August 23, 2018 Edition of the Bay Area Reporter by Bay Area Reporter

College equity plan stalls

Ed. bd. candidate under fire

ARTS

NCTC Celebrates Busch

DTLA goes gay

The

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Since 1971, the newspaper of record for the San Francisco Bay Area LGBTQ community

Trans college board appointee makes history

Vol. 48 • No. 34 • August 23-29, 2018

LGBT candidates vie for SF school board

by Matthew S. Bajko

or most of the spring and summer Santa Cruz resident Adam Spickler waited for word about his political future. The first-time candidate for public office had informed a member of the Cabrillo Community College Board of Trustees in April that he intended to oppose Courtesy Adam Spickler him this year if he de- Adam Spickler, cided not to retire. right, with his Several weeks prior husband, Scottie, to the August 10 dead- and their dogs, line for Gary Reece, Penny and Jack. who represents the college board’s Area II seat, to enter the race, Spickler heard rumors that the longtime education official wouldn’t run. Those turned out to be true, as of 5 p.m. that Friday Spickler had been the only person to file for the race. See page 15 >>

Mia Satya, center, was surrounded by her supporters on the steps of City Hall August 10 prior to her filing papers to run for the San Francisco Board of Education.

by Alex Madison

here are five LGBT candidates vying for a seat on the San Francisco Board of Education in a race that suddenly became wide open after an incumbent failed

to qualify for the November ballot. Among them are two transgender candidates, Mia Satya and Martin Rawlings-Fein. If either were to win, they would be the first transgender elected leader in the city. Also in the race are gay men Phil Kim and Connor

Krone and lesbian Lenette Thompson. There are three open seats in the citywide race for the seven-person board; 19 candidates have qualified. See page 14 >> Rick Gerharter

‘Unity’ to show at Silicon Valley Pride by Heather Cassell

S Cynthia Laird

LGBT history is included in Mark Jarrett’s textbook “E Pluribus Unum: The American Pursuit of Liberty, Growth and Equality, 1750-1900.”

Slow rollout for LGBT textbooks by Matthew S. Bajko

early a year after California education officials approved for use a number of textbooks that included lessons on LGBT history, it appears that few students in the state will be using them this school year. LGBT history is being taught to schoolchildren throughout the state as school districts use other materials to incorporate the lessons into their curriculums. But for a variety of reasons, from parental pushback and teacher concerns to budget constraints and lengthy review processes for selecting new educational materials, the rollout of the LGBT-inclusive textbooks by school districts will take years to reach every classroom. See page 8 >>

ilicon Valley Pride continues to add new events, and this year’s festivities show there is more to celebrate under the theme, “Unity. Diversity. Strength.” The 43rd celebration takes center stage in San Jose August 25-26. New this year is a Trans and Friends Rally Saturday, and the Hey Girl women’s stage and area at Sunday’s celebration. Last weekend, Silicon Valley Pride teamed up with Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose’s Proud of My Family event and sponsored a mini Pride parade for kids and their parents. In addition to the parade and celebration, this weekend will feature many of Pridegoers’ favorites, such as the Night Festival, Family Garden, High-Tech Pavilion, Leather Land, and a cocktail lounge. It will be a flashback to the 1990s with Amber (“This is Your Night,” “If You Could Read My Mind,” and “Sexual (Li Da Di)”) and Ultra Nate (“Free” and “Ultramanic”) headlining the festival’s main stage Sunday. They will be joined by live performances from Opera San Jose’s Katharine Gunnink, Trevor Neal, and Mason Gates, along with Ensamble Folklorico Colibri, Ab Soto, and La Misa Negra. Pride would be a drag without drag queens, so this year’s main stage will feature “RuPaul’s Drag

Jo-Lynn Otto

Kids and their parents prepared to march in a mini Pride parade last weekend that was part of Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose’s Proud of My Family event. Silicon Valley Pride sponsored the parade, and this weekend holds the main event in San Jose.

Race” Cher impersonator Chad Michaels (Season Four finalist and “Queen of all Queens” winner) and Blair St. Clair (Season 10 contestant). Bay Area neo-soul, acoustic, island and electronica singer-songwriters AstraLogik headline the Hey Girl stage. The South Bay’s transgender community

{ FIRST OF THREE SECTIONS }

will kick-off the weekend’s events with a free Trans and Friends Rally Saturday afternoon starting at 4:30 in San Jose’s Plaza de Cesar Chavez, 1 Paseo De San Antonio. Trans acoustic singer-songwriter Ryan Cassata will headline the event, joined by See page 2 >>

<< Community News

2 • BAY AREA REPORTER • August 23-29, 2018

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gay cop in the San Francisco Police Department is suing the city for sexual harassment and discrimination because of his sexual orientation. Brendan Mannix, 28, filed a lawsuit Thursday, August 16 in San Francisco Superior Court. He is still employed with the SFPD. The suit alleges that two sergeants in Central Station, where Mannix was transferred in 2016, frequently made comments to Mannix relating to his sexual orientation. The suit claims the officers commonly called Mannix “such a queen,” and “too dramatic.” When Mannix did something that the sergeants considered stereotypically gay the suit claims they said, “Ugh, you gays,” or “God, you gays.” The sergeants also made comments regarding Mannix’s appearance, the lawsuit states, including, “Wow, is that hair big enough?” and “That [hair] color is not natural.” As well making comments about Mannix being too thin. “These two sergeants are the ones who represent the old school mentality in the department,” Lawrence Organ, Mannix’s attorney, told the Bay Area Reporter in an interview. “We filed this to protect all officers and to move the SFPD into the 21st century to discourage from the old guard to get away with

his mental health,” the suit said. When Mannix returned from leave, he filed a complaint with the station in August 2017, the investigation of which, the suit claims, was not taken seriously and many of the incidents were omitted from the complaint by the sergeant who took it. The complaint was later closed. Mannix also claims he was later given unfavorable assignments at the station. “[Mannix] took action to make sure in the future if an officer complains they know the department will treat the complaint seriously and protect them against any retaliation,” Organ said. “The police department failed to put an end to the harassment.” The SFPD did not respond to a request for comment. John Cote, spokesman for the city attorney’s office, told the B.A.R. in an email that the city has not yet been served with the lawsuit. “The City of San Francisco, including the Police Department, has been a leader on LGBT rights for decades and remains committed to providing a safe and respectful work environment for all,” he wrote in the email. Mannix graduated from the police academy in 2015. He was initially assigned to the Richmond Station, but was later transferred to the Central Station in the fall of 2016. t

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ollowing the news that the Russian River Pride parade and street fair set for this weekend has been canceled, some parties will go on as planned at local businesses, organizers said. Pride producer Rodger Jensen told the Bay Area Reporter this week that a permitting snafu led to the cancellation of the parade, street fair, and a bridge lighting ceremony that had been set for August 18. While Pride organizers had been partially successful in obtaining the necessary permits, the California Highway Patrol could not provide the support required to close the street for the fair, according to the Santa Rosa Press Democrat and Jensen. Jensen, event coordinator at the R3 Hotel, said the parade and street fair required permits for street closures, but a volunteer failed to apply for the permits before the required two-month lead time. He declined to identify the volunteer. Now, a much-reduced version of Russian River Pride will be held in Guerneville on Saturday, August 25, and Sunday, August 26. Saturday Jensen has planned what he calls “Russian River Pride 2.0,” with events all taking place at the R3 Hotel, 16390 Fourth Street, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will be a pool party, DJ, and vendors selling clothing and gifts. There is a single $5 cover charge for the pool party and an evening drag show, although entertainers have not been finalized, Jensen said. Sunday will start with what Jensen called a “big celebration” at 11 a.m. at the R3, with DJ Bear Mittenz and

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comedian Nori Reed, and music and dance by Skyler Cooper, and Jeremie Gluckman and Charles Peoples III. “I absolutely love our lineup at the rally,” Sera Fernando, one of the organizers, wrote in an email.

Road

Charlie Wagner

Russian River Pride producer Rodger Jensen

live entertainment, vendors, and an only-in-Guerneville opportunity. Celebrants will be invited to ride on longtime Guerneville resident Wendell Joost’s antique fire truck. There will be no charge for rides or any other events on Sunday, Jensen said. Sunday night, the R3 will host a “gay Pride version” of its popular karaoke party. At the end of that, Jensen will announce the dates for Russian River Pride 2019. The original plans for this year included closing Guerneville’s Main Street Sunday for a parade and closing Fourth Street that day for a street fair. Jensen predicted both events will be key elements of the 2019 Russian River Pride. Jensen has not yet applied for street closure permits, because as he explained, “We can’t apply for permits more than six months in advance.” But he promised to be directly involved in the permitting process.

Fernando is working with the Pride board to produce the event and took inspiration from San Francisco’s Trans and Dyke marches. “The representation of trans talent that will be brought on stage at Plaza de Cesar Chavez will be spectacular,” Fernando added. “Having a trans event at Silicon Valley Pride brings awareness

“I will solely do all the permits in 2019,” Jensen told the B.A.R. Jensen claimed he’s seen no impact on R3 reservations, and has been encouraged by the local reaction to preliminary plans for a 2019 celebration. He said he will pursue “more merchant participation” in the street fair and confirmed the Russian River Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence will again provide the nonprofit umbrella under which the parade will solicit contributions. Sister Scarlet Billows, spokesnun for the Russian River Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, said that Jensen came to one of the Sisters’ meetings to discuss this year’s Russian River Pride. “The Russian River Sisters agreed to be the interim fiscal agent for Russian River Pride for 2018,” Billows said. “No one anticipated that the event would not go forward. All funds, minus the permit fees, are in a unique account for the purpose of producing Russian River Pride.” Billows said that Pride events remain important for the LGBT community. “The Russian River Sisters believe in equality for all and have observed an increase in physical danger to our members of our community due to the current political unease and lack of civility,” Billows wrote in an email. “Pride events will remain relevant as long as our basic civil liberties are under siege.” The annual Sonoma County Pride was celebrated in Guerneville from 2009 until 2017, but was moved to Santa Rosa in June in order to attract more attendees. That strategy proved very successful, and Sonoma County Pride will again be celebrated in Santa Rosa in June 2019. t around gender identity,” continued Fernando, a native San Jose trans woman who is pansexual. “I feel it’s important to let them know that they are valued, accepted, and appreciated for living as their authentic self.” She hopes that the rally will “empower our community to achieve more.”

Mou

See page 15 >>

O C C A TOB XIC O T S I

S I H T S I E F I L N NO C I X TO

<< Community News

4 • BAY AREA REPORTER • August 23-29, 2018

Preschool, kindergarten fair takes place in SF compiled by Cynthia Laird

ur Family Coalition will hold its seventh annual Preschool and Kindergarten Fair Thursday, August 30, from 6 to 8 p.m. at San Francisco Day School, 350 Masonic Avenue. The inclusive school fair is for independent and public preschools and kindergartens. In addition to being a resource featuring dozens of San Francisco schools, OFC and its partners in education will offer information about the preschool and kindergarten application process; navigating San Francisco Unified School District systems; and opportunities for youth and family advocacy in San Francisco. “For years, we have hosted this fair with the goal of supporting LGBTQ families in the search for the type of preschool, and now kindergarten, that will help their children thrive,” OFC education director Tarah Fleming said in a news release. The informational event will connect families with school representatives about their services and assess schools that are welcoming and inclusive of all families. Other participating organizations include Community Well, Golden Gate Mothers Group, Independent Schools of the San Francisco Bay Area, Parents for Public Schools San Francisco, SFUSD, and the San Francisco Families Union. The event is free for families. For

Courtesy Our Family Coalition

Inclusive books and other items are displayed at Our Family Coalition’s Preschool and Kindergarten Fair.

more information and to register, visit http://www.ourfamily.org.

Shop Out benefit for LGBT center

The San Francisco LGBT Community Center and the Fillmore Merchants Association will hold Shop Out, a benefit for the center, Saturday, August 25, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. During the day, participating businesses in the Fillmore district will donate 10 percent of their sales to the LGBT center. “We’re thrilled to be part of Shop

Out day once more,” Jen Marticorena, assistant store leader at Eileen Fisher (Fillmore), said in a news release. “It’s an honor to join our fellow merchants in support of the LGBT community and to shed light on the very positive effect the SF LGBT center has on our city.” Vas Kiniris, executive director of the Fillmore Merchant Association, said that more merchants are participating this year. Shop Out day started in 2016 as an evening event during Pride and has now expanded into full-day events in multiple neighborhoods. In May a similar day was hosted by the Noe Valley Merchants and Professionals Association. Dani Siragusa, development director for the center, said Shop Out raises funds that help provide services for homeless youth, trans job seekers, and new small business owners, among other resources. “It’s wonderful to have the support of local merchants as we build a brighter future for the LGBTQ+ community together,” she said. This year, 22 businesses will participate, including Alexis Bittar, Alice and Olivia, Fitness SF, Jigsaw, Philmore Creamery, Renaissance Salon, and Samovar Tea Lounge. For a complete list, visit https://www.facebook.com/ events/1057742807721792/.

Compton’s Cafeteria anniversary

The 52nd anniversary of the Gene Compton’s Cafeteria riot will be held Saturday, August 25, at 3 p.m. at the corner of Turk and Taylor streets in San Francisco. Felicia “Flames” Elizondo, one of the organizers of the anniversary event, was a patron of the cafe in the 1960s. The riot occurred when transgender patrons of the former eatery protested police harassment one night in August 1966.

Irish pub to hold Oakland Pride party

Slainte, an Irish pub near Jack London Square in Oakland, will have a block party to celebrate Oakland Pride weekend Saturday, September 8, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Pub owner Jackie Gallanagh, a lesbian who was featured in the Bay Area Reporter’s Pride issue, said that a portion of the proceeds will be donated to help suicidal and at-risk teens in the community. Gallanagh said there will be food, drink, and live entertainment inside the pub, located at 131 Broadway, as well as outside on Second Street. She held a similar block party for St. Patrick’s Day that was well attended.

Tickets are $10 in advance, or $15 at the door. For more information, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ slainte-gay-pride-block-party-tickets-49216046520. The Oakland Pride parade and festival takes place Sunday, September 9. For more information, visit https:// www.oaklandpride.org/.

SF fundraiser for Dem Central Valley candidate

LGBT and straight allies with Action SF working to flip a conservative Central Valley congressional seat will hold a fundraiser in San Francisco for the Democratic candidate. The event for candidate Josh Harder takes place Sunday, September 9, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at a private residence in Noe Valley. Harder is running against Congressman Jeff Denham, who activists said votes 98 percent of the time in support of President Donald Trump. The 10th Congressional District includes Modesto, Tracy, Turlock, and Manteca and has been identified as one of the five most likely districts in the state to flip from red to blue in the November election. To RSVP and make a donation to Harder’s campaign, visit https:// www.eventbrite.com/e/meet-congressional-candidate-josh-harder-innoe-valley-tickets-48721450169. The address will be provided to those who register.t

Senate OKs injection bill; panel offers ideas by Sari Staver

he state Senate Tuesday approved a bill that would allow San Francisco to open safe injection sites under a three-year pilot program, and last week a panel of advocates talked about ways residents can help injection drug users until such a project is implemented. The passage of Assembly Bill 186, authored by lesbian Assemblywoman Susan Talamantes Eggman (D-Stockton) and co-authored by gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), brings the city closer to operating a pilot program. Supervised injection sites allow people to use drugs under the watch of trained staff, reducing the risk of overdose deaths. The city is behind the idea. Last month, Mayor London Breed and members of Glide Memorial Methodist

Sari Staver

Miss Ian Callaghan, Pierre-Cedric Crouch, Ph.D., and Terry Morris discussed street drug use and supervised injection sites at a recent San Francisco AIDS Foundation-sponsored panel.

Church announced plans to open a supervised injection facility demonstration project called Safer Inside in the Tenderloin. Drug injection at the site will not be permitted during the fourday project, set for August 28-31.

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“I am excited that AB 186 has passed the state Senate,” Breed said in a statement Tuesday. The bill’s passage is a reversal from last year, when it fell just short of passage.

And as the city looks at opening supervised injection sites, advocates are already exploring ways residents can help injection drug users. A panel of five experts at a San Francisco AIDS Foundation-sponsored discussion August 16 at Zendesk was unanimous in its support of supervised injection sites. Such facilities would provide sterile needles, preventing transmission of HIV and hepatitis B and C, reduce street-based drug use and improper syringe disposal, as well as offer clients an entry point for seeking addiction treatment and medical care. There are currently about 100 safe injection sites in 11 countries, including Canada, the Netherlands, and Australia. Earlier this year, the San Francisco Health Commission unanimously adopted the recommendations of the city’s Safe Injection Services Task Force, putting the city a step closer to

opening the first supervised injection facility in the United States. Until a legislative remedy opens the door for permanent sites to open, the panelists offered practical suggestions that might alleviate the situation until a permanent system is in place. Several panelists pinned the blame for shooting up in public on the city’s rapid real estate development, with new buildings constructed in spaces where addicts previously used to inject out of sight of residents. Other root causes of public drug use are housing insecurity, the availability of illicit drugs, poverty, and lack of access to health care services and substance abuse treatment, they said. Suggestions from panelists varied. Maurice Byrd, a psychotherapist with the Harm Reduction Therapy Center, believes that “housing people See page 15 >>

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<< Open Forum

6 • BAY AREA REPORTER • August 23-29, 2018

Volume 48, Number 34 August 23-29, 2018 www.ebar.com PUBLISHER Michael M. Yamashita Thomas E. Horn, Publisher Emeritus (2013) Publisher (2003 – 2013) Bob Ross, Founder (1971 – 2003) NEWS EDITOR Cynthia Laird ARTS EDITOR Roberto Friedman BARTAB EDITOR & EVENTS LISTINGS EDITOR Jim Provenzano ASSISTANT EDITORS Matthew S. Bajko • Alex Madison CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Ray Aguilera • Tavo Amador • Race Bannon Erin Blackwell • Roger Brigham Brian Bromberger • Victoria A. Brownworth Brent Calderwood • Philip Campbell Heather Cassell • Belo Cipriani Christina DiEdoardo • Richard Dodds Michael Flanagan • Jim Gladstone David Guarino • Liz Highleyman Brandon Judell • John F. Karr • Lisa Keen Matthew Kennedy • Joshua Klipp David Lamble • Max Leger Michael McDonagh • Juanita MORE! David-Elijah Nahmod • Paul Parish Sean Piverger • Lois Pearlman Tim Pfaff • Jim Piechota • Bob Roehr Adam Sandel • Jason Serinus • Gregg Shapiro Gwendolyn Smith • Tony Taylor • Sari Staver Jim Stewart • Sean Timberlake • Andre Torrez Ronn Vigh • 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 • Dan Lloyd • Jo-Lynn Otto Rich Stadtmiller • Kelly Sullivan Steven Underhil • Dallis Willard • Bill Wilson ILLUSTRATORS & CARTOONISTS Paul Berge • Christine Smith ADVERTISING/ADMINISTRATION Colleen Small Bogitini VICE PRESIDENT OF ADVERTISING Scott Wazlowski – 415.829.8937 NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE Rivendell Media – 212.242.6863

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Breed should fill school board seat S

an Francisco Mayor London Breed has already made appointments to the Board of Supervisors (Vallie Brown in District 5) and City College Board of Trustees (Ivy Lee). Now, she can choose to fill the vacancy on the San Francisco school board when President Hydra Mendoza-McDonnell steps down next month. Since the deadline to file for November’s election – when three seats, including Mendoza’s will be up – whomever the mayor selects would, in effect, be a placeholder trustee for about three months. Public education is an important issue that behooves Breed to make an appointment. Voters will get to fill three vacant seats to the seven-member board in November. MendozaMcDonnell had already announced in June that she would not seek re-election. Another trustee, Shamann Walton, is running for supervisor in District 10. The third seat is held by Trustee Emily Murase, Ph.D., who will not be on the ballot because she missed the deadline to submit her re-election paperwork. For the temporary school board member, we urge Breed to appoint an LGBT parent, who can bring a necessary perspective to address the problems kids face in schools, whether or not they have LGBT students. Public schools must continuously root out bullying and harassment in order to foster a safer learning environment for all students. The popularity of gay-straight alliances over the last 15 years, and the earlier ages that kids come out, means that most students now know someone who is LGBT, but that doesn’t mean everyone gets along or is safe. Sometimes threats to students can escalate. Last week, in Oklahoma, a 12-year-old transgender girl was mercilessly bullied online, not from her fellow students, but from adults, some of whom may have been students’ parents. They called her “It,” and “Thing,” and threatened physical violence. They urged her

peers to beat her up at school. All because she used a girl’s bathroom. The school closed for two days for security reasons. While it’s unlikely similar violent reaction would occur in San Francisco, understanding the needs and issues of trans students in particular is critical for school board members. Equality California issued a sharply worded letter to President Donald Trump’s education secretary, Betsy DeVos, after Politico reported last weekend that she decided to dismiss at least five complaints of civil rights violations filed by trans students who have faced unlawful discrimination and harassment in public schools. Even as DeVos continues to reference “all children” in remarks at various events, it is clear she does not mean it. “When you say, ‘every child,’ you really mean ‘every child whose gender matches the sex they were assigned at birth,’” EQCA Executive Director Rick Zbur wrote. As for Breed’s appointment, there are a couple of LGBT parents who are among the 19 qualified candidates for the November election. Or Breed could choose someone who’s not running for election. The point is that with only one LGBT member currently on the school board, the community remains underrepresented, even as statistics show that LGB and trans students disproportionately experience bullying, depression, and high rates of suicide. Despite strong laws in California that protect the rights of LGBT students, it will take more than laws to change students’ behavior. Having a full school board is crucial in the first few months of the school year so that district officials can implement board policies and ensure that all students have a safe learning environment.

Teaching LGBT history

The new school year started this week in many Bay Area districts, but one thing most

students won’t see are the new textbooks that include lessons on LGBT history. As we report this week, many districts have not purchased any of the books that were approved last year by the California Department of Education. The reasons are varied and include parental pushback, teacher concerns, budget constraints and lengthy review processes for selecting new educational materials. Thankfully, that does not mean students won’t learn about LGBT history. In San Francisco, for example, the school district has a wide selection of instructional materials that it has generated on its own. District officials have worked for several years to develop the curricula, and the lesson plans are in alignment with the state’s revised framework for history and social science. In Oakland, where the school district is facing a multi-million dollar deficit, officials have purchased about $1 million worth of textbooks, workbooks, and other materials. Both of these developments are good news for Bay Area students, but more needs to be done. Bay Area school board members need to prioritize purchasing the LGBT-inclusive textbooks in their next budgets, so that they can get into the hands of students in the next few years. Organizations like Our Family Coalition are also working with educators and parents to reduce barriers to the books, such as opposition from some parents. In our polarized society, school district leaders must take the initiative. That may be in the form of educational meetings, or presentations from LGBT-inclusive groups so that any concerns can be addressed. LGBT leaders have worked for years to reach this point. Now, the burden shifts to school districts, which must ensure that their materials are in compliance with the Fair, Accurate, Inclusive, and Respectful Education Act, authored by gay former state Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), which requires that school districts teach students about LGBT individuals and people with disabilities. t

DeGeneres’ message of compassion resonates by Nancy A. Magee

felt lucky to be sitting with thousands of kindred spirits in Davies Symphony Hall last Friday night enjoying Ellen DeGeneres’ first stand-up comedy tour in 15 years. I’m not only a DeGeneres fan for her wit and her philanthropy. I also appreciate her for the risks she took in coming out to the world and how, in turn, she helped so many others, including me, navigate those waters. In fact, I credit the book by DeGeneres’ mother Betty (“Love, Ellen: A Mother/Daughter Journey” (2000), with providing my own mom a positive, empathic perspective on her daughter’s coming out. Having just recently lost my mother in the past few weeks at the age of 86, I cannot help but be grateful to Betty and Ellen DeGeneres for their courageous example. It comes as no surprise that DeGeneres’ Friday night stand-up routine was wonderful and sweet (and funny). But surprise did make an appearance, just not until the Q & A session when DeGeneres came back onstage and took audience questions. It was here – in the personal space – where the true impact of DeGeneres’ honest voice and celebrity was the most profound. Of the many questions that followed, the one that most touched my heart was posed by a young woman who introduced herself as a teacher-librarian (Swoon!) currently teaching middle schoolers in San Francisco. With conviction quivering in her voice, this teacher-librarian earnestly asked DeGeneres’ advice on how best to teach compassion to young people. DeGeneres’ answer was exquisite in its immediacy. “Teach compassion as a class for every child from kindergarten all the way through 12th grade,” she said, “just like you teach English and math and science and social studies.” (“None of which are particularly useful by the way,” she added for the laugh.) The evening concluded with a dramatic exclamation point when a 20-something young man stood up, gripped the microphone with both

Courtesy Facebook

Nancy A. Magee

hands, thanked DeGeneres for her courage, for her inspiration, and then went on to declare in front of DeGeneres, the 2,000-plus assembled audience members, and his mother sitting beside him, that he was going to use this moment to come out of the closet. “I’m gay,” he proclaimed. The theater erupted in applause that rolled into a standing ovation of several minutes while mother and son embraced in tears. DeGeneres invited mother and her freshly out son to come on “Ellen,” her hit daytime talk show. As students and educators across the Bay Area shift into back-to-school mode, I urge we all make room for DeGeneres’ Friday night take-aways – compassion and acceptance. Research clearly indicates the benefits of a safe and positive school culture on student learning. The time couldn’t be more right for campus conversations and classroom lessons that engender compassion and lead to acceptance. The good news is that educators have more tools and resources than ever in supporting the diverse populations of students who walk into our classrooms. Such organizations as Facing History and Ourselves, No Bully, The Sojourn Project, Beyond Differences, GSA Network, Our Family Coalition, and many other regional and

national organizations provide educators with loads of resources, education, and training. County offices of education can also provide support and resources and often offer unique programs that support the needs of all youth. At the San Mateo County Office of Education for example, we provide resources through our countywide anti-bullying and civility initiative called RESPECT! 24/7. We have hosted convenings and seminars on youth suicide prevention, trauma informed classrooms, the gender spectrum, and restorative practices. We are proud to partner with the San Mateo County Pride Center and are looking forward to hosting a symposium for school advisers of genders and sexualities alliance clubs (GSA) this December. As we lean into the 2018-19 school year, it is showtime for the FAIR Education Act (2012), which ensures students learn about diverse groups of people, including groups who’ve been largely absent from K-12 history instruction. With the 2017 state Board of Education adoption of instructional materials, students should now be learning about the historical contributions of LGBT Americans and people with disabilities right alongside those of Native Americans, African-Americans, Mexican-Americans, AsianAmericans, Pacific Islanders, and European Americans. California has committed to the FAIR Act as essential for student success. Now we have to find the courage to stand up and proclaim it so within our local communities. Central to this leadership is the local county office of education, which, by prioritizing positive school climate as essential in achieving equity that leads to student success, can deploy resources to support local efforts. By doing so we not only teach every child compassion, we teach our communities as well.t Nancy A. Magee is the superintendent of schools-elect for San Mateo County.

