July 12, 2018 Edition of the Bay Area Reporter

Making Hormel Center cool

08

Harsh reaction to Kavanaugh

ARTS

07

23

15

Oklahoma!

Nightlife events

The

www.ebar.com

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

Vol. 48 • No. 28 • July 12-18, 2018

Mayor Breed, Supe Mandelman take office Courtesy Governor’s office

Barbara Phelan

Gov names first LGBT judge to Sonoma court

by Matthew S. Bajko

G

overnor Jerry Brown has named the first known LGBT judge to the Sonoma County Superior Court.

Barbara Phelan, 57, a lesbian attorney who lives in Glen Ellen, was appointed by Brown in late June to fill a vacancy on the North Bay court. She is expected to take her oath of office sometime in early August.

“I have always believed the judiciary is very important in peoples’ lives and can impact people directly, sometimes gravely. I always wanted to be a part of the process to bring greater justice into the world,” Phelan told the Bay Area Reporter in a recent phone interview.

Since the state court system began collecting sexual orientation and gender identity data on California’s judges seven years ago, there has never been a self-identified LGBT judge on the Sonoma County bench. Phelan, who has served as a judicial staff attorney at the First District Court of Appeal since 2003, was among 10 Superior Court judges appointed by Brown on June 27.

“I think diversity in all of its forms is important to the judiciary, that includes sexual orientation but also, of course, race, gender, and natural origin. A diverse bench is a more intelligent and fairer bench,” she said.

Her appointment, and that of gay lawyer Gary Roberts last month to the Los Angeles Superior Court, brings the number of LGBT jurists serving on the state’s appellate and trial courts to at least 59. The number marks a record for the state’s bench and a slight increase from the 53 LGBT judges listed in the demographic judicial data for 2017.

The newest out jurist is lesbian Oakland resident Jenna M. Whitman, 45, who took her oath of office Friday, July 6, to join the Alameda County Superior Court. As the B.A.R.’s online Political Notes column reported June 4, Whitman is the fifth known LGBT person serving on the East Bay bench.

Whitman was sworn in by Presiding Judge Wynne Carvill. She was joined by several of her colleagues, her family, and her wife, Amy, and their young son.

“I want to express gratitude to my family, and Amy, my wife, and to all the people at the court,” Whitman said during brief remarks.

“I’ve watched judges here for over a decade, and I’m honored to join them in Alameda County,” added Whitman, who was a research attorney for the court from 2007-2017, and later, held that position at See page 12 >>

Twelve Days, Twelve Pianos, One Garden & You!

Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom congratulates London Breed, who he swore in as San Francisco’s 45th mayor Wednesday, July 11.

by Matthew S. Bajko

S

an Francisco welcomed in a new mayoral administration Wednesday morning when Mayor London Breed took her oath of office on the steps of City Hall before an estimated crowd of more than 1,000 people.

The Board of Supervisors also ushered in its newest member, gay District 8 Supervisor

Rafael Mandelman, when he was sworn into office inside the board’s chambers roughly 90 minutes after Breed officially became San Francisco’s 45th mayor.

Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom, the city’s 42nd mayor, administered the oath to Breed, who invited the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus to perform as part of her inauguration ceremony. Breed, 43, is the first

African-American woman to be elected to Room 200 in City Hall, where she spent several hours Wednesday afternoon receiving well-wishers, family, and friends.

“I grew up a few blocks from here but a world away,” Breed, adorned in a glittering blue dress, said during her speech following her swearing in.

See page 13 >>

PrEP program begins in Mexico

Bill Wilson

by Ed Walsh

M

exico took a major step aimed at HIV prevention in late June. The country inaugurated a PrEP program in four cities that would make daily dosing of the HIV drug Truvada available free to as many as 3,000 people.

Mexico has a lower overall HIV rate than the U.S. but that statistic is not reflected in the gay male population of the country. The HIV rate is higher among gay men in Mexico than it is in the U.S., according to United Nations data.

The PrEP program is targeted toward people at highest risk for contracting HIV in the country, including gay men and transgender women.

“This is a big thing in Mexico. We are a pilot program for Latin America for this project,” said Paco Arjona, who oversees the PrEP program in Puerto Vallarta as director of the LGBT-focused SETAC community center.

The program is funded by the United Nations International Drug Purchase Facility (Unitaid). The U.N. agency has been allotted a grant of more than $26 million to spend on the pilot project that includes Brazil and Peru.

It is slated to continue through 2020. Bay Areabased Gilead Sciences is donating the drug.

A total of 7,500 people will be enrolled in the project over the three countries. It is expected to save those countries a total of $20 million in HIV treatment costs, according to the Pan American Health Organization.

Arjona told the Bay Area Reporter that the

Ed Walsh

Paco Arjona is the director of SETAC community center in Puerto Vallarta.

effort to bring the PrEP program to Mexico took a year and a half, hampered by slowmoving Mexican government bureaucracies.

The program began last week with client intake interviews and the PrEP sites hope to soon receive the drug. In response to an email query from the B.A.R., Unitaid representative Heather Leigh responded that the drugs are to arrive at the PrEP sites “in the next week or

so.” Although the program is scheduled to run through 2020, if shown successful, HIV health advocates hope it will continue.

The principal investigator of the PrEP project in Mexico, Hamid Vega, told the Mexican newspaper Reporte Indigo that given Mexico’s limited resources, he hopes PrEP could be made available to the highest risk groups in the See page 12 >>

{ FIRST OF THREE SECTIONS }

SUNSET PIANO & SAN FRANCISCO BOTANICAL GARDEN PRESENT

FLOWER PIANO JULY 5–16, 2018

And get tickets now for NightGarden Piano—July 12, 13 & 14!

<< Community News

2 • BAY AREA REPORTER • July 12-18, 2018

Drag queen robbed at gunpoint in Castro

by Alex Madison

A

local drag queen was allegedly robbed at gunpoint in the Castro July 5.

Carnie Asada, who is also known as Doran Rivera, described the incident on his Facebook page. He said that he was walking home on 15th Street between Beaver and Henry streets around 12:45 a.m. last Thursday.

Rivera was not dressed in drag at the time of the robbery.

Two men then approached him once he reached Noe Street. One of the suspects came out from behind a tree with a gun in his hand, the other emerged from a hidden entryway on the street. The suspects then allegedly stole Rivera’s wallet, cellphone, and bag and fled toward Beaver Street where they were picked up by a vehicle.

“This was something that was planned for the night, and I’m sure they have done this here before,” read a July 7 Facebook post on Asada’s page.

After he was robbed, Rivera ran to Lookout, a gay bar located at 3600 16th Street.

“I ran to Lookout, and my fam there helped to report the robber to

Courtesy Facebook

Drag queen Carnie Asada

the police and get me safely home. I’m not okay. This happened on a well lit and monitored block on 15th. We are not safe!” Rivera, 32, wrote on Facebook a few hours after the incident.

He was not injured.

Rivera did not respond to the Bay Area Reporter by press time. His Facebook page said his friend called police when he was at the Lookout after the incident and that he gave a full description of the incident and the suspects, though he does not describe

them on his Facebook page.

San Francisco police confirmed a report was filed for the incident. The SFPD daily log identifies only one of the suspects as a black male 25-30 years old.

This is the second reported incident involving a drag queen in recent weeks. SFPD are currently investigating an alleged attack against Tim Tait, 40, whose drag name is Ginger Snap, as a possible hate crime. Tait was leaving the Eagle Tavern June 9 when he was allegedly attacked, leaving him with two black eyes, a gash on his forehead, a broken front tooth, and other cuts and bruises.

Tait could not recall any details of his attacker and filed a police report about a week and a half after the incident.

Police had no new information on Tait’s case.

Other incidents

In Castro business-related crime, the front windows of Rossi’s Delicatessen, 426 Castro Street, were broken June 24. According to the deli’s owner, Isam Dougham, security footage shows a man using heat from a small blowtorch to break the glass of three

of his four front windows around 5 a.m. Because the windows are made of laminated glass, they cracked, but did not shatter, and the suspect was prevented from entering the store.

After the B.A.R. spoke with Dougham, he had new windows installed Friday, July 6, but three days later, on Monday, July 9, one of them was broken.

“This is three times in four months,” he said.

Dougham has not watched the surveillance footage and does not have any information about how the latest window was broken, but he said he is not going to call the police this time.

“They are not going to do anything,” he said.

Dougham, who has owned the deli for more than 40 years, said a similar incident happened three months ago when a man drove his car into the storefront, breaking all four windows, costing him about $6,000 to repair.

“The city needs to spend more money on protecting the neighborhoods,” Dougham told the B.A.R. in a phone interview last week. “A lot of windows have been broken in the Castro and nothing has been done.

t

The cops come and say ‘we are sorry that happened to you,’ but we need more than that.”

New security gate

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency will soon install a new security gate in the Walgreens parking lot on 18th street between Castro and Collingwood streets. The announcement comes soon after a man, later identified as Corey Ahrens, 48, was found unresponsive in the lot.

Ahrens later died and police are calling his death “suspicious.”

The parking lot also has a history of car break-ins.

On July 16, a fence and gate system will be installed at both the entrance of the lot on 18th Street and the exit on Collingwood Street. The gate will be closed and locked from 1 to 7 a.m. every day.

“This action is being taken now because MTA and Public Works, who provides cleaning and maintenance, agree it’s worth the expense because of the amount of city staff time, energy, and resources required to clean and See page 12 >>

Jury begins deliberations in Aiello murder trial

by Alex Madison

him. According to court testimony, the two had known Sacramento each other for years, and AiCounty Superior ello was upset that Fletcher Court jury began dehad never had sex with him. liberations Tuesday Fletcher was charged with after closing arguments first-degree murder and other in the trial of Kyle Billy charges related to Aiello’s Fletcher, who’s acdeath. He pleaded not guilty. cused of murdering Crying was heard from Courtesy Facebook former Bay Area Repeople who attended the Dan Aiello porter freelance writer closing arguments as graphic Dan Aiello. pictures of Aiello were Fletcher, 38, is charged in the April shown, including one that showed 2015 strangling death of Aiello. a distinctive footprint on his back.

During closing arguments TuesSatchell said the footprint matched day, July 10, defense attorney Donald the design of the bottom of the shoes Dorfman argued that Fletcher acted that Fletcher was wearing on the day in self-defense and should be found Aiello was found dead. guilty of involuntary manslaughter.

Aiello’s friend who attended court Deputy District Attorney William Tuesday declined to speak with the Satchell argued the killing was firstB.A.R. degree murder.

Satchell argued that Fletcher killed Aiello, a 53-year-old gay man, was Aiello by pulling on the belt wrapped found dead in his home April 15, around his neck and pressing his foot 2015 with a belt wrapped around his on the upper part of his back for leverneck. According to police testimony age until Aiello suffocated. Satchell’s during the October 2017 preliminary closing argument described Fletcher hearing, Fletcher claimed Aiello, who as a liar and criminal. was on the floor, had wrapped the “His testimony was an outright lie,” belt around his own neck and tried Satchell told the jury. “Mr. Aiello’s into force Fletcher into having sex with juries and autopsy do not support the

A

defendant’s story that it was an erotic asphyxiation event that went bad.”

At the time of Aiello’s death, Fletcher told detectives that Aiello was trying to force him to have sex and, in order to prevent it, he used just enough force on the belt to stop Aiello. Fletcher claimed that he left the house after Aiello passed out. But police, who testified at Fletcher’s preliminary hearing, said that they’d discovered Aiello’s naked body after seeing Fletcher carrying a TV from Aiello’s home. Officers didn’t indicate that Fletcher had said anything about having just defended himself against an unwanted sexual advance.

Satchell argued that, even if this story were true, Fletcher should be found guilty of second-degree murder, as he left Aiello unconscious and bleeding from his nose and mouth.

The deputy DA reiterated other evidence against Fletcher, including that the day before Aiello was killed was the first time Fletcher became aware that Aiello filed a financial crimes incident report alleging that Fletcher had stolen $200. Other evidence was Fletcher’s drastic change of behavior after the murder, which

OKELL’S FIREPLACE since 1947

pl

ac

e

PLE l el SAM ok R O FLO ’s

S

fi

re

E L A

f of ! g 0% -5 thin 0 2 y er v e

...and we’re having a BIG SALE!

eet! th Str at 17 day . only final ded. dels our o h m g inclu u or not thro ase. r flo now es are urch re fo p a is rg f s a e o le h Sa me pric on c at ti Sale llati full insta in , t le b en plica Paym If ap nal. les fi All sa

415-626-1110

now through July 27, our last day on 17th Street

was captured on Aiello’s DVR that Fletcher had stolen moments after the killing.

“Everything shows the defendant intended to kill Mr. Aiello,” Satchell said. “The forensic evidence, testimony, text messages, and behavior of the defendant show this is murder.”

During his closing argument, Dorfman said Fletcher did not intend to kill Aiello.

“My client may be a lot of things; a drug dealer, a male prostitute, a liar, but he is not a murderer,” Dorfman said.

The defendant’s lawyer told the jury that the incident was a sex act gone wrong and that Fletcher loved Aiello and was his friend.

“Mr. Aiello didn’t die because my client intended to kill him,” Dorfman said. “This was an accident between two strange lovers that ended in a death, but my client never intended it to be a killing.”

Acting strangely

As previously reported by the B.A.R., on the day of the murder, Officer Filmore Graham said that when police responded to a disturbance at about 3:30 a.m. at 1326 X Street in Sacramento, where Aiello

lived, he saw Fletcher carrying a flat screen TV and a woman who was also carrying something.

(The woman, Sabrina AhrensGravelle, was reportedly in a Jeep when Fletcher allegedly killed Aiello.

She was sentenced in August 2015 to five years probation in the case after she pleaded no contest to possession of methamphetamine.)

Fletcher, who “was really sweaty,” even though “it was really cold outside,” said, “This is my shop. My partner and I own it,” Graham testified, adding that Fletcher had said “Dan” was “in the back lying down.”

