January 28, 2016 Edition of the Bay Area Reporter by Bay Area Reporter

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Vol. 46 • No. 4 • January 28-February 3, 2016

Plans for sex offender rehab site cause stir

BESTIES

Time to vote for the best

by Seth Hemmelgarn

lans to move a rehabilitation center for sex offenders into San Francisco’s Duboce Triangle neighborhood has prompted complaints from neighbors and a city supervisor that there hasn’t been sufficient outreach. Sharper Future, which for years has offered services to offenders at 1540 Market Street, had planned to move into the ground floor of the building Maitri hospice owns at 100 Church Street Thursday, January 28 and open within days. The neighborhood is popular with families with children, and the agency would be going into a space not far from parks and schools. But it appears that one of the entities in the dark about what’s planned for the site is the city’s planning department. In an email to the Bay Area Reporter Tuesday, department spokeswoman Gina Simi said, “We are actively working to obtain more information about their current plans for the site to determine the appropriate permitting process.” See page 12 >>

by Cynthia Laird

uilding on the success of last year’s Bay Area Reporter readers’ poll, the 2016 version is again full of nominees ranging from drag kings to LGBTQ youth activists. Dubbed the Besties: The LGBT Best of the Bay, voting starts Thursday (January 28). People can vote online at www.ebar.com/ besties2016 or complete the paper ballot that appears on pages 31-32 in the BARtab section. Voting ends March 2 and winners will be announced in the Bay Area Reporter’s April 7 issue, which coincides with the paper’s 45th anniversary. This sixth annual readers’ poll includes nominees in seven categories: arts and entertainment, community, nightlife, restaurants, services and shopping, sex, and weddings and destinations. As with last year’s ballot, each nominee grouping includes an option for readers to write in their own suggestion. The paper decided to stick with the format used last year because it generated the most responses in the history of the readers’ poll. Readers seemed to like the choices of nominees, and almost everyone completed the entire survey. Some of the new entries this year include best grocery store (chain and independent), best local getaway, best pet hotel, and best beach. In the popular nightlife section, there are new categories for best drag king, best faux queen, and best live stage show in a bar or nightclub, along with favorites like best bartender and best DJ. Also new this year is a drinks category, where readers can vote for their favorite beer and other adult beverages. In the community section, new this year are categories for best health-related nonprofit and best HIV/AIDS nonprofit, along with favorites like best LGBT event and best LGBT sports league. Also new is the best Realtor category, and best ride-hailing category, which includes the nonprofit Homobiles that serves the LGBTQ community and its allies, along with Lyft and Uber. In the best LGBT youth activist (under 25), this year’s nominees are Austin Padilla and Ruby Spies. Padilla is a gay man and a founding member of the Getting to Zero committee, which is San Francisco’s effort to drastically reduce HIV transmissions by 2020. See page 14 >>

Maitri hospice has entered into a lease with Sharper Future for the ground floor space of their building at 100 Church Street.

Castro merchants seek Super Bowl business Rick Gerharter

by Matthew S. Bajko

ith a special advertising campaign and a series of bar events and other promotions, Castro merchants are hoping to score some Super Bowl business next week. The National Football League’s championship game between the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers will be played Sunday, February 7 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. Leading up to the sporting contest will be multiple events in San Francisco, beginning Saturday, January 30 when the free-to-enter Super Bowl City opens at Justin Herman Plaza in front of the Ferry Building. Yet due to the decision by city transit officials to run buses instead of the iconic F-Line trolley cars along Market Street, many merchants cried foul that they would not see any uptick in business from the estimated 1 million people expected to visit during Super Bowl Week. As the Bay Area Reporter reported in December, Castro merchants slammed the San Francisco Bay Area Super Bowl 50 Host Committee and city leaders for their decision to mothball the historic trolley cars for three weeks to accommodate the construction, duration, and then demolition of the fan village at the foot of Market Street. They feared few tourists would jump aboard the replacement buses and eschew altogether going to the gay Castro district. In response to the merchants’ complaints, the Mayor’s Office of Workforce and Economic Development ponied up roughly $2,000 for a

Rick Gerharter

Helen Wo, left, and Stephanie Tree, diehard Bronco fans, cheered their winning team at Hi Tops bar during the AFC championship game last Sunday.

special marketing campaign to drive visitors to the Castro district, said Daniel Bergerac, president of the Castro Merchants business group. And various groups are paying to runs ads in the B.A.R. Thursday and next week promoting the gayborhood. As part of the promotional push, banners went up this week at three downtown Muni and BART stations encouraging people to visit the Castro. They read, “Why just stare at seal lions when you can pet actual bears?” a tongue-incheek reference to hirsute gay men. Along with instructions on how to reach the “Friendly Castro” via Muni’s underground trains, the banners also direct people to the website http://www.visitsupercastro.com/. It went live this

{ FIRST OF THREE SECTIONS }

month to promote to out-of-town visitors the various stores, restaurants and bars in the Castro, which the site denotes is “A Super Community.” According to an email sent out earlier this month to Castro Merchants members, there will also be 2,500 bright pink bus ad cards promoting the gayborhood inside Muni buses and wayfinding signs at key points around Super Bowl City instructing visitors how to get to the Castro. “You always hope for more,” said Bergerac, a co-owner of Mudpuppy’s Tub and Scrub on Castro Street. “I think, overall, we did pretty well. I am excited to see what sort of response we get out of it.” Jesse Woodward, co-owner of Hi-Tops, the gay sports bar on upper Market Street in the Castro, said he expects to see the usual bump in business that his bar has experienced during past Super Bowls. If the San Francisco 49ers were playing, Woodward said his bar would likely see even more of an uptick in customers. “It has always been a big day for us so far. I think, definitely, the busiest would be if the 49ers were in it,” he said. “So I think it will feel like every other Super Bowl. That is to say it will be crowded and busy for us but not as busy as if the Niners were in it.” To help drum up more business this year, Woodward is bringing in gay former football player Michael Sam to greet fans at Hi Tops from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, February 5. Sam came out just prior to the 2014 NFL draft and was chosen by the St. Louis Rams. The team shortly See page 13 >>

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<< Community News

2 • BAY AREA REPORTER • January 28-February 3, 2016

SF LGBT center readies for remodel

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fficials with San Francisco’s LGBT Community Center are revealing more details about the facility’s planned renovation as construction is expected to commence in March. In interviews with the Bay Area Reporter over the last week, center leaders disclosed that much of the interior of the modern portion of the building will be overhauled to provide new offices for a variety of nonprofit agencies, including a non-LGBT specific provider of legal services. Center officials would not say which agency it is in talks with since a lease has yet to be signed. The negotiations are centered on reconfiguring the entire third floor, roughly 10,000 square feet of space, into new offices for the legal services nonprofit. “They serve the LGBT community,” said Rebecca Rolfe, the center’s executive director. “We are trying to be responsive to what kind of needs people have and come to the building looking for and building out the best possible mix of services in the building.” Rolfe said center staff often field requests from LGBT people looking for legal assistance with employment, violence, discrimination, and a wide range of civil service issues. “Legal services are one of the greatest needs people who come to the center are looking for,” she said. Gay District 8 Supervisor Scott Wiener, a former co-chair of the center’s board, told the B.A.R. he isn’t concerned about seeing a nonLGBT specific agency move into the center. His main concern, he said, is seeing the center be fiscally solvent. Having multiple tenants paying long-term leases provides the center with a predictable revenue stream, he noted. “The revamped physical space will allow for more nonprofit services to be provided in the center. That is a positive thing for the LGBT community,” said Wiener. “I know they are trying to strike a balance. To me, that is the number one goal.” In September the B.A.R. first reported on the planned renovation of the 35,000 square foot building, comprised of a modern structure attached to the Fallon Building, a Queen Anne-

Rick Gerharter

The San Francisco LGBT Community Center is expected to undergo a substantial interior remodel, while the exterior is planned to be repainted.

style Victorian built in 1900 at the corner site, where Market Street and Octavia Boulevard intersect. The remodel is expected to cost roughly $6.5 million, the bulk of which is coming from the New Markets Tax Credit program. The Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development provided $650,000 for the design phase, with an additional estimate of $580,000 for assistance in securing the needed financing. Equity Community Builders, a San Francisco architectural firm whose projects have included the new A.C.T. Strand Theater on Market Street, the SFJazz center, and the Cavallo Point Lodge at Fort Baker in Sausalito, was selected to work on the center’s interior remodel. When the center opened in 2002, the design won praise from architectural critics. But community members roundly criticized the layout and called many of the spaces inadequate. In recent years, center officials redesigned the entrance area and relocated the cyber center to the ground floor to help activate the space. It had been located on the building’s third floor, which has housed various meeting rooms local groups could rent. Due to the planned renovation of the building, the center ceased renting out the rooms to outside groups as of January.

Major changes planned

Major changes are also planned for the center’s fourth floor. Where a warren of small offices is now will be

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new medical offices for the Asian and Pacific Islander Wellness Center. “We’ve had a long-standing relationship with the SF LGBT center and have explored various ways to deepen our partnership. We are excited about their building renovation efforts and have plans to be a tenant there,” API Wellness Center CEO Lance Toma wrote in an email to the B.A.R. “While our primary clinic site will remain on Polk Street, we see the center as an ideal location to be able to extend our services to more LGBT people who need the kind of services we provide.” New offices on the fourth floor will be built for AGUILAS, short for Assembly of United Gays Impacting Latinos toward Self-Empowerment, which currently leases space on the third floor of the center. The agency’s new suite of offices will be constructed by enclosing the space between the third and fourth floors that is now an open atrium. The ceremonial room on the fourth floor will be turned into new office space. The center is in talks to lease it to an agency that runs a health and wellness program for the transgender community, said Rolfe. As for the large meeting space on the second floor, known as the Rainbow Room, it will be expanded in size. A wall fronting the Market Street facade will be removed so the room extends up to the windows overlooking the street. See page 12 >>

Wiener criticized for letter on tent camps by Seth Hemmelgarn

TerryMurphy@BDHomes.com

an Francisco Supervisor Scott Wiener has drawn criticism in recent days for his request to other city officials for information on the city’s tent encampments and how to get the people living in them into shelters and housing. The number of tents shielding some of the city’s thousands of homeless people appears to have recently swelled, especially near Highway 101 in the South of Market neighborhood. Many have taken Wiener’s message to mean that he wants to get rid of the tents immediately, an idea that one homeless advocate called “inhumane.” In his January 19 message to Police Chief Greg Suhr, Health Director Barbara Garcia, and other department heads, Wiener, a gay man, said he wants to know about efforts to move people from tents into housing or shelters, and work to “enforce the bans on tents in our public spaces.” The tents “are a public health and safety hazard for those living in them

Rick Gerharter

Matthew Doherty, a federal homeless official, was in San Francisco this week.

and for our neighborhoods,” Wiener wrote. “They are neither humane nor acceptable. Their growing prevalence in San Francisco represents our city’s failure to provide adequate housing/ shelter and assistance for those who want help, as well as a failure to make clear to those who refuse help that tents on our sidewalks and in our public spaces are unacceptable. We

need to know what is driving this specific homeless population, and what we can do to promptly transition tent occupants into housing/ shelter and to eliminate these tents in a humane way.” Wiener seeks data about how many tents there are, who’s living in them, the number of vacant shelter beds, and what the city’s plans are to “to expand shelter and navigation center capacity.” In his letter, the District 8 supervisor asks, “Assuming the availability of enough shelter beds, what will be done to remove illegal tent encampments from our streets? In other words, does the city intend to remove these tents as part of a transition of the tent occupants to housing or shelter, or will the law continue to be ignored, as it is being ignored today?”

Reaction

In an email distributed Monday that said Wiener was making the “inhumane” move of calling “to ban tents in the midst of a rainstorm,” See page 13 >>

Community News>>

January 28-February 3, 2016 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 3

Gay SF man sues union for benefits by Seth Hemmelgarn

has moved

gay San Francisco widower is suing his late husband’s pension plan and its board of trustees for denying him benefits. In his complaint against International Union of Operating Engineers, Stationary Engineers Local 39 Pension Plan and its board, Robert Pritchard, 56, whose husband, Thomas Conwell, was a hotel telecommunications engineer, claims the plan has refused to provide the spousal pension just because they were a same-sex couple. The couple married in the city in 2008. Conwell, who worked at the San Francisco Hilton for over 30 years, died in 2012 from a terminal brain disease. “Losing my husband, my legal spouse, was the worst thing that I have had to endure so far in this life,” Pritchard said in an emailed response to questions from the Bay Area Reporter. “To be denied his pension benefits while I actively mourned his loss and tried to start the lengthy healing process from the horrific emptiness that was left when he passed away wasn’t only demoralizing, it was dehumanizing as well.” Pritchard, who works as a hospice nurse, said he and his husband had “planned to grow old” together. “We made each other the happiest we have been so far in our adult lives,” he said. “... No one should ever be told that their marriage – their love – isn’t worthy enough to be treated like others. “I was denied simply because we’re two men who were married.

Come see us at our new location: Courtesy NCLR

Thomas Conwell, left, with his husband, Robert Pritchard, in an undated photo.

More than anything, I want to make sure that this type of mistreatment stops and that no one else experiences this type of injustice in the future,” he added. The lawsuit was filed January 22 in U.S. District Court for Northern California. According to the complaint, after Conwell died, Pritchard tried to get a spousal survivor benefit under Conwell’s pension plan, in which “spouse” is defined as “a person to whom a participant is legally married.” In November 2015, the pension plan’s board relied on the federal Defense of Marriage Act to refuse to provide benefits to Pritchard. A key provision of DOMA, which prohibited federal recognition of same-sex marriages, was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2013. See page 12 >>

Lesbians prepare to take over Castro for tech summit compiled by Cynthia Laird

esbians and their allies will fill the historic Castro Theatre next month for the annual Lesbians Who Tech (and allies) Summit and discounted tickets are still available. Founded by Leanne Pittsford, the conference takes place February 25-28 and this year focuses on space, science, and hardware. The summit starts off with an evening keynote (the speaker has not been announced), Thursday, February 25, followed by daylong sessions Friday at the Castro Theatre and other locations. Breakout sessions and lounges include a Bootcamp 101 on coding, the future of cancer research, robot innovation, and how tech is revolutionizing the billion-dollar marijuana industry. Other sessions will look at 3D modeling and visual storytelling. There will be a workshop and career fair at Twitter headquarters Saturday, February 27, as well as a hackathon. Sunday will feature the closing brunch. Other activities that weekend include a bike ride and golf outing. Meet-ups will be held for queer women of color and transgender techies. General admission is $399 until January 30. There are some scholarships available and people should apply as soon as possible at https:// docs.google.com/forms/d/1IubPRL BB1E5EnbZhZqdqp3z3zkSRwGu3 izm_EuPsCIk/viewform. For more information, visit http://www.lesbianswhotech.org.

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Courtesy: Lesbians Who Tech

Participants stand on stage at last year’s Lesbians Who Tech Summit.

Free homeowners workshop

The San Francisco LGBT Community Center and Housing and Economic Rights Advocates will hold a free workshop for homeowners Thursday, February 4 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the center, 1800 Market Street. People who have questions about mortgage problems, property tax concerns, or homeowner or condo association questions are welcome to attend to learn about resources and programs that can help them. There will also be a nonprofit attorney on hand to answer questions. For more information, contact HERA at (510) 271-8443, ext. 307 or melisebrown@heraca.org. Preregistration is not necessary. See page 13 >>

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<< Open Forum

4 • BAY AREA REPORTER • January 28-February 3, 2016

Volume 46, Number 4 January 28-February 3, 2016 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 • Seth Hemmelgarn 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 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 • David-Elijah Nahmod Paul Parish • Sean Piverger • Lois Pearlman Tim Pfaff • Jim Piechota • Bob Roehr Donna Sachet • Adam Sandel • Khaled Sayed Jason Serinus • Gregg Shapiro Gwendolyn Smith • Jim Stewart Sean Timberlake • Andre Torrez • Ronn Vigh Ed Walsh • Cornelius Washington Sura Wood ART DIRECTION Jay Cribas PRODUCTION/DESIGN Max Leger PHOTOGRAPHERS Jane Philomen Cleland • FBFE Rick Gerharter • Gareth Gooch Lydia Gonzales • Jose Guzman-Colon Rudy K. Lawidjaja • Georg Lester • Dan Lloyd Jo-Lynn Otto • Rich Stadtmiller Steven Underhil • Dallis Willard • Bill Wilson ILLUSTRATORS & CARTOONISTS Paul Berge • Christine Smith ADVERTISING/ADMINISTRATION Colleen Small VICE PRESIDENT OF ADVERTISING Scott Wazlowski – 415.829.8937 NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE Rivendell Media – 212.242.6863

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

Maitri throws away goodwill M

aitri, the hospice in Duboce Triangle that serves the LGBT community by providing care to the dying, has put itself in the middle of a neighborhood battle. Ending a monthslong search for a ground floor tenant in its building, Maitri has entered into an agreement with a sex offender rehab facility. The controversy began when neighbors were surprised with the news. Maitri Executive Director Michael Smithwick – and presumably the agency’s board – began discussions with Sharper Future months ago. In October, Supervisor Scott Wiener’s office advised Maitri to begin community outreach. Unfortunately, Maitri did not, and the resulting outcry should not surprise Smithwick or officials at Sharper Future, a division of Pacific Forensic Psychology Associates Inc. Sharper Future must vacate its current location at 1540 Market Street, because the site is being developed into condos. It’s also important to note that this is not a residential program; sex offenders or sexual predators will not be staying the night. Parole agents or probation officers refer clients to Sharper Future, the agency says. Once they are accepted into the program, they enter a group-based, sequenced, psycho-educational curriculum, “which addresses the core issues related to the offense,” Sharper Future states. “Intensive cognitive-behavioral interventions focused on relapse prevention address the distorted thinking, emotional disturbances, and maladaptive behaviors associated with re-offense risk.” In short, the agency says, it adopts a “containment model” for sex offender management. Other programs include a dual diagnosis treatment for parolees. Residents in the Duboce Triangle neighborhood should have been

informed of the potential tenant as soon as Sharper Future expressed interest. By doing an end run around neighbors, Smithwick is setting the project up for failure. Sharper Future may be a good fit for the space, but that’s lost in the back and forth between Maitri and neighbors, and the ensuing finger pointing. Neighbors were never asked for their support or given an opportunity to ask questions. As it happened, they found out about it via an online news site last week – no wonder they’re upset. If Smithwick thinks an online story is an acceptable form of community outreach, he’s sadly mistaken. He should have expected that neighbors would be upset or have serious questions about the proposed use; but instead of dealing with it, he chose inaction. Even as late as this week, Maitri’s website

still did not have an announcement of the plans – another missed opportunity to communicate to the public. Likewise, the agency’s December newsletter could have contained an update. The Bay Area Reporter also has been in regular contact with Smithwick about plans for the space, which has been vacant since AIDS Healthcare Foundation moved its thrift store and pharmacy, but were not informed by him about this Sharper Future project. So, count us surprised, too. As it stands now, a meeting is scheduled for February 8 (the regular DTNA meeting), with Sharper Future set to open the following day, barring intervention by the planning department. Some neighbors are planning to file an appeal to the notice of determination granted by the planning department to buy more time. Maitri has been a leader in hospice care for decades. It’s a shame that it’s throwing away much of its goodwill because it chooses to act like a bad neighbor.t

Queering American academia by H.N. Hirsch

nonchalant, but what about our colleagues and the staff members with was a junior in high school at the whom we work? time of the Stonewall rebellion in Within the last few years several 1969. Like many of similar age and incidents have led me to ask: How inclination, I suspect, I knew deep much have things truly changed in down that Stonewall had something the American academy? to do with me, but did not know The incidents range from a fight what. at the American Political Science Over the four decades since then, Association about holding a conI have watched and participated in H. N. Hirsch vention in an anti-gay locale to a a remarkable social phenomenon – fight with my graduate school adthe queering of American academia. viser when I dared to attack as “hoToday’s situation would be virtually unmophobic” the argument that sodomy should imaginable to an LGBT student or academibe outlawed. The courses with queer content cian before Stonewall. Many, perhaps the I taught at another institution were attacked majority of, American colleges and universiand not considered relevant to Amerities have courses with LGBT content. Scholarcan politics. ship about sexuality has exploded. On some As these incidents accumuprogressive campuses, the queer student aslated, I was forced to ask myself sociation is one of the largest groups. Some uncomfortable questions: students arrive at college now proudly and Are we really living in a world loudly proclaiming their queerness, or at least that much different from the ready to explore it. At Oberlin, where I now bad old days before anyone teach, many are willing in class to discuss their came out? Are we accepted, or own sexuality with breathtaking matter-ofmerely tolerated, and what’s factness, a matter-of-factness that sometimes the difference? Are we still, on leaves my head spinning. A few years ago, dursome level, treated as second-class ing a discussion of Catharine MacKinnon’s citizens? theories of male domination, a young woman, One example. much taken with MacKinnon’s ideas, threw up It’s the summer of 2005. I have just arher hands and said, “I just, I just, I just don’t rived at Oberlin, where I have been named see why anyone would want a penis.” dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. I am For the first time in many years of teaching, having lunch at a local restaurant, and I hear I was speechless. Luckily one of the gay men in a conversation in another booth about me. I the class came to my rescue. “I’ll explain it to am referred to as “that faggot.” There is much you after class,” he said to the young woman, laughter. “It shouldn’t be too hard to get rid of and everyone chuckled. that faggot.” So the current generation of students, or at I do not know who is speaking, I cannot see least a segment of them – those lucky enough him, and I don’t want to. I stop eating, ask for to figure themselves out early, those not overly my bill, and leave. influenced by evangelical religion, perhaps – I go straight home. I collapse face-down seem extraordinarily comfortable with sexualon my bed, sleep for hours, only get up when ity and with queer sexuality. Patsy, my sweet golden retriever, comes and But what about the professoriate? Many nudges me awake with her wet nose around 7 of our students may be open, accepting, and p.m. I feed Patsy and I eat cold spaghetti out of

the refrigerator and then collapse again at 8:30. I don’t get out of bed until 9 the next morning. I had just moved into my house, everything was chaos, boxes half unpacked. I stared at the boxes for a long time that morning. Finally I pulled out a random book: Queer Studies, an edited volume. I started laughing, so long and hard that Patsy grew alarmed. Over the next few days I walked around as if I had a bad case of jet lag. I went to the grocery store and had trouble focusing on the task at hand; what did I need in the kitchen? I put too much laundry soap in the washing machine and created a flood of suds on the basement floor. After this and after similar incidents, through some combination of orneriness and bravado, I forced myself to snap back, to reenter a normal state of being. But in each case a wound had been created, and there would be a scar, sometimes tiny, sometimes a huge gash. I served as dean at Oberlin for only a short time, and then went back to the classroom, where I belong. I have, since then, found Oberlin to be a wonderful place. The students are engaged, serious, and a joy to teach. There are many queer members of the faculty, the staff, and the student body. There are courses with LGBT content, and students can major or minor in gender, sexuality, and feminist studies. The administration is hugely supportive. All of this is real progress. But one thing is clear, at least to me, after nearly 40 years in academic life: There are hearts and minds that we still must work to change, even in a small college town with a reputation for progressivism. Gay marriage is not the end of our struggle.t H. N. Hirsch is professor of politics at Oberlin College in Ohio and the author of Office Hours: One Academic Life (Quid Pro Press, 2016).

Politics>>

t In SF Senate race, Chinese ballot names play greater role by Matthew S. Bajko

hen Scott Wiener first ran for the District 8 supervisor seat in 2010, the Chinese name he used on the ballot was of little importance. Just 300 voters requested a Chinese language ballot. “Obviously, in District 8 we don’t have a large monolingual Chinese community,” acknowledged Wiener. Nonetheless, as he sought to represent San Francisco’s gay Castro district, as well as the Noe Valley, Diamond Heights and Glen Park neighborhoods at City Hall, his supervisorial campaign recruited Cantonese speakers for its phonebanking operation and reached out to those 300 voters. Now that he is seeking the state’s 11th Senate District seat, which covers all of San Francisco and a portion of northern San Mateo County, reaching out to Chinese voters is of even more significance. About 20 percent of the district’s population is Chinese, with a sizeable monolingual community of Cantonese speakers. “It is really important for me and for my campaign to be reaching out to everyone ... whether or not people speak English,” Wiener told the Bay Area Reporter. Thus, the openly gay supervisor has created several versions of his campaign signs he is handing out to supporters. The English-language one is a near duplicate of the orange with black lettering signs he used in his supervisor races except they now say “Scott Wiener for state Senate.” He also has Chinese-language signs that include the Chinese name he has used for the ballot since 2004, when he first ran for a seat on the Democratic County Central Committee. It is pronounced as Wei (威), Shan, Gao (善,高), which means prestige, kindness, and height/ nobility respectively, according to a translation provided by a person with no ties to the campaigns of Wiener or his Senate race opponent, District 6 Supervisor Jane Kim. “Wei” also stands for his last name “Wiener.” His Chinese name can be found on Wiener’s business cards as well as his supervisor office stationery. His campaign signs in Chinese also feature the image of a giraffe, and while walking precincts in Chinese neighborhoods, Wiener and his supporters can often be found holding plastic blowup versions of the animals known for their long legs and lengthy necks. The reference to the ruminant, the world’s tallest mammal, is due to Chinatown power broker Rose Pak referring to Wiener as a giraffe. “For years she has done that. We decided to have some fun with it,” said Wiener, adding that people understand the joke. Plus, added Wiener, “I am always happy to have a name not related to a hot dog or body parts.” Asked about Wiener’s playing up his Chinese name, Kim campaign consultant Eric Jaye quipped, “It doesn’t mean humility apparently.” He added that, “the reason why Supervisor Wiener would go to such contortions to name himself in Chinese in this way is precisely because of the growing electoral strength of the Asian community.” When she first ran for supervisor in 2010, Kim, who is Korean-American, used campaign signs both in English and in Chinese. Her ballot name in Chinese is 金贞妍 and is pronounced Jin Zhen Yan. “Jin” is for her last name Kim and means gold, “Zhen” stands for chasti-

January 28-February 3, 2016 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 5

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State Senate candidate Scott Wiener holds a toy giraffe as he campaigns in the Sunset district.

