July 11, 2013 Edition of the Bay Area Reporter by Bay Area Reporter

Changes at SFPD

Marriage equality goes national

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Pride missteps continue

Vol. 43 • No. 28 • July 11-17, 2013

LGBT seniors struggle with suicide by Matthew S. Bajko

solated from family and largely living alone, LGBT seniors in San Francisco contemplate taking their own life at an

“alarming” rate, a new study has found. It is estimated there are anywhere from 18,000 to 20,000 LGBT seniors living in San Francisco, with the population increasing each year as the median age of the city’s resi-

by James Patterson

he missteps, mistakes, and miscommunications that plagued the San Francisco Pride board of directors in the past three months do not appear to have abated in the days following a successful Pride parade as abrupt decisions have led to further community Rick Gerharter tensions. The latest snafu Pride CEO from the San Fran- Earl Plante cisco LGBT Pride Celebration Committee took place Monday, July 8 when an email to members announced the abrupt cancellation of a regular membership meeting set for Tuesday, July 9. While Pride staff apologized for the short notice, it offered no explanation beyond “finalizing 2013 SF Pride programmatic and financial reports.” In closing, SF Pride informed members the next scheduled meeting would be Tuesday, August 13. Community members have been closely following SF Pride’s actions due to lingering concerns over its handling of the Bradley Manning grand marshal controversy, when the gay Army private was selected and then disinvited from serving as a community grand marshal. (Manning is facing a courtmartial over giving hundreds of thousands of classified documents to WikiLeaks.) Former Pride board member Joey Cain, an increasingly vocal critic of Pride’s governance, immediately fired off an email questioning the meeting cancellation, saying that it was not in keeping with the organization’s bylaws. “What about the nominations for the board of directors that the corporation’s bylaws requires to be opened at the July general planning meeting?” Cain asked in an email to Pride officials, a copy of which he provided to the Bay Area Reporter. According to Pride’s bylaws, the nominations for directors are opened at the July meeting and close at the August meeting. In another email, Cain cited the bylaws and informed Pride that its cancellations of required meetings were “violations” of the governance requirement. “As a member of San Francisco Pride Committee I need to point out to you that the canceling of the membership/general planning meeting for July 9 as well as the canceling/postponing of the membership/ See page 2 >>

Gay senior Hadley Hall, left, and his friend Jerry Brown attended the release of the LGBT Aging Policy Task Force report on LGBT seniors in San Francisco. Hall said that he wasn’t surprised at the report’s findings that 15 percent of those surveyed had “seriously considered” suicide in the last 12 months. Rick Gerharter

dents grows older. A survey of 616 LGBT city residents aged 60 to 92 years old, the results of which were released this week, found that 15 percent had “seriously considered” committing suicide within the last 12 months. While mainstream and LGBT media coverage in recent years has shed a national spotlight on LGBT teen suicides, leading to such efforts as the It Gets Better video project, the study findings show it is an issue many LGBT people grapple with well into adulthood. “I am surprised it isn’t higher,” said Hadley Hall, 80, a gay San Francisco resident. He has had friends commit suicide after they determined to take their own life to end their suffering brought on by failing health. “It was their decision to do it because they couldn’t get the palliative care they needed,” said Hall. Commissioned by the city’s LGBT Aging Policy Task Force, the study also found “relatively high rates of disability” in addition to “poor physical and mental health” among the participants. Previous research has shown that both health issues are associated with increased risk of depression, “which in turn can increase the risk of suicide,” noted the report. See page 12 >>

Supporters rally for City College

by Peter Hernandez

he anger, frustration, and exasperation of City College of San Francisco’s faculty and students were evident Tuesday as they gathered for a large rally in the wake of an oversight panel’s recent decision to strip the school of its accreditation next year. Last week the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges voted to revoke accreditation effective next July because City College hasn’t addressed several recommendations the panel made last year. The commission also stripped authority from the college’s elected board of trustees and now all power rests with a special trustee. The commission’s decisions are a blow to the 85,000-student community college, which has struggled for the last year to stave off having its accreditation revoked, the most severe sanction the ACCJC can impose. Emotions ran high at Tuesday’s rally, held near City College’s downtown campus and attended by several trustees and other supporters, including gay Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francsico). “Hey ACCJC, don’t privatize me,” was shouted by many of the estimated 200 protesters, lambasting the ACCJC’s decisions, which means that City College won’t be eligible for public funds and students won’t be able to receive federal or state financial aid. Students’ diplomas from an unaccredited college would

Jane Philomen Cleland

City College Trustee Rafael Mandelman, now stripped of his power along with the other board members, speaks at a rally Tuesday.

mean little to prospective employers. The ACCJC said the college failed to meet 12 of 14 recommendations made last year, which included drastic adjustments like restructuring department administration, revising the college’s mission statement, and assessing the effectiveness of courses and programs. Financial reorganization was also required, including capital improvement planning and timely reporting of financial information. City College trustees, now without power, openly denounced the new administration,

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while a faculty member shouted expletives through an amplified microphone. A fervor and urgency was evident in the surrounding language and banners. “I’m not here to be angry or sad, I’m here to be empowered,” Trustee Chris Jackson said when the rally culminated off Market Street in front of the federal Department of Education office. After a year of frenetic administrative overhauls, two interim chancellors and a $67 milSee page 3 >>

2 • Bay Area Reporter • July 11-17, 2013

<< Community News

t Health center design updated by Seth Hemmelgarn

he San Francisco AIDS Foundation is moving ahead on its plans to establish a health and wellness center in the Castro neighborhood. Designs have been updated and the city’s Board of Supervisor’s voted unanimously Tuesday, July 9 to support legislation needed to advance the project. Once completed, SFAF will merge its gay men’s health center Magnet; the Stonewall Project, which provides drug counseling programs; and the Stop AIDS Project, which focuses on HIV prevention, into the new location at 474 Castro Street. The agency, which is the largest HIV/AIDS-related nonprofit in the city, has signed a 10-year lease for the building. “We’re very encouraged, and we don’t anticipate there’s going to be any procedural delays, but you have to go through the process,” SFAF CEO Neil Giuliano said in an interview Monday, July 8. The AIDS foundation took possession of the building June 16 and is working with the city in order to get the space open. “We expect the planning commission will do a hearing on the plan sometime later this month, and after that happens, we hope to be able to move forward,” Giuliano said. At its meeting Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors adapted a zoning rule change along Castro Street to allow for SFAF’s proposed health center to move forward. The proposal still has to go to Mayor Ed Lee for his signature. At the meeting, gay District 8 Supervisor Scott Wiener, who represents the Castro, pointed to the continuing AIDS epidemic and federal HIV funding cuts, which city officials are expected to backfill. “This project, given that context, is very exciting, and a welcome opportunity for our community,” Wiener said. Gay District 9 Supervisor David Campos said the proposal is “something that makes a great deal of sense.” Under the old rules, only businesses could operate in Castro storefronts totaling more than 4,000 square feet. With the new gay men’s health center totaling 15,000 square feet, it would not be allowed without the zoning change. Now, a “neighborhood-serving nonprofit” will be able to apply for a conditional use permit in a space exceeding the stated allowable limit. Thus, SFAF can now seek the necessary permits for its new health

courtesy Gensler Architects

The latest plan for the facade of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation’s planned health and wellness center uses what appear to be large wooden doors to convey a welcoming atmosphere.

center from the planning commission, which is expected to vote on the foundation’s plans sometime in August. Giuliano hopes that his agency will be able to start renovation of the facility by late next month or early September. However, he said, “a lot of that is tentative. You never really know until you actually get through the city process.” SFAF hosted a meeting at Magnet Monday night to offer people a chance to see the facade and ask questions about the project.

Fundraising

Another large part of the project, of course, involves money. “We will be conducting a $10 million major fundraising campaign,” Giuliano said. “About half of that will be for renovation of the facility, and about half of that will be for the expansion of the programs we currently have.” He wouldn’t say how much has been raised so far. During a February editorial board meeting with the Bay Area Reporter Giuliano said the foundation needed to raise $7.9 million. “We’re in the silent phase of the campaign,” Giuliano said. He said that the agency wouldn’t report how much has been raised but, “We are very encouraged, and we’ve had a good response thus far.” He confirmed that big donors have stepped up, but he wouldn’t elaborate. The public phase of the campaign is ex-

SF Pride

From page 1

general planning meeting in May are violations of the corporation’s bylaws,” Cain wrote. Article 5, Section 3 of Pride’s Bylaws, provided to the B.A.R. by Cain, states: “Regular meetings shall take place on the dates and times set by annual calendar, recommended by the board and ratified by the membership at its annual meeting.” According to Cain, once meetings are set by membership vote, the board does not have the authority to overrule membership and cancel meetings. The B.A.R., in an email, asked SF Pride CEO Earl Plante to confirm he did not have the authority to cancel a scheduled meeting without being in violation of Pride’s governing rules. At 2 p.m. July 9, Plante answered, in a way, with a short email: “We are rescheduling [the July] meeting until next Tuesday.” He did not directly

Rick Gerharter

Former longtime Pride counsel Brooke Oliver marched with the Bradley Manning Support Network contingent in the 2013 LGBT Pride parade.

address the bylaws issues. In a subsequent email to members announcing the July 16 meeting, Plante said a statement would

pected to start around early 2014. As for how long it may take to raise the money, Giuliano said it would “hopefully” take only three years, “but we don’t know, it could be two.” SFAF officials have been working with Gensler Architects on the design for the space, formerly home to Superstar Video and a number of medical offices on the second floor. The nonprofit has sought to create an open atmosphere for the center and plans to replace the outdated, bland facade of the current site. The latest iteration calls for what look like large wooden doors that would appear propped open as a symbol of SFAF’s desire that the new health center be inviting to the community. A set of smaller glass doors would serve as the actual entryway into the building. The plans also call for a third floor addition to be built and a new balcony over the entrance to Blush wine bar, which will remain a tenant of the building. Giuliano said the first floor would include program-related offices and reception; the second floor will mainly be a sexual health clinic, where testing will be done; and a counseling center will occupy most of the third floor. The design includes setbacks at the third floor level “to accommodate concerns of shading on the adjacent properties,” Giuliano said.t Matthew S. Bajko contributed to this report.

be forthcoming but none was issued by press time. Another SF Pride member concerned about the organization’s governance is gay attorney David Waggoner. Late July 8, he sent SF Pride and the B.A.R. an email with what he described as “three formal requests.” In his first request, Waggoner cited Article 5, section 3, the same Cain cited, of SF Pride’s Bylaws. “[N]either the board nor the CEO has the authority to cancel a membership meeting,” Waggoner wrote. “Accordingly, I respectfully request that you immediately rescind the invalid cancellation of the July 9 membership meeting and notify all members that the meeting will be held as scheduled,” Waggoner wrote. Waggoner asked SF Pride to provide him “with a copy of SF Pride’s membership list, as of today’s date, as soon as possible for the purpose of communicating with other members about membership meetings See page 5 >>

Community News>>

July 11-17, 2013 • Bay Area Reporter • 3

Trans, gay SF cops make moves by Seth Hemmelgarn

s they make transitions, two out policemen are in different stages of their careers with the San Francisco Police Department, but they share a desire to see people reach out more to the agency. Out transgender Officer Broderick Elton, 35, is taking on a new role in the department, and out gay Lieutenant Pete Thoshinsky, 54, has retired from the force. In another transition at the SFPD, out gay Sergeant Chuck Limbert was promoted to lieutenant in June, as the Bay Area Reporter noted in a blog post. Reached by phone recently, Limbert said, “I love my new job,” but he hasn’t been available to comment further. Limbert has left Mission Station, where he was the longtime LGBT liaison, and now works at Southern Station. Elton, who has patrolled San Francisco’s streets since 2007, has served as the transgender liaison for about a year. As of June 10, he is also assisting out gay police Sergeant Peter Shields in the special investigations division, with a focus on hate crimes against LGBTs and other communities. As with most other incidents, antiLGBT crime numbers are underreported, Elton said. “One of the goals is to reach out to the community to encourage reporting of crimes so we can address them and also try to track any patterns and do our part,” he said. Elton will continue his liaison role, in which he was preceded by out transgender Lieutenant Stephan Thorne, who Elton said is retiring soon. Thorne didn’t respond to an emailed request for comment. Part of what Elton and others are

Rick Gerharter

Out transgender police Officer Broderick Elton is now assisting in the special investigations division.

Recently retired SFPD Lieutenant Peter Thoshinsky, left, marched in the Pride parade with his husband, Mark Hanreich.

doing is reaching out to communities including LGBTs. Trans: Thrive, a transgender community drop-in center, is one of the groups Elton has contacted. “Officer Elton represents the SFPD, but he also represents his transgender sisters and brothers,” Nikki Calma, who’s also known as Tita Aida and is a program supervisor at Asian and Pacific Islander Wellness Center, which oversees Trans: Thrive, said in a statement. “We hope a true partnership between the police department and the community will not only make us safer, but also serve as a model of healthy community relations for the rest of the nation.” There’s been increased attention around violence against transgender women, especially in the Mission neighborhood, in recent months, but some say women are reluctant to report incidents because they’ve had bad

experiences with the police and don’t trust them. Elton hopes to change that perception. “I don’t want to discredit anyone’s experiences,” he said, but he noted that sometimes people who’ve had trouble with cops are referring to situations from several years ago, and there can also be misunderstandings around interactions with police. Elton, who lives in San Francisco and has a salary of around $85,000, indicated he would like to see more people attend the SFPD’s LGBT Community Advisory Forum monthly meetings. People can contact Elton at broderick. elton@sfgov.org or (415) 553-1532.