Letters >>

Help needed in Massachusetts

August 23-29, 2018 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 7

The LGBTQ movement is facing a historic moment this November: our first statewide public vote on a transgender non-discrimination law, and it’s an all-hands-on-deck moment. A small but vocal group of anti-transgender activists have mounted an attack on the Massachusetts law protecting transgender people from discrimination in public places – a law that their governor signed just two years ago. LGBTQ supporters can win this campaign – but it’s also winnable for the opposition. Ten years ago, here in California, we faced a similar predicament. We didn’t think our neighbors, friends, and co-workers could possibly vote against our freedom to marry the person we love, but they did. Proposition 8 was a heartbreaking setback, and now our LGBTQ movement is faced with a similarly terrifying vote – but rather than marriage, it’s transgender rights; and rather than here at home, it’s across the country in Massachusetts. We need to unite as a movement and fight this together.

Our opponents are a small but vocal minority, and it takes a lot of resources to overcome their myths and lies. The single best way you can encourage Massachusetts voters to vote Yes On 3 is to donate $100, $50, $10, or any amount you can so that our team can talk to every single undecided voter. The campaign to vote Yes On 3 is organizing virtual phone banks to facilitate conversations with voters across the state, and they are even hosting folks on “volunteer vacations” who can travel to Massachusetts and volunteer directly with the campaign by going door-to-door and talking to voters about why transgender equality matters to them. Anyone can make a difference, no matter where you live. We can win this fight, but we need all hands on deck. Visit www.freedommassachusetts.org and help us win equality in Massachusetts and beyond. Let’s put our San Francisco values to work. Masen Davis Washington, D.C.

CA lawmakers criticize DeVos for failing trans students by Matthew S. Bajko

alifornia lawmakers and LGBT advocates are criticizing federal education officials for failing to protect transgender students. Their haranguing of the Department of Education and its secretary, Betsy DeVos, in particular, followed the publication last Saturday of an investigation by Politico that found the federal agency had refused to investigate at least five complaints of civil rights violations filed by transgender public school students who were discriminated against or harassed. The news site, using documents obtained through public records requests, determined that DeVos had ordered the department’s Office for Civil Rights to dismiss the students’ claims. At a news conference Monday in the state Capitol, Assemblyman Tony Thurmond (D-Richmond) called on DeVos to do her job as education secretary and protect the rights of all students, and especially transgender youth, enrolled in the country’s schools. “We call on her to carry out the duties she was appointed to carry out,” said Thurmond, who is running in November to be elected the state’s next superintendent of public instruction. Gay Assemblyman Evan Low (DCampbell), chair of the Legislative LGBT Caucus, said the Politico report was a “very stark” example of how DeVos has abdicated her responsibilities as education secretary. In a letter that Equality California sent to DeVos, the statewide LGBT advocacy group contended that it had “become increasingly clear” that when she uses the term “all students” it does not include transgender youth. “Such an egregious failure to protect transgender public school students from discrimination, bullying and harassment is a dereliction of your duty to enforce federal civil rights laws, but appears to be part of a larger campaign by the administration to dehumanize transgender Americans,” wrote EQCA Executive Director Rick Zbur in the letter, which was also signed by Thurmond and Low. In response to Politico’s story, the federal education agency issued a statement saying it is “committed to defending the civil rights of all students and ensuring all students have an equal opportunity to learn in an environment free from harassment and discrimination.” It added that it would continue to use “current law and current regulation to determine if any child in school is being harassed or discriminated against due to race, sex, or disability.”

Courtesy AP

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos

CA designates state memorial for LGBT vets

California this week became the first state in the country to designate an official LGBTQ veterans memorial. On Monday Governor Jerry Brown signed into law Assembly Bill 2439 by Assemblyman Eduardo Garcia (D-Coachella), which designates the LGBT veteran memorial erected by Cathedral City as the state’s official memorial for LGBTQ veterans. Gay vet Thomas “Tom” Swann Hernandez has long championed the idea. “Many of these heroes died in silence because they were forced to conceal their sexual orientation,” stated Hernandez in a news release issued earlier this year by Garcia’s office. Founder and Commander of American Veterans (AMVETS) Post 66 in Palm Springs, as well as the founder and current president of Veterans For Peace of the Inland Empire, Hernandez has pushed for the state honor for LGBT vets since 2001. Over that time he secured the endorsements of former Presidents Bill Clinton, George Bush, Barack Obama, and the late Gerald Ford. The California Department of Veteran Affairs, led by gay Secretary Dr. Vito Imbasciani, who was a surgeon in the U.S. Army Medical Corps, also backed the proposal, as did former governors Gray Davis and Arnold Schwarzenegger. According to Garcia’s office, Brown also wrote a letter in support. “This memorial will stand as a testament to the valiant contributions of our LGBT community in the service of the United States Military,” stated Garcia. The memorial is located at Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City.

East Bay Dems early endorse out candidates

The East Bay Stonewall Democrats, the LGBT political club for Alameda County, has early endorsed three out incumbents seeking re-election this November. Only those LGBTQ incumbents that filled out the club’s candidate

questionnaire were eligible to be considered for early endorsements. At its meeting Wednesday, August 15, the club lent its early support to lesbian Berkeley City Councilwoman Lori Droste, gay Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board member James Chang, and Oakland City Councilman Abel Guillén, who identifies as two spirit. All three are seeking re-election to their second, four-year terms in their respective offices. Droste, one of two out council members who holds the District 8 seat, lives with her wife, Carrie, and their two young children, Simon and Cora, in the Elmwood District. Running against her are planning commissioner and attorney Mary Kay Lacey, green transportation designer Russ Tilleman, and Alfred Twu, a designer and artist who is nonbinary. Chang, a gay man and the only LGBT person on the rent board, is one of eight people seeking five seats on the nine-person oversight body. Also running for re-election are Commissioners Paola Laverde and John T. Selawsky, its vice chair and chair respectively, while Maria Poblet, who was appointed to a vacant seat on the board this year, is seeking a full term. Also running are Soli Alpert, an aide to Berkeley City Councilwoman Kate Harrison, landscaper William B. Caldeira, investor and wine maker David H. Buchanan, and Berkeley library trustee Judy J. Hunt. Guillén is one of two out members on the Oakland council. He represents District 2, which includes Chinatown, Grand Lake, San Antonio, and Trestle Glen. Challenging Guillén this year is Nikki Fortunato Bas, executive director of the Partnership for Working Families. The daughter of immigrants from the Philippines, she would be Oakland’s first Filipina councilwoman. Also in the race is Donte Kenzie Smith, one of the black men reported to police by a white woman for having a barbecue at Lake Merritt in the spring. The Stonewall Club will vote on endorsing in other local races, including the Assembly District 15 contest between lesbian Richmond City Councilwoman Jovanka Beckles and former Obama administration staffer Buffy Wicks, at its meeting September 13. The club did not endorse either woman in the June primary, as neither they nor any of the other candidates was able to meet the 60 percent threshold required to secure its endorsement. t Web Extra: For more queer political news, be sure to check http:// www.ebar.com Monday mornings for Political Notes, the notebook’s online companion. This week’s column broke the news that SF school board incumbent Emily Murase failed to make the November ballot.

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8 • BAY AREA REPORTER • August 23-29, 2018

LGBT textbooks

<< Community News

Nina Chang, a spokeswoman for McGraw-Hill Education, explained that, “for competitive reasons,” the company does not “We haven’t seen these schools get disclose sales figures. on board with these new textbooks “McGraw-Hill Education’s Imyet. We have seen a lot of schools pact: California Social Studies, dragging their feet,” said Dominic a comprehensive series of social Le Fort, executive director of Queer studies programs, was approved Education, a year-old nonprofit for adoption by the California State that works with public and private Board of Education and, yes, there schools in southern California on are many school districts that are how to teach LGBT subjects. interested in these programs,” wrote The same is true with school disChang in an emailed reply. tricts in northern California, even Mark Jarrett, Ph.D., who lives in in the liberal Bay Area, according to the East Bay city of Lafayette and Our Family Coalition, a San Franowns First Choice Educational Pubcisco-based nonprofit that advocates lishing, was approved by the state to on behalf of LGBT families and has write an eighth grade history book. been working for years to get LGBT His “E Pluribus Unum: The Americurriculum into the state’s schools. can Pursuit of Liberty, Growth and “I think the challenging part is Equality, 1750-1900,” includes a we still have dissenting and opposhort two-page section titled “Gay, sitional voices in our communities Lesbian, and Bisexual Americans” that are creating barriers. There is Rick Gerharter that briefly mentions gay poet Walt still a lot of miseducation and fear Parents drop off their children for the first day of school at the Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy in the Whitman and lesbian social worker around inclusive education,” said Castro Monday, August 20. Jane Addams. Tarah Fleming, the agency’s educaA different section on pioneer tion director for the past nine years. women includes stagecoach driver In terms of school districts pur(D-San Francisco), which required and social science. history/social science textbooks that Charley Parkhurst, who was born chasing the LGBT-inclusive textschool districts to teach students “We work with our educators include the LGBT content. a woman but lived life as a man. It books, Fleming told the Bay Area about LGBT individuals and people to take the time to understand the John Sasaki, the district’s comwasn’t until Parkhurst died that those Reporter that most are “committed” with disabilities. After the bill’s pasframework. When we make a selecmunications director, told the who new him discovered that fact. to buying them but are just beginsage, educators and LGBT activists tion for new textbooks in history, it B.A.R. that the curriculum packAs Jarrett has promoted his textning the process to adopt them. developed curriculum standards to will be informed by the participation age included “consumable student book to educators, the response has “Ready to go definitely is not implement the FAIR Act. of our educators,” explained Stephens. workbooks and online resources” in largely been a lack of interest, he the words I would use,” said FlemThe final step was the approval of Currently, the district is rolling addition to the textbooks. told the B.A.R. in an interview. Most ing, who stressed, “it is going to be the textbooks, which school districts out new science textbooks in all of “During the 2017-18 school year, districts have informed him they a continuous rollout. Some schools can now purchase. They are allowed its schools, having begun the proOUSD conducted a piloting and won’t buy the book because they are doing it now and some schools to choose other materials, however, cess to update its science curriculum selection process for grades 6-8 and prefer to purchase ones that can be will take years.” as long as they include the required several years ago, noted Stephens. 4-5. Due to budget constraints, the used in sixth through eighth grades. LGBT content and other lesson This fall a group of teachers and disdistrict was only able to purchase “We are being totally ignored,” he First in the nation plans detailed in the state educatrict officials will begin evaluating updated materials – Pearson’s Mysaid. “Because we don’t have sixth or California last fall became the first tion agency’s History/Social Science the new history textbooks that inWorld curriculum – for grades 6-8,” seventh grade, many districts won’t state in the nation to approve textCurriculum Framework. corporate the LGBT lessons and will Sasaki told the B.A.R. “Because of even look at the book. Even though we books that include lessons about the One of the first school districts then make a recommendation on our current budget challenges, we are half the price of bigger publishers.” LGBT community and its history. in the Bay Area to buy the new which ones the district should buy. are trying to determine when we Most districts he has contacted The state Board of Education voted schoolbooks was the Oakland UniStephens predicted that the earliwill be able to purchase these matehave told him they are piloting or purin early November to approve 10 fied School District. Despite facing est they would make their way into rials for other grades.” chasing textbooks from other pubLGBTQ-inclusive history and social a multi-million dollar deficit, the classrooms would be at the start of On the Peninsula, the San Mateo lishers. This week, Jarrett reduced the studies textbooks for K-8 classrooms. East Bay district was able to allocate the 2020-2021 school year. In the County Office of Education in per-copy cost of his textbook by $10 The state board’s decision $1 million during the 2017-2018 meantime, he stressed that the city’s March hosted an instructional mato $38.95 in hopes of spurring more stemmed from the passage in 2011 of school year toward the purchase of schoolteachers have a wealth of terials fair for area schools. But it interest from school districts. the Fair, Accurate, Inclusive, and Reroughly 7,300 textbooks for stuLGBT lesson plans they can choose does not track what, if any, textbook “I think we have a unique treatspectful Education Act, authored by dents in grades six through eight from and use in their classrooms. purchases the individual districts ment for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and gay former state Senator Mark Leno and 200 teacher editions of the new “I would hate for any LGBT made, said Gary Waddell, a gay man transgender Americans. I would family or advocate to think those who is deputy superintendent of the hope the gay and lesbian communibooks represent the district’s only county education office’s instructy would say this is a good book and response to the needs of LGBT stutional services division. that districts should, at least, look at dents. They should feel confident “We have included the requireBelow Market Rate (BMR) it. I am quite disappointed,” he said. we have the tools we need to teach ments of the FAIR Education Act in Rental Apartments Available To assist educators in implementthis material,” said Stephens. “We our training with districts around ing the new LGBT-inclusive curare thinking of ways to infuse LGBT the new History/Social-Science riculum requirements, Our Family curriculum into all of our curricuFramework and have begun gathCoalition is hosting an inaugural lum rather than as a separate topic. ering and posting resources for “Make History, Teach History: An In my mind that is a more thorough districts to use digitally,” Waddell LGBTQ History Symposium” in response than thinking of this as a told the B.A.R. “Our HSS team is in 150 Van Ness Apartments at 150 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco in October. Attendstand-alone topic for a few weeks in planning process to deliver training San Francisco CA 94102 ees will receive sample lesson plans the year. We want to have it show up specific to the FAIR educational act and one-on-one coaching on how throughout the school year.” and LGBTQ-inclusive materials.” 3-Studios at $1140.00 a month; 27-1 Beds @ $1303.00 a month; to mitigate and address potential The county office expects that a 18-2 Beds at $1465.00 and 2-3 Beds at$1628.00 month. concerns from parents or school Slow to purchase books number of the districts within its juadministrators. It is unclear how many of the risdiction are going through inter21 stacker parking spaces (size restrictions apply) available to BMR The agency expects all 150 slots new LGBT-inclusive textbooks nal processes to select materials this renters for an additional $100 a month and will be offered to housefor the conference will fill up and is have been bought by school disyear. Typically, explained Waddell, holds in lottery rank order. Must be income eligible and must not own planning to hold a similar sympotricts around the state. The B.A.R. districts utilize a materials seleca home. Households must earn no more than the maximum income sium next spring in Los Angeles for contacted the seven history-social tion process where a committee of levels below: southern California educators. science instructional materials pubteachers review and evaluate various “They are definitely interested lishers approved by the state, and textbooks on a number of criteria 55% of Area Median Income in having the conversations about just three responded to requests for and then take a recommendation to One person - $45,600; 2 persons - $52,100; the textbooks, how to use the textcomment for this article. their district leaders on which ones 3 persons - $58,600; 4 persons - $65,100; books, and how to get professional Melody Anderson, the chief marto purchase. 5 persons-$70,300, 6 persons-$75,550, development for their teachers to keting officer for Studies Weekly, “Local districts in San Mateo 7 persons-$80,750.00 Market Rate (BMR) Rental Apartments Available Below Market Rate (BMR) Rental ApartmentsBelow Available be literate about the content in the said she could not provide exact County are selecting and piloting 150 Van Apartments at 150 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco CA 94102 150 Van Ness Apartments at 150 Van Ness Avenue, SanNess Francisco CA 94102 textbooks,” said Fleming of Bay sales information. She would only materials now from the new materiApplications mustabe received27-1 by 5pm on @ August 24, 2018. 3-Studios $1140.00 month; 27-1 Bedsand @ $1303.00 Beds at leaders.t 3-Studios at $1140.00 month; Beds $1303.00 a at month; 18-2aBeds at $1465.00 2-3 Beds a atmonth; 18-2 Beds at $1465.00 and 2-3Area school disclose that within the Bay Area als,” he said. $1628.00 month. Postmarks will not be considered. Apply online through DAHLIA, $1628.00 month. counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, the SF Housing Portal at https://housing.sfgov.org or mail in a paper Our SFUSD Marin, San $100 21 stacker apply) to BMR Napa, rentersSan for Francisco, an additional a Family Coalition’s symposium 21 stackerapplication parking spaces (size restrictions apply) available to BMRspaces renters(size for restrictions an additional $100available a with a self-addressed stamped envelope to: parking Thehouseholds San Francisco School Mateo, Clara,eligible Solano,and and month willMust be offered to inUnified lottery rank order. Must Santa be income must will not take own place Friday, October 12. month and will be offered households in lottery rankand order. be income eligible and must not own 150toVAN NESS BMR, It is also hosting its seventh annua home. Households must earn no more than the maximum income levels below: District, whose students returned Sonoma, 70 school districts had a home. Households earn more than maximum income levels below: P.O. Boxmust 420847, Sanno Francisco, CA the 94142. al LGBTQ Inclusive Kindergarten to classrooms this week, has not purchased curriculum from the and Preschool Fair next Thursday, of Area Median Income 55% of Area Median Income can be downloaded 55% purchased any of the new history company. Paper applications from August 30, at the San Francisco One person $45,600; 2 persons $52,100; 3 persons $58,600; 4 persons $65,100; 5 personsOne person - $45,600; 2 persons - $52,100; 3 persons - $58,600; 4 persons - $65,100; personstextbooks for use 5during the 2018“Studies Weekly is in full complihttps://housing.sfgov.org or picked up from one of the housing Day School. More information $70,300, 6 persons-$75,550, 7 persons-$80,750.00 $70,300, 6 persons-$75,550, 7 persons-$80,750.00 2019 academic year. However, for a ance with California’s LGBTQ+ socounseling agencies listed at about both events can be found number of5pm yearsonnow, its teachers cial studies curriculum framework, https://housing.sfgov.org/housing-counselors. online at http://www.ourfamily. Applications must be received August 24, 2018. Postmarks will not be considered. Apply Applications must be received by 5pm on August 24, 2018. Postmarks will notby be considered. Apply used LGBT instructional maengaging in fair and equitable org/index.php. through DAHLIA,have the SF https://housing.sfgov.org or mail in a covpaper application online through DAHLIA, the SF Housing Portal online at https://housing.sfgov.org or Housing mail in a Portal paper at application terials in their classrooms that the erage. Not only do we have the CA Please contact the 150 VAN NESS leasing team with a self-addressed stamped envelope to 150 VAN NESS BMR, P.O. Box 420847, San Francisco, CA with a self-addressed stamped envelope to 150 VAN NESS BMR, P.O. Box 420847, San Francisco, CA district generated its own in Board of Education’soracceptance for more information at (916) 686-4126 94142. Paper applications can has be downloaded from https://housing.sfgov.org picked upoffrom The one GLBT of Historical Society, 94142. Paper applications can be downloaded from https://housing.sfgov.org or picked up on from one of or agencies bmr@150vanness.com. partnership withat education experts our social content, we even made the housing counseling agencies listed https://housing.sfgov.org/housing-counselors. Please contact which is partnering with Our Famthe housing counseling listed at https://housing.sfgov.org/housing-counselors. Please contact the 150atVAN NESS leasing for more information at (916) 686-4126or ily Coalition on the symposiums, andteam community consultants, noted changes for the bmr@150vanness.com. adoption based on the 150 VAN NESS leasing team for more information (916) 686-4126or bmr@150vanness.com. will host its own forum on teachUnits available through the spokeswoman Laura Dudnick. the suggestions of the FAIR Act available throughand the San Francisco Mayor’s Office Housing replied and Community Development and history in California ing LGBTQ Units available through the SanMayor’s Francisco of Housing Development and ofCoalition,” San Francisco Office Mayor’s of Units Office In Community an interview with the B.A.R. Anderson. “We are subject to monitoring and other restrictions. Visit www.sfmohcd.org for board program are subject to monitoring and other restrictions. Visit www.sfmohcd.org for program information. classrooms Wednesday, September Housing and Community Development Brent Stephens, the district’s chief have a diversity thatinformation. reviews 26, at its GLBT History Museum in and are subject to monitoring andother restrictions. academic officer, said that San Franour scope in pre-production and San Francisco’s Castro district. cisco educators have been working reviews our legacy content so we For more information and tickets, Visit www.sfmohcd.org for program information. the last few years to ensure their lesmay continually revise our materivisit https://bit.ly/2OP8loW. son plans are in alignment with the als to reflect the growing inclusivity state’s revised framework for history movement in our society.” From page 1

Community News>>

August 23-29, 2018 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 9

Facebook prevents historical society from boosting post by David-Elijah Nahmod

he GLBT Historical Society, which operates the GLBT History Museum in the Castro, has been banned from boosting a post on Facebook. This is the second time in less than a year that the historical society has had issues with Facebook postings. “Facebook censorship in action: We’ve attempted to promote a post about our educational forum on the history and current state of transgender rights activism coming up (at the museum) Wednesday evening, August 22, only to be blocked from doing so,” the historical society wrote on its Facebook page August 16. Last year, the GLBT Historical Society saw its ad calling for volunteers at the Folsom Street Fair rejected. As the Bay Area Reporter noted in a story at the time; the Folsom ad featured the words “We Need You” in large block lettering, with the words “Folsom volunteers for Queer History Sign Up Today!” in smaller letters underneath. Logos for the historical society and the fair also appeared in opposite corners of the ad. A second ad, a video posted to Facebook-owned Instagram, was also rejected last year. Though barechested leather men were part of the Facebook ad, no nudity or suggestive language was included. Both ads were reinstated after the historical society appealed the decision. GLBT Historical Society Executive Director Terry Beswick told the B.A.R. that the current ad was an event listing for a community forum at the GLBT History Museum titled “Fighting Back: Transgender Rights Activism.” “Your ad was not approved because your page has not been authorized to run ads with political content,” the historical society was informed via an automated Facebook notice. The historical society was given the option to complete the authorization process and appeal the decision. Beswick claims that the ad has nothing to do with electoral politics but rather a program on a movement for human rights. “Almost every event we do at the museum could be perceived as being political by some robot or person who doesn’t understand what it is that we do,” Beswick told the B.A.R. “We’re in the business of educating the LGBT community and our supporters about our history and culture. We do a forum every month called ‘Fighting Back.’ The purpose of the series is to look at a contemporary issue in a historical context.” Beswick noted that, as a nonprofit, the historical society is limited on how much it can spend on electoral politics. “The IRS has regulations on nonprofits,” he said. “You can only spend a negligible portion of your budget on electoral politics or political campaigns. In this instance it has nothing to do with that anyway.” According to Beswick, the historical society is being asked to register as an organization that can post political content. “You can appeal the decision but it will be too late,” he said. “The event will be over.” In order to register to post political ads, Facebook requires I.D., a home address, and the last four digits of the Social Security number of the person

registering. Facebook will then send, via postal mail, a code. The person must then go back online and enter the code. “We don’t really want to be authorized to post political content because we don’t do politics,” said Beswick. Beswick feels that these issues are Facebook’s reaction to the congressional and special counsel investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. Published reports have indicated that Russia targeted hundreds of ads on Facebook to swing the election to Donald Trump.

