has developed a touch of Dr. Who that is quite compelling. There are queer subplots galore, though not all end well. And of course Page is the lesbian Ellen we still love.

abducts kids and takes them to a place called Christmasland — “It’s a very special place where every day is Christmas Day and unhappiness is against the law!” Except for them being victims of Charlie, who feeds on their youth and takes their souls. Victoria “Vic” McQueen (Ashleigh Cummings) is a young working-class artist who discovers while riding over a bridge one day that she has a supernatural ability to track the elusive and seemingly immortal Charlie Manx and go in and out of the portal to the supernatural world he inhabits. In season 1, Maggie met Detective Tabitha Hutter (Ashley Romans) while tracking Charlie with Vic. In season 2–well, you will have to watch, on AMC and Hulu.t

Read the full column on www.ebar.com fer a lot of the kitsch aspects of the show to an online show,” she said. “Expect a wonderful show with lots of bells and whistles.” The participation of Geduldig’s mom in the shows came about rather suddenly. “My mom is very funny,” Geduldig said. “Since I’m living with her and she cracks me up I said ‘Do you wanna be a special guest on my comedy show?’ She said sure because she is fearless and started writing some comedy material. She was very well received.” The next day, the elder Geduldig announced that she had started working on her material for the next show. “I want people to laugh and experience connection and community and get a break from their routine and Groundhog Day lives,” said Geduldig. “I’m not sure if there will be a need to continue online shows once we are able to gather again. At this point I hope the pandemic will be over sometime before my 60th birthday in two years and we can gather and see friends and go to comedy shows and theaters and restaurants and have some sense of normalcy again.”t

Read the full article on www.ebar.com Tickets: www.koshercomedy.com

San Francisco

t Music, Books & Theatre>>

August 13-19, 2020 • Bay Area Reporter • 15

Q-music Burnin’ down the house music by Gregg Shapiro

et’s face it, things are getting ugly and scary out there. As this is being written, confirmed COVID-19 cases have reached more than 10 million worldwide, with more than half a million deaths and counting. Self-quarantining is the hottest (and healthiest) trend in years. For those unable to get to their workouts at the gym or favorite dance club because they’ve been shut down again after reopening too soon, here are some new releases sure to get your heart rate up and your body moving. Play them loud. If the neighbors complain, dance harder. Suddenly (Merge) by Caribou (aka musician and mathematician Dan Snaith) is one of the best dance albums of 2020 (and a best album, period). Persuasive and distinctive dance tracks such as “Never Come Back,” “Ravi” and “You and I,” feel as forward-thinking as they are timeless. Additionally, Caribou makes exceptional use of samples (remember those?) on songs including “Home” (Gloria Barnes vocal sample) and “Lime” (Black Soul’s “The Sphynx” sample). Not necessarily known for making dance music, abrasive post-punk trio

Moaning does some gear-shifting and displays dance-floor magnetism on its new album Uneasy Laughter (Sub Pop). Right from the start, album opener “Ego” lays down a Joy Division bass line and drum beat that will make you want to jump up and around. Loud and buzzing guitars are still a presence (“Make It Stop,”) but in some cases they take a secondary role to Pascal Stevenson’s spinetingling synthesizer work on brief musical interludes (tracks three and ten), as well as full-length numbers including the amazing “Fall In Love,” “Coincidence or Fate,” “Say Something” and the new wavy “What Separates Us”, as well as “Running” and “Saving Face.” Jonah Falco and Mike Haliechuk of Fucked Up are here to help you get down during the lockdown with their sexy side project Jade Hairpins. Of the 10 tracks on Harmony Avenue (Merge), three are full-fledged club bangers that will help you sweat off

Begin Again

Sameer A. Khan

Author Eddie S. Glaude Jr.

by Tim Pfaff

ew American writers have evoked as much adulation and vituperation as James Baldwin. Had he written only his second novel, Giovanni’s Room (1956), his place in the gay literary canon would be assured. But he wrote and wrote because he had to, at least as much non-fiction, his views of what it meant to be an African-American and gay writer ever deepening. Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and its Urgent Lessons for Our Own (Crown) joins a shelf of books whose timings have been as perfect as space re-entries. Its author, Eddie S. Glaude Jr., has added to the vast Baldwin literature a book unique in every way. It’s biographical without being a biography, personal without fawning about its subject, political, polemical, and deeply moving. It was Baldwin’s fate –you could call it nothing else– to come into himself atop the grating seismic plates of Martin Luther King’s nonviolence-oriented near-messianism and Eldridge Cleaver’s Black Power movement, with its generationrousing text, Soul on Ice. As it

the pandemic pounds you may have gained. “(Don’t Break My) Devotion” is the best song LCD Soundsystem never recorded. “Post No Bills” is a house music meets new wave classic and “Motherman” is a freaking jam. You can also shake your various body parts to funky tracks including “Yesterdang,” “Broadstairs Beach,” “Dolly Dream” and “Father Coin.” The truth about Fibs (Moshi Moshi) by Anna Meredith is that instrumental album opener “Sawbones” sounds like what would occur if you crossed prog-rock with dance music. What follows is a more straightforward and invigorating set of electronic dance tracks, the best of which include “Inhale Exhale,” “Paramour,” “Killjoy” and “Calion.” It’s been ten years since Fitz and the Tantrums released its full-length debut album. In that time, it transformed itself from a blue-eyed R&B act to soul slingers with an ear towards Maroon 5-style dance pop. The band’s fourth album, All The Feels (Elektra/Dangerbird) continues that evolution and the songs “Basement,” “OCD,” “Hand Up,” “123456,” “I Need Help!,” and the radiant “I Just Wanna Shine,” will probably make some listeners feel like dancing.t

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