Rick Gerharter

Newly promoted SFPD Lieutenant Chuck Limbert waves his fairy wand, a gag gift from the Merchants of Upper Market and Castro, during a MUMC mixer that saluted Limbert’s work in the Castro neighborhood.

City College

From page 1

lion reduction in its annual budget, the college is grappling with an unprecedented existential crisis. Supporters are hoping that the 78-yearold college – the largest community college in California – can obtain its accreditation back through a legal appeal or extension. Already, the college plans to appeal, according to interim Chancellor Thelma ScottSkillman. “It’s difficult to see the path forward,” said board President John Rizzo. He noted, however, that City College is a unique institution. The trustees were stripped of their power Monday, July 8 and the board is now superseded by a “super trustee” named Robert Agrella, former superintendent of Santa Rosa Junior College. As super trustee, he can fire the interim chancellor. He also canceled a Board of Trustees meeting scheduled for the day of the rally. “Let’s just say he’s not a San Franciscan,” said openly gay trustee Raphael Mandelman. He added that Agrella is more fiscally conservative than the other trustees, and that they have adopted every recommen-

Jane Philomen Cleland

dation that Agrella has introduced. Mandelman also speculated that the trustees will no longer receive a stipend when they attend meetings because they are no longer having meetings. While faculty has grown irritated with a lack of transparency in management, they are grappling with more pragmatic uncertainties, like pay and job security. “I’m confident that our school will get back on track. We have dedicated, educated professionals trying to keep the school open,” said Ms. Bob Davis, the 65-yearold former dean of liberal arts. She holds the title of City College’s first openly transgender tenured faculty member. Due to the restructuring of administrative roles, she is now a music instructor. “Administration is being done so damn poorly that no one knows what’s going on,” Davis said. Dozens of faculty and administrators have been let go while department chairs’ pay has been reduced. Administrators who took over department chairs’ jobs were named at a recent board meeting without introducing their resumes – once a common protocol.t

Thoshinsky

After more than 30 years with the SFPD, out gay Lieutenant Pete Thoshinsky has retired, as of midnight June 28. Thoshinsky is known as the first out gay man to reach the rank of lieutenant in the department, but he noted that Thorne was promoted to the rank before him.

In Thoshinsky’s last post, he supervised the night watch at SFPD’s Northern Station, which includes the Fillmore, Lower Haight, Hayes Valley, and Pacific Heights areas. Reflecting on how the department’s changed over the years, Thoshinsky said, “This is not your grandfather’s SFPD. This is not the SFPD that walked into the Elephant Walk.” In 1979 police ransacked the Castro neighborhood bar, which is now known as Harvey’s, and attacked patrons. It appears many people don’t realize attitudes in the department have changed. “When crime occurs in the city we get so little help from people,” Thoshinsky said. “It’s almost like people arrive in San Francisco expecting to dislike the police, and come hell or high water, they’re going to dislike the police.” He added, “If you’re LGBT, there’s no reason you should not report crimes to the SFPD.” He said given the level of diversity, with officers from the LGBT and other communities, “It’s nothing like it was, just nothing like what it was.” Lieutenant Una Bailey, president of the San Francisco Police Officer’s Pride Alliance, indicated Thoshinsky, who came out in 2008, had a role in changes at the department. “He is the only person I know who

stood before his officers in a line up and announced his coming out as a gay officer,” Bailey said in an email. “Pete was one of a kind in many ways. He was a mentor to many and led by example.” She noted Thoshinsky published a book of photography, Blue in Black and White. The book, published in 2005, depicts San Francisco police and some of the various situations and people they encounter. Thoshinsky, who’s recently taken photos for the Bay Area Reporter, has started working as a photojournalist. He said being a San Francisco cop has been “thrilling,” but “I want to do other things now.” His salary in his last position with the SFPD was around $148,000. Thoshinsky plans to work on social documentary stories in the Bay Area, “focusing on LGBT issues and criminal justice issues.” There are plenty of areas to tackle. Thoshinsky pointed to the city’s myriad problems, including a lack of jobs, homelessness, and people eating out of trashcans, as well as a lack of resources. “There are just only so many tools in the toolbox, and the toolbox is empty now,” he said. Some of Thoshinsky’s work can be seen at http://www.tmaxphoto.com. He lives in Walnut Creek with his husband, Mark Hanreich, 54.t

4 • Bay Area Reporter • July 11-17, 2013

Volume 43, Number 28 July 11-17, 2013 www.ebar.com PUBLISHER Thomas E. Horn Bob Ross (Founder, 1971 – 2003) NEWS EDITOR Cynthia Laird ARTS EDITOR Roberto Friedman ASSISTANT EDITORS Matthew S. Bajko Seth Hemmelgarn Jim Provenzano CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Dan Aiello • Tavo Amador • Erin Blackwell Roger Brigham • Scott Brogan Victoria A. Brownworth • Philip Campbell Heather Cassell • Chuck Colbert Richard Dodds • David Duran Raymond Flournoy • David Guarino Peter Hernandez • Liz Highleyman Brandon Judell • John F. Karr Matthew Kennedy • David Lamble Michael McDonagh • David-Elijah Nahmod Elliot Owen• Paul Parish • James Patterson Lois Pearlman • Tim Pfaff • Jim Piechota Bob Roehr • Philip Ruth • Donna Sachet Adam Sandel • Jason Serinus • Gregg Shapiro Gwendolyn Smith • Ed Walsh • Sura Wood ART DIRECTION T. Scott King ONLINE PRODUCTION Jay Cribas PHOTOGRAPHERS Danny Buskirk Jane Philomen Cleland Marc Geller Rick Gerharter Lydia Gonzales Rudy K. Lawidjaja Steven Underhill Bill Wilson ILLUSTRATORS & CARTOONISTS Paul Berge Christine Smith GENERAL MANAGER Michael M. Yamashita ADVERTISING/ADMINISTRATION Colleen Small ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Scott Wazlowski 415.861.5019 NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE Rivendell Media – 212.242.6863

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<< Open Forum

t Accountability needed for SF Pride

e thought we’d written the last word on the San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration Committee’s recent series of mismanaged crises when we issued our “report card” a couple of weeks ago. But we were wrong. In fact, we are gravely concerned about the continued lack of transparency and accountability exhibited by the board and executive staff of SF Pride. We were thrilled this week to hear from Supervisor David Campos that he and Supervisor Scott Wiener intend to hold a hearing on SF Pride so the board and community could hear from officials themselves. It seems that Campos’s involvement is the only way we can get some answers. (It was Campos, after all, who told Pride officials that they needed to hold a community forum on the Bradley Manning fiasco before the June 30 parade and, in fact, Pride officials did hold such a meeting in late May.) Campos couldn’t say exactly when the hearing will be held, but he and Wiener confirmed to us that it will happen. This time, the issue isn’t about Manning, but about moving forward and the sustainability of the event, as well as making the board more accountable to the community. Campos told us this week that he wants to check in with Pride to see how the organization is doing, and to review the safety issues and the shooting that marred this year’s festival. He and Wiener also want to ask Pride leaders how they’re doing implementing the recommendations of a three-year-old report from the controller’s office that cited a need for Pride to tighten fiscal controls, rebuild senior management, and institute board training. (Pride has, since then, hired a new leader and this year finally repaid all its debt.) That is all welcome news to us, and should

be to the community, too. After all, Pride receives city funding to help put on the parade and festival, and its success directly impacts local hotels, restaurants, bars, and other businesses. Meanwhile, the mysteries continue at Pride’s offices. On Monday, July 8 Pride members received an email informing them that a membership meeting set for July 9 had been canceled. The notice contained no information on rescheduling the meeting, and it appears that Pride officials aren’t even following their own bylaws, which state that “regular meetings shall take place on the dates and

times set by annual calendar, recommended by the board, and ratified by the membership at its annual meeting.” The July 9 date was so ratified by a vote of the membership. It may seem like a small detail, but one of the agenda items for the meeting is the nomination for directors, which will open in July and close at the August meeting. On Tuesday, we received word that the meeting is rescheduled for July 16. But the bylaws issue remains. There’s a problem if an organization can’t even follow its own policies. If Pride staff had announced the rescheduling at the same time as the cancellation that would be one thing, but this wait-a-day approach just shows that when it comes to public relations, Pride is its own worst enemy.t

Marital planning post Perry, Windsor by Charles Spiegel

he Supreme Court’s marriage equality decision in Hollingsworth v. Perry means that same-gender couples in California can choose to marry, or not. The knowledge that marriage equality for same-gender couples in California is here to stay means that we finally have time to decide whether to marry, without losing a perhaps fleeting “chance.” The companion United States v. Windsor decision provides very tangible federal benefits to same-gender married couples (but importantly not domestic partners), and as such, powerful new incentive to get married. It means that we now know for the first time that our marriages are and will be fully enforceable in California and for all federal purposes. The U.S. Supreme Court settled all that two weeks ago. We as a community and as individuals feel rightfully proud of what we achieved in making our case that the gender of the two people in adult committed couples is irrelevant for access to the rights and responsibilities accorded married couples. Stopping governmental discrimination against, and providing equal rights and responsibilities to, same-gender couples in our lifetimes is a crucial ongoing fight we all won, when we each come out and when we help fund the fight. In order to make that decision to marry, register as a domestic partner, or not, and how, I encourage couples to learn more about what California marriage rights and responsibilities are. Marriage licenses are unusual in that they are one of the few, if any, state licenses you can get without studying or passing a test. And there is no booklet that lists what those rights and responsibilities are. If we approached driving the same way, what would the rate of state driver license suspensions be? So what is there for a couple of fellas or gals to do? It’s easy to think of the question as deciding whether to write a prenuptial agreement but that is the wrong question. A prenuptial agreement is not the goal, instead the learning and pre-planning is. Marriages end in two ways – death or divorce – and premarital planning helps for both – as well as planning on the practicalities of living together. Non-divorce options controlled by your prenuptial agreement can address questions such as: While married, will you each have any separate money, and if so how and how much? At death,

how much of your estate do you want your own will to control, versus having it belong to your spouse and his/her will? Here are a few ways to find out about California marital rights and responsibilities: Visit the websites of the legal groups who fought so hard for these victories – http://www. lambdalegal.org, http://www.nclrights.org, the American Civil Liberties Union, and others. There are excellent evolving fact sheets on the sites, particularly on national issues such as federal benefits, as well as California issues. While there, make a donation to fund the important work still needed – more than half the country lives in states where marriage is not available for same-gender couples. And not all states will respect our legal California marriages as if made by a heterosexual couple. To paraphrase the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we can see but are not yet in any “promised land.” Nolo Press, the Bay Area-based legal education publisher, has great national and California resources at http://www.nolo.com. Fred Hertz and Emily Doskow have a particularly good book, Making It Legal, with some diagnostic tools to help you sort out the pluses, minuses and “appropriateness” of marriage in diverse situations, as well as general ways to approach these choices. Attorney-mediators Dylan Miles, Heba Nimr, and I are presenting Marrying and Registering with Heart and Smarts, a low-cost workshop at the LGBT Community Center on Thursday, July 25 from 6 to 8 pm. Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom is co-sponsoring and has information on its website, http://www.balif.org/ events. To best consider your specific situation, you may want to consult a family law professional. There are over 50 of us lawyers listed as practicing family law on the BALIF online directory (in an “Advanced Search”) even before you sort for geography. See http://www.balif.org/directory. With a few exceptions around rights and responsibilities to children and taxes, after doing this research and consulting a legal professional, any marrying couple can change rights and responsibilities to one another – most easily if done before marriage or registration in a premarital agreement. If you don’t learn the law and don’t write your own premarital agreement, then the agreement you live under is the one that the state of California provides for all couples. This family

code was written and decided by judges largely for straight couples – who, as just one example, might have children by accident, something few, if any, same-gender couples face. Why do so few couples do this investigation and planning? Is there a way to think of it other than planning for divorce? As previously noted, it is also planning on how you want to live together and what you want to happen at your death. Paradoxically, premarital planning actually can help couples decrease the chance of divorce by having these often-difficult conversations in advance. Those who have thought about their rights and responsibilities, and perhaps taken the additional step of writing their own agreements to govern such issues as separate and community property, allocation of income or debt, or alimony, may be less likely to split, and can invariably divorce more simply and with less surprise, if not less anger. Statistics are strange things – people play the lottery for the momentary feeling they might be the one person in three million who wins. Yet although 1 in 2 marriages end in divorce rather than death, each couple thinks their marriage will not end by divorce. Is it too painful to consider your divorce possibility – and own it by thinking a little about your own what-ifs? In mediation, the two biggest surprises of divorcing California same-gender couples are the spouse’s interest in the other’s earned retirement accounts (community property); and spousal support (alimony) payable after the relationship ends. Among the biggest surprises for gay and straight couples alike is that “fault” has almost no meaning for California divorce. (i.e., yes she can cheat on you, and get alimony after your marriage or domestic partnership ends. The amazing developments of the last two weeks do not mean that all same-gender couples should get married, because we are fighting for the right to equally determine whether or not to marry. For some it will be right, for others not. For those LGBT couples who do marry, maybe we as a community can redefine marriage in another way – entering into marriages or state registered domestic partnerships with clearer knowledge, expectations and perhaps written legal agreements – so that our relationships, whether married or not, and our divorces, can be “better.”t Charles Spiegel is an attorney mediator working with gay and straight couples from his Noe Valley office. For more information, visit http://www.charlesspiegellaw. com.