State Senate candidate Jane Kim, at left holding banner, joined other supporters in the Castro district.

ty, and “Yan” means beautiful, noted the person who translated the names for the B.A.R. The last two words are the Chinese equivalent of her Korean middle name, Jungyon, and the combination of all three is “a very typical and old-fashioned Korean girl’s name,” noted the translator. As Wiener is targeting Asian voters in the race, Kim is zeroing in on progressive LGBT voters for support. For a recent campaign outreach event in the Castro district, her campaign created special signs sporting the colors of the rainbow flag, long a symbol of LGBT pride. “Not all Asian voters are going to support Jane Kim, just like not all LGBT voters are going to support Scott Wiener,” noted Jaye.

will be in the permit fight. As the B.A.R. noted on its blog, a majority of the six commissioners Thursday, January 14 signaled they were likely to disapprove AHF’s permit request. But they postponed their vote to do so until their January 28 meeting in order to give AHF time to answer how they would activate the space at 518 Castro Street other than as a pharmacy. The Los Angeles-based agency wants to relocate the pharmacy it operates on 18th Street into the nearby storefront so that it is in the same location as where its health clinic operates. AHF has contended doing so will lead to better health outcomes for its patients. But critics of the agency have strongly opposed its permit, arguing there is no need for the relocation. Much of the opposition, however, stems from disagreements over AHF’s policy stances against the widespread use of PrEP and sponsorship of a November ballot measure that would require condoms to be used on all porn sets in the state. City planning staff initially had granted the agency the permit for relocating its pharmacy in January of 2014. But they then reversed course after concluding AHF’s pharmacy was covered by the city’s formula retail rules, which require chains with 11 or more stores to seek a conditional use permit to open a new location. AHF lost its appeal of that decision and then sued the city and Wiener, claiming city officials had unfairly targeted it when they passed emergency zoning legislation covering chain stores in the Castro. But AHF put the lawsuit on hold last year when it decided to seek the permit for its pharmacy. It has no plans, as of now, to use the storefront for anything other than a pharmacy, said AHF Bay Area regional manager Dale Gluth, though it has been using the space to show works by local artists. The agency expects to see its permit request be denied by the planning commission Thursday. “I don’t expect them to change their minds,” said Gluth. As for what AHF’s next move will be, Gluth told the B.A.R. he could not say. It may appeal the commission’s decision to the Board of Supervisors – it has 30 days to do so – or it could revive its lawsuit against the city. “We are still working out our Plan B,” said Gluth. He did say that AHF has no intention of vacating its Castro spaces, noting that its landlord of the building that currently houses the pharmacy has said he would extend its lease for the 18th Street storefront. “We are not leaving,” said Gluth.t

Candidates plan series of debates

As noted by the B.A.R. in a blog post last week regarding a poll commissioned by Wiener’s campaign that showed him 15 points ahead of Kim, the two candidates are planning to hold six debates leading up to the June 7 primary election. Five of the debates, combining two supervisor districts, will be held in San Francisco while the sixth will cover the city’s 11th supervisor district and San Mateo County. In a joint press statement, the two candidates said the schedule is modeled after the famous “Lincoln-Douglas” debates. “Our region and our state are at a crossroads. With so many challenges before us, we wanted to be sure voters have a chance to hear where we stand on the issues facing not just our many neighborhoods but our entire district and our entire state,” stated Kim. “I’m excited for the chance to talk about how we can make sure our policies – and our state government – are working for us.” Added Wiener, “I look forward to a lively and substantive debate on the critical issues facing our city, region, and state, including housing affordability, the drought and climate change, education funding, health care access, and transportation. I see these six debates as a unique opportunity for our diverse neighborhoods to come together to discuss the issues affecting us all.” Letters recently went out to organizations interested in hosting the debates. The one encompassing Wiener’s District 8 is combined with District 5, and the one focused on Kim’s District 6 will include District 7. The first debate will likely be held sometime in late February or early March.

AHF mum on pharmacy plans

With the city’s planning commission expected to reject its request to relocate its Castro pharmacy, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation is remaining mum on what its next steps

Web Extra: For more queer political news, be sure to check http:// www.ebar.com Monday mornings at noon for Political Notes, the notebook’s online companion. This week’s column discussed the findings of a new report on California’s LGBT residents.

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<< Community News

6 • BAY AREA REPORTER • January 28-February 3, 2016

Pelosi, SF youth discuss housing needs by Seth Hemmelgarn

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bout a dozen young people, many of whom are LGBT, recently told U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) their concerns about the lack of affordable housing in the city, along with other issues. Pelosi met with the youth, who’ve received help from Larkin Street Youth Services, at the nonprofit’s engagement and community center in the Tenderloin. The Bay Area’s skyrocketing rents were a recurring theme at the Thursday, January 21 meeting. Oscar Gallagos said that Larkin Street, which provides housing and other assistance, has “always provided phenomenal services.” However, he said that he imagines five to 10 years ago, “it was much easier” to make the transition when young people became too old for the type of assistance Larkin Street offers. “Now,” Gallagos said, “once you age out, you’re out of the Bay Area.” Dexter, who suggested capping rents and making more supportive services available, said, “I was born and raised in San Francisco, but I can’t afford to live here ... and I’m so-called middle class.” (Dexter’s last name wasn’t immediately available.) Davia Spain, 21, who identifies as gender non-conforming, expressed concerns for homeless youth in the city’s Castro neighborhood and for transgender women who aren’t able to get jobs “above the table.” “The reality” of the city “does not match up with the expectations of what you’re going to get here,” Spain said. Dafahlia Mosley, who identifies as a trans woman, is one of the many people who’ve come to San Francisco looking for help. Mosley, who’s

Jane Philomen Cleland

Di Vonta Bolden, left, gave House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi a tour of Larkin Street’s Tenderloin facility during her visit last week.

originally from Stockton, recalled being homeless and living in her car during at least one point in her life. Referring to the types of services available in San Francisco, where agencies like Larkin Street help people with housing, job training, and other needs, she said, “We need to amplify it through the whole state, because I was really lost.” In an email exchange with the Bay Area Reporter after the meeting, Mosley said, “I feel if we had these services more accessible, there wouldn’t be an active issue of youth flocking from their hometown/cities to major cities like San Francisco to find help or services. These services should be available and accessible because it is a birthright.” After listening to the youth Thursday, Pelosi said, “San Francisco is a very special place,” and one of the city’s values is its diversity. The economic disparity that’s so strong in the city “is not what San Francisco is about,” she said. See page 14 >>

Gay men’s chorus raises $30,000 for Milk school

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San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus artistic director Timothy Seelig, center left, and Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy Principal Ron Machado, center right, are surrounded by chorus members and school students as the chorus presents a check to the school.

by David-Elijah Nahmod

t was music to the ears of students and faculty at a Castro school as the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus donated more than $30,000 earlier this month, the result of a robust holiday fundraising campaign by students and parents at the chorus’ holiday concerts. A check for $30,378.32 was presented to the Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy, a K-5 school named after the slain San Francisco supervisor, January 15 by Timothy Seelig, the chorus’ artistic director, and several members of the gay choral group. Seelig explained why the chorus wanted to raise funds for the elementary school. “I was actually attending a Castro Merchants meeting in November when this adorable young woman stood and described the needs of

the children at the Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy,” Seelig told the Bay Area Reporter. “She was the vice president of the Parent Faculty Club and they were asking for help. After the meeting, I approached her and said that the chorus would love to help in some way.” This wasn’t the first time the chorus has stood up for kids in need. “Three years ago, we helped raise money for Make-A-Wish at our holiday concerts,” said Seelig, referring to the organization that helps children with life-threatening medical conditions. “It added such a wonderful component to the concerts just to allow our patrons to give a few dollars to help a child or children.” According to a news release from the chorus, the funds were raised when school students and parents See page 13 >>

Community News>>

January 28-February 3, 2016 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 7

SF nurse and AIDS pioneer retires by Seth Hemmelgarn

iane Jones could tell a lot of stories about being a nurse in San Francisco in the beginning of the AIDS epidemic. In the early 1980s, when the disease first hit, being diagnosed with it usually meant an imminent, painful death. Patients, health care providers, and others in the city struggled for years to find their way through the crisis as the federal government turned its back. In 1983, San Francisco General Hospital became the first hospital in the country to start a program for people living with HIV/AIDS when Ward 86, the outpatient clinic, opened. But Jones, who helped make history at Ward 86 and who recently retired after 33 years at the hospital, immediately makes it clear she’s not interested in looking backward. “I’m not one who’s much for reminiscing about the bad old days of the epidemic or the sentimentality that seems to go along with this,” Jones, a registered nurse who turns 64 in February, said in an email responding to an interview request from the Bay Area Reporter. “I care about our history, but my passion is for how it informs what we need to be doing today to end this epidemic.” Indeed, Jones, a lesbian, spent much of a subsequent phone conversation discussing the future. “We actually now know what is needed to stop this epidemic and to prevent HIV, and we know what to do, so now it’s a question of capacity and political will and having the resources to do it,” she said. The biggest barriers are related to health insurance and access to care, and advocacy for patients continues to be crucial, she said. “From the beginning, people who were health care providers couldn’t just be health care providers,” Jones said. “They had to be activists” and understand pharmaceutical companies’ role, drug trials, and other issues. “We have to be completely at the forefront around the expansion

Courtesy Diane Jones

Diane Jones, RN, marched with the San Francisco General Hospital AIDS program in the San Francisco Pride Parade around 1990.

of access to health benefits, and this debate going on in our country” involving drug costs and other concerns “to me, is part of being an HIV nurse in 2016.” If the political will is there to help, “people who are at risk don’t have to become infected, and if they become infected, they don’t have to get sick. They don’t have to die. They don’t have to transmit” the virus to others, Jones said. “They can have children who aren’t HIV-infected.” Jones recalled recently working with an 18-year-old man who’d just been diagnosed with HIV. “His mother came with him to his first appointment at Ward 86,” which currently sees about 2,800 patients, Jones said. She and others were talking to the man and his mother about what would happen and other matters when “the mother turned to the son and said, ‘Don’t think you’re dropping out of law school because of this.’” “Isn’t that great?” Jones said.

Housing still an issue

But Jones said many of the issues patients struggled with 30 years ago remain, including affordable housing. “Many of our patients, their big-

Taking Bernal to new Heights

gest threat right now is not coming from their HIV, the biggest threat of their livelihood is coming from the affordability crisis in San Francisco,” Jones said. “This is not a problem that just appeared,” she said. It’s been “accelerated by the huge economic forces around the tech industry,” and it’s currently being “poorly” mitigated by Mayor Ed Lee and other city officials. In an email to the B.A.R., Christine Falvey, a spokeswoman for Lee, said, “The mayor thanks Diane Jones for more than three decades of committed service to people living with HIV/AIDS at Ward 86 of SF General. It’s professionals like her who have been leaders in groundbreaking compassionate care and treatment of our residents since the beginning of this epidemic. ... We are all invested in finding a cure to this terrible disease, and by working together, we will. In the mayor’s second term he is continuing to tackle economic inequality by raising San Francisco’s minimum wage to the highest in the nation,” along with other actions, and Lee’s “second term will also see a major expansion of affordable housing production and a complete re-envisioning of public housing to help our lowest income families.” “It’s going to require much more aggressive and mindful involvement in order to preserve the gains that we’ve made,” Jones said. Statistics that she provided offer a glimpse of who gets help through the Positive Health Access to Services and Treatment program, which is based at Ward 86 and has been the hospital’s HIV testing and linkage to care plan since 2002. Jones coordinated the program beginning in 2006. Of the 70 people who were newly diagnosed in 2015 either on the hospital’s campus or “linked to care from community testing sites” such as City Clinic, according to Jones, 64 percent were people of color. Of those, 37 percent were Latino/

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New PrEP resources released for trans people by Liz Highleyman

roject Inform and Outshine NW have released a new information booklet about PrEP for transgender women and have updated Project Inform’s existing PrEP booklet for gay and bisexual men to be more inclusive of trans men, the agencies announced last week. “The enthusiastic response from our promotion of both PrEP booklets at Creating Change this past weekend shows us that these resources will help to fill a significant unmet need in the community,” Project Inform director of education Alan McCord told the Bay Area Reporter. Transgender women – especially trans women of color – have among the highest rates of HIV infection. One combined analysis found that 28 percent of trans women in the U.S. are living with HIV, and a large proportion do not know their status. Some studies have confused matters by categorizing trans women as “men who have sex with men,” and there has been little specific research on HIV among trans men. PrEP, or pre-exposure prophylaxis using Gilead Sciences’ Truvada (tenofovir/emtricitabine), has been

A new booklet about PrEP for transgender women has been released by Project Inform and Outshine NW.

shown to be highly effective for preventing HIV infection among gay men and heterosexual couples who take it consistently. No randomized studies have looked specifically at PrEP for transgender women or men, but trans women participants in the international iPrEx trial who had blood drug levels showing regular Truvada

use appeared to be protected, according to an analysis published late last year. Trans women had lower PrEP drug levels on average, however, showing they were less likely to take Truvada on a daily basis than gay men. “We think that one factor leading to lower rates of pill-taking may be due to either a fear of, or lack of information about, drug-drug interactions between PrEP and gender-affirming hormone medications,” said Madeline Deutsch, director of clinical services at the UCSF Center of Excellence for Transgender Health and lead author of that report. Deutsch added that they do not know of any interaction with hormones or other biological factors that would affect how PrEP works for trans women, but more studies are needed.

Booklets for trans women and gay men

The new booklet for transgender women, entitled “Transcending Barriers for Safer Pleasure,” is the first major PrEP resource by and for the transgender community. The booklet for men who have See page 14 >>

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<< Travel

8 • BAY AREA REPORTER • January 28-February 3, 2016

Austin’s queer vibe beckons LGBT travelers

by Heather Cassell

e had never traveled with our friends as a couple before, so a group of us heading to Austin was a new adventure, as new as heading to Texas for a lesbian wedding, which spurred the journey to the Lone Star State’s quirky capital city. A group of us rented a house through Airbnb for the trip. We didn’t want to go just for the wedding, but also to find out why so many people rave about how cool Austin is. As soon as the seatbelt sign on the plane turned off my girlfriend unbuckled herself and kneeled on her seat, propping herself up against the back. Drink in hand, she didn’t turn around again from chatting with our friends until the seatbelt light went on. I followed her lead. The party had begun. Austin is the blue dot amid a sea of red in the Lone Star State. It has a reputation for being offbeat, but in a cool way that begged me to ask, “How did a city that has a similar vibe to Berkeley, Oakland, Santa Cruz, and Portland emerge in Texas?” It might be the bats, the famed 1.5 million bats that fly out from beneath the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge at dusk. That right there makes Austin unique. It’s a college town, home to the University of Texas at Austin. Another answer might be that the tech industry has found a comfortable second home outside of Silicon Valley in Austin. The city has long become an enclave for artists and musicians. And Austin boasts of an active outdoor life due to its average of 229 days of sunshine a year. I was surprised to find so many vegan and vegetarian restaurants alongside the Tex-Mex and beef in the heart of Texas.

SXSW turns 30

EXPLORE THE GAY WORLD

Art, intellectuals, and technology create a perfect storm for cool confabs, like the wildly popular South by Southwest Festival, which turns 30 this year. The annual indie festival and conference, taking place March 11-20, attracts upward of 72,000 attendees from around the globe to check out hundreds of musicians, artists, innovative thought leaders, and new technologies. This is the first year that SXSW organizers are actually reaching out to various communities, including the queer community, and producing events and tracks for them, said Chondra Washington, administrative assistant of the interactive festival team of the SXSW Festival and Conference. “SXSW is a community driven event. We want every community represented equally and to create an environment of inclusion,” wrote Washington in an email, pointing out that the panel discussions are community selected and led. “We all agree that more diversity within the festival creates a more interesting event,” she added. SXSW is catching on and is providing some programming for LGBT attendees and reaching out to the local and visiting LGBT community. “There is a growing population of LGBT attendees at South by Southwest and it’s been happening for maybe for the last five years,” said Ceci Gratias, a 51-year-old lesbian who is the new president and CEO of the Austin Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. For the past three years the cham-

Courtesy Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau

The urban bat colony flies out from beneath the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge at dusk in Austin.

ber has hosted an unofficial SXSW LGBT kick-off party. This year Gratias is working with Washington, connecting the local and visiting LGBT community to SXSW. “I think having a queer component can only have a positive affect,” said Washington, a 33-year-old queer woman. “Austin is a very LGBTQ-friendly city and having this reflected in the festival will add value.” (See the online SXSW resource guide that accompanies this article.) She’s particularly excited about the “Queer Style: Visual Activism and Fashion’s Frontier,” a session that explores androgynous fashion. Out of the hundreds of events during the 10-day festival, Washington, a dedicated foodie, said she’s looking forward to SouthBites. “There is so much to be jazzed about at SXSW this year,” wrote Washington. SXSW is only one reason to head south. Austin is a festival town and there are many throughout the year. The city’s queer community alone hosts five of them: OUTsider Film and Arts Festival; Queerbomb; Austin Pride; Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival; and the Stargayzer Festival: Austin’s Queer Music Festival. (See the online Quick Guide to Austin that accompanies this article.) Austin is a rapidly growing, but still affordable, city that is attracting a new wave of vibrant residents. “One of the biggest draws to Austin is that it’s a very diverse city,” said Gratias, who mentioned being affectionate in public with her partner without being given a second look and the city’s support of the LGBT community. “It just makes me feel really good to be a part of a city that is very accepting all the way from the mayor down to pretty much most everybody I meet. “Because we are in Texas, a lot of people tend to go, ‘Well no, you can’t do that here in Texas.’ But this

is Austin. That’s what we like to say, ‘We are not in Texas, we are in Austin,’” she added. Curran Nault, a 39-year-old queer man who is a founder and the artistic director of OUTsider, a queer multimedia arts festival and conference, agreed. “I think because it’s such a kind of unique state and city and community ... that it kind of gets overlooked,” said Nault, a former San Franciscan who noted that when people think of the queer community they think of the coast cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York. “In a lot of ways the queer culture here is just as thriving but it kind of has its own unique flavor. “It is in Texas so there is that sort of infusion of Texas culture ... but also there is still a kind of fun radical edge to the queer community,” continued Nault. “You are going to see stuff that you are not going to see anywhere else. There is an excitement around queer events because there is a newness to it so people are actually grateful for it.” Austin is unique. Our house was at the edge of South Congress Street, one of the hippest shopping areas in Austin. It reminded me very much of the Haight-Ashbury with a Texas twist – rather than Doc Martins, one of the stores had a huge spurred cowboy boot above it, while other stores had vintage dresses. Bars ranged from divvy to hipster and restaurants ranged from vegan to barbecue. One of Austin’s shopping areas that include local artisans is the more than 40-year-old 23rd Street Artist Market near the university, while the 2nd Street District caters more to boutiques and high-end shopping. On my shopping list was Teysha, the handmade shoes from Central and South America. A local couple started the company. The shoes are made using brightly colored patterned textiles crafted by indigenous women in Colombia and Guatemala. Each shoe is fitted personally to each customer’s foot, with their measurements taken and stored in a database for future shopping.

Chilling out

David Tait/South by Southwest

Dej Loaf performed on the Yahoo stage at Brazos Hall at South by Southwest 2015.

To relieve us of Austin’s heat and humidity, one of our friends, a Texas native who went to the university in Austin, had us covered. She took us to Lake Travis, a 45-minute drive outside the city. It was a great introduction to Austin’s outdoor adventures that include miles of hiking and biking within the city around Lady Bird Lake, golf, horseback riding, and sunbathing and chilling out on the grass at Barton Springs, a natural spring that gets dammed up as soon as the weather heats up, to the pleasure of Austin residents looking to cool off within the city. See page 13 >>

Community News>>

January 28-February 3, 2016 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 9

SF Dyke March needs new organizers by Liz Highleyman

ore than 40 women gathered recently to discuss the future of the Dyke March after a year of controversy and attrition of organizers. The remaining Dyke March committee members who called the January 21 meeting at the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts – Russel Arelis, Liz Combs, Rosa Hernandez, and chair Elizabeth Lanyon – emphasized that they are stretched to their limits and the march might not happen this year unless more organizers step forward. “This year we’re left with four people who are unwilling to commit unless there’s more help,” said Arelis. “We would love to have 20 members.” The 2015 march was organized by just six women, with fewer than 10 volunteers on the day of the event. “When there’s less [organizers], a lot of things get left out – we’re basically left with just organizing portapotties and security,” Hernandez added.

Controversy in 2015

The committee members discussed the issues surrounding last year’s Dyke March – which saw thousands of women break away from the main march and cross police lines to follow the traditional route – but stressed that they wanted to focus on moving forward. The march, which started in 1993 and now draws some 50,000 participants, has in recent years concluded around sunset as marchers joined the pre-Pride Pink Saturday street party on Market Street leading into the Castro. In 2015 the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence withdrew their sponsorship of Pink Saturday due to concerns about violence. In March the San Francisco LGBT Community Center took over the event, renamed Pink Party, and scheduled it earlier

Liz Highleyman

Rosa Hernandez, left, talks about the Dyke March with fellow organizers Elizabeth Lanyon, Russel Arelis, and Liz Combs at a meeting in the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts.

in the afternoon. The Dyke March also had to deal with uncertainty about the status of Dolores Park. Not knowing whether renovations to the north end of the park would be completed in time or whether the city would allow a stage on the new lawn, the committee planned a street party at the intersection of Dolores and 18th streets with a sound truck serving as a stage. Concerned about the safety of turning the truck around in a thick crowd, the organizers decided to change the route to go east on 17th rather than 18th Street. This minor change was historically significant, as it meant the march would no longer pass the Women’s Building, the former site of the lesbian bar Amelia’s (now the Elbo Room), or Good Vibrations. Coming soon after the closure of the Lexington Club – the city’s only dedicated dyke bar – the route change became a stand-in for the affordable housing crisis and wave of displacement plaguing San Francisco’s queer communities. “Queer women have been watching our friends and community members be displaced from the city at an alarming rate, and the reroute of the march away from some of our

last standing lesbian community institutions really hit a nerve with a lot of people,” breakaway march organizer Adele Carpenter told the Bay Area Reporter last year.

Backlash not anticipated

While many participants described the alternative march as empowering, others felt it split the community and showed a lack of support for the organizers. After last year’s march Lanyon told the B.A.R. that the organizers “did not anticipate the backlash from doing things differently for one year,” but acknowledged in hindsight that they could have done more outreach to the community. Hernandez echoed the same point at last week’s meeting. “Our concern has always been safety – we feel the responsibility for 60,000 bodies out there,” she emphasized. “We realized the communication wasn’t there, but we were underwater.” Hernandez also recalled that for many years the Dyke March never got permits and the route would change from year to year because they did not want the police to know where it was going. The breakaway march was “an in-

credible display of community coming together, but also really tough,” Lanyon said. “It felt like after so much work, members of our own community were upset. People started rumors that were not true and threw all sorts of shit our way that we had to address. But it was also really amazing because there was a real show of support and care for that march ... we want that same level of care commitment for the Dyke March.” “It was never meant to be divisive of the community,” replied meeting attendee Joey “Cupcake” Stevenson, who spearheaded organizing of the breakaway march. “Hopefully we can take that energy that’s still here and move it into keeping the Dyke March happening.”

