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Out SFPD commander up for chief’s job in Nebraska
Courtesy SFPD
SFPD Commander Teresa Ewins
by John Ferrannini
T
he highest-ranking out member of the San Francisco Police Department has been nominated as the next chief of police for the Lincoln Police Department in Nebraska, where, if confirmed, she will be the first female and first out LGBTQ chief. Police Commander Teresa Ewins, a lesbian who is a 26-year veteran of SFPD, was the first woman to head the Tenderloin police station, as the Bay Area Reporter noted in a 2015 article when she was named its captain. Ewins, 55, was one of four finalists for the Nebraska position, and was endorsed by the Lincoln Journal Star newspaper and the Lincoln Police Union, according to a June 29 SFPD news release. She was selected as part of a “participatory, community-based interview process,” according to the news release. SFPD Chief William Scott stated that Ewins’ appointment is “bittersweet” for the department. “As much as we will miss Teresa, we couldn’t be happier for our colleague,” Scott stated in the release. “Assuming her nomination is confirmed by the Lincoln City Council, I have every confidence that Lincoln’s residents, visitors, and police department members will be extraordinarily well served by Chief Ewins’ commitment to the principles of 21st century policing and her tireless dedication to those she is sworn to protect and serve.” Ewins was nominated by Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird, according to a report from WOWT-TV, an NBC-affiliate station in Omaha. “Stakeholders in the search process, including street officers, command staff, and community members, agree that she is the right leader for this role,” Baird wrote on Twitter. Ewins currently is the field operations bureau head for the Metro division, overseeing some 900 sworn officers at Central Station, Southern Station, Mission Station, Northern Station, Tenderloin Station, the Alcohol Licensing Unit, the Serial Inebriate Program, Special Events, Transfers/Payroll, SF Main Library security, Homeless Outreach, Police Law Enforcement Services (PLES) and the Entertainment Commission liaison. (There are also Golden Gate and investigation divisions, which with the Metro division comprise SFPD’s Field Operations Bureau.) “A valued member of the San Francisco Police Department’s command staff, Commander Ewins has been instrumental in leading groundbreaking reforms toward bias-free policing, serving as an executive sponsor on bias-related recommendations that emerged from SFPD’s voluntary, comprehensive Collaborative Reform Initiative to fulfill the promise of 21st century policing,” the release states. Before heading up Tenderloin station, See page 4 >>
Vol. 51 • No. 27 • July 8-14, 2021
SF judge recognizes 2004 samesex marriage state court voided by John Ferrannini
A
San Francisco Superior Court judge found that one of the parties to a 2004 marriage between two lesbians that had been declared null and void by the state nonetheless qualifies as a “putative” spouse. The tentative decision in Hernandez v. King, made June 25 by Judge Victor M. Hwang, holds that because Cynthia Hernandez “had a good faith subjective belief that her marriage was valid” from 2004 to 2020, she qualifies as a putative spouse. To be a putative spouse under state law, one part of a couple must have had a good faith belief the marriage was valid. It does not necessarily have to be a reasonable belief, Hwang’s decision states. According to Valerie F. Horn, an attorney for respondent June King, this doctrine is normally used in situations relating to common law marriages (that is, those not solemnized) in which one of the partners has died. “A man is with a woman, and one of them makes a claim for death benefits for the deceased partner,” Horn said, explaining the majority of putative spouse cases. “They lived together, shared property... . A person says, ‘I’m the spouse.’”
Rick Gerharter
Same-sex couples lined up outside San Francisco City Hall in February 2004 waiting to wed. Those marriages were later voided by the California Supreme Court.
The court battle came about after Hernandez filed for a dissolution of marriage in early 2020, which Horn said was with hopes of getting community property and spousal support. The two lived together until 2019. “King filed a request to dismiss, because there was no valid marriage per Lockyer,” Horn said.