Officer Tony Parham, who had also responded to the scene, testified that Fletcher seemed “very nervous.”

Moments later, Graham and Parham found Aiello in his bedroom, lying face down on the floor with a belt “wrapped around his neck,” said Graham, who added there had been a possible shoeprint on his back. Aiello was soon pronounced dead.

Aiello worked for the B.A.R. as a freelance writer who covered marriage equality and other issues before opening Midtown Moped, a shop in Sacramento where he lived in the back of the store. t

We are MOVING! After 35 years of renting on Potrero Hill, we are finally putting down permanent roots in San Francisco, and moving to our own home South of Market at

130 Russ Street, San Francisco

Same great products! Same great people! Same great service!

New great showroom location!

August 2018

OKELL’S FIREPLACE 130 Russ Street San Francisco

1300 17th Street, San Francisco (until July 27)

okellsfireplace.com

Half Day Sale

‡‡

off the Entire Store!

Wednesday, July 18, 2018!

Get It Today! No Credit Needed!

Hot Buys!

Terrington 4 Piece Living Room Set now only Reg. Price $2329.99

NOW HIRING! Sales Associates

999

$

Includes sofa, loveseat, chair and ottoman.

CONCORD

Exit at Concord, next to Trader Joe’s 2201 John Glenn Dr Concord, CA 94520 925-521-1977

facebook.com/AshleyHSConcord

EMERYVILLE

Get it Today!

No Credit Needed!

In the East Baybridge Shopping Center 3839 Emery St., Ste. 300 Emeryville, CA 94608 510-292-4339

facebook.com/AshleyHSEmeryville

FAIRFIELD Exit Green Valley 4865 Auto Plaza Ct Fairfield, CA 94534 707-864-3537

facebook.com/AshleyHSFairfield

99

A SAVINGS of %

57

Reg. Price $459.99

Reg. Price $749.99

Reg. Price $599.99

SAVE

SAVE

SAVE

89%

Reg. Price $349.99

Reg. Price $649.99

SAVE

SAVE

SAVE

91%

5x8

Throw Rug

85%

now only

MILPITAS

ROHNERT PARK

SAN FRANCISCO

In McCarthy Ranch 128 Ranch Dr Milpitas, CA 95035 408-262-6860

707 Bayshore Blvd.

San Francisco, CA 94124 415-467-4414

facebook.com/AshleyHSMilpitas

Exit Rohnert Park Expwy, across from Costco 6001 Redwood Dr Rohnert Park, CA 94928 707-586-1649

MODESTO

ROSEVILLE

7502 N. Blackstone Ave Fresno, CA 93720 559-283-8251

3900 Sisk Rd., Ste B Modesto, CA 95356 209-248-6152

facebook.com/AshleyHSFresno

facebook.com/AshleyHSModesto

LATHROP OUTLET STORE

REDDING 1405 Dana Drive Redding, CA 96003 530-222-7707

18290 Harlan Rd. Lathrop, CA 95330 209-707-2177 facebook.com/AshleyHSRedding OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK: Mon. - Sun. 10am - 6pm

facebook.com/AshleyHSRohnertPark

Highland Reserve Marketplace 10349 Fairway Dr Roseville, CA 95678 916-953-5757

facebook.com/AshleyHSRoseville

SACRAMENTO Located at the Promenade in Natomas 3667 N Freeway Blvd Sacramento, CA 95834 916-419-8906

92%

SAVE up to

4999 93%

$

FOLSOM

FRESNO

91%

Reg. Price $599.99

Located in the Broadstone Plaza 2799 E Bidwell St Folsom, CA 95630 916-986-9200

facebook.com/AshleyHSFolsom

93%

facebook.com/ AshleyHSSanFrancisco

STOCKTON In the Park West Place Shopping Center 10904 Trinity Parkway, Stockton, CA 95219 209-313-2187

facebook.com/AshleyHSStockton

VISALIA 3850 S. Mooney Blvd Visalia, CA 93277 559-697-6399

facebook.com/AshleyHSVisalia

Follow us at @AshelyHomeStoreWest

OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK: Monday - Sunday 10am - 9pm

“Se Habla Español” www.AshleyHomeStore.com

facebook.com/AshleyHSSacramento

*Offer applies only to single-receipt qualifying purchases. Ashley HomeStore does not require a down payment, however, sales tax and delivery charges are due at time of purchase if the purchase is made with your Ashley Advantage™ Credit Card. No interest will be charged on promo purchase and equal monthly payments are required equal to initial promo purchase amount divided equally by the number of months in promo period until promo is paid in full. The equal monthly payment will be rounded to the next highest whole dollar and may be higher than the minimum payment that would be required if the purchase was a non-promotional purchase. Regular account terms apply to non-promotional purchases. For new accounts: Purchase APR is 29.99%; Minimum Interest Charge is $2. Existing cardholders should see their credit card agreement for their applicable terms. Promotional purchases of merchandise will be charged to account when merchandise is delivered. Subject to credit approval. ‡Monthly payment shown is equal to the purchase price, excluding taxes and delivery, divided by the number of months in the promo period, rounded to the next highest whole dollar, and only applies to the selected financing option shown. If you make your payments by the due date each month, the monthly payment shown should allow you to pay off this purchase within the promo period if this balance is the only balance on your account during the promo period. If you have other balances on your account, this monthly payment will be added to the minimum payment applicable to those balances. ††Ashley HomeStore does not require a down payment, however, sales tax and delivery charges are due at time of purchase if the purchase is made with your Ashley Advantage™ Credit Card. Offer applies only to single-receipt qualifying purchases. No interest will be charged on the promo purchase if you pay the promo purchase amount in full within 12 or 24 Months. If you do not, interest will be charged on the promo purchase from the purchase date. Depending on purchase amount, promotion length and payment allocation, the required minimum monthly payments may or may not pay off purchase by end of promotional period. Regular account terms apply to non-promotional purchases and, after promotion ends, to promotional balance. For new accounts: Purchase APR is 29.99%; Minimum Interest Charge is $2.

Existing cardholders should see their credit card agreement for their applicable terms. Promotional purchases of merchandise will be charged to account when merchandise is delivered. Subject to credit approval. §Subject to credit approval. Minimum monthly payments required. See store for details. ‡‡Previous purchases excluded. Cannot be combined with any other promotion or discount. Discount offers exclude Tempur-Pedic®, Stearns & Foster® and Sealy Posturepedic Hybrid™ mattress sets, floor models, clearance items, sales tax, furniture protection plans, warranty, delivery fee, Manager’s Special pricing, Advertised Special pricing, and 14 Piece Packages and cannot be combined with financing specials. Effective 1/1/2018, all mattress and box springs are subject to a $10.50 per unit CA recycling fee. SEE STORE FOR DETAILS. Stoneledge Furniture LLC. many times has multiple offers, promotions, discounts and financing specials occurring at the same time; these are allowed to only be used either/or and not both or combined with each other. Although every precaution is taken, errors in price and/or specification may occur in print. We reserve the right to correct any such errors. Picture may not represent item exactly as shown, advertised items may not be on display at all locations. Some restrictions may apply. Available only at participating locations. ±Leather Match upholstery features top-grain leather in the seating areas and skillfully matched vinyl everywhere else. Ashley HomeStores are independently owned and operated. ©2018 Ashley HomeStores, Ltd. Promotional Start Date: July 10, 2018. Expires: July 23, 2018.

<< Open Forum

4 • BAY AREA REPORTER • July 12-18, 2018

Volume 48, Number 28 July 12-18, 2018 www.ebar.com PUBLISHER Michael M. Yamashita Thomas E. Horn, Publisher Emeritus (2013) Publisher (2003 – 2013) Bob Ross, Founder (1971 – 2003) NEWS EDITOR Cynthia Laird ARTS EDITOR Roberto Friedman BARTAB EDITOR & EVENTS LISTINGS EDITOR Jim Provenzano ASSISTANT EDITORS Matthew S. Bajko • Alex Madison CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Ray Aguilera • Tavo Amador • Race Bannon Erin Blackwell • Roger Brigham Brian Bromberger • Victoria A. Brownworth Brent Calderwood • Philip Campbell Heather Cassell • Belo Cipriani Christina DiEdoardo • Richard Dodds Michael Flanagan • Jim Gladstone David Guarino • Liz Highleyman Brandon Judell • John F. Karr • Lisa Keen Matthew Kennedy • Joshua Klipp David Lamble • Max Leger Michael McDonagh • Juanita MORE! David-Elijah Nahmod • Paul Parish Sean Piverger • Lois Pearlman Tim Pfaff • Jim Piechota • Bob Roehr Adam Sandel • Jason Serinus • Gregg Shapiro Gwendolyn Smith • Tony Taylor • Sari Staver Jim Stewart • Sean Timberlake • Andre Torrez Ronn Vigh • Charlie Wagner • Ed Walsh Cornelius Washington • Sura Wood ART DIRECTION Max Leger PRODUCTION/DESIGN Ernesto Sopprani PHOTOGRAPHERS Jane Philomen Cleland • FBFE Rick Gerharter • Gareth Gooch Jose Guzman-Colon • Rudy K. Lawidjaja Georg Lester • Dan Lloyd • Jo-Lynn Otto Rich Stadtmiller • Kelly Sullivan Steven Underhil • Dallis Willard • Bill Wilson ILLUSTRATORS & CARTOONISTS Paul Berge • Christine Smith ADVERTISING/ADMINISTRATION Colleen Small Bogitini

Now the hard work begins L

ondon Breed’s inauguration Wednesday as San Francisco’s 45th mayor was a celebratory affair. Since her election last month, Breed has pledged to unify the city and is looking to the future. She has said that her top priorities will be addressing the mental health and housing crises. We’re glad she and newly sworn in gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman went to Sacramento last week to testify in support of Senate Bill 1045 (introduced by gay state Senator Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco), which would give San Francisco and Los Angeles more local control over conservatorship laws. Mandelman and Breed occupy different positions on the Democratic-progressive spectrum, so it was refreshing to see them working together before either took office. We hope the spirit of cooperation continues.

Combatting homelessness will not be solved by removing tent encampments, although that approach is high on Breed’s agenda. Services or other housing alternatives must be provided for these people. Some of those with mental health issues could be helped by conservatorship laws.

Queer youth will require a different approach.

During the campaign, Breed proposed a host home program whereby adults volunteer to take in homeless youth as a possible solution that, while it wouldn’t help everyone, bears attempting. The LGBT Community Center has submitted a grant proposal to the Housing and Urban Development Department for such a program. A similar one run by Avenues for Homeless Youth in Minneapolis was brought to Breed’s attention by a former staffer.

It was something “I thought was a really great idea and could be potentially a program we could implement here,” Breed told us this spring during an editorial board meeting.

“And if successful, could be a great opportunity for housing for some of our homeless youth.”

She also talked about a Navigation Center targeting LGBTQ youth.

by Emilio Gonzalez

NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE Rivendell Media – 212.242.6863

W

BAY AREA REPORTER 44 Gough Street, Suite 204 San Francisco, CA 94103 415.861.5019 • www.ebar.com A division of BAR Media, Inc. © 2018 President: Michael M. Yamashita Director: Scott Wazlowski

News Editor • news@ebar.com Arts Editor • arts@ebar.com Out & About listings • jim@ebar.com Advertising • scott@ebar.com Letters • letters@ebar.com Published weekly. Bay Area Reporter reserves the right to edit or reject any advertisement which the publisher believes is in poor taste or which advertises illegal items which might result in legal action against Bay Area Reporter. Ads will not be rejected solely on the basis of politics, philosophy, religion, race, age, or sexual orientation.

Advertising rates available upon request.

Our list of subscribers and advertisers is confidential and is not sold. The sexual orientation of advertisers, photographers, and writers published herein is neither inferred nor implied. We are not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or artwork.

streets –is also on Breed’s to-do list. Breed has been an outspoken advocate of the program since she changed her opinion of it, which, by the way, is a sign of leadership. There are challenges related to state law, but we’re confident that Breed and our state representatives can work something out.

“And as you know, I am fearless,” Breed said.

“I just don’t do this job in fear of losing it. I just care about making San Francisco a better place.”

She will need that fearlessness – and more – to tackle the city’s problems. And we hope that she continues to enjoy residents’ good will so she’ll have the political capital to succeed.

Thanks, Supervisor Sheehy

Gay District 8 Supervisor Jeff Sheehy’s tenure ended with his last board meeting Tuesday.

Sheehy, who was the board’s first known person living with HIV, was appointed by the late mayor Ed Lee to replace Scott Wiener, a gay man who won election to the state Senate. Sheehy didn’t win election last month, but in the year and a half that he served, he was a staunch advocate for HIV/AIDS funding, including fully funding Getting to Zero, the city’s ambitious program to eliminate new HIV transmissions in the city.

Another of his priorities was securing additional funds to help homeless LGBTQ youth, including additional services at the LGBT Community Center.

And, he worked with District 9 Supervisor Hillary Ronen on getting board approval to rename Terminal 1 at San Francisco International Airport after the late gay supervisor Harvey Milk.

In short, Sheehy enjoyed a productive time on the board, securing services for his district and holding public safety meetings to address car-break-ins and the shooting at Mission-Dolores Park.

This was only his most recent role in community service, after many years of political and HIV/AIDS activism. We’re sure he’ll continue to work for the benefit of San Francisco and the LGBT community. We thank him for his service.t

English only

VICE PRESIDENT OF ADVERTISING Scott Wazlowski – 415.829.8937

LEGAL COUNSEL Paul H. Melbostad, Esq.

However, she pointed out it would take more time to identify a location and build services. We’d like to see Breed make this a priority for her homeless plan, as queer youth make up nearly half of the homeless youth population here.