Moving forward for 2016

Meeting participants then discussed planning for this year’s Dyke March, which will take place Saturday, June 25. Although Dolores Park renovations are now complete, the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department has indicated that it will no longer allow a stage to be set up in the park. Plans for the annual Pink Party are still up in the air, the organizers said, but it will likely start and end early again this year. While some suggested that the Dyke March could end somewhere other than the Castro, others felt it was important that women not get pushed out of that historically queer space. Regarding the major needs for the march, the organizers listed volunteer recruitment and training (especially for security), fundraising, accessibility and accommodations for elders and people with disabilities, social media outreach, coordinating vendors, renting a truck and equipment, and developing a program and lining up entertainers. Lanyon said Dyke March commit-

tee members are expected to attend one two-hour meeting per month, with subcommittee meetings, phone calls, and other work in between – but the more people who are involved the less time it will require. A former committee member suggested that 20 people contributing 10 hours a month could get a lot done. The next organizing meeting is set for Thursday, February 4, at a location to be announced. The agenda will include going through a list of all tasks that need to be done and forming subcommittees. Hernandez concluded by saying she was excited by the energy and momentum of the meeting, and attendees echoed her sense of optimism. “We’re all here because we don’t accept that the Dyke March won’t continue,” said Mission resident Kearstin Krehbiel.t

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Obituaries>>

January 28-February 3, 2016 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 11

Gay poet Francisco X. Alarcón dies by Cynthia Laird

rancisco X. Alarcón, a gay man who was an award-winning poet and author, died January 15 at his home in Davis, California. He was 61. The cause of death was stomach cancer, according to an obituary in the Los Angeles Times. Mr. Alarcón had recently been in San Francisco to attend a tribute for him in the Mission district. Jewelle Gomez, a lesbian author and poet, told the Bay Area Reporter that she will miss Mr. Alarcón, along with Justin Chin, a gay poet who died last month in San Francisco after suffering a stroke. “Losing Francisco and Justin Chin so close together is almost unbearable,” Gomez said in an email. “This is true of them both: His poetry always reminds me that politi-

cal and literary passions lumbus Foundation. are most powerful when “Latino and gay identhey’re inseparable.” tity, mythology, the Mr. Alarcón, who was Nahuatl language, Mea professor at UC Davis, soamerican history, and published his first collecAmerican culture are all tion of poems, Tattoos, in portrayed in Alarcón’s 1985, the Times said, and writing,” the foundation’s was nationally known Courtesy Poetry Foundation biography noted. among Chicano poets in His books for children Francisco X. part because he published include the bilingual Alarcón in Spanish and English poetry collections in and translated his own the Magical Cycle of the verse. Seasons Series: Laughing Tomatoes: The Poetry Foundation, in a And Other Spring Poems/Jitomates biography of Mr. Alarcón on its risuenos: y otros poemas de primavwebsite, said that his collections of era (1997), which won the National poetry for adults include Body in Parenting Publications Gold Award. Flames/Cuerpo en llamas (1990); De Mr. Alarcón was born February amore oscuro/Of Dark Love (1991); 21, 1954 in the Los Angeles neighand Snake Poems: An Aztec Invocaborhood of Wilmington, the Times tion (1992), winner of the American See page 14 >> Book Award from the Before Co-

Visit The Castro District’s Super-Store

Activist Jeanne Córdova dies by Cynthia Laird

esbian pioneer Jeanne Córdova, who published an early lesbianfeminist newsmagazine, died at her Los Angeles home January 10. She was 67. The cause was cancer, which had metastasized to her brain, Ms. Córdova said in an open letter last fall that was circulated widely online. Her life’s cause, she wrote, was freedom and dignity for lesbians and she helped achieve that through her activism and writing. Her 2011 memoir, When We Were Outlaws, was called “an important contribution to the burgeoning collection of memoirs by lesbian-feminists” by a reviewer at Lambda Literary. Ms. Córdova published the Lesbian Tide, an influential lesbianfeminist publication, and later, the Gay and Lesbian Community

Yellow Pages. Ms. Córdova. “This Los Angeles 400“Jeanne was a brilpage guide that helped us liant, charismatic mix still-half-hidden people of feminist re-visioning to connect, politically I and storytelling, of inthought initially, with tense, rigorous curiosbusinesses and profesity, of teasing humor, of sionals that spoke to us self-creation and prewithin our own identisentation, and of endless ties,” Ms. Córdova wrote positive possibilities,” about the directory in her Jeanne Córdova Pizer said in an email to open letter. She sold it in the Bay Area Reporter. 1999. “Again and again, she She was also an investigative resaw unmet needs – for political porter for the Los Angeles Free Press. or artistic collaboration, or busiMs. Córdova also organized ness innovation – and convened a marches, and later did online orgagroup to address those needs with nizing to, as she said in her open letsomething new.” ter, “include all of me and my Latina Pizer noted that it was a different identity.” era when Ms. Córdova published Jennifer Pizer, senior counsel and Lesbian Tide. law and policy project director for “When she founded and pubLambda Legal Defense and EducaSee page 14 >> tion Fund, was close friends with

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12 • BAY AREA REPORTER • January 28-February 3, 2016

Sex offender rehab

From page 1

In late December, the agency had given a letter of determination to Sharper Future. The letter noted that the proposal was to use the space for “mental health and sex offender treatment.” AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which operated a thrift store that used to occupy the space, had also run a pharmacy and medical clinic at the site. In her email, Simi noted, “The letter stated that the specified use would either be a medical service or institutional use, both of which are permitted at the property in question. However, no permits have been filed or approved by our department for the subject use to date. It is possible that Sharper Future misunderstood the letter of determination as an approval to operate at this location, as they have signed a lease and are prepared to open February 1, 2016.” In a follow-up email, Simi said Sharper Future doesn’t need to get a permit to move in to the 1,800 square foot medical space at the site “as is.” However, she said, “They will need a permit for any kind of physical tenant improvements to that space.” Also, she added, “They will need a permit for change of use” for the 4,000 square foot space “that is currently permitted/authorized for retail.” Supervisor Scott Wiener, whose District 8 includes the Church Street location, sent a letter to Maitri Executive Director Michael Smithwick Friday requesting “that Maitri cease moving forward with this lease until it engages in robust

LGBT Center

From page 2

The kitchen attached to the space on the building’s Waller Street side will be removed in place for two meeting rooms. The atrium between the first and second floors will be closed in and turned into a meeting room. And the staircase leading from the first floor up to the Rainbow Room will be torn out. In its place on the first floor will be a new meeting room that will also include the area that now houses the center’s cyber center. The computers will be housed in a new space running the length of the new meeting room along the building’s Waller Street side. Center officials are in talks with 10 donors who secured naming rights to interior spaces now slated to be demol-

community outreach.” In an interview, Wiener, a gay man, said, “There is no doubt in my mind that [Sharper Future] is a responsible organization that does really good work for a population that needs to be rehabilitated.” However, he was clearly irritated with what’s happened. “I do want them to do outreach, and they didn’t do that, and they just flung this on this neighborhood, and people are understandably upset,” Wiener said. Psychologist Mary-Perry Miller is one of the founders of Sharper Future. Miller insists her agency has done outreach and said pausing the move would be “really difficult to do. We cannot delay services to these clients.” Smithwick said, “They have contractual obligations” with state and federal government agencies, but Sharper Future has decided to move the opening date to Tuesday, February 9. That’s the day after a Duboce Triangle Neighborhood Association meeting about the project. David Troup, DTNA’s immediate past president, said his group is “neutral on the business itself,” and Sharper Future’s clients are “really, really unlikely to reoffend,” but “we have issues with the process,” and his group would this week appeal the letter of determination to the Board of Appeals. “This is a subject that evokes strong emotions in people, and [Sharper Future’s] lamebrain attempt to come in quietly is being interpreted as they’re trying to sneak in under the radar with something we don’t want,” Troup, who’s gay, said. “I don’t think that was their inished about honoring their contributions elsewhere in the building. The center is also looking to bring back a cafe to the first floor space fronting Market Street. It posted “for lease” signs in November but has yet to enter into lease talks with any business. “If people have suggestions or thoughts, we would love to hear them,” said Rolfe. “We would love to find an LGBT business, but it is not a requirement.” As for the building’s facade, there will be no structural changes but the windows are to be repaired and cleaned. Center officials are in discussions about selecting a new color scheme for the exterior. Much of the modern structure is painted red. The historic Victorian structure currently sports five different hues that debuted in 2008. The base is a

DISPLAY OBITUARIES & IN MEMORIAMS

Jane Philomen Cleland

Maitri Executive Director Michael Smithwick

tent, but that’s very understandably how people view it.” He said the appeal should give people in the neighborhood a chance “to be heard, and really learn what they’re doing,” and “hopefully” reach a consensus. Longtime neighborhood resident Devin Kordt-Thomas, who’s gay, recently launched a change. org petition calling for a halt to Sharper Future’s plans. As of Wednesday morning, the petition (https://www.change.org/p/ scott-wiener-michael-smithwickthomas-tobin-halt-the-openingof-sex-offender-rehab-center-at100-church-street-san-francisco) had 501 signatures. “The bottom line is there is interest in the neighborhood of having a dialogue, and people are very surprised they weren’t afforded that opportunity,” Kordt-Thomas said. Wiener said his office was first approached about the idea in October, when nothing had been decided. “We were very clear with them” that they needed to do “robust comsoft silver with four accent colors that include two different shades of a gray-blue, one shade of a graygreen, and a deep purple. “We are going to repaint the exterior,” said Rolfe, adding that the Victorian “will stay multi-colored.” The center’s staff is working to finalize the financing for the project, with the board expected to sign off on the plans at its February 9 meeting. Construction would then begin in March and wrap up by September, center officials said. “We expect construction would start soon. I think we are a month or two behind what we hoped to be,” said Rafael Mandelman, president of the center’s board of directors. “In general terms, the board has signed off on the remodel.” While AGUILAS is remaining in the building, LGBT senior services provider Openhouse is expected to vacate its office space in the center by the end of February, when its lease expires. Openhouse is planning to relocate in September into new office spaces at 65 Laguna in the ground floor of a new senior housing facility aimed at low-income LGBT seniors. As the B.A.R. reported last week, its

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Union

From page 3

But according to the lawsuit, even when the anti-gay law was in effect, it didn’t prevent the benefit payment to Pritchard. Additionally, he claims, federal law requires plans like Conwell’s to recognize same-sex couples’ legal marriages for purposes related to survivor benefits. In his email, Pritchard said, “I am entitled to a monthly annuity that is half what Tom would have received each month for his disability pension. My attorneys estimate this is about $900/month for life (starting when Tom passed away).” Pritchard is being represented by the National Center for Lesbian Rights, the Civil Rights Education and Enforcement Center, and Feinberg, Jackson, Worthman and Wasow LLP. The B.A.R. was unable to reach officials with the pension plan.t

munity outreach before moving forward,” he said. Andres Power, his chief of staff “informed them this would be very controversial, and they needed to do good outreach” first, Wiener said. “Whatever one’s view on the project, the idea that this kind of use would go into a residential neighborhood without having done outreach to the community first makes no sense to me,” he said. Wiener said he’s a “huge fan and supporter of Maitri,” and “I have no formal power here,” but he said, “I want Maitri and Sharper Future to stop, to not move forward, and to go back and do real community outreach.” Miller and Smithwick said there has been outreach, including sharing the letter of determination, which Wiener indicated is insufficient, and media interviews. (The story was first reported by the Hoodline news site.) Smithwick, who said the meeting with Power was in early November, said, “The question was, ‘With a letter of determination, is community outreach required?’ and the answer was, ‘Transparency is always a good thing with the community.’” He said he didn’t take informing the community about the plans to be the same as “reaching out for approval.” He also said since the rehab agency wouldn’t be a change in use at the site, that outreach wasn’t required. “Sharper Future hosted a really good neighborhood meeting” Tuesday morning with “about a dozen people,” including Troup, Smithwick said. “The question was asked, ‘How

much more time do you think is reasonable?” for outreach, he said, “and the answer was, ‘Maybe a couple months.’ So I’d be interested to know what Supervisor Wiener thinks is a reasonable period of time” to inform the neighborhood. Miller said her agency “could not start outreach” until it had the determination letter and the signed lease. The latter happened January 12. Asked whether he’d hidden the plans from neighbors, Smithwick said it wouldn’t have been “reasonable” for them “to do community outreach in advance of knowing whether or not they would even be allowed in the space.” He added that his agency “would not have been interested in signing the lease” without the determination letter. Wiener said he understands the agencies wanting to make sure they would be allowed to use the space before doing outreach, but he said now they do have that chance, and he indicated that they’re rushing things. “They appear to have just moved forward and signed the lease” and begun work on the site “with an eye toward moving in before they do any outreach,” Wiener said. “Once they had that letter of determination, there was no requirement for them to immediately move forward with the project.”

offices will be named the Bob Ross LGBT Senior Center after the paper’s founding publisher. “We will need to be looking for some space before we move to the new building. It is something we had prepared for,” said Openhouse Executive Director Seth Kilbourn. As for the center’s staff and programs during the construction work, several custodial employees will be laid off on a temporary basis. Rolfe said they would all be offered to return to their jobs when the work is complete. Most of the center’s staff will remain working out of the building during the remodel, and nearly all of its programs will continue to be offered on site, said Rolfe. “We may need to rent some larger rooms for events like our career fairs,” she said. Reaction to the changes has been muted so far, said center officials, with most people unaware of the proposed redesign. “A lot of people are surprised to find the building not open at night for meetings,” said Mandelman.

“People who know it is going on are pretty invariably positive. I think the proposal makes sense to people.” The center sent out an email last Wednesday, January 20 that described the project in general terms. It noted that the rebuild would “triple the amount of affordable nonprofit office space available” and “create a long-term sustainability by designing a more efficient floor plan that allows our building to pay for itself and build a capital reserve fund to support future building needs.” Once the building is renovated, center officials contend they will be able “to invest more financial resources toward innovating programs and increasing social, cultural, and recreational offerings for all of us.” Most people understand that the changes are needed to ensure the center is financially self-sustaining, said Mandelman. “I think people are aware of the need for nonprofit office space, particularly if those nonprofits will be serving needs in our community. That is a good thing,” he said.t

Education

Miller said the 1540 site would remain open until the move. That building is set to be demolished to make way for a high-rise, according to Miller and media reports. See page 13 >>

Obituaries >> Steven James Stinson June 12, 1948 – September 30, 2015 Steven James Stinson, 67, of San Francisco and Washington state, died September 30, 2015 of cancer in Seattle. Steve served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War and was a member and assistant adjutant of the Alexander Hamilton Post 448 of the American Legion. He predeceased his former wife, Margaret, of Seattle. Born June 12, 1948, Steve was a graduate of Evergreen College and was close to earning his master’s degree. He had various careers including being a probation officer in Washington, and later was an accomplished chef and floral designer. He was proud to have worked for the Prince of Saudi Arabia several times, and provided gratis work for the 20th anniversary of Post 448. Gardening was also one of his great pastimes. Steve was a fixture in the leather, veterans, philanthropic, and LGBT communities of San Francisco, often seen in his signature black leather jacket. He will be missed by dear friends Tony Rocha, Sandy Langham, Myrna, Goldblatt, Mario Benfield, Keith and Gladys Bumps, and many others. A celebration of life gathering will be held Saturday, January 30, from 1 to 3 p.m.

at 440 Castro, with refreshments and a nohost bar. For more information, call (415) 867-5004.

Robert (Bob) Yucker May 1922 – January 2016 Robert D. Yucker passed away peacefully in San Francisco. He was 93. Bob was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and moved to San Francisco in the 1950s where he met his lifelong love, William (Bill) Moore. Bob was a distinguished employee for Crocker Bank and retired from the bank in the 1980s to pursue his passion for travel. Bob and Bill found a spiritual home in Paris, while also traveling extensively through Europe and Asia. Bob was engaged in several community groups and served as bookkeeper of the board for San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band for several years. He had a gift for conversation, regaling beloved friends and family with stories of life in San Francisco through so many colorful and transformational periods. His life partner, Bill Moore, predeceases Bob. Donations to honor Mr. Yucker may be made to http://sflgfb.townalive.com/ get-involved-support/make-donation/.

t <<

Community News>>

News Briefs

From page 3

Bike Share meetings in South, East Bay

San Jose and East Bay residents will have bike share stations of their own later this year, according to Motivate, the Bay Area Bike Share operator. As a result, Motivate has announced a series of workshops for the public to weigh in on potential station locations where they live, work, or visit in order to design a useful and inclusive bike share program. The following meetings are scheduled. Times for all are 6 to 7 and 7 to 8 p.m. In San Jose, a meeting will be held in District 3 Thursday, February 4 at

Gay men’s chorus

From page 6

met patrons with collection buckets as they exited each of the chorus’ six holiday concerts. Ron Machado, principal of the Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy, couldn’t be happier about receiving the check. “I was excited to hear that we are getting reconnected with our amazing community and that organizations such as SFGMC are reaching out to help us in moving closer towards achieving our goals for our

Tent camps

From page 2

Jennifer Friedenbach, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness, said, “Mr. Weiner’s letter is in direct contrast to the very spirit of the city of St. Francis. His timing was telling, as was his lack of solutions. Homeless people are suffering enough, and his letter was surprisingly cruel.” TJ Johnston, “a homeless constituent,” said in the email that “the criminalization of acts by homeless people keeps them in a cycle of poverty. So in all probability, your inquiry to enforce a ban on sidewalk tents could perpetuate this cycle.” Brian Basinger, director of AIDS

Austin

From page 8

On the lake we loaded up our boat with our goodies from beer to lunch to snacks and zipped out to a cove where we stopped and enjoyed jumping into the water for a few hours. Later in the afternoon we toured around the lake, looking at the houses and enjoying the sunset. We couldn’t have asked for a better day. Next up was a fantastic evening out on the town at the Hangar Lounge, a rooftop bar in downtown Austin with a DJ spinning the lat-

Sex offender rehab

From page 12

Asked about what they’d be doing to ensure public safety at the Church Street site, Miller said there would be several upgrades, including brighter outside lights and more surveillance cameras. Smithwick said Maitri already has an outside camera at its entrance at 401 Duboce Avenue, which is “monitored pretty much all the time.” Miller said, “The vast majority of our sex offenders are using ankle monitors” and are closely tracked by parole agents and probation officers. “Their whereabouts are known on a 24-hour basis, and they know

Super Bowl

From page 1

thereafter cut him, and the Dallas Cowboys briefly signed him for its practice squad before letting him go. Sam then signed a two-year deal with the Alouettes of the Canadian Football League, where he played defensive end before stepping away from the game last summer.

January 28-February 3, 2016 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 13

Project Avary, an early intervention/prevention program for kids of incarcerated parents, has an-

nounced open enrollment for its free year-round enrichment program. The agency makes a 10-year commitment to help children heal the shame, stigma, and trauma of having a parent in prison. Its curriculum helps children, and often their parents, develop measurable skills in leadership, communication, emotional intelligence, conflict resolution, and independent living. Youth of incarcerated parents who are 8, 9, or 10 years old and reside in San Francisco, Contra Costa, Marin, Solano, or Sonoma counties can enroll and must do so by April 30. For more information, call (415) 457-8799 or visit http://www.projectavary.org.t

will not be doing justice for our namesake if we don’t work as hard and as smart as we can until we achieve our goals,” said Machado. “We are all frustrated with the ‘state of our union’ these days and feel powerless,” added Seelig. “It was our feeling that investing in our children – in our own community – was one very tangible way to make a difference. It is hard to imagine what it would be like to grow up attending a school named after our very own LGBT hero, Harvey Milk. None of us had that experience.” It was a perfect fit, according to Seelig.

“Doing something for the Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy was the perfect match for us.” he said. “First of all, the chorus has had a connection to Harvey Milk for its entire 38-year history. In addition, the Castro is our home, and it was our thought that since we have been doing holiday concerts at the Castro Theatre for 26 years, we could make something happen.” Seelig was referring to the fact that the gay men’s chorus was formed in 1978 after a group of gay men held an impromptu memorial concert on the steps of City Hall after Milk and Mayor George Moscone were

murdered by disgruntled ex-supervisor Dan White. Four weeks after the killings, the chorus sang at the candlelight vigil that was organized to honor Milk’s memory. Support for the school also has a very personal meaning for Seelig. “Thanks to our connection with the school, my daughter and sonin-law have now put the academy as one of their top three choices in the public school lottery for my granddaughter, who will start kindergarten next August. We all want her to go to a school that promotes the ideals we believe so fervently in.”t

Housing Alliance/San Francisco, said in a Facebook post Tuesday that Wiener “never misses an opportunity to kick a queen when she’s down.” Basinger said, “So many of [Wiener’s] ilk have been elected to office by triggering voters negative feelings about a particular group of humans.” Referring to a Republican presidential candidate who’s well known for his bigotry, Basinger said, “Donald Trump appeals to our lesser natures on Mexicans and Muslims. Scott Weiner uses the same playbook on people who have lost their homes.” Asked Tuesday about the criticism his letter’s drawn, Wiener, who’s running against fellow Super-

visor Jane Kim for the state Senate, said, “There’s a certain school of politics that’s very cynical, where you distort and twist what people say to suit your own political goals.” He said he wasn’t looking for the tents to be removed “tomorrow.” “I’m asking, ‘What is our plan to transition people living in tents out of the tents and into shelter and housing?’” he said. “The two need to go hand in hand.” Officials need to look at increasing shelter capacity, among other needs, and when more resources become available, “we need to make sure the tents go away.” “What is cruel and inhumane is to have a status quo where people

are living in tents on our sidewalks,” Wiener said, adding, “I’m concerned that we have hit or we will hit a state of inertia where people just get used to these tents being out there, and we as a city will not work hard enough to get them out of the tents.” Matthew Doherty, the executive director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, was in San Francisco this week meeting with Sam Dodge, director of the city’s Housing Opportunity, Partnerships and Engagement office, and other officials. Doherty, a gay man, said at a meeting Tuesday with Dodge and reporters that he wasn’t familiar

with Wiener’s letter, but “we can’t accept” that tent encampments are “the best that we can accomplish.” He said more information about the tents and what options may be available to the people staying in them “can only help us” as officials continue to craft responses to homelessness. Dodge, one of the recipients of Wiener’s letter, said it’s “a situation that needs to be taken on” with people’s eyes fully open. There have been “tragic incidents of violence and victimization” in the encampments, he said. “We can do better, and we need to do better,” Dodge said. Wiener’s letter was first reported by KQED.t

est hits as we sipped cocktails and looked out at Austin’s skyline. Austin isn’t a walking town, especially in the sweltering heat, but the Rainey Street Historic District makes it super easy to bar hop. It’s a gem of a block filled with charming and hip bars, and food trucks and restaurants line both sides of the street. We had a great time lunching at Banger’s Sausage House and Beer Garden, which has six specialty flavors of sausages and 30 local microbrews on tap.

My girlfriend and friends had a list of spots to hit in Austin, including Veracruz All Natural Food Truck, which was named one of the top five tacos in the U.S. by the Food Network. Owned by sisters Reyna and Maritza Vasquez, it was definitely worth the breakfast tacos. If you hit it at the right time, after the morning rush, you will avoid the crowds at this popular food truck stop. Another great brunch spot where there is always a wait is Bouldin Creek Cafe. Housed in a cute craft house with a garden, it welcomes guests with cut outs of Ru Paul asking people to

check in and be seated and dishes out vegetarian and vegan fare southwestern style. We didn’t mean to go vegetarian in such the cowboy state, but we were surprised to find such high quality vegetarian restaurants in Austin. Another hot spot for nonvegetarian breakfast or brunch is the South Congress Cafe where we got an excellent Tex-Mex breakfast. We had our fill of Texas style Mexican cuisine at Matt’s Famous El Rancho before we turned to the grill for Texas’ famous barbeque. We were told over and over again to head to Franklin’s but the prospect of waiting

an hour or more in line wasn’t an option for our group. We went for the second most popular barbeque place in Austin, the Salt Lick. We should have melted in line for Franklin’s as we were sorely disappointed by the drive to the middle of nowhere for less than satisfying barbeque. We knew we were ready to come home when we forewent other TexMex options and dove into 888 Pan Asian Restaurant’s selection of all things Asian cuisine that rivaled the best of San Francisco’s Chinatown offerings on our last night in Austin.t

that,” she said. Sharper Future would be open three days a week from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., Miller said. The agency is appointment-only. Drop-ins aren’t permitted. Clients “can’t arrive more than 15 minutes before their appointment and they can’t hang out for more than 15 minutes after their appointment,” Miller said. One cause of the controversy has been people’s misconceptions about sex offenders, according to Miller and others associated with the project. “When we say sex offender, everybody cringes,” she said. However, she said, “sex offenders have one of the lowest recidivism rates in the entire criminal justice system, and the

majority of offenders are known by their victims.” They’re “not necessarily lurking behind a bush” or “at the bus stop,” Miller said. Psychologist Thomas Tobin, another Sharper Future founder, said the clients’ victims include children, adolescents, and other adults. The common idea that “sex offenders all reoffend” is “simply not what reality tells us.” The agency would “generally see” 15 to 18 clients a day, Miller said. They come from all ages, ethnicities, and income levels. Miller, a lesbian, said there are LGBT clients, but she didn’t know how many. Additionally, she said, there are clients who are already in the neigh-

borhood. Miller said she shops at the Safeway across the street from the site and she “frequently” sees clients there. Some neighborhood residents have suggested that Sharper Future move to an industrial part of the city, rather than Duboce Triangle. Miller said Sharper Future would not consider going to another site. “It’s not possible to find another space,” she said. “I’ve tried for six months. No such place exists in this city.” She said, “I used a very talented commercial real estate agent” but in the city’s super-heated market, she’d been unsuccessful in her search for another space that could be used as a

medical clinic and meet other needs. Miller said how much her agency plans to pay for the space in the Maitri building is “confidential.” Almost three years ago, Maitri had provided AHF with an estimate that the fair market value of the space was $24,820 to $25,550 a month. Smithwick wouldn’t say this week whether the hospice will be charging Sharper Future more than that. The lease is for four years. The February 8 DTNA meeting will be from 7 to 9:30 p.m. at California Pacific Medical Center, Davies Campus, in the plaza level of the gazebo room, which is between the north and south towers at Castro Street and Duboce Avenue.t

Woodward is hopeful Sam will also be at Hi Tops Sunday during the Super Bowl broadcast. He is also planning a Castro bar crawl from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, February 6 that will include Hi Tops, the Lookout, the Midnight Sun, and the Edge. “I think people are definitely going to have their feathers ruffled about the Super Bowl no matter what. The F-Line being taken down is a bummer

for the neighborhood,” said Woodward. “We are dealing with it the best we can and trying to promote the neighborhood the best we can.” He commended the Castro Merchants group for its campaign to encourage people to visit the neighborhood and believes it will attract the public’s notice. “I think it will be a fun week if you can get around the traffic,” said

Woodward. “It is pretty fun to have one million people coming to the city and spending money.” Gay District 8 Supervisor Scott Wiener said he shares in the complaints of Castro merchants and residents about seeing the F-Line trolleys not running. But he also thanked Mayor Ed Lee’s administration for responding to the concerns. “I would like to see the F-Line on

Market running to the Castro and I am disappointed it is not. Though, I understand why they couldn’t do it with the Super Bowl village being where it is,” said Wiener. “I am grateful the mayor’s office and the SFMTA invested in terms of advertising to drive people to the Castro. It wasn’t our first choice, but I am grateful the agency at least acknowledged they needed to step up to help our merchants.”t

the King Library, Room 225, 150 E. San Fernando Street. In Emeryville, a meeting takes place Thursday, February 11 at Emeryville City Hall, Council Chambers, 1333 Park Avenue. In Oakland, a meeting for Districts 2 and 3 will be held Thursday, February 18 at SPUR, 1544 Broadway. Motivate, the nation’s largest operator of bike share systems, entered into an agreement in 2015 with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission to expand Bay Area Bike Share from 700 to 7,000 bikes region-wide, at no cost to taxpayers. The program will expand in San Francisco and San Jose and bring bike share to Oakland, Berkeley, and

Emeryville for the first time. For more information, visit http://www. bayareabikeshare.com.

students,” he said. Machado said that the school was in need of a full-time reading coach, a reading intervention teacher, recess support, classroom supplies and technology, and also hoped to increase the school’s arts and enrichment programs. Monies raised at the chorus’ concerts were a step forward in achieving those goals. Both Machado and Seelig addressed the importance of the Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy. “The academy is a diverse public elementary school that aims to eradicate the opportunity gap and

Tex-Mex and more

SF Passport Agency moves to Civic Center

The San Francisco Passport Agency this week moved to new offices in the Phillip Burton Federal Building, 450 Golden Gate Avenue. The agency has served U.S. citizens in the Bay Area for almost 100 years, according to a news release, which also said the office has a 4.5 out of 5 star rating on Yelp and is dedicated to providing exceptional customer service. The agency’s new facility will improve the customer experience with a larger public lobby and additional service windows.