Community News>>

July 11-17, 2013 • Bay Area Reporter • 5

Lazy Bear looking for volunteers

compiled by Cynthia Laird

azy Bear Weekend, a summertime favorite for hirsute gay men and their admirers for the last 17 years, is coming up at the end of July and organizers are looking “for a few good bears” who want to volunteer to help out with all the pool parties, coffee socials, wine tastings, and much more. Produced by Harry Lit and CastroBear Presents, Lazy Bear Weekend is just what it sounds like, a time for attendees to kick back and relax in Guerneville along the Russian River. This year, the weekend actually starts Wednesday, July 31 and concludes Monday, August 5. Nighttime entertainment headliners are Sharon McKnight (August 2) and Coco Peru (August 3). But a quick glance at the schedule indicates there is a lot going on at the various gay resorts, bars, and restaurants. Bear tags, available for $150, entitle the holder to free admission at most events, or a nominal charge at others. Proceeds from the tags go to support local nonprofits through the affiliated Lazy Bear Fund. For more information on Lazy Bear, visit www. lazybearweekend.com. Interested volunteers can sign up by going to the website and clicking on the “Volunteer” button.

Castro Valley Pride Sat.

LGBTs and their friends will celebrate Pride in Castro Valley Saturday, July 13 from noon to 5 p.m. at Castro Valley High School, 19400 Santa Maria Avenue (near Redwood Road) in the East Bay town. The third annual Pride festival is billed as a family-friendly event that will include live music, food, speakers, vendors, and more. One of the featured performers will be Steven Espaniola, who’s expected to take the stage at 4 p.m. The goal of organizers, besides having fun, is to help make Castro Valley a place for everyone to feel comfortable being themselves without being judged, noted organizer Billy Bradford. There is no cost to attend Pride, but donations are welcome. People interested in volunteering should email castrovalleypride@gmail. com. For more information, check out the group’s Facebook page, “Castro Valley Pride 2013.”

Documentary on Berkeley domestic partnership law

With the focus of many California same-sex couples on marriage now that it is legal again, some people might not realize that before marriage equality became a rallying cry, domestic partnership policies were one way that some local jurisdictions recognized gay and lesbian couples. Longtime East Bay resident Jim Chambers has made a film about how domestic partnerships became a reality in Berkeley back in 1984, when the city became the first ever to extend some of the rights and benefits of marriage to same-sex

SF Pride

From page 2

and SF Pride business.” Though Waggoner cited SF Pride bylaws and sections of the California Corporations Code as allowing him access to membership information, Plante said that Pride has privacy concerns and its attorney is

Rick Gerharter

Blade Bannon, left, and B. Hunter practiced their flagging routines poolside at the West Sonoma Inn at last year’s Lazy Bear Weekend.

couples. Chambers’s film, Citizen Change, was screened at last year’s Frameline festival. In light of the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that upheld a lower court ruling that California’s same-sex marriage ban is unconstitutional, he will be showing his film Monday, July 15 at 7 p.m. at the New Parkway Theater, 474 24th Street in Oakland. The film is about how a small group of dedicated activists changed the world by beginning to change everyone’s concepts of marriage and the rights of marriage. Chambers will be on hand for a Q&A following the film. The event is co-sponsored by the Alameda County Paul Robeson chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and the Berkeley-Richmond chapter of the ACLU. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased in advance at: http://citizenchange.brownpapertickets.com/. No one will be turned away because of inability to pay.

Suicide prevention training for LGBT adults

Officials from San Francisco Suicide Prevention will be holding a training workshop specifically for members of the LGBT community Tuesday, July 16 from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at a location in the city. The idea for the training came from Joe Palacios, the LGBT program coordinator for San Francisco Suicide Prevention, when he attended a recent town hall on the topic. The workshop will focus on the topics of suicide prevention, crisis intervention, how to recognize harmful behavior, how to be sensitive to someone who is in crisis, and LGBTQ-appropriate resources and referrals. Attendees will also learn about the myths and facts about the prevalence of suicidal ideation and depression in the community using current statistics and research, and learn to understand more about the nature of mental health and depression. People interested in attending should email Palacios at joep@ sfsuicide.org. Because the address is confidential, it will be given out only to those who RSVP.

looking into the request. Finally, Waggoner requested “to inspect the accounting books, records, and minutes of proceedings of the members, the board and committees of the board, pursuant to California Corporations Code section 6333, for all SF Pride business in the year 2013.”

Groups urge calls to Brown for trans bill signing

California LGBT organizations are urging community members to contact Governor Jerry Brown’s office to ask him to sign AB 1266, the School Success and Opportunity Act, which was sent to him last week after passing out of the Legislature. The bill, authored by gay Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco), would strengthen the state’s existing non-discrimination laws and ensure that transgender students have the opportunity to succeed in school, and will allow transgender students to fully participate in all school activities, sports teams, programs, and facilities in accordance with their gender identity. AB 1266 was co-authored by out lawmakers state Senators Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) and Ricardo Lara (D-Long Beach) and Assemblywoman Toni Atkins (DSan Diego). The bill is backed by a coalition of leading organizations, including Transgender Law Center, Gay-Straight Alliance Network, Gender Spectrum, Equality California, American Civil Liberties Union of California, National Center for Lesbian Rights, statewide teacher and parent organizations, and dozens of other organizations. Email blasts from NCLR and EQCA were sent to supporters this week, asking them to contact Brown’s office. According to the letters, anti-gay groups are engaged in a lobbying effort of their own. “Opponents of LGBT equality are spreading messages of fear, making these young people the scapegoat for their outdated prejudices, and ignoring the successes of similar school policies throughout the state and nation,” Kate Kendell, NCLR executive director, wrote in her letter. To contact the governor, people can tweet @jerrybrowngov using the #AB1266 hashtag. Or they can call 916-445-2841, pressing 6 to speak with someone in the governor’s office. People can also email Brown using the contact page at his website, http://govnews. ca.gov/gov39mail/mail.php. In the “choose your subject area” dropdown menu, select AB 1266. The governor has until July 15 to sign the bill, so advocates urged people to act quickly.t

Attorney quits

In another dramatic development, also reportedly related to SF Pride’s Manning controversy, the B.A.R. learned that longtime Pride attorney Brooke Oliver has resigned. Cain attributed Oliver’s resignation to Pride’s handling of the Manning matter. Oliver herself has been out of See page 12 >>

<< Commentary

6 â&#x20AC;˘ Bay Area Reporter â&#x20AC;˘ July 11-17, 2013

The toilet tide turns by Gwendolyn Ann Smith

For some time, I have found myself writing about the so-called bathroom meme, this fallacious argument that sexual predators will use transgender rights bills as cover to assault women and girls in public restrooms. It is a notion that would be laughable if it were not so insulting. Someone intending to molest children or rape women is not going to need transgender protections to gain access to possible victims, and would certainly be no more allowed to victimize people if transgender people do have the right to use a bathroom or changing stall of their preferred gender. As if someone who intends to rape a person is worried about staying within the letter of any law. Indeed, this argument is simply the â&#x20AC;&#x153;gays recruitâ&#x20AC;? of this modern era. So it is with much joy that Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve started to see the tide turn on the bathroom meme. In Fountain, Colorado, a 6-yearold transgender student, Coy

Mathis, was prevented from using the girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; restroom at Eagleside Elementary School. The school had originally accepted Mathis, agreeing with her parentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s insistence that she identified and should be treated as a girl. A few months into her first grade year, however, the school changed its mind, barring her from the girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; restroom and restricting her to staff restrooms or the gender-neutral facilities in the schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s health office. Coyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s parents responded by lodging a complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Division. In 2008, Colorado added transgender people to the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s antidiscrimination policies. The Colorado Civil Rights Division agreed with Coyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s family, and ruled that she was discriminated against. It concluded that the school opened Coy up to harassment, stating, â&#x20AC;&#x153;that she must disregard her identity while performing one of the most essential human functions constitutes severe and pervasive treatment, and creates an environment that is objectively and

subjectively hostile, intimidating or offensive.â&#x20AC;? In rejecting the argument of Fountain-Fort Carson School District 8, the Colorado Civil Rights Division also rejected the birth certificate as the most important piece of evidence of Coyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gender, pointing out that more recent documents listed her as female. Further, it said that not even physical anatomy â&#x20AC;&#x201C; another common touchstone â&#x20AC;&#x201C; is not enough to make a determination as to who should use what restroom. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Compartmentalizing a child as a boy or a girl solely based on their visible anatomy,â&#x20AC;? wrote division director Steven Chavez, â&#x20AC;&#x153;is a simplistic approach to a difficult and complex issue.â&#x20AC;? Hooray. This is a huge decision. Now Coy, and many others just like her, will be treated under the law as any other young girl, never knowing the sort of discrimination and prejudice of her forebears. I think that the Coy Mathis case is a turning point. No sooner did that decision come out that word came out of Sacramento about Assembly Bill 1226. Recently passed by state lawmakers, AB 1226, authored by gay Assemblyman Tom Ammiano

Christine Smith

Without the usual bathroom meme, opponents of AB 1226 were left with even more ridiculous arguments against equal treatment for transgender students. State Senator Steve Knight (R-Antelope Valley) had the opinion that poorly-performing male athletes would instead opt to compete against female athletes. Perhaps Knight, the son of the late anti-gay lawmaker Pete Knight, has watched ill-conceived comedies like Juwanna Mann one too many times. The bill is currently on Governor Jerry Brownâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s desk. It is my hope that he will do the right thing and sign it. A recent study from the Williams Institute at UCLA Law that focused on gender non-conforming/genderqueer individuals in the Washington, D.C. area found that roughly 70 percent of the 93 people surveyed had negative experiences around restrooms. Washington, D.C. has some of the strongest language protecting transgender people from discrimination in public accommodations. Sixty-eight percent reported verbal harassment, threats, and even incidents of the police being called to remove them from the facilities, while 9 percent reported being assaulted or attacked. Again, this is in a place that has transgender-positive public accommodations. Imagine what the statistics might be in a far less safe area? Imagine for a moment that every time you felt the need to use a restroom in a public place, you had to gauge the potential risks. Imagine playing the â&#x20AC;&#x153;what if â&#x20AC;? game, worrying if another patron or even an employee or owner of an establishment was going to question your right to be there. Much like Coy Mathis, imagine being a child told by members of the school faculty that you could not use the restroom you had already been using for months. Imagine what that may have been like, having to use the bathroom in the schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s health office rather than the same restrooms as all your peers? This is why the old bathroom meme fails: it is really easy to paint images of unknown bogeymen lurking in the shadows, and sow the seeds of fear and distrust, but when it becomes a truly human picture, things change. When you can look at a cute tow-headed girl from ColoLouiseLouise McCallion, Executive Director McCallion, Louise McCallion, Executive Director rado â&#x20AC;&#x201C; or any other transgender perExecutive Director Executive Director As Executive Director of Reflections, I amLouise McCallion, As Executive Director of Reflections, I am son â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and tell them that they should passionate about my responsibility to ensure face ostracism, harassment, even aspassionate about my responsibility to ensure Executive Director of Reflections, I am best-in-class at our facility and toAscreate As service Executive Director of Reflections, I am best-in-class service at our facility and to create sault because of who they are, then passionate about my responsibility to ensure the highest quality experience conducive to the highest quality experience conducive to passionate aboutbest-in-class my responsibility to it is something real. service at our facility and to create recovery. The team at Reflections will help your recovery. The team at Reflections will help your ensure service at our facility the highest quality experience conducive to clients finally conquerbest-in-class this battle. One of the biggest needs for clients finally conquer this battle. Louise McCallion, Director recovery. The team at Reflections will help your Executive and to create the highest quality experitransgender people is the right to Contact me directly if you have any questions: Contactthis me battle. directly if you have any questions: clients finally conquer ence conducive to recovery. The team at safe, clean public accommodations. (415) 706-8906 (415) 706-8906 As Executive Director of Reflections, amportrait our detractors louise@livingatreflections.com Reflections will help clients finally Far from Ithe louise@livingatreflections.com Contactyour me directly if you have any questions: (800) 611-7316 passionate about my responsibility to ensure 611-7316 conquer this battle. me directly would paint, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not out to cheat, (415) Contact 706-8906 (800) louise@livingatreflections.com if you have any questions: aloneand assault others. We just need best-in-class service at our let facility to create (800) 611-7316 the highest quality experience a place where to we can use the faciliconducive ties without fear.t (415) 706-8906 recovery. The team at Reflections will help your louise@livingatreflections.comclients finally conquer this battle. (D-San Francisco), requires all of Californiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s K-12 schools to let transgender students choose their preferred restrooms and school sports teams. Longtime transgender advocate state Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), who is gay, co-authored the bill. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We know that these particular students suffer much abuse and bullying and denigration,â&#x20AC;? said Leno. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t change that overnight, but what we can do is make sure that the rules are such that they get a fair shake.â&#x20AC;?