When we met with Breed, we asked her if she would commit to appointing at least one LGBT person to every city board and commission. “I am definitely open to that for sure,” she told us. “I just think that it is important there is LGBT representation, there is diverse representation on our boards and commissions.” That’s important, because the community has lost representation on the powerful Port Commission, where there are no out members since lesbian former supervisor Leslie Katz was unceremoniously dumped by former mayor Mark Farrell back in May. And the city’s Police Commission, another high-profile panel, is down to one out member – lesbian Petra De Jesus – after the retirement (and subsequent death) of Commissioner Julius Turman. We would like to see another out person on that body, because the San Francisco Police Department continues to struggle with officers who need more training on LGBT issues, especially regarding interactions with trans and nonbinary people.

Getting a safe injection site open – where people use drugs under supervision and off the

t

hen I told my mother what the principal had done to me she took off her white cotton apron, put on her walking shoes, and in her everyday housedress took me by the hand, dabbed my tears, and said, “Let’s go, Emilio. I have a few things to say to that Nazi bitch.”

“Why did you spank my son, Madam Principal?” my mother asked.

“Emilio was overheard speaking Spanish in the playground by one of the teachers, and we have strict rules, English only on school property.”

The principal, Miss Werner, was of German stock, full bodied, big breasted, and wide beamed. The kids called her “Miss Weenie.”

“I don’t give a damn about your rules,” mother shouted. “I see no reason for inflicting pain on helpless young children to force them to speak your cold, stiff language.” I held on to my mother’s skirt and stared at the floor.

“May I remind you, Mrs. Gonzalez, that you are in America now and in America we speak English,” she adjusted her rimless glasses.

“I’ll have you know that I was born here, in Tampa, educated in your schools, and learned perfect English without submitting to punishment,” my mother said. She slapped her hand on the desk.

“If these Cuban children are to be successful in getting a good job, they must speak English, preferably with no accent,” the principal said.

“My husband cannot speak one word of English, yet he always has a job and makes enough money to feed our family,” my mother replied.

“Times change. The cigar industry is in decline and there won’t be many jobs available in the future. We must prepare these children for higher education and positions in a modern economy,” the principal said, standing as if to dismiss us.

“So, forcing them to speak English with brutal

Ray Dyer

Emilio Gonzalez

spankings will make them into true Americans?” my mother asked.

“I don’t make the rules, I just enforce them,” the principal said.

“And this is how you enforce English?” my mother asked.

She took me by the hand, turned me around, and lowered my short pants to show my blood red buttocks and tracks of the paddle used on me.

The principal’s paddle, made of dark wood with a turned handle, the better to hold it with, had a circle of half-inch holes drilled near the end (the holes make it hurt more.) It hung by a leather cord on a hook just behind her office door and clearly visible to the students walking down the hall to remind them to obey the rules, English only, or else.

“Take a good look, Fraulein. If you ever touch my boy again, I’ll come down here and spank your fat butt until it’s just as red as his,” my mother said.

The principal started for the office door.

“Thank you for coming, Mrs. Gonzalez, but I have a meeting.”

“Just so you know, Emilio promised that from now on he would speak only English in school,” my mother said as she slammed the office door.

It echoed down the hallway.

Orange Grove Elementary, an English only public school located in the heart of the Spanish speaking community of Ybor City (a neighborhood in Tampa, Florida) served the children of Italian, Spanish, and Cuban immigrant cigar makers. The school building of Spanish architecture sat in the middle of a former orange grove and was landscaped by hibiscus hedges, palm trees, and bougainvillea vines. On Seventh Avenue, Ybor City’s main commercial district, you could smell Cuban coffee roasting, Cuban bread baking, spicy deviled-crab croquettes sold by street vendors, and Spanish bean soup cooking in award-winning restaurants.

By the end of the first grade, I had learned simple sentences and limited conversation in English, thanks to my sister, who was one year ahead of me in school and taught me the new words she had learned. My mother and aunt both spoke perfect English with no accent and they tutored us with correct pronunciation. And, in the classroom, we recited the Pledge of Allegiance (no “under God” back then). We sang “God Bless America,” “America the Beautiful,” and the national anthem, all in English. That year our class planted a Victory Garden behind the school to help with the war effort against the Japanese.

Maybe the spanking motivated me, but I persevered at learning this new language and, before long, I was introduced to a whole new world of words, beliefs, and values. My Cuban-ness began to fade, as did my self-esteem. I became ashamed of my heritage, my parents, and my home. If it wasn’t American, it was no good. In our textbooks, the parents were always white, Anglo, and wore modern clothes. In one assignment I had to bring a picture of my parents to class, but I See page 8 >>

t

Politics>>

July 12-18, 2018 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 5

LGBT clubs to revote on East Bay Assembly race endorsement

by Matthew S. Bajko

S

ince no candidate secured their endorsements in the June primary race for the open 15th Assembly District seat, two East Bay LGBT political clubs will now vote on endorsing one of the two candidates moving on to the November election.

Lesbian Richmond City Councilwoman Jovanka Beckles ended up in second place in last month’s vote for the seat, which stretches from Richmond south into parts of Oakland. The first place winner was former Obama administration staffer Buffy Wicks.

The two women are vying to succeed Assemblyman Tony Thurmond (D-Richmond), who is running to be elected state superintendent of public instruction in the fall.

Should Beckles be elected to the seat, she would be the first LGBT member of the state Legislature from the East Bay. None of the candidates on the June ballot, including the three out local leaders who were running, met the 60 percent threshold to secure endorsements prior to the primary from the East Bay Stonewall LGBT Democratic Club or the Lambda Democratic Club of Contra Costa County.

The Lambda Democrats will now vote on endorsing Beckles at the club’s August 22 meeting. She will need 60 percent of the votes that night to secure the early endorsement, which the club only considers for LGBTQ candidates.

The Stonewall club is also planning to revote on an endorsement in the race. John Bauters, chair of Stonewall’s political action committee, told the Bay Area Reporter the club is likely to send both candidates new questionnaires to fill out in order “to get us some new information.”

A date for the endorsement vote has yet to be scheduled, as the club’s board is expected to discuss timelines and deadlines at its July 18 meeting, said Bauters, a gay man on the Emeryville City Council who is currently serving as mayor. The threshold for securing Stonewall’s endorsement is also 60 percent.

As the only out candidate to advance to the November election, Beckles now has a better chance of securing the support of both LGBT clubs.

Since surviving the primary race, she has cemented additional LGBT endorsers, including Lambda PAC chair Jonathan Cook and lesbian at-large Oakland City Councilwoman Rebecca Kaplan.

“Jovanka has shown her deep commitment to the needs of our communities, and dedication to providing a better future for everyone, including those who have been left behind,” stated Kaplan. “This Assembly District, including cities such as Oakland, Berkeley, and Richmond, deserves strong progressive representation to advance vital goals including healthcare for all, preventing displacement and providing affordable housing, and real justice and non-violence. Jovanka Beckles will be responsive to the people and uplift these needed voices in Sacramento.”

According to Beckles’ campaign, the LGBTQ Victory Fund contacted it to express support for her candidacy. But the national group, which focuses on electing out candidates to public office, has yet to officially endorse Beckles in the race.

Barry Schneider Attorney at Law Jane Philomen Cleland

family law specialist* • Divorce w/emphasis on Real Estate & Business Divisions • Domestic Partnerships, Support & Custody • Probate and Wills

East Bay Assembly candidate Jovanka Beckles rode in Richmond’s Juneteenth parade last month.

“Our political team had an initial conversation with Beckles, but the Victory campaign board has not yet considered or voted on her endorsement,” spokesman Elliot Imse told the B.A.R. last week.

Nor has she received endorsements from the two out candidates who did not survive the primary: lesbian Berkeley school board member Judy Appel and bisexual East Bay Municipal Utility District board member Andy Katz, who also identifies as gay. Katz has not responded to the B.A.R on if he will make an endorsement, while Appel said she is considering doing so.

“I have not yet endorsed. When I do I will make an announcement,” Appel told the B.A.R. in late June.

Equality California, the statewide LGBT advocacy group, dual endorsed Appel and Beckles in the primary and its PAC donated $3,500 to both candidates. It is unclear how much financial assistance it will direct toward helping elect Beckles in the fall.

“We’re still developing our general election strategy, so nothing to announce right now,” EQCA spokesman Samuel Garrett-Pate told the B.A.R. in June.

Wicks, whose brother is gay, has picked up additional LGBT support since the primary. Gay El Cerrito City Councilman Gabriel Quinto, currently serving as his city’s mayor, endorsed her a few days after the primary.

“When it comes to addressing the housing and homelessness crisis, fighting for a clean environment, and progressively representing our East Bay communities, we can depend on Buffy Wicks to deliver results in the Legislature,” stated Quinto.

And last week gay former Berkeley city councilman Darryl Moore threw his support behind Wicks’ candidacy.

“Buffy Wicks has the ability to build strong coalitions and work collaboratively with diverse stakeholders to solve the challenges facing the East Bay,” stated Moore.

Gay men launch East Bay council bids

Three gay men seeking East Bay city council seats in November will kick off their campaigns later this month.

Four years ago, the aforementioned Quinto became the first LGBT person to serve on the El Cerrito City Council. His election also marked the first time a person living with HIV had won public office in the Bay Area.

In December, he became the city’s first LGBT and first Filipino

mayor; the position rotates among the council members. He is also the first known HIV-positive mayor in the region, and only the second out mayor to serve in Contra Costa County.

He is now seeking a second four-year term on the council.

Quinto, 57, will kick off his reelection campaign July 18 at Sasa Kitchen, 10350 San Pablo Avenue in El Cerrito. The event will run from 5:30 to 7 p.m.

Also that evening Cesar Zepeda, 37, will kick off his second campaign for a seat on the Richmond City Council. In 2016 he lost his bid to become the first out gay man elected to his city’s council and only its second LGBT member, after Beckles.

A Mexican immigrant, Zepeda has called the East Bay city home since he was 8 years old. A homeowner and neighborhood leader in Richmond’s Hilltop district, Zepeda helped launch the Lambda Democrats LGBT political club last year.

His kick off event will begin at 6 p.m. July 18 at El Portumex Restaurant, 721 23rd Street in Richmond.

In Dublin, United States Navy veteran Shawn Kumagai is seeking a seat on his city’s council.

The 41-year-old instructional design consultant for PG&E is now a master chief petty officer in the Navy Reserve.

He will launch his council bid at noon Saturday, July 21, at Alamo Creek Park. The city-owned park is located at 7601 Shady Creek Road. It is believed he would be the first known LGBT person elected to the council should he win the race.

The Lambda Democrats will vote on early endorsing all three of the council candidates at its August 22 meeting. Like Beckles, they will need 60 percent of the vote to secure the club’s support. Kumagai is a former board member of the club and sought its endorsement, despite his running for office in a different county. (Dublin is in Alameda County.)

Although it is primarily focused on Contra Costa County, the club will consider backing LGBTQ candidates from neighboring counties if they seek its endorsement, explained Cook, its PAC chair.t Political Notes, the notebook’s online companion, is going on summer hiatus. It will return Monday, July 30.

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) 8298836 or e-mail m.bajko@ebar.com.

www.SchneiderLawSF.com

415-781-6500 *Certified by the California State Bar 400 Montgomery Street, Ste. 505, San Francisco, CA

THIS IS THE

san francisco

Columbariu M Funeral Home and

formerly the Neptune Society

We’ve expanded our services and kept the spirit and tradition.

Call (415) 771-0717 One Loraine Court between Stanyan & Arguello

FD 1306

COA 660

<< Community News

6 • BAY AREA REPORTER • July 12-18, 2018

t

Castro Valley Pride is Saturday compiled by Cynthia Laird

collections, will provide an introduction to the holdings and the function of the archives.

Visitors also will have a chance to see scarce objects, artwork, and documents that have never been displayed publicly.

Guided tours will take place at 11:30 and 12:30. Light refreshments will be served.

Interested people need to RSVP online by July 13. To sign up and receive free tickets, visit https://www. eventbrite.com/e/behind-the-scenesthe-glbt-historical-society-archivestickets-46389172263.

T

Never miss an issue!

Receive the Bay Area Reporter delivered by first class mail, every week, to your home or office.

Our convenient mail subscriptions are available for 3, 6, or 12 month periods and ensure you’ll always keep up with the latest and most comprehensive coverage of national, state and local LGBTQ issues, arts & culture, and nightlife.

13 weeks 26 weeks 52 weeks

$40 $75 $140

To begin your mail subscription, call us at 415-861-5019 or email subscriptions@ebar.com

VALENCIA CYCLERY

We’ve got more bikes in stock & ready to ride than any shop in SF MANY ON SALE!

Hybrid/City

Kid’s Kid’

Road

Mountain

MID-SUMMER BIKE SALE ON NOW!

Your one-stop shop for the whole family!

1065 & 1077 Valencia (Btwn 21st & 22nd St.) SF

SALES 415-550-6600 • REPAIRS 415-550-6601 Mon-Sat 10-6, Thur 10-7, Sun 11-5

valenciacyclery.com

he eighth annual Castro Valley Pride festival will be held Saturday, July 14, from noon to 5 p.m. at Castro Valley High School, 19501 Redwood Road.

Organizers said that the community-oriented grassroots festival is a place where all are welcome, and where people can be themselves and enjoy friends and family.

“We think it’s important for our community to understand that our families are the same as theirs, and that we live right alongside them in Castro Valley and many other small East Bay communities,” Billy Ray Bradford, a founding member of the Pride festival, said in a news release.

The afternoon will feature games, booths, food trucks, performers, and speakers.

Bradford, a gay man, said there will be some new things this year. Drag revue the House of FAB is coming from Fresno, he told the Bay Area Reporter in a Facebook message.

“I’m told they are great,” he added.

There will also be family karaoke live on the stage, next to the kids’ space.

In a news release, Bradford said there will be 10 faith groups at Pride, along with 70 vendor and community booths.

Organizers are putting together a trans space. And there will be some panels from the AIDS Memorial Quilt near the main stage, Bradford said.