“They’re throwing the baby out with the bathwater,” said Beswick. “They don’t care about losing our $20 or about losing an ad over transgender rights. What they do care about is Congress holding a hearing about their involvement in the 2016 presidential campaign. The fear on the part of our organization, and other organizations, is that this is homophobia at work but we can’t prove that. All we can say is that LGBT content is being repeatedly censored.” Beswick added that he was frustrated

at having to spend time on this issue. “The issue of transgender rights is so important right now,” he said. “They’re the community that’s under the greatest duress, and so this event is part of trying to learn from our history so we can make progress in the fight for transgender rights.” The B.A.R. received a message from Facebook representative Devon Kearns. “People want more transparency around ads with political content and those touching on issues of national

importance,” Kearns said. “We are certainly not trying to create unnecessary hurdles for people on Facebook, but we are asking that people wanting to run ads with this content get authorized, then disclose who paid for the ad before it runs.” Beswick said that he has a message for Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. “Give me a call,” Beswick said. “I’ll be happy to give you a tour of our museum and explain the importance of LGBTQ history.” t

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<< Community News

10 • BAY AREA REPORTER • August 23-29, 2018

City College slow to develop LGBT equity plan by Alex Madison

ast year, LGBT students were required to be included in all California community college equity plans for the first time, but City College of San Francisco seems to have not made much headway. The legislation, Assembly Bill 1018, signed by Governor Jerry Brown, required that LGBT and homeless students be included in the colleges’ equity plans they are required to develop in order to receive Student Success Funding from the state. City College of San Francisco’s 2015 equity plan outlined ways it is serving LGBT students, but it has not released its most recent equity plan to the Bay Area Reporter. Community colleges are required to provide an equity plan every three years to the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s office. The extent of LGBT students mentioned in the college’s 2015 equity plan includes the Queer Resource Center, counseling services, and its Queer Studies Program and correlating textbooks. The college is not required to submit its next equity plan until the 2019-2020 fiscal year. The college would not make anyone available to speak with the B.A.R. Instead, it provided a statement from its Student Equity Team. “Our teams are analyzing the most up-to-date data and working to identify impact related to LGBTQ+ students, as well as homeless students, with the goal to allocate pertinent resources that target the specific needs for the students,” read a statement from City College’s Student Equity Team in an email to the B.A.R. Tom Temprano, a gay man who sits on the City College board, said it’s important that the college identify more specifically what the needs of the LGBT students are on campus, though he feels the college is “ahead of the curve,” in terms of serving the LGBT

Rick Gerharter

Students walk pass the Rosenberg Library on the main campus of City College of San Francisco.

population. Temprano mentioned the board has not been given an update on the college’s equity plan since last year and that he looks forward to knowing where it stands in addressing the needs of the LGBT students on campus. Referring to the equity plan, he said, it’s important to consider the intersectionality of the college’s LGBT students, including homeless LGBT and undocumented students. In San Francisco, nearly one-third of the homeless population identifies as LGBT. “It’s important to continue to identify additional resources we can target toward LGBT students, with an emphasis on housing insecurity and the undocumented queer students,” Temprano said in an interview with the B.A.R. Temprano would also like to see the Queer Resource Center, located at the college’s Ocean Campus, be open all year. Currently, the center closes during the summer semester. He also mentioned the possibility of opening another LGBT resource center on a different City College campus. The summer closing of the Queer Resource Center sparked outrage among some LGBT students on campus after the death of 22-year-old transgender student Daine Grey, who

killed himself in July. Grey frequently attended the center. After his death, the center was open for a couple of weeks to assist students. Some students said they have been fighting for more resources for the LGBT community on campus for a long time and say LGBT bullying on campus is a frequent occurrence. Lady Katerina, a City College student and lab technician at the Queer Resource Center, told the B.A.R. the resource center doesn’t receive enough funding to adequately serve its students. The center’s budget is handled by the Associated Student Council, whose own budget is reliant on a $5, one-time fee that students pay when they register. “We should have funding to take care of our students,” Lady Katerina, 36, who identifies as pansexual, intersex, and two spirit, said. “According to administrators, we have to get approval for every fundraiser we do outside of school and we keep getting roadblocks. Too many rules make it almost impossible to do anything to actually benefit our students in a great way.” Lady Katerina would also like to see more transitional resources, particularly for trans students, like professional development skills, getting help to secure a job, and financial management. Leadership summits, empowerment training, and self-defense classes are among the thing she feels the LGBT community is in need of on campus. Another student who also works at the Queer Resource Center is Angelica Campos, 22, who chose not to state how she identifies. Campos said the closing of the resource center during summer semester is a “major problem.” “They can’t fund it all on their own,” Campos said, referring to the Associated Student Council. “There’s definitely an uproar that there needs to be more funding. The administration needs to contribute more.” She said LGBT students want an LGBT-specific counselor to be

available at the resource center. There is currently an LGBT counselor at the college’s health center, but Campos said LGBT students are sometimes afraid or ashamed going to the health center to see a mental health specialist. At the resource center, students would feel safer seeking mental health services, she said. She would also like to see more partnerships between the college and LGBT organizations like the San Francisco LGBT Community Center.

Some progress

The college has taken some steps to help meet the needs of LGBT students on campus. It implemented a chosen name policy last year that allows transgender students to have their preferred names appear on class rosters, emails, online courses, and hopefully, in the future, student ID cards. Years ago, City College was also the first institution to develop a queer studies department in the United States, according to its website. Last September was the first time that City College, and all California community colleges, received more extensive data on their LGBT students, which may influence the amount of funding dedicated to LGBT students in future equity plans, according to Rhonda Mohr, vice chancellor for the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s office. Last year, Mohr attended an LGBT summit focused on how to expand campus resources for LGBT students held at UC Riverside. “At the summit, the biggest need was getting the data available to the colleges,” Mohr said. “Closing the achievement gap is really about setting up the data in the system to allow us to start measuring aggregated achievement.” This data enables community colleges to allocate more funding from their equity plans specifically to LGBT students on campus, said Laura Metune, vice chancellor for governmental relations for the California Community

Colleges Chancellor’s office. “If research behind the equity plan discovers that the LGBT population is not getting a higher success rate, the colleges might use equity funding to provide an LGBT resource center or use it to educate other student populations about the LGBT community,” she said. For any student applying for community college in California, their application is run through a system in the California Community College’s Chancellor’s office that aggregates data from those applications to then be distributed back to the community colleges. A question regarding LGBT identity was added in response to the Equality and Equal Access in Higher Education Act of 2011. The act requires community colleges to adopt and publish policies on harassment, intimidation, and bullying along with the designation of an employee at each respective campus as a point of contact to address the needs of LGBT faculty, staff, and students. The Student Success Funding for fiscal years 2018-19 for community colleges was $175 million, the same as it was last year. This is because the state consolidated the funding of three programs including: Student Success Funding, Student Equity Program, and Basic Skills Initiative, to make the new Student Equity Achievement Program. The state is still configuring its allocation due to the consolidation so distributed the same amount of equity funding to the colleges, according to Mohr. The colleges are required to submit a full equity plan to the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s office in the 2019-2020 fiscal year, although due to lack of resources, Mohr doesn’t see that continuing in the future. “I don’t see us requiring the colleges to submit full plans to us anymore. We don’t have resources to review them,” she said.t

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<< Obituaries

12 • BAY AREA REPORTER • August 23-29, 2018

Gay antiwar activist David McReynolds dies

by Liz Highleyman

Mr. McReynolds ran for congressional office ongtime peace and in New York in 1958 and justice advocate David 1968, and campaigned McReynolds, the first openly for president on the Sogay man to run for president cialist Party USA ticket of the United States, died twice, in 1980 and 2000. August 17 in New York City. “I’m trying to present Call Now to Mr. McReynolds died the concept of socialism, Make an Appointment in the hospital after falling put it back in the AmeriCourtesy Lee Mentley with a Wallbed Expert! at his home, according to David McReynolds can dialogue. I think it friends. He was 88. has a right to be in,” he “David McReynolds led told Amy Goodman 2 Convenient Locations an extraordinary life of principled opon Democracy Now during the 2000 550 15th Street position and organizing for decades,” campaign. “I’m tired of hearing we’re Suite #2 gay longtime social justice activist Bill anti-imperialist, anti-racist, and so on, San Francisco Dobbs told the Bay Area Reporter. and not know what we’re for. And I am 415-854-7748 “He waged a helluva fight against war for democratic socialism, an idea as old and greed. At turns a gentle pacifist as 1901, when the party was founded. It 2515 S. El Camino Real and irascible, McReynolds made a goes back to the last century. ... It’s not San Mateo mark with a lifetime of principled acrooted in Moscow or Lenin.” 650-264-9541 tivism for a humane world.” Mr. McReynolds would later run Newly Designed Location Mr. McReynolds was born October for Senate on the Green Party ticket Accessories and More From 25, 1929 in Los Angeles and raised in in 2004 against New York Democrat a Baptist family. In his teens, he was a Chuck Schumer. member of the Prohibition Party. Addressing Schumer’s opposition Largest Selection of Murphy Wallbeds In Town! SFMurphyBeds.com In the early 1950s, Mr. McReynolds to same sex-marriage, Mr. McReynbecame part of a radical bohemian cirolds quipped, “I don’t understand cle at UCLA, where he studied political why gays and lesbians shouldn’t suffer from the same angst, anxiety, tribulaWallbeds_053118.indd 1 5/30/18 10:46 AM science. It was there that he met his first boyfriend, Alvin Ailey, who would later tions and trials of marriage which, become a noted dancer and choreogyou know, heterosexuals have to go rapher, in a campus bathroom. Mr. through. Why should we be exempt McReynolds later recalled that Ailey from these problems?” was the first person he had met who Although he acknowledged that wasn’t ashamed about being gay. he was gay and was friends with gay Mr. McReynolds joined the Socialluminaries such as Allen Ginsberg, ist Party in 1951. In the mid-1950s he Quentin Crisp, and Bayard Rustin, moved to New York City, where he Mr. McReynolds appeared conflicted worked on the editorial staff of Libabout his gay identity. He eschewed eration magazine. He was a member identity politics, had no interest in gay of the staff of the War Resisters League culture, and had little involvement in from 1960 until his retirement in 1999. gay movement activism. Mr. McReynolds was best known “I don’t think homosexuality is for his antiwar activism, starting with ‘normal’ any more than I think my draft resistance during the Korean brown eyes are ‘normal’ or my height War. With Catholic Worker activist of 6’ 3” is ‘normal.’ Normal is a matter Dorothy Day, he protested mandaof a norm within a society. Natural is tory civil defense drills, refusing to another matter altogether,” he wrote take shelter as directed. In November in a 2008 issue of New Politics devot1965 he participated in one of the first ed to the gay movement and the left. public draft card burnings in New “I believe the curve of nature is to reYork’s Union Square. Unlike his fellow produce, and for this purpose, a good activists, he avoided arrest because he bit of heterosexuality is essential. But was then too old for the draft. in the whole of the animal kingdom Mr. McReynolds traveled widely there is always, also, a remarkable over the years. He visited Hanoi and display of homosexuality. It ain’t the Saigon during the Vietnam War, was norm, but it is very natural.” Main line service up to 100’, with access point. Warranty included. May not be combined with other offers. in Prague during the Soviet invasion “Long before Stonewall, way back in Service limited to San Francisco County resident, 8am to 7pm. to quash reforms in 1968, helped or1949, David carved out a gay life and A locally owned and operated franchise. Lic# 974194 ganize protests that ended in a violent later broke ground as an openly gay crackdown outside the 1968 Demopresidential candidate,” Dobbs said. www.MrRooter-SFO.com cratic National Convention in Chi“As an out gay man, McReynolds was cago, and visited Iraq in the lead-up to active, and often, in the lead on many the Gulf War. important matters. GLBT issues,

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however, were not a priority for him and at times he was ambivalent or even confounded by community concerns.” Longtime friend Steve Ault told the B.A.R. that Mr. McReynolds recalled that during the Stonewall riots in June 1969, he and his East Village buddies Ginsberg and Dave Van Ronk decided to check things out. Unlike Mr. McReynolds and Ginsberg, Van Ronk – the only one who was not gay – joined in the melee and was arrested. Mr. McReynolds was an author and an avid photographer of people and nature. His worked appeared in many movement publications, the Village Voice, and a book of essays entitled “We Have Been Invaded by the 21st Century” (1970). In 2011, gay historian Martin Duberman wrote a joint biography of Mr. McReynolds and lesbian activist Barbara Deming, aiming to demonstrate that some prominent 20th century social movement activists were gay. At a book party for the biography, Mr. McReynolds said, “First, do not be dismayed that we are in such troubled times. Large numbers of Americans seem impressed by Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, or Donald Trump. ... Even in defeat we are victorious, for we have given our lives a meaning others should envy. In struggling for something greater than ourselves, we will be transformed.” Mr. McReynolds frequently held salons for friends and comrades at his East Village apartment, which was filled with exotic bromeliads, perfume vials, and pet cats. Despite his age, he embraced new technology and was an avid email correspondent and social media user. Friends remembered Mr. McReynolds as sometimes argumentative but always principled. “I didn’t always agree with everything he said, but he was always principled. He spoke both from the heart and the head,” lifelong peace and justice organizer Leslie Cagan told the B.A.R. “There are a lot of people who do a lot of work over the years, but the term ‘long-distance runner’ really applied to David. Even as he got older and it was harder for him to get around, he was always attentive to what was going on in the world. Even as his on-the-street activism had to slow down, he was always present.” Mr. McReynolds is survived by his brother, Martin McReynolds, and sister, Elizabeth Gralewski. A memorial is currently being planned, according to friends. t

Gay man found guilty of stalking ex-boyfriend by Alex Madison

gay man was found guilty of stalking and domestic violence against his ex-partner Friday in San Francisco Superior Court. Joshua Elliott, 45, of San Francisco, will be sentenced September 21. A San Francisco Superior Court jury deliberated for five hours and returned its verdict Friday, August 17, the district attorney’s office said in a news release. According to court records, Elliott was living with his partner for two months in 2017 before the partner broke off the relationship due to Elliott’s possessive and controlling behavior, the DA’s office stated. An investigation by the San Francisco Police Department special victims unit found that Elliott purchased a GPS tracking device in December 2017 and attached it to the victim’s car. The device is marketed to law enforcement personnel and civilians with interests in spyware and allows users to monitor its physical location. Multiple incidents of stalking ensued, including Elliott appearing at the location where the victim was at his home in San Pablo, his work, his

relative’s residences, and followed him while driving. In one incident in February 2018, the defendant followed the victim to work and waited for him in the parking lot. The victim then approached Elliott and recorded the incident on his cellphone. When Elliott noticed the victim recording him he “attacked the victim in an effort to get his phone. A struggle ensued, during which the victim sustained minor wounds to his hand and back,” stated the news release. “This victim was absolutely terrorized by his stalker, he was living in fear,” said District Attorney George Gascón in the news release. “I commend him for getting out of an abusive relationship, and I urge anyone living in fear to come forward and to contact authorities. We are here to help.” The victim eventually discovered the GPS tracking device on his vehicle in February, but did not immediately remove it as to not warrant any violent action by Elliott. Then, on March 9, Elliott sent a threatening text message to the victim saying, “Today was the day,” and that this particular day marked the

“turning point.” According to the news release, the victim assumed this meant Elliott was planning his final attack and permanently removed the tracking device from his vehicle. A string of incidents occurred on March 21 and 22 in which Elliott waited for the victim at his work parking lot. The victim called police and Elliott fled. The next morning, Elliott was parked at the victim’s work, but again fled before police arrived. Elliott was subsequently arrested on a DA warrant. The data revealed that Elliott was monitoring the victim’s mother’s home in Georgetown, California, the victim’s trailer area, the victim’s place of business, the victim’s grandparent’s home, and a victim’s friend’s home in Roseville, California. “We all have the freedom to decide who we want to be with,” Assistant District Attorney Courtney Burris, who prosecuted the case, said in the news release. “But when a decision to end a relationship is met with threats, harassment and intimidation, that is criminal, and there will be consequences.” Superior Court Judge Ethan Schulman presided over the case. t

Commentary>>

August 23-29, 2018 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 13

Tactics need to change in countering fascists by Christina A. DiEdoardo

of antifa and the Black Bloc who refused to go along with the retreat plan and kept trying to enter the park. By day’s end, the overwhelming majority of those under arrest were antifascists, and the BPD wasted no time in providing fascist doxers with a gold mine of personal information by tweeting their mug shots and government names.

o mark the first anniversary of the martyrdom of Heather Heyer, who was killed after a fascist allegedly struck her with his car in Charlottesville, Virginia at last year’s Unite the Right rally, anti-fascists around the country called for a heightened level of militant direct actions using the #AllOutAugust hashtag on Twitter and other social media against fascist events taking place in August. In the Bay Area, actions at the start and end of the month provided stark examples of how much the situation has changed in a year – and why our tactics in countering the fascists need to change too.

Back to Berkeley

On August 5, trans woman and Donald Trump supporter Amber Cummings brought her anti-Marxism protest to Berkeley’s Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park, despite Joey Gibson of Patriot Prayer staying away. Given that Gibson lost both his hat and his selfrespect when he tried to cross antifa lines in Berkeley last year (and ended up being taken into protective custody by Berkeley police), it’s not surprising he preferred not to come back. Even so, a coalition of local groups like Berkeley Antifa and By Any Means Necessary and area affiliates of national organizations such as Refuse Fascism Bay Area, the Freedom Socialist Party, and the Democratic Socialists of America planned a massive response, but decided to try something different. Instead of assembling where the fascists were expected to be, as has been the practice at every other counterdemonstration, organizers asked people to rally at Ohlone Park, which is about a third of a mile away, and march over. I rode over with some comrades from the FSP and by the time we got

Christina A. DiEdoardo

Berkeley police in riot gear form a perimeter around fascist and anti-Marxist demonstrators in Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park on August 5.

to Ohlone Park, the signs were apparent that there were some snags in this plan. For one thing, organizers – most of whom appeared to be DSA-affiliated by their gear and flags – were congregated on the sidewalks because Berkeley police had occupied Ohlone Park and were denying them entry. For another, despite the vulnerabilities caused by a conglomeration of people on a narrow sidewalk, most of whom were hesitant to mask up given the city of Berkeley’s inconsistent statements about a mask ban, nobody seemed to be watching the flanks – allowing fascists in cars and on foot to get still and video footage of protesters, presumably for doxing purposes. With a friend, I walked over to Civic Center Park, where Refuse Fascism and BAMN had things well in hand. Refuse Fascism and Revolution Books wisely occupied the area around the fountain, where Cummings’ group was supposed to rally. Cummings ultimately managed to bring out 25 people – in sharp contrast to the several hundred fascists who attended the second and third Battles of Berkeley last year – and Refuse Fascism and BAMN had little trouble keeping them corralled until the Berkeley police directly intervened on the side of the fascists to a degree I’ve never seen in the last two years. First, the police barred entry to the park to anyone who wasn’t part of Cummings’ group. Second, officers turned a blind eye to assaults

and batteries committed by those on Cummings’ side, while gang-tackling an antifascist who simply swatted away a fascist streamer’s camera. I remember the latter incident well, because the police hit me from behind for no apparent reason. When I turned around and saw an officer almost frothing with rage in full riot gear, all I could say was “What the fuck, man?” His partner then started waving his arms and saying, “You’re OK! You’re OK!” which seemed to be more for his buddy’s benefit than mine. Maybe he’s a fan of the column? Meanwhile, based on what I could determine later, around this time our comrades at Ohlone Park were making repeated efforts to pierce the police blockade of the park, though unfortunately without success. At that point, a rumor started that Cummings’ group was about 10 times as large as it really was, which reportedly caused some organizers to try to convince people to return to Ohlone Park. I don’t fault the organizers for having bad information in a fluid situation, especially where cell service is spotty. When Berkeley police fired flashbangs to force our comrades back from their barricades, it looked to me that they had deployed tear gas (it’s an easy mistake to make if you’re not within olfactory range, as both go bang and both release white smoke), for example. However, even if the information had been correct, abandoning comrades in action against the fascists and the police is never the correct decision. Kudos are due to those members

San Jose knows the way

On August 18, fascists thought they’d take advantage of the Worldcon science fiction and fantasy convention at the San Jose Convention Center to do an action “against far-left violence.” Or maybe it was “against pedophilia in fandom.” Or because they liked Trump. It’s hard to say, as organizers set up multiple dummy event listings on Facebook for the same time and location, apparently so they could claim afterward the rally was for whatever was most convenient. Of course, the good comrades at No Hate in San Jose had other ideas. A coalition of around 50-60 antifa, Black Bloc, crust punks, and yours truly outnumbered the initial fascist turnout by 10-1. In short order, the San Jose Police Department brought in barricades and ordered us back behind them – while allowing the fascists to wander around a few hundred feet away at the other end of San Carlos Avenue, until the police apparently got tired of us yelling about that and barricaded them in too. While the fascists’ numbers were bolstered late in the day by a band of Three Percenters, an anti-government group that loves guns and hates Muslims, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, the conflict never quite got beyond a duel of megaphones – which the fascists lost, bigly – until the event broke up around 4 p.m.

Going forward

What happened in Berkeley and San Jose is happening across the country, as we see from reports of recent actions from Boston to Seattle,

and shows how much things have changed in a year. First, the fascists seem to have lost the ability to turn out large numbers of people at these events. Efforts by antifascists to expose their opposite numbers and put pressure on their employers is bearing fruit, which is causing some fascist organizers to plead with their minions not to attend mass actions, as they’re likely to get named, shamed, and outnumbered by antifa. Second, police departments around the country – with Berkeley and Portland being infamous examples – have apparently decided that since the fascists are too weak to move without massive police assistance, they will explicitly intervene on the side of the fascists while their political masters claim they are “protecting free speech.” In my view, this is a major strategic error for them, as the longer it goes on the clearer it will be to even the most hopeful liberal behind rosecolored glasses that the police are the foot soldiers of the regime who prefer the company of racists and bigots to those who oppose them. As a police abolitionist, I’m fine with this, but I suspect those who whack me in the back and shoot protesters in Portland in the head with “non-lethal” munitions have a different view. On a tactical, short-term level, though, heightened levels of police involvement mean anti-fascist tactics need to change. While it will always be necessary for a main body to contest ground – specifically, ground where the fascists are at or are going to, rather than ground where they aren’t, like Ohlone Park – there needs to be a greater use of small mobile groups as well to confront the fascists where they and their police collaborators don’t expect the battle to happen. Of course, for that to happen, people need to keep organizing – and keep showing up. t Got a tip? Email me at christina@ diedoardolaw.com.

World championship planned for LGBT basketball by Roger Brigham

Player registrations are open for the fall season. Interested players should go to http://www.sfgsl.org for information.

ay Games historians speak of the event’s ability to bring together a “critical mass” of international LGBT competitors in almost every sport to create the numbers and inspiration to form new championship tournaments and governing bodies. Little surprise, then, when basketball activists, gathered in Paris this month for the Gay Games, announced the inaugural World Gay Basketball Championship will be held in 2020. The championship has a logo, a website under construction (http:// www.gaybasketball.org), and a Facebook page (search for “lgbtqbasketball”). What it does not yet have, but hopes to have soon, are a host city and specific dates. “Meeting every four years doesn’t allow players to build and maintain the bonds formed at the Gay Games,” Mark Chambers, president of the National Gay Basketball Association, told the Bay Area Reporter. “The WGBC will give players the opportunity to see each other in a more intimate setting geared to promoting community, friendship, and great competition, which will make coming together for the Gay Games an even greater experience.” Organizers want to create a body that will facilitate global connections with the sport. “The hope is that an international basketball body will form over the next 12 months that will lay out the foundation for international competitions that everyone can agree on,” Chambers said. “It is time for

Powerlifting plans Gay Games return

Courtesy Facebook

National Gay Basketball Association President Mark Chambers

an international body to represent LGBTQ basketball and bring players together. Many countries have tournaments, but unless a player is connected to someone in the host city, the information is not distributed wide enough. The WGBC will allow all players to get information from all corners in one place.”

Softball teams ready for World Series

With several local teams preparing for this year’s Gay Softball World Series, to be held September 3-8 in Tampa, Florida, the San Francisco Gay Softball League held its end of season party Saturday, August 19, in Golden Gate Park. The league inducted Ritchie Rios and Robert Siefert into its Hall of Fame.