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Politics >>

July 11-17, 2013 • Bay Area Reporter • 7

SF, Oakland add back LGBT youth funding by Matthew S. Bajko

s part of the 2013-2014 fiscal year budget negotiations, officials in San Francisco and Oakland awarded additional funding for LGBT youth programs that had been facing cuts to their budgets. Among the items winning support from the San Francisco Board of Supervisors’ budget committee was $154,627 for the LGBT Community Center’s queer youth programs, such as meals and its dropin youth space, and $175,000 for the drop-in program at the Castrobased Lavender Youth Recreation and Information Center. LYRIC also was given an additional $75,000 so it could continue its school-based initiative aimed at fostering LGBT acceptance at the high school level. The funding was on top of the $75,000 Mayor Ed Lee had allocated for the program’s work with middle school students. As the Bay Area Reporter noted this spring, LYRIC was passed over for a $250,000 grant from the city’s Department of Children, Youth and their Families to help cover the expansion of its school-based work on LGBT issues during the 20132014 school year. In response, the agency had lobbied the mayor and the board to award it $150,000 to maintain the program at its current level. Since it launched the curriculum in 2011, LYRIC has taught the weekly course once a week at public middle and high schools. This past school year it was at Balboa High School and Everett Middle School. It has also taught the course at Buena Vista/Horace Mann, a K-8 school, and Mission High School. LYRIC plans to teach the initiative at three schools in the fall during the 2013-2014 school year: Everett, Buena Vista, and Balboa. “LYRIC is appreciative of the many supervisors who see the importance of prioritizing supports for LGBTQQ youth – investing in creating safe schools where LGBTQQ students can thrive and investing in greater access and engagement programming and housing for transition age LGBTQQ youth,” LYRIC Executive Director Jodi Schwartz told the B.A.R. Gay District 8 Supervisor Scott Wiener and Board President David Chiu, who represents District 3, worked together to secure the additional funding during the budget committee’s negotiations. Gay District 9 Supervisor David Campos had called on the board to add back the funds for LYRIC’s school program during a press conference at City Hall in early June. The budget panel also awarded money to expand the number of housing units at a Castro singleoccupancy-room hotel set aside for queer youth. The full board will first vote on the budget Tuesday, July 16, and is expected to finalize it Tuesday, July 23. “Typically, the budget that comes out of committee stands at the board,” said Wiener.

Oakland funding fight remains unresolved

While the money for the San Francisco agencies is close to being finalized, questions remain over what sort of funding will be allocated to Oakland nonprofits for their LGBT programs.

Rick Gerharter

LYRIC Executive Director Jodi Schwartz

As the Political Notebook reported in May, out of $10.5 million overseen by the Oakland Fund for Children and Youth, only $48,187 went to an LGBT-specific program: the Building Strong Children in LGBTQ Families initiative by Our Family Coalition, an LGBT-family focused nonprofit. Not making the cut in OFCY’s selection process were Youth UpRising, which had sought $146,500 for its Queers and Allies Initiative, and the AIDS Project of the East Bay, which applied for $150,000 to fund its Save Our LGBTIYouth. The agency subcontracts with the Sexual Minority of Alameda Alliance Youth Center to train up to 200 LGBT youth in various life skills. The funding fight has been particularly contentious this year, with accusations that homophobia and personal vendettas were behind the grant decisions. OFCY officials insisted the process was based on an oversight committee’s deliberations and the agency’s evaluation process for proposals. In mid-June City Council President Pro Tem Rebecca Kaplan, an out lesbian elected to the at-large seat, worked with her colleagues to direct OFCY to allocate an additional $1.36 million specifically for programs that serve LGBTQ youth. According to Kaplan’s office, the city agency and its Planning and Oversight Committee was instructed to determine how much money to award to the individual programs. The city council would then sign off on the spending plan. “It is up to the committee to decide how to spend the funding,” Kaplan spokesman Jason Overman told the B.A.R. late last month. “We urged them to come back as quickly as possible with their recommendation.” As July 1 marked the start of the new fiscal year, the SMAAC program had to end, marking a “huge cut” to LGBT youth programs in Oakland, said Kevin Bynes, director of the AIDS Project of the East Bay’s health promotion department. “We are going to continue to serve LGBT youth through the programs we have to the best of our ability,” said Bynes. LGBT advocates contend that despite instructions from Oakland City Council members that the set-aside is meant for LGBT youth programs, it is unclear how the city agency overseeing the money will use it. Bynes told the B.A.R. that his expectation had been that OFCY would use the $1.36 million to immediately fund both of the LGBT

programs that had not been initially picked for funding. But he said that was not the message OFCY staff told the Planning and Oversight Committee, made up of representatives appointed by the council members. “They said we now have these dollars and will decide what to do with them when we meet in August and should have an RFP ready to go out by January,” said Bynes, referring to a request for proposals. “It completely changed what the city council had intended.” They sent the council members an email voicing concerns about the allocation process after OFCY’s Planning and Oversight Committee met in June. “It is clear to our collaborative from attending the POC meeting the following evening on June 19th that OFCY staff is not prepared to implement your guidance in a timely fashion and have in the meeting cited that they need even more clearer guidance,” stated the email, signed by Tiffany Lacsado, a former employee of SMAAC and the AIDS agency who is a queer mom and has been advocating for more funding for LGBT youth services in Oakland. OFCY manager Sandra Taylor told the B.A.R. last week that the agency’s Planning and Oversight Committee could not take up the funding at its June meeting because it had not been listed on the agenda; doing so would have violated state laws governing public meetings. She said the panel was expected “to act on the City Council’s motion” when it met the evening of Wednesday, July 10 after the B.A.R.’s See page 12 >>

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<< Same-Sex Marriage

8 • Bay Area Reporter • July 11-17, 2013

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Work remains on U.S. marriage equality efforts by Seth Hemmelgarn

espite the U.S. Supreme Court striking down California’s Proposition 8 same-sex marriage ban and a key section of the federal, anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act, much work remains nationally to ensure marriage equality. There are still 37 states where same-sex couples can’t legally wed. Among other problems, that means many couples may still miss out on family medical leave, Social Security survivor benefits, and other benefits. But the tide is turning, some advocates said. “I think there’s a dramatically changed landscape, and as we look at the next wave of states, I also think we’re going to see an increase in support for marriage equality throughout the country,” Geoff Kors, senior legislative and policy strategist for the National Center for Lesbian Rights, told the Bay Area Reporter. “Based on

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the momentum coming out of these two historic decisions, the landscape is going to be changing very rapidly.” NCLR has been involved in the same-sex marriage movement for years, and both Kors, when he was executive director of the LGBT lobbying group Equality California, and NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell served on the No on Proposition 8 executive committee. That group worked unsuccessfully to defeat the anti-gay measure, which California voters passed in 2008. Last month’s Supreme Court decision upheld a lower court ruling that Prop 8 is unconstitutional. After another federal court lifted a stay on that decision, same-sex marriages resumed last month in the Golden State. Kors now is helping NCLR on “working with various state groups on a variety of issues,” with much of the focus on marriage, domestic partnerships, and non-discrimination. He also serves on the board of directors of Freedom to Marry Action, an affiliate of the national Freedom to Marry organization. Many see the repeal of the remainder of DOMA as crucial. In a statement Tuesday, July 9 announcing Freedom to Marry’s next phase in its national strategy through 2016, Evan Wolfson, the group’s president, said, “The key to winning is, as it has always been, that when we get to the Supreme Court with the next marriage cases, we go with more states and more support creating the climate for the justices then to do the right thing.” Kors pointed to three states that he thinks will progress on marriage equality “very soon:” Illinois, New Jersey, and Hawaii.

Illinois

By this fall, the Illinois House is expected to vote on a marriage bill that already passed the Senate. Governor Pat Quinn supports the proposal. “There’s a real possibility of passing marriage equality in Illinois this year,” Kors said. On its website, Equality Illinois explains a key decision the Supreme Court announced June 26 and how it may still allow states to discriminate against same-sex couples. “Even though Section 3 of DOMA was found to be unconstitutional, the constitutionality of Section 2, which purports to allow states to decide whether to recognize same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions, remains unclear,” the site says. For now, Illinois will continue recognizing out-of-state marriages as civil unions. “We are working with our national partners and federal administration officials to ensure that all marriages that were validly performed are recognized by the federal government regardless of where the couple now

resides. Some federal benefits may be available to you right away,” the Equality Illinois site says. In 2012, advocates filed lawsuits seeking to win marriage equality in Illinois and have asked for an immediate ruling.

New Jersey

Same-sex couples in New Jersey, which also allows only civil unions, face a similar dilemma, since another section of DOMA allows individual states to discriminate against them. The New Jersey Legislature passed a marriage equality bill in 2012, but Republican Governor Chris Christie vetoed it. “Obviously the court’s historic ruling on the Defense of Marriage Act was a monumental moment for our movement, but here in New Jersey, it was bittersweet,” T.J. Helmstetter, a spokesman for Garden State Equality, said in an interview. In New Jersey, couples in civil unions still won’t be afforded the 1,138 rights and benefits that are expected to go to couples in California and other states where same-sex marriage is now legal. “It puts New Jersey couples in a precarious situation,” Helmstetter said. If a couple married in a neighboring state, “they’re in a situation where every time they cross the Hudson River or the Delaware River to return home from work, they may lose certain rights and benefits every evening.” Helmstetter said marriage advocates are three votes away from the 27 they need in the Senate and 10 votes from the 54 in the Assembly for a veto override. Advocates have also been pursuing marriage equality in New Jersey through a lawsuit. Since the Supreme Court overturned Section 3 of DOMA, attorneys have requested an immediate ruling in the Garden State suit. A judge will hear oral arguments in August.

Hawaii

Hawaii is another state that has yet to see full equality for same-sex couples, although legislators have been pushing for that. NCLR’s Kors said the state “is potentially going to move forward legislatively” in the next year. Equality Hawaii Executive Director Don Bentz said, “Our hope is the Legislature is going to address [marriage equality] either in a special session or in the upcoming 2014 session.” A lawsuit seeking equality has also been filed in Hawaii. In a statement released after the Supreme Court’s rulings last month, Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie pointed to the lawsuit, in which he argues, “the Constitution’s equal protection clause requires same-sex marSee page 9 >>

t <<

Same-Sex Marriage>>

Marriage equality

From page 8

riage in all states, including Hawaii.” The lawsuit is pending in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. “I believe my position to support a constitutional right to same-sex marriage in Hawaii and elsewhere was given a substantial boost” by the court’s rulings, Abercrombie stated. “I will continue to work to assure justice and equality for all.”

Other states

Oregon is another place to watch. Kors said the state is “very likely to be moving forward with a ballot measure” to legalize same-sex marriage in 2014. “Oregon law currently excludes loving and committed same-sex couples from marriage, but we are in the process of changing that,” said Peter Zuckerman, spokesman for Oregon United for Marriage, in an email. Beginning July 20, supporters will work to collect the 116,284 signatures within a year to get their proposal on the November 2014 ballot. “We’ve heard from lots of couples in Oregon who are legally married in California and who are looking forward to having their marriage recognized in their home state,” Zuckerman said. By 2016 Freedom to Marry plans to end federal marriage discrimination through a full repeal of DOMA, among other goals. The group announced this week that it’s investing $500,000 in state marriage fights, including $250,000 in the Oregon campaign. The group is working to win Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey, and Oregon by 2013-2014 and preparing to win more states after that. Kors said the same-sex marriage issue could also be decided “in the very short term” in New Mexico. However, he said, “Although the Legislature can act, the governor there is not supportive at this point.”

A lawsuit was filed earlier this year seeking the right for same-sex couples to marry in New Mexico, one of the few states that does not have a constitutional ban. Last week, the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico, NCLR, and others filed a writ of mandamus with the state’s Supreme Court seeking a ruling on whether same-sex couples can marry there. (A writ of mandamus is a special legal action that permits New Mexico’s top court to resolve an issue without waiting for the lower courts to rule, advocates explained in a statement.) “The writ also asks the court to clarify that New Mexico respects the marriages of same-sex New Mexico couples who married in another state, which is necessary to ensure that those couples qualify for all of the federal programs that are now available to married same-sex couples” as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court’s DOMA ruling, the statement said. Those programs address areas ranging from family medical leave to Social Security survivors benefits. If the state’s Supreme Court declines to hear the writ petitions, the lawsuit will proceed, according to advocates.

Challenges

“I think the biggest challenge is going to be to continue to raise the necessary resources to do the work,” Kors said. That work includes educating people and working to elect state legislators and governors “who support marriage equality in places where we can move forward legislatively,” he said. Kors also said “a real challenge” will be getting rid of the rest of DOMA by passing the Respect for Marriage Act, which he said will be “a challenge, given the current Republican control of Congress.” The Respect for Marriage Act, authored by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California) would “ensure wherever you moved or traveled,” one’s marriage rights would be protected, he said. Among other things, what’s need-

July 11-17, 2013 • Bay Area Reporter • 9

ed to assist people in states where marriage equality isn’t yet a reality is money. Whether it’s through making donations, grassroots activism, or other means, “It’s critical for us to finish the job of LGBT equality as fast as possible,” Kors said. In an email, Wolfson said what’s needed from people in California and other states includes continuing personal conversations to educate people on marriage equality and contributing time and money. “We have the momentum and the winning strategy; we just have to keep at it and get the job done,” he said.t

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<< Community News

10 • Bay Area Reporter • July 11-17, 2013

IAS HIV conference looks at cures, aging, and access by Liz Highleyman

s the antiretroviral drug pipeline has slowed to a trickle, the HIV field is increasingly focused on refining therapy, increasing access on a global level, and ultimately finding a cure, and these were all key themes at the seventh International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment, and Prevention held recently in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The IAS meeting is a smaller, more science-centered gathering that alternates every other year with the large International AIDS Conference, last held in Washington, D.C. “We need to address key populations still left behind, to ensure access for all to prevention and care,” said Francoise Barre-Sinoussi, IAS president and conference co-chair. “We all know stigma and discrimination are among the key barriers, and respect for human rights is fundamental to ending the HIV epidemic.”

Hints of a cure

The stand-out news was a report by Timothy Henrich from Brigham and Women’s Hospital revealing that two Boston men who received bone marrow stem cell transplants to treat lymphoma remain free of HIV at seven and 15 weeks after stopping antiretroviral therapy. Viral rebound usually happens within two to four weeks, according to lead investigator Daniel Kuritzkes. Unlike Timothy Brown, known as the “Berlin Patient,” the Boston patients did not receive stem cells from a donor with genetically resistant immune cells. They did, however, undergo a milder pre-transplant conditioning regimen that allowed them to stay on antiretroviral treatment. Only after they remained

Jan Brittenson

Chris Beyrer, left, IAS president-elect and co-chair of 2015 IAS conference, was joined on stage by Julio Montaner, the local co-chair for IAS 2015 with the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/ AIDS.