There is no admission to the festival, which is an alcohol- and nudity-free

Courtesy YouTube

Castro Valley Pride organizer Billy Ray Bradford speaks at the 2016 event.

event. For more information, see the Castro Valley Pride 2018 Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/ events/136926640317069/). For sponsorship opportunities or to donate, visit http://www.castrovalleypride.com/.

Historical society open house

The GLBT Historical Society will hold an open house at its archives Saturday, July 14, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 989 Market Street, lower level, in San Francisco.

“The Historical Society Archives: Behind the Scenes” will offer members of the public a tour, including a rare opportunity to visit the archival reserve normally accessible only to the society’s staff. Joanna Black, director of archives and special

San Leandro to honor LGBT seniors

The city of San Leandro will issue a proclamation acknowledging the contributions to the community by Lavender Seniors of the East Bay Monday, July 16, at 7 p.m. during a regular meeting of the City Council at City Hall, 900 East 14th Street.

The recognition is also in celebration of LGBTQ Pride season.

The meeting, to be held in the council chambers, is open to the public.

Community forum at San Mateo Pride center

The San Mateo County Pride Center will hold a community forum Wednesday, July 18, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at 1021 South El Camino Real in San Mateo.

Organizers encourage people to bring their ideas for what they would like to see at the community center.

See page 7 >>

O’Sullivan found guilty of stealing rainbow flag

by Alex Madison

included, “I am going to kill all the motherfucking gays,” Sonoma county jury and “I am going to blow found the man who you up you motherfucking stole a rainbow flag from faggot,” according to Robert the Guerneville Plaza Maddock, the deputy disflagpole in May guilty of trict attorney prosecuting petty theft June 28. the case.

Vincent Joseph O’Sullivan’s arraignO’Sullivan, 55, will be ment regarding the hate Courtesy Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office sentenced for the flag crime charge is scheduled theft at a July 13 hear- Vincent Joseph for July 12. Santa Rosa ating at Sonoma County O’Sullivan torney Chris Chouteau, Superior Court in Santa who declined to comRosa. ment for the story, is rep“There were many who were very resenting him. upset by this conduct,” Sonoma The hate crime charge against County District Attorney Jill R. O’Sullivan was reinstated at a Ravitch, who is a lesbian, said in a June 22 hearing by Superior news release. “The jury’s verdict reCourt Judge Jennifer V. Dollard flects the support this community after being dismissed in an earlier has for the rule of law and the right hearing. Dollard determined that of all to enjoy this county.”

Superior Court Judge Andria K. Though the rainbow flag has Richey, who dismissed the hate been stolen more than half a dozen crime charge, ruled in an error of times since it was first put up in June law and failed to hold O’Sullivan 2017, O’Sullivan was only charged to answer for his threats. with one theft that occurred May He was taken into custody on 9. He was caught on surveillance $55,000 bail at the June 22 hearing, camera stealing the flag early in the but posted bail later that night and morning with an accomplice, who was released from jail. the Sonoma County DAs office has Beth Streets, a straight ally who yet to charge. started a Flag Supporters group that During trial, Sonoma County has been replacing the stolen rainsheriff ’s deputy Theodore Van bow flags, has attended every court Bebber testified that when he queshearing that O’Sullivan has had to tioned O’Sullivan he didn’t deny date regarding the hate crime and taking the flag and admitted that petty theft charges. the flag’s presence on that flagpole “I was thrilled beyond belief that offended him as well as others. he was convicted,” Streets said in a O’Sullivan is also facing hate recent interview with the Bay Area crime charges for another incident Reporter. “In a small town it’s imin May where he threatened to portant people are held accountable “bomb the gay people in Guernevfor such vile behavior.” ille” at a local Safeway store, authoriStreets is disappointed, howties said. He targeted one individual ever, that the person who allegedly who was the victim in this case, a helped steal the rainbow flag with gay male employee of the Starbucks O’Sullivan in May has not been located inside the Guerneville Safecharged yet. Streets said she has way store off Highway 116. asked the Sonoma County ComOther threats and language allegedly mission on Human Rights to put used by O’Sullivan during the incident

A

pressure on the Sonoma County DA’s office to file charges against the accomplice.

As previously noted by the B.A.R., the sheriff ’s office began its investigation April 26, according to a statement by Lieutenant Eddie Engram on website Nixle.com, after a rainbow flag was stolen from the flagpole in Guerneville Plaza.

Soon, the office became aware of O’Sullivan’s threats.

As the sheriff ’s office’s investigation progressed, deputies developed probable cause that O’Sullivan was a suspect for both the flag thefts and the threats. Sergeant Spencer Crum said the investigators connected the flag vandalism with the threats based on two different incidents.

Crum said deputies reviewed videos taken by surveillance cameras owned by the county and aimed at Guerneville Plaza.

“We saw O’Sullivan and another person on the plaza before the theft, then the other person covering the video camera, and at the end, when the camera was uncovered, the rainbow flag was gone,” he said.

Then, when O’Sullivan allegedly issued threats at Safeway, investigators concluded the intent was specifically to injure members of the LGBTQ community. Crum said O’Sullivan told Safeway employees he wanted to “bomb the gay people of Guerneville.” t

Correction

The June 28 article “Castro Cares program revamps” should have stated that the $64,000 set aside for the program covers both the salary for the half-time outreach worker position and operating expenses over the next 12 months. The online version has been corrected.

Community News>>

t Hormel Center fellow brings in younger patrons

July 12-18, 2018 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 7

by Alex Madison

M

ason J. Olaya-Smith went from sleeping in the San Francisco Public Library to being the first fellow at the James C. Hormel LGBTQIA Center on the third floor. In the past, Olaya-Smith, who identifies as a trans, intersex, and genderqueer person, struggled to secure employment and housing because of their identity, but now things are stabilizing.

For about 12 hours a week, Olaya-Smith comes to the center to do outreach on social media and explore the ins and outs of the material at one of the country’s premiere archives for the LGBTQ community.

“My job is to act as a welcoming committee for the Hormel Center,” said the 30-year-old, who uses gender-neutral pronouns.

Olaya-Smith brings a fresh perspective to the fellowship and can directly relate to the communities that the Hormel Center is trying to target. Though Olaya-Smith wants to highlight the extensive and rare works that are held at the center to all populations, they are passionate about recruiting younger LGBTs who may not know the center exists and emphasizing texts and works

News Briefs

Hormel Center fellow Mason J. Olaya-Smith

with which underrepresented communities can more closely connect.

“I want to allow people who don’t see themselves reflected in the LGBTQ media or programming to feel especially welcome,” Olaya-Smith, who started the twoyear fellowship in November 2017, said.

This was particularly important to Olaya-Smith because they said that they themselves often felt ostracized in many communities and places because of their

The town hall is a chance for people to share feedback, comments, and concerns.

There is no cost to attend. For more information, visit www.sanmateopride.org.

Works, returns Thursday, July 19, from 10 a.m. to noon.

Volunteers will assist Recreation and Park Department gardeners in restoring and maintaining the park’s flower beds. People of all ages are welcome and should meet at the entrance to the children’s playground. RSVP to robert@doloresparkworks.org.

Dolores Garden Club returns

CA seeks next poet laureate

From page 6

After taking a break for San Francisco Pride, the Dolores Park Garden Club, organized by Dolores Park

The California Arts Council has announced it is seeking nominations for the state’s next poet laureate.

center for a month at a time and then read from work that inspires them at a public event. OlayaSmith works one-on-one with the writers to help them navigate the over 14,000 titles at the center.

The wave of newcomers coming to the center is something Marie Ciepiela, a queer woman who’s executive director of the Friends of the Public Library, has noticed too. The Friends of the SFPL is a nonprofit that funds the center through an endowment, including the new fellowship program.

Ciepiela said that in a short time the center’s programming and brand have been revived with the help of Olaya-Smith; newly appointed Hormel Center program manager Wendy Kramer, a lesbian; and Lane Goldszer, the center’s librarian.

Ciepiela was a voice behind originating the fellowship program because she recognized the need to engage younger LGBTs with the center. The center didn’t need another archivist, or librarian, Ciepiela said, but someone who had deep roots in the community and could bring people in. After eight months on the job, Ciepiela knows OlayaSmith was the perfect person to do

just that.

“Mason is just incredible,” Ciepiela said. “They have engaged with community issues throughout their life and have cared for people who need it the most. They brought their heart and smart advocate brain to the job.”

Kramer is Olaya-Smith’s direct supervisor and couldn’t be happier to have them on board.

“Mason is connecting users all over the Bay Area and the world with Hormel Center collections,” Kramer said. “[They] are an ambassador, helping the Hormel Center form relationships that I hope will spread and be long term.”

Olaya-Smith has come full circle from experiencing hard times to now helping others who are not in the best place through their fellowship at the center. Olaya-Smith lives in Oakland and, in addition to the fellowship, works at an in-home care company in San Francisco that specializes in caring for people with autism. Aiding for people with autism has been a longtime passion of Olaya-Smith, who has four autistic younger siblings.

“I’m not an archivist. I’m not a librarian. I’m an activist,” they said.t

The role of the poet laureate is to spread the art of poetry from classrooms to boardrooms across the state, to inspire an emerging generation of literary artists, and to educate Californians about the many poets and authors who have influenced the state through creative literary expression.

The poet laureate provides public readings in urban and rural areas; educates civic and state leaders about the value of poetry and creative expression; and undertakes a significant cultural project, with one of its goals

being to bring poetry to students who might otherwise have little opportunity to be exposed.

The poet laureate serves a two-year term upon state Senate confirmation, and may serve up to two terms.

The state’s current poet laureate is Dana Gioia, who has served since his appointment by Governor Jerry Brown in 2015 and his confirmation in 2016.

The California Arts Council manages the poet laureate nomination process for the governor, in

accordance with the law. After a call to the public for nominations, applications are reviewed and evaluated by a panel of experienced state poets.

Three finalists are sent to the governor’s office for additional vetting.

The deadline to submit nominations is July 25. Poets may self-nominate or be nominated by experts in the field of literature.

For more information, including the application, visit http://arts. ca.gov/initiatives/pl.php. t

Alert

Hi y) st we re De Fo a & ona nd w Ho Wa na & & gu al l (La arav rava Ave

36

52

T

Castro

Starting June 25 for 2 months

Church

ll

o Zo SF

Ta 4th 1

48

Portola & O’Shaughnessy Portola & Laguna Honda 43

L

West Portal

FH

36 44 52 48

48 57

(Portola & Vicente)

Twin Peaks Tunnel closed for infrastructure improvement.

West Portal Ave/Sloat/Portola Junipero Serra & Ocean M

i Faster Downtown v

This map shows you how to get where you want to go. Download your own map at SFMTA.com/TwinPeaks

do

ce bo rch Du Chu &

n ea h Oc eac B

Bus Substitutions

w

nt

ow n

Twin Peaks Tunnel Improvement Project To

<<

Meg Allen

identity. They said they want the Hormel Center to be a “cultural center” where people can share ideas, learn about their history, and become inspired.

As part of the fellowship, OlayaSmith sends out social media posts, something they called a “queer smorgasbord” of information, on the center’s main channels.

They also created the center’s first Tumblr account, which now has over 100 followers. “Woman crush Wednesday” posts that highlight interesting women from LGBT history or today and “Trans crush Tuesday” posts celebrating trans people are just a few of the fun and informative things Olaya-Smith has come up with. And the approach seems to be working.

“The fact that generations that don’t typically think of the library as a space for them are now showing up is amazing,” Olaya-Smith said, who added that they have seen an uptick of trans women of color and youth as young as 9 years old visiting the center.

This has been helped in part by the popular Radar Reading Series “Show Us Your Spine,” which Olaya-Smith works on. The program invites a handful of writers to explore the archives of the

M

a RT

BA

Faster Downtown via BART M

311 Free language assistance / 免費語言協助 / Ayuda gratis con el idioma / Бесплатная помощь переводчиков / Trợ giúp Thông dịch Miễn phí / Assistance linguistique gratuite / 無料の言語支援 / Libreng tulong para sa wikang Filipino / 무료 언어 지원 / การช่วยเหลือทางด้านภาษาโดยไม่เสียค่าใช้จา่ ย / ‫خط املساعدة املجاين عىل الرمق‬

Fastest way Downtown

Balboa Park San Jose & Geneva

Sunnydale

SFMTA.com/TwinPeaks

<< National News

8 • BAY AREA REPORTER • July 12-18, 2018

LGBT groups react harshly to Kavanaugh

by Lisa Keen

Kozinski, who resigned last year as allegations surfaced that he engaged in sexual misconduct, was also a supporter of equal rights for LGBT people.

Log Cabin Republicans, a gay GOP group, sent out no press statement, and did not have anything about Kavanaugh’s nomination on its website as of Tuesday.

R

eaction from LGBT organizations to President Donald Trump’s nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court was unsparing Monday night, with many saying he will not be like Anthony Kennedy, the justice he is replacing and for whom he once served as a law clerk.

Trump nominated Kavanaugh during primetime televised remarks from the White House July 9.

Kavanaugh, 53, serves as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

He has no known LGBT-related decisions in his 12 years on the federal appeals court. But LGBT activists feel certain that he will be no Kennedy.

“There hasn’t been a nominee for the Supreme Court this extreme since Robert Bork.” Rea Carey, executive director of the National LGBTQ Task Force, said, referring to the onetime Reagan nominee whose confirmation was rejected by the Senate in 1987.

Jenny Pizer of Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund was more blunt, saying Kavanaugh will “yank the court sharply to the extreme right.”

Equality California called him a “far-right extremist.”

“Judge Brett Kavanaugh is a farright extremist who may satisfy the litmus test established by the president’s supporters, but has consistently ruled against some of our most fundamental American freedoms,” Rick Zbur, EQCA executive director, said in a statement. “To replace Justice

<<

Guest Opinion

From page 4

did not show it to anyone for fear that they would laugh at these funny looking immigrants on their wedding day.