The sport of powerlifting, which in the Gay Games has long been a complicated production, was left out of plans for the Gay Games completed this month in Paris but should return to the fold in time for the 2022 event in Hong Kong. “We are delighted with discussions that have taken place and the LGBT Powerlifting Union has agreed to assist the next Gay Games host city Hong Kong to deliver and promote their powerlifting event,” Chris Morgan, co-president of the union, said. “Of course, we are disappointed not to have been able to participate in these Gay Games in Paris, but we are looking forward and growing stronger as a group each year ahead of the next Gay Games in Hong Kong.” In previous Gay Games, powerlifting was sanctioned by an association that required strict drug-testing following rules used by the World Anti-Doping Agency for elite competitive athletes. Those rules allow for therapeutic-use exemptions that require major documentation and repeated testing, but make no allowance for some AIDSrelated conditions, such as steroids used to combat facial wasting. This was increasingly seen by the Federation of

Gay Games and its host cities as interfering with the mission to make sports as inclusive as possible and especially impacted HIV-positive athletes. Registrations for powerlifting plummeted with the 2010 event in Cologne, and the sport was salvaged by the Cleveland Gay Games in 2014, only at the last minute when a local club stepped in to help with the event. The Paris omission stimulated efforts within the sport to create a new organization to support the Gay Games mission and help run the quadrennial tournaments. The LGBT Powerlifting Union ran its inaugural world championship in 2017 then held its second one in London shortly before the

Paris Gay Games, introducing an MX third-gender category to encourage participation by transgender, nonbinary, and intersex athletes. The 2019 championship is scheduled for July 19-21 in Blackpool, United Kingdom. For more information on the union and the world championships, visit http://www.lgbtpowerlifting.org.

Afro Games 2018

The 2018 Afro Games will be held December 9-14 in South Africa to promote the rights of LGBT individuals in Africa. Sports competitions will include track and field, swimming, and field events such as rugby, soccer, and volleyball. For information, visit the AfroGames2018 Facebook page or email info4afrogames@gmail.com. t

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14 • BAY AREA REPORTER • August 23-29, 2018

<< Election 2018

School board candidate under fire for past anti-trans comments by Alex Madison

straight candidate for the San Francisco school board has lost two prominent endorsements because of anti-trans comments she made several years ago in the Chinese press. Josephine Zhao continues to face backlash for her comments in 2013 opposing Assembly Bill 1266, authored by gay former Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco) that ensures transgender youth have the opportunity to fully participate and succeed in schools across the state. Governor Jerry Brown signed the bill later that year. It allows trans students to use bathrooms and join sports teams consistent with their gender identity. Last week, Zhao disavowed her previous comments in an opinion column in the San Francisco Examiner. But that was apparently not enough as she lost endorsements from District 2 Supervisor Catherine Stefani and District 6 supervisor candidate Christine Johnson, according to the paper. “Recent news stories on comments Josephine Zhao made about genderneutral bathrooms and our transgender community are very troubling,” Stefani said in a statement sent to the

SF school board

From page 1

Incumbent Emily Murase, Ph.D., whose seat is up for re-election, was disqualified from the race for not meeting the filing deadline, as first reported by the Bay Area Reporter August 16. In a statement on her website, Murase blamed “mistaken deadline information I received from Elections Department staff,” and said she has decided not to challenge the elections department because she is a department head for the city and does not “wish to sue another department.” She is the executive director for the San Francisco Department on the Status of Women. Murase, the first Japanese-American elected to the board, served for eight years. She had been endorsed by gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club, and California gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom. Not seeking re-election after their terms expire at the end of this year are Hydra Mendoza-McDonnell, currently the board’s president, and Shamann Walton, who is running for District 10 supervisor. Mendoza-McDonnell is taking a job as deputy chancellor at New York City’s Department of Education, according to a San Francisco Unified School District news release, and her last board meeting will be next month. Though the LGBT candidates each bring unique qualifications and ideas for change to the table, they all support steps to ensure equal protections for LGBT students want to address equity in the school assignment process, and increased pay and affordable housing for teachers.

Candidates

Rawlings-Fein, 41, is married and a father of two children in second and eighth grades in San Francisco public schools. He is an audiovisual technician in UCSF’s radiology department and is a leader in Congregation Sha’ar Zahav, the predominately LGBT synagogue. If he wins, Rawlings-Fein would also be the first bisexual person elected official in the city. Among his ideas for advancing LGBT-inclusive policies and resources in the district include training about gender identity. “There should be San Francisco Unified School District trainers to train every person who has contact with students about gender identity,” he told the B.A.R. in a recent interview. “That way, even people who have limited contact with students can make a change.” The trainings for SFUSD employees

Bay Area Reporter. “I encandidates running. [See dorsed Josephine because related story.] of her work for families in Zhao, who is Asianour community and her American, currently perspective as a mother, works for Hoover Middle and I appreciate that she School as the school/famhas apologized and learned ily liaison. She has sat on from her mistake. However, the San Francisco Board I strongly believe it is our of Education’s Parent responsibility to ensure that Advisory Council and Courtesy Zhao for school board campaign every child in our schools English Learner Advisory feel safe, comfortable and Josephine Zhao Committee. welcome. Therefore, I am According to transwithdrawing my endorselated comments made at ment of her campaign.” a news conference opposing AB 1266 Johnson told the B.A.R. she dethat was reported in the Chinesecided to withdraw her endorsement. language press, as published by http:// “I was excited to support a woman of www.48hills.org, Zhao said the bill color running for office until I learned would “lead to public moral issues, of her history with the transgender violence, and even create conditions community,” Johnson wrote in an for more incidences of rape on school email. “I am a strong supporter of all campuses.” She also said allowing trans marginalized communities and I want students to use their desired bathroom, any endorsement I give to reflect that.” “offends and violates the rights and Mayor London Breed, gay state Senprivacies of the other 98 percent.” ator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), Last week, Zhao told the B.A.R. and Board of Equalization member that she was “wrong” in opposing the Fiona Ma have endorsed Zhao and bill and apologized for her words. She continue to support her candidacy. now fully supports the law. There are three seats up in the “I apologize for the statement I November school board race. Zhao made and the hurt I brought to the is one of 19 candidates who qualified trans community,” she told the B.A.R. for the ballot. There are five LGBT “I hope society can give me another

chance and reevaluate what I have been doing, my evolution, and the progressive values I have gained.” She said that, in 2013, she was a new immigrant and it was challenging to find people to educate her about the bill. “The fact of the matter was I opposed it and said things I shouldn’t have without the full background knowledge of that,” Zhao said in a phone interview Monday. Zhao’s main campaign priorities are personalized instruction to ensure all students’ needs are met and all receive a high-quality education. This includes cultural and LGBT training for educators. She also wants to help students thrive in the 21st century by providing them more science, technology, engineering, and math opportunities and engage parents more in their children’s education. Wiener told the B.A.R. that having an Asian-American on the board is incredibly important, especially with the disqualification of Trustee Emily Murase, who is Japanese-American. (Murase, who had planned to run for re-election, failed to submit paperwork on time with the elections department and was disqualified.) He said Zhao was an “excellent parent organizer,” particularly of

Asian-American parents. “There are times when immigrant communities can feel excluded and it’s really important that parents from all communities be deeply engaged in their kids’ education,” Wiener said. In response to Zhao’s initial opposition to protections for trans students, Wiener said she was open to listening and learning about the community and “took other perspectives to heart.” Zhao acknowledged to the B.A.R. that she was slow to get her version of the story out and explain her new perspectives on the trans community. But, she believes her truth will be known. “My name will be cleared and people will know I am a good person,” she said. On Monday, amid the backlash, Zhao secured an endorsement from state Assemblyman David Chiu (DSan Francisco). At its meeting Tuesday night the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club approved a request that it vote on rescinding its endorsement of Ma in her bid this November for state treasurer due to her endorsement of Zhao. Its members will vote on the motion at the club’s meeting next month.t

would include information the district’s families. Kim about the broad spectrum comes from a low-income, of LGBT identities, how to first-generation family. best communicate and proWhile acknowledging vide appropriate resources he does not have children, for LGBT youth, and ways he said he understands to involve parents in LGBT the needs of students and education. parents. More LGBT safe spaces Using data, including throughout schools in the test scores and student Cynthia Laird district is also something Martin Rawlings- and parent feedback, to he’d like to see. alleviate the achievement Fein “It’s important for gap, is also a top priority, schools to have spaces for as the district has historiqueer and LGBT students cally underserved minority to come and be a part of the communities, particularly school community while black and brown families, still celebrating their differhe explained. ences,” said Rawlings-Fein, “We have to look at the who said he experienced data and be more reflective bullying as a trans teen. and responsive to it and use He is also a strong proit to prioritize resources to Courtesy Phil Kim ponent of revamping the better support families,” school assignment process Phil Kim Kim said. to make it more transparA significant factor in ent and equitable, supports closing the achievement the resurgence of a gifted gap, he said, is elevating and talented education the quality of instruction in program, and would like the district. Kim would like to see the Fair, Accurate, Into see more in-classroom clusive, and Respectful Edresources for teachers, ucation Act, which requires professional development California public schools to of employees, and like the teach about LGBT history, other candidates, see a Courtesy Connor Krone be implemented across all more equitable school asgrade levels. signment process. Connor Krone Rawlings-Fein was born Increasing STEM (sciand raised in San Jose but ence, technology, engineerhas been a San Francisco ing, math) opportunities resident for many years. for students is also part of He’s a longtime PTA his platform. This includes member and has a master’s funding for after-school degree in Jewish studies STEM programs, building through the Richard S. partnerships with STEM Dinner Center for Jewish companies, creating internStudies. ship programs for students, Courtesy Thompson for If elected, Kim would and giving them more acschool board campaign be the only LGBT Asiancess to technology in the American currently holding Lenette classroom. Thompson public office in the city. He He also wants more came up short in his school LGBT-inclusivity training, board bid two years ago. This time, he increased mental health services, and has significant endorsements, including partnerships with LGBT organizations Wiener. to help better serve the needs of LGBT Kim, 28, began his education career students. Currently, Kim sits on the at the KIPP Summit Academy as a sevboard of directors at San Francisco’s enth grade life science teacher, a perLavender Youth Recreation and Inforspective, he said, the board needs. KIPP mation Center. is a public charter school in Oakland. Kim also believes the district needs “To have someone on the board to improve its relationships with parwith a deep and intimate understandents and build trust. ing of the intricacies and nuances of “The narrative of there being limited being a classroom teacher and what quality schools in our district needs to that looks like is important,” he told the be reshaped, and a part of that is actuB.A.R. ally changing the quality of instruction It’s also important to have a board, and classroom environments,” he said. he said, that not only reflects the diverKim is currently a manager of scisity of the district, but to have members ence and design, computer science, who can relate to the experience of and engineer for KIPP Bay Area Public

Schools, as well as a consultant for the KIPP Foundation. Satya, 27, is running on helping youth overcome barriers. She is currently a lead employment specialist at the San Francisco LGBT Community Center, where she works one-on-one with LGBT youth to build life skills and professional development, and help them secure jobs. She’s also served on numerous groups, including the San Francisco Youth Commission and as the director for youth engagement at Transitional Age Youth San Francisco. On her website she shares her story of growing up a young trans woman in rural Texas where she faced bullying in school, homelessness, and was a victim of gender-identity violence. Satya did not respond to the B.A.R.’s request for an interview by press time. “I worked at a community health clinic, an afterschool program, and various programs for homeless youth for over five years and saw, first hand, how hard it can be for people facing multiple barriers to success,” her website states. “My story is a testament to the fact that with the right support and mentorship, youth facing multiple barriers can not only survive, but thrive!” Satya, who does not have children, secured an early endorsement from the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club. Krone, 31, is running for public office for the first time. Krone is the founder of Money Study, a nonprofit network of financial education labs located in high schools throughout the district. Krone spends about 60 percent of his time teaching high school students how to apply for financial aid for college and financial management. He said the board needs more people on it who have direct experience with high school students. He has also worked extensively with the school board in his role for Money Study, bringing both internal and external experience with the district to his candidacy, he said. “The board of education really doesn’t reflect the population in our schools,” he said in an interview with the B.A.R. “It needs real educators working in classrooms who understand what’s happening. I want to bring the voices of our students and their families to the board.” He would also like to see stronger STEM and vocational programs in the district and make it easier for companies to partner with the schools, a process he called “too complicated.” “We need to embrace the spirit of innovation and the ways the city is changing,” he said. “And do more to expand our opportunities with kids to work with companies at the forefront

of 21st century skills.” Making changes to the school assignment process is also a way he would like to address the fact that academic outcomes for low-income students haven’t changed in many years, he said. Krone supports teaching LGBT history in schools and advancing protections for trans youth, including allowing them to have their chosen name on student identification cards and enrollment forms. Currently, Krone is co-chair of Interact, a youth leadership and community service program sponsored by Rotary International. He formerly lived in Singapore, where he worked as director of entrepreneurship and innovation programming for the Academy and was a program director of Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship. He does not have children. Thompson, 48, is a lesbian mom of four children. She has worked for the San Francisco Fire Department for over 25 years and said she got tired of complaining about the issues in the district and wanted to actually do something. Overhauling the school assignment system to fix educational inequities and targeting resources to students most in need are two of her main platforms. One way to help close the achievement gap is introducing wellness teachings into academics, Thompson, who was president of the West Portal Elementary PTA for four years, said. “Visitacion Valley started mindful meditation in 2007, and it was transformative,” she told the B.A.R. in an interview. “The attendance was up to 98 percent, the suspensions were down 89 percent.” Thompson would like to see transcendental meditation, which includes quiet time for 15 minutes every morning and afternoon, implemented throughout the district. Incorporating LGBT history into classrooms is also something she’d like to see. “If I get elected to this board I want to make sure kids in the public school system, where they spend seven hours a day, have the awareness of the LGBT community and history of the gay community, starting with Harvey Milk,” she said. Increasing teacher wages, expanding special education services, and incorporating more tech-oriented teaching in school are among her priorities.

Endorsements

Although all candidates’ platforms See page 15 >>

t <<

Community News>>

College board

From page 1

Since the incumbent chose not to run for re-election, the deadline for candidates wishing to seek his seat was extended until 5 p.m. on August 15. It meant another five days of waiting and wondering for Spickler, as speculation built if someone else would jump into the race. His job as a senior analyst in Santa Cruz County’s human services department helped keep him distracted. “My work interferes with my ability to think about myself. I had several contract renewals to push over the finish line. It is a great way to not have to think about your problems,” Spickler told the Bay Area Reporter. His months of laying the groundwork for a fall campaign, from locking up endorsements and banking close to $10,000 in donations, discouraged others from also competing for the college board seat. At 5:01 p.m. last Wednesday Spickler received word from elections officials that he was the only person who had qualified for the race. As the B.A.R. first reported on its website that evening, Spickler will now be appointed to the college board in lieu of an election. When he takes his oath of office, sometime in late November or early December, he will

Injection bill

From page 4

first” would be the best approach. Acknowledging the difficulties of finding housing for people with serious mental health issues or those who have experienced trauma, Byrd cited a Kaiser study that indicated that people who had suffered trauma were some 4,600 times more likely to become injection drug users. Byrd said providing help for substance abusers is complicated by “traditional” models that encourage addicts to resolve their substance abuse before getting medical help. But when a patient goes for drug treatment, the counselor often suggests

Silicon Valley Pride

From page 2

As night falls the celebration will really get going with the third annual Night Festival from 6 to 11. The party, with a “Fantasy” theme,

SF school board

From page 14

include advancing protections and

August 23-29, 2018 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 15

become the first transgender man to hold public office in California. “Adam’s experience and knowledge make us confident that he would be an outstanding member of the Cabrillo College Board who will fight for all students to get the education they deserve,” stated Paul Escobar, president of BAYMEC, the political action committee focused on electing LGBT people in four South Bay counties that had early endorsed Spickler. “Adam is thoughtful, effective, dynamic and has been a champion for the Santa Cruz County LGBTQ community for years.” Spickler, 47, is married to Scottie Johnson, who is also a trans man and works as a medical assistant for the transgender health care program offered by Planned Parenthood in Santa Cruz. In a phone interview last Thursday, Spickler was still adjusting to the political turn of events. “I am all right. When you spend so much time and energy and really want something, and are preparing for this run, and all of a sudden you don’t have to knock on 9,000 doors, it is a shift,” said Spickler. “It is a slide into it rather than a hard stop.” Of the historic nature of his becoming a member of the college board, Spickler doesn’t take it for granted. “I take it not lightly, and I also think there is some perception out there of, ‘So what? So this guy is transgender

and he is the first trans male elected, but what does that have to do with doing a good job on the college board?’ I have heard that and I get that,” said Spickler. “But what’s so valuable of good leaders is when they come from and represent a minority group. You give permission, in a way, that no one else can to some marginalized kid out there. You give them permission to believe in themselves in a way they may not have prior to seeing you in a leadership position.” Two transgender women have won elected office in the state. Judge Victoria Kolakowski in 2010 first won a seat on the Alameda County Superior Court and was unopposed in 2016 for a second, six-year term. And last November Lisa Middleton won a seat on the Palm Springs City Council. Martin Rawlings-Fein could become the first elected male transgender public official in the state should he succeed in his bid this November for a seat on San Francisco’s school board. The married father would be the first transgender male elected in the city as well as the first bisexual man to win elective office in San Francisco. Mia Satya is also seeking a San Francisco school board seat this fall. If successful, she would be the first transgender woman to win elective office in the city.

Spickler was a student at Cabrillo for eight years, prior to transitioning, and graduated in 2002 with an associate degree in early childhood education. The community college is based in Aptos and serves all of Santa Cruz County. He worked for a time in the education field before becoming an aide to gay former assemblyman John Laird, the first and only out person to have served on the Cabrillo college board, in his district office in Santa Cruz. When Laird, currently the California secretary for natural resources, was termed out of office, his successor, Bill Monning, retained Spickler on his staff. One of the areas Spickler focused on for the assemblyman was K-12 and higher education issues. “I know Adam to be a man of integrity, compassion, capacity, and commitment,” stated Monning, now a state senator and current Senate Majority Leader. “We are indeed fortunate that he is willing to serve our college and community.” A longtime LGBTQ activist, Spickler came out publicly as transgender in 2010. In a 2013 interview with the B.A.R., Spickler spoke for the first time about his transitioning while working for Monning. As the paper reported, he was one of two transgender legislative staffers to transition after being hired. Having been a marginalized

student at Cabrillo, not only for being queer but also due to being poor – he, at one point, was homeless – Spickler now wants to be a voice for the college’s current students who are struggling with the same issues. A foremost concern for him is ensuring the college district is offering certification programs in fields as varied as auto repair to health care. He plans to dive into the state’s education code and budget prior to taking his seat on the board. As for what his future political plans are – already people have been asking if he wants to follow his former bosses into the state Legislature – Spickler told the B.A.R. he has plenty of time to decide. “I am doing this now because of Cabrillo, because I love this school, and I like the leadership experience it affords me,” he said. “I am also one who tends to get involved on a board and stick around long enough to see a project come to fruition.” Should the opportunity to run for higher office present itself over the coming decade, Spickler said he would consider it. For now, his focus is on overseeing the community college district. “I would like to do some significant things at Cabrillo,” he said. “I don’t want to just be a flash in the pan.”t

he get help for his medical issues first. Byrd believes in “radical inclusion,” which means that “anyone who walks through the door” gets services. Terry Morris, director of syringe access and disposal services at SFAF, said that real estate development has led an increasing number of the city’s 7,500 homeless people to live unsheltered on the streets. A recent study indicated that 4,000 people are currently living in tents. With only one shelter bed available for every six homeless people in the city, the issue is further complicated by the policy of shelters to forbid residents to bring Narcan – a narcotic used to treat drug overdoses – into the shelters, increasing the likelihood of fatalities.

Another panelist, Miss Ian Callaghan, executive director of the San Francisco Drug Users Union, credits the city with having “progressive” policies. Activist Kyle Barker, a board member of the drug users union, pointed out that calling the police to report someone shooting up “can make matters worse.” Instead, said Barker, people should consider engaging the person in conversation. “Most of us don’t bite. We’re humans and we’ve been through a lot,” he said. “I hate walking over needles” as much as anyone, said Barker. “It’s annoying as hell. But calling the police” is not the solution. Panelist Pierre-Cedric Crouch,

Ph.D., director of nursing at SFAF, said that the police do not have proper training to help people shooting up on the street. While the police may call an ambulance to take someone to a hospital, where they’ll “give you an IV,” it is likely that the person will be back on the street, without getting proper services. Crouch suggested that drug users “be reached in places where they are comfortable” because “traditional models aren’t working,” he said. People using drugs often don’t come in for appointments on time and, when they do come in, they may feel shame and stigma because they haven’t showered. “And just going to get your blood

drawn can be traumatic” for a drug user, he said. Asking people who may have their belongings stolen every night to bring in paperwork and identification “is ridiculous,” he said. Supervised injection sites could overcome these problems. When people come in for a place to use clean needles, they can be asked if they’d like to speak to someone about other health problems at the same time, he said. “We have to come up with ways to make it easy” to receive care, Crouch said. t

will feature some of the Bay Area’s top DJs, including Rockaway, AX, Ayumi Winehouse, and Shugga Shay. The music will be pumping in four unique worlds: Under the Sea, Enchanted Forest, Good versus Evil (Heaven and Hell), and Space

Odyssey, according to the July 5 news release from festival organizers. On Sunday, the parade starts at 10 a.m. at Julian Street with marchers and more than 80 contingents taking over Market Street as they walk right into the festival at Plaza de

Cesar Chavez, according to Silicon Valley Pride’s website. Festivalgoers will enjoy a variety of entertainment and connect with community organizations and local companies at the festival. Thaddeus Campbell, CEO and

president of Silicon Valley Pride, did not respond to a request for comment by press time. Festival tickets are $5 per day. Some events are free and open to the public. For more information, visit http://www.svpride.com. t

opportunities for LGBT students, the city’s two main LGBT Democratic clubs failed to endorse the out candidates, with the exception of the Milk

club, which early endorsed Satya. The Milk club endorsed two straight women of color for the other two seats: Alison Collins and Gabriela Lopez.

Collins and Lopez did not respond to the B.A.R. for comment by press time. The more moderate Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club

recommended endorsements for Murase and Michelle Parker. Club leaders may revisit the endorsement vote now that Murase is not on the ballot. t

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038226000

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038225600 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CHUN MAK DDS-PHD INC, 929 CLAY ST #205, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94108. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed CHUN MAK DDS-PHD INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 02/01/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/19/18.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038230300

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: THE SHOESHINE GUILD, 555 CALIFORNIA ST, CONCOURSE LEVEL, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94104. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed A SHINE & CO, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 07/18/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/24/18.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038221100

AUG 02, 09, 16, 23, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038230000

AUG 02, 09, 16, 23, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038227700

AUG 02, 19, 16, 23 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038235100

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AUG 02, 09, 16, 23, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038231100

Members of the public can sign up for a Safer Inside tour, August 2831, at http://www.saferinside.org.

Legal Notices>> ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-18-554100

In the matter of the application of: KYLE GEORGE SPORLEDER, 1845 LINCOLN WAY #2, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner KYLE GEORGE SPORLEDER, is requesting that the name KYLE GEORGE SPORLEDER, be changed to KYLE MAGALLANES CASTILLO. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 514, Room 514 on the 13th of September 2018 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

AUG 02, 09, 16, 23, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038234800 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: HOWA ASSOCIATES, 551 37TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed J. HANA TORRISI HOWA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/27/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/27/18.

AUG 02, 09, 16, 23, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038233000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BILLYGOATS / CABRITAS CHILD DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM, 330 MADRID ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ANGELICA GUERRERO HERNANDEZ. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/26/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/26/18.

AUG 02, 09, 16, 23, 2018

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: KATLETKI, 2948 FOLSOM ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed HANNA KERNAZHYTSKAYA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 07/19/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/19/18.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ENDLESS SOLUTIONS CO.; TAXPROS365.COM, 345 15TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed HUNG C. LY. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 07/23/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/24/18.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ORIGIN, 745 CLEMENTINA ST UNIT A, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed ORIGIN PROTOCOL, INC (DE). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 07/20/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/23/18.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: KATHERINE MICHIELS SCHOOL, 1335 GUERRERO ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed KATHERINE MICHIELS SCHOOL INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 09/01/84. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/17/18.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: 1667 GREEN STREET APARTMENTS, 1667 GREEN ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94123. This business is conducted by a trust, and is signed JOHN H. KIRKWOOD. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 01/01/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/25/18.

AUG 02, 09, 16, 23, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038233200

AUG 02, 09, 16, 23, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038234300

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: URBAN CURRY, 523 BROADWAY, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed SANGAMSTAR FOOD INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 07/25/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/26/18.

AUG 02, 09, 16, 23, 2018

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ROBINS TERRACE, 158 DOWNEY ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted by a married couple, and is signed KAYKO WATANABE ROBINS & DONALD BRUCE ROBINS. 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 07/27/18.