As a reminder, to apply at the San Francisco Passport Agency, people must have an appointment and bring proof that they are traveling internationally within 14 days. Appointments can be made by calling the automated appointment system at 1-877-487-2778 or TDD/TTY: 1-888-874-7793. For those who do not have urgent travel, they can apply at a passport acceptance facility. For a list of locations, hours, instructions, and fees, visit www.travel.state.gov.

Free programs for kids of the incarcerated

Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

14 • BAY AREA REPORTER • January 28-February 3, 2016

Besties

From page 1

Spies is the current president of Bay Area Youth Summit, which holds an annual gathering created by and for youth. A sophomore at Berkeley High School, Spies is also co-president of the school’s gender and sexuality alliance. The arts and entertainment category has the popular best nature or

Alarcón

From page 11

said and grew up in Guadalajara, Mexico. He returned to the U.S. to attend California State University, Long Beach, and he earned his master’s degree from Stanford University. It was while he was attending Stanford that Mr. Alarcón was briefly detained by San Francisco police after 15-year-old Theodore Gomez, a runaway, was found

Córdova

From page 11

lished the Lesbian Tide, our community didn’t have websites and gay-straight alliance school clubs and other ways to find each other,” Pizer said. “And our lives and needs were of no interest at all to mainstream media. So the Tide was a hugely important part of how we could see and come to understand ourselves, and build our community, through its coverage of art, politics and everything else that was unfolding at the time.”

SF nurse

From page 7

Hispanic. The other 36 percent were white. Most of those who were newly diagnosed were younger: 27 percent were below the age of 26, and 26 percent were 26 to 35 years old. Jones said the statistics don’t represent a microcosm of San Francisco’s general population. Instead, it’s representative of the people who rely on public health, such as people without insurance or people who rely on Medi-Cal.

‘In good hands’

Jones, who lives in San Francisco’s Mission district with her longtime partner Roma Guy, a former city

Pelosi

From page 6

She expressed support for increasing the city’s housing stock, which many say would ultimately make more affordable housing available, but she worried about the potential “sterilization,” sharing a concern common among a lot of residents that San Francisco’s neighborhoods are being gentrified. Pelosi also said, “We want to hasten” the process of living on the street to moving into housing. “You gave me the ability to go back and say I heard firsthand” what many youth in San Francisco are concerned about, she said. In an email after the meeting,

PrEP

From page 7

sex with men – “Is Taking PrEP the Right Choice for You?” – now features inclusive language and information for transgender men who have sex with men. “Our community has been desperately needing these resources, and I’m glad we’ve broken some ground to create them with Project Inform,” said Outshine NW Executive Director Brandyn Gallagher, a trans man. “Transgender women are fighting a serious crisis right

science museum, best art museum, and categories for ballet and modern dance, to name a few. Readers who complete at least 75 percent of the ballot will automatically be eligible for prizes. This year’s grand prize is a three-night Maui getaway at Maui Sunseeker Resort, with round trip airfare for two. Other prizes include VIP tickets to the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus’ “Tales of Our City, Our

Lives, Our Heroes” show with featured guest Armistead Maupin; and two VIP tickets to see the San Francisco Giants, as they start their evenyear quest for the World Series. Readers should also save the date of April 7, when the B.A.R. will host its Besties party at Oasis, 298 11th Street, from 6 to 8 p.m. The evening will feature drink specials and light refreshments and is open to the public.t

stabbed to death in Golden Gate Park in September 1984, the Times reported. Mr. Alarcón’s supporters rallied to his defense and another man confessed to the crime. The police cleared Mr. Alarcón. In 1985, Mr. Alarcón sued the city for falsely linking him to the crime. The outcome of that suit wasn’t immediately available, a spokesman for the city attorney’s office said this week. “He later described the experience to the bilingual Bay Area newspaper El Tecolote as absurd and

Kafkaesque, and faulted police for jumping to conclusions despite the lack of any evidence – he said they had little more than his ethnicity and his car, which matched witnesses’ accounts,” the Times said. Mr. Alarcón later said that the incident helped inform his poetry. Mr. Alarcón is survived by his husband, Javier Pinzón, whom he married in 2008 during the brief window when same-sex marriage was allowed in California, and several family members.t

Pizer said that Ms. Córdova’s legacy would be a lasting one. “Jeanne was a leader by natural gift of personality, and also from growing up as one of the older children with 11 siblings and both parents filled with entrepreneurial spirit,” Pizer said. “She pushed herself through to her very last days to make a difference – by telling her truth in dramatic form and by giving her financial resources with thoughtful plans. Her clear-eyed, radically affirming vision and generosity will be inspiring and nourishing positive change for lesbians

and gender nonconforming people for a very long time.” According to an obituary in Frontiers, Ms. Córdova bequeathed $2 million to the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice. In a news release, the foundation said that the Jeanne Córdova Fund will offer financial support to national and international organizations focusing on movement building and human rights; journalism; and promoting lesbian culture. Ms. Córdova is survived by her spouse, Lynn Ballen, and many family members and friends.t

health commissioner, is taking three months off to rest. Her future still includes work, though. She plans to continue helping with Getting to Zero, the city’s initiative that, among other goals, aims to reduce HIV transmission by 90 percent before 2020. Jones said there’s a “wave of new brilliant doctors, nurses, and social workers coming into this work who are every bit as committed and dedicated, and that makes me feel great that the work is in good hands.” Dr. Diane Havlir, who oversees UCSF’s HIV/AIDS division at San Francisco General’s Positive Health Program, said in a tribute to Jones, “The impact she has had on patients, innovative models of care, and in inspiring us all cannot be

overstated. ... Diane is one of those rare and universally-loved people who always comes through, always knows the right thing to say, and always is motivated by trying to help people, whether it be patients or any of us on Ward 86.” In an email to the B.A.R., Dr. Monica Gandhi, who serves as Ward 86’s medical director, said Jones “is a legend on Ward 86 and, as we now enter the post-Diane Jones era, we will reflect on how to take the lessons she has taught us and continue to forge ahead in our commitment to end the AIDS epidemic in San Francisco and worldwide.” A patient support fund has been named after Jones. For more information, visit http://sfghf.org/ DianeJones/.t

Evangeline George, a Pelosi spokeswoman, said, “Stories from the young people at Larkin Street will be incredibly helpful as Congresswoman Pelosi advocates for federal priorities that will assist homeless youth.” As Republicans in Congress “insist on slashing funding for the most vulnerable in our society, Congresswoman Pelosi will continue fighting for investments and resources that ensure affordable housing, education, public health, and job training,” George said. She said Pelosi “was a key negotiator” of the 2016 fiscal year omnibus appropriation funding bill, which included a $115 million increase to Homeless Assistance Grants, along with other help. Such resources are

“critical to building affordable, supportive housing to assist the homeless to transition off the street,” she said. But in their email exchange with the B.A.R., Spain, who uses genderneutral pronouns, said they weren’t impressed by the meeting with the longtime congressional leader. “I was quite underwhelmed by Nancy Pelosi’s response to what we had to say,” Spain said. “Her answers seemed premeditated and safe. ... I was disappointed and felt that the whole thing was one big publicity stunt.” Asked to respond to the comment, George said, “The purpose of Congresswoman Pelosi’s visit was to listen to the young people and hear their perspectives.”t

now with regard to HIV and inadequate health care resources. Transgender men who have sex with men are widely excluded entirely from prevention research despite reporting higher rates of behaviors associated with HIV risk.” Just as it is important not to lump transgender women in with men who have sex with men, it is also necessary to be inclusive of all subgroups within the trans community. “It’s important to have outreach materials specifically designed for trans women, and we need to be focused on racial and ethnic diversity,”

Deutsch told the B.A.R. “We need to get everyone who is eligible for PrEP taking it, whether they are black trans women doing sex work, educated white trans women in open relationships, or Filipina trans women who are monolingual Tagalog speakers. We have to cast a wide net.” A Spanish-language version of the “Transcending Barriers for Safer Pleasure” booklet is expected to be available next month. All of Project Inform’s PrEP education materials are available online and hard copies can be ordered at http://www.projectinform.org/prep.t

Legal Notices>> FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036863600

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MARGARET MARIE DESIGNS, 1546 GREAT HWY #45, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MARGARET O’MAHONY. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/04/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/04/16.

JANUARY 07, 14, 21, 28, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036864400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: RAINBOW JUSTICE, 674 CASTRO ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JEANINE K. REISBIG. 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 01/05/16.

JANUARY 07, 14, 21, 28, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036851600

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: LOWER FALLS, 2318 36TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed SARAH KLEIN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/23/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/23/15.

JANUARY 07, 14, 21, 28, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036841600

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SPUNTINO; CAFFE SPUNTINO, 543 COLUMBUS AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed CAFE CALABRO INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/15/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/17/15.

JANUARY 07, 14, 21, 28, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036858300

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: POPSONS, 330 TOWNSEND, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed B & M BURGER, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/30/15.

JANUARY 07, 14, 21, 28, 2016 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-035706000

The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: COLD STONE CREAMERY, 119 ELLIS ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business was conducted by a married couple and signed by CRISELDA DIAZ & EDWIN DIAZ. The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 03/10/14.

JANUARY 07, 14, 21, 28, 2016 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-16-551794

In the matter of the application of: VERONIKA Z. CASTELLO BRANCO & LEONARDO CASTELLO BRANCO, 442 VALLEJO ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner VERONIKA Z. CASTELLO BRANCO & LEONARDO CASTELLO BRANCO, is requesting that the name ANALUZ Z. CASTELLO BRANCO be changed to ANNALUZ Z. CASTELLO BRANCO and PALOMA CASTELLO BRANCO be changed to PALOMA Z. CASTELLO BRANCO. 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 3rd of March 2016 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

JAN 14, 21, 28, FEB 04, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036874600

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: HEART OF THE MISSION COUNSELING, 2261 MARKET ST #478, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed EMILY THOMPSON. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/11/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/11/16.

JAN 14, 21, 28, FEB 04, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036877900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: THE MINDFUL CLEANER, 2261 MARKET ST #411, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JOE ZAMORA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/12/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/12/16.

JAN 14, 21, 28, FEB 04, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036877700

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-15-551777

In the matter of the application of: JUAN BOSCO HERNANDEZ BASULTO, 487 VALLEJO ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner JUAN BOSCO HERNANDEZ BASULTO, is requesting that the name JUAN BOSCO HERNANDEZ BASULTO, be changed to BOSCO HERNANDEZ BASULTO. 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 1st of March 2016 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

JANUARY 07, 14, 21, 28, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036875000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: VALLE’S TAX SERVICE, 1690A VALENCIA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed OSCAR E. VALLE ORTIZ. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/11/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/11/16.

JAN 14, 21, 28, FEB 04, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036869000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: HEART OF SAN FRANCISCO AIKIDO; MAINTAINING MOBILITY, 79 MIRABEL AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ANNE F. SABLOVE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 02/01/04. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/07/16.

JAN 14, 21, 28, FEB 04, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036869500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: HARRY CLAY INTERIORS, 945 LARKIN ST #41, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed DANIEL S. CLAY. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/07/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/07/16.

JAN 14, 21, 28, FEB 04, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036867500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: WINSTON TSAI TRUCKING, 108 CAMPBELL AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94134. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed WINSTON TSAI. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/06/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/06/16.

JAN 14, 21, 28, FEB 04, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036859800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: DANCING MOUNTAIN, 1490 16TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed GAYLE SUE ZAHLER. 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 12/31/15.

JAN 14, 21, 28, FEB 04, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036858100

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: RASLAYA, 1 BRADFORD ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed LAAVANYA LUXURY AYURVEDA INC (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 12/30/15.

JAN 14, 21, 28, FEB 04, 2016 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-034478300

The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: SCHOGGI, 87 YERBA BUENA LANE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business was conducted by a limited liability company and signed by SCHOGGI LLC, (CA). The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/25/12.

JAN 14, 21, 28, FEB 04, 2016 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-15-551760

In the matter of the application of: BRANDON ERICKSON, 1570 QUESADA AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124, , for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner BRANDON CHRISTOPHER ERICKSON, is requesting that the name BRANDON CHRISTOPHER ERICKSON, be changed to AVERY BRAVERY ERICKSON. 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 25th of February 2016 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

JAN 21, 28, FEB 04, 11, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036883200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: LILIA’S DAYCARE, 4009 IRVING ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ZHIQIONG YUAN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/01/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/12/16.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: AMPERSAND VIDEO, 221 DOLORES ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed TAYLOR SOPPE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/10/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/13/16.

JAN 14, 21, 28, FEB 04, 2016

JAN 21, 28, FEB 04, 11, 2016

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Read more online at www.ebar.com

Legal Notices>> FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036878600

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SJC TECHNOLOGY CONSULTING, 933 CASTRO ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed SCOTT CILIBERTI. 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 01/12/16.

JAN 21, 28, FEB 04, 11, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036878900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: HUANGSHAOXIANG WORKSHOP, 202 LAKE MERCED HILLS N., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94132. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed KEQIAN BI. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/12/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/12/16.

JAN 21, 28, FEB 04, 11, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036891700

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: LOPEZ HEATING HANDYMAN, 585 GATES ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MOISES LOPEZ. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/01/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/19/16.

JAN 21, 28, FEB 04, 11, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036888500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: LOU’S ROADSIDE SERVICES, 2186 QUESADA AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed LEWIS HEREDIA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/15/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/15/16.

JAN 21, 28, FEB 04, 11, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036889300

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: JIKA RAMEN & GOLD CURRY SUSHI HOUSE, 3925 IRVING ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed CIMEI LUO. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/15/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/15/16.

JAN 21, 28, FEB 04, 11, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036883600

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PARCEL EXPRESS, 1163 GENEVA AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JEFFREY LI. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/13/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/13/16.

JAN 21, 28, FEB 04, 11, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036887200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: UNION SQUARE DENTAL PRACTICE, 450 SUTTER #1326, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94108. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed NAZANIN HAKIM D.D.S/MAHSA HAKIM D.D.S, INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/01/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/15/16.

JAN 21, 28, FEB 04, 11, 2016 NOTICE REQUESTING BIDS NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that sealed Bids are invited to be submitted to the District NOT LATER THAN 2:00 p.m., Tuesday, February 23, 2016, as follows:

For Special Delivery or Hand Delivery : Purchasing Division SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA RAPID TRANSIT DISTRICT 300 Lakeside Drive, 17th Floor Oakland, CA 94612-3534

By U.S. Mail

Purchasing Division SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA RAPID TRANSIT DISTRICT P.O. Box 12688 Oakland, CA 94604-2688 For the furnishing of HI RAIL SWING CRANE 180 DEGREES as more fully described in Invitation For Bid No .8991. Such Bids will be opened publicly and publicly announced at the said hour and date in the Conference Room 23rd Floor, Room No. 2382T, 300 Lakeside Drive, Oakland, CA 94612-3534. The District reserves, in its sole discretion, the right to reject any and all bids and to waive minor irregularities in Bids received. This contract is subject to a financial assistance contract between the District and the United States Federal Transit Administration. All bidders will be required to certify that they and any proposed subcontractors have not been debarred, suspended or declared ineligible to participate in United States government contracting activity. Supplier will be required to comply with all applicable Equal Employment Opportunity laws and regulations. The District hereby notifies all bidders that it will affirmatively insure that in regard to any contract entered into pursuant to this advertisement, Disadvantaged Business Enterprises and Small Business Entities will be afforded full opportunity to submit Bids in response to this invitation and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, sex, or national origin in consideration for an award. Each Bid must be on the District’s form, which may be obtained from the District’s Department Manager- Procurement, 300 Lakeside Drive 17th Floor, Oakland, CA 94612-3534. Kenneth A. Duron District Secretary San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District 1/28/16 CNS-2838159# BAY AREA REPORTER

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-16-551807

In the matter of the application of: PETER SHIH, 463 NEVADA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner PETER SHIH, is requesting that the name PETER SHIH, be changed to PETER HUNTER PAINE. 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 10th of MARCH 2016 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

JAN 21, 28, FEB 04, 11, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036881900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: DR. COWAN’S GARDEN, 661 CHENERY ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94131. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed VEGETABLE PRODUCTS FROM DR. COWAN’S GARDEN, INC (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 01/13/16.

JAN 21, 28, FEB 04, 11, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036885000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: NANKING ROAD BISTRO, 1360 9TH AVE #100, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by a corporation and is signed BJJ GROUP INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/01/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/14/16.

JAN 21, 28, FEB 04, 11, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036875300

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ROCKET FIZZ SODA POP AND CANDY STORE, 245 JEFFERSON ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133. This business is conducted by a limited liability company and is signed ROCKET FIZZ SODA POP AND CANDY STORE, 245 JEFFERSON ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/11/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/11/16.

JAN 21, 28, FEB 04, 11, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036856000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: REGINALD LYN WISE, 2965 HARRISON ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed REGINALD LYN WISE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/24/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/29/15.

JAN 28, FEB 04, 11, 18, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036906100

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: NIDO AGUILA SAN FRANCISCO, 1189 GENEVA AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed SULMA GARCIA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/27/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/27/16.

JAN 28, FEB 04, 11, 18, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036894800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BAKER DESIGNS, 850 6TH AVE #A, OAKLAND, CA 94606. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ALYSSA BAKER. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/18/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/20/16.

JAN 28, FEB 04, 11, 18, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036856600

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: OLIVE CATERING, 1668 BUSH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed NOUREDINE HADDADENE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/29/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/29/15.

JAN 28, FEB 04, 11, 18, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036896400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: KTIM LOVE, 164 KERWIN AVE, OAKLAND, CA 94603. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed CHAO QIANG LIN. 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 01/21/16.

January 28-February 3, 2016 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 15

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FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036897300

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: KRISPY KRUNCHY CHICKEN, 4517 3RD ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MUSLEH ALOUDI. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/01/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/21/16.

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JAN 28, FEB 04, 11, 18, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036896300

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JAN 28, FEB 04, 11, 18, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036872400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PETE’S PLUMBING SERVICE, 1238D NORTHPOINT DR, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94130. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed CHARLES PAUL SKINNER. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/08/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/08/16.

JAN 28, FEB 04, 11, 18, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036885400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BLAZING SADDLES BIKE RENTAL, 721 BEACH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed AMERICAN SCOOTER AND CYCLE RENTAL INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/14/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/14/16.

JAN 28, FEB 04, 11, 18, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036886200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BLAZING SADDLES BIKE RENTAL AND TOURS, 721 BEACH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed AMERICAN SCOOTER AND CYCLE RENTAL (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/14/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/14/16.

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JAN 28, FEB 04, 11, 18, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036875500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SURISAN, 505 BEACH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed JKC FINE DINING INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/01/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/11/16.

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The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BLAZING SADDLES BIKE RENTAL AND TOURS, 721 BEACH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed AMERICAN SCOOTER AND CYCLE RENTAL INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/14/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/14/16.

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JAN 28, FEB 04, 11, 18, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036891400

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Out &About

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Vol. 46 • No. 4 • January 28-February 3, 2016

www.ebar.com/arts

g n i k c i K off ! by Paul Parish

hen the San Francisco Ballet opens their season, they kick off with a Gala that ties up Civic Center for the whole evening, just like the Opera and Symphony do. The house is full for the performance with a crowd dressed to the nines, where the designer-name roll call is itself news. But this crowd is half the age of the other two, and at least some of these gowns have seen recent duty as prom dresses. See page 27 >>

San Francisco Ballet’s Hansuke Yamamoto in Hans van Manen’s Solo.

Erik Tomasson

by Tavo Amador

he 14th annual Noir City film festival concludes at the Castro Theatre this week with excellent, rarely seen movies set in several worlds, including nightclubs, which provide classic noir venues. See page 21 >>

Anita Eckberg played Virginia Wilson/Yolanda Lange in Screaming Mimi (1958).

Bodies of work by Sura Wood

hen the art exhibition Bring it Home: (Re) Locating Cultural Legacy through the Body was taking shape, it looked as though its thesis would center on how a group of 10 Bay Area artists expressed coming to terms with their religious upbringing. Instead, the show, which inaugurates the opening of the San Francisco Arts Commission’s expanded, newly renovated main gallery in the War Memorial Veterans Building, is

Artwork by Vic De La Rosa, who is included in Bring it Home: (Re) Locating Cultural Legacy through the Body at the San Francisco Arts Commission’s newly renovated gallery. Courtesy SFAC

focused on the body, fractured and transmuted into art. The body has long been a battleground for gender, power and politics – and given the complicated, ambivalent attitudes and outright aversion some religions have toward the body, not to mention the legacy of fear, shame and repression, the connection makes sense. Not surprisingly, the inquiries into the burden imposed and source material provided by cultural/ religious heritage, and the presence of the past, infiltrate the show’s most intriguing artworks. See page 18 >>

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<< Out There

18 • BAY AREA REPORTER • January 28-February 3, 2016 2pub-BBB_BAR_010716.pdf

12/10/15

10:35 AM

Rebel rebel by Roberto Friedman

his week we offer two arts events to look out for, with advance word courtesy of some articulate and hard-working press agents. Renegade gay organist Cameron Carpenter is coming to the SFJAZZ Center this weekend, with performances Jan. 28-31. This is the first time he’ll be playing his beloved International Touring Organ in San Francisco. Carpenter is regarded as a bit of a rebel in classical music, with a vast repertoire that includes pop, film scores, and theatre works in addition to the classical canon. He’s also a natural-born showman: his concert attire often includes crystal-studded boots and a mohawk. His International Touring Organ is also completely unconventional. Custom-built to Carpenter’s exacting specifications rather than traditional pipes, it uses digitized sounds culled from instruments across the globe. He embraces the spirit of the instrument, while bringing it into

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SFAC

From page 17

These ideas certainly have preoccupied Carolyn Janssen, who grew up in the Pentecostal church. She probes an intense and troubling personal history in invigorating and creative ways with “In any case, you are always there,” where emotionally potent memory skews visual perspective and gender. The youngest artist in the show, Janssen contributes a sophisticated, psychological piece that liberally references Renaissance painting, complete with a triptych attached to an expansive background landscape of snow-capped mountains floating in pools of darkness, and white trees turned into filigreed ice sculpture. The serenity is unsettled by digitally rendered images freighted with religious ritual and suggesting destruction of identity. Half the fun is searching for them and pondering their meaning: Are those burning bushes or erupting mini-volcanoes in the middle distance? Is that watery oasis for sensual pleasure or a Baptism? Mini self-portraits of the

NEW CONSERVATORY THEATRE CENTER

the future and embracing its full potential. Tickets ($30-$75): go to sfjazz.org. More LGBT musicianship: The Bay Area Rainbow Symphony [BARS] was launched in 2008 as a way to bring LGBT musicians together to perform classical music. Most of the symphony musicians graduated from music conservatories or majored in music at universities, and many went on to perform with major Bay Area symphonic groups. Others cultivated more practical careers as doctors, lawyers, computer engineers, etc., while continuing to hone their musical skills for their own pleasure. As BARS grew to a full 80-member orchestra, its goal expanded from one of local connection to shaping the public’s perception of LGBTQ artists and composers while appealing to wider audiences. The BARS orchestral concerts are presented four times a year at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and other SF venues. On Sun., Jan. 31, at 4 p.m., artist are scattered throughout. Janssen represents herself in many guises: shrouded in a black ceremonial robe surrounded by a pink aura; long black hair covering her face, hiding her identity; in a bust marred by clay and mud, positioned next to a rock that’s a repository of recently extinguished cigarettes. Whether she’s the naked figure on the cold ground devoid of sexual characteristics, or she’s standing over her own broken body as if she had stepped outside herself, it’s clear there’s more here than immediately meets the eye. Jeremiah Barber, the son of Baptist ministers, made a fragile rice-paper cast from his own body for his uncanny sculpture “Half Mass,” an extraordinary work that will remind some of Manuel Neri’s haunting plaster sculptures. Like those sculptures it has a recessive magnetism and a compelling, oddly melancholy presence. The mostly white figure, whose head and hands are mottled with black ink, lays collapsed on its side like a deflated balloon on an ebony slab, its torso seemingly wrapped in bandages, a delicate black hand flattened like an empty glove resting on the smooth, chilly surface. The

Heiko Laschitzki

Organist Cameron Carpenter is coming to San Francisco.

musicians from BARS will perform a chamber concert at the Community Church of Mill Valley, 8 Olive St. in Mill Valley. The concert will include a string quartet, a woodwind quintet, and a mixed nine-piece group (nonet) performing works by Dvorak, Schubert and Bay Area composer Joseph Stillwell. Tickets ($25) are available at millvalleyucc. org or brownpapertickets.com/ event/536816.t

On the web This week, find a review of the book Lust, Men and Meth: A Gay Man’s Guide to Sex and Recovery online at ebar.com. figure resembles a frail elderly relative convalescing quietly on the couch, or a spirit with unfinished business returned from the other side. Ranu Mukherjee traverses the permeable membrane between past and present in her HD video loop “Home and the World,” projected so close to the wall it feels as if you can step into the cinematic scenario and break the fourth wall. It’s Mukherjee’s take on Indian filmmaker Satyaji Ray’s 1984 film of the same name, a reflection on her sojourns in India, and a vehicle for contrasting the country’s entrenched poverty and its rapidly growing consumer society. The piece opens inside a foyer whose brightly colored geometric elements magically fall away. Silhouetted women in yellow move toward the viewer, as does a headless female; yet another woman, her fist raised, is a nod to the See page 19 >>

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Courtesy SFAC

Artist Guillermo Gomez-Pena, who is included in a new show at the San Francisco Arts Commission gallery.