Florida rednecks (Crackers) weren’t sure what to call these new immigrants.

“They’re not black, but they sure as hell ain’t white,” they would say, so they called us Cuban niggers.

By the time I was in junior high, I spoke both Spanish and English fluently with no trace of an accent. But, I did not like going to school. I preferred fishing or bike riding and rarely took my textbooks home, doing my homework in the library or on the bus. My grades hung around low average, and I was bored by the lessons and felt disconnected from the other students. However, when we were given a battery of aptitude tests, I scored higher that anyone in both math and English.

The next semester I was assigned

Background

Courtesy CNN

President Donald Trump congratulates Judge Brett Kavanaugh after his nomination to the Supreme Court Monday, as his wife, Ashley, and daughters, Margaret and Liza, look on.

Kennedy with a dangerously radical opponent of LGBTQ equality, reproductive rights, affordable health care, and fair elections would be an affront to the lives of people across the political spectrum who value these fundamental freedoms.”

Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, said there is nothing in Kavanaugh’s record to indicate he “understands the real-world impact of discrimination on LGBT people or the importance of construing our nation’s laws to enable them to participate fully and equally in society.”

But Kavanaugh, speaking from prepared remarks in the East Room of the White House Monday night, tried to suggest he understands.

He said he was deeply honored to

fill Kennedy’s seat. He didn’t mention that Kennedy had, during his time on the bench, become a reliable swing vote in favor of equal rights for LGBT people in four landmark cases.

Kavanaugh noted that Justice Elena Kagan, when she was dean at Harvard Law School, hired him to teach students there that “the Constitution’s separation of powers protects individual liberty ...” He did not mention that Kagan has been a reliable vote for LGBT equality, too.

And Kavanaugh credited his mother, a judge who had once taught in public high school. He said she “taught me the importance of equality for all Americans.”

Kavanaugh did not mention that he also clerked for 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Alex Kozinski.

to an advanced English class, where I was the only student who was not a member of the honor society. I learned English composition, wrote stories and poems, and recited aloud in class. Our teacher, Mrs. Strickland, insisted that we stand up to recite, open our mouths to speak out, cast our voice to the last row, and stress consonants.

“Did you write this story by yourself, or did someone help you?” Mrs. Strickland asked. She held my poem, “Marilyn,” in her hand.

“No one helped me, teacher. It all came out of my head.” I had written a poem to Marilyn Monroe, where I promised to love her forever and described her sexy smile and long legs.

“Fine,” she said. “I’ll keep it for now and give it back to you at the end of the semester.”

In high school I concentrated on English, math, and business courses.

I also took speech and drama classes.

I entered a contest sponsored by the Rotary Club and won first prize,

speaking about “Why I like being an American.” I edited and published the school’s first wall calendar and wrote a four-line poem for each month.

By graduation time, I had a job at the local newspaper and became president of our class. Good English opened many doors for me.

Stay in the know!

Sign up on our recently redesigned website ebar.com to receive our weekly email newsletter as well as for our exclusive lists for discount offers, contests and giveaways.

Your email is never shared or sold. Sign up today!

Military life

My mother did not want me to join the military.

“The Boy Scouts are just a way to prepare you for the Army. No son of mine will wear a uniform for this country,” she told me when I was 7. I did not take part in ROTC or band, or anything military in high school.

But, when I turned 18, I enlisted in the U.S. Navy for four years. It broke my mother’s heart. She was against war, against killing, and against becoming Americanized, but I was bored with Tampa and joined the Navy to see the world.

“Emily? Amalio?” said the Navy recruiter. “What kind of pussy name is that?”

“I’m sorry but my family is from Cuba,” I said. “Emilio means ‘rival’ in Latin.”

“Well, son, it just won’t do for the U. S. Navy,” said the overweight chief petty officer, with a red swollen face, two fingers missing from his right hand, bad breath, and cigarette butts overflowing in his ashtray.

“In the Navy the official language is English. From now on your first name will be shortened to ‘Ed,’” he said. “However, your birth name will be reflected in all official documents.”

The Navy systematically erased the person I had been and made me into a silent, obedient, God-bless-Americaand-the-flag sailor. I learned the rules for making money, being promoted, oppressing the lower ranks, gambling, cheating, smoking cigarettes, and avoiding work. They told me that America is the most powerful country in the world, better educated, wealthier, and has the biggest store of deadly weapons. My hair was sheared at the roots; I was immunized against all viruses; all my civilian clothes and anything that remained of life on the outside were taken away. By the end of nine weeks of boot camp, I was transformed into a patriotic robot,

President George W. Bush appointed Kavanaugh to the D.C. Circuit.

Prior to that, Kavanaugh worked in the White House as Bush’s staff secretary and he married Ashley Estes, the woman who worked as Bush’s personal secretary. In the Bush White House, Kavanaugh was a key player in choosing U.S. Supreme Court nominees, most of whom were very right wing.

At Kavanaugh’s own confirmation hearing in 2006, then-Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) told Kavanaugh that the issue of same-sex marriage was coming up through the court system. He asked, “Do you have a viewpoint on issues, say, as marriage and the determination of the definition of that? Is that something that the court should establish or is it left to the legislative bodies?”

Kavanaugh said he was hesitant to discuss the issue, since it might come before him on the D.C. Circuit.

“In terms of your general principle about judicial activism,” said Kavanaugh, “I do think that some of the worst moments in the Supreme Court’s history have been moments of judicial activism, like the Dred Scott case, like convinced that killing others to keep America free was OK. After boot training I was stationed overseas on the island of Malta, a speck in the middle of the Mediterranean, a colony of the UK for over 200 years. In Malta everyone spoke English, including the native Maltese, who also spoke an Arab-like written language. I memorized some practical Maltese phrases to speak to street vendors and taxi drivers.

One year later, I was transferred to Sigonella, Sicily to build what would become the most strategic NATO base in the world. Italian was the official language, but Sicilian was spoken by most locals. I took classes and had a tutor in Italian and it did not take me long to conduct conversations with strangers on the street. When I went home to Tampa on leave, my father commented, “Mira, Emilio no me hable con esse acsento Italiano.”

(Don’t speak to me with that Italian accent.)

After serving four honorable years in the Navy, I had several civil service jobs with the federal government in Washington, D.C. I excelled at taking exams that led to promotions in administrative positions overseas in Costa Rica and Geneva, Switzerland.

My bilingual ability helped me get good jobs. But, my work experience in the Navy and the federal government convinced me that to get a goodpaying civilian job, I needed to finish my college education, and I used the GI Bill to finish my degree work at UCLA. I took a full load of evening classes and worked full-time days as an accounting clerk at a big corporation in Beverly Hills.

I earned a bachelor’s degree in science and business administration; I was hired to conduct a study of health care costs in East Los Angeles, a community of Spanish-speaking immigrant families from Mexico and Central America that was 96.7 percent Latino. Finally, for the first time since leaving Ybor City in 1957, I was able to engage in Spanish conversation at work, at school, with local business folks, and on the street.

A walk down Whittier Boulevard on my lunch hour exposed me to the colorful, local culture; the scent of spicy foods, tacos, pupusas, rice and

t

the Lochner case, where the court went outside its proper bounds, in my judgment, in interpreting clauses of the Constitution to impose its own policy views and to supplant the proper role of the legislative branch.

So I think, in terms of judicial activism, that is something that all judges have to guard against. That is something that the Supreme Court has to guard against. And throughout our history, we have seen that some of the worst moments in the Supreme Court history have been moments of judicial activism where courts have imposed their own policy preferences.”

Rachel B. Tiven, chief executive officer of Lambda Legal, said LGBT people “have good reason to fear that Judge Kavanaugh will abuse his power on the court to protect the wealthy and the powerful while depriving LGBT Americans of our dignity, demeaning our community, and diminishing our status as equal citizens.”

Many political observers speculated that Trump was drawn to Kavanaugh, in no small part, because he thinks Kavanaugh would protect him when certain issues come before the Supreme Court. Kavanaugh has written, for instance, that he does not believe a U.S. president can be criminally indicted or subjected to a civil lawsuit while in office.

Senator Cory Booker (D-New Jersey), who is on the Senate Judiciary Committee, told the “Rachel Maddow Show” Monday night that the See page 12 >> beans, enchiladas, and roasted goat, chicken and pork tastier than in Mexico City. Colorful murals with scenes of Mexican independence, women’s struggle, and pyramids in dreamy landscapes adorned the neighborhood walls. I saw several 1957 Chevys like the one I owned in Ybor City, restored to showroom quality; lowriders bouncing their classic cars down Monterey Boulevard; young girls going to church in Quinceañera gowns and their first pair of high heels; and I heard mariachis singing nortenas, rancheras, and boleros.

I felt like a potato in potato soup.

No one asked me, “Where are you from?” as gringos often do. What they really mean is, “What race are you, obviously, you are not an American.”

Conversely, because of my nonaccented English, my clothes, and my educated manner, some locals considered me a “tio taco” – too assimilated to be called a Chicano.

But, when I began to speak Spanish at work, something unexpected happened; I lost my desire to become Americanized and accepted the idea of Latinos as a people – Hispanic people.

I read Spanish novels, newspapers, stories, poems, and songs. I returned to regular Latin dances, and slowly resurrected my pride in being a Latino.

I went back to using my given name, Emilio, and never used “Ed” again.

Along the way I’ve learned that language is much more than just a way of speaking. Language is a gateway to customs, beliefs, prejudices, as well as a path to citizenship, functioning in the marketplace, and clearly a vehicle for control of mind and thoughts. When I speak English today I see myself as an Americanized phony, but when I speak Spanish I talk freely with honesty and conviction, from my heart. t Emilio Gonzalez, 80, is a gay Cuban-American poet, writer, veteran, and tai chi teacher. His work has appeared in numerous print publications and literary journals.

In 2015 he published a popular book, “Cigar City Stories.” Born in Ybor City, Tampa, Florida, Gonzalez lived in San Francisco for 35 years. Today, he lives in Santa Rosa, where he writes every day, paints watercolors, and teaches qigong classes.

t

International News >>

July 12-18, 2018 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 9

Russian lesbian continuing the fight from afar

by Heather Cassell

I

t was a bold move. One that was dangerous in Russia, a country known for being one of the most homophobic in the world, and, eventually, led a woman to flee with her family to the United States.

However, Olga Baranova, a 40-yearold lesbian, knew it was necessary in order to continue operating Moscow’s only LGBT community center.

The LGBT activist and former advertising executive, who was appointed director of the center, didn’t see any other choice. About four months into working with a coalition of Russian LGBT organizations to create the Moscow Community Center in late 2015, many in the group walked away.

But the need was so great that Baranova’s career was halted, and all her attention was focused on the center. There was one administrative staff member and one key volunteer, Tatiana Vinnichenko, who has been Baranova’s right-hand woman from the center’s launch.

“This kind of space was absolutely necessary in Moscow,” Baranova, with the assistance of translator Anna Tchetchetkine, said in a recent interview in San Francisco. “It was necessary that somebody do this work, and it could not be abandoned. At the same time, it was difficult because they didn’t have very many resources. I think that there were just enough resources to rent the space.”

Yet, while they had the foundation, fundraising to maintain the center was another issue.

“In Russia, [it] is very difficult, in general, to ask people for donations,” Baranova said. “People may be skeptical for this new project, but the need for the space was so high they fundraised money.”

The center operates on a minimal budget, which is constantly in flux, to keep the doors open. Everything else is donated, she told the Bay Area Reporter.

Vinnichenko and Baranova work closely with the center’s five-member volunteer advisory group.

Baranova shifted her role to program director, operating the center remotely since she left Moscow.

Baranova and Tchetchetkine met with the B.A.R. at a cafe to talk about the center, LGBT rights in Russia, Baranova’s exile from her homeland, and her hopes for Russia and the center’s future.

Heather Cassell

Olga Baranova, the former director and current program director, is running the Moscow Community Center from afar for her safety.

And it “most likely was a show of force that you should be afraid of us because that is how everything is done in Russia.”

However, there were no legal issues, as “the center strictly follows the law,” she said.

Some programs have been lifesaving, such as the charity auction that raised money to aid queer Chechens escaping persecution last year.

Other projects are confidential and are only worked on by Vinnichenko, who is currently the center’s interim

director on the ground, and Baranova.

She declined to discuss the programs with the B.A.R.

Queer Chechen refugees

It was Baranova’s work aiding persecuted LGBT Chechens that pushed her out of Russia.

In April 2017, it was reported by Novaya Gazeta that more than 100 male residents in the Chechen Republic had been abducted, held prisoner, and tortured because of their perceived or actual sexual orientation.

The Chechen government has denied the gay purge.

“Chechnya made a lot of people more afraid, but also, more active,” Baranova said. “When there’s more oppression, people are also more active in resisting it.”

The center worked with the Russian LGBT Network providing safe houses and financial support to 100 LGBT Chechens who came to Moscow. The number has risen to 120 as of May, despite a slowdown in request for help that started last November, she said.

Many of the 100 gay Chechens have resettled in LGBT-friendly countries, she said.

Baranova attributes some of the slowdown to Chechnya making it difficult for LGBT people to get out.

“It’s harder for people to leave Chechnya,” said Baranova. “Since the fall, the government has gotten clever.

[Authorities] began to accuse people of crimes and sometimes forc[ed] confessions of other crimes. This prevents them from leaving Chechnya, and it makes it harder to help them.”

Baranova confirmed that Chechen authorities have also targeted queer women. Network and center leaders made the decision to keep reports of women also being rounded up by Chechen authorities quiet to avoid

The center

In its short existence, the center has become a hub for Moscow’s LGBT organizations and community.

The center hosts community events and programs produced by organizations and members of the community, according to Baranova.

“Virtually all of the LGBT organizations in Moscow have a presence in the center, in addition to visiting speakers from other places in Russia,” said Baranova. “The center also runs its own events ... that will be interesting to the whole LGBT community.”