AUG 02, 09, 16, 23, 2018

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CIRCLES OF DETERMINATION, 280 NEWHALL ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed HOUSE OF THE ORISHAS CULTURAL CENTER (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 07/26/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/27/18.

AUG 02, 09, 16, 23, 2018 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-037687200

The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: AB CLEANING SERVICES, 899 HILLSIDE BLVD #5, DALY CITY, CA 94014. This business was conducted by an individual and signed by ANIBAL RODAS. The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/18/17.

AUG 02, 09, 16, 23, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038248600 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SUMO, 420 JUDAH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed SHI HUI HUANG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 08/03/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/03/18.

AUG 09, 16, 23, 30, 2018

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: A WEST AFRICAN COFFEE COMPANY, 2069 O’FARRELL ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MAKEBA MCLEOD. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 07/12/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/16/18.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SOUF, 2261 MARKET ST #273, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed SOFIA AVILA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 07/19/28. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/20/18.

AUG 09, 16, 23, 30, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038244300

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: HEALING REALMS, 605 CHENERY ST #B&C, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94131. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ROBERT GRANT. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 07/31/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/01/18.

AUG 09, 16, 23, 30, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038238300 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: THRIVE BABY FOOD, 218 JERSEY ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed PAULA PETERSEN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 07/27/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/30/18.

AUG 09, 16, 23, 30, 2018

<< Classifieds

16 • BAY AREA REPORTER • August 23-29, 2018

Legal Notices>> FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038241300

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ALENA’S MAGICAL SCHOOL, 2267 16TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed EDWARD ROMANOV. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 07/30/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/31/18.

AUG 09, 16, 23, 30, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038242500 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: YOUNG MUSIC PRODUCERS, 518 1/2 LINDEN ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JOSEPH M. RODRIGUEZ. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 06/25/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/31/18.

AUG 09, 16, 23, 30, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038241600

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SAN FRANCISCO SURGICAL ENDOSCOPY, 3838 CALIFORNIA ST #616, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed T. PHILIP CHUNG MD, YANEK CHIU MD, LAWRENCE YEE MD, MICHAEL ABEL MD. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 08/08/16. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/31/18.

AUG 09, 16, 23, 30, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038242600

The following person(s) is/are doing business as:AMSTERDAM, 930 GEARY ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109.This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed AMSTERDAM CAFE (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 07/31/18.

AUG 09, 16, 23, 30, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038246400 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: IZUMI KAITEN SUSHI, 1737 POST ST #355, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed IZUMI KAITEN SUSHI INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 08/02/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/02/18.

AUG 09, 16, 23, 30, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038240200 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SPINNERIE, 1401 POLK ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed 1401 POLK STREET INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 07/30/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/30/18.

AUG 09, 16, 23, 30, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038247900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: THE UPS STORE, 660 4TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed JING STORE, INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 10/01/05. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/03/18.

AUG 09, 16, 23, 30, 2018

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038241800 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BURMA GOLD, 695 3RD ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed UNITED KMA, INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 07/12/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/31/18.

AUG 09, 16, 23, 30, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038240500 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CLAIRE DE LUNE SKIN CARE, 2208 FILBERT ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94123. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed CLAIRE EVE ANDERSON. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/30/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/30/18.

AUG 09, 16, 23, 30, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038233400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: VITALITY AND HEALING FUNCTIONAL WELLNESS SOLUTIONS, 1800 10TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by a married couple, and is signed TODD JEFFREY RUTKIN & XIAORONG LI. 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 07/26/18.

AUG 09, 16, 23, 30, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038235200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MIKMOI, LLC, 1666 GOUGH ST #306, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed MIKMOI, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/30/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/27/18.

AUG 09, 16, 23, 30, 2018 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-037451900

The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: ALENA’S MAGICAL SCHOOL, 2267 16TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116. This business was conducted by an individual and signed by RIMMA S. DARZHINOVA. The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/31/17.

AUG 09, 16, 23, 30, 2018 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-035963600

The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: RAINBOW BRIGHT’S CASTLE, 2270 21ST AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116. This business was conducted by an individual and signed by RIMMA S. DARZHINOVA. The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/25/14.

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The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ACCENT REDUCTION STUDIO, 1621 LINCOLN WAY, #B, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MARY DAVIS. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/07/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/09/18.

AUG 16, 23, 30, SEPT 06, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038254000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MANGROVE KITCHEN, 312 DIVASADERO ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ATTHAPON INKHONG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/07/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/07/18.

AUG 16, 23, 30, SEPT 06, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038246200 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SHUNPING HOME IMPROVEMENT, 420 LISBON ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed LIWEI DING. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 08/02/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/02/18.

AUG 16, 23, 30, SEPT 06, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038254600 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: KIBATSU, 400 HAIGHT ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed MUTEKI INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/08/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/08/18.

AUG 16, 23, 30, SEPT 06, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038243300 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: TALLER TECHNOLOGIES, 555 CALIFORNIA ST #4925, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94104. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed DELAWARE QUADRIGA, INC (DE). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/01/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/01/18.

AUG 16, 23, 30, SEPT 06, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038258100

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CMME CONSULTING LLC, 1536 18TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed CMME CONSULTING LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/09/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/10/18.

AUG 16, 23, 30, SEPT 06, 2018

AUG 09, 16, 23, 30, 2018

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FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038255700

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AUG 23, 30, SEPT 06, 13, 2018 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-18-554169 In the matter of the application of: SAMUEL LUCAS HICKS AKA SAM HICKS AKA SAMUEL L. HICKS AKA SAM L. HICKS, 501 38TH AVE #304, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121, for change of name having been ﬁled in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner SAMUEL LUCAS HICKS AKA SAM HICKS AKA SAMUEL L. HICKS AKA SAM L. HICKS, is requesting that the name SAMUEL LUCAS HICKS AKA SAM HICKS AKA SAMUEL L. HICKS AKA SAM L. HICKS, be changed to SAMUEL LUCAS HICKS BLACK. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 514, Room 514 on the 11th of October 2018 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

AUG 23, 30, SEPT 06, 13, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038252700

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ALFA DA CHILDCARE, 1316 SUNNYDALE AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94134. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed NICOLE D. CHAPMAN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 08/07/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/07/18.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ENVIROCERN, 50 CALIFORNIA ST #1500, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94111. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed RAGNAR STEFANSSON. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 08/13/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/14/18.

AUG 23, 30, SEPT 06, 13, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038262900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SEA KEANE, 869 46TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed SEAMUS KEANE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 08/14/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/14/18.

AUG 23, 30, SEPT 06, 13, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038265400 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CUP+FORK, 3200 CALIFORNIA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed R&C HOSPITALITY (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 08/01/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/15/18.

AUG 23, 30, SEPT 06, 13, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038249500 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BOCONCEPT, 1 RHODE ISLAND ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a limited partnership, and is signed CONTEMPCO GP LLC, GENERAL PARTNER OF CONTEMPCO, I LP, (CA); SOREN KROGH-JENSEN; CAROLINE ANTONCICCI. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 01/01/10. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/06/18.

AUG 23, 30, SEPT 06, 13, 2018

AUG 23, 30, SEPT 06, 13, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038236400 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: GRAMERCY REAL ESTATE AND DEVELOPMENT, 1177 CALIFORNIA ST, SUITE A, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94108. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed STEPHEN KEITH GOMEZ. 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 07/30/18.

AUG 23, 30, SEPT 06, 13, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038260100

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: DIAMOND SERVICES, 1446 THOMAS AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed OLMEN MEJIA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/13/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/13/18.

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AUG 23, 30, SEPT 06, 13, 2018

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In the matter of the application of: SADIE COLLEEN YEAGER AKA SADIE C. YEAGER AKA SADIE YEAGER, 501 38TH AVE #304, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121, for change of name having been ﬁled in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner SADIE COLLEEN YEAGER AKA SADIE C. YEAGER AKA SADIE YEAGER, is requesting that the name SADIE COLLEEN YEAGER AKA SADIE C. YEAGER AKA SADIE YEAGER, be changed to SADIE COLLEEN YEAGER BLACK. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 514, Room 514 on the 11th of October 2018 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038263200

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Vol. 48 • No. 34 • August 23-29, 2018

www.ebar.com/arts

Courtesy the subject

NCTC celebrates Charles Busch

by Sari Staver

he New Conservatory Theatre Center (NCTC) will honor actor, playwright, director and cabaret performer Charles Busch at the theatre’s annual gala on Saturday, August 25, and will open their 2018 season with the regional premiere of his play “Red Scare at Sunset.” See page 26 >>

Charles Busch is coming to San Francisco.

Postcards from the West Edge Cory Weaver

by Philip Campbell

erkeley-based West Edge Opera has wrapped its summer Festival 2018 at its new digs in Craneway Conference Center on the Richmond waterfront. Known for unusual performance sites (an abandoned train station, a derelict warehouse) and repertoire, WEO’s recent productions matched well with the offbeat venue. See page 26 >> Soprano Heather Buck and baritone Hadleigh Adams in West Edge Opera’s production of composer Luca Francesconi’s “Quartett.”

{ SECOND OF THREE SECTIONS }

<< Out There

18 • Bay Area Reporter • August 23-29, 2018

Pornography, miniature golf & Aretha by Roberto Friedman

Putt-putt pass

uthor Don Shewey is a therapist whose work with gay men concerns issues of sex and intimacy. He has a lot of wisdom and experience to share in his new book “The Paradox of Porn – Notes on Gay Male Sexual Culture” (Joybody Books). The paradox of the title can be summed up thus: Pornography is a force for sex positivity in the face of repression and the denial of pleasure. But it also distorts the way we think about sexual performance, our bodies and our sexual partners. In his practice, Shewey counsels clients to resist “expecting your partner or yourself to Perform Like a Porn Star,” suggesting that they spend some time developing other forms of intimacy “free of pressure to make something specific happen.” He notes that sexual encounters that are modeled on porn “almost never include conversation about what you feel or what you want.” He doesn’t discount the role of porn in sexual education and encouraging sexual exploration, and as the ultimate in safe sex. “Pornography does a lousy job if you try to use it as a sex manual,” Shewey writes. “It excels, however, when it comes to educating the erotic imagination.” He makes a fascinating connection between how porn can speak “darker and deeper truths about bodies” to adolescents in the way that fairy tales thrill children by including monsters, dark magic and danger. Of course, the internet has accelerated our access to porn, and to every syndrome it brings with it. The easy stimulation of internet porn can make non-virtual connection difficult or tame in comparison, a condition Shewey dubs “Sexual Attention Deficit Disorder (SADD).”

Courtesy the author

“The Paradox of Porn” author Don Shewey.

And of course, there is the longstanding paradox of porn: that it suggests we must exhibit impossibly high standards of beauty and sexual prowess in order to be desirable as sexual partners. “Intelligent gay men only have to look around to know that there are 150 different body types in the world. Yet extreme body-consciousness has long been a key feature in gay male culture, and the ubiquity of pornography has amplified it exponentially.” Based on extensive real-world experience with his clients in therapy and his own experience, Shewey has a good perspective on the ways that our immersion in a highly eroticized environment, and easy access to performative sex, both turn us on and further inhibit us. Given how pervasive porn is in the gay male world, it’s encouraging to read a thoughtful and clear-eyed analysis of how it impacts and shapes our sexual lives.

Our writer in Bangkok Tim Pfaff reports: “Waaaay down in my exploding Twitter timeline, two items in a row saluted the King of Rock, Elvis Presley, who died 41 years to the day before the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, did last Thursday. I leave that for the astrologers to explain, but it got my attention. “The first time I heard Aretha was just after breaking away from home, driving a 1959 DeSoto much too fast because ‘Since You’ve Been

Gone’ was on the radio, and all of me swelled up. Not long after, I hitchhiked 250 miles to Minneapolis to hear her for myself. The packed crowd in Northrop Auditorium was on edge after the announcement, ‘Miss Franklin is ill. She wants to perform for you, but–’ But something, because no one left. “Five warm-up acts and a change of day on the calendar later, Aretha appeared, if, she confessed, missing an octave on either end of her range, leaving her three. For the next hour she tore the place apart, nothing missing that anyone noticed. “Aretha has always retained the crown she’s now taken off to Glory. We were prepared for her departure, but my Bangkok neighbors may have wondered what came over me those last days. Listening to me

listening to big-voiced ladies was nothing new, but this voice irritated no one and prompted queries in the elevator. “That Thursday night, I signed off with the 13-minute ‘Amazing Grace’ she sang for the congregation at her father’s Detroit church in January 1972, from a two-LP set I bought new. I thought I’d leave it there, but come morning the tributes were still taking up whole-hour news blocks. “Since she’s been gone, I’ve mostly listened to ‘People Get Ready’ (‘for the train to Jordan’), about the right uses of religion. Just when I thought I had reached saturation, some station punked me with a song I also bought new on LP, in 1970, and its thunder-clap piano intro squeezed projectile tears out of me. On TV, people who had days to prepare their remarks were tongue-tied when not completely at a loss for words. Then, as if from ‘over Jordan,’ Aretha sang the right ones: ‘You Send Me.’” Photojournalist Cornelius Washington writes: “As a child, living in New Orleans less than a mile away from the docks of the Mississippi River, living above a bar and lounge, I grew up living day and night for the sound of Aretha Franklin’s voice. As a dancer and choreographer, to me her sound was the root and foundation to enticing the world to give in and let go. She transcended genres and mindsets around race, gender and socio-economic class structures. Milton Glaser “Aretha Franklin will forAretha Franklin by Milton Glaser (1968), ever be the sound of the Afcolor photolithographic poster, National Portrait rican diaspora. She will forGallery, Smithsonian Institution. ever be the Queen of Soul. Long live the Queen.”t

Out There was out on the course when Stagecoach Greens, San Francisco’s only outdoor miniature golf attraction, opened with a VIP party last week. The 18hole, artist-created golf course, at 1379 4th St. in the Mission Bay neighborhood, takes San Francisco history as its theme. So every hole has a hook like “Barbary Coast Saloon” or “Gold Rush Graveyard.” Players putt around an “Ocean Beach Bonfire” or through the “Sutro Fog.” A “Walk in the Woods” is a tour through Golden Gate Park, while “Dragon’s Gate” evokes Chinatown. The urbanist in us loves how this previously barren space has been energized with people and life. All the fairways are accessible to the disabled, as a barrier to each green could move on a hinge to remove obstruction. It’s all a lot of good clean fun: find more info at www.stagecoachgreens.com.

Since she’s been gone

Escape from porn

by John F. Karr

s the limited field of porn star memoirs goes, a new book ranks high. It’s “Body to Job” (Rare Bird Books, paper, $17.95; Kindle, $9) by Christopher Zeischegg, the former and mostly heterosexual porn star whose nom de porn is/was Danny Wylde. He made well over

500 scenes, mostly straight, but including gay scenes for at least seven studios, including Raging Stallion, Next Door, Fratmen, and a whopping 53 scenes for kink.com. He was only casually bisexual, more of a cock-for-hire. Early in his career, he said, “I was up for anything.” Danny’s involvement in porn is a riches-to-rags story, document-

ing the initial fantasies that he ultimately saw as delusions, and his struggles with the double stigmas of being both a sex worker and bisexual, which compromised his relationships and caused a loss of selfesteem. I have no doubt you’ll find it all fascinating. Originally written as a series of articles for a variety of industry publications, through which he became known as a spokesman for sex workers and their problems, it is surprising how well they knit together into this seemingly coherent whole. And though it seems truthful I was finally left to doubt much of “Body to Job.” It’s more about the hetero industry than the gay side, but you can extrapolate. And unlike those gay stars whose only mildly literate tweets you’ve read, Wylde’s an actual writer. He’s intelligent, with ideas to express, and a sense of social and sexual politics. “I was a real-time witness to the inner working of pornography,” he says, and his “I was there” description of porn work is revealing. A stretch of indulgent magical realism, however, nearly defeated me. It expresses a nightmare that’s rather diffuse, and at moments incoherent. But it’s not too long. Wylde began his porn career while a college student in the Bay Area, as a means of financing his education. Answering a Craigslist ad, looking for guys to get penetrated on camera by women wearing dildos, led to his becoming a pro-

lific performer for kink.com. In San Francisco, he did both str8 and gay porn. Upon moving to Los Angeles, he learned he had to pick one or the other. Producers said it was fear of HIV that made the hetero industry shun “crossover” performers. But Wylde has said, “It seemed to have more to do with homophobia than anything else. But whatever.” Whatever, indeed. With seeming nonchalance, he was soon raking in quite a lot of money. At one time, making hetero porn, he was paid $48,000 to work only six days a month. But he wanted to pursue gay porn work because it paid even better. This running after cash got him blacklisted for a time in het porn, and caused a rift between himself and his girlfriend. The easy income and indulgent porn lifestyle became what he called “Golden Handcuffs.” He testifies, “Once you were in it, it was nearly impossible to leave.”

Unable to take responsibility and turn his life around, he feels he’s disposed of his life, realizes porn has becoming boring to him, and is a “visual mediocrity… void of all significance.” And then, a coup de grace, his career is ended when abuse of the drugs that prolonged his erections leaves him unable to get hard at all. Sex had become his sense of self, and without it he was bereft. A final section of the book shows us how he comes to grips with having pursued a life that turned out to be a fantasy. Or does it? What are these concluding fantasies of snuff films? It’s hard to tell if this book is as thoughtful and realistic as it seems. If you go fishing for the small print, you’ll find buried on the copyright page the author’s statement: “The following stories… closely resemble my memoirs. They are also works of fiction.” While I found the book interesting reading, this made me feel sort of jerked around.t

“Body to Job” author Christopher Zeischegg, aka Danny Wylde.

OCT 31 - NOV 17 CHER.COM

<< Theatre

20 • Bay Area Reporter • August 23-29, 2018

Riffing on office-mates’ conversations

Ken Levin

Sherri (Melissa Quine) talks with her mother on the phone in playwright Lynn Rosen’s “Washed Up on the Potomac.”

by Jim Gladstone

ne wall of the dingy, cluttered Washington, D.C. proofreaders’ office where most of “Washed Up on the Potomac” takes place is plastered with a multi-colored mosaic of Post-it notes. It’s an inventory of scribbled inspirations that Mark (Vincent Randazzo), an

aspiring novelist, has extracted from conversations among his workmates: ear-catching turns of phrase, philosophical musings, onomatopoetic blurts. Like Mark, playwright Lynn Rosen slices, dices and juliennes the banal chit-chat of unmotivated office workers, then arranges the bits and pieces into appealing rhythmic

patterns and repetitions. “Washed Up,” making its world premiere as part of San Francisco Playhouse’s Sandbox Series of new works, is best appreciated as language jazz. The players in director José Zayas’ thespian quintet bounce lines off each other with perfectly timed pauses and sharply expressive english on their English. Their linguis-

tic sync is all the more impressive knowing that Melissa Quine, playing office wallflower Sherri, took on her role less than a week before opening night, replacing the original actress, who had a family emergency. While Rosen’s experiment in collage works well at turning words into music, it’s much less successful when it comes to storytelling. Narratively, there are too many ideas stuck up on the wall. “Washed Up on the Potomac” cobbles together tropes of tabloid conspiracies, television sitcoms, horror stories, romances, and personal growth drama into a hectic hash of a story that points in many directions, but never really gets anywhere. While nodding to the deferred artistic dreams of Mark and his aspiring rock star deskmate Kate (Jessica Bates), the play’s title also refers to a former office employee who disappeared a year earlier, and whose dead body may have just been found on the riverbank. Do the eerie creakings and sputtering lights that open the play and sporadically appear throughout suggest the group is somehow haunted by their counterpart? When Sherri seems to step into a river during her closing fantasy monologue, are we intended to hear a Virginia Woolfwhistle? The never-solved mystery of the maybe-drowned woman proves less a through-line than a distraction, as does Sherri’s contentious, “Carrie”-esque relationship with her Bible-thumping mother, relayed through a series of hostile phone conversations.

More engaging are the intertwined comic flirtations of Mark, Kate, Sherri and an unnamed copywriter (Max Forman-Mullin) who spends most of the play behind a pane of frosted glass obsessing over origami – his own means of transcending the soul-killing monotony of office life. But these, too, go largely unresolved. The play’s fifth character, Giorgio (Cole Alexander Smith), is a tightlywound office manager who both resents and admires the would-be artists he’s assigned to. He allows playwright Rosen some intermittent observations on class tensions within the workplace. “Washed Up on the Potomac” suffers from Shiny Object Syndrome, a relentless flittering backand-forth between emotional tones and story forms. Rosen is a wickedly talented craftswoman, but this script feels ostentatious in its display of her virtuosity. For an audience, it’s exhausting. Running about 100 minutes with no intermission, “Washed Up” feels a good 30% longer than it should be to showcase its best qualities, which are pretty terrific. In a shorter form, the play’s sonic rhythms and verbal wit could make for an exhilarating experience. In its current state, however, it leaves the audience feeling drowned in the playwright’s ambitions.t “Washed Up on the Potomac” plays The Custom Made Theatre, 533 Sutter St., SF, through Sept. 1. www.sfplayhouse.org.