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January 28-February 3, 2016 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 19

Two faces of guest conductorship by Philip Campbell

he virtual parade of conductors visiting with the San Francisco Symphony at Davies Symphony Hall will continue for the next two months. Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas does not return to the podium until the end of March. It feels like an awfully long break, and we’re missing MTT’s magic touch, even if his musicians seem fully capable of connecting with any curveballs they are thrown. Concerts in recent weeks have been strongly contrasted – not so much by programming (mostly Beethoven), but by the opposite personalities of the guest conductors. The orchestra has been giving its best, so audience response has been based mostly on reactions to the temperaments of the leaders standing center stage. Last week, Marek Janowski, Artistic Director of the Berlin Radio Symphony since 2002, returned to lead an almost all-Beethoven bill, bookended by the Eighth and Fourth symphonies. Known for his dedication to the Central European repertory, he has earned international admiration for his careful and vibrant treatment of Bruckner, Brahms and Strauss. Janowski is also a noted Wagnerian. He has recorded a Ring Cycle, and in 2016 and 2017 will conduct the complete tetralogy at Bayreuth. His recent Beethoven offerings were surprisingly unexceptional. There was little to complain about, but the performances lacked the electric energy we have come to expect from MTT and the SFS. To add some variety, Janowski included an echt German on the bill, programming the Three Preludes from Palestrina (1915) by Hitler sycophant Hans Pfitzner. The strange story of the composer’s late-life association with the dictator is, thankfully, not apparent in the music, and

the introductions to each of the opera’s acts are skillfully crafted and rather beautiful. Ironically, der Führer didn’t think Pfitzner was anti-Semitic enough, and his career was often stymied. Whatever the truth of his misdirected ambition or weird philosophy, Pfitzner’s Preludes at least added novelty to the concert. The orchestra, especially the strings, played well in the Beethoven (despite a brief horn mistake), and a pretty good case was made for Pfitzner. Janowski got his standing ovation by the end, but regulars know how abundant they are at DSH these days. The traditional approach of the eminent conductor proved disappointing this time, but he was also following in the wake of a wildly successful guest star from the previous week. Comparisons were unavoidable, even if the only obvious trait Krzysztof Urbański shares with Marek Janowski is Poland as their country of origin. The rising star is now in his fifth season as Music Director of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and he has been generating a lot of buzz. He has also made some splashy international debuts and earned praise for his balletic podium technique. The

Felix Broede

Fred Jonny

Guest conductor Marek Janowski.

Guest conductor Krzysztof Urbański.

press has also been just as intrigued by Urbański’s looks and unbridled energy as his musical insights. At 34, he looks younger, and with his stylishly spiky haircut and wiry frame, the hyperkinetic conductor wouldn’t look out of place in a bigleague boy band. We didn’t see how choreographic his presentation really is until the second half of his debut program. Once he was in a clear sight-line unobstructed by the raised lid of a

grand piano, Urbański made quite an impression with his dance moves and emotive expressions. Piano superstar Emanuel Ax opened with Beethoven’s Piano Concerto in E-flat Major, Emperor, in a fine and commanding performance. Always reliable and still communicating his compelling musical interpretations, the famous veteran earned a hearty ovation and showed gratitude with a lovely Chopin Waltz encore. The audience was

thoroughly warmed up for the second half and Dvorak’s beloved Symphony No. 9, From the New World. It is tempting to condescend at times to the old warhorse. It is such an obvious and surefire audience-pleaser with its stream of instantly hummable tunes and brilliant orchestration. Still, only a heart of stone can remain unmoved at the conclusion of even the most pedestrian readings. Urbański’s approach was anything but uninvolving. Bernstein and even the young MTT were sometimes accused of excessive theatrics, but their early styles pale by comparison to the latest SFS debutant. It was often difficult to tell whether Urbański was reacting to the musicians or vice versa, but in the end it didn’t matter. This was a bold presentation of a familiar masterpiece. The professionals of the SFS could probably make a good impression playing with their eyes closed. And it was interesting to note how infrequently the musicians did make actual eye contact. The real energy (and fun) that fueled the enthusiastic audience response was the conductor’s exciting and entertaining physicality. He totally rocked the house, leaving no one without an opinion, but there is a certainty he will return. We want to get another look.t

SFAC

From page 18

protest spurred by a brutal gang rape. Combining news stories and ancient mythologies, Zeina Barakeh’s stop-motion animation “Homeland Insecurity” speaks to the violence and mechanics of war, in particular her first-hand experience of the civil conflict in Beirut. While the piece is original if a tad too long, and the abrupt, rhythmic cutting becomes repetitive, it’s in her loaded imagery that Barakeh excels. The artist, dressed in black, wears a horse’s head reminiscent of a Greek warrior. The horses multiply, evolving into an equine chorus line, a detachment of centaurs invades the scene, puffy white clouds descend from the sky and disappear, and steles inscribed with text of indeterminate origin are moved around like stage sets. In a recurrent theme, the horse-like Sisyphus pushes a rocky mound up a hill, a futile task it’s doomed to repeat. Playing with the theme of the divided body, Dana Harel’s site-specific installation “Around My Head” is the Israeli-born artist’s most directly autobiographical work to date. Layering clay, photography and printmaking in a textured drawing applied directly to the wall, it depicts the lower half of her body diving head-first into a flowering branch; at a 90-degree angle hangs a framed photograph/drawing of a vase with the upside-down visage of the artist, an expression of aesthetic beauty searching for an elusive mindbody connection. Works by Vic De La Rosa, Guillermo Gómez-Peña, Summer Mei Ling Lee, Ramekon O’Arwisters and Tsherin Sherpa are also included.t Through May 7 at SFAC, 401 Van Ness Ave., SF. (Tues.-Fri., 11 a.m.-6 p.m.)

A fully–staged opera that tells the real–life story of Emile Griffith, a world champion boxer who killed rival Benny Paret in their 1962 welterweight title match after Paret mocked him as a closeted homosexual. This opera is co–produced by Opera Parallèle and features baritone Arthur Woodley, bass–baritone Kenneth Kellogg, a 30–piece orchestra, chorus, dancers, and more.

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<< Theatre

20 • BAY AREA REPORTER • January 28-February 3, 2016

Channeling faux-nelly Noel Coward by Richard Dodds

oel Coward never came out as gay, but he never pretended to be otherwise. No mock romances or sham marriages. He crafted his own image for himself, and if it leaned toward the effete, it read as naughty sophistication. In his 1966 play A Song at Twilight, Coward took aim at an aging writer who has maintained a heterosexual persona even if others got hurt in the ruse. He played the role himself while stating it was a conflation of certain circumstances in the lives of satirist Max Beerbohm and writer Somerset Maugham. Whatever their sexual identities, all could pass themselves off, at the least, as non-homosexuals. In John Fisher’s portrayal of the fictional Sir Hugo Latymer, he comes across as an unconvincing burlesque ponce. With limp wrists flailing, mugging expressions, mincing moves, and oh-Mary inflections, this Sir Hugo couldn’t pass for straight even at a meeting of the Franklin Pangborn Appreciation Society. While his fellow performers in this Theatre Rhino production are in reasonable accord with Coward’s play, Fisher is in need of a stern director to steer him right. But, as

David Wilson

John Fisher and Tamar Cohn, as a famous writer and his wife, fret over an upcoming visit from one of his old lovers, in the Theatre Rhino staging of Noel Coward’s A Song at Twilight.

is often the case with Rhino, Fisher is the director as well as a leading player, and the play winds up badly bent out of shape for it. In A Song at Twilight, Sir Hugo and his wife Hilde are awaiting the

arrival of actress Carlotta Grey, with whom, decades before, he had had an intense romance. They are mystified by why Carlotta would seek out her former lover after all these years. After gracious greetings all around,

Carlotta reveals the reason for this reunion. She wants Sir Hugo’s permission to use the love letters he sent to her for an autobiography she’s writing, a notion he rejects out of hand. But she has an ace to play: his

throwaway recording. A copy of the record had to be flown out so they could quickly learn it for the next performance, and Armstrong’s impression of the crowd hearing it in a kind of slow-motion orgasm is priceless. That the audience that wanted so desperately to hear “Hello, Dolly!” and the audience he has just entertained at the Waldorf were largely absent of his long-disappeared black fans – and as are we at the Geary, he casually notes – is a matter of considerable pain for Armstrong. Although we don’t know exactly who we are, Armstrong is disarmingly open about a life he knows is coming to a close. Teachout, the theater critic at The Wall Street Journal, wrote a wellreceived biography of Armstrong in 2009, and he used his trove of knowledge and dramatic license to distill the 90-minute Satchmo at the Waldorf that has played multiple cities since 2012 with John Douglas Thompson as its star under Gordon Edelstein’s simple and effective direction. While it’s mostly Armstrong who holds forth in the dressing

room, a change in lighting indicates when one of two other characters is talking to us. Most often, it is his longtime manager and mentor Joe Glaser, who ran Armstrong’s career from 1935 until Glaser’s death in 1969. Glaser was white, necessarily comfy with the mob in the partnership’s early years, and knew the marketplace. By the point Glaser makes his first appearance, we are fully invested in Thompson’s performance as Satchmo, not exactly an impersonation but a presence that feels accurate. It takes a moment to realize that Thompson hasn’t just been an amiable Satchmo stand-in, but has been delivering a very considered performance, when he switches to Glaser’s persona of a flat-voiced businessman who can make Armstrong feel good while raking in 50% of the proceeds. And then Thompson becomes an incarnation of a grim Miles Davis, who considers Armstrong to be a grinning relic pandering to the white folks. Teachout doesn’t exactly play fair with Davis, providing him with a hateful final speech that was unlikely uttered in any

letters to the man who was the love of his life before abandoning him with particular contempt. Sir Hugo’s hauteur quickly turns to horror at the thought of upending his public image. This is when the production works best, as Fisher drops the fauxnelly posturing and finally becomes a believable character filled with fear and anger. Sylvia Kratins projects the right kind of swooping glamor as the fading film star, and Tamar Cohn brings welcome realism to the role of Sir Hugo’s efficient wife. Marvin Peterle Rocha makes frequent appearances as a hotel butler, and does so with welcome oldschool grace. A Song at Twilight was an admirable late-career success for Coward, combining humor and drama with a touch of social daring. One can imagine his performance built around an insouciant charm, brusquely interrupted, that never pushed for laughs. But he also had the help of a director who didn’t happen to be the same person.t A Song at Twilight will run through Jan. 31 at Z Below. Tickets are $15-$35. Call (866) 811-4111 or go to therhino.org.

Hello, Louie! by Richard Dodds

Facebook friend recently posted a clip of Louis Armstrong making a guest appearance on The Johnny Cash Show in 1970. On “Blue Yodel 9,” Cash sang and Armstrong played the trumpet, recreating a 1930 recording Armstrong made with early country star Jimmie Rodgers. For the most part, Armstrong stuck to the trumpet, but on the brief yodeling interludes, Armstrong joined in, and each time the audience would burst into applause. The audience, it was clear, wanted to hear Armstrong sing. In Satchmo at the Waldorf, in which Armstrong mentions performing with Cash, Armstrong’s business-savvy manager confides

that, indeed, audiences had grown much more interested in hearing the warm gravel of that generously inviting voice than the brassy toottoots Armstrong still wanted to offer. You can credit – or blame – “Hello, Dolly!” for the irrevocability of this conversion. “Just between you and me, ‘Hello, Dolly!’ ain’t much of a song,” Armstrong tells us in his dressing room just after a 1971 gig at the WaldorfAstoria, also the year of his death. In one of the funniest moments in Terry Teachout’s absorbing oneman play at ACT’s Geary Theater, Armstrong recalls a concert at which the audience was clamoring to hear the just-released “Hello, Dolly!,” but neither Armstrong nor the band really remembered much about this

Osama’s Story

How One Gay Man Escaped Persecution in Jordan Sunday, Jan 31, 3-4:30 PM, Berkeley Central Library, 2090 Kittredge Street Sponsored by Bay Area Humanists

connection to Armstrong, and turns the audience against him and his charges that Armstrong had become an Uncle Tom – not that that was a concept many of us probably wanted to embrace. Satchmo professes befuddlement at the notion, repeating over and over that he puts on a happy face in front of audiences because he wants to see a sea of faces smiling back. Not that he’s naive about his crossover racial appeal. “Every white man in the world got at least one nigger they like,” he says, and he’s happy to often be that one. But even when his memories move to their darkest places – betrayals, segregation, ex-wives – it never seems a scary contradiction of the public Armstrong in how Teachout crafts and Thompson performs the material. This Satchmo can throw around “motherfuckers” and still claim “What a Wonderful World” as his favorite song.t Satchmo at the Waldorf will run through Feb. 7 at the Geary Theater. Tickets are $20-$105. Call (415) 749-2228 or go to act-sf.org.

More information: www.meetup.com/sfhumanists e-mail: bayarea@sfhumanists.org

T. Charles Erickson

After one of his final performances, Louis Armstrong (John Douglas Thompson) reminisces about the highs and lows of his career in Satchmo at the Waldorf at the Geary Theater.

Theatre>>

January 28-February 3, 2016 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 21

Out of the storybooks & onto the stage

taylormac.org

Taylor Mac puts his own special spin on our musical heritage in A 24-Decade History of American Music, from which he is performing the first six decades at the Curran Theatre.

by Richard Dodds

hen Taylor Mac performed at Yale’s No Boundaries theater series, he discovered that he indeed has boundaries. But during his performance at the Curran Theatre, Mac still wanted to honor those with boundaries beyond his

own. “Please bring down the Cocoa Puffs,” he signals to a stagehand as a box of the breakfast cereal descends from the battens. It is joined by a tub of KFC and a device, judging from a story that preceded it, that might be used to give milk enemas. Describing how these ingredients were used by other performance artists, Mac

Kirk Douglas and Lana Turner star in The Bad and the Beautiful (1952), part of Noir City at the Castro Theatre.

Noir City

From page 17

Two years before Federico Fellini immortalized her in La Dolce Vita (1960), Anita Eckberg played Virginia Wilson/Yolanda Lange in Screaming Mimi (1958). Released from a sanatorium where she recovered from a psycho’s attempt to kill her, she goes to work as an “exotic dancer” at a nightclub run by lesbian Joann “Gypsy” Masters (Gypsy Rose Lee). Alas, Virginia/Yolanda is suspected of a series of murders. She’s also being stalked, but by whom? Her Great Dane isn’t sufficient protection, so reporter Bill Sweeney (Phil Carey) steps in. Gypsy sings “Put the Blame on Mame” and has her own ideas about how to safeguard her voluptuous “dancer.” Directed by Gerd Oswald, from a feverish screenplay by Robert Blees, based on a novel by Frederic Brown. A young, pretty Warren Beatty is Mickey One (1965), Arthur Penn’s hypnotic study of a stand-up comic forced to go underground to hide from murderous creditors determined to collect what he owes them. Highly stylized and

ambiguous, it’s also fascinating. With Franchot Tone and Hurd Hatfield. Screenplay by Alan Surgal. (1/28) Hollywood provides the backdrop for two splendid variations on noir themes. Vincente Minnelli’s hugely enjoyable The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) stars Kirk Douglas as megalomaniac producer Jonathan Shields; first-billed Lana Turner as his most famous discovery, Georgia Lorrison; Walter Pidgeon as his reliable director; and Dick Powell as his frequent writer. Hunky Gilbert Roland is “Gaucho,” a top Latin Lover star. Best Supporting Actress Oscar winner Gloria Grahame is Powell’s unfaithful wife, who meets a tragic end. “James Lee, you have a naughty mind, I’m happy to say,” she coos. In addition to Grahame’s prize, the film collected Academy Awards for Best Screenplay (Charles Schnee), Cinematography (Robert Surtees), Art Direction (Cedric Gibbons and Edward Cargagno), Set Decoration (Edwin B. Willis, Keogh Gleason), and Costume Design (Helen Rose). Based on a story by George Bradshaw. Playwright Clifford Odets See page 26 >>

Creating Memories for a Lifetime! THE CLIFF HOUSE TERRACE ROOM A UNIQUE SAN FRANCISCO EXPERIENCE

assures us that no drumsticks will travel a peculiar anatomical route into the audience tonight. That this anecdote is part of A 24-Decade History of American Music, specifically the years between 1796 and 1806, might seem out of place. But Mac’s epic project that will culminate later this year with a 24-hour performance of all the decades is a history lesson of a different sort. Through decade-appropriate songs, dialogue that puts them into contexts not found in any history books, and unexpected variations on audience participation, Mac’s subversive agenda of bypassing storybook versions of our past can make relevant a box of Cocoa Puffs even in the 18th century. Mac is appearing at the Curran as part of its Under Construction series, with both performers and audiences on the stage together. But Mac makes creative use of the vast empty theater we are facing, at first making his initial appearance from the front row of the mezzanine as he sings “Amazing Grace.” When Mac finally makes his way to the stage in one of Machine Dazzle’s festooned costumes, he explains that we are about to see the first three decades from the eventual 24-hour show. It’s three hours long, no intermission, and if you’ve got to go the bathroom, just go. The show suggests a well-rehearsed framework with latitude for minor mishaps and spontaneous adjustments. While Mac occasionally describes the enormity of the finished extravaganza, what’s on stage here is already pretty impressive. Mac is backed by a 10-piece See page 24 >>

Ceremonies • Receptions • Family Celebrations • Parties

www.CliffHouse.com 1090 Point Lobos • San Francisco • 415-386-3330 Private Events Direct • 415-666-4027 • virginia@cliffhouse.com

<< Out&About

22 • BAY AREA REPORTER • January 28-February 3, 2016

O&A

Thu 4 Club Inferno @ The Hypnodrome

A Song at Twilight @ Z Below

Charlie Jane Anders @ Borderlands Bookstore

Theatre Rhinoceros’ new production of the Noel Coward play series (1st of three). $15-$35. Wed & Thu 7:30pm. Fri & Sat 8pm. Sat & Sun 3pm. Thru Jan. 31. 470 Florida St. TheRhino.org

The local author and editor of io9.com reads from and discusses her new novel, All the Birds in the Sky. 3pm-5pm. 866 Valencia St. borderlands-books.com

Taylor Mac @ Curran Theatre A 24-Decade History of Popular Music: 1776-1836, Act One of the celebrated theatre spectacle playwright-performer’s new solo show with a nine-piece band. $50-$75. Special marathon 24-hour concerts Jan. 30. 445 Geary St. sfcurran.com

Heaven’s gate by Jim Provenzano

ometimes, the best things in our arts scene aren’t as ephemeral and fleeting as we fear. Hidden visual art returns from vaults to be displayed, veteran actors find new career life, dancers brush up their steps and polish up a favorite work, and drag queens clear their throats for another musical trip to hell, leaving us closer to heaven. David Allen

Thu 28 Beach Blanket Babylon @ Club Fugazi The musical comedy revue celebrates its 40th year with an ever-changing lineup of political and pop culture icons, all in gigantic wigs; now with new characters like Sia and Bernie Sanders. $25-$160. Beer/wine served; cash only; 21+, except where noted. 678 Beach Blanket Babylon Blvd (Green St.). 421-4222. www.beachblanketbabylon.com

Black Virgins are Not for Hipsters @ The Marsh Echo Brown’s hit solo show about desire and doubt returns. $20-$100. Thu 8pm Sat 8:30pm. Thru March 5. 1062 Valencia St. 282-3055. www.themarsh.org

Bubble Guts @ Shadow Office, Oakland Exhibit of performance–related grotesquely amazing works by Jader (Justin Edwards). Closing reception Feb 5, 6pm-9pm. 308 15th St., Oakland. www.jadervision.com www.shadowoffice.org

David Cross @ Davies Symphony Hall The sardonic comic and TV actor performs his new show, Making America Great Again! $35. 8pm. 201 Van Ness Ave. www.livenation.com

Gem of the Ocean @ Marin Theatre Company August Wilson’s first in his ten-part African American historical play series, set in 1900s Pittsburgh, gets a local production. $20-$47. Tue-Sun 7:30pm. Sat & Sun 2pm. Thru Feb. 14. 397 Miller Ave., San Rafael. 388-5200. www.marintheatre.org

Literary Speakeasy @ Martuni’s The monthly reading event at the intimate martini bar’s lounge this time features Cassandra Dallett, Willian Taylor, Jr., Tarin Towers, and Elizabeth Creely. James J. Siegel MCs. 7pm. 4 Valencia St.

Marilyn Maye @ Feinstein’s at the Nikko Music veteran performs her classy cabaret tribute to the songs of Johnny Mercer. Also Jan. 29. $45-$65. 8pm. (2-drink min.) Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. (855-636-4556. www.feinsteinsSF.com

NEAT @ Contemporary Jewish Museum

Visions Into Infinite Archives @ SOMArts Cultural Center Group exhibit of works curated by Black Salt Collective. Tue-Fri 12pm7pm, Sat 12pm-5pm, thru Feb. 10. 934 Brannan St. www.somarts.org

Fri 29 The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee @ Hillbarn Theatre, Foster City The charming lighthearted musical about a spelling bee is produced by the East Bay company. $25-$48. ThuSat 8pm. Sun 2pm. Thru Feb. 7. 1285 East Hillsdale Blvd., Foster City. (650) 349-6411. www.hillbarntheatre.org

You Know I’m No Good, NEAT: New Experiments in Art and Technology, Chasing Justice (thru Feb 21) , and Hardly Strictly Warren Hellman. Lectures and gallery talks as well. Free (members)-$12. Fri-Tue 11am-5pm, Thu 11am-8pm (closed Wed). 736 Mission St. 655-7800. www.thecjm.org

5th Anniversary Party @ GLBT History Museum

New & Classic Films @ Castro Theatre

Group exhibit (Seth Eisen, Jack Davis, Dan Becker, Lord Huckleberry, Doctor Woof!, Lou Rudolph, & Jim James) of homoerotic art inspired by the men’s sex parties, at the new SF AIDS Foundation facility. Thru Jan. 30. 470 Castro St. www.strutsf.org

Jan 22-31: Noir City 14, The Art of Darkness (www.noircity.com). 429 Castro St. www.castrotheatre.com

San Francisco in Ruins @ Tenderloin Museum Exhibit of paintings by local artist Jacinto Castillo depicting old San Francisco. Tue-Sun 10am-5pm, $6-$10 ($15 includes walking tour). 398 Eddy St. 351-1912. www.tenderloinmuseum.org

Satchmo at the Waldorf @ Geary Theatre American Conservatory Theatre presents Terry Treachout’s acclaimed solo show, starring John Douglas Thompson, about the famed jazz trumpet player’s private struggles. $20-$135. Tue-Sat 8pm. Some Tue. 7pm. Sat & Sun 2pm. Out With A.C.T. Jan. 27, 8pm. Thru Feb. 7. 415 Geary St. www.act-sf.org

SF Restaurant Week @ Citywide Enjoy discounts and special food events at participating eatieries all over town in an eleven-day festival, with a portion of your bill going to local nonprofits. Thru Jan. 31. www.sfrestaurantweek.com

Sun 31 Mark Foehringer Dance Project @ ODC Theater

Enjoy drinks, bites, DJed grooves, and an array of queer history fans, with hostess Juanita More!. $5-$10. 7pm9pm. 4127 18th St. www.glbthistory.org

The Art of Jacks @ Strut

Carol Peters @ Hotel Rex The charming singer performs her cabaret show. $30-$50. 8pm. 562 Sutter St. 857-1896. www.societycabaret.com

Choreography Showcase @ ODC Theater Smuin Ballet’s sixth annual concert of new works by eight young company dancers. $30-$45. 7:30pm. Also Jan. 30 at 2pm & 7:30pm. 3153 17th St. 863-9834. www.odcdance.org

The Nether @ SF Playhouse

D.I.R.T. @ Dance Mission Theater Dance In Revolutionary Times presents 18 choreographers in a weekend of three programs of new dance and performance works. $15-$50. Sat & Sun, pm. Thru Feb. 7. 3316 24th st. at Mission. (855) 787-5237. www.dancemission.com

Garden Happy Hour @ SF Botanical Garden Enjoy beer-tasting with Fort Point Beer Company –including Manzanita ale– in the scenic fragrant gardens, with a talk from author Tom Parker ( Field Guide to Manzanitas). $15-$25. 3pm-5pm. Lincoln Way at MLK Jr. Drive. Golden Gate Park. www.sfbotanicalgarden.org

Sun 31

Simple Magic: The Art of Remy Charlip @ Sha’ar Zahav

I am the future o LGBT commun I’m gay.

I’m 55. I’ve been out to my family for twenty years. I married a wonderful woman six year ago, and we adopted a baby girl from Vietna My family is everything to me.

That’s why I’m an avid follower of LGBT righ Not just marriage, either. I want to make sure I can travel safely, enjoy my retirement and h my child benefit from my life’s work.

I’m the future of the LGBT community. And I read about that future every morning on my laptop. Because that’s where I want it to be.