Some events are cultural, such as a three-day art exhibit produced by the center. Some are educational, such as the speakers’ series that welcomes LGBT activists and allies to present their ideas to the community.

During the center’s first two years it welcomed up to 700 people monthly, quickly outgrowing its space. Since its move to a new location, the center has seen up to 800 people walk through its doors every month, and Baranova expects the number to keep growing, she said.

Police came to the center only once at its old location, Baranova said. One evening two or three police vans surrounded the building and riot police entered the center. They had been tipped off that there was a lecture about LGBT activism.

“They were afraid that some violent conflict might happen,” she said.

TICKETS ON SALE NOW

“provoking the situation to get worse,” she said, but they have changed their policy and are speaking out about Chechen lesbians’ detainment.

“The problem also does exist for women and it has existed and it continues to exist,” she said.

Forced to flee

Baranova said she had to leave Russia.

“There was no other choice, because it is not safe for me to be in Russia,” she said, stating there were some events that happened and “several people warned her that people were looking for her.”

She moved her wife and child to San Francisco in February. She declined to identify her wife and son to protect their privacy.

Baranova and her wife were married in San Francisco a few years ago, she said. The women have been together for 17 years.

The family applied for asylum after their visas expired, she said. They are currently waiting for a response about their immigration status.

It’s been challenging being a Russian lesbian living in the U.S. with little English-language skills. She and her wife don’t have the same type of See page 12 >>

<< Business News

t Nonprofit tends to the needs of LGBT agriculturists 10 • BAY AREA REPORTER • July 12-18, 2018

by Matthew S. Bajko

A

t the Cultivating Change Foundation’s fourth summit for LGBTQ agriculturists and their allies, and first to be held in the Midwest, attendees listened to workshop sessions on such topics as “Growing Bridges: Research on Lesbian Farmers & Their Communities” and “Could Grandpa Have Been Wrong? Sustainable, Profitable Managed Grazing.”

Sponsors included corporate giants in the agricultural sector, such as Monsanto, Tyson Foods Inc., and Corteva Agriscience, DowDuPont’s agriculture division, as well as the U.S. Department of Agriculture and AgriCorps, which sends recent college graduates to work with farmers in the African countries of Liberia and Ghana.

Roughly 200 people attended this year’s three-day conference, held in late June in Des Moines, Iowa. In addition to helping connect LGBT agriculturists, the annual summits also aim to educate industry leaders on how they can make their workplaces more welcoming to LGBT employees.

“The focus is on strengthening the agricultural sector as a whole to grow and thrive and be more inclusive,” explained Marcus Lee Hollan, a co-founder of the foundation and its current executive director.

It also is allowing people from different fields within the agricultural sector, whether they are farmers and ranchers or food scientists and policy makers, to come together and meet face-to-face.

“We are bringing together disciplines within agriculture that typically are not sitting at the table together talking about the future of the industry,” said Hollan. “We believe we are breaking down those silos.”

Courtesy Cultivating Change Foundation

Panelists held a fireside chat at the Cultivating Change Foundation’s summit last month that included, from left, Ebony Webber, COO at the National MANRRS Organization; Annette Sarlatte-Matsu, recruiter and diversity and inclusion specialist at the Climate Corporation; Jeff Rowe, president global seeds of North America & China at Syngenta; Justin Ransom, senior director of sustainable food strategy at Tyson Food Inc.; Andy Armbruster, director of integration planning – culture and change management at Monsanto, Bayer Integration Team; and Ellen Thompson, director of the National TeachAg Campaign.

As the foundation’s other cofounder, Jesse Lee Eller, explained in an interview this week with the Bay Area Reporter, “Anyone who has an impact on the agricultural industry is considered an agriculturist.”

Hollan, 33, and Eller, 32, launched the nonprofit in 2015 as a “passion project” of Studio 5, the creative learning firm based in San Francisco that Eller founded and oversees as CEO. Hollan is the firm’s COO. The friends of nearly two decades have been volunteering their time toward establishing the foundation and are in the process of hiring an executive director to succeed Hollan.

They are looking for someone who can focus full-time on fundraising and growing the nonprofit’s reach.

The foundation currently operates on a budget of $90,000, which largely

funds the annual summits and other regional events held throughout the year. The board has yet to determine a salary amount for the new executive director or a budget for the next fiscal year, decisions the seven-person oversight body will make when it meets in August.

“We think we have taken it to a place where it has momentum. Now we want to bring on a person who can grow and evolve the conversation,” said Eller.

Although San Francisco is home to many LGBT nonprofits, it is not thought of as being at the center of the agricultural field. Yet, argued Eller, having the foundation based in the city makes sense. Many food trends championed in the Bay Area region, he noted, impact what Americans’ eat and shop for in the grocery aisle.

Plus, California is a major farming state, added Eller.

“We have a ton of influencers and thought leaders within the Bay Area who impact agriculture, especially when you think about agriculture tech,” he said. “You have nontraditional agriculturalists creating components of technology and science that are impacting the agricultural industry in positive ways.”

The gay men first met at California State University, Chico, where they both earned Bachelor of Science degrees in agriculture business. They bonded over their shared childhood experiences of growing up in rural parts of the Golden State.

Hollan’s family raised him in the rural foothills of Mariposa County near Yosemite National Park. He was active in the 4-H Club and enrolled in agricultural leadership development programs sponsored by the National FFA Organization, formerly known as Future Farmers of America.

Eller is from a fifth generation farming family based in Corning, California. One side of his family raises cattle, while the other grows rice in Tehama County south of Redding.

Like Hollan, he was active with FFA. After college, Hollan left for graduate school in Kentucky while Eller attended the University of San Francisco, but they remained in touch. In 2015, they held the first Cultivating Change Summit in Atlanta as a way to kick-start a national discussion about LGBT people working in the agricultural industry.

“Growing up in rural America, no one talked about sexual orientation or gender identity. No one talked about

LGBT folks in that space,” said Hollan.

“This is the only national conversation for this.”

The next two summits took place in Sacramento. The foundation’s work received the notice of the Obama administration, which invited its leaders to participate in the White House Rural Council.

As part of its mission, the Cultivating Change Foundation works with companies that are in the food, fiber, and natural resources sectors on attaining, and maintaining, a perfect 100 score on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index. Monsanto and Tyson both received 100 scores in the 2018 index, as did the Dow Chemical Co., which is now known as DowDuPont.

The foundation also created the Cultivating Change Collegiate Ambassador Program to assist LGBT collegiate agriculturists with academic and professional advancement in the field.

The first Students for Cultivating Change group was formed on the campus of Pennsylvania State University.

Because the U.S. Census does not collect sexual orientation or gender identity data, there is no way of knowing how many LGBT people work in the agricultural sector.

“We do not have a sense of how many LGBT people work in this field. Part of the reason for the foundation is to get metrics on that,” said Hollan. “You can’t count if you are not counted.”

Apart from the yearly conferences, the foundation hosts regional meetings in cities across the country. It will be holding a reception in Provincetown in September and one in San Francisco in November.

To learn more about the Cultivating Change Foundation and its work, visit its website at cultivatingchangefoundation.org/. t Got a tip on LGBT business news? Call Matthew S. Bajko at (415) 829-8836 or e-mail m.bajko@ebar.com.

New Castro florist has a twist

by Sari Staver

garden, including succulents and bamboo.

Blumen will be open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday, and by appointment on Monday and Tuesday.

T

he new florist shop on Castro Street will not be selling flowers.

Cut flowers, that is.

Blumen, at 548 Castro Street, will only carry custom arrangements, owner Bruce Scarrow told the Bay Area Reporter in an interview at his new shop, where the renovation is almost complete.

Blumen replaces the comic book store, The Whatever Shop, which moved to the former location of Books, Inc. at 2275 Market Street, which closed over two years ago.

Scarrow, a 52-year-old gay man who worked at the Castro’s high-end florist Ixia, 2331 Market Street, for over a decade, also plans to sell art and gifts, he said.

A resident of Buena Vista and the Castro for the past 25 years, Scarrow thinks that despite the half-dozen other florists or flower stands in the neighborhood, there is still demand for custom arrangements. Blumen will offer “unique, artsy arrangements” that are a “cut above” what is available in the neighborhood, he said.

Open for less than a week, Sparrow has already done a number of installations downtown, a niche he hopes to maintain. People stopping in on their way home from work to get flowers will be able to pick up one of Sparrow’s premade custom

Other business news

Sari Staver

Blumen owner Bruce Scarrow

arrangements, beginning at $50, or have him create something, beginning at $85. Delivery throughout the Bay Area is available.

When Sparrow left his job at Ixia after the longtime owner sold the business, he decided he wanted to work for himself.

“I found this location quickly and snapped it up,” he said. “I’m really excited about this.”

Before he worked at Ixia, Sparrow had a number of other jobs, including as a kidney dialysis technician, but realized he had found his life’s work when he began creating custom floral designs.

At home, Sparrow has a Japanese

In other business news near the Castro, a new bar, Last Rites, has opened at 718 14th Street, where Resistance used to be. According to the website Eater, the new owners describe the bar as “Polynesian noir.” The back of the bar is made from an actual airplane fuselage and bar stools from airplane seats.

There are also two recently opened breakfast and lunch spots on Market Street, a Scandinavianinspired casual restaurant, Kantine, at 1906 Market Street, and Wooden Spoon, at 2172 Market Street.

The Castro and adjacent Duboce Triangle still have plenty of empty storefronts, including a handful of vacancies in properties owned by Les Natali, who recently opened Hamburger Mary’s at 531 Castro Street. Most recently, the year-old pop-up furniture store owned by decorator Stewart Morton at 4144 18th Street has closed. Natali is also looking for tenants at two other storefronts on the block, including at the now-closed Mexican grill Zapata, where a large sign out front announces reduced rent. t

t

Commentary>>

July 12-18, 2018 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 11

Encircling the enemy

by Christina A. DiEdoardo “The enemy soldier in a zone of operations ought not to be allowed to sleep; his outposts ought to be attacked and liquidated systematically. At every moment the impression ought to be created that he is surrounded by a complete circle.” – Ernesto “Che” Guevara

I

n the two weeks since the end of San Francisco Pride, the City has experienced a level of sustained protest and direct action unprecedented since #OccupySF’s first actions in 2011. From the activists who surrounded the Federal Building and those who marched to City Hall to those who protested at Immigration and Customs Enforcement headquarters in San Francisco, regime installations and policies have been placed under siege as never before.

‘SCOTUS Fucked Up’

It began June 26, after the U.S. Supreme Court voted 5-4 to uphold the Trump administration’s power to issue a ban on Muslims entering the country who were not U.S. citizens in Trump v. Hawaii. Shortly thereafter, activists from Resistance SF and other groups protested at the West

County Detention Facility in Richmond (where ICE keeps some of its detainees) and several hours later, descended upon the Federal Building to protest the decision with banners and a light projection.

Of all the signs I saw that night, it was hard to beat one that was both the simplest and most direct: “SCOTUS Fucked Up,” referring to the Supreme Court. While the ruling ends the court fight for the immediate future, activists vowed to continue their fight against the Muslim ban until it is revoked.

Families belong together

That Saturday, June 30, several thousand people marched from Mission Dolores Park to City Hall in the “Families Belong Together” march and rally, sponsored by the group of the same name, to protest the detention and separation of migrants from their family members by the regime.

“This is bullshit, and we’ve had enough,” said activist and former Pride grand marshal Alex U. Inn to a cheering crowd. “This is all about money and racism. This is all about the incarceration of our families and children.

“Every single minute we should be thinking of something we can do to make the fucking change,” Inn said.

Shortly thereafter, activists from Central America took that advice to

heart and pointed out to the organizers and attendees that despite most of the migrants (and their children) being from Central America, Central American groups had been relegated to the end of the parade and almost the end of the speaking program at City Hall.

Sadly, rather than address these justifiable criticisms and concerns voiced by the people the event was supposedly intended to help, organizers appeared to shoo them off the stage so that a Japanese-American group, which was next in the lineup, could voice its “solidarity” with a group it was literally speaking over.

As the saying “Nothing about us without us” – first popularized by disability rights advocates in Europe and elsewhere – goes, those whom the action is supposed to assist should be front and center, not relegated to the sidelines.

Saving space beautifully!

Call Now to Make an Appointment with a Wallbed Expert!

2 Convenient Locations

550 15th Street Suite #2 San Francisco 415-854-7748 2515 S. El Camino Real San Mateo 650-264-9541 Newly Designed Location

#OccupyICESF

Accessories and More From On Monday, July 2, anarchists, antifa, Black Bloc, and other activists began their protest outside of ICE’s Largest Selection of Murphy Wallbeds In Town!

SFMurphyBeds.com San Francisco headquarters at 444 Washington Street. Multiple dispersal orders by the San Francisco Police 5/30/18 10:46 AM Department only strengthened theWallbeds_053118.indd 1 occupiers’ resolve as the encampment grew to cover a city block in the largest direct-action occupation in the city since 2011.

EXPLORE THE GAY WORLD

See page 12 >>

Cinderella’s secret and the Hidden Flag

by Roger Brigham

G

otta love television’s World Cup coverage. While presenting us with stunningly disappointing performances from some of the world’s best teams and repeatedly bad officiating, television’s talking heads focused on gushing over the surprising run of host Russia to the quarterfinals after the team had been winless for nearly a year.

A Cinderella story, they declared it – apparently forgetting Russians are known for more than borscht, vodka, and interfering with democratic elections.

Remember the revelations about the epic Russian drugcheating apparatus – the one that is run by the state, routinely swapped out urine samples and resulted with the Russian team being banned (well, officially but with allowances for a few athletes) from the Olympics? Nary a word from sportscasters on that throughout Russia’s surprise run.

Great Britain’s Mail on Sunday reported that FIFA, soccer’s international governing body, knew about 155 Russian soccer doping cases for a year and a half before the World Cup but took no action.

http://www.thehiddenflag.org

Hidden Flag activists wore soccer jerseys in the colors of the rainbow flag and protested Russia’s anti-LGBT laws during the World Cup.