Fables of sexual shenanigans by Tim Pfaff

ordy Rosenberg’s “Confessions of the Fox” comes as a sharp reminder of the undervalued business of reading for pleasure. Rosenberg is many things: a trans professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, specializing in 18th-century English literature, and with this rollicking, ribald debut novel, the first trans novelist to be published by a Big Five publisher (One World, an Atlantic/Random House imprint). Supremely, he is a born, now accomplished fabulist. There is prodigious postmodern juju going on between the covers

of this entrancing book, much of it of high erudition, if sometimes deeply interred. But you need only read English to revel in it. It’s one of those rare books you can decide how far to get in bed with. Anyway, there are footnotes. Footnotes? Have we here a David Foster Wallace foundling? Yes and no, the duality at the book’s beating, not infrequently bleeding heart. The conceit – call it layer #1 – is a manuscript discovered at a university bookstore sale, perhaps the urfable of Jack Sheppard, a legendary thief of 18th-century London who may or may not be – the ontological principle of this book’s every page –

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the legendary rogue Berthold Brecht remade as Mack the Knife. Few sexual thrills top the academic’s wet-dream of nabbing a “found” manuscript, which – level two – is that of our present-day interlocutor, Professor R. Voth. He’s surely a stand-in for Rosenberg to some degree, a rakish, befuddled academic as preposterous and antiheroic as his Subject (capitalized words appear at random in the “manuscript”), doing battle with his editor and potential publisher, the “Dean of Surveillance.” The footnotes – which the Atlantic/Random House reader comes to crave like a “Confessions of the Fox” dog waiting for morsels to fall author Jordy Rosenberg. from the master’s table – begin, with faux innocence, as Voth’s performance-related terror translations of the period’s rich, as well as excitement that salacious sex slang, perhaps a cockunderlies that. I may be staring into tail of the real thing and Rosenberg’s a Rorschach blot myself here, but own fevered imagination. Quim, for somewhere near the core of his appussy, and its dozen salty synonyms peal is Jack the Everywuss. easily beats out the competition, And while we’re on Rorschach, and there’s mollies for queer men. Rosenberg puts the craven cisTellingly, over the course of the two gender fascination with trans geniinterlocking tales, quim turns out to talia in plain view. Exactly where the be, more expansively, any “port of Dean of Surveillance wants more of entry” in the sexual body, gender of that – as if it were a uniform thing no consequence – if everything. – Voth substitutes for the “missing The book’s big story, Jack’s, page” a version of 18th-century brings out the genre genius in novelist Lawrence Sterne’s “marbled Rosenberg. Like the gender-ampage,” an image that stares back at biguous knight in “Der Rosenkavayou the more you inspect it. lier,” Jack, like the quim with which In the arena of transition, there is he is besotted, has a catalogue of the slapstick gore of the corrective names: Jack Sheppard, Thief of surgery of Jack’s dugs. The blood Thieves, Breaker of Latches, Nabeverywhere (and the inversion of ber of Horses, Watches, Guineas, the Adam’s rib motif that also runs and Pence, Son of Eternal Night. through the novel) notwithstandHe’s closer to Robin Hood, with ing, at the climax there’s the quack whom he shares a slippery social surgeon’s drunken collapse on his conscience, than to Mack the Knife. patient’s chest. There’s irresistible comedy in his To the rescue, as always, is Bess criminality, and all his swashbuckKhan, the dark-eyed South Asian ling does little to conceal the anxdoxy (surely you can guess) who is ious antihero lurking beneath the Jack’s lodestar in this book rich with curtains. His obsession with fucking ships, sailors and cargo, and the tale’s in its myriad forms thinly veils his

most deeply sympathetic character. She’s as fascinated as anyone with Jack’s “wild part,” but is content to call it – and him – Something! There’s plenty of mucilage, sticky and otherwise, binding the novel’s two levels, including Spinoza’s “Ethics,” a copy of which is Bess’ bedtime reading. The “gentle” philosopher’s work also points, not always obliquely, to the novel’s deep if clandestine morality, its serious concerns with the plight, not just the capers, of the desperate poor and the menace of the ever-expanding police state. Despite all the shenanigans, intellectual and sexual, Rosenberg’s not fucking with you, the reader, in “this living diorama of flesh worship. The kind that only queers understand. We who have been given our lives for the love of flesh.” In his valediction, Voth declaims, “Dear reader, if you are you – the one I edited this for, the one I stole this for – and if you cry a certain kind of tears – the ones I told you about, remember? – you will find your way to us.”t

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<< Film

22 • Bay Area Reporter • August 23-29, 2018

Woman behind the Nobel Prize-winner by David Lamble

Joe: “You shouldn’t need my approval to write.” Joan: “Everyone needs approval, Joe.” It’s right about this time that, trapped in a city where the sun seems never to rise, Joan begins to appreciate just how much she has starved herself of an always-scarce

currency. In a flashback scene that’s almost too brutally full of the author’s message, a younger Joan gets some hard advice about how tough it is for even the most brilliant female writer to get her due, advice from an angry older writer (Elizabeth McGovern). “Don’t believe you can get their approval.” “Whose?” “The men, the ones who get to decide who gets to be taken seriously.” “A writer has to write.” “A writer has to be read, honey.” “The Wife,” ironically arriving in the first wave of “award season” films, states loudly that the business of writing is stacked in favor of male privilege and egos. How this movie fares in the fall Golden Globes/ Oscar races should tell us a lot about how timely its message proves to be backstage when the cameras aren’t rolling. Close and Pryce, who seem to have popped out of the head of Zeus as fully formed, adult character actors, here deliver nuanced turns as performers whose own career resumes match the bullet points of these sadly damaged souls. (Opens Friday.)t

The AIDS house where Vito is supposed to be working is

presented as an afterthought. Vito shows up and meets the residents, who talk about Barbra Streisand a lot. With one exception, the house residents are not seen again until film’s end. Vito is never shown doing the work he was sent to do. He spends the entire film with Gabe. How do the church elders and house residents feel about that? “Brotherly Love” still entertains, due to the terrific chemistry between Caruso and Babb. Their burgeoning love story is sweet and romantic, and their scenes together are wellwritten. The fact that both men are nice to look at is an added plus. Breaking Glass Pictures’ DVD includes the film’s theatrical trailer and a lively commentary track from Caruso, who clearly had a blast shooting the film.t

n the new Glenn Close dramedy “The Wife,” the year is 1993, and Joan Castleman, an approvalstarved, dutiful wife, is riding through the streets of Stockholm with her puffed-up novelist hubby Joe (Jonathan Pryce). The couple has arrived in the company of their bitterly estranged, aspiring writer son David (Max Irons). Joe is primed for the happiest day of his career, as he is about to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature (the honor denied the late Philip Roth). But God has other plans. His day will dissolve into a series of humiliations, while his wife will quietly assume her proper role in the family business. Swedish filmmaker Bjorn Runge (“Mouth to Mouth”) uses Meg Wolitzer’s novel (screenplay by Jane Anderson) to explore the darker recesses of a supposedly happy 40-year marriage, to question why a talented woman would deny her gifts in favor of a showhorse teacher husband, while hinting at the fraudulence at the heart of the whole dog-and-pony system of award ceremonies, denounced in the past by such worthy recipients as the late George C. Scott. Christian Slater gets the juicy

Sony Pictures Classics

Glenn Close (Joan) and Jonathan Pryce (Joe) in director Bjorn Runge’s “The Wife.”

role of Nathaniel Bone, a gadfly academic who threatens to unmask the couple’s secrets unless Joe agrees to sit for a puff-piece bio, a fate that, for Joe, is almost worse than exposure. Bone is more a device than a fully-fleshed-out character, as demonstrated in his scenes with Joan, who steadfastly resists his game.

One of the film’s most poignant moments unfolds in the limo ride from the Stockholm airport, where David angrily addresses his increasingly stressed-out dad. David: “Next time I introduce you, try a little eye contact. And next time, don’t introduce me as your son, the half-baked writer.”

Flawed but likable by David-Elijah Nahmod

t nearly two hours, Anthony J. Caruso’s slow-paced film “Brotherly Love” feels a bit long. Some of the characters might be seen as negative stereotypes. Yet there’s something oddly likable about this low-budget indie, shot on location in Austin, Texas, with a local cast. Auteur Caruso stars as Brother Vito, a young gay man torn between his life with his gay friends and the vows of poverty and celibacy he’s about to take as a brother with the Catholic Church. As the story opens, Vito, who lives in a monastery, still goes out cruising with his gay best friend Tim (Chance McKee). Vito desperately wants to jump into the car of the hot man who’s cruising him, but he stops himself, thinking of his upcoming vows. He also goes to the White Party with Tim, where he feels out of place. Vito doesn’t know what to do. He genuinely loves God and the church, but also loves his former

Since 1977

life. He seeks counseling from Sister Peggy (June Griffin Garcia), a friendly, understanding nun, who thinks that Vito needs to get away and think things over. Vito is driven halfway across the country to spend the summer living and working in a halfway house for people with AIDS. There he meets Gabe (Derek Babb), a friendly, lonely landscaper who takes a liking to Vito. The attraction is mutual. Vito once again feels torn between his love for the church and his natural desires. Will Vito remain true to his vows, or will he give in to Gabe’s not-too-subtle come-ons? The two are obviously falling in love, despite Vito’s pretending otherwise. Vito and Gabe make for a hot, sweet couple. Actors Caruso and Babb have great onscreen chemistry, and Babb gives a fine performance as a man who cannot live without love in his life. We learn that Gabe was once married. “Now I have an ex-wife who hates me, a mother who cries whenever she talks to me, and a father who fired me from the family business,” Gabe says. Babb conveys the emotions of the sweet, loving Gabe, who knows that he and Vito would be

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perfect for each other, if only Vito would open his eyes. Caruso is also good as he battles his mixed emotions. Other aspects of the film don’t work as well. Chance McKee’s role, as gay best friend Tim, is a stereotype. He’s an over-the-top queen, too much to be believable. He’s loud and brash, talking endlessly about parties, clothes, and hot guys. We never learn who Tim is. He likes to party a lot. Vito and Gabe meet a friendly lesbian couple, one of whom is an exnun who left the church to be with the woman she loves, a character who makes Tim seem tame. She’ll do anything for attention. After Sunday church services, she smears chocolate cake on her face and laughs hysterically. This character is a victim of bad writing. Less would have been more.

e the Animals” opens on a deceptively beautiful vision of a subtropical childhood paradise. Three brothers get in and out of trouble, all the while struggling with and desperately trying to escape the combustible, violencesubsumed relationship of their parents, themselves barely out of childhood when the boys were conceived. At first Manny, Joel and Jonah have each other to fall back on, but gradually Manny and Joel evolve into woman-abusing versions of their volatile, frequently absent dad. Jonah is the special one, the gay boy who must fight the rambunctious and ultimately

self-defeating heritage of his clan, who subsist on scraps of food, dreams that dissolve into nothingness, and always being one jump ahead of the law, angry shopkeepers and other righteous citizens. “We the Animals” is beamed through Jonah’s fevered imagination as the young boy joins his abused mother in dreams of escaping the men in their lives. Director Jeremiah Zagar (with co-screenwriter Daniel Kitrosser) creates a child’s vision of a world filled with beauty and sheer terror. The leads are terrific: the parents (Sheila Vand and Raúl Castillo) and the brave Jonah (Evan Rosado) will remind any who have fallen down the rabbit hole of childhood poverty and domestic violence

how hard it is to free yourself from literally all you’ve ever known. Zagar and his agile crew have conceived a lovely visual style whereby realistic takes of a family perpetually on the run are projected against a gay boy’s journal. Jonah’s story takes a tragic turn when his family discovers his erotic drawings and fevered writings. The boy suffers the fate of many queer youth, including imprisonment in a mental health institution. As the fall film season revs up, look for acting nods for Raúl Castillo (“Looking”) as the volatile Paps, a man who frequently crosses the line between tough love and what used to be called wifebeating and child abuse, a man whose absences come to be viewed by Jonah as blessed events. Evan Rosado’s Jonah also deserves consideration in the Best Supporting Actor category.t

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<< TV

24 • Bay Area Reporter • August 23-29, 2018

Lesbian heroines of the AIDS epidemic by Brian Bromberger

uring this decade there has been a resurgence of documentaries on the AIDS epidemic. Enough time has passed to look back artistically, somewhat objectively, on the devastation, prejudice, and death during those Holocaustlike years when the disease was the #1 killer of people ages 35-45 (from 1985-96). Yet rarely have films dealt with the perspective of doctors or caregivers. So it is a gift to announce another outstanding entry in LogoTV’s final presentation in its three-documentary summer series. “Quiet Heroes,” which premiered earlier this year at Sundance, will be shown on August 23, continuing through the rest of the month, streamable on August 24. Screened at Frameline this year to much acclaim, the film shines a Dr. Kirsten Ries and Maggie Snyder Day in “Quiet Heroes.” light on the compassion, bravery, and resourcefulHospital, run by a Catholic order train as a physician assistant who ness of those who treated of nuns, the Sisters of Holy Cross, could assist her. Eventually the two PWAs when AIDS was a virtual who were used to caring for poor would become life partners as well death sentence. and stigmatized people, and felt it as professional ones. It was auspicious that on the would be irresponsible not to care The Mormon Church’s hostility same day, June 5, 1981, that the for PWAs. Ries, on her part, had toward LGBTQ people is the underCDC reported the first cases of been raised to dislike Catholics by current of this story, with parents Pneumocystis Pneumonia among her parents, but working with the forced to choose between family gay men, Dr. Kristen Ries, who had nuns quickly changed her opinion. and faith, often counseled by local an interest in infectious diseases Ries created an AIDS ward at Holy religious leaders to disown their gay – having done previous work on Cross called Med III. For the first sons. A state Senator unsuccessfully STDs – arrived in Salt Lake City. several years she was the only doclobbied to turn Antelope Island in Upon seeing her first AIDS case, tor in Utah willing to treat PWAs. the middle of the Great Salt Lake she immediately contacted the But as her practice grew (humorinto a leper colony for PWAs. MarUtah Department of Health, who ously called AIDS and Aged, as she riage was often presented as a cure told her they weren’t going to do treated mostly gay men and the for being gay, with the result that gay anything about the disease. Fear elderly), she needed help. The hoshusbands would have surreptitious and stigma immediately surroundpital funded a young nurse, Maggie sex with other men and sometimes ed AIDS. Fortunately, Dr. Ries got Snyder, to go back to school to pass the AIDS virus to their wives. admitting privileges at Holy Cross

Logo-TV

This chain of events happened to Kim Smith, who despite being infected by her Air Force pilot husband Steve, remained married to him and eventually nursed him until his death. As the film notes, the Holy Cross team became family for patients ostracized by their families. Especially in the early years when there was no treatment for AIDS or its opportunistic infections, Dr. Ries felt the best medicine was listening to her patients, providing care and comfort, helping them to die. At the end of every visit, each patient received a hearty hug from her. Dr. Ries and her team often doubled as social workers, calling parents to tell them it was their

last chance to see their son before he died. Ries and Snyder made a commitment that if they met patients on the street they wouldn’t acknowledge them unless they were acknowledged first, for fear of inadvertently outing them. Some patients entered the clinic only through the back door. Throughout the documentary we also hear the valiant stories of Ballet West dancer and later Director of Education Peter Christie, a long-term AIDS survivor, and Beverly Stoddard, a lesbian whose mother Cindy campaigned to overturn a law preventing PWAs from marrying. Holy Cross Hospital, having been made poor by the epidemic, had to close. Ries and Snyder finished their AIDS work at the University of Utah until their retirement. While counseling patients that they had done nothing to deserve their diagnosis, Ries was forced to confront her own internalized homophobia, thinking she was bad for being a lesbian. Eventually she could say she was saved by AIDS, inspired by witnessing so many gay men express pride for who they were, as well as valiantly accepting their grim prognosis. Ries and Snyder both felt they weren’t doing anything extraordinary, just what their jobs called them to do, even revealing that they illegally redistributed unused expensive HIV drugs collected from deceased patients, risking prison. On March 29, 2016, in a poignant ceremony, Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski proclaimed Dr. Kirsten Ries and Maggie Snyder Day to a packed crowd. This heartfelt documentary is a testament to their life-changing work with the LGBTQ community, who owe a profound debt to Dr. Ries and Maggie Snyder.t

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August 23-29, 2018 • Bay Area Reporter • 25

Reports from the front lines by Sura Wood

t’s a particularly disillusioning time to take America’s temperature, an assumption borne out by “This Land,” the latest photography exhibition at Pier 24. A bracing reality check and tacit indictment of who we are and what we’re becoming, the show is Pier 24’s most cohesive effort to date. As has been the case with their previous exhibitions, this one is huge, with over 400 photographs occupying 16 galleries. That it doesn’t feel overwhelming is largely due to the connective tissue of its overriding theme, the astute installation by Pier 24 director Chris McCall, and that the material is in this exceptional venue’s sweet spot. Included are bodies of work by 18 photographers, some American, others not, who had their finger on the pulse of the country, and where it was headed, several years before we arrived at our current moment of national reckoning. Though the images are not overtly political, after viewing this unvarnished collective portrait of abandoned homes and shopping centers, booms gone bust; poor neighborhoods riddled with crime and police brutality, landscapes scarred by unchecked “progress” while the homeless sleep on the streets; and “do not enter” decrees at our borders, you might wonder why people still want so desperately to come here. The answer to the aforementioned question, one supposes, is that in many cases, it’s better than the alternative. “Border Cantos” (2013-15), excerpts from a collaboration between East Bay photographer Richard Misrach and Mexican-American experimental composer Guillermo Galindo, is a troubling report from the front lines of the fractious immigration debate. After taking color pictures of personal belongings dis-

collapsed roofs and the chaos carded along the U.S. Mexico of derailed lives. The dream border – some are assembled in went somewhere else, but eva grid on view here – Misrach idently not to the shopping shipped the cast-offs to Galinmalls-turned-ghost-towns do, who built ingenious musidocumented by Brian Ulrich cal sculptures from crushed biin “Dark Stores” (2008-11). cycle parts and a battered chair, Permanently stilled escalaa tire, a ram’s horn, a stray boot, tors ferry no one to nowhere; and other detritus. Two of his vast vacant parking lots, works are positioned in the overtaken by weeds, cry middle of a gallery rung with out for patrons; and onceMisrach’s images of attempted thriving retail businesses border walls. A portion of are closed, destined never to one erected on a berm in Los Indios, Texas appears to float return. The creepy deserted inches above the ground like buildings, eerily devoid of a figment of the imagination, life, photographed after dark standing alone and unconor in murky dystopian light, nected to anything. A poignant could be habitués for the image of yearning, frustration walking dead. Where have all and perhaps thwarted hope dethe people gone? Annihilated picts a crowded Tijuana beach by nuclear war or wiped out separated from San Diego by by a pandemic? Nope, they’re Paolo Pellegrin/Magnum Photos, courtesy the artist a row a dark wood pilings. Paolo Pellegrin, “Police detain an intoxicated, deaf, and mute man in shopping on laptops and While others play in the sand, a Liberty City. Miami, Florida, USA, 2012.” smart phones. man peers through the barrier “Street” (2011), a 61-minto a Promised Land just out ute video by British-born, rests on the streets of Rochester, large-scale, digital color portraits of of reach. “Unlike that beacon New York-based painter and New York, and Liberty City, Miami, faces. The project maps a swath of of freedom the Statue of Liberty,” filmmaker James Nares, with a score places where the volatile relationship unglamorous humanity, bad skin writes Misrach, “the border wall is by Thurston Moore, is a surreal outbetween police and black residents and all, including a Nixon imperan anti-monument. Its message: of-time interlude in which people on hasn’t markedly improved since sonator and Anthony Weiner. Many ‘Keep out.’” the streets of an unnamed metropothe civil rights era. A harsh police are street people and prematurely Approximately a third of the show lis move through their hectic lives in searchlight shines on a detainee in a aged addicts or poor, regular folks is rooted in “Postcards from Amerithe slowest of motion. The pace of white T-shirt who has been stopped from flyover country, representing ca,” a project funded by Pier 24 that distracted humanity is reduced to a in his tracks, while a black man, his the kind of ethnic mix sure to strike sent photographers to communities crawl; the perspective is detached, as hands cuffed behind his back, sits terror in the heart and lame mind of in different parts of the country. if the human race is under surveilon his porch railing, waiting. In a Laura Ingraham. Seven of the artists – Donavan Wiley, lance by aliens. “My intention was shocking vignette, a hard-to-look-at The American dream denied and Alec Soth, Bruce Gilden, Alessandra to give the dreamlike impression image prominently shows the hand gone to seed is the subject of Gilden’s Sanguinetti, Jim Goldberg, An-My of people floating through a city of an officer pushing the face of an “Foreclosures” (2008-11), a careLe and Paolo Pellegrin – are featured frozen in time, caught Pompeiiintoxicated, deaf and mute black fully arranged suite of black & white in the show. Pellegrin’s “Heat of the like at a particular moment,” wrote man into the gutter. pictures of abandoned houses on Night” (2012-14), a group of stark, Nares. And we all know the fate Gilden contributes two outstandovergrown lots, empty swimming high-contrast black & white photothat awaited the doomed souls who ing, quite different bodies of work. pools and junk-strewn, condemned fled Mt. Vesuvius. graphs, echoes the visual aesthetics He trolled Wall Street, Midwestern properties, unloved, neglected Admission is free and by apof Norman Jewison’s 1967 film county fairs and the Republican and left for dead. From the ashes pointment, which can be booked starring Sidney Poitier for which Convention for “Citizen” (2013-17), of failed aspiration, he constructs online.t the series is named. On the hunt in an unfiltered, unflattering view of abstract, near-poetic, architectural the witching hours, Pellegrin, who the way we look now, comprised compositions with images of rotstruggled in his role as detached Through March 31, 2019. of nearly 70 slightly distorted, ting wood, boarded-up windows, observer, captured crime and arpier24.org

“Jim Provenzano has again created characters that a reader can’t help but fall in love with. This is an epic story, a tale as captivating as a favorite piece of music.” – author Mark Abramson

Now I’m Here

The sixth novel by Lambda Literary Award-winning author

Jim Provenzano

Aug. 29 - ebook - Kindle, Nook & Kobo release Sept. 20 - Release event - Dog Eared Books with Peter Fogel performing songs by Queen 7pm. 489 Castro St. www.dogearedbooks.com Oct. 12 – Reading and signing – Book Soup with Dudley Saunders performing songs by Queen 7pm. 8818 Sunset Blvd. West Hollywood Beautiful Dreamer Press www.beautifuldreamerpress.com www.jimprovenzano.com

<< Theatre

26 • Bay Area Reporter • August 23-29, 2018

Michael Wakefield

Charles Busch, master of camp.

Charles Busch

From page 17

A drag legend as well as an accomplished novelist and screenwriter, Busch has a long list of credits on his bio. He is the author and star of “Vampire Lesbians of Sodom,” one of the longest-running plays Off Broadway, and of the films “Psycho Beach Party” and “Die Mommie Die,” which won him the best performance award at the Sundance Film Festival. “I am so thrilled that the theatre has decided to honor Charles Busch, whose work I have admired for decades,” said NCTC founder and artistic director Ed Decker in a telephone interview with the B.A.R. Over the years, NCTC has produced many of Busch’s plays, said Decker, “and he is simply one of the finest artists I have ever known.” The Aug. 25 event promises to be a “spectacular party,” said Decker. The gala will be held at the theatre’s headquarters at 25 Van Ness Ave. in San Francisco, in various spaces throughout the spectacular Art

Deco building. While Busch will not be performing that evening, the event includes pop-up performances in the lobby lounge by local artists who have performed at NCTC. Local restaurants have donated food and beverages. Decker recalled the first time he met Busch. “As a young gay artist,” said Decker, “I was really drawn to Busch’s work.” When he founded NCTC, “I hoped I would one day know this person and have an opportunity to work with him.” So on his next trip to New York City, where Busch has lived most of his life, Decker invited the young playwright to tea. “Much to my surprise he accepted,” said Decker, “and we became fast friends immediately, as if we’d known each other our entire lives.” Decker believes the upcoming production of “Red Scare at Sunset” will be “immensely appealing” to local audiences. “It’s a comedy and spoof of the McCarthy era in this country,” he explained. Given the current scandal over Russian interference in our election, “the subject couldn’t be more timely.” Busch credits San Francisco with a starring role in launching his career, he said in a telephone interview with the B.A.R. He first performed in San Francisco in 1982 at “a wonderful, legendary place,” the Valencia Rose Cabaret, located at 744 Valencia St. It is believed to have been the world’s first gay comedy club, although it closed after only three years in business. “This began a very important chapter in my life,” said Busch. San Francisco audiences were very receptive, “and this was almost the first time I had experienced any kind of success as a writer and performer.” Busch had started his performing career after college, “booking myself into different places in New York.” His earliest shows consisted of “solo performances where I’d write complex pieces with male

and female characters. At first I got terrible reviews,” he recalled. “But I was a very driven young person, and my big dream was to perform in San Francisco. It seemed like a magical place, but I couldn’t figure out how to get the opportunity.” After Busch’s many failed attempts to book himself into a club, a friend from New York began working in San Francisco and got him a one-night gig at a benefit at Theatre Rhino, where a number of people in the entertainment industry saw him perform. Six months later, he was invited to perform at Valencia Rose. “I considered it a miracle,” Busch said. “I was just starting out and was not well-known at all. Somehow, the press took to me. I got rave reviews in the [San Francisco] Chronicle and Examiner, who treated me as if I was an important person from New York,

him change from Mozart’s comic bird-catcher to Debussy’s darkly doubting Golaud was a revelation. Scenes of startling violence showed his acting range, and his voice remains powerful. Mezzo-soprano Kendra Broom’s nuanced Melisande warmed her flesh-and-blood interpretation with sweet innocence and flashes of wit. Her duets with sympathetic tenor David Blalock as Pelleas were beautiful. Cory Weaver

Mezzo-soprano Kendra Broom as Melisande and baritone Efrain Solis as her husband in West Edge Opera’s production of Claude Debussy’s symbolist opera “Pelleas and Melisande.”

Love triangle

In director Keturah Stickann’s

Tickets for the NCTC gala ($150): www.nctcsf.org/gala.

J. Conrad Frank, Kyle Goldman, Kyle Dayrit, and Nancy French will star in Charles Busch’s “Red Scare at Sunset” for NCTC.

West Edge Opera

stereotypical characters and pedestrian lyrics. Sets by Neal Wilkinson, video by David Palmer, costumes by Oana Botez and lighting by Michael Oesch lifted the work visually, and the small band conducted by Emily Senturia brought the composer’s catchy pastiche to vivid life. Marks died last May at 38. The performances, dedicated to his memory, revealed a talent cut tragically short. In the spoken title role, actress Tina Mitchell recreated the performance that caught GD Streshinsky’s eye in the 2017 New York Prototype Festival. Mezzo-soprano Molly Mahoney did her best in the cliché part of Sister Leonide. Starting as Mata’s crude, cigarette-smoking jail attendant, and ending as her confidant, Mahoney relied on her vocal resources (and her Flying Nun headgear) for believability. Baritone Daniel Cilli was a standout as Captain Ladoux, and countertenor Jean-Paul Jones sang effectively in pop-inflected solos as Mata’s lover Vadime and the ghost of her son.

