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Strut serves everyone
SF candidates gear up
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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
O
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 >>
C
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
A
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 >>