“FIFA claim they have been actively looking at the issue for more than a year,” the Mail reported. “But they have yet to prosecute a single case, publicly at least, issuing only bland statements that investigations are ongoing.

Richard Pound, the former head of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), believes it is ‘obvious’ why, telling the Mail on Sunday, ‘They have the matter of billions of dollars at stake in having a hassle-free World Cup.’” Pound told the Mail, “FIFA

should have had something in place to give credibility to their investigation. If not an independent investigation, then at least an independent party involved in some capacity. FIFA are a governing body who have never had any robust anti-doping policy. Consultation [with WADA] is not the same as saying FIFA have adhered to WADA policy.”

Pound said the laboratory where most of the Russian work before the 2014 Winter Olympics occurred “is now a restaurant and bar where the menu includes a Duchess Cocktail.”

Duchess cocktail is the name

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Evelyn and Sam Aller and was raised Lutheran. He died March 11, 2018.

Sam moved to New York in 1959 then relocated to the Castro in 1975, where he lived at 25 States Street until his death.

Sam’s passions included the life and reign of Queen Elizabeth II and opera, especially Wagner. He was a member of the Wagner Society of Northern California.

His entire Wagner collection was donated to the society to be appreciated anew by other “Wagnerites.” Sam also loved trains and streetcars.

Sam was a good friend, fun and funny, thoughtful, and generous; he enjoyed quality time with friends over cocktails, meals, and tea. He liked things to be just right ... “spiff.”

Sam was beloved and is still missed by many, including his neighbors at 25 States Street who became lifelong friends; his church family; his nieces and nephews Deborah Kaplan, Carol Issacs Hussian, Mark and Jon Heck, Claire and Bill Finn Jr., and their families; and his sister-in-law, Dorothy Finn.

See page 13 >>

Obituaries >> Samuel Howard Aller December 23, 1936 – March 11, 2018 A memorial service for Samuel Howard Aller will be held Saturday, July 14, at 4 p.m., at St. Francis Lutheran Church, 152 Church Street in San Francisco.

Sam was born December 23, 1936 in

®

99

$

Drain Clean Special* Call us 24/7

415-993-9523 Main line service up to 100’, with access point. Warranty included.

May not be combined with other offers.

Service limited to San Francisco County resident, 8am to 7pm.

A locally owned and operated franchise. Lic# 974194

www.MrRooter-SFO.com

<< Community News

12 • BAY AREA REPORTER • July 12-18, 2018

<<

LGBT judge

From page 1

the First District Court of Appeal.

Carvill announced that Whitman would be assigned to the Fremont Hall of Justice.

Five years ago Phelan first applied for a judicial appointment with the governor’s office and went through the vetting process. She then watched as others were named to vacant seats on the Sonoma court and resigned herself that her opportunity may not come.

But after being contacted again by the governor’s office earlier this year, Phelan said she suspected an appointment was imminent. The call informing her she would become a judge came June 25, the Monday after the annual Pride celebration in San Francisco.

<<

PrEP

From page 1

country beyond 2020.

“We hope that there is already a public discussion, a strong decision on how to do it to be able to make this preventive measure feasible for all those who want it and are at risk of acquiring HIV,” he said.

HIV treatment is free to Mexican residents. The Mexican government likely will weigh the cost of lifelong HIV treatment against the cost of funding PrEP.

Sites

In addition to Puerto Vallarta, four PrEP sites will be in Mexico City, two administered by government clinics and two by nongovernmental nonprofits, Arjona said. Mexico’s second largest city,

<<

Kavanaugh

From page 8

Kavanaugh nomination is a “get out of jail free card” for the president.

<<

Russian lesbian

From page 9

employment opportunities that they had in Russia.

Baranova had worked at a Russian day care and her wife is learning English and was awarded a scholarship to take accounting classes, she said.

Baranova was out at the child care center.

“They were shocked. They looked at [me] kind of strangely and for a while were kind of confused,” she said.

The owners also asked her to cover up her tattoos. Over time, she watched her bosses and co-workers’ attitudes change.

Cynthia Laird

Alameda County Superior Court Judge Jenna M. Whitman, left, is congratulated by Presiding Judge Wynne Carvill after he swore her in July 6.

A San Francisco Police Department bike officer shadowing the Refuse Fascism march July 7 had a Blue Lives Matter sticker affixed to his firearm, which appears to violate a 2014 directive from former Police Chief Greg Suhr.

<<

Drag queen

From page 2

maintain the lot in absence of a fence/ gate that allows us to lock it up,” SFMTA spokeswoman Erica Kato wrote in an

delighted at the chance.”

She needs to delay her swearing in ceremony in order to wrap up her work with the state appellate court and attend to several personal matters. Foremost, she and her wife, the writer Janet Niehoff, who uses the pen name Jet Eliot, are still in the process of repairing the damage their home sustained during last fall’s wildfires that devastated the North Bay. While not totally destroyed by the Nuns Fire in October, the couple’s house was severely damaged. They have been living in rentals around the Bay Area the last 10 months and are preparing to move again at the end of July.

“Repairs are underway at my place, and we hope to be able to return home in the fall,” said Phelan, who has been with Niehoff 30 years

and married her in 2008.

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Phelan moved to the Golden State as a teenager and graduated from UCLA. She then earned a Juris Doctor degree from UC Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco and went to work for the law firm Pillsbury, Winthrop, Shaw, Pittman LLP as an associate from 1987 to 1991.

She then worked for First District Court of Appeal until 2001, when she was hired as an associate at Lanahan and Reilley. But two years later she returned to work for the state appellate court.

She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Raima H. Ballinger. Phelan, a Democrat, will earn $200,042 as a judge. t

“I had certainly realized it may not come to me, so I was delighted then when I did have the

opportunity given to me,” said Phelan, who has lived in Sonoma County for 17 years. “I am really

Guadalajara, is also participating in the program. The Yucatan Peninsula city of Merida was recently added as the fourth city to participate in the program. Oaxaca was supposed to get PrEP but the earthquake in February destroyed the facility that was going to administer the program.

Arjona estimates that SETAC will serve 300 clients in its PrEP program in Puerto Vallarta. His nonprofit will employ a full-time doctor. After initial HIV and sexually transmitted disease tests, clients will be given a one-month supply of Truvada, which requires daily dosing. After the first month, clients will be re-tested and then put on a three-month schedule and receive a three-month supply of Truvada.

So far, 110 people have signed up to get PrEP in Puerto Vallarta, Arjona said. He added that about 80 percent of those who signed up

for PrEP are Mexican, the rest are from the U.S. and Canada, as well as migrants from Venezuela and Columbia.

Arjona added that one of the unique things about Puerto Vallarta is the large number of residents and visitors in the city who are familiar with PrEP programs in the United States.

“The main thing here in Puerto Vallarta is that people already know about PrEP,” he said. “They have more information about PrEP than the other locations.”

Arjona added that his office has seen many serodiscordant couples and that, more often than not, it is an HIV-positive American involved with an HIV-negative Mexican. In those cases it is especially important that the HIV-positive partner remain adherent to their treatment, he said. Studies have shown that it

is virtually impossible for an HIVpositive person on treatment with an undetectable viral load to pass the disease to an HIV-negative person. It is recommended that all HIV-positive people start medication soon after being diagnosed.

HIV medication brings a person to undetectable levels within three months, or within weeks if an Integrase inhibitor drug is used.

Arjona said that there is a concern that PrEP could lead to an increase in STDs. PrEP participants will receive counseling, STD testing, and condoms as part of the free program. The director added that syphilis is a serious problem in Puerto Vallarta, and that SETAC treats about 30 people each month for that STD. According to a 2016 Mexican government health report, 220,000 people are living with HIV in the

country. That represents about .2 percent of the Mexican population, less per capita overall than in the U.S. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1,122,900 adults and adolescents are living with the disease in the United States. That is about .4 percent of the U.S. population.

But gay men in Mexico are more likely to be HIV-positive than gay men in the United States, according to UNAIDS. The United Nations agency estimates that 17.3 percent of gay men are HIV-positive in Mexico versus 14.5 percent in the U.S. t

Other Democratic senators have also announced their opposition to the nomination.

Senator Kamala Harris (DCalifornia) was among the first to respond after Trump’s

announcement, stating that the Supreme Court “has a profound impact on the rights – and lives – of all Americans. When at its best, it has advanced the meaning of those words above its doors, ‘Equal

Justice Under Law.’” “Judge Brett Kavanaugh represents a direct and fundamental threat to that promise of equality, and so, I will oppose his nomination to the Supreme Court,” Harris

stated. “Specifically, as a replacement for Justice Anthony Kennedy, his nomination presents an existential threat to the health care of hundreds of millions of Americans.”t

The future

said. “It’s very important for the LGBT community to remain ties between the two countries and to exchange knowledge and expertise.”

It’s a precarious time for all Russian activists in Russia.

“The government understands that if all of the opposition groups come together that it can be a real force and a real threat,” said Baranova.

That isn’t stopping small groups of Russian activists from building alliances with other opposition groups, including the LGBT movement, due to ongoing persecution by President Vladimir Putin’s government.

“The trend is bad. It’s not only just persecution of LGBT people. It’s more of a general attitude of anyone who

thinks differently,” said Baranova.

LGBT activists and other opposition groups are starting to ban together as allies despite homophobia among some groups.

“The LGBT movement is actually looking for allies. The climate that exists is such that some of the allies they find are people they would never normally work with, because among the rest of the opposition there is a lot of homophobia,” she said. “But now the rest of these groups are also looking for allies [and] end up working together.”

The groups also attend each other’s demonstrations and events and LGBT activists protect other activists when

they are arrested by going to jail with them, she told the B.A.R. “They understand that they are in the same bind,” she said.

She believes the combination is accelerating progress in Russia to a day when the former communist nation will be LGBT-friendly, and she will be able to return.

“No matter how much Putin tries, Russia can’t actually stay isolated from the rest of the world,” she said, pointing out that Russia’s youth are watching the changes happening in other countries. t

Despite the raid, a previouslyplanned action at Salesforce Tower later that day to protest the company’s contract with U.S. Customs and Border Protection went forward. The occupiers deserve a lot of credit for taking what many see as the immigration Gestapo in San Francisco offline for a week.

Last Saturday, July 7, Refuse Fascism conducted a rally at the Federal Building to demand the removal of the regime, followed by a march to the #OccupyICESF encampment in solidarity with the protesters.

“I’m out here today because we need to build a world beyond the sick shithole that America is,” said Xochitl Johnson, an organizer with Refuse Fascism’s Revolution Club, to a crowd

of about 50 people. “We need to build a world where people have rights – people who are queer, people who are women, people who are immigrants.

“It means dismantling the apparatus of this capitalist imperialist system,” Johnson said. “I’m out here because I believe it’s possible, not because I’m an optimist.”

As I saw while marching with the group, reminders of the system Johnson spoke of were close enough to touch, given how one of the SFPD bike officers shadowing the march had a “Blue Lives Matter” flag sticker clearly visible on the magazine of his gun.

The flag, which was intended as a direct response by police to the work of Black Lives Matter, has become a favored symbol of fascists as well as

members of law enforcement – which, given the existence of fascist groups like the Oathkeepers that are made up of cops – should surprise no one.

I can’t say what was in this officer’s head when he decided to publicly brandish what many consider to be a hate symbol on his department-issued firearm. However, content concerns aside, the fact that doing so also appears to violate a 2014 directive from then-Police Chief Greg Suhr banning all non-SFPD stickers on guns reinforced a conclusion I and others reached long ago: all cops are bastards.

SFPD spokespeople did not return a request for comment by press time. t

a.m. by the CBD’s clean team staff.

SFMTA installed a similar gate in the parking lot located at 457 Castro Street behind the Castro Theatre about five years ago. Kato said this gate has “worked well to curtail nuisance activities.”

SFMTA owns both lots, which have been targeted for car break-ins for many years, explained Greg Carey, chief of the volunteer group Castro Community on Patrol. “[The] lot should help improve the quality of life for the people living

nearby,” he said. “The lot is notorious for car break-ins, fights, and public urination. It is often the site for open liquor consumption by underage people, who often have loud music and raised voices.”t

Today, she remains focused on the center in Moscow and helping Russia’s LGBT movement by increasing her fundraising skills, especially for a safe house for LGBT Russians.

She estimates that the safe house will run out of funding by November if it doesn’t receive donations.

“In Russia, it’s very difficult to fundraise for this kind of community center, but America is very good at fundraising,” she said, talking about the experience and technology.

She’s also focused on strengthening the relationship between the American and Russian LGBT communities.

“Right now, politically, the U.S. and Russia are growing far apart,” she

<<

Christina A. DiEdoardo

t

Resist

From page 11

Besides successfully disrupting ICE’s efforts to round up local immigrants and refugees, those at the camp conducted multiple letterwriting sessions to immigration detainees as well as teach-ins on immigration policy and activism while keeping a wary eye on efforts by the police to move in.

Early in the morning of Monday, July 9, the SFPD’s threats against the protesters became reality as officers raided the camp and arrested multiple people, at least one of whom was reportedly hospitalized by the police action, according to a statement from #OccupyICESF.

email response to the B.A.R. The cost of the project was not immediately available.

The gate will be locked at 1 a.m. by Patrol Special officers, who are funded by the Castro/Upper Market Community Benefit District, and opened at 7

Trump and Pence Must Go

Cynthia Laird contributed reporting.

For a video tour of the SETAC PrEP facility in Puerto Vallarta with director Paco Arjona, visit https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=pdw1YDPicGo&t=18s.

To donate, or for more information about the center, visit http://mcclgbt.com/en/mcc.

Got a tip? Email me at christina@ diedoardolaw.com.

t <<

Community News>>

Jock Talk

From page 11

of a combination of performance enhancing drugs.

“This doesn’t strike me as a place where the systematic doping is seen as serious,” Pound said.