Now in his fourth decade performing, Busch said he “hasn’t slowed down” at all. “Every month, I go somewhere,” he said, in addition to performing in New York City. One discouraging part of the entertainment business, he said, is the shrinking of newspapers, which has meant less coverage of the arts. For example, he said, The New York Times recently discontinued their coverage of cabaret. The former critic reported “there weren’t enough digital clicks” to continue the reviews. But demand for his work is still strong, Busch said. “And of course I’m really excited to be coming to San Francisco” to the gala, he said. “I love a good party, especially when it’s about me!”t

Lois Tema

From page 17

Spectacular Bay views from the former Ford assembly plant’s windows and complimentary beer and wine added to the atmosphere, but audiences care more about WEO’s innovative programming, even if additional parking, shuttles to and from BART, and indoor restrooms made attendance easier. A theme ran through all three shows, described by General Director Mark Streshinsky as focusing on “complicated and strong women.” Artistic leadership was equal between the sexes, and the company has ongoing plans to correct a field historically dominated by men. All of the composers were male, however, which explains some of the variable results. It could be said that all of their heroines were riddles wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. Or less kindly, “complicated” meant everything from semi-comatose to calculating. Still, the three women struggling in a world of toxic testosterone showed creative coping strategies. Seeing “Mata Hari” by composer Matt Marks and librettist Paul Peers (who also directed) first was a disappointing start. Less opera than music-theater piece, the swift biography (85 minutes without intermission) of Margaretha Zelle, famous as WWI dancer, temptress and undercover agent Mata Hari, comes down squarely in her defense. A lifelong victim of abuse, robbed of her children, income and fame, she was finally executed by the French. Peers views the circumstantial evidence that condemned her as just that. He is searching for her humanity, and feeling sympathy for the notorious spy. Told in flashbacks from prison, the saga of a fascinating woman we may never understand is plagued by repetitious exposition,

which was crazy. And I could see that the gay press wanted to support me, which gave me the confidence to believe I had something to offer. I knew I was on the right path.” While continuing to write and act in his own plays, Busch recently began to hone a cabaret act in which he did not perform in drag. “I thought it didn’t make sense personally to be in drag, because I’m introduced as Charles Busch, and tell stories about my life. A year ago, I decided to try it out of drag, and it just felt great, and I have been performing that way since.” Cabaret is one of the few forms of entertainment “that hasn’t changed over the years,” said Busch. “The concept is the same: people sitting in a room where they can eat and drink and see an intimate performance. It’s not very different from 1920.”

cut-to-the chase imagining of Claude Debussy’s symbolist opera “Pelleas and Melisande,” the title heroine startles the audience immediately as she gasps frantically for air. Is she awakening from a nightmare, or collapsing after an escape? Whatever; she has gone from one fright to another. Discovered by troubled Prince Golaud and quickly wed, Melisande is lost in a numbing void until she meets her husband’s brother Pelleas. There are many ways to interpret the triangle, but most productions favor ambiguity over passionate emotion. Stickann was movement director and choreographer at San Francisco Opera, with memorable work in “Moby Dick.” At WEO, she shows brilliance as a director. Music Director Jonathan Khuner conducted his own chamber version of the score, with fine orchestral response. His reduction suited Stickann’s sharper-edged vision. His poetic translation of the text for the supertitles was another treat. Baritone Efrain Solis has impressed audiences as an Adler Fellow and a spot-on Papageno in SFO’s “The Magic Flute.” Seeing

Operatic workout

The final offering of the festival, Italian composer Luca Francesconi’s deeply disturbing “Quartett,” hardly sent listeners into the balmy Richmond night whistling a happy tune, but no one could deny the unnerving power of the experience. Soprano Heather Buck is building a reputation as a singer of daunting contemporary roles. Baritone Hadleigh Adams is a returning favorite at WEO, praised for his star turn in Thomas Ades’ “Powder Her Face.” Together they are an uncommonly fit and attractive pair. Their athleticism and vocal flexibility

proved important assets, considering the demands director Elkhanah Pulitzer and costume designer Christine Crook placed upon them. Continuously changing from one skimpy outfit to another, and climbing and sliding up and down Chad Owens’ remarkable set, Buck and Adams got quite a workout as they navigated the minefield of Francesconi’s score. Conductor John Kennedy has strong contemporary opera creds, too, and with Meyer Sound helping sound designer Jeremy Wagner, the confrontational work transfixed the audience for 90 relentless minutes. Based on characters from “The Dangerous Liaisons” and Heiner Muller’s play, Francesconi puts two singers into four parts and switches them up between roles and genders. It is confusing, repellant and merciless, but the composer’s jaundiced exploration of sexual terrorism avoids pomposity. His studies with legendary experimental composers inform the multi-dimensional results, and “Quartett” justifies West Edge Opera’s outlandishly provocative production.t

Cory Weaver

Baritone Hadleigh Adams, front, and soprano Heather Buck, back, in West Edge Opera’s production of composer Luca Francesconi’s “Quartett.”

Joey Dosik www.ebar.com

Leather

Shining Stars

DTLA

Vol. 48 • No. 34 • August 23-29, 2018

goes gay Downtown Los Angeles’ surprising style by Jim Gladstone

o many gay San Franciscans, taking a weekend trip to Los Angeles has come to mean hanging out in LA-adjacent West Hollywood. A city of its own, WeHo often feels as if it’s also in an era of its own: A perpetual Gay ‘90s, abulge with fitness, whiteness and the early reign of Her Britness. But over the past few years, downtown Los Angeles –known as DTLA– has emerged as a new nexus of Southern California queerdom; home to a hipper, grittier, more diverse nightlife, an appealing bounty of cultural offerings, and the pioneering spirit of a community coming into its own. See page 28

Eric Solis

Downtown LA’s skyline at 2017’s DTLA Proud.

Charles Pierce

a male actress to remember by Michael Flanagan

harles Pierce’s connection to San Francisco history is easily lost due to his larger than life personality and his talent. By the time I moved here in the 1980s, I mistakenly thought of him a community icon, but not as someone whose career was strongly linked with the city. See page 30 >>

Charles Pierce as Mae West

{ THIRD OF THREE SECTIONS }

<< Travel

28 • Bay Area Reporter • August 23-29, 2018

DTLA goes gay

From page 27

DTLA Proud

Perhaps the most telling sign of DTLA’s gay ascendance is the establishment and success of its own annual Pride celebration, held just two months and ten miles from WeHocentered LA Pride. This year’s DTLA Proud Festival, expanded to three days from two in response to capacity crowds last year, will take place from Friday, August 24 through Sunday, August 26 at Pershing Square Park. All three days feature live performances, DJs and dancing, a queer art exhibition and the festival’s signature element, a pop-up waterpark—so wear your swim trunks. The successful festival is the first phase of a long-range plan by the four-year old DTLA Proud nonprofit organization.

“This year, we’re putting together a map of all the queer-owned businesses,” says Oliver Alpuche, the group’s co-founder and president. “And we’re starting to raise the money to open a community center.” While focused on bringing local LGBTQ residents together and strengthening their sense of community, the festival also offers an opportunity for out-of-towners a point of entry for exploring DTLA’s new gay energy. DTLA Proud Festival Pershing Square Park 532 Olive Street. Aug. 25-26. Tickets and information: www.dtlaproud.org

Burgeoning bar scene

After decades in which DTLA’s only gay bar was the landmark New Jalisco, a comfortably divey hole-in-the-wall, 2015 saw the arrival of three new queer nightspots

Playmates and soul mates...

San Francisco:

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in quick succession. Already living in the neighborhood and working as a marketing representative for Nike, Oliver Alpuche felt that downtown lacked a gathering place for its growing queer community. Despite having never worked in the hospitality business before, he began looking at potential locations to open a gay bar. In the midst of his search, he discovered that he wasn’t the only one sensing that downtown was ripe for a gay renaissance. In fact, a space Alpuche had briefly considered before settling on another location for his bar –the pubby, Cheers-like Redline– ended up becoming the enormous loft-like Precinct dance bar. In the wake of those two swift successes came a third opening, Bar Mattachine, a swanky craft cocktail bar named for Harry Hay’s 1950s gay rights organization, The Mattachine Society On Sunday August 19, just before this issue went to press, the bar announced on social media: “Bar Mattachine closed its doors today... Goodbye… for now. To be continued.” Nevertheless, the sudden presence of a gay bar-hopping circuit in DTLA proved a catalyst for community building. Patrons who lived in the area began to recognize each other elsewhere downtown. Inspired by the positive change their businesses were bringing to the area, Alpuche and his fellow bar owners began to brainstorm DTLA Proud. Redline. 131 E. 6th St. www.redlinedtla.com Precinct. 357 S. Broadway. www.precinctdtla.com Bar Mattachine. 221 W. 7th St. www.barmattachine.com The New Jalisco Bar. 245 S. Main St. http://bit.ly/2nDdnIP

Walk through queer history

While Redline is proving to be a hub for DTLA’s gay future, it’s also the launching point for a fascinating trip into Los Angeles’ gay past. On one or two Sundays each month (Dates vary), the bar serves as the start and end-point for a Gay DTLA walking tour and brunch run by non-profit queer educational organization, The Lavender Effect. Along the route, groups limited to a maximum of 15 will see and learn about landmark sites of gay activism, a porn theater that dates back to the 1880s, old Hollywood’s favorite cruising and hustling areas, and other locations rich in historic lore. www.thelavendereffect.org/tours

Unique retail

Perhaps the most singular shop in all of Los Angeles, Please Do Not Enter is the brainchild of gay couple Nicolas Libert and Emmanuel Renoird, who moved to DTLA from Paris, where they worked, respectively, in real estate and interior design. After falling in love with its rough-around-the-edges sense of possibility while on holiday five years ago, they decided to reboot their lives. A concept store along the lines of Paris’ now defunct Colette and Milan’s 10 Corso Como, Please… is part art gallery, part boutique with a constantly revolving stock of eccentric merchandise, from androgynous couture fashions to esoteric desktop geegaws. It’s become a regular stop on Hollywood stylists’ shopping trips, lent set pieces to American Horror Story’s Hotel, and spawned an offshoot exhibition space blocks away in the buzzy new Nomad Hotel. Their establishment’s name offers an ironic middle finger to less-visionary friends who tried to dissuade Libert and Renoird from succumbing to the lure of a very much still-in-transition neighborhood (Amidst its growing charms,

photos: DTLA Proud

Above: DTLA Proud’s daytime 2016 party. Middle: AB Soto, a gay hiphop favorite, at 2017’s DTLA Proud. Bottom: DTLA Proud attendees.

DTLA continues to have a major homeless population). “We love the urban spirit,” says Libert. “It’s like nowhere else in the world right now. We moved here specifically for Downtown LA, not to be in the whole of Los Angeles.” Another remarkable DTLA shopping experience can be found at The Last Bookstore, a 22,000 square foot rumpus room for lovers of literature, old and new. On the ground floor and mezzanine of a glamorous marble-pillared old bank building,

the shop, open until 10pm weeknights and 11 on weekends, also has an enormous selection of vintage vinyl records and hosts author readings and other events on a near daily basis. And a San Francisco seal of approval is arriving in the form of SoCal’s first Tartine outpost at ROW DTLA, an enormous old-produce depot that’s been converted into a collection of micro-brand fashion and houseware boutiques, pop-up shops, cafes and restaurants. On

The Last Bookstore’s innovative book installation.

Cabaret>>

August 23-29, 2018 • Bay Area Reporter • 29

Joey Dosik Singer-songwriter’s ‘Inside Voice’

Joey Dosik, and his new album Inside Voice

by Jim Gladstone

“N

ever in my wildest dreams did I think someone would hear my music coming out of a loudspeaker at a Wingstop in Jakarta,” singer-songwriter Joey Dosik, still wide-eyed at the memory of a message he received from a fan. “That’s one of the greatest things about being a musician with today’s technology, I think. On SoundCloud and Spotify, I can see who’s listening to my music. It can be really surprising. Like, ‘Where is that?’ and it’s some little island off the coast of Africa.” While the Los Angeles-based Dosik –who plays the Independent

on Sunday night– has made the most of 21st-century digital tools in starting to build a far-flung fanbase, his music itself harkens back to eras before the 33-year-old was born. “If 15-year-old Carole King had SoundCloud,” says Dosik, who considers King among his greatest influences, “she would have been a bedroom sensation. Her songwriting was undeniable. But she was born in an era when, for a long time, she was kept behind the scenes.” Dosik takes inspiration from his elder musicians. “Ever since I was a kid, I’ve felt drawn to music from the 1970s,” says Dosik. That will come as no surprise to

Iwan Baan

The Broad Museum.

Sundays, an enormous adjacent lot becomes the sole West Coast iteration of Brooklyn’s famed Smorgasburg food fair. Please Do Not Enter 549 S. Olive St. www.pleasedonotenter.com The Last Bookstore 453 S. Spring St. www.lastbookstorela.com Row DTLA/Smorgasburg 777 S. Alameda St. www.rowdtla.com la.smorgasburg.com

Art in abundance

With its inventory of old industrial lofts and warehouses, DTLA has become a natural nesting place for artists in search of live/work space. Bringing a certain quirky flair to the day-to-day sidewalk fashion parade, these art afficionadoes flock to a rich museum and gallery scene. It’s hard to beat the combination of a phenomenal collection and free admission (with reservations recommended) offered by The Broad, DTLA’s three-year-old contemporary art museum. The building in

and of itself –a veil of white lace over an interior of strangely organic passageways– is extraordinary, a worthy counterpart to the silvery furls of Frank Gehry’s Disney Concert Hall, just down the block. On exhibit through February is A Journey That Wasn’t, a cleverly curated selection of works organized around notions of time. The show’s highlight is Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson’s nine-screen video installation, The Visitors, in which simultaneously recorded footage of individual musicians playing the same score is concurrently screened at different locations within a cavernous dark room. The result is a haunting sense of simultaneous isolation and connection. Just a few minutes’ walk away, the venerable Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art is chockablock with 20th-century masterworks by the likes of Lichtenstein, de Kooning, Rauschenberg and Rothko. A second downtown MOCA outpost, MOCA Geffen, less than a mile away, is closed until November. Street art and galleries clamor for pedestrian attention in the Arts

anyone who listens to his debut album, Inside Voice, which releases tomorrow (August 24), or its predecessor, last year’s Game Winner EP, on which all the songs are at least loosely related to basketball, another of Dosik’s passions. Dosik’s sweet, soulful vocals and piano-based arrangements evoke the work of Bill Withers and Marvin Gaye. His songs are infectious without feeling insistent. Their hooks emerge from the writing rather than being tacked on with studio effects. “I’m really interested in hummability,” Dosik says, “Big, long chorddriven melodic lines.” His singing style is the antithesis of the American Idol belting so comDistrict to the southeast of downtown. Anchored by Hauser & Wirth Los Angeles, a sprawling indoor-outdoor gallery situated in the buildings and transit yards of a former flour mill, the complex hosts not only contemporary art exhibitions, but a design book store, a restaurant, and a range of public performances. Dozens of other exhibition spaces line the nearby streets, beneath a collection of murals that rivals that of San Francisco’s Mission District, including landmark work by Shepherd Fairey, JR, How and Nosm along with scores of lesser-known but equally eyepopping Angeleno artists. The Broad 221 S. Grand Ave. www.thebroad.org MOCA 250 S. Grand Ave. www.moca.org Hauser & Wirth 901 E. 3rd St. http://bit.ly/2PbGhfG

Seductive stays

DTLA has one of the most exciting collections of new and newly renovated hotels in any American city. Atmospheric lobbies, sociable pool areas, and nifty nods to local history make them worthy destinations in and of themselves. The gleaming new Hotel Indigo, located in the least gritty section of DTLA, adjacent to the LA Live complex and Staples Center, regularly hosts events for the queer community, including an upcoming gay pool party on September 1. Chic yet whimsical, the colorful, sunlit lobby features an enormous ornamental hat rack stacked with dozens of fedoras and a pennyfarthing bicycle abloom with flowers. Reopened just last month, The Mayfair Hotel offers a noir counterpart to the Indigo’s sunnier style. The 1926 building, which played

mon to contemporary pop; Dosik’s vulnerable tenor gently bobs atop a melody rather that working to zoom out in front of it. Raised in a tight-knit Jewish family, the son of a sociology professor mother and physician father, Dosik started taking piano lessons at an early age. He fondly remembers performing in a third-grade talent show, imitating Little Richard hammering away at the keyboards on “Tutti Frutti” and, later, playing Chopin études for his Polish grandmother. “She would cry every time.” (Dosik pays tribute to her on Inside Voice’s “Grandma Song”). In junior high, Dosik took up the saxophone and joined the school jazz band. Under the tutelage of a history teacher, he immersed himself in jazz history. Dosik became a highly skilled, intellectually inquisitive sax player, even landing paid gigs while still in high school. His saxophone prowess helped him win admission to music school at the University of Michigan, where he first connected with the founding members of Vulfpeck, the funk-rock band with whom he’s previously played sax in San Francisco. But while he was at college, Dosik says, “I guess I had an existential crisis. I had come so far playing saxophone, but was I going to spend the rest of my life playing jazz, being a sideman? “I really love to sing. Growing up I was always playing piano and singing along with records. Sam Cooke, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye.” Also, after years of studying and playing jazz, Dosik says, “I felt a bit

scarred by the context in which live jazz is played these days. There can be a museum-like quality, where the audience sits there silently, almost reverential. I want to engage with audiences. When I play live, I want the audience to feel like the show is co-created by them.” And so, his musicianship sharpened by a sophisticated understanding of jazz, Dosik returned to the keyboards and slowly began to work on his own singing and songwriting. “At first,” he says, “I just dove into Stevie Wonder. I sat down with every record and listened to how the songs were crafted.” Wanting to be as serious about his musical change of direction as he’d been about sax, Dosik took five crafting new work before releasing any of it on the internet. “I had been on this Ornette Coleman/John Coltrane mission for years. This was a big step.” Big, and ultimately successful. Along with making its way to Jakarta, Dosik’s new work made it on to the radar of mainstream media here in the U.S. The title song from Game Winner was licensed for use in the Netflix series Easy and featured in the recent Nick Offerman film Hearts Beat Loud (“Its in a very cool makeout scene,” he says). Following hometown record-release shows in Los Angeles this week, Dosik’s Sunday show at the Independent marks the start of his first headlining international tour.t

host to the first-ever Oscars’ afterparty, has been stunningly refurbished in an array of shadowy charcoal tones and metalwork accents. The reception area, centered around an illuminated fan-shaped sculpture, invites visitors to slink off and discover an array of sexy subchambers, including an ink-dark library that hosts DJs and live music on weekend nights. Appealing accommodations are also on offer at the Spanish-styled Hotel Figeroa, in a former YWCA, the Ace Hotel, a sponsor of DTLA

Proud, and the Freehand, which cultivates an eclectic crowd by offering luxury suites and bunk-bedded hostel rooms in the same building. Hotel Indigo. 899 Francisco St. www.hotelindigola.com Mayfair Hotel. 1256 W.7th St. www.mayfairla.com Hotel Figeroa. 939 S. Figeroa St. www.hotelfigeroa.com Ace Hotel. 929 S. Broadway www.acehotel.com/losangeles Freehand Hotel. 416 W. 8th St www.freehandhotels.com/ losangelest

Joey Dosik performs at The Independent, Sunday, August 24, 8pm. $16-$18. 628 Divisadero St. https://joeydosik.com/ www.theindependentsf.com

<< BARchive

30 • Bay Area Reporter • August 23-29, 2018

Left to Right: Charles Pierce as himself, Bette Davis, and Tallulah Bankhead

Charles Pierce

From page 27

Pierce was born in Watertown, New York in 1926 and began radio work before moving to the West Coast. In 1946 he became a student at the Pasadena Playhouse, where he studied acting. The first few years of his career found him at loose ends, struggling for a direction. In the early ‘50s he saw a performance by Arthur Blake, a popular female impersonator who interpreted Hollywood stars like Bette Davis. Pierce wrote material for Blake, but it was rejected. Blake’s loss was our gain – Pierce went on to begin performing at Café La Vie in Altadena on September 27, 1954 and never looked back. Patrons who saw Pierce’s act in the ‘50s and early ‘60s saw a very different show from what developed once he donned a dress. In the ‘50s he performed in a tuxedo and used a box of props (including wigs and feather boas) which he used to assume characters. There was a good reason for this – you could get arrested for being in drag, as he learned early on. On Oct. 31, 1954. Café La Vie was raided and five men were arrested for impersonating females. All were found guilty. One was a high school math instructor who nearly lost his job. Pierce told Boulevards magazine in 1979 that as he was dressed as Caligula in a toga (with sequins that read “eat at Caesar’s” on the back) he was not considered to be in drag and was not arrested. Fortunately for the world, Ann Dee of Ann’s 440 (440 Broadway) saw Pierce at Café La Vie and offered him his first performance in San Francisco on September 1, 1956. He was back the next year and was described as a mimic, a comic and

Charles Pierce on the cover of the April 24, 1980 Bay Area Reporter.

a “very clever pantomime artist” in the Chronicle. By the ‘60s he was starring at The Purple Onion together with a costar, Rio Dante, and an act called “Les Moppets.” Pierce and Dante performed with their heads on top of a puppet stage. The puppet bodies neatly got around the question of cross-dressing on stage. The Purple Onion shows were a success, and in April 1963 Pierce and Dante were invited to audition at the Gilded Cage (126 Ellis). In 1990 he told B.A.R. reporter John Karr: “We did our material before the ten or so people seated at the bar on a Monday, opened on Tuesday and stayed for six years….That’s when I started working more in thrift shop drag.”

It was at the Gilded Cage that Pierce’s cast of characters Bette Davis, Mae West, Eleanor Roosevelt and more became complete. It was also here that his reputation spread through word of mouth in the gay community (there was no advertising for the Gilded Cage shows). Although the bar is often described as a Tenderloin bar, it’s important to remember that it was one block off of Powell Street and therefore drew a lot of performers from the theater district as well. Pierce told the B.A.R.’s Michael Lasky in 1984: “Probably one of the highlights of my career was when Angela Lansbury, who was appearing in Mame, came by to see the show. We put on the record of Mame for a 20-minute pantomime and Angela got up on a chair and joined in. For the sheer excitement we created that was an unforgettable night.” Pierce also took part in all that San Francisco had to offer in the ‘60s. He was at the party in the Haight where Rudolf Nureyev, Margot Fonteyn and Michael Greer were arrested (although he took a different route out of the apartment and was not arrested). Herb Caen (who often mentioned Pierce in his columns) noted that Nureyev and Fonteyn were at Pierce’s performance at the Gilded Cage the following night. When the Gilded Cage closed in 1969, Pierce went on to star with Carol Doda in the play Geese at the Encore Theater. It was a very ‘60s affair, with semi-nude cast members distributing daisies to the audience. The play was directed by Philip Oesterman (better known for Let My People Come). Geese was not Pierce’s only theater work in San Francisco – in 1974 he would appear as Margo Channing in Applause at California Hall. Pierce’s breakthrough performance came in 1971, when Les Natali booked him for a series of performances at Bimbo’s. The performances were recorded for a live album which gives a feel for his performances even today. It was around this time that he made it known that he did not want to be called a female impersonator. In 1971 told the Examiner: “I don’t like the term female impersonator, since I’m not a drag queen. I call myself a male actress. But what’s wrong with just plain impersonator?” From Bimbo’s he went on to an extended performance at Manhattan’s The Village Gate, for which he won a special Obie award and then made the hop across the pond to a ten-week engagement in London. Television followed and he appeared on shows through the ‘70s and ‘80s which were as diverse as Chico and

the Man, Love American Style, Laverne and Shirley, Fame and Designing Women. He did not forget the city that launched him, however. He performed here frequently including at The Plush Room and The Venetian Room (which he called “the men’s room at The Vatican”). He also did several benefits in town, including one for “Save Our Human Rights” during the Anita Bryant campaign and for the Gay Men’s Chorus. It was at a benefit to retire Harry Britt’s campaign debt at the Castro in 1980 that his act ran up against changing community attitudes. After a joke about Elizabeth Taylor’s weight (with an ethnic comment thrown in) the Lesbian Chorus, who was due to perform, walked out of

the performance. It was also in the ‘80s that he began to be questioned about whether his show was out of date. In typical Pierce style, he turned this complaint on its head. He titled his 1990 show at the Plush Room The Legendary Hollywood Ladies: All Talking, All Singing, All Dancing, All Dead. Although he threatened retirement several times, it seemed to only give him repeated opportunities to stage comebacks (to the delight of his fans). When he died in 1999, the actor Michael Kearns remembered a line he delivered at Ciro’s on Sunset Strip which sums up the message of his work: “If a person can’t be what they are, what’s the purpose of being anything at all?”t

Left: Charles Pierce in an ad for a 1974 production of Applause. Right: Charles Pierce in an ad for his Bimbo’s show.

Charles Pierce on the TV show Chico and the Man; coverage in the April 14, 1977 Bay Area Reporter.

Ride to Pride with VTA

Supported, in part, by a Cultural AďŹ&#x20AC;airs grants from the City of San Jose.