HIV free for six months did the researchers try the treatment interruption to see what would happen. To date, HIV genetic material has not been detected in either man’s blood or gut tissue using the most sensitive tests. Henrich hypothesized that the new donor cells may have cleared out residual HIV-infected host cells in a “graft-versushost” reaction. But it is far too soon to say these cases represent a cure. “The virus could come back next week, after a few months, or even after a year,” Henrich told reporters. In another long-awaited report, Deborah Persaud from Johns Hopkins followed up on the case of the Mississippi baby she presented with much fanfare at the retrovirus conference in March. The child was born to an HIVpositive woman who did not receive prenatal care and did not take antiretroviral drugs to prevent motherto-child transmission. The infant started a course of combination

therapy 31 hours after birth, but was later taken off treatment. After 15 months of follow-up, the child has no detectable trace of HIV. These findings do not mean a cure is at hand, but they do suggest that some individuals, under special circumstances, may be able to achieve a “functional cure” that allows them to remain off antiretroviral treatment without disease progression for a prolonged period.

New guidelines

While cure-related research garners headlines, speaker after speaker emphasized that the current priority is making antiretroviral therapy available to all who need it worldwide – and that number has just increased by approximately 9 million. On June 30 the World Health Organization issued updated HIV treatment guidelines recommending that everyone should start antiretroviral therapy when their CD4 T-cell count falls below 500. This is an increase over the current global

threshold of 350, and matches current U.S. guidelines. The change was motivated by a growing body of evidence showing that earlier treatment has benefits both for the health of individuals with HIV and for public health by lowering the risk of transmission. According to WHO, raising the CD4 threshold “could avert an additional 3 million deaths and prevent 3.5 million more new HIV infections between now and 2025.” The new guidelines were not universally commended, as some advocates expressed concern that expanding coverage will add shortterm costs that overstretched budgets cannot accommodate, and earlier treatment could potentially do more harm than good in countries that still use older, more toxic drugs.

Drug policy fuels HIV

This year’s IAS meeting was the first to be held in Asia, where the HIV epidemic is largely driven by injection drug use. Malaysia was selected in part because of its successful implementation of harm reduction programs that have dramatically reduced HIV incidence among people who use drugs, said local conference co-chair Adeeba Kamarulzaman. Prohibition-based drug policy has fueled the spread of HIV, hepatitis B and C, and tuberculosis, and must shift to a public health focus, international experts from a range of disciplines agreed at two conference sessions. Worldwide, it is estimated that one in five people who inject drugs is infected with HIV, and in some regions up to 90 percent have hepatitis C virus. According to UNAIDS, in 49 countries the prevalence of HIV among people who inject drugs is 20 to 50 percent higher than that of the general population. “It’s pretty clear that the war on

drugs is unwinnable, the war on drug users is terrible and also unwinnable, but the war on HIV, HCV, and TB can be won with evidencebased policy,” said IAS Presidentelect Chris Beyrer, who identified himself as the first openly gay man to hold the position in the organization’s 25 years.

HIV and aging

Steven Deeks from UCSF gave the conference’s keynote address, focusing on HIV and aging. In particular, he discussed how persistent inflammation – even in people on ART with undetectable viral load – raises the risk of agerelated conditions such as heart disease. These other diseases are becoming far more important than AIDS for people with HIV who have consistent access and good response to treatment, and managing age-related conditions will become an increasingly important aspect of HIV medicine worldwide in the coming years. “It looks like [HIV] adds a decade in terms of age-associated conditions,” Deeks said. “I spend my time in the clinic talking about exercise, management of lipids, a Mediterranean diet, and so forth ... That is the future of HIV care.” [See related story for more on HIV and seniors, page 11.] Concluding the meeting, Julio Montaner from the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, co-chair of the next IAS conference in 2015, expressed the aspirations of many: “We want all those in need – wherever they live, whoever they love, whatever their drug use history, however they earn a living – we believe they all must have access to the best HIV treatment and care and the most effective prevention strategies.”t

Obituaries >> David John Pini November 16, 1944 – June 24, 2013

David Pini of San Francisco passed away unexpectedly of a heart attack on Monday, June 24, 2013. He arrived in San Francisco on January 1, 1974, living in the Mission and walking to the Castro every day. He was a kind, generous intellectual with a passion for history, reading, photography, film, and writing, including an extensive history of his father’s heroism in World War II. He will be remembered for his extraordinary generosity. David was born in Aurora, Illinois, the son of John and Jacquelyn (Wyllie) Pini. He graduated from Batavia High School in 1964 as valedictorian and attended New College in Sarasota, Florida. He preceded his mother in death, who passed away on June 29, 2013. He is survived by his beloved father; his siblings, Gary Pini of Brooklyn, Scott (Diane) Pini of Yorkville, Illinois and Ruthanne (Don) Eliasek of Huntley, Illinois; his uncles, nephews, and cousins. He is also survived by his San Francisco family: his tribe of friends at the Cafe and the Mix, and the countless people whose lives he made better. A public celebration of David’s life will be held at the Cafe, 2369 Market Street Saturday, July 13 at 3 p.m.

Kenneth Charles Steininger June 23, 1967 – June 18, 2013

The family and friends of Kenneth Charles Steininger are saddened to share the news of his sudden death on June 18, 2013 at his home in San Francisco.

Ken was born on June 23, 1967 in Chicago, Illinois. He loved animals, skating, writing, music, and above all, loving and connecting with people. As a deeply spiritual man, he was always searching to understand life and apply his lessons universally. Ken was a regular fixture in Golden Gate Park, rollerblading and bringing smiles with his grace, joy, and freedom of expression. Ken lived his life intensely and with great zeal. His enthusiasm for life had a profound impact on everyone he met, including his many friends from the Midnight Sun and the Lone Star Saloon. Our lives are so much more rich and vibrant from his presence. Ken was the beloved son of Maureen Phelan and the late Kenneth R. Steininger; loving brother to Gretchen and Marc Hull, Teresa, Patrick, Thomas and Amy Lewis, and a cherished nephew to Patrick Phelan. Ken was a kind and generous man, who sought to make life better in any way he could for everyone he met. Ken was known for his overwhelming generosity. If you wish to honor Ken’s life, his family requests that you examine your own life for its many blessings with gratitude, and think of him when you meet someone in need that may need your help. Your generosity in his name will continue his legacy of love here on Earth.

On the web Online content this week includes the Jock Talk and Out in the World columns; letters to the editor; photos of a square dance-in in Union Square and same-sex marriages in Oakland; an article about a local Episcopal priest; and the Bay Area Reporter’s wedding announcement policy. www. ebar.com.

LGBT Seniors >>

July 11-17, 2013 • Bay Area Reporter • 11

Study: SF HIV+ seniors isolated by Matthew S. Bajko

study looking specifically at the needs of LGBT people living with HIV who are 50 years of age and older in the San Francisco area has found that many of the respondents are isolated and lack a support network. The “HIV and Aging – A Survey in Three San Francisco Area Counties” report comes as a new study on LGBT adults age 65 and older commissioned by the San Francisco LGBT Aging Policy Task Force sheds light on the needs and issues this segment of the community, until now often overlooked, grapples with on a daily basis. [See related story, page 1.] Conducted for the HIV Health Services Planning Council, which covers San Francisco, San Mateo, and Marin counties, the HIV and aging survey included 160 participants ranging in age from 50 to 76 years old. Recruited from social service agencies in all three counties, the respondents completed a 45-page written questionnaire. The majority, 117, lived in San Francisco; 31 resided in San Mateo; and 12 were from Marin. Loren Meissner, 60, who is HIVpositive, conducted the research as part of his master’s project at San Francisco State University. While demographers estimate that half of the people in San Francisco with an HIV diagnosis are over the age of 50, few studies have looked at older HIVpositive people in the city. “A lot of people seem to want to tell their story. They were writing marginal comments on the survey,” said Meissner, a gerontology graduate student. One of the most striking findings was the significant number of survey respondents who said they were not “emotionally close to” or had their physical and emotional needs supported by their families, particularly those in the 50-to-55 age range. “Most participants were relying on informal friend networks and agencies,” concluded Meissner. “Almost 10 percent of those who said they required regular assistance because of HIV or other illness, disability, or frailty now or in the past, reported that they had no one to provide such care.” Most said they relied on friends (26 percent), with an equal number (14.5 percent) either turning to their partner or a paid helper for support. About 7 percent had a volunteer to help them. Another 6.6 percent said they had family to help them, while 6.6 percent relied on neighbors. “It shows the isolation faced in this age range, which is particularly troubling because it is a rapidly graying population,” said Mark Molnar, a

former co-chair of the San Francisco EMA HIV Health Services Planning Council who currently serves as the council’s director. “This is a community that is very challenged in getting support and supporting each other.” Because of where he recruited participants, Meissner noted that most had low to moderate incomes. The majority reported having access to HIV medications, with 91 percent currently taking HIV medicine. Only 16 percent said their HIV viral load was detectable. Eighty percent were men, 11 percent women, and 8 percent identified as transgender women. The overwhelming majority, 93 percent, had been living with HIV for a decade or longer and 61 percent said they live alone. Less than 43 percent said they were currently in a relationship, with men and transgender people most likely to be single. Sixteen percent were Latino, 25 percent were African American, and 54 percent were Caucasian. Asian Americans accounted for 3 percent, Native Americans made up 6 percent, and 9 percent listed they were multi-racial. Some of the barriers to care that survey respondents indicated they face included having to pay for services (39 percent); unsure of where to access services (37 percent); the cost of services (34 percent); or they didn’t know services existed (33 percent). Recruited at six local agencies offering services, many respondents had negative views of social service providers or the process they must go through to access programs. Thirtyone percent had complaints about both red tape and service wait times; 23 percent found staff unhelpful; and 23 percent said the providers didn’t like them. As for medical services most often used, 48 percent said dental and 33 percent sought out case management. Tied in third was mental health and emergency room visits (31 percent) with hospital outpatient next (25 percent). The least used services, at 5 percent, were recovery for drugs and alcohol or hospice care. “When we do needs assessments with any group, dental is the number one service category that is seen as needed,” said Molnar. “That is not a surprise to us.” Meissner presented his study findings to the HIV planning council in late June. The oversight body is expected to refer to it as it determines what services should be prioritized for federal HIV funding resources. “In my role as a researcher, I felt uncomfortable making conclusions and recommendations on what should be funded. I will leave that for the council to decide,” said Meissner.t

Courtesy Loren Meissner

This chart shows several types of services utilized by survey respondents, with food-related organizations the most frequently used.

<< Community News

12 • Bay Area Reporter • July 11-17, 2013

Political Notebook

From page 7

press deadline. “The POC must meet to consider the council’s motion and to take action to recommend the funding for specific programs,” wrote Taylor in an email. “The final decision for approval of the Planning and Oversight Committee’s recommendation rests with the City Council.”

Senior suicide

From page 1

The survey was the first to ask about suicidal tendencies within the timeframe of the last 12 months rather than over the course of a person’s lifetime, said out lesbian lead researcher Karen I. Fredriksen-Goldsen, Ph.D., a professor at the University of

While it is conceivable the panel could vote to award funds to programs that are not LGBTidentified, acknowledged Taylor, the council could then reject the spending proposal and send it back to the POC. In the meantime, the LGBT advocates have sought a meeting with Oakland’s city manager to address the issue. And in the June 24 email sent to council members, the LGBT advocates implored them “to look into

this critical situation before the momentum slows down and LGBTQI youth once again fall through the cracks of bureaucracy.” Bynes said, “It seems like the POC is working hard to not fund LGBT youth services.” Asked what Kaplan’s response to the email had been or if she had spoken directly to OFCY staff about the issue, Overman declined to comment. When asked what would hap-

pen if the POC chose to fund non-LGBT programs, Overman said he wouldn’t speculate on hypotheticals. “While it’s important to note that the City Council can’t be involved in OFCY’s evaluation of specific applicants, the City Council, on Councilmember Kaplan’s motion, has made its priority here crystal clear,” he told the B.A.R. “It’s incredibly important to Councilmember Kaplan that we fund programs to

Washington and director of the Institute for Multigenerational Health. “In some cases we have seen a similar percentage for over a person’s lifetime, but to see 15 percent considering suicide within the last 12 months is very concerning,” she said. Were heterosexual seniors to be asked a similar question, FredriksenGoldsen predicted that the number saying they had contemplated sui-

cide within the last year “will be significantly less” than the 15 percent the LGBT senior study found. “We need to figure out what is unique within older LGBT adults and why they are contemplating suicide,” she said during a presentation Tuesday, July 9 about the study findings. The researchers recommend that city officials create a suicide prevention program that is specifically targeted at LGBT older adults. Task force member Ashley McCumber, a gay man who is executive director of Meals on Wheels of San Francisco Inc., told the Bay Area Reporter that he agrees the suicide contemplation statistic “is a marker we need to pay attention to” and that the panel needs “to address LGBT seniors’ isolation and mental health.” San Francisco Suicide Prevention is currently developing a “best practices” approach to suicide prevention among LGBT seniors that other cities throughout the Bay Area can emulate. The agency received funding from the state Mental Health Services Act to fund the work and is hosting a special training next week for LGBT people. Executive Director Eve R. Meyer said the survey finding “tragically, I think, is not surprising because for a lot of LGBT seniors the living ar-

rangements they have enjoyed change and living independently often becomes an option not available to them and they are often forced to live in extended care facilities of one kind or another.” In such a setting many LGBT seniors are pushed back into the closet, fearful of telling staff or other residents about their sexual orientation or gender identity, noted Meyer. That can exacerbate their risk for depression, she added, causing them to consider suicide. “Our agency is just starting an elderly LGBT outreach with materials and trying to get awareness out in the community among health care practitioners, family members, and younger LGBT community members that this is a problem,” said Meyer. “It is the kind of problem that you need to approach as a community.”