In its 2004 decision in the case of Lockyer v. San Francisco, the California Supreme Court ruled that the city lacked the authority to issue the marriage licenses to people of the same sex and ordered the city to notify all those who’d See page 11 >>
Highlands Resort to LGBTQs: 'Keep your pants on' by John Ferrannini
N
ot everyone is happy with the changes that have come to the Highlands Resort in Guerneville – perhaps the most visible of which is the new requirement that the pool area is no longer clothing optional. “So keep your pants on ... it’s going to be a fun new adventure,” part of the resort’s online “About Us” section reads on its website. “(No really, keep your pants on. In an effort to be more inclusive, we are no longer clothing optional.) We are, however, very excited to see your new bathing suits. We can’t wait to see you!” The resort changed hands in June after having been run by Lynette and Ken McLean for 26 years. New co-owner Crista Luedtke, a lesbian who has been a longtime Russian River entrepreneur, told the Bay Area Reporter that the change went into effect June 1 for insurance reasons. Luedtke owns boon eat + drink on Main Street, boon hotel + spa on Armstrong Woods Road, is a partner in El Barrio Bar, also on Main Street, and was a co-founder of Big Bottom Market on Main Street, though she is no longer affiliated with that business. Keeping the resort clothing optional would have “made the insurance policy much more expensive,” Luedtke said. “Several declined to bid as a result.” Luedtke said that the new owners had inquired with “probably four or five” insurance companies. When asked by how much the rates would have gone up, she said that she did not know, but referred the B.A.R. to her business partner, Christian Strobel, a longtime hotelier and the founder of Basecamp Hotels, who she said handled the issue. Strobel stated in an email to the B.A.R. that four companies refused a bid. “Insurance companies initially refused to bid on our project citing the clothing optional element as a reason to insure as it raises the risk of ‘improper sexual conduct and sexual harassment,’ a liability for any business,” Strobel stated. “Not sure I necessarily agree, but I
Courtesy CABeaches
The Highlands Resort in Guerneville has new owners and has rescinded its clothing optional pool policy.
am not an underwriter.” Strobel gave insurance, staffing concerns, and potential guest discomfort as the three major reasons behind the change. “The clothing optional element would have required us to put staff in potentially awkward situations with guests which is something we wanted to avoid in this tough staffing environment where it is hard to recruit and retain staff,” Strobel stated. “We got feedback from a number of guests who felt uncomfortable using the pool given the nudity. Some loved it while others felt excluded by the fact they were uncomfortable being nude with strangers. We believe that by having a clothing policy at the pool it makes our pool more inclusive to all guests and not just those looking to be nude.” Nonetheless, Luedtke said that the pool area will be clothing optional on Lazy Bear weekend (July 26-August 2) this year, “to honor the Lazy Bear tradition.” Dwayne Riley, a 65-year-old gay man from Santa Rosa, said that he and his husband had been staying at the Highlands since before the McLeans had owned it. “They did a good job taking care of it and treating the gay community with respect,” Riley said. Riley said that he participated in a last hurrah the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, just before the resort changed hands. “We didn’t know the degree of the changes, which made it more sad,” Riley said.
Riley characterized the new policy as part of a “whitewashing” of the resort and “a betrayal of me and the gay community.” Luedtke said that another reason for the change is “to create a more inclusive atmosphere.” But inclusivity means different things to different people. Nick Korkos, 33, a gay man from San Francisco, told the B.A.R. that the changes are “disappointing and disheartening.” “I feel our community has so few refuges, and what the Highlands created was a place that was inclusive regardless of who you loved or how old you were or how much money you made,” Korkos said. “This new thing of being clothed to be more inclusive is a way of sanitizing people.” Korkos’ foremost concern, however, was the increase in room rates, which the professional dancer said priced him out of being able to stay at the Highlands. He’d previously been able to rent one of two rooms that was $110 per night; but these are not available for rent anymore, he said. Luedtke said that these rooms are now $159 per night, and confirmed that other changes to the resort include the end of day-use passes at the pool and the end of the ability to bring your own tent to the camping grounds. “Sleep under the stars in our fully outfitted, canvas scout tents,” the website reads. “Make your camping trip fun and easy, just pack a bag, your swimsuit, and show up ... we have the rest covered.” Luedtke said that people can still bring a guest to the pool but the end of the day-use passes was again due to additional insurance liability. “It makes it better for our guests that they have access to the pool,” Luedtke said. “We want to keep it for guests on the property.”
‘Erasing of the gay’
Riley called the cumulative effect of the changes “the erasing of the gay.” “They listed on their website that they are See page 8 >>