Jennifer Haley’s unusual plays turns a fantasy world into a dark scifi thriller. $15-$45. Tue-Thu 7pm. Fri & Sat 8pm. Sat 3pm, Sun 2pm. Thru Mar. 5. 450 Post St. 677-9596. www.sfplayhouse.org

Sagittarius Ponderosa @ New Conservatory Theatre Center World premiere of MJ Kaufman’s whimsical play about a transgender man who returns to visit his Oregon family. $25-$45. Wed-Sat 8pm. Sun 2pm. Thru Feb. 28. 25 Van Ness Ave., lower level. 861-8972. www.nctcsf.org

Sat 30 Avenue Q @ New Conservatory Theatre Center Those naughty puppets and their human pals are back yet again, in the company’s third revival of the Tony Award-winning musical comedy. $30-$50. Wed-Sat 8pm. Sun 2pm. Extended thru Jan. 31. 25 Van Ness Ave., lower level. 861-8972. www.nctcsf.org

Date Night at Pet Emergency @ The Marsh Berkeley Lisa Rothman’s comic solo show about domestic hell, pet panic and trying to find a date night amid it all. $20$100. Saturdays, 5pm. Extended thru March 26. 2120 Allston Way, Berkeley. www.themarsh.org

The person depicted here is a model. Their image is being used for illustrative pu

Leroy F. Moore. Jr. @ Modern Times Bookstore The poet, civil rights and disability activist and co-founder of Sins Invalid reads from Black Kripple Delivers Poetry and Lyrics with Lisa GrayGarcia, James Tracty and Gary N. Gray. 3pm. 2919 24th St. 282-9246. www.mtbs.com

Magnificent Magnolias @ SF Botanical Gardens See beautiful floral and foliage displays, trees and plants in various beautiful gardens specific to region. Daily walking tours and more. Free$15. Tours, lectures, classes and more. Daily. Golden Gate Park. 661-1316. www.sfbotanicalgarden.org

Mandy Krusee, Kim Long @ Hotel Rex Society Cabaret presents the two sngers in their cabaret show, A Blond and a Redhead Walk Into a Bar. $35$60. 8pm. 562 Sutter St. 857-1896. www.societycabaret.com

Mexicanos al Grito de Guerra @ Mission Cultural Center We Didn’t Cross the Border, The Border Crossed Us, a new visual exhibition featuring 40 artists and collectives from California and Mexico focusing on social movments, immigration and injustice. Thru Feb 13. $5. Tue-Sat 10am-5pm. 2868 Mission St. www.missionculturalcenter.org

Mother’s Milk @ The Marsh Berkeley Wayne Harris’ solo show, Mother’s Milk: A Blues and Gospel Riff in Three Acts, returns to the intimate stage. $20-$100. Sat & Sun 5pm. Thru Jan. 31. 2120 Allston Way, Berkeley. 2823055. www.themarsh.org

Naked Readings of Lovecraft @ Hypnodrome Join Ham Pants presents a night of readings by naked men and women from selections penned by the gothic horror master H. P. Lovecraft. $25$30. 8pm. 575 10th St. at Bryant. www.hypnodrome.com

Out&About>>

SF Hiking Club @ Purisima Creek, Alum Rock Park Jan. 30: Join GLBT hikers for a 9-mile hike along fern-bordered creeks and through redwood forest at Purisima Creek on the Peninsula. Carpool meets 9:00 at Safeway sign, Market & Dolores. 794-2275. Jan. 31: a 6-mile hike in Alum Rock Park, in the Diablo Mountain Range near San Jose. The park features rugged ridges with spectacular views of the Santa Clara Valley. Carpool meets 8:30 at Safeway sign, Market & Dolores. 740-9888. www.sfhiking.com

Strangelove, Temptation, Dead Souls @ Great American Music Hall Tribute bands of Depeche Mode, New Order and Joy Division perform. $15$40 (with dinner). 9pm. 859 O’Farrell St. www.slimspresents.com

January 28-February 3, 2016 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 23

Architecture of Life @ Berkeley Art Museum/ Pacific Film Archive Inaugural opening of the new art and film museum, designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, with more than 200 new and ancient works dating back 2,000 years. Free-$12. Free Jan, 31, 11am-11pm; register online. Thru May 29. 2625 Durant Ave., Berkeley. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu

Garden Railway @ Conservatory of Flowers New exhibit of floral displays inspired by the centennial anniversary of the 1915 Pan-Pacific World’s Expo, with SF scenes in miniature train and architectural installations with hundreds of dwarf plants. Thru April 10. Also, permanent floral displays, plants for sale, and docent tours. Tue-Sun 10am4pm. $2-$8. Free for SF residents. 100 JFK Drive, Golden Gate Park, 831-2090. www.conservatoryofflowers.org

of the nity.

Sun 31 Architecture of Life @ Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive

Portals of the Past @ de Young Museum Portals of the Past: Photographs of Willard Worden (thru Feb. 14); Royal Hawaiian Featherwork (thru Feb. 28); Between Life and Death: Robert Motherwell’s Elegies (thru Mar. 6). Other exhibits of modern art as well. Free/$25. Thru Sept. 20 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive. www.famsf.org

Looking East @ Asian Art Museum Looking East: How Japan Inspired Monet, Van Gogh, and Other Western Artists. Thru Feb. 7. Free (members, kids 12 and under)-$15. Tue-Sun 10am-5pm. 200 Larkin St. www.asianart.org

Simple Magic @ Sha’ar Zahav The Art of Remy Charlip and Reclaiming Gay Jewish Ancestry, a performance and lecture with Seth Eisen and James Graham about the gay Jewish choreographer and acclaimed children’s book author; cohosted by Sha-ar Zahav and Keshet. 4pm-6pm. 290 Dolores St. www. eyezen.org www.shaarzahav.org

y rs am.

Terry Baum @ La Peña Cultural Center, Berkeley

hts. e that have

The performer-playwright presents a concert reading of Hick, A Love Story, the Romance of Lorena Hickok and Eleanor Roosevelt. $15-$35. 5pm. 3105 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. www. lapena.org

Yo-Yos & Half Squares @ Oakland Museum

I work .

Yo-Yos & Half Squares: Contemporary California Quilts (five women artists), thru Feb 21. And, Unearthed: Found + Made, featuring Jedediah Caesar’s geological sculptures; thru April 24. Free/$15. Reg. hours Wed-Sat 11am-5pm (Fri til 9pm). 1000 Oak St., Oakland. (510) 318-8400. www.museumca.org

Mon 1 Color of Life @ California Academy of Sciences

urposes only.

Tiffany Austin Quintet @ Feinstein’s at the Nikko Enjoy a rousing swing tribute to the music of Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday and Nina Simone. $25-$45 ($20 food/drink min.) 7pm. Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. (866) 663-1063. www.ticketweb.com

William Shatner @ The Warfield The star of Star Trek and other shows returns to perform his popular solo show about his amazing career. $39.50-$180. 8pm. 982 Market St. www.thewarfieldtheatre.com

Sun 31 Abrazo, Queer Tango @ Finnish Brotherhood Hall, Berkeley Enjoy weekly same-sex tango dancing and a potluck, with lessons early in the day. $7-$15. 3:30-6:30pm. 1970 Chestnut St., Berkeley. (510) 8455352. www.finnishhall.com

Justin Chin Memorial Reading @ SF Public Library Readings of works by the late local gay poet, with Lynnee Breedlove cohosts Kirk Read and Beth Lisick, and Daniel Levesque, Mason J, Lauren Wheeler, Baurch Porras-Hernandez, Philip Huang, Danny Nguyen, Bucky Sinister, Horehound Stillpoint, David West, Kevin Killian, Daphne Gottlieb and Keith Hennessy. Free. 1:30pm4pm. Koret Auditorium, lower level, 100 Larkin St. www.sfpl.org www.facebook.com/ events/432309266979186/

Exhibits and planetarium shows with various live, interactive and installed exhibits about animals, plants and the earth; new exhibit focuses on vibrantly colored species of octopus, snake fish and other live creatures. Special events each week, with adult nightlife parties many Thursday nights. $20-$35. MonSat 9:30am-5pm. Sun 11am-5pm. 55 Music Concourse Drive, Golden Gate Park. 379-8000. www.calacademy.org

Man Candy @ Strut

Dogeaters @ Magic Theatre

Jacon Mecier’s amazing candy art includes images of male movie hunks (Channing Tatum, Joe Mangianello, Burt Reynolds) at the gay men’s healthspace. 470 Castro St. www.strutsf.org

Bay Area premiere of Jessica Hagedorn’s 1998 play set in Manila’s mythical Studio 54 – with drag queens, beauty queens and movie stars alongside statesmen, activists and rebels in early 1980s Philippines as the country unravels at the end of the Marcos regime. $25-$75. Wed-Sat 8pm. Tue 7pm. Sun 2:30pm. Thru Feb. 28. Fort Mason Center, 2 Marina Boulevard, Building D, 3rd Floor. 441-8822. www.magictheatre.com

One Night Only @ Brava Theater Cast members from the Broadway touring production of Jersey Boys perform their other favorite songs, in a benefit for the Richmond/Ermet Aid Foundation. $35-$75. 7:30pm. 2781 24th St. www.reaf.org

Reigning Queens @ GLBT History Museum Exhibit of 1970s San Francisco drag ball photos by Roz Joseph; with curator Joey Plaster, DJ Irwin Swirnoff. Thru Feb. Reg, hours Mon, Wed-Sat 11am-6pm. Sun 12pm-5pm. 4127 18th St. www.glbthistory.org

Tue 2 Punk Rock @ Strand Theatre American Conservatory Theatre students perform Simon Stephen’s edgy acclaimed play about overachieving British private school students. $20. Feb 2, 5, 6 at 7pm. Feb. 6 & 7 at 1:30pm. 1127 Market St. 7492228. www.act-sf.org

The Sprawl @ YBCA Amsterdam-based design team Metahaven’s immersive video installation about the mutation of propaganda. Free/$8. Thru April 3. Also, Kevin Cooley’s Golden Prospects, a visual survey of water and waste in California. Thru April 3. Also, Won Ju Lim: Raycraft is Dead, thru Feb. 14. $5-$12. Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission St. www.ybca.org

Vernacular Vixens @ Robert Tat Gallery Robert E. Jackson’s collection of found photos of women (Note: Due to increased lease costs, this may be the gallery’s last exhibit). Thru Feb 6. 49 Geary St., Suite 410. www.roberttat.com

Wed 3

New exhibition showcases 120 artworks and designs by the prominent Disney animator, whose own life was full of adventures. Free (members)-$20. Thru Sept. 12. 104 Montgomery St., The Presidio. 3456800. www.waltdisney.org

Natural Beauty @ Marin Center Natural Beauty: The Art and Artists of West Marin, a group exhibit of paintings, water colors, landscapes and paper works depicting Northern California. Repection Jan. 20, 6pm. Thru March 30. 10 Ave. of the Flags, San Rafael. www.marincenter.org

The Unfortunates @ Strand Theatre The darkly comic blues-gospel musical tells of Big Joe, a tough-talking soldier cursed with giant hands, set in a funky bar, and the underworld. $35$95. Tue-Sat 7:30pm. Wed, Sat Sun 2pm. Thru April 10. 1127 Market St. 749-2228. www.act-sf.org

Thu 4 10 Percent @ Comcast David Perry’s online & cable interviews with notable local and visiting LGBT people, broadcast through the week. Check for times on Facebook: ComcastHometown.com

Club Inferno @ Hypnodrome The glam rock musical, based on Dante’s Inferno, with songs by Peter Fogel and book by Kelly Kittell, returns, with the original 2015 cast. $30-$35. Thu-Sat 8pm. Thru March 5. 575 10th St. at Bryant. 377-4202. www.hypnodrome.org

Coco Peru @ Oasis

Alison Saar @ MOAD New exhibit, Bearing, the acclaimed artist’s sculptures of Black women as a centerpiece. Free-$10. Thru April 3. Museum of the African Diaspora, 635 Mission St. www.moadsf.org

The wacky drag queen performs her new live show, A Gentle Reminder. $25-$35. 7:30pm. Also Feb. 5 & 6. 298 11th St. at Folsom. 795-3180. www.sfoasis.com

Jesse Cook @ Palace of Fine Arts The popular nuevo flamenco guitarist performs. $35-$45. 8pm. 3301 Lyon St. www.palaceoffinearts.org

Leah Crocetto @ Curran Theatre

Mark Foehringer Dance Project @ ODC Theater Body of Work, a 20th anniversary collection of dances, with a world premiere, recent and past works, and live music by baritone Eugene Brancoveanu (Opera San Jose), pianist Hadley McCarroll (Festival del Sole) and cellist Matthew Linaman (U.S. Music Ambassador). $30-$45. 7pm. 3153 17th St. www.odcdance.org

Mel Shaw: An Animator on Horseback @ Walt Disney Family Museum

The Groundbreakers series returns with Editor Kevin Sessums interviewing the opera soprano, who also performs a few jazz selections. $25. 7pm. 445 Geary St. sfcurran.com

Wed 30

Mel Shaw: An Animator on Horseback @ Disney Family Museum Lois Greenfield

To submit event listings, email events@ebar.com Deadline is each Thursday, a week before publication.For more bar and nightlife events, go to On the Tab in our BARtab section, online at www.ebar.com/bartab

<< Theatre

24 • BAY AREA REPORTER • January 28-February 3, 2016

Jersey Boys sing for AIDS fundraiser by David-Elijah Nahmod

embers of the touring cast of the Broadway musical Jersey Boys take to the stage in One Night Only at the Brava Theater on Monday, February 1. The boys will be belting out tunes in support of the Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation starting at 7:30 p.m. REAF was named after cofounders Barbara Richmond and Peggy Ermet. Lifelong friends (their mothers were friends before they were even born) Richmond and Ermet founded REAF after losing their sons to AIDS. Ken Henderson, executive director of REAF, reminded the B.A.R. that while AIDS was now often manageable, a cure for the disease has yet to be found. “AIDS is still being transmitted, people continue to get infected, and if they don’t have adequate private insurance, they must rely on local AIDS service agencies to keep them alive and healthy,” Henderson said. “But they can only stay that way with the help and services provided by local AIDS service agencies.” Henderson added that the risks that come with HIV exposure continue to be formidable. “AIDS is still not something you want to live with if you can avoid it,” he said. “It still

Courtesy REAF

Jersey Boys cast in a previous One Night Only show. They play Brava Theater on February 1.

destroys your immune system if you don’t take the right medications, and those medications can still be toxic to the body. Many young people today think AIDS is yesterday’s news, that it doesn’t affect their generation, so they participate in unprotected sex.” Henderson shared news that three young friends of his, all in their 20s, had contracted HIV last year and

were devastated by the news. “Their lives will never be the same again, or at least until such time as we do have a cure,” he said. “There is a future waiting for you, you have the opportunity to live a long and meaningful life. Don’t waste that opportunity.” To that end, the performances sponsored by REAF will raise critical funds that are then distributed

to AIDS organizations. One Night Only with the Jersey Boys is the latest such venture. Jersey Boys tells the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, an iconic doo-wop band that rose out of New Jersey’s blue-collar Italian-American community during the early 1960s. “Frankie Valli and the Four

AMERICAN CONSERVATORY THEATER presents

SATCHMO AT THE

WALDORF

BY TERRY TEACHOUT DIRECTED BY GORDON EDELSTEIN STARRING JOHN DOUGLAS THOMPSON

Seasons were one of the biggest singing groups of their time,” Henderson explains. “They had a unique sound that took the country by storm. Their music is still popular today, and Jersey Boys is about their beginnings.” The award-winning musical is making its third stop in San Francisco, but alas, there will be no Frankie Valli songs heard at the Brava. So what will the Boys be doing? “That will pretty much be a surprise, but I can say it will be pretty much a variety-show format, with some very creative numbers and some very fun comedy bits,” said Henderson. “They’re putting the numbers together before they even hit town so we don’t know what they’re doing until they get here. This is a chance for them to do something different from what they do every night in their touring show. Everyone gets a chance to shine, not just the leads of the show. These shows are entirely original and truly one-nightonly experiences. You’ll never see the exact same show anywhere else.” Henderson said that Jersey Boys’ current touring cast was absolutely committed to supporting AIDS services. Performers at the Brava will include John Lloyd Young, who won a Tony Award for starring as Frankie Valli on Broadway, and who went on to star in the Jersey Boys film. 50% of proceeds from One Night Only will go towards Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, a New York-based service organization that offers help to those in the theater community whose lives are impacted by HIV. The other half of the evening’s proceeds will be distributed among local AIDS services. Henderson also said that many more REAF fundraisers were in the works, including a return engagement with openly gay country-music singing sensation Steve Grand. “There’s a lot of fun events lined up throughout the year,” he said. “All are designed to raise funds for the cause and give folks a great time in return.”t One Night Only, featuring company members of the touring cast of the Tony Award-winning Best Musical Jersey Boys, plays Mon., Feb. 1, at 7:30 p.m. Brava Theater, 2781 24th St., SF. Tickets: helpisontheway.org.

“A TOUR DE FORCE PERFORMANCE!”

Taylor Mac

From page 21

orchestra, an eight-member choir, and his busy costumer, plus help from a dozen “Dandy Minions” who are frequently passing out such items as cans of beer, Ping Pong balls, apples, and bits of costumes for regularly occurring audience participation. But mostly it’s about the music, and Mac wants us to see how different eras’ songs both reflect their times but can also provide an unintended commentary on them. “Johnny’s So Long at the Fair,” which he variously performs in styles from dainty to Afro-beat, develops into an extended tale of cheating men and oppressed women. Many of the songs will likely be unfamiliar to audiences, and Mac performs them in retrofitted arrangements or with sincerity behind the original intentions. His rendition of “Shenandoah” is heartbreaking even as it comes after an anecdote that involves pierogis in places they shouldn’t be.t

San Francisco Chronicle

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A 24-Decade History of American Music continued at the Curran Theatre with songs from 1806-1836 on Jan. 26-27, with a marathon performance of both segments on Jan. 30. Tickets are $50-$75. Go to sfcurran.com.

TV>>

January 28-February 3, 2016 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 25

Gay goodfella in gritty procedural by Victoria A. Brownworth

e like starting the year off a little gay. And what could be gayer than goodfella Ray Liotta, who plays corrupt Lt. Matt Wozniak in NBCs gritty new police drama Shades of Blue, kicking it with fellow cop Det. Donnie Pomp (Michael Esper)? If you were watching the Jan. 21 episode, you likely went Whut? just like we did when Woz heads over to meet Donnie – with a full-on, mouth-crushing, grab-your-neck, instant-Viagra-effect kiss. To say we didn’t see that coming is a hella understatement. This show ups the ante every episode. There’s something about the 61-year-old Liotta, the prototype for ruggedly, kickedaround-a-bit handsome who has been in a bazillion films, won an Emmy, been nommed for the SAG Award and others, playing a married cop who’s on the down low with another significantly younger (Esper is 22 years Liotta’s junior) detective. This wasn’t jumping the shark. Woz is a complex guy. His life’s a total mess. He works hard, drinks hard, tortures perps hard, plays hard. He’s grieving his daughter. He knows there’s a mole in his outfit. He’s on the outs with his wife Linda (the wonderful Lolita Davidovich from True Detective). The only person he trusts is Harlee (Jennifer Lopez), and she’s the one who’s taking him down. In a storyline that’s totally about Woz needing an anchor, why wouldn’t he turn to Donnie? Who knows a cop’s life like another cop? These scenes in Shades of Blue – Woz and Donnie, Harlee and her daughter Cristina (Sarah Jeffrey), Harlee and her colleague Det. Tess Nazario (The Sopranos fave Drea de Matteo) – play like set-pieces. Dark, even chilling, yet deeply, believably human. These characters are all broken, but none in the same way. So it’s all jagged edges coming at you. Nothing feels planned. Nothing feels programmatic. For a procedural, it’s very impromptu. And we like it a lot. SoB has a diverse cast, and is the only drama series with a Latina lead. Largest minority group in America, yet this is the only drama series with a Latina lead. In 2016. Just saying. (We know Raul Esparza plays ADA Rafael Barba on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, but he’s not a lead.) Lopez herself got this show moving, just as she has other programs like one of the only lesbianthemed shows on the tube, ABC Family’s The Fosters. When we’re behind the camera, we’re in front of the camera. It can’t be said enough. ABC’s American Crime is a far superior drama to SofB, but it’s a cable TV show that somehow ended up on network. We’re not sure what John Ridley’s show is doing on ABC instead of HBO, but we presume Ridley wanted it as accessible as possible. So it is without question the best drama on network. But the shockers come fast, hard and oh-socable-TV-like. There’s a scene in the Jan. 20 episode where headmaster Leslie Graham (Felicity Huffman) is brushing her teeth while she talks to her husband who is in their bedroom. There’s a ferocity to this tooth-brushing that is almost painful to watch. At any moment you expect blood to spurt from her mouth. Again, so much we didn’t see coming. Like the white co-captain of the basketball team, Eric Tanner (Joey Pollari), meeting up with an older guy in a parking lot. They sit in the car and talk. We think maybe

they’re going to smoke pot. Instead, the guy pulls Eric close, onto his shoulder. Then they kiss. Real kissing. The camera moves in, and so apparently does the guy, because Eric pulls back and says he doesn’t want “that,” he just wants to kiss. This is the same kid who in the first episode was joking about raping a girl. Is he bisexual? Or is he faking straightness with what he thinks might be the right language, but we all know is not? The most dramatic scene in this episode is when Taylor is taken for a rape-kit exam. Working with Ridley’s trope of keeping authority figures off-screen – we hear their voices, we see hands, backs of heads – we hear the voice of the woman who is doing the rape kit. She gives Taylor a gown, talks to him, explains everything as she puts him on the table. We see the implements. She explains what she is doing: the anal swabbing, the swabbing around his testicles, the anal exam. Her voice recedes a bit into the distance as we watch Taylor’s face as he lies on the table and she explains how she’s going to move this way and that. Her voice is matter-of-fact. But we see the humiliation. That’s how good Ridley is. American Crime is mesmerizing. The young actors are especially good, as powerhouse veterans Regina King, Lili Taylor, Felicity Huffman, Timothy Hutton have long track records. But these kids feel real, true and believable, full of such a range of emotions. Catch up at ABC.go.com if you have missed the first episodes.

Basket cases

From the sublime to the ridiculous, but Baskets, which premiered on FX Jan.21, is funny. Unpredictably funny, it’s created by the off-beat trio of Louie C.K., Zach Galifianakis and Jonathan Krisel. FX describes the plot: “With hopes and dreams, Chip Baskets (Galifianakis) sets out to become a professional clown. After failing to get a degree at a prestigious clown college in Paris, he is stuck with a job at a local rodeo in his hometown, Bakersfield, California.” This is dark comedy. And it is pretty good. Chip failed because he doesn’t speak French and miming wasn’t enough. Now he’s back home working the unenviable job of rodeo clown. Chip’s family is something else again. Mom Baskets is played by the hilarious Louie Anderson. Dale Baskets (also played by Galifianakis) is the successful brother and Dean of Baskets Career College. Odd things ensue. Chip comes back home with a French wife, Penelope (Sabina Sciubba), who just wanted a Green Card. A young woman meets Chip after he crashes his motorcycle when a bee flies into his helmet (this is hilarious, truly). She’s nice, he’s not. We often weary of Galifianakis in other things, but here he’s quite good and you feel for him. Baskets is funny. Try it. ABC’s Agent Carter returned Jan. 19 for a second season, and good golly is it ever good. Unlike other comic-series-come-to-TV shows, Agent Carter is set in the 1940s. This makes for fantastic set design, fabulous old cars and great hats for Agent Carter (Hayley Atwell), simply superb as a Clark Kent-style spy. It also makes for an intelligible spy drama, as we all know the perils of WWII global politics. And occasionally it’s just soothing to get a break from Dystopia, where we all seem to live now. There’s a lot of kick-ass in this drama, too. Vicarious thrills of kicking the bad guys to the proverbial

NBC/Peter Kramer

Ray Liotta as corrupt cop Matt Wozniak, and Jennifer Lopez as Detective Harlee Santos, in NBC’s Shades of Blue.

curb can’t be underestimated. This is an A+ show even if you aren’t keen on the whole Captain America genre. Sometimes a little heroism really is just the ticket. There’s a brutal irony that #OscarsSoWhite will be held during Black History Month and hosted by black comedian Chris Rock. Talk about awkward. The annual extravaganza will air on ABC on Feb. 28, the piece de resistance of the ongoing awards season. The issue of diversity at the Oscars has been the stuff of myriad TV talk segments since the nominations were announced on Jan. 14. Director Spike Lee, whose film Chi-Raq and its stellar cast were snubbed by the Academy, has been on GMA, The Tonight Show and Nightline, discussing what some are calling a boycott by actors of color of the Oscar ceremony. April Reign, managing editor of BroadwayBlack.com and the queerfriendly woman behind the hashtag, was on CNN discussing the incredulity of yet another year without a single actor of color in any of the four acting categories: 20 slots, all white. Actress Jada Pinkett Smith, whom we love as the bisexual Fish Mooney on Fox’s Gotham, has been outspoken about boycotting the Oscars. Pinkett Smith, who portrayed Alex, a lesbian author, in The Women, has starred in more than 30 films, including the entire Matrix series. She and her husband, Will Smith, are considered Hollywood royalty. Smith was widely expected to get an Oscar nod this year for his stellar performance in Concussion. Both Smiths have been supporters of marriage equality and contributed to the fight against Prop 8 in California. Smith spoke exclusively to GMA’s Robin Roberts on Jan. 21 about the boycott decision, saying, “We’re part of this community. but at this current time, we’re uncomfortable to stand there and say that this is okay. My wife’s not going. It would be awkward to show up with Charlize [Theron],” Smith joked. more seriously, Smith told Roberts, “There is a position that we hold in this community, and if we’re not part of the solution, we’re part of the problem. It was her call to action, for herself, and for me and our family to be a part of the solution.” Idris Elba, whom we have been watching since he was on The Wire and whom we have loved for the past five years on Luther, for which he’s won a Golden Globe and been nominated for several Emmys, gave the best speech on #OscarsSoWhite.