<< Arts Events

32 • Bay Area Reporter • August 23-29, 2018

For full listings, visit www.ebar.com/events

Thu 23 Andrei Tarkovsky Films @ BAM/PFA Artistic and award-winning films, including documentaries about artists; ongoing. Tarkovsky films thru Aug. 30. 2155 Center St., Berkeley. www.bampfa.org

Chasing the Thunder @ Cowell Theatre Special screening of the fascinating documentary about anti-poaching activists at sea; followed by a Q&A with Captain Paul Watson, Founder of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and Adam Meyerson, Chief Officer on the Bob Barker for Ice Fish. $20-$50. 6pm-9pm. Fort Mason, 2 Marina Blvd. http://intloceanfilmfest.org/events

Classic and New Films @ Castro Theatre Aug 23: Blade Runner (7pm) and Alphaville (9:15). Aug 24-36: Hitchcock’s Vertigo (2:30, 5:15, 8pm). Aug 27 & 28: Won’t You Be My Neighbor? (4:30, 6:30, 8:30). Aug 29: Die Hard (7pm) and The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (9:25). Aug 30: Stop Making Sense (7:15) and True Stories (9pm). Aug 31-Sept 5: Sing-Along The Little Mermaid (various times). $11-$14. 429 Castro St. www.castrotheatre.com/

Krull @ Various Cinemas The RiffTrax crew comments-jokes at simulcast screenings of the wonderfully bad scifi film, a gayish ripoff of The Lord of the Rings. $12-$20. 8pm. www.fathomevents. com/events/rifftrax-live-krull

Latinx Queerness @ GLBT History Museum Discussion moderated by Orlando de la Garza, artist and curator of Intimate Aphorisms: An Anthology

Arts Events

of Queer Latinx Narratives, a recent exhibition at the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts. Panelists include photographer Fabian Echevarria, MCCLA gallery coordinator Angelica Rodriguez and performer Shane Zaldivar. $5. 7pm-9pm. 4127 18th St. www.lgbthistory.org

August 23-30

Fri 24 Dawson Dance SF @ YBCA Theater World premiere of Mangaku, choreographed by Gregory Dawson, with music by Richard Howell. Also, Dawson’s Floating in Mid Air. $25-$65. 8pm. Also Aug 25. 700 Howard St. www.dawsondancesf.org

Debussy Festival @ Old First Church Fourth program celebrating the composer’s 100th, featuring Jeffrey LaDeur and Eunmi Ko, piano, and special guests Liana Bérubé, violin and Michelle Kwon, cello. $5-$25. 8pm. 1751 Sacramento St. www.oldfirstconcerts.org

Get Ghandi @ Z Below The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pantsuit Collective’s production of Anne Galjour’s ‘seriously radical feminist comedy’ about celibacy, celebrity, sexual hypocrisies and more. $15-$25. Thru Aug. 26. 470 Florida St. www.zspace.org

One Life Stand @ The Marsh Berkeley A Modern Girl’s Guide to Enlightenment & Other Disorders, Alicia Dattner’s solo show about heteronormative dating, how to spot narcissists, and more. $20-$100. Fri 8pm, Sat 8:30pm, thru Sept. 29. 2120 Allston Way, Berkeley. www.themarsh.org

Fri 24

Dawson Dance SF @ YBCA Theater

Sat 25 Caesar Maximus @ Music Concourse We Players’ performs Nick Medina and Ava Roy’s adaptation of Shakespseare’s Julius Caesar, with a circus theme, performed outdoors at the park’s museum area. $35-$65. Thu-Sun 5:30pm. Thru Sept. 30. Music Concourse Drive at Golden Gate Park. www.weplayers.org

Chocolate & Chalk Art Fest @ Berkeley Kid-friendly day of public art-making and chocolate product tastings. Chak kits $10. Prizes for best art. 10am-5pm. Gourmet Ghetto, Shattuck Ave., North Berkeley. www. anotherbullwinkelshow.com/chalkart-2017/

Runway XXX @ Herbst Theatre GAPA Foundation’s annual competition show, this year titled “Quest for the Pearl,” a fun show of pirate-themed acts and a fundraiser for the Gay Asian Pacific Alliance. $20-$50. 401 Van Ness Ave. 7pm10pm. gapavip2018.eventbrite.com

San Francisco Mime Troupe @ Dolores Park The acclaimed theatre company returns with Rotimi Agbabiaka, Joan Holden and composer Ira Marlowe’s new political satire, Seeing Red: A Time-Traveling Musical, where a disgruntled Trump voter goes back to the Socialist movement of 1912. Free ($20 donations). At parks and venues throughout Northern California, thru Sept. 9. www.sfmt.org

Shop Out Day @ Citywide The LGBT Center gets donations from participating shops, this time in the Fillmore District. See list at http://sfcenter.org/events/shop-outday-fillmore

Vintage Paper Fair @ Country Fair Bldg. Collectible postcards, posters, and other fascinating ephemera for sale. Free entry. 10am-6pm. Also Aug 26, 11am-5pm. Golden Gate Park, 9th Ave at Lincoln Way. http:// vintagepaperfair.com/

Sun 26 A Guided Tour of Hell @ Asian Art Museum Pema Namdol Thaye’s A Guided Tour of Hell (thru Sept. 16), Traces of the Past and Future, Fu Shen’s painting and calligraphy, thru Sept., plus exhibits of sculpture and antiquities.. Free-$20. Tue-Sun 10am-5pm. 200 Larkin St. http://www.asianart.org/

Tristan & Isolde @ Herbst Theatre Richard Wagner’s operatic love story is performed by tenor Roy Cornelius Smith (Tristan), soprano Juyeon Song (Isolde) and 20 other singers and a full orchestra, with video art by Naomie Kremer. $25-$80. 2pm. 401 Van Ness Ave. https://www. claudeheaterfoundation.org/

1980s queer underground scene. 7pm. 489 Castro St. www.dogearedbooks.com

Tue 28 Comeda es Medecina @ Galería de la Raza Group exhibit of works by artists focusing on the topic of food justice from Latinx, Chicanx, Central American, indigenous, and immigrant perspectives. 2857 24th St. www.galeriadelaraza.org

Peter Hujar: Speed of Life @ BAM/PFA, Berkeley Exhibit of photos by the New York 1970s-’80s art/celebrity scene gay photographer who died of AIDS in 1987; thru Nov. 18. Also, Way Bay 2; thru Sept 2. Cecelia Vicuna: About to Happen, thru Nov. 18. Ongoing film series at the Pacific Film Archive. Berkeley Art Museum, Pacific Film Archive, 2155 Center St. Berkeley. www.bampfa.org

Wed 29 Fighting Back: Transgender Rights Activism @ LGBT Museum A panel of historians, veteran organizers and younger activists will highlight the struggle and selfdetermination found in transgender lives, politics and cultures and will discuss how this history can help inform today’s resistance movements. $5. 7pm-9pm. 4127 18th St. www.lgbthistory.org

Thu 30 The Black Woman is God @ SOMArts Cultural Center Opening reception and performances for the multi-genre group exhibit of art depicting African women, created by dozens of artists. 6pm-10pm. Reg hours Tue-Fri 12pm-7pm. Sat 12pm-5pm. Thru Oct. 2. 934 Brannan St. www.somarts.org

A Sacred Beautiful @ SF Human Rights Commission

Mon 27

Exhibit of prints by Kalima Amilak and Nye Lyn Tho, portraits of African American women with unique hair-art designs. Thru Oct. 2. 25 Van Ness ave, 8th floor. Mon-Fri 9am-4pm.

Jennifer Blowdryer @ Dog Eared Books

Steve Hurst @ Bridge ArtSpace, Richmond

Jennifer Megan Bering-Gould Waters, aka Jennifer Blowdryer or “JB”, is proud to issue her new book with Bent Boy Press, The Most Harmless Person You Are Ever Going to Meet in Your Life, about SF’s

The creator handmade clocks made from recycled items showcases his new work with a reception and music concert. 23 Maine Ave., Richmond. www.stevenartclocks.com

Nightlife Events>>

t Nightlife Events August 23-30

August 23-29, 2018 • Bay Area Reporter • 33

DJ Strippers @ Lone Star Saloon Chaka Quan and guests spin and strip, we think. $3. 9pm-2am. 1354 Harrison St. www.lonestarsf.com

Dorian Electra @ The Stud Live performance at Fake and Gay, with Airel Zetina. $5-$10. 10pm-3am. 399 9th St. www.studsf.com

Hot August Nights @ SF Eagle

Fri 24

Eat Drink SF @ Fort Mason

Underwear party with DJ Salazar, hosted by Dulce De Leche, with gogo studs and prizes. $10. 9pm-2am. 398 12th St. www.sf-eagle.com

Impurity Ball @ Center for Sex & Culture Godless Perverts kink-theme party (and parody of ‘purity balls’), with DJ Victor Harris, games, photo booth, a quiet lounge, potluck treats. Kinkformal attire welcome. $10-$30. 7pm-10pm. 1349 Mission St. www.godlessperverts.com

Mother @ Oasis

For full listings, visit www.ebar.com/events

Thu 23 Aish @ Rickshaw Stop The local art-pop musician/artist performs his unusual music, on a bill with Dagmar, Whitney Tai, For Now and a Dario Slavazza DJ set. $10. 8pm. 155 Fell St. www.rickshawstop.com

Blackberri, KB Boyce, Mya Byrne @ El Rio The accomplished LGBT local musicians share the night with song and instrumentals. 8pm. 3158 Mission St. http://www.elriosf.com/

Cuir Exposure @ The Stud Drags and dance music with Power Top Ramen, PopTart. $5-$7. 10pm2am. 399 9th St. www.studsf.com

The Monster Show @ The Edge The weekly drag show with host Sue Casa, DJ MC2, themed nights and hilarious fun. $5. 9pm-2am. 4149 18th St. at Collingwood. www.edgesf.com

Nightlife @ California Academy of Science Enjoy science, nature exhibits and nightlife at the unique weekly parties. $12-$15. 6pm-9pm. 55 Music Concourse Drive, Golden gate Park. www.calacademy.org

Royal Variety Show @ Moby Dick Queen Dilly Dally’s weekly fun variety show of drag, music and even puppets. 9pm-11pm. 4049 18th St. www.queendillydally.com/

Sex and the City Live @ Oasis Enjoy more drag parody episodes of the hit series about four women in Manhattan, with D’Arcy Drollinger, Sue Casa and others. $27-$250 (VIP tables). 8pm. Fri & Sat 7pm. Thru Sept. 8 298 11th St. www.sfoasis.com

Sundance Saloon @ Space 550 The Country-Western line-dancing two-stepping dance event celebrates 20 years. Free thru April 29; $5 after. 5pm-10:30pm. Also Sundays. 550 Barneveld Ave. sundancesaloon.org

Todd Murray @ Feinstein’s at the Nikko The accomplished baritone performs classic standards with piano accompaniment. $22-$50 ($20 food/ drink min.) 8pm. Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. feinsteinsatthenikko.com

Fri 24 La Bomba Latina @ Club OMG Drag show with DJ Jaffeth. $5. 9pm2am. 43 6th St. www.clubomgsf.com

Eat Drink SF @ Fort Mason Large-scale annual festival of delicious foods, wines, beers, all in a big space, with music and entertainment. $129-$229. 7:15-10pm. Aug 25, 12:30-3:30pm and 7:30-10pm.Aug 26 12:30-3:30pm. 2 Marina Blvd. https://eatdrink-sf.com/

Gaymer Night @ SF Eagle Video, and board games galore. $5. 8pm-2am. 398 12th St. sf-eagle.com

Growlr @ SF Eagle Cruisy beary cubs & chubs night with DJ Paul Goodyear. $5. 9pm-2am. 398 12th St. www.sf-eagle.com

King of the Lions Ball @ The Stud Feline predator-themed night with SissySlays, Kitty Girls and lionesses. $5-$10. 10pm-3am. 399 9th St. www.studsf.com

Latin Explosion @ Club 21 The popular Latin club with gogo guys galore and Latin music. $10-$20. 9pm-3am. 2111 Franklin St., Oakland. www.club21oakland.com

Madame @ Oasis Jaymes Mansfield is a guest-performer at the new drag show, with D’Arcy Drollinger, Lady Hyde, DJOmar and more. $10 (VIP bottle tables, too). 10pm. 298 11th St. www.sfoasis.com

Prism @ Qube Bar & Grill, San Mateo New weekly LGBT night at the Peninsula restaurant and bar. 8pm11:30pm. 4000 South El Camino Real, San Mateo. https://qubelyfe.com/

Spencer Day @ Feinstein’s at the Nikko The accomplished singer-composerpianist performs. $37-$70 ($20 food/drink min.) 8pm. Also Aug 25. Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. feinsteinsatthenikko.com

Taboo @ Oasis Jock-themed dance party with dragertainment and hot gogo (VIP lap dances? Mmm.). $10. 10pm-2am. 298 11th St. www.sfoasis.com

Sat 25 21st Anniversary @ Speakeasy Ales & Lagers Tasting party for the Bayview brewery. VIP 1pm, Gen. admission 2pm-6pm. $5, $30 and up. 1195 Evans Ave. https://www.goodbeer.com/

Bearracuda @ Rickshaw Stop The ursine fun time’s at the Hayes Valley nightclub, with DJ Ryan Jones, gogo cubs and bears. $10-$15. 10pm2am. 155 Fell St. bearracuda.com

La Bota Loca @ Club 21, Oakland Banda Los Shakas performs live at the LGBT Latinx night. $10. 9pm-4am. 2111 Franklin St. club21oakland.com

Heklina’s popular drag show, with special guests and great music themes Aug 25 with Miss Vanjie! DJ MC2 plays grooves. $15-$20. 10pm-3am (11:30pm show). 298 11th St. www.sfoasis.com

Onyx @ Powerhouse Black men’s leather gathering, with raffles and fun. $5. 5pm-9pm. Folsom St. www.powerhousebar.com

The Playground @ Club BNB, Oakland Revamped night at the popular hip hop and Latin dance club. $5-$15. 9pm to 3am. 2120 Broadway. (510) 759-7340. www.club-bnb.com

Polyglamorous @ F8 David Harness guest-DJs at the groovy party, with selections from his new album Friends in Harmony. $7-$12. 10pm-4am. 1192 Folsom St. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ polyglamorous-aug-david-harnesstickets-48453518779

Sun 26 Blessed @ Port Bar, Oakland Carnie Asada’s fun drag night with Carnie’s Angels Mahlae Balenciaga and Au Jus, plus DJ Ion. 2023 Broadway. www.portbaroakland.com

Dirty Musical Sundays @ The Edge Sing along at the popular musical theatre night, with a bawdy edge; also Mondays and Wednesdays (but not dirty). 7pm-2am. 2 for 1 cocktail, 5pm-closing. 4149 18th St. at Collingwood. www.edgesf.com

Domingo De Escandal @ Club OMG Weekly Latin night with drag shows hosted by Vicky Jimenez and DJ Carlitos. (Comedy Open Mic 5:30pm). 7pm-2am. 43 6th St. clubomgsf.com

Jock @ The Lookout Enjoy the weekly jock-ular fun, with DJed dance music at sports team fundraisers. 12pm-1am. NY DJ Sharon White from 3pm-6pm. 3600 16th St. www.lookoutsf.com

OysterFest @ WaterBar Benefit for the Surfrider Foundation, with sustainable oysters, wine, craft beers and hors d’eouvres. $90 and up. 12pm-3pm. 399 Embarcadero South. www.waterbarsf.com

Queer Tango @ Finnish Hall, Berkeley Same-sex partner tango dancing, including lessons for newbies, food and drinks. $5-$10. 3:30pm-6:30pm. 1970 Chestnut St, Berkeley. www.finnishhall.org

Shag @ Powerhouse Sleazy tracks with host Nic Candito DJ Valence and dragerazzi Nicki Jixzz, MaShugganuttz. $5. 10pm-2am. 1347 Folsom St. www.powerhousebar.com

Mon 27 Munro’s at Midnight @ Midnight Sun Drag night with Mercedez Munro. No cover. 10pm. 4067 18th St. 861-4186. www.midnightsunsf.com

Piano Bar 101 @ Martuni’s Sing-along night with talented locals, and charming accompanist Joe Wicht. 9pm. 4 Valencia St. at Market.

Underwear Night @ 440 Strip down to your skivvies at the popular men’s night. 9pm-2am. 440 Castro St. 621-8732. the440.com

Tue 28 Gaymer Night @ Midnight Sun Weekly fun night of games (video, board etc.) and cocktails. 8pm-12am. 4067 18th St. midnightsunsf.com

Stag @ Powerhouse Single, or a couple looking for an extra? Cruise it up. $5. 5pm-2am. 1347 Folsom St. powerhousebar.com

Vice Tuesdays @ Q Bar Queer femme and friends dance party with hip hop, Top 40 and throwbacks at the stylish intimate bar, with DJs Val G and Iris Triska. 9pm-2am. 456 Castro St. www.QbarSF.com

Wed 29 Club 88 @ Flore New weekly piano bar sing-along night with alternating hosts Maria Konner, Kitten on the Keys and Alan Choy. 9pm-12am. 2298 Market St. www.flore415.com

Follies & Dollies @ White Horse Bar, Oakland Weekly drag show at the historic bar. 9:30pm-11:30pm. 6551 Telegraph Ave, (510) 652-3820. whitehorsebar.com

Gigante @ Port Bar, Oakland Juanita MORE! and DJ Frisco Robbie’s new weekly event, with Latin, Hip Hop and House music, gogo gals and guys, and a drag show. $5. 9pm-2am. 2023 Broadway, Oakland. portoakland.com

Pan Dulce @ Beaux Drag divas, gogo studs, DJed Latin grooves and drinks. 9pm-2am (free before 10:30pm). 2344 Market St. www.clubpapi.com

Rod Stewart, Cyndi Lauper @ Shoreline Ampitheatre, Mountain View The two rock-pop legends return in the second round of their national tour. Partial proceeds benefit the True Colors Fund. $22-$200. 7:30pm. 1 Amphitheatre Pkwy, Mountain View. https://cyndilauper.com/events

Thu 30 Literary Speakeasy @ Martuni’s Enjoy author readings and drinks with host James J. Siegel, Abe Becker, Deamer Dunn, Kate Folk, Trebor Healey, and singer-songwriter Rob Jamner. 7pm. 4 Valencia St.

My So-Called Night @ Beaux Carnie Asada hosts a weekly ‘90s-themed video, dancin’, drinkin’ night, with VJs Jorge Terez. Get down with your funky bunch, and enjoy 90cent drinks. ‘90s-themed attire and costume contest. No cover. 9pm-2am. 2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

Nap’s Karaoke @ Virgil’s Sea Room Sing out loud at the weekly least judgmental karaoke in town. No cover. 9pm. 3152 Mission St. 8292233. www.virgilssf.com

Porn @ The Stud Queer dance party foir sex workers and fans. $5-$10. 9pm-4am. 399 9th St. www.studsf.com

Queer Karaoke @ Club OMG KJ Dana hosts the weekly singing night; unleash your inner American Idol. 8pm. 43 6th St. clubomgsf.com

<< Leather

34 • Bay Area Reporter • August 23-29, 2018

Writing good kinky smut

Because she’s decided she really Antoniou continued, needs to connect directly with her “Study how to make your core readership and deliver new own book using established work to them first, she’s putting online tools. See if it’s someher new writing on her Patreon site, thing you can do. You can www.Patreon.com/kvetch also hire people to do the By her own admission, Laura says work for you, if you really she lives on Facebook. Following believe your readership will Laura there or elsewhere is easy. Her respond enough to at least social media links are available on her cover those costs. Promote website where you’ll also find more your work in every social information about her and her books, media you can use, find ways speeches, presentations and travel to use that media producschedule. www.Lantoniou.comt tively. Learn to watch the way the business changes to take advantage of new venues for For Leather Events, visit your work and keep trying www.ebar.com/events them from time to time so you can adapt as the business Race Bannon is a local author, model changes again.” Both photos: Race Bannon blogger and activist. The author also discussed www.bannon.com Left: Well-known local leather community leader, Rachele Sullivan (left), and renowned kink author, developing an audience. Laura Antoniou (right), at Laura’s recent appearance at SF Catalyst. “Cultivate your readRight: Leigh Ann Hildebrand, Ms. Santa Clara Leather 2018, organizer of the recent appearance of ers and fans because Laura Antoniou at SF Catalyst. they will mostly likely be the only advertising you can afford,” was my biggest goal. To write a mys“San Francisco is a tough marby Race Bannon she said. “Consider ways to tery, not an erotic mystery. To have ket,” said Antoniou. “It sometimes get them to invest in you, if very vibrant culture has its litmy community as the characters, seems like half the top teachers, you have more stories to tell erature. The kink world is no not the weird and scary place some speakers, entertainers in kink live and books to write. Use Padifferent. While a smattering of outsider has to ‘infiltrate’ as though here already, so there’s rarely the altreon, Medium, little apps kink erotica has existed for a long we don’t let anyone register for our lure of an out-of-town name. Plus, I that let people send you time, it’s only during the relatively events and show up at a munch. As am expensive. I don’t fly anywhere coffee money and tips. And recent past that a plethora of quality if we wouldn’t happily talk all about on my own money to teach for free. then finish the next thing kink-themed books for the popular our kinks given the slightest chance. And once you factor in the transand get it out. But I think market, both nonfiction and fiction, Also, it’s funny as f*ck.” portation and housing expenses and the most important thing is have emerged. Considering Laura’s critical sucthen try to guess how many people finishing.” The rise in such quality literature cess and the popularity of her work, will come out on a given night, if Laura recently wrote a often signals the maturation of the I asked her if she had any advice for nothing else was happening, both book with the inimitable group of people for which it’s inwriters, kinky writers in particular. I and my hosting organizations Midori, a local Bay Area tended. This certainly happened “So, tips? Other than get a real would wind up losing money. This and worldwide kink cewith LGBTQ literature and it’s job? Finish what you are writing. time, though, I had patron sponsorlebrity, and the renowned been happening with books aimed Real writers finish the work. Then, ship guiding an exclusive, limited Cecilia Tan. It’s three noat the leather, kink, BDSM and fechoose which road you want to appearance tour, and it was clear it vellas about magical kinky tish communities too. As our comtake. Try submitting it to the pubmade a great difference. Alpeople through three perimunities have thrived, lishers who are left, once you have most 50 people on a Tuesods in Japan. Antiniou said flourished and become researched them and found out day night? The best crowd she feels it’s a unique work more out, our range of what they are looking for, and are I’ve ever had here.” Race Bannon that kinksters of all kinds good literature options sure your work will apply. Follow My favorite kinky will enjoy. They’re going to The Killer Wore Leather is one of Laura has grown. their guidelines scrupulously. Give novel of recent memolaunch a fundraiser for it in Antoniou’s most popular books. One of the world’s them a reasonable time to respond. ry is Laura’s extremely October. most famous and revered Repeat.” popular The Killer Wore contemporary kink ficLeather, an engaging tion writers is Laura Anmystery set amid a modtoniou. I attended Lauern, pansexual internara’s recent San Francisco appearance tional leather/BDSM contest and at SF Catalyst where a large crowd of conference that those who attend fans gathered to hear her read from such events will immediately find faher works, answer questions, and, miliar. While Laura will tell you that as she commonly does, espouse hushe thinks her book, The Inheritor, morous and clever bits of wisdom is her best written book, she’ll also and observation about all things tell you that she is especially proud kink. She did not disappoint. of The Killer Wore Leather because The evening, sponsored by SF it’s her love letter to the wacky, dysCatalyst and beautifully organized functional, gloriously messy kink by local kinkster Leigh Ann Hildebworlds she’s lived in since she was, SEXY ASIAN rand, the current Ms. Santa Clara as she describes, “just a baby dyke.” $60 Jim County Leather, also served as a I asked Laura why this book reso415-269-5707 benefit to support SF Catalyst. www. nates with so many readers. sfcatalyst.org “It’s the colorful people and our Since Laura was making an all SENSUAL conflicting desires to be scary and FULL BODY MASSAGE too rare San Francisco appearance, outsiders, but also have our own 415-350-0968 I decided it was a great opportunity culture with rules and understandto interview her. Our interview ran ings,” she said. “It’s the contest scene long and she gave me so much good and the people who love it and it’s TO PLACE YOUR material that’s it’s impossible to covthe volunteers who show up even PERSONALS AD, er it all here, but hopefully you’ll get when they know they’re never gonMEN TO MEN CALL 415-861-5019 a taste of the wonderfulness that is na get laid. It’s everything I love and MASSAGE FOR MORE INFO & RATES Laura Antoniou. hate about the scene - and, most imI’m a Tall Latin Man. It turns out this trip to San Franportantly, it’s about us, by one of us If you’re looking, cisco went rather well for Laura. and it’s not erotica or how-to. That I’m the right guy for you. My

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August 23-29, 2018 • Bay Area Reporter • 35

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Help is on the Way XXIV @ Herbst Theater

elp is on the Way, the Richmond/Ermet Aid Foundation’s 24th popular concert benefit series, held August 19 at the Herbst Theater, welcomed many favorite returning singers and musicians, including Mary Wilson (of The Supremes), Carol Cooke, Jai Rodriguez, Kimberley Locke, Debby Boone, Leanne Borghesi, Motown singers Top Shelf Classics and several more stars. The night included a tempting silent auction of wines, travel packages and art. The VIP party in the Green Room saw celebs and fans mingling with joy. Proceeds benefit Meals on Wheels San Francisco and the AIDS Legal Referral Panel. www.reaf.org See plenty more photos on BARtab’s Facebook page, facebook.com/lgbtsf.nightlife. See more of Steven Underhill’s photos at StevenUnderhill.com.