Study a first of its kind

This week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in its 2013 report on aging and health in America, said longer life spans and aging baby boomers will combine to double the population of Americans aged 65 years or older during the next 25 years to about 72 million. By 2030, older adults will account for roughly 20 percent of the U.S. population. A 2011 federal study on LGBT seniors estimated that there were 2 million lesbian, gay and bisexual people age 50 and older in the U.S. It estimated that the LGBT senior population would double by 2030. San Francisco’s 15-member LGBT Aging Policy Task Force formed last year, and one of its first actions was to commission the study, titled “Addressing the Needs of LGBT Older Adults in San Francisco: Recommendations for the Future.” The 56-page report is meant to help the panel determine the key concerns among LGBT seniors in the city and create a plan for how city officials can address them. “This first-of-its-kind survey will help San Francisco understand the needs of this rapidly growing segment in our city’s population,” stated Mayor Ed Lee. “The survey will allow us to consider facts and data as we create policies to help LGBT seniors, and we are looking forward to the recommendations of the LGBT Senior Policy Task Force early next year.” More than two-thirds (71 percent) of the study participants were gay men, of whom 33 percent are living with HIV or AIDS. Lesbians accounted for 22 percent, while bisexuals and

SF Pride

From page 5

town and was unavailable for comment. A photo taken of her at the June 30 Pride parade showed her marching with the Manning contingent. In a July 9 email, Plante said, “Brooke Oliver is no longer our counsel, effective June 15, 2013. All of us at SF Pride wish her the best and thank her for 15 years of service to SF Pride.” He declined to elaborate further, citing attorney-client privilege, but did say that Pride’s interim attorney is Julius Turman, a gay man who also

serve LGBTQ youth.”t Political Notes, the notebook’s online companion, is on summer break. It will return Monday, July 29. Keep abreast of the latest LGBT political news by following the Political Notebook on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/politicalnotes. Got a tip on LGBT politics? Call Matthew S. Bajko at (415) 861-5019 or e-mail m.bajko@ ebar.com.

transgender people each made up 4 percent. The majority were non-Hispanic whites (79 percent), with 7 percent Latino or Hispanic; 5 percent African American; 4 percent Asian or Pacific Islander; and 2 percent Native American. Other significant findings in the report included nearly 60 percent of the participants live alone and close to two-thirds (63 percent) do not have a partner or spouse. Forty percent reported they do not have enough money to cover their basic needs, with 30 percent living on incomes below 200 percent of the federal poverty level.

Housing a key worry

The study is also lending scientific data to what has been anecdotally known for years: LGBT seniors in the city fear they will be priced out of San Francisco in terms of housing. And those concerns are only growing as the city grapples with a housing shortage that is causing both rents and home prices to skyrocket. “You don’t really know where you can go to feel safe as an LGBT person,” said task force member Marcy Adelman, Ph.D., who helped found the LGBT senior services agency Openhouse. A majority of the survey participants (54 percent) rent their housing, while 5 percent live rent-free with family or friends, in a nursing home or some other health care facility. Close to a third (28 percent) own a home and are still making mortgage payments while just over 13 percent have paid off the mortgage. The only housing designated for LGBT seniors, the Openhouse project at 55 Laguna Street that will have 110 rental apartments for lowincome people, is still years away from opening. Even when it does, it will be nowhere near enough units to meet demand. “The consequence of having to leave San Francisco is especially significant for this community,” said Diana Jensen, MPP, who served on the research team for the study. Two-thirds of people in the senior survey said they are concerned they will not be able to remain in their current homes and may need to relocate. Nearly one-quarter reported needing housing assistance; while 42 percent of people utilizing such services “feel unsafe” doing so as an LGBT person. “LGBT respondents who live alone, those with lower incomes, and those with less education are at elevated risk for housing instability,” concludes the report.t

serves on the San Francisco Police Commission. In a telephone call, Turman declined to comment on his position as counsel to SF Pride. “I would suggest you have that conversation with SF Pride directly,” he said. In addition to the July 16 membership meeting, which starts at 7 p.m. at the Pride office, 1841 Market Street, Pride is planning a volunteer and member appreciation party for Saturday, July 20 at 2 p.m. at the San Francisco LGBT Community Center, 1800 Market Street.t

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14 • BAY AREA REPORTER • July 11-17, 2013

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FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035178500 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: FRANCES CONSULTING, 28 2ND ST. #300, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ANITA JACKSON. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/01/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/13/13.

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JUNE 20, 27, JULY 4, 11, 2013 SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA RAPID TRANSIT DISTRICT NOTICE TO PROPOSERS GENERAL INFORMATION The SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA RAPID TRANSIT DISTRICT (“District”), 300 Lakeside Drive, Oakland, California, is advertising for proposals for Financial Advisory Services for General Obligation Bonds, Series C for the District’s Controller’s Office, Request for Proposals (RFP) No. 6M2040, on or about July 9, 2013, with proposals due by 2:00 PM local time, Tuesday, August 6, 2013. DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES TO BE PROVIDED The District is soliciting the services with a consulting firm or Joint Venture (CONSULTANT) to provide Financial Advisory Services for the General Obligation Bonds (GO) Series C resulting from the election of 2004. The services will not be required on a constant or continuous basis, but rather on a onetime basis. The District presently intends to enter into an Agreement for three (3) months with an option to extend for an additional three (3) months, subject to termination as provided for in the RFP. A Pre-Proposal Meeting will be held on Friday, July 19, 2013. The Pre-Proposal Meeting will convene at 1:30 PMlocal time in Conference Room 1700 at 300 Lakeside Drive, 17th Floor, Oakland, CA 94612. At the Pre-Proposal Meeting the District’s Non-Discrimination Program for Subcontracting and the Small Business Program will be explained. All questions regarding MBE/WBE participation should be directed to Dominque B. Burton, Office of Civil Rights at (510) 287-4712 or E-mail, dburton@bart.gov. Prospective Proposers are requested to make every effort to attend this only scheduled Pre-Proposal Meeting, and to confirm their attendance by contacting the District’s Contract Administrator, Steve Alva, telephone (510) 464-6383, or E-mail salva@bart.gov prior to the date of the Pre-Proposal Meeting. Networking Session: Immediately following the Pre-Proposal Meeting, the District’s Office of Civil Rights will be conducting a networking session for subcontractors to meet the prime contractors for MBE/ WBE participation opportunities. WHERE TO OBTAIN OR SEE RFP DOCUMENTS (Available on or after July 9, 2013) Electronic version of the RFP may be obtained E-mail request to the District’s Contract Administrator, Steve Alva, salva@bart.gov. Your firm will also be placed on the Interested Parties List (IPL) for this procurement and you will be kept advised during all stages of the entire process. Dated at Oakland, California this 9th day of July 2013. /s/ Kenneth A. Duron Kenneth A. Duron, District Secretary San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District 7/18/13 CNS-2508238# BAY AREA REPORTER

Read more online at www.ebar.com

July 11-17, 2013 • Bay area reporter • 15

Legal Notices>> ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CAlIFORNIA, COUNTy OF SAN FRANCISCO FIlE CNC13-549578

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CAlIFORNIA, COUNTy OF SAN FRANCISCO FIlE CNC13-549577

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CAlIFORNIA, COUNTy OF SAN FRANCISCO FIlE CNC13-549516

In the matter of the application of: ERICA LYNN ATCHLEY, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner ERICA LYNN ATCHLEY, is requesting that the name ERICA LYNN ATCHLEY, be changed to E LAI ATCHLEY. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 514 on the 5th of Sept 2013 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

In the matter of the application of: RAN DHIR SINGH, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner RAN DHIR SINGH, is requesting that the name RAN DHIR SINGH, be changed to RANDHIR SINGH. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 514 on the 15th of Aug 2013 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

JUNE 20, 27, JUly 4, 11, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035188700

JUNE 20, 27, JUly 4, 11, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035191200

In the matter of the application of: MARIA ESTRELLA DIANE PEREZ VANCIL, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner MARIA ESTRELLA DIANE PEREZ VANCIL, is requesting that the name MARIA ESTRELLA DIANE PEREZ VANCIL, be changed to MORNINGSTAR P. VANCIL. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 514 on the 5th of Sept. 2013 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SF SHOTCRETE, 318 WEST PORTAL AVE., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94127. This business is conducted by a corporation and is signed BRADY CONSTRUCTION INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/01/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/18/13.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: QUARRYMEN RECORDS, 1433 CLAY ST. #7, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed WILLIAM CHARTIER. 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 06/19/13.

JUNE 20, 27, JUly 4, 11, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035179800

JUNE 27, JUly 04, 11, 18, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035188000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: RAIJIN RESTAURANT, 531 HAIGHT ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted by a corporation and is signed S HANNA INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/14/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/14/13.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: GINA GIAMMANCO PHYSICAL THERAPY, 1500 16TH ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed GINA GIAMMANCO. 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 06/18/13.

JUNE 20, 27, JUly 4, 11, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035170500

JUNE 27, JUly 04, 11, 18, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035201100

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SUSHI SHOH, 406 DEWEY BLVD., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116-1425. This business is conducted by a corporation and is signed UPPERLAND, INCORPORATED (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 06/12/13.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: THE HOT TUBS, 2200 VAN NESS AVE., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed FABIO CROCE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/22/89. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/25/13.

JUNE 20, 27, JUly 4, 11, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035181500 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: GREEN VIKING CONSULTING, 51 DOUGLASS ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed GREEN VIKING CONSULTING 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 06/14/13.

JUNE 20, 27, JUly 4, 11, 2013 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FIlE A-034668900 The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: WEST PORTAL SHOE SERVICE, 79 WEST PORTAL AVE., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94127-1303. This business was conducted by an individual and signed by GEORGE BARTSIOKAS. The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/22/12.

JUNE 20, 27, JUly 4, 11, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035181400 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: KAWASHIMA’S KITCHEN, 1661 TENNESSEE ST. #3B, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed THE JAPANESE FEAST (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/14/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/14/13.

JUNE 27, JUly 04, 11, 18, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035192500 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: TAMING OF THE POOCH, 4287 23RD ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed BRITTANY E. CLARK. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/20/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/20/13.

JUNE 27, JUly 04, 11, 18, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035193900

JUNE 27, JUly 04, 11, 18, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035136800 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BOYDEN GLOBAL EXECUTIVE SEARCH, 505 MONTGOMERY ST. #1100, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94111. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed CREATIVE GLOBAL EXECUTIVE SEARCH, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 04/24/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/28/13.

JUNE 27, JUly 04, 11, 18, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035201800 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: AARON DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION, 4 DORMAN AVE., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed HARUN CETIN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/25/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/25/13.

JUNE 27, JUly 04, 11, 18, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035211000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MIDU TRAVEL, 720 PACIFIC AVE., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed XIAO WANG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/28/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/28/13.

JUly 04, 11, 18, 25, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035206500 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: GENETIC DISCOVERY SF, 1332 5TH AVE., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed CARMELA H. THOMPSON. 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 06/27/13.

JUly 04, 11, 18, 25, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035206300

JUly 11, 18, 25, AUG 1, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035192300 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CARDIO BARRE SAN FRANCISCO, 61 GOUGH ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed WEN ENTERPRISES LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/20/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/20/13.

JUly 04, 11, 18, 25, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035209300 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: LEFTOVERS LLC, 1350 VAN NESS AVE., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed LEFTOVERS LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/01/09. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/27/13.

JUly 04, 11, 18, 25, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035212300 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: RIGHT HIRE CONSULTING, 152 CHENERY ST., SF, CA 94131. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed TSZ YEE CHAO. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/18/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/01/13.

JUly 04, 11, 18, 25, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035224200 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: STARPAC TRADING, 445-447 SUTTER ST. #412, SF, CA 94108. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed EDGARD ESPIRITU. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/08/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/08/13.

JUly 11, 18, 25, AUG 1, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035215000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BERNARDO TRANSPORTATION CO, 3159 CESAR CHAVEZ #6, SF, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MANOLO BERNARDO MERCHANT. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/02/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/02/13.

JUly 11, 18, 25, AUG 1, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035198600 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: USA POWER MARKET, 1532 OCEAN AVE., SF, CA 94112. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed AMY WONG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/24/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/24/13.

JUly 11, 18, 25, AUG 1, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035220800 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: WALKIN DOGS, 333 FREDERICK ST., SF, CA 94117. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed CHARLENE M. HAUGE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/01/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/05/13.

JUly 11, 18, 25, AUG 1, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035216400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: JOURNEY INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE, 3400 CALIFORNIA ST. #100, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed JAMES MUNSON & EDWARD HSU. 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 06/26/13.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ULTRA WORLD COMMUNICATION CO., 1010 STOCKTON ST., SF, CA 94108. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed RUN CHANG HE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/24/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/02/13.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: VINDIGO PRODUCTIONS, 435 CHINA BASIN ST. #218, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94158. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MALVINA ANG WONG. 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 06/18/13.

JUly 04, 11, 18, 25, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035202600

JUly 11, 18, 25, AUG 1, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035202900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: GRANDE MAISON DE BLANC, 340 SUTTER ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94108. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed S. SCHEUER COMPANY (OR). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/01/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/25/13.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BERNAL HEIGHTS MARKET, 3391 MISSION ST., SF, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ISSA DABAI. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/25/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/25/13.