Elba was presumed to be a lock for a Supporting Actor nod for Cary Fukunaga’s film Beasts of No Nation. Fukunaga co-created HBO’s True Detective and directed the genius first season. We loved this from Elba, who was speaking about both film and TV, as he’s worked equally in both: “Diversity in the modern world is more than just skin color. It’s gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, social background, and most important of all, as far as I’m concerned, diversity of thought. Because if you have genuine diversity of thought among people making TV and film, then you won’t accidentally shut out any of the groups I just mentioned.” Elba said, “The TV world helps shape the real world. It’s also a window on our world. But when we look out the window, none of us live in Downton Abbey.’” The issue of whiteness and straightness (gay director Todd Haynes’ fabulous film Carol was also shut out) has long been a concern of ours in this column. Lip-service to diversity is a continuing problem on TV. One has only to look at the top-rated TV shows to see how white things still are. While some showrunners like Shonda Rhimes, Greg Berlanti and Ryan Murphy have diverse casts, most shows remain majority white. A show like Empire, created by black gay director Lee Daniels, has achieved critical acclaim and strong viewership. Star Taraji P. Henson just won a Golden Globe Award for her portrayal of Cookie Lyons. But the question has been raised by the still-mostly-white media if the primary audience is black and gay. We don’t care about that as long as Empire remains on the air, since it’s got everything. Another strongly diverse show is The Flash. The cast is racially diverse and has an out gay actor, Victor Garber, as well as gay characters like David Singh (Patrick Sabongui). Another of gay showrunner Greg Berlanti’s shows, The Flash is nerd-worthy and has a lot of prettiness, gadgetry and finesse, as well as strong female characters who are not hangers-on, but plot-central. Sitcoms seem better placed to have the kind of diversity that every show should have, although we aren’t sure why. Two new sitcoms on NBC, Telenovela and Superstore, which both recently debuted, are diverse as hell and really funny. With their respective powerhouse stars (Eva Longoria and America Ferrera, respectively) they have single-handedly amped up the presence of Latina actors on the tube. Superstore has black, white,

Latina, Asian, gay and disabled characters. It’s perfect. Telenovela has an almost wholly Latina cast, which no other show off Univision, Fusion or Telemundo has. We’ve lauded all of Rhimes’ shows that have operated as prototypes for diverse programming and are still thinking about the race discussions on last season’s Grey’s Anatomy propelled by Dr. Margaret Pierce (Kelly McCreary) and Dr. Stephanie Edwards (Jerrika Hinton). In these exchanges, both black doctors addressed their white peers in ways that made black audiences nod and clap, and forced white audience to squirm and think. Squirming and thinking seem key to us. We don’t want to lecture here, but as lacking in LGB characters as TV is (trans folks are getting refreshingly wide attention on the tube), racial diversity is even worse. We have long decried the practice of two-for-one: gaying a character of color. There are far more interracial lesbian and gay couples on the tube than in real life. Just as there are far more blackLatina-Asian sidekicks of white characters than in real life. How many of our white readers have best friends who are people of color? Yet we are expected to believe that black people are lining up to be BFFs with white people on the tube. Suspension of disbelief, anyone? What we find most disturbing in this lack of diversity is the long-term network shows with either no black characters in the main cast (looking at you, NCIS) or one character who is expected to stand in for all people of color (yes, you, Law & Order: SVU and NCIS: New Orleans). How can shows set in major urban areas like New York and LA be so white? This must stop. Elba’s speech makes sense on many levels. When we are behind the camera, we are in front of the camera. Spend the week watching the color spectrum of your favorite shows. See where the actors of color (if there are any) fall in the plot line-up. Keep an actual tab. Then remember who’s the frontrunner in the GOP presidential race. Everything is interconnected, as Elba stated. It’s not, as April Reign said, that we want the Oscars or other awards’ shows dumped. We just want them to reflect America. Because the rest of us out here on the margins deserve to see ourselves on screens big and small. And screw you if you don’t feel the same way, Hollywood. So for outrage aplenty as well as some kick-ass new shows and manly men kissing the hell out of each other, you really must stay tuned.t

<< Film

26 • BAY AREA REPORTER • January 28-February 3, 2016

LGBTQ in the Sundance landscape by David Lamble

his year’s 32nd annual Sundance Film Festival will screen over 1,100 films chosen from over 12,000 submissions. Here’s a preview of 22 features that made the cut, including a bumper crop (12) of LGBTQ dramas and comedies. First Girl I Loved (US) One of the best things about the new genre of queer-in-high-school films is that it allows us to relive past humiliations in a robust and sometimes darkly funny context simply not possible when we were still trying on our baby-queer trainer wheels. Director/writer Kerem Sanga plants her 17-year-old lovestruck heroine, Anne, smack-dab in the middle of a LA public high school where it’s dangerous to merely step outside your particular clique, let alone be robustly gay. Anne’s stab at romance is complicated by her buddy Clifton, who has his own agenda. Cast: Dylan Gelula, Brianna Hildebrand, Mateo Arias, Jennifer Prediger. Kiki (US/Sweden) Sara Jordenö’s doc reminds us of the days when her Scandinavian region was on the cutting edge of social change. Kiki tells the story of a new type of “safe space” for queer kids of color, a robust minority now seeking their place in the sometimes-bland social landscape of modern-day Sweden, in this case through the art of voguing. Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures (US) It may be hard to believe that a quarter-century has passed since the death of East Coast homoerotic photographer Robert Mapplethorpe (1946-89). It’s fitting that one of our tribe’s most celebrated and condemned photographic artists is now the subject of an intense retrospective portrait by our most celebrated documentary team, Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato. Illustrated by this most Catholic artist’s most formally-constructed outrageous images, from the black male model with an uncircumcised penis in “Man in Polyester Suit” to the man in black leather urinating into the mouth of a male friend (“Jim and Tom. Sausalito”), Mapplethorpe’s singular body of work seemed at the peak of his fame to preempt the queer field for all time. Mapplethorpe inspired the wrath of social conservatives, leading to the cancellation of an important gallery exhibit and the possible end of Federal government grants to queer and other outsider art. The film contains newly unearthed interviews with Mapplethorpe as well as with friends and family members. Other People (US) This domestic drama from Chris Kelly centers on the attempts of a young gay comedy writer to survive a broken relationship by moving back to his boyhood Sacramento home. There awaits not only a sick mother but a disapproving dad and younger sisters. David’s struggle to convince himself and his family that one can

Noir City

From page 21

knew about the classic studio system – he was married to MGM’s Luise Rainier, the first actress to win two Oscars. Robert Aldrich directed the film version of his The Big Knife (1955), with Jack Palance as tortured Charles Castle, a major movie star who won’t renew his contract. But he’s hiding a dark secret, which the moguls will use to control him. Ida Lupino is his loyal wife. Shelley Winters is memorable as a dumb-blonde starlet who knows too much. Rod Steiger is riveting as a studio chief modeled on Louis B. Mayer. Wendell Corey is his loyal henchman. With Jean Hagen. Screenplay by James Poe. (1/29)

indeed go home again without being thought a failure brings up the question of what is meant by the expression, “I’m doing okay.” Cast: Jesse Plemons, Molly Shannon, Bradley Whitford, June Squibb. Partners (US) Director Joey Ally and screenwriters Jen Tullock and Hannah Utt provide us with this intriguing theme for a lesbian-couple domestic comedy: “a sex life slump.” That’s indeed the fate of partners Kate and Leigh, who wake up one day to find that their domestic and work lives have become perhaps a bit too entangled, sharing as they do a flat and a tavern. Peace in the Valley (US) Director-screenwriting partners Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher present the story of the largest American outdoor Passion Play against the backdrop of a referendum on LGBTQ rights by the citizens of Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Peacock (Czech Republic) Director Ondrej Hudecek and co-writer Jan Smutny provide an odd queer romance set in 19th-century Bohemia involving the life of a premier Czech writer. The story is described as involving “suspense, laughter, violence, hope, nudity, sex, and mostly a happy ending.” Spa Night (US) Director-screenwriter Andrew Ahn brings us inside LA’s burgeoning Korean community, whose male hero tries to balance a healthy sexual appetite with his ties to a still-struggling immigrant family. Set in the seldom-seen world of LA gay male spas, the cast features Joe Seo, Haerry Kim, Youn Ho Cho, and Linda Han. Suited (US) Director Jason Benjamin spotlights Brooklyn tailors Bindle & Keep, who have pioneered the field of custom-made duds for gender-nonconforming clients. The Saint of Dry Creek (US) Filmmaker Julie Zammarchi tells

Courtesy Sundance

Dylan Gelula in First Girl I Loved, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

the story of 50s teen Patrick Haggerty, who comes out to his dad in this rural Washington State community. Uncle Howard (US/UK) The once-promising cinema career of Howard Brookner is detailed by his nephew Aaron. Brookner directed a pioneering biography of iconoclastic queer writer William Burroughs, which also depicted the cultural upheaval in lower Manhattan in the early 80s. More than a generation after Brookner’s career was truncated by AIDS, his nephew explores Uncle Howard’s seldom-viewed body of films, producing a moving evocation of his childhood idol and queer-cinema pioneer. Viva (Ireland) Irish director Paddy Breathnach and screenwriter Mark O’Halloran set their fiction piece in today’s Cuba, where a father and son battle over life’s

Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation

Photographer Robert Mapplethorpe is the subject of Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures, screening at the Sundance Film Festival.

Victorian London, with its notorious fog, was a great noir setting, never more so than in The Lodger (1944). Beautiful Merle Oberon is Kitty Langley, an actress who lives with her financially strapped uncle and aunt (Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Sara Allgood). They take in lodger Laird Cregar, whom they soon fear may be Jack the Ripper. They’re wrong, but he is indeed stalking someone. Is it Kitty? With the urbane George Sanders as a detective. Very atmospheric. Directed by John Brahm. Screenplay by Barre Lyndon, from the novel by Marie Belloc Lowndes. Puppeteer John Carridine (father of Keith and David) is Bluebeard (1944), Edgar G. Ulmer’s version of the fatally attractive Lothario. With Jean Parker and gay 1930s leading man Nils Asther.

Screenplay by Philip Gendron, based on a story by Arnold Lipp and Werner H. Furst. The great Edward G. Robinson saves sexy Joan Bennett from an attacker (Dan Duryea) on Scarlet Street (1945). No good deed was ever so harshly punished. Fritz Lang’s noir masterpiece features a heartbreaking performance by Robinson. Bennett’s chilling femme fatale is unforgettable. Dudley Nichols adapted the novel and play by Andre Mouezy-Eon. (1/30, matinee) Although filmed in vivid Technicolor, Michael Powell’s The Red Shoes (1948) is a dark study of a ballerina (Moira Shearer) torn between two men and her own artistic compulsion. Anton Walbrook is her demanding teacher, Marius Goring the man she loves. This lavish, lush

disappointments and the heavy burden of past sins. Cast: Héctor Medina, Jorge Perugorría, Luis Alberto García. Here are another 10 new films to watch out for, several receiving their World or North American premieres in the many makeshift cinemas spread across Park City, Utah. Swiss Army Man stars the brilliant acting team of Paul Dano (Twelve Years a Slave) and Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter films). Dano is Hank, a young man stranded on a deserted island. His salvation arrives when a body washes upon the shore (Radcliffe) that provides Hank with the chance to save himself. Musicvideo gurus The Daniels, a.k.a. Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan, have reportedly produced a witty script for a locally shot feature overflowing with comedy, drama and philosophical asides. Certain Women Fans of director Kelly Reichardt (Wendy and Lucy) await her latest collaboration with TV/film star Michelle Williams (Brokeback Mountain). Set in a tiny Montana village, the story involves Williams’ character’s unraveling marriage and a hostage situation involving indie veteran Laura Dern (Blue Velvet) and an adult-education teacher (Kristen Stewart). Equity Meera Menon (Farah Goes Bang) returns to Sundance with a Wall Street drama featuring Anna Gunn (Breaking Bad) as a senior investment banker trying to launch a tech-company IPO who discovers just how greatly the chips are stacked against her. White Girl Promising young director Elizabeth Wood wrote and directed this tale of a young student whose misadventures are kickstarted by a disastrous decision to sleep with her drug dealer. Newtown The most prominent of Sundance’s focus on gun violence docs & drama. For three years, Kim Snyder delved into the collective

grief that nearly paralyzed this small town in Connecticut in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary school massacre. The film features the first public reflections by parents of the 20 student victims, who perished along with six of their teachers. The other gun-violence-themed films at this year’s Sundance are Dark Night (Aurora, Col. movie shooting); As You Are (teens’ access to guns); Speaking is Difficult (Arizona former Rep./shooting victim Gabrielle Giffords); and Under the Gun, a dark drama featuring a teen shooter. Christine Antonio Campos, director of the provocative privateschool drama Afterschool, returns with a dramatization of the 1974 on-air suicide of TV newscaster Christine Chubbuck. Joshy Jeff Baena’s drama about a group of bachelors reeling from the news that their buddy has broken off his engagement features a cast of comedy-based actors: Thomas Middleditch (Silicon Valley), Adam Pally (Happy Endings), Nick Kroll (Kroll Show). Manchester by the Sea Casey Affleck is a Boston guy struggling to grow up who is shocked into maturity when his older brother (Kyle Chandler) dies and makes him the guardian of his teenage son. Written/directed by theater veteran Kenneth Lonergan (This Is Our Youth). Agnus Dei French director Anne Fontaine’s (Coco Before Chanel) tale follows Red Cross doctor Mathilde, who rescues a group of pregnant nuns hiding their condition in a remote convent in WWII-era Poland. Lou de Laâge as Mathilde is getting buzz as a break-out Sundance performance. Southside with You Richard Tanne’s debut tells the story of how our First Couple first met. It’s 1989 as community organizer Barack Obama persuades attorney Michelle Robinson to go on a first date.t

but frightening study of obsession is based on Hans Christian Anderson’s story. Screenplay by Powell and Emeric Pressburger. Among the legendary dancers appearing on screen are Leonide Massine, who succeeded Nijinksy in Serge Diaghilev’s bed and on stage in the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, and Robert Helpmann. Madame La Sylph (Judith Anderson) is determined to stage a production of The Specter of the Rose (1946), even if the lead dancer (Ivan Kirov) may be a wife-murderer. Is the lovely ballerina Heidi (Viola Essen) at risk? Directed by Ben Hecht and Lee Garmes, from a screenplay by Hecht. (1/30, evening) Shearer and Powell reunited for Peeping Tom (1960), his first film without Emeric Pressburger. Critics

and audiences were shocked by this creepy tale of a serial killer of young women who records their deaths using a movie camera. With Anna Massey. Original screenplay by Leo Marks. Michelangelo Antonioni’s Blow-Up is ostensibly about a murder, but also explores the nature of art. Thomas (David Hemmings) is a Mod photographer in swinging London. He takes some shots of a languid beauty (Vanessa Redgrave), then wonders if she’s a killer. With Sarah Miles. Evocative of the easy sex and outre fashions of the era. Screenplay by Antonioni, from a short story by Julio Cortazar, with English dialogue by Edward Bond. Oscar nominations for Best Director, Best Story and Screenplay. (1/31, matinee & evening)t

DVD>>

January 28-February 3, 2016 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 27

Breaking the big story by David Lamble

his week we spotlight a Hollywood director who called them like he saw them and a young actor who turned out to be gay in an era when folks didn’t talk about such things. In 1951, the Austrian-born, naturalized American director Billy Wilder was on a roll. Sunset Boulevard, the sixth movie he directed for Paramount Pictures, was, to borrow an expression from Paddy Chayevsky’s Network, “a big-titty hit,” and Wilder was determined to top it. He thought up a picture whose hero, Chuck Tatum, would make newspaper reporters out to be hucksters, at a time when the daily paper was still the way most Americans got their news but the one-eyed monster (TV) was looming. Ace in the Hole begins on a sight gag. A tow truck is pulling a car into Albuquerque, New Mexico, with the car’s driver, Tatum (35-year-old Kirk Douglas), sitting at the wheel reading the local paper, The Albuquerque Sun-Bulletin. Tatum walks into the paper’s offices, makes a racially insensitive remark (“How!”) to the staff ’s Native American copy person, and proceeds to light his cigarette on the typewriter carriage of cub reporter Herbie Cook – the boyish Bob Arthur, a rising young actor who could pass for 12 rather than his real age, 26. Wilder flashes-forward a year. Tatum is looking for the big story that

will release him from “this sunbaked Siberia.” Herbie quips, “That’s your long-playing record, Chuck, let’s hear the other side.” The boss, Mr. Boot (Porter Hall), sends Tatum and Herbie off to cover a rattlesnake contest, and as luck would have it, the duo stumble onto the story of a lifetime: a man trapped down a played-out mine. Wilder was spinning the 1925 tale of Floyd Collins, a man trapped in a mine whose plight stirred Prohibition-era America. Tatum, sensing his chance to escape, turns the rescue of the trapped guy (Leo Minosa) into a 9-ring circus complete with TV cameras, a Ferris wheel and thousands of onlookers. The real selling point of the Criterion Collection two-disc DVD release remains Wilder’s irreverent dialogue (co-writers Lesser Samuel and Walter Newman) and the remarkable camera shots from director of photography Charles B. Lang, Jr. Lorraine (Jan Sterling) is a classic Wilder hard-bitten dame, a sometimes-blonde who changes her hair color prior to a pivotal scene with Douglas’ Tatum. Lorraine’s cutting assessment of Tatum’s selfpromoting excess: “I’ve seen a lot of hard-boiled eggs, Mister, but you’re 20 minutes!” Later, explaining to Tatum why she doesn’t want to go to church pretending to pray for her hubby’s rescue: “Kneeling bags my nylons.” The heart of Ace remains Tatum’s cynicism contrasted to Cook’s idealism. Does it aid our understanding

Erik Tomasson

San Francisco Ballet’s Sofiane Sylve and Carlo Di Lanno in William Forsythe’s Pas/Parts.

SF Ballet Gala

From page 17

Putting on the Ritz is fun for all, but it’s also a kind of civic festivity that’s great to have institutionalized. It’s become part of the spirit of the city that reminds me of New Orleans having its Mardi Gras balls right now. This “high art” can pull in an audience of all ages, partly because of the physical excitement of the event. Galas are much more energetic shows than they used to be. SFB’s Gala is a party designed to show the hometown audience (especially the pillars of society, on whose support so much depends) how the dance troupe has been making the city famous in their wildly successful overseas tours. They come home from London, Paris, Moscow, Beijing with big headlines like “the biggest same-day sale in

the history of the theater,” where they’ve showed mostly brand-new works. Papers of the stature of the Financial Times have written that the future of ballet may well lie in the way SFB is developing. These ballets rely for much of their dazzle on the brilliance of the men in the troupe. From the bottom to the top of the roster, SFB’s men are outstanding: elegant, precise, and powerful, like big cats. In former times, a gala performance was about ballerinas. Nowadays, the company’s brio shines forth from the men, who leap, dart, and flash about the stage like bombs bursting in air. Indeed, last Thursday’s gala kicked off the season with “The Star-Spangled Banner.” As the snare drums rolled and the crowd stood up to sing, if you’d felt the crackle of athletic display in the offing, you would not have been far wrong.

to know that Herbie would prove to be boyish Bob Arthur’s most memorable screen turn? A beautifully scripted and acted scene between Tatum and Herbie in the back seat of a car demonstrates the homosocial tension that runs through

Ace, a conceit robustly supported by his presumably-closeted gay costar. Did Wilder know Arthur was gay? For publicity purposes young Arthur would escort Hollywood actresses around town on those studio-sponsored “dates” that we

now know shadowed the careers of Rock Hudson, Tab Hunter and Anthony Perkins. Are things any better today for out actors? Will the career of rising young gay-identified star Ezra Miller tell? Bob Arthur had a decent film resume from the mid-1940s, after he got out of the Navy, to the late-50s, when he withdrew from pictures. He wrapped the public side of his career with a stint as a Log Cabin Republican-identified advocate for LGBTQ seniors. Those wishing to see more of his screenwork should find a download of the 1952 boxing movie The Ring, which tracks the rise and fall of a young Chicano boxer. There’s a revealing five-minute scene where the hero meets his boxing opponent, played by Arthur. The young men have a sensitive locker-room dialogue scene before putting on the gloves. This Criterion Ace features memorable Wilder quips gathered from the director’s restless, and many felt premature, retirement. Disc 1: Restored digital transfer; astute audio commentary by scholar Neil Sinyard; theatrical trailer. Disc 2: 1980 bio-doc of Billy Wilder; 1984 video interview with actor Kirk Douglas, where the actor regrets he didn’t work again with Wilder; 1986 appearance by Wilder at the American Film Institute; audio interview with screenwriter Walter Newman; video afterword by Spike Lee; photo stills; essays by critic Molly Haskell and filmmaker Guy Maddin.t

After a speech thanking everybody who had helped put on the show, and an exquisite opening number for children from the SFB School (the nation’s oldest), the three corps de ballet boys might have been stars of the company, they accompanied Natasha Sheehan so fleetly. Young Ms. Sheehan, an SFB trainee, danced this role outstandingly in the School Showcase last spring, and was brought back to underline the importance of the school where they were trained. Over the course of the evening it was the men who put the spice in this variety show. But ballerinas made strong showing early. Senior ballerina Lorena Feijoo tore it up in a fiery adagio, Carmen, created for her and Vitor Luiz by resident choreographer Yuri Possokhov, followed by our newest Spanish star, Dores Andre, just recently promoted to Principal, who had perhaps the best dance of the whole evening, wonderfully partnered by Joan Boada in “If I Loved You” from Carousel, by Christopher Wheeldon. Over his 30-plus years here, Helgi Tomasson has made the Gala not just a showcase for his stars but also a taster’s menu for the season to come. The children in an intricate dance to Delibes’ exquisite “Waltz of the Hours” will dance that again in Program 4, Coppelia. The duet from Pas/Pars (William Forsythe) that Sofiane Sylve and Carlo Di Lanno made such an incisive, cryptic affair of in the Gala will reprise on Program 1, which opened last Sunday and runs another week. The finales of both Acts 1 & 2 were given to the indomitable powerhouse ballerina Vanessa Zahorian. She let her partner in Don Quixote amaze us with his blazing pyrotechnics, and saved her big kicks and coruscating batterie for Balanchine’s Theme and Variations at the final curtain, in which she headed up a company that filled the stage with virtuoso fireworks. Along the way, Gennadi Nedvigin stood out as the dancer with more time than anybody else. Amidst the rush of brilliant images coming nonstop, he was always clear, easy. Moving just as fast as everyone else had to in the prestissimo Solo, he

alone never seemed rushed. Not everything was great. It looked like more rehearsal might have helped both the Rubies Pas de Deux (Maria Kochetkova, Pascal Molat) and the Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux (Frances Chung, Gennadi Nedvigin) glow more steadily, while the famous “Black Swan Pas de Deux” had some dim moments. Davit Karapetyan receives the award for Most Gracious Partner in the “Black

Swan,” where he saved Mathilde Froustey from a bad night by making her seem the complete object of his devotion. Her foot was giving her trouble, but she did her best and did not hold back on the dramatic sweep of her characterization. The Gala was a one-off evening that came just days before the opening of the winter season. Programs 1 & 2 are already up and running. I will report on them next week.t

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WEDDINGS, HEADSHOTS, PORTRAITS

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ais month, it’s to tre ’ve learned from th we ring Fo ? th e on on so o ’s to ere f th . What; musicians are alive ers, rm rfo pe an ter sure live music while ve n of a delicious selectio ique tunately, we’ve got will share their un om wh of ch ea o, to s, se. ter ur gs co un of yo o, e to m g, and so -synchin and DJs and drag lip vocal stylings. Oh,

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Sat 30 Sugarpie DeSanto at Hard French Winter Ball @ Starline Social Club

When Hayes

meant Gays A brief history of the Hayes Valley neighborhood

by Michael Flanagan

Beverly Plaza performs at Charpe’s Grill, June 1991.

See page 34 >>

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hen I heard about the impending closure of Flipper’s (482 Hayes) last month, it got me thinking about the history of the LGBT community in Hayes Valley, where I live. It may seem strange that a burger joint would make me think of this, but if you consider that the manager there was Kirby White, who worked at Aunt Charlie’s and performed as Kristy Kruise, and that Absolute Empress Marlena XXV was frequently there for breakfast, it makes a bit more sense.

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Court and Sparks Steven Underhill

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courtesy Khmera Rouge

Imperial Council of San Francisco’s gala at Encore Karaoke Lounge, with (L-R) Tiger Lily, Empress Khmera Rouge, Emperor Kevin Lisle, candidates Emma Peel, Salvador Tovar, and Sadie Ladie and MC Stephen Dorsey.

WEDDINGS, HEADSHOTS, PORTRAITS

by Donna Sachet

2015

marked the 50th year of continuous community service for the Imperial Court of San Francisco, thoroughly chronicled last year by this publication with photography, historical perspectives, news stories, and glowing eye-witness accounts in this very column. Well, already in 2016, history continues as new candidates for Emperor and Empress have been approved by the Imperial Board and announced at Sunday’s Gala at The Encore. Running for Empress will be Sadie Ladie and Emma Peel; running for Emperor is Salvador Tovar. Election Day is Saturday, February 20, from 11AM-4PM on Polk Street, 1PM5PM on Folsom, and Noon-6PM on Castro. Who can vote, you might ask? Any adult resident of San Francisco, Marin, or San Mateo County with a valid photo I.D. is invited to participate. Get to know these candidates during the next four weeks when they will be campaigning all over the City, and then vote your preference on February 20. The official winners will be crowned at Imperial Coronation on Saturday, February 27, at the Design Center, 101 Henry Adams Street. Speaking of Imperial Coronation, this columnist will once again be your official source of all information regarding the upcoming festivities. Imperial Coronation LI (or 51 for those of you less classically trained) is themed A Space Odyssey and will be the final event of the Reigning Emperor Kevin Lisle and Reigning Empress Khmera Rouge and their Court of Kourage, Klass, Leather & Lace. With the tremendous popularity of our Golden Jubilee Monarchs all over the Court System, we anticipate one of the largest events in decades. Watch elaborate entrances, gorgeous gowns, elegant presentations, extraordinary talents, charitable fund distribution, and pageantry as only the Imperial Court knows how. Numerous events surround the Saturday night event, so watch this column for complete details. Meanwhile, shine up those shoes, polish that jewelry, and practice your walk; this is Imperial Coronation LI in San Francisco! Imperial Crown Prince Nic Hunter and Imperial Crown Princess Eva Sensitiva showcased an entertaining Winter Ball on January 16 at the Verdi Club, demonstrating that all Imperial Court events need not be steeped in formality. Enthusiastic attendees included Emperors J.P. Soto, Steven Dorsey, and John Weber, Empresses China Silk, Misty Blue, Alexis Miranda, Cockatielia, and Patty McGroin, Nathan Page, Patrice, CoCo Butter, Barry Miles, Mahogany, Larry Cook, T.J. Wilkinson, Jenny Twoblocksaway, Ray McKenzie, Piper Angelique, and visitors from other

Courts, of special note, Reno’s Empress Hope Jewel-Halston, Long Beach’s Empress Fabrique, San Jose’s Regent Emperor Rick LeBlanc, and representatives from Fresno, Stockton, Alaska, Buffalo, and Modesto. This was a night for specially selected over-the-top performances which kept the crowd applauding and tipping, resulting in over $1300 raised for SF Suicide Prevention. The representative from that organization gave a beautiful speech, recognizing the contribution of the Imperial Court and the tremendous talent on display. Yes, the Imperial Court of San Francisco is alive and well! Last Saturday had us pulled in several directions, but remarkably all in a two-block radius. We started at Don Ramon’s for a birthday celebration for Cockatielia, attended by friends from far and wide, a tribute to the many lives she has touched and the many loyalties she has developed. Among the crowd were Frank Vera, Ben & Terry Penn, Mark Rogers, Leandro Gonzales, Rad Ronda, Erin Lavery, Gary Virginia, and Emma Peel. After much Mexican cuisine and several libations, many of the group headed to Oasis, where in the back room a lively assemblage celebrated closing night of Star Trek Live. Word has it that this second run was so successful that they’ll be back with a new episode in the spring. As that party began to cool, Heklina’s weekly Mother show got under way, this one a tribute to the ineffable Lady Gaga. As much as we wanted to stay, we had committed to Anthem at Beatbox, hosted by Ky coutesy Eva Sensativa

stevenunderhill.com · stevenunderhillphotos@gmail.com

Martinez and Mohammad Vahidy, where we dashed next. Here, the crowd slowly gathered as DJ Brian Kent lured dancers to the floor with classic Anthem music, William Ducati Brown pumped up the room with fantastic lighting effects, and Xavier Caylor led a group in fantastic and expressive flagging. By midnight, as Andrew Gibbons transitioned as DJ, the room was packed. The comments about this event on social media are truly amazing, using phrases like “no words to describe the energy,” “We gyrated, flailed, writhed, strutted, and projected joy for living,” and “refreshing and magical.” There really is something about triumphant gay anthems with their positive lyrics, joyful melodies, and clarion vocals that takes a dance floor to a different level. In the company of happy friends and smiling strangers, we danced into the night. Watch for the next Anthem at Beatbox and don’t miss it.

Farewell, Wilkes We acknowledge with great sadness and rich memories the death of San Francisco icon Wilkes Bashford. Far beyond his significant influence on fashion in the City, his keen eye for style newcomers, and his own personal sartorial panache, he should be remembered fondly for his many philanthropic activities. Our paths crossed often, and this gentleman always gave us a dedicated moment of attention and genuine appreciation. From his enthusiastic support of Pets Are Wonderful Support, Rocket Dogs, the San Francisco Symphony and Opera to his quiet generosity behind the scenes, his presence will be sorely missed. Readers of this column may remember Wilkes Bashford signing on as a host for the La Cage event at the Castro Theatre a few years ago benefiting Camp Sunburst and David Lassman’s film documentary 50 Years of Fabulous: The Imperial Court Story. It seemed only natural that he would be supportive of this important historic project and we were fortunate to gain his help. His funeral is at 11AM this Friday at Grace Cathedral, where we will join all of San Francisco in giving him a well deserved send-off.

Dawn Today

Top: Imperial Crown Princess Eva Sensitiva performed at the Winter Ball on January 16 at the Verdi Club. Bottom: Dean Dawn, contest winner on The Today Show.

Hot off the presses! Deana Dawn, dedicated super-volunteer and active member of the Bay Area Rodeo, Imperial Court, Krewe de Kinque, and so many more groups, just won a Today Show Fan of the Week contest by answering her final trivia question live on the air Monday morning! Deana recently shared the story of her successful battle against ovarian cancer and was hailed on the air as a bold hero. She looked great, all smiles and bouffant hair-do, cradling her Kathy Lee Griffin spritzer, and she will be flying to Tallahassee for a weekend vacation, courtesy of The Today Show. Congratulations, Deana! By the way, that trip is for two, so who will be going with her?▼

BESTIES The 2016 LGBT Best of the Bay

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hank you for taking time to complete this survey by the Bay Area Reporter. Your opinion and answers are important to us. For this sixth annual readers’ poll, we now include nominees for each category, along with a write-in designation if you think another business or individual should be nominated. This year’s nominees are a mix of previous winners and new entries. The survey should only take 10-15 minutes of your time. Your identity and answers are completely confidential and will be used only to

contact winners of a random drawing for several valuable prizes. You must complete at least 75 percent of the survey to qualify for the prize drawings. One survey per person/email allowed and must be submitted by midnight (Pacific Time) March 2, 2016. Mail to Besties, 44 Gough St. #204, San Francisco, CA 941034 or email to besties@ ebar.com. Survey results will be published in the April 7, 2016 issue of the B.A.R. If you have any questions about the survey, please contact our office at (415) 861-5019.

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Best Mixed Drink £ Blackbird £ Club OMG £ Driftwood £ Martuni’s £ Twin Peaks ✎

ARTS & CULTURE Best Art Museum

£ Asian Art Museum £ Contemporary Jewish Museum £ de Young Museum £ GLBT History Museum £ Legion of Honor £ Museum of Craft and Design £ Museum of the African Diaspora £ Oakland Museum of California £ San Jose Museum of Art £ SFMOMA (closed through May 2016) £ Walt Disney Family Museum ✎

Best Ballet Dance Company £ Alonzo King Lines Ballet £ Ballet San Jose £ Diablo Ballet £ Oakland Ballet £ Post:ballet £ San Francisco Ballet £ Smuin Ballet ✎

Best Classical Venue

£ Davies Symphony Hall £ Herbst Theatre, Veteran’s Building £ War Memorial Opera House £ Old First Church £ SF Conservatory of Music ✎

Best Live Music Venue £ The Chapel £ The Fillmore £ Great American Music Hall £ Masonic Hall £ Regency Center £ The Warfield ✎

Best Modern Dance Company £ AXIS Dance Co. £ Jess Curtis/Gravity £ Joe Goode Performance Group £ Katie Faulkner/little seismic £ Keith Hennessy/Circo Zero £ ODC Dance £ Sean Dorsey Dance ✎

Best Nature or Science Museum

£ California Academy of Sciences £ Exploratorium £ SF Botanical Gardens £ SF Conservatory of Flowers ✎

Best Small Music Venue £ Martuni’s £ The New Parish £ Thee Parkside £ Rickshaw Stop £ El Rio £ SF Eagle £ Soundbox ✎

Best Theatre Company

£ American Conservatory Theater £ Aurora Theatre £ Berkeley Repertory Theatre £ New Conservatory Theatre Center £ Ray of Light Theatre £ Theatre Rhinoceros ✎

COMMUNITY Best LGBTQ Activist

£ Mia Tu Mutch (Community organizer) £ Subhi Nahas (ORAM) £ Sister Roma (My Name Is Coalition) ✎

Best LGBTQ Activist (Under 25)

£ Austin Padilla (youth leader for Getting to Zero) £ Ruby Spies (youth leader for Bay Area Youth Summit) ✎

Best LGBT Event

£ Castro Street Fair £ Folsom Street Fair £ Oakland Pride £ San Francisco Pride £ Silicon Valley Pride ✎

Best LGBT Fundraiser

£ Academy Awards Gala (Academy of Friends) £ AIDS/LifeCycle (SFAF) £ Anniversary Celebration (NCLR) £ Help Is On the Way (REAF) £ Soiree (LGBT Community Center) £ Spark (Transgender Law Center) £ Spring Fling (Openhouse) ✎

Best Health-Related Nonprofit

£ Asian Pacific Islander Wellness Center £ Breast Cancer Emergency Fund £ Lyon-Martin Health Services £ Project Open Hand £ Shanti ✎

Best HIV/AIDS Nonprofit

£ AIDS Emergency Fund £ AIDS Healthcare Foundation £ AIDS Housing Alliance/SF £ AIDS Legal Referral Panel £ Project Inform £ San Francisco AIDS Foundation ✎

Best LGBT Nonprofit

£ Billy DeFrank LGBT Center (San Jose) £ Lavender Youth Recreation and Information Center (LYRIC) £ National Center for Lesbian Rights £ Openhouse £ Our Family Coalition £ Pacific Center (Berkeley) ✎

Best LGBT Sports League £ Golden Gate Wrestling Club £ SF Fog Rugby Club £ SF FrontRunners £ SF Gay Basketball Association £ SF Gay Softball League £ SF Pool Association £ SF Tsunami Swim Club ✎

Nightlife BARS Best Bar/Nightclub to Meet Men £ The Café £ 440 Castro £ Hole in the Wall £ Lone Star Saloon £ SF Eagle £ Powerhouse ✎

Best Bar/Nightclub to Meet Transgender People £ Asia SF £ Aunt Charlie’s Lounge £ Divas £ Oasis ✎

Best Bar/Nightclub to Meet Women £ Qbar £ Rickshaw Stop £ Virgil’s Sea Room £ Wild Side West £ Club BnB, Oakland £ The Uptown, Oakland ✎

Best Beer Selection £ 440 Castro £ Pilsner Inn £ Toronado £ SF Eagle ✎

Best Cabaret Venue £ Martuni’s £ Feinstein’s at the Nikko £ Hotel Rex £ Oasis £ The Starlight Room ✎

Best Castro Bar/Nightclub £ 440 Castro £ Badlands £ Beaux £ The Cafe £ The Edge £ Last Call £ Lookout £ Midnight Sun £ Qbar £ Toad Hall ✎

Best Dance Floor £ 1015 Folsom £ Beatbox £ The Cafe £ City Nights £ DNA Lounge £ EndUp £ Oasis ✎

Best East Bay Bar £ Club BnB £ Club 21 £ Turf Club £ White Horse Bar ✎

Best Neighborhood Bar £ El Rio £ Twin Peaks £ Pilsner Inn £ Virgil’s Sea Room £ Wild Side West ✎

Best Sports Bar £ 440 Castro £ The Edge £ Lookout £ Hi Tops £ Pilsner Inn ✎

Best SoMa Bar/Nightclub £ Beatbox £ Club OMG £ Hole in the Wall £ Lone Star Saloon £ Oasis £ Powerhouse £ SF Eagle £ The Stud ✎

Best Stray (Straight/Gay) Bar £ Blackbird £ EndUp £ The Uptown, Oakland £ Wild Side West ✎

Best Wine Bar £ Blush £ City Club £ Press Club £ Swirl ✎

NIGHTLIFE EVENTS Best Drag Show

£ Dream Queens Revue at Aunt Charlie’s Lounge £ Glamazone at The Café £ Mahogany Mondays at Midnight Sun £ Meow Mix at The Stud £ The Monster Show at The Edge £ Mother at Oasis £ Sex, Drags & Rock n Roll at Midnight Sun £ Some Thing at The Stud £ Sunday’s a Drag at The Starlight Room ✎

Best Comedy Night

£ Comedy Night at the SF Eagle £ Comedy Returns at El Rio £ Funny Fun at Club 21, Oakland £ Funny Tuesdays at Harvey’s £ Hella Gay Comedy at various venues £ Shit Talk at Oasis ✎

Best (non-contest) Leather Event at a Bar £ BLUF at SF Eagle £ Code at The Edge £ Daddy at The Powerhouse £ Lick It at the Powerhouse ✎

Best Monthly Nightlife Event

£ Beatpig at The Powerhouse £ Boy Division at Codeword £ Comedy Returns at El Rio £ Gameboi at Rickshaw Stop £ Go Bang! at The Stud £ Hardbox at The Powerhouse £ Polyglamorous at Oasis ✎

Best Nightlife Event (non-weekly/non-monthly) £ Bearracuda (various venues) £ Cockblock at Rickshaw Stop £ Comfort & Joy (various venues) £ Gameboi at Rickshaw Stop £ Hard French at El Rio £ ShangriLa at The EndUp ✎

Best Stage Show in a Bar/ Nightclub £ Absolutely Fabulous at Oasis £ Baloney at Oasis £ Man Francisco at Oasis £ Matthew Martin at Oasis £ Red Hots Burlesque at Beatbox £ Star Trek Live at Oasis ✎

Best Theme Night

£ Cubcake at The Lone Star Saloon £ Gym Class at Hi Tops £ Hardbox at Powerhouse £ Mazel Top at Oasis £ Onesie Parties at Lookout £ Pound Puppy at the SF Eagle ✎

Best Unusual Nightlife Event

£ After Dark at The Exporatorium £ Kink.com parties £ Nightlife at the California Academy of Sciences £ Nightlife at the de Young £ Opening parties at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts ✎

Best Weekly Nightlife Event £ Bulge at Powerhouse £ The Monster Show at The Edge £ Mother at Oasis £ Musical Mondays at The Edge £ Sundance Saloon at Space 550 £ Underwear Night at Club OMG ✎

Best Women’s Event

£ Cockblock at Rickshaw Stop £ Mango at El Rio £ Pussy Party at Beaux £ Ships in the Night at New Parish, Oakland £ Switch at Qbar ✎

Best Game Night

£ Bottoms Up Bingo at Hi Tops £ Gaymers at Brewcade £ Gaymer Night at SF Eagle £ Trivia Night at Harvey’s £ Miss Kitty’s Trivia Night at Wild Side West ✎

See next page >>

PEOPLE Best Bartender

£ Andy Anderson, 440 Castro £ Michael Breshears, Lookout £ Erick Lopez, The Edge £ Michael Tempesta, Midnight Sun £ Steve Dalton, SF Eagle £ Matt Wruble, The Gangway ✎

Best Cabaret Performer (Female) £ Leanne Borghesi £ Connie Champagne £ Sony Holland £ Paula West £ Wesla Whitfield ✎

Best Cabaret Performer (Male) £ Jason Brock £ Brian Kent £ Barry Lloyd £ Russ Lorenson £ Joe Wicht ✎

Best Cabaret Performer (Trans) £ Vanessa Bousay £ Veronica Klaus £ Honey Mahogany £ Katya Smirnoff-Skyy £ Shawna Virago ✎

Best Comic (Female/Trans) £ Marga Gomez £ Lisa Geduldig £ Natasha Muse £ Marilyn Pittman £ Karen Ripley £ Irene Tu £ Gina Yashere ✎

Best Comic (Male) £ Yuri Kagan £ Justin Lucas £ Nick Leonard £ Ronn Vigh £ Sampson McCormick £ Jesus U. Betta Work ✎

Best Drag Queen

£ D’Arcy Drollinger £ Glamamore £ Diego F*cking Gomez £ Heklina £ Honey Mahogany £ Joie de Vivre £ Landa Lakes £ Mutha Chucka £ Peaches Christ £ Matthew Simmons/ Peggy L’Eggs £ L Ron Hubby £ Juanita More £ Donna Persona £ Rahni NothingMore £ Sister Roma £ Phatima Rude £ Donna Sachet £ Bebe Sweetbriar £ Grace Towers £ Uphoria ✎

Best Gogo Gal

£ Lucy Dorado £ Jella Gogo £ Chloe Rainwater ✎

Best Host/MC

£ Peaches Christ £ Heklina £ Lance Holman £ Maria Konner £ Gina LaDivinia £ Honey Mahogany £ Pollo del Mar £ Juanita More! £ Mark Paladini £ Donna Sachet £ Sister Roma £ Grace Towers £ Tweaka Turner ✎

Best Band/Musician £ Double Duchess £ Veronica Klaus £ Maria Konner £ Pepperspray £ Tom Shaw £ Xavier Toscano £ Shawna Virago £ Whoa Nellies £ Joe Wicht ✎

Best DJ (Male)

£ Gehno Sanchez Aviance £ Marke Bieschke £ DAMnation £ Hawthorne £ Jason Kendig £ MC2 £ Guy Ruben £ Bus Station John £ David Harness £ Justime £ Mark O’Brien ✎

Best DJ (Female/Trans) £ Balthazar £ Lady Ryan £ G Star £ Najee Renee £ Page Hodel £ Olga T £ Ms. Jackson £ Siobhan ✎

Best DJ Duo/Group £ Adrian & Mysterious D £ BAAAHS £ Hard French £ Honey Soundsystem £ Go Bang! ✎

Best Drag King

£ Clammy Faye £ Arty Fishal £ Fudgie Frottage £ Leigh Crow £ Nancy French £ Alex U. Inn £ Mason Dixon Jars £ Kegel Kater £ Kit Tapata £ Chester Vanderbox ✎

Best Faux Queen £ Alotta Boutté £ Fauxnique £ Holotta Tymes ✎

Best Gogo Guy

£ Claudio Boser £ Jim Collins £ Josh Colwell £ Connor Hochleutner £ Eric Osborn £ Simon Palczynski £ Andrew Slade £ Michael Tempesta £ Ilie Valeri £ Ty Vincent ✎

Best Coffee Shop £ Blue Bottle £ La Boulange £ Coffee Bar £ Dolores Park Café £ Four Barrel £ Philz £ Peet’s £ Spike’s ✎

Best Late Night Restaurant £ DNA Pizza £ Flour + Water £ Grubstake £ It’s Tops £ Lori’s Diner £ Orphan Andy’s £ Sparky’s £ The View ✎

Best Happy Hour Bites £ Alchemist £ Azucar Lounge £ Bar Crudo £ Dosa £ Farralon £ Hi Tops £ Nopa £ Picaro Tapas ✎

Best Bar Menu £ Bar Tartine £ Bender’s £ Harvey’s £ Hi Tops £ Lookout £ Tempest £ Trick Dog ✎

Best Food Delivery App £ Caviar £ Munchery £ Eat24 £ GrubHub ✎

DRINKS Best Beer

£ Anchor Steam £ Bud Light £ Miller £ Stella Artois £ Sierra Nevada £ Trumer Pils ✎

Best Vodka

DINING Best Breakfast £ Crepevine £ Moulin Rouge £ Orphan Andy’s £ Plow £ Stacks ✎

Best Brunch

£ Breakfast at Tiffany’s £ Dottie’s £ Hazel’s Kitchen £ Kate’s Kitchen £ Squat & Gobble ✎

Best Lunch

£ Basil £ Café Flore £ Farm: Table £ Harvey’s £ Super Duper £ Toast ✎

Best Dinner

£ Cala £ Canela £ Chow £ Delfina £ Firewood Café £ Little Gem £ Marlowe £ Saison ✎

Best Dessert

£ Absolut £ Skyy £ Smirnoff £ Stoli ✎

Best Gin

£ Bombay Sapphire £ Gordon’s £ Tanqueray £ Hendrick’s ✎

Best Whiskey £ Bulleit £ Fireball £ Jim Beam £ Johnny Walker £ Seagram’s ✎

Services & Shopping Best Automaker £ Fiat £ Honda £ Lexus £ Tesla £ Toyota ✎

£ Cream £ La Luna £ Sift £ Sweet Inspirations £ Tartine Bakery £ Tout Sweet ✎

Best Bank

Best Outdoor Patio

Best Barbershop

£ Bar Agricole £ Café Flore £ Catch £ Fable £ Foreign Cinema £ Magic Flute £ Starbelly £ Stable £ Sycamore £ Zazie £ Zeitgeist ✎

£ Bank of America £ SF Federal Credit Union £ Sterling Bank and Trust £ Technology Credit Union £ Wells Fargo ✎ £ Daddy’s Barbershop £ Glama-Rama £ Joe’s Barbershop £ Louie’s Barbershop £ Male Image ✎

Best Bicycle Shop

£ Box Dog Bikes £ Freewheel Bike Shop £ Market Street Bikes £ Mission Bicycle Company £ Valencia Cyclery ✎

Best Bookstore £ Aardvark £ Alley Cat Books £ Books Inc. £ Booksmith £ Dog Eared Books £ Green Apple ✎

Best Dentist

£ Financial District Dental Care £ Opera Plaza Dentistry £ Michael Perona, DDS £ Aaron Rose, DDS ✎

Best Dog Park

£ Bernal Heights Dog Park £ Corona Heights Dog Park £ Duboce Park £ Ocean Beach small dog run (weekly) £ Point Isabel (Richmond) ✎

Best Grocery Store (Chain) £ Molly Stone’s Markets £ Safeway £ Trader Joe’s £ Whole Foods ✎

Best Veterinarian

£ Mission Pet Hospital £ San Francisco Veterinary House Calls £ Seven Hills Veterinary Hospital £ VCA San Francisco Vet Specialists £ VetPronto ✎

Best Vintage Clothing/ Consignment Shop £ Buffalo Exchange £ Crossroads Trading Co. £ Sui Generis £ Wasteland ✎

Best Wireless Carrier £ AT&T £ Sprint £ T-Mobile £ Verizon ✎

Best Place to Worship

£ Congregation Sha’ar Zahav £ Grace Cathedral £ Metropolitan Community Church - SF £ Most Holy Redeemer ✎

Best Medical Marijuana Dispensary £ Apothecarium £ Bernal Heights Collective £ Green Cross £ Green Door £ Shambhala MCC £ Sparc ✎

Best Place to Pamper Your Pets

£ Best in Show £ Bernal Beast £ Doggie Day Spaw £ George £ Noe Valley Pet Company £ Mudpuppy’s Tub and Scrub £ VIP Pet Grooming ✎

Best Pet Hotel

£ High Tail £ Pet Camp £ Mission: Cats £ Wag (Oakland) £ Wag (San Francisco) ✎

Best Realtor

£ Mario Banuelos (Vanguard Properties) £ Travis Bernard (Coldwell Banker) £ Katharine Holland (Coldwell Banker) £ Kevin Koerner (Zephyr Real Estate) £ Kevin Melander (Zephyr Real Estate) £ Patrick Patricelli (Vanguard Properties) £ Terry Murphy (Bennion Deville Homes, Palm Springs) ✎

Best Real Estate Firm

£ Hill & Company £ Paragon Real Estate Group £ Vanguard Properties £ Zephyr Real Estate ✎

Best Retirement Community

£ Fountaingrove Lodge £ San Francisco Towers £ The Sequoias – San Francisco ✎

Best Ride-Hailing Service £ Homobiles £ Lyft £ Uber ✎

Best Thrift Store

£ Community Thrift £ Goodwill £ Out of the Closet (AIDS Healthcare Foundation) ✎

£ Black Sands £ Ocean Beach £ Marshall’s Beach £ Muir Beach £ Stinson Beach ✎

Best Caterer

£ J Jardine £ Molto Benne Catering £ Taste Catering ✎

£ Las Vegas £ New York City £ Palm Springs £ Seattle £ Washington, D.C. ✎

Best Formalwear for Men

£ Bi-Rite Market £ Golden Produce/ Golden Natural Foods £ Good Life Grocery £ Rainbow Grocery ✎

£ Brown & Toland £ CPMC/Sutter Health £ Kaiser £ UCSF ✎

Best Beach

Best Domestic Getaway

Best Grocery Store (Independent)

Best Health Care Provider

Weddings & Destinations

£ Macy’s £ Men’s Wearhouse £ Sui Generis ✎

SEX Best Local Gay Male Porn Actor £ Jesse Colter £ Race Cooper £ Leo Forte £ Dominic Pacifico £ Adam Ramzi £ PJ Shields £ Damien Stone £ Dylan Strokes ✎

Best Dating App £ Dandy £ Grindr £ Growlr £ Hornet £ Jack’d £ Manhunt £ Scruff ✎

Best Sex Venue

£ 442 Natoma £ Blow Buddies £ Eros £ Nob Hill Theatre £ Steamworks, Berkeley £ Watergarden, San Jose ✎

Best Place to Buy Sex Toys

£ Folsom Gulch £ Good Vibrations £ Rock Hard £ Mr S Leather £ Does Your Mother Know ✎

Best Place to Meet an Online Date/Hookup £ Blow Buddies £ SF Eagle £ Beck’s Motor Lodge ✎

Best Formalwear for Women £ Kipper Clothiers £ Macy’s £ Saint Harridan ✎

Best Local Getaway £ Carmel-Monterey £ Healdsburg £ Napa £ Santa Cruz £ Sonoma £ Reno-Tahoe £ Russian River ✎

Best Honeymoon Destination £ Hawaii £ Key West £ Provincetown £ Puerto Vallarta ✎

Best Place to Buy Rings £ D&H Sustainable Jewelers £ Gallery of Jewels £ Love & Luxe £ Shane Co. £ Tiffany & Co. ✎

Best Wedding Photographer

£ Jane Philomen Cleland £ Rick Gerharter £ Gareth Gooch £ Georg Lester £ Steven Underhill ✎

Best Wedding Reception Venue

£ Bentley Reserve £ City Club of San Francisco £ Terra Gallery £ W Hotel ✎

Best Wedding Venue £ Cal Academy of Sciences £ de Young Museum £ Julia Morgan Ballroom £ Legion of Honor £ SF City Hall ✎

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