JUNE 27, JUly 04, 11, 18, 2013

JUly 04, 11, 18, 25, 2013

JUly 11, 18, 25, AUG 1, 2013

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MGL SERVICE, 1260 BRIGHTON AVE. #207, ALBANY, CA 94706. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ZULKHUU TSENDAYUSH. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/20/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/20/13.

JUNE 27, JUly 04, 11, 18, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035189100

NOTICE OF APPlICATION TO SEll AlCOHOlIC BEvERAGES

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035222000

Dated 06/24/13 To Whom It May Concern: The name(s) of the applicant(s) is/are: WASHINGTON CAFE INC. The applicants listed above are applying to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control at 33 New Montgomery St. #1230, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105 to sell alcoholic beverages at 826 WASHINGTON ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 941081206. Type of license applied for

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: THOUSAND ORCHIDS, 4 DESMOND ST., SF, CA 94134. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed HERMAN LEE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/05/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/05/13.

41 - ON-SAlE BEER & WINE - EATING PlACE JUly 04, 11, 18, 2013 NOTICE OF APPlICATION FOR CHANGE IN OWNERSHIP OF AlCOHOlIC BEvERAGE lICENSE Dated 06/25/2013 To Whom It May Concern: The name(s) of the applicant(s) is/are: RITZ CARLTON HOTEL COMPANY LLC THE. The applicants listed above are applying to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control at 33 New Montgomery St. #1230, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105 to sell alcoholic beverages at 600 STOCKTON ST., SF, CA. 94108-2311. Type of license applied for

47 - ON-SAlE GENERAl EATING PlACE; 47 - ON-SAlE GENERAl EATING PlACE (3 DUPlICATES); 58 CATERER’S PERMIT; 66 - CONTROllED ACCESS CABINET PERMIT JUly 11, 2013 NOTICE OF APPlICATION FOR CHANGE IN OWNERSHIP OF AlCOHOlIC BEvERAGE lICENSE Dated 07/01/2013 To Whom It May Concern: The name(s) of the applicant(s) is/are: PROJECT CHEESE 2, LLC. The applicants listed above are applying to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control at 33 New Montgomery St. #1230, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105 to sell alcoholic beverages at 2400 HARRISON ST., SF, CA 94110-2711. Type of license applied for

41 - ON-SAlE BEER & WINE - EATING PlACE JUly 11, 2013 NOTICE OF APPlICATION FOR CHANGE IN OWNERSHIP OF AlCOHOlIC BEvERAGE lICENSE Dated 06/25/2013 To Whom It May Concern: The name(s) of the applicant(s) is/are: AGF PARENT LLC. The applicants listed above are applying to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control at 33 New Montgomery St. #1230, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105 to sell alcoholic beverages at 688 MISSION ST., SF, CA 94105-4000. Type of license applied for

41 - ON-SAlE BEER & WINE - EATING PlACE JUly 11, 2013 NOTICE OF APPlICATION FOR CHANGE IN OWNERSHIP OF AlCOHOlIC BEvERAGE lICENSE Dated 06/25/2013 To Whom It May Concern: The name(s) of the applicant(s) is/are: AGF PARENT LLC. The applicants listed above are applying to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control at 33 New Montgomery St. #1230, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105 to sell alcoholic beverages at 3490 CALIFORNIA ST. UT 1, SF, CA 94118-1891. Type of license applied for

41 - ON-SAlE BEER & WINE - EATING PlACE JUly 11, 2013 NOTICE OF APPlICATION FOR CHANGE IN OWNERSHIP OF AlCOHOlIC BEvERAGE lICENSE Dated 06/25/2013 To Whom It May Concern: The name(s) of the applicant(s) is/are: AGF PARENT LLC. The applicants listed above are applying to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control at 33 New Montgomery St. #1230, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105 to sell alcoholic beverages at 468 CASTRO ST., SF, CA 94114-2020. Type of license applied for

41 - ON-SAlE BEER & WINE - EATING PlACE JUly 11, 2013 NOTICE OF APPlICATION TO SEll AlCOHOlIC BEvERAGES Dated 06/27/13 To Whom It May Concern: The name(s) of the applicant(s) is/are: PETR SECKAR. The applicants listed above are applying to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control at 33 New Montgomery St. #1230, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105 to sell alcoholic beverages at 3324 24TH ST., SF, CA 94110-3825. Type of license applied for

41 - ON-SAlE BEER & WINE - EATING PlACE JUly 11, 18, 25, 2013

To place your Classified ad, Call 415-861-5019.

Then go have a drink and relax...

JUly 11, 18, 25, AUG 1, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035228200 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PACIFIC BAY REALTY, 3601 CABRILLO ST., SF, CA 94121. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed IGOR BELOV. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/09/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/09/13.

JUly 11, 18, 25, AUG 1, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035228300 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MERCURY DISTRIBUTING; MERCURY MANAGEMENT; MERCURY MAIL ORDER; MERCURY DISTRIBUTORS; MERCURY PUBLISHING; 4077A 18TH ST., SF, CA 94114. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed PATRICK E. BATT. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/04/82. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/10/13.

JUly 11, 18, 25, AUG 1, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035227900 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: THE MARKET; THE MARKET ON MARKET; MARKET ON MARKET; M.O.M.; 1355 MARKET ST., SF, CA 94102. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed MARKET ON MARKET, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/09/13.

JUly 11, 18, 25, AUG 1, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-0352212 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SAN FRANCISCO INN, 385 9TH ST., SF, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed NINTH STREET LODGING LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/05/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/05/13.

JUly 11, 18, 25, AUG 1, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035226000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: REENTRY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM; RECOVERY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM; RAP; 3012 16TH ST. #201, SF, CA 94103-5933. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed RECOVERY SURVIVAL NETWORK (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/09/13.

JUly 11, 18, 25, AUG 1, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035224700 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: YOUTH SF, 4722 MISSION ST., SF, CA 94112. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed FRIENDS OF ST STEPHENS (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/08/13.

JUly 11, 18, 25, AUG 1, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035193400 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: RD TRANSPORT, 1958 35TH AVE., SF, CA 94116. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed ABSOLUTE IMPORT USA (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/20/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/20/13.

JUly 11, 18, 25, AUG 1, 2013 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FIlE A-034687600 The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: VAGABOND INN CIVIC CENTER, 385 9TH ST., SF, CA 94103. This business was conducted by a limited liability company and signed by NINTH STREET LODGING LLC (CA). The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/31/12.

JUly 11, 18, 25, AUG 1, 2013

Castro attractions

SoMa hunt

Bondage tale

Out &About

O&A

The

www.ebar.com/arts

Season finales sparkle

Drug-war follies

DEA Agent Keith in How To Make Money Selling Drugs.

by David Lamble

Vol. 43 • No. 28 • July 11-17, 2013

Courtesy Tribeca Film

olling into the Roxie Theater on Friday is a rabble-rousing documentary with no claims to objectivity. The subject of How To Make Money Selling Drugs: exposing the “reefer madness” philosophy fueling this country’s multi-billion-dollar “war” on illicit drugs. Filmmaker Matthew Cooke’s tabloid-style obsession with our prison-filling drug laws has unstated but clear parallels to the equally lamentable war on terror, and the security state spying on its citizens. Cooke’s timeline for drug-law folly, dating back to Prohibition, offers an Orwellian anal-

ogy to a security state bolstered by millions of surveillance cameras. No screen villain has aroused my ire like our 37th president. Richard Nixon made a dark art out of colorfully bigoted rants against an assortment of “enemies.” Buried inside How To Make Money Selling Drugs is classic Nixon bile from the secret White House tapes: “Homosexuality, dope, immorality in general – these are the enemies of strong societies, that’s why the Communists, the left-wingers are pushing this stuff, they’re See page 26 >>

SF Symphony Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas leads the SF Symphony in Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring at Davies Symphony Hall.

by Philip Campbell

T Edge of the art world A by Sura Wood

Rose Mandel at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor, 1954. Gelatin silver print by Richard Muffley.

he San Francisco Symphony’s season 101 came to a climax recently, equaling the festive centennial celebrations of last

Polish Jew, Rose Mandel fled Nazi persecution in 1942, and like countless other immigrants landed in New York bereft, having lost friends and family to the Holocaust. She soon made her way to San Francisco, the perfect place for a woman who had lost nearly everything to reinvent herself. She became a poet with a camera; the Bay Area and photography gave her a new way to look at the world. Trained in art in 1930s Paris, where she encountered the Surrealists, and having studied child psychology under Jean Piaget in Switzerland, Mandel incorporated both fields in her chosen medium. Despite the admiration of colleagues and well-received exhibitions including SFMOMA (1948) and the Legion of Honor (1954), as well as the publication of her work in prestigious journals, she’s relatively unknown today, a state of affairs the de Young Museum hopes to remedy with The Errand of the Eye: Photographs by Rose Mandel. A reassessment of her body of work and an attempt to elucidate her role in the history of modernist photography, the show features portraits, tonal explorations of the merging of sea, shore and sky, landscapes, street scenes and surrealist-inflected imagery melding psychology and abstract expressionism. The exhibition’s title, taken from a poem by Emily Dickinson, refers to a 1950s sequence of plant studies that she shot close-up in alternately sharp and soft focus. Mandel is credited with being one of the first photographers

Rose Mandel Archive, Oakland, CA

{ SECOND OF TWO SECTIONS }

Kristen Loken

year. Two weeks of highly contrasted concerts showcasing the trademark of Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas and his genius for event programming had audiences on their See page 20 >>

to utilize the sequence format, as opposed to relying solely on the wallop of a single image to deliver a narrative. At the California School of Fine Arts (SFAI) in the late 1940s, her strikingly original photographs impressed her mentors, Ansel Adams and Minor White. She befriended them along with fellow artists Imogen Cunningham, Lisette Model, Elmer Bischoff and Richard Diebenkorn, whose approach in some respects mirrored her own. It was Diebenkorn who invited her to shoot the half-dozen insightful, uncredited photos that accompanied a pivotal 1956 article in Art News magazine showing the notoriously private artist toiling in his Berkeley studio. At her death in 2002, Mandel left behind 50 negatives taken during that two-to-three-week period. Several of the photographs are in the show and on the walls lining the entry to the museum’s current Diebenkorn exhibition, which occasioned this deserved reexamination of Mandel’s largely forgotten work. Why Mandel faded from memory and fell off the edge of the art-world while contemporaries like David Park, who called her “a painter with a camera,” and White, who freely acknowledged her influence, established significant, lasting careers, could be the subject of a feminist manifesto. Yes, it’s true that she didn’t actively engage in promoting her work, and for 20 years had a “day job” as senior photographer for the UC Berkeley art See page 21 >>

<< Out There

18 • Bay Area Reporter • July 11-17, 2013

We wine, we dine, we feel so fine by Roberto Friedman

ar manager Daniel Hyatt greeted us at the Roka Bar, down a sleek set of stairs from the brand-new Roka Akor restaurant in Jackson Square. We like a dining spot that’s also a palindrome, and we like a bar with very low lighting, so low it feels like our very own man cave. The bar’s darkness did not disappoint. A thick block of custom-made ice glowed with changing colored light from below. Hyatt hand-

carved ice cubes with a fetishy-looking ice saw. We’ve had bartenders explain what the deal is with fancy ice: cubes with no air bubbles in them melt more slowly, don’t water down your drink. Which you wouldn’t want with your Crimson Tide, the first cocktail Hyatt served: Campari, sweet vermouth, lavender-infused ice, a splash of seltzer. That hits the spot. Upstairs, the stylish dining room surrounds the open charcoal Robata grill. Coming at us: 16 dishes served in

four courses and dessert. Oh, steamed edamame with sea salt, crispy fried squid with chili and lime, butterfish tataki with white asparagus and yuzu, you kid! My, Mendocino uni with lime and chicharrones, tuna tataki with chili ponzu and red onion, too-too tataki! Rrrr, red sea bream with cherry blossom, scallop with black truffle, deluxe sashimi platter – so shoo me! Whoa, whole Boston lobster tempura with spicy ponzu and wasabi, wa-

Jim James

Grating Himalayan rock salt over whole Boston lobster tempura with spicy ponzu and wasabi at Roka Akor restaurant.

gyu flat iron with maitake mushroom and egg yolk, yuzu miso marinated black cod wrapped in magnolia leaf, sweet corn with soy garlic butter. and Japanese mushroom rice hotpot with black truffle, no trifle! Sweet things: house-made truffles, ice cream and sorbet. To wash down, more of Hyatt’s confections: the Prickly Heat, rum with watermelon agua fresca; the Lima Bean, a wittily titled blend of the pure grape brandy Encanto Pisco, lime, honey, Peruvian bitters, and salt. Despite his menu being a sort of blend of Japanese nouveau with Mexican overtones, executive chef Roman Petry turned out to be German, and recognized photographer James’ sporty German jumpsuit right away. Apparently, all young German men wear a variant of it at some point in their youth. General manager Kiet Anh Lee introduced the new restaurant and invited us to the opening party tonight (Thurs., July 11). We’re there. High-end Chinese restaurant

Hakkasan San Francisco invited us to a Sommelier Tasting last week as Hakkasan sommeliers selected new wines to pair with the restaurant’s modern Chinese food. Senior sommelier Cara Patricia and her master sommeliers discussed their process and the latest trends in wines. First, in blind tests, we tried flights of five whites and five reds. From these we culled five wines to match with four courses: mild (scallop shu mai), savory (braised pork belly with aged vinegar sauce), sweet (crispy duck salad) and spicy (black-pepper rib eye). The aim was to find wines that pair well with every shared plate on the table. Out There discovered a Grenache blanc, a pinot noir and a lemony sauvignon blanc that seemed to fill the bill. The custom wine list for Hakkasan San Francisco includes boutique and large producers, unusual grape varieties, old world and new world wines. The wine program also features a Sommelier Bar where you can have your very own personal instruction.t

Waterborne by Jim Piechota

Mermaid in Chelsea Creek by Michelle Tea; McSweeney’s, $19.95

t may seem like an unnatural progression for talented local author Michelle Tea to produce an unorthodox yet sparkling work of young adult fantasy after penning an award-winning novel, four memoirs, and a poetry collection, but let her work her magic. Tea channels her creative energy in a different direction by chronicling the magical, mystical life of 13-year-old Sophie Swankowski in Mermaid in Chelsea Creek, the opening volume of a new trilogy. It’s set in Chelsea, MA, the dank and dreary Boston-area town where Tea was raised, the locale for many of her works. Sophie smokes, swears, and plays “the pass-out game” by inducing fainting spells to pass the time. Sadly, there’s not much to do in Chelsea, home to “flocks of

dirty pigeons and dented old cars; fish sticks with freezer burn and fast food drive-throughs; scuffed, neglected parks, trash-strewn train tracks and a putrid creek.” The creek is where Sophie dreams of a ragged, fork-tongued, Polish-accented mermaid flouncing about, calling her name, predicting her future, and changing her summer forever. After her mother finds out about See page 19 >>

Film >>

t Summer at the Castro Theatre

July 11-17, 2013 • Bay Area Reporter • 19

by David Lamble

he Castro in July features some odd-fellow double bills to fill the gaps between Frameline, the San Francisco Silent Film Festival and the 33rd San Francisco Jewish Film Festival. The Night of the Hunter (1955) The only film directed (and possibly rewritten) by Charles Laughton has two tykes fleeing a scary man of god, a preacher (Robert Mitchum) so neatly balanced between psychotic overdrive and smarmy charm that he almost occupies his own genre. Based on Davis Grubb’s Depression-era novel, the story is a fairy tale-like allegory of innocence betrayed, pursued and redeemed. A wicked battle for the kids’ souls occurs between Mitchum’s murderously greedy drifter and a practical if saintly spinster. Silent star Lillian Gish excels in a rare sound-era role. Cape Fear (1991) Martin Scorsese ups the ante in his sizzling overthe-top remake of the 1962 revenge thriller based on John D. MacDonald’s novel The Executioners. Scorsese’s ace is a wily psycho Robert De Niro turn as an ex-con who tortures a lawyer’s family, featuring an atypically low-key Nick Nolte. The occasional dip into wretched excess is offset by a bravura sequence in which De Niro deftly torments a tomboyish Juliette Lewis. (7/11) The Exorcist (1973) The recklessly talented Billy Friedkin pulls this early horror masterwork out of his butt, giving filmgoers the same sort of harrowing and totally credible thrills as Roman Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby. Based on William Blatty’s novel based on a true-life story – only in life, the Devil sublet the body of a teen boy. Friedkin’s pitch-perfect casting – from “normal” girl Linda Blair to Bergman alumnus Max Von Sydow – came with an attention to detail, fighting the bean-counters to shoot in Georgetown and Iraq. For the agnostic/atheist crowd, suspension of disbelief pays off in a 70s chestnut that plays seamlessly in our age of religious-inspired terror. (7/12) Renoir (2012) “Cinema isn’t for the French.” This ironic joke, buried inside one of last year’s most beautifully lensed domestic dramas, refers to the odd quality of this rural chamber-piece, a passing of the guard. It’s 1915, and France’s august Impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir finds himself competing for the attentions of a lovely model with his son, home from the war wounded, a future great filmmaker. Director Gilles Bourdos is content to play for low dramatic stakes as two men and an angry teen spend a summer on the Riviera consumed with unsettling thoughts and lusts. (7/16) Mystery Train (1989) There being no typical Jim Jarmusch film, this wacky culture clash takes the honors by default. A cute Japanese couple – Masaatoshi Nagaase and Youki Kudoh behave like they’re in a live-action cartoon – pass two hours

Waterborne

From page 18

her fainting escapades, Sophie is exiled to her mean grandmother’s house and business, the town dump. In-between worrying about her hair and imagining herself being adopted by a rich family from Cambridge, she recreationally passes out, giving vivid life to the Polish mermaid of her dreams and a cast of fancifully conjured characters who lead Sophie to a place where her identity isn’t so mired in the bleak reality of teenage life. Redemption is a foregone conclusion, but first readers must wade

Robert Mitchum in director Charles Laughton’s The Night of the Hunter.

in a wacked-out piece of Memphis with Jarmusch oddballs Screamin’ Jay Hawkins and Steve Buscemi as tour guides. Take a pass on the plot, this one is all about the ride. Night on Earth (1991) Arguably the Jarmusch masterpiece. Five parallel stories, playing out in five cabs in five cities: LA, New York, Paris, Rome and Helsinki. The trick is pairing skilled actors as passenger/driver couples with eloquent reveals: Winona Ryder pokes at Gena Rowlands, Giancarlo Esposito clashes deliciously with immigrant Armin Mueller-Stahl. Most memorable is a bittersweet curtain-piece unfolding on a below-zero Finnish night. (7/17) Gatsby (2013) The big switch Baz Luhrmann (with co-writer Craig Pearce) pulls on F. Scott Fitzgerald is to flesh out the role of the novel’s all-knowing narrator Nick Carraway. Tobey Maguire’s Nick relates the rise and spectacular fall of his friend Jay Gatsby to a shrink (Aussie legend Jack Thompson) as he dries out from booze addiction. Maguire’s wry, grounded take, rooted in craft and his long friendship with DiCaprio, allows a modern audience to see Leo’s boldly stylized Gatsby as more than a petulant, nouveau riche interloper, allows us to grasp Gatsby as a story of class warfare disguised as a doomed love affair. (7/22-23) Gloria (1980) Devotees of indie pioneer John Cassavetes ignore or even sneer at this late melodrama from the master. Conceived as a work-for-hire, a Ricky Schroeder vehicle no less, it went through a seismic upgrade as a too-cool-forschool vehicle for Gena Rowlands. Rowlands is the tough-as-leather dame with mob ties who finds herself on the lam in Gotham with the six-year-old son of a dead gang accountant. Gloria and the kid bond in a dingy apartment. Hav-

through a phantasmagorical swamp of ancient spells, Polish mysticism, and fever dream-inspired supernatural events made palatable by Sophie’s rough-and-ready personality. The hopelessness that permeates these pages is unrelenting and will appeal to young and adult readers who like their stories on the gothic, purgatory side of fantasy. Tea is busy with other projects. Her blog series on www.xojane.com, Getting Pregnant with Michelle Tea, is not to be missed. It’s brilliant personal commentary charting Tea’s, her partner Dashiell’s, and their sperm donor Quentin’s serpentine road to conception.t

ing locked some mob scum inside a bathroom, Gloria pulls a pistol and begins living large. “In exactly 20 seconds I’m going to start shooting through that door, so get down on your stomach!” “Gloria, what are you doing?” “I’m saving your life, stupid!” “Gloria, you’re my mother. You’re my father. You’re my mother. You’re my whole family. You’re even my friend, Gloria. You’re my girlfriend, too.” Rowlands underplays her big meet with the Don, a gang sociopath who’s also an ex. Cassavetes’ wit pays Sopranos-worthy dividends, aided by the irony that the Church’s moral stock has sunk below that of their criminal counterparts. (7/24)t

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<< Music

20 • Bay Area Reporter • July 11-17, 2013

The original Bad Mommy by Tim Pfaff

edea needs help. Not with mopping up all the blood from the serial killings but, in the best modern semiotic sense, with text. Medee, the greatest of the 35 operas by Luigi Cherubini, which had its Paris premiere in 1797, was known throughout the 19th century and until 1984 in an Italian translation with – wait for it – recitative composed (by someone else) in place of the original French spoken dialogue. Even as Italianized, it continued to draw great dramatic sopranos, and it occupies a special space on my CD shelves in searing performances by Maria Callas and Leonie Rysanek, both captured in their vocal primes. But the stars eclipsed the vehicle, and Cherubini’s opera seemed secondrate. All that had to happen for the opera to recoup its reputation was for musicians to perform what Cherubini wrote, not incidentally including a final aria for Medea the composer himself literally blacked out of the score. (It takes a lot more than that to outfox today’s technologically enhanced scholars.) Now, in an arresting new staging from La Monnaie in Brussels, with gay French opera demigod Christophe Rousset in the pit, it makes a full return on DVD

(BelAir Classiques) as a knock-youdown great piece of entertainment. If you like your French opera with wigs of the powdered type, director Krzystof Warlikowski’s grunge Medee is not for you. There are wigs galore – all of them carrying meaning – most strikingly the one that makes soprano Nadja Michael, heavily tattooed and in latex a good deal of the time, a dead ringer for Amy Winehouse. But far from a cheap bit of updating, this is a piece of theater as absorbing and revealing as Peter Sellars’ transformation of Tannhaeusser into a televangelist just as Jim Baker was having his real-life flameout. A la Sellars, this is not the Amy Winehouse story; it’s a more universal tale of murderous obsession and substance-based sorcery that won’t let you go until it’s done with you. Looked at another way, it’s the ultimate child custody dispute. By the time we encounter her here, Medea, Isolde-like in her knowledge of potions, and in her rage, has already killed and dismembered her brother in a skirmish to save Jason during the Golden Fleece caper. She’s now angling to get back the errant Jason and stop his marriage to someone better connected, more demure, and clearly more family-oriented. Barring that, she wants to get back the kids she had with Jason, who, though

still captivated by her womanhood, is understandably appalled at the idea of her motherhood. The ensuing tragedy is swift, or ineluctable anyway. Warlikowski frames the action in haunting bits of film strongly hinting that not all unhappy families are alike. They cover the purely orchestral music, or rather, make as potent use of it as the film at the center of Berg’s Lulu does. The colors are creepy in a vegetable-soup kind of way. In all, it’s a sullen production, its silences not just pregnant (at one brilliant point literally) but retentive, withholding. It works like an evil charm. It’s the kind of production – meticulous in detail yet deeply felt – that brings out the best in everyone involved, here including the non-singing but occasionally speaking roles of the children, Alex Burger and Louis Malotaux, whose beguiling fuckedupness is almost unbearable since we know, going in, where this all is heading. That they are possibly the only people who really do love Medea – everyone else is just in one way or another enthralled by her, often literally – is the more touching because they are the first to bounce back from her labile behavior. They’ve seen mom this way before. In one of the more spellbinding operatic portrayals of our young century – this is of the cali-

SFS season finales

From page 17

feet and cheering for more. Both concerts have recorded documentation, one in production and the other already released. Even those who couldn’t attend can tap into the remarkable energy on display. The new edition of a BluRay disc in the Keeping Score series coincided with the mini-festival at

ber of Barbara Hannigan’s scorching Agnes in Benjamin’s Written on Skin – Nadja Michael never once gives you the relief of regarding her as an opera singer. I won’t be throwing out the lustrous and savage Callas and Rysanek recordings anytime soon, but I’m glad I have them behind, not ahead of me. Michael has a richtoned, masterfully produced, laser-focused voice, but she’s never out to impress you with her vocalism. She’s out for blood, guzzling along the way, Winehouse-style, an attention-getting amount of booze. She drains many a pint, some of it looking tantalizingly like absinthe, onstage, but you’re always aware that it’s the demons, not the grog, that make her do it. When, contemplating the infanticide, she cries out, “Let me crown my crimes,” you physically flinch and draw away. In one brilliant touch among hundreds, Warlikowski depicts the poison Medea inflicts on King Creon’s family as some invisible thing – a chemical? viper lice? – that have them itching their way to horrid death. It would be an unforgivable

Davies Symphony Hall remembering the 100th anniversary of Igor Stravinsky’s watershed The Rite of Spring. MTT fills the disc’s first part with one of his fascinating illustrated talks (much is shot on historical locations and includes statements from SFS musicians). The documentary is revelatory, but even now, it isn’t hard to imagine the dismay of the first audience a century ago. What were they to make of the composer’s giant leap into the future achieved with a visceral homage to the past? The savagery of primeval Russian rhythms expressed on modern tuned instruments will always be startling. Modern listeners are more intrigued than upset, but Stravinsky’s Rite will never cease to amaze. For some of the performances at DSH (an alternate bill included orchestral works), MTT opened with

spoiler to describe the way in which all learn that Medea has killed her children, but it’s the definition of coup de theatre. Kurt Streit, long past his Tamino phase, is electric as the conflicted Jason, and this performance could launch a second career for him as a character tenor (in the non-condescending sense of the term). The whole cast is terrific, and Rousset is at his wizardly best in the pit. But mostly you don’t notice any of that because Mom is in the house.t

a clever stroke. The Dmitri Pokrovsky Ensemble, singing and playing percussion instruments, regaled the crowd with stirring Russian songs that clearly gave inspiration to Stravinsky. A complete performance of Les Noces (another seminal score) was next, and it has rarely sounded more authentic, with the lusty group joined by SFS musicians. The almost improvisational feeling conveyed by the conductor in The Rite of Spring was a good way to ensure the piece has lost none of its dramatic impact. Individual soloists, with a loud bravo for Principal Bassoonist Stephen Paulson, lent brilliant flashes to the ravishing orgy of sound.

Brilliant Bernstein

MTT has a mastery of all kinds See page 24 >>

Stefan Cohen

Cheyenne Jackson (Tony) and Alexandra Silber (Maria) in Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony’s complete concert performances of West Side Story at Davies Symphony Hall.