“They literally treat it as a joke.”

Or, as Travis Tygart, current CEO of WADA, put it: “We’re fools to believe it’s any different this time around from what happened in Sochi. They’re just laughing behind our backs. We know for a fact that the government of Russia, when it was awarded the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, saw the opportunity to exert national pride and power on the international stage and began doping athletes and swapping samples to achieve what it set out

<<

to achieve, which was winning the medal count and dominating its home Olympics. That’s been exposed. That’s undeniable.

Now, they’re hosting another huge event. We know the doping system existed even as they continue to deny it, and we also know there’s a direct connection from that system to football in Russia.

They’ve proven that they’ll go to any lengths to win.”

Meanwhile, in the streets surrounding the football stadia, six activists were protesting Russia’s anti-LGBT laws by producing stunning visuals: they paraded around in international soccer jerseys whose colors combined to make a living, breathing rainbow flag.

The activists – Marta Márquez of Spain, Eric Houter of the Netherlands, Eloi Pierozan Junior of Brazil, Guillermo León of Mexico,

July 12-18, 2018 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 13

Vanesa Paola Ferrario of Argentina, and Mateo Fernández Gómez of Colombia – call their project the Hidden Flag.

“When Gilbert Baker designed the rainbow flag in 1978, he did so to create a symbol and an icon for the LGBT community,” the activists say on their website, http:// www.thehiddenflag.org. “A symbol, recognizable across the world, that people could use to express their pride. We have taken advantage of the fact the country is hosting the World Cup at the same time as Pride Month, to denounce their behavior and take the rainbow flag to the streets of Russia. Yes, in the plain light of day, in front of the Russian authorities, Russian society and the whole world, we wave the flag with pride.”

Cool.

Biggest Gay Games in a dozen years

The past two Gay Games in Cologne and Cleveland were magical experiences for those who attended but disappointed many Gay Games supporters by drawing the fewest registrants in decades. So when registrations for Gay Games X in Paris this year finally closed last week – a month in advance of the August 4-12 event – organizers were pleased to announce more than 10,000 participants had registered: the fifth time Gay Games will have hit five figures, joining New York City (1994), Amsterdam (1998), Sydney (2002) and Chicago (2006).

A total of 10,317 individual artists and athletes account for 12,700 registrations, with some of the athletes registering for more than

Mayor Breed

primary ballot. Breed bested gay former state lawmaker and city supervisor Mark Leno in the mayor’s race.

She will serve out the term of the late mayor Ed Lee, who would have left office in January 2020 but died suddenly in December, and must run in November 2019 for a full four-year mayoral term. Breed had the crowd honor Lee with a moment of silence.

Mandelman defeated District 8 Supervisor Jeff Sheehy in their contest to serve in the seat through the end of the year. He is facing token opposition in November for a full four-year term and is expected to easily win the race.

Lee had appointed Sheehy, a gay married father and longtime AIDS activist, to fill the vacancy created when gay former supervisor Scott Wiener resigned in late 2016 due to his election to the state Senate. Sheehy is the first known HIV-positive person to have served as a supervisor.

With Mandelman on the board, the progressive supervisors now have a 6-4 majority. But Breed moved last month to ensure moderate District 10 Supervisor Malia Cohen succeeded her as board president by relinquishing the gavel at the board’s June 26 meeting.

Breed stepped down as the District

5 supervisor Wednesday and will now name her replacement to the seat. Whoever is appointed will not have to run for election until the November 2019 ballot.

With competitive races this fall for the board’s District 2, 4, 6, and 10 seats, control of the board could swing back to the moderates next year. A new board president will be elected in early January when the winners of the November races are sworn into office.

This weekend Breed will oversee a policy summit where the members of 12 different committees will present their ideas for how her administration can tackle a host of issues, from

transportation and housing to LGBT issues and safety concerns. Several lesbian leaders, and one gay man, helped oversee the work done by Breed’s Policy Transition Team.

Mandelman and Breed both have pledged to address the city’s lack of affordable housing and ongoing homelessness crisis as their top concerns. The dual issues have personally impacted both leaders.

Breed, a renter in the Lower Haight, has struggled to afford to live in the city as an adult and seen many of her childhood friends be pushed out of San Francisco. She pledged to tackle the bureaucratic hurdles that have blocked developers from building housing at all income levels throughout the city.

“I plan to change the politics of no to the politics of yes. Yes, we will build more housing,” said Breed.

Mandelman, a homeowner in the Mission, ended up homeless when he was 11 years old as his mother struggled with mental illness. She died during the campaign and the struggles she experienced were a constant theme of his candidacy. During high school he lived with a couple who offered him a place to stay in the city’s Richmond district, and later in life, secured guardianship over his mother in order to get her the care she needed.

Acknowledging how extraordinary it is for the city to have as its mayor an African-American woman who grew up in the projects, Mandelman pledged to work with Breed.

“I am so excited to work with her to build more housing, solve homelessness, and improve the city’s transit system,” he said. t

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038172900

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038189900

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0381800-00

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038187300

From page 1

Noting how she grew up in public housing in the Western Addition, witnessing her friends succumb to drugs, teenage pregnancy, and gun violence, Breed said it was due to the love of her family and support from the city that ensured she did not face the same fate.

“I stand at this podium today because a community believed in me,” said Breed, pledging that as mayor she would work tirelessly to provide the same assistance to today’s youth. “Together, we can build a San Francisco where the next generation of young people can go from public housing to the mayor’s office.”

City Attorney Dennis Herrera swore in Mandelman as the representative for the city’s gay Castro district, as well as the neighborhoods of Noe Valley, Diamond Heights, and Glen Park. Mandelman, 44, a lawyer who lost a 2010 bid for the supervisor seat, ensures there continues to be LGBT representation on the board.

Mandelman had Supervisors Sandra Lee Fewer and Hillary Ronen, and gay BART board member Bevan Dufty, a former District 8 supervisor, stand with him for his swearing in.

“I want to extend my thanks to the voters of this district who were willing to take a second look and taking me at my word to get beyond the petty politics that have divided our city for too long,” said Mandelman, who resigned Wednesday from his seat on the city’s college board.

Both Breed and Mandelman ran in special elections on the June 5

one event, said Manuel Picaud, Paris 2018 co-president.

“They come from 91 countries, with one-third of them from the United States and one-fourth from France,” Picaud told the Bay Area Reporter. “The highest numbers are in running, with 1,639; swimming, 1,043; football (soccer), 880; volleyball, 752; and tennis, 623.”

On a personal note: I hadn’t planned to go to the Gay Games this year because the travel arrangements while on dialysis were onerous and my energy level was crappy. Presto chango: I’ve got a new kidney, my energy level is skyrocketing, and I’ll be there to coach the large contingent of wrestlers from Sydney and Melbourne. Should be a great tournament, with 100 wrestlers.

Organizers say they raised more than $4 million for the event. t

Bill Wilson

Gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman is congratulated by Board of Supervisors President Malia Cohen after his swearing in July 11.

Legal Notices>> ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-18-553959

In the matter of the application of HONG Y. SING, 121 ELLINGTON AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112: for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner HONG Y. SING, is requesting that the name HONG Y. SING, be changed to HONG Y. KAMTALONG. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 514, Room 514 on the 24th of July 2018 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

JUN 21, 28, JULY 05, 12, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038190900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: APRETTYDAI BOUTIQUE; SASS MINKS, BLINKS & WINKS, 165 PRAGUE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed NICOLE WILLIAMS. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/18/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/18/18.

JUN 21, 28, JULY 05, 12, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038186000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ABM CONSULTING, 601 VAN NESS AVE #47, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed AARON MCDANIEL. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/01/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/13/18.

JUN 21, 28, JULY 05, 12, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038188300 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BRIANNA’S JEWELRY, 2757 MISSION ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed EDWIN ALBERTO GONZALEZ MENDEZ. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/15/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/15/18.

JUN 21, 28, JULY 05, 12, 2018

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: KGWMEDIA; SHEEPDOG’S APPAREL, 60 VAN NESS AVE #704, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102.

This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed KYLE WARREN. 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 06/01/18.

JUN 21, 28, JULY 05, 12, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038185000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: THE GIFTED BASKET, 1201 MINNESOTA ST. SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed THE GIFTED BASKET INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/18/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/18/18.

JUN 21, 28, JULY 05, 12, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038188700

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: EMPOWER TOGETHER CONSULTING, 530 DIVISADERO ST #178, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JULIE ROBERTSPHUNG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/01/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/12/18.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MCBAKERS MARKET, 1800 MCALLISTER ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed JADA & SONS INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/15/18.

JUN 21, 28, JULY 05, 12, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038185900

JUN 21, 28, JULY 05, 12, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038183500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: STUDIO MUNROE, INC, 1427 DOLORES ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed STUDIO MUNROE, INC (CA). 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 06/08/18.

JUN 21, 28, JULY 05, 12, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038181700

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PICNIC, 1808 POLK ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed POLKAPICNIC LLC (CA).

The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/11/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/11/18.

JUN 21, 28, JULY 05, 12, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038178400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: EUROPA, 647, 647 CLAY ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94111. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed SURYA 647 LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/06/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/06/18.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: COW MARLOWE, 3154 FILLMORE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94123. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed COW MARLOWE SF 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 06/14/18.

JUN 21, 28, JULY 05, 12, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038181000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: D. MUELLER CONSULTING, 3484 19TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed DAVID MUELLER. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/06/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/08/18.

JUN 28, JULY 05, 12, 19, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038198300

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MJD ELECTRIC, 228 DEL MONTE AVE, SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94080. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed BILL MICHAEL BESKALIS. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/13/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/13/18.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: STUDIO PARADISO, 308 JESSIE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed MOSSER VICTORIAN HOTEL INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/01/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/12/18.

JUN 21, 28, JULY 05, 12, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038185300

JUN 21, 28, JULY 05, 12, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038181400 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ZUNI CAFE, 1658 MARKET ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed CUCAGNA, LTD. (CA).

The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 02/15/79. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/11/18.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SUPERCLEAN BUILDING SERVICES, LLC, 1385 FAIRFAX AVE, #C, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124.

This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed SUPERCLEAN BUILDING SERVICES, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/01/05.

The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/11/18.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: GOLDEN PHOENIX ALTERATION, 824 STOCKTON ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94108. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed FENGQIU CHEN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/05/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/21/18.

JUN 21, 28, JULY 05, 12, 2018

JUN 21, 28, JULY 05, 12, 2018

JUN 21, 28, JULY 05, 12, 2018

JUN 28, JULY 05, 12, 19, 2018

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BRJ CONSTRUCTION 415 DELANO AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed RICHARD L. JOHNS & WILLIAM JOHNS. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/03/08. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/12/18

JUN 21, 28, JULY 05, 12, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038182900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SALON REYES, 166 GEARY ST #400, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94108. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed TODD REYES. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/02/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/25/18.

JUN 28, JULY 05, 12, 19, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038194600

<< Classifieds

14 • BAY AREA REPORTER • July 12-18, 2018

Legal Notices>> FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038193600

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CHEZ SHIVY, 350 LAWTON ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed SIOBHAN K. CUNNINGHAM. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/01/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/20/18.

JUN 28, JULY 05, 12, 19, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038167300

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: RICHARD CLARK REDBACK BOOTS USA, 145 CORTE MADERA #143, CORTE MADERA, CA 94920. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed RICHARD CLARK. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/04/17. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/30/18.

JUN 28, JULY 05, 12, 19, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038191400 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MOCKINGBIRD WELLNESS, 3197 16TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MARCIA SEGURA. 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 06/19/18.

JUN 28, JULY 05, 12, 19, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038191500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: EIGHTEA, 91 6TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed YONGHENG FENG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/21/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/19/18.

JUN 28, JULY 05, 12, 19, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038192100 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MIKE & OLIVER, 4040 24TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114.

This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed OLIVER BURGELMAN & MIKE ACKERMAN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/19/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/19/18.

JUN 28, JULY 05, 12, 19, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038193200 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: LUTZ BATH AND KITCHEN; LUTZ PLUMBING SHOWROOM, 3123 17TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed LUTZ PLUMBING, INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/31/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/20/18.

JUN 28, JULY 05, 12, 19, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038191700 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: HAKKA RESTAURANT, 4401 CABRILLO ST, UNIT A, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed TIN SING INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/11/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/19/18.

JUN 28, JULY 05, 12, 19, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038190200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: POLARIS INSIGHT CENTER, 4257 18TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed POLARIS INSIGHT CENTER-A PSYCHOLOGICAL CORPORATION (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 06/18/18.

JUN 28, JULY 05, 12, 19, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038198400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: GE DMV REGISTRATION SERVICE; GE TOWING & AUTO REPAIR BODY SHOP; GE TOWING & AUTO REPAIR UNIT A; GE TOWING SERVICE, 5550 MISSION ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by a married couple, and is signed JUAN G. ESCOBAR & ROSARIO ESCOBAR. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/25/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/25/18.

JUN 28, JULY 05, 12, 19, 2018

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038198500 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: GE TOWING&AUTO REPAIR BODY SHOP, 1390 WALLACE AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by a married couple, and is signed JUAN G. ESCOBAR & ROSARIO ESCOBAR. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/25/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/25/18.

JUN 28, JULY 05, 12, 19, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038191900 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: THE EMPRESS; EMPRESS RESTAURANT; EMPRESS; 3145 GEARY BLVD #238, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by a limited liability company JL REALTY PARTNERS LLC (CA), and is signed 06/19/18. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/19/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/19/18.

JUN 28, JULY 05, 12, 19, 2018 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-037752300

The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: EIGHTEA, 91 6TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business was conducted by an individual and signed by BRIAN ZHAO. The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/06/17.

JUN 28, JULY 05, 12, 19, 2018 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-036510000

The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: HERRERA ESCOBAR SERVICE, 3327 24TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business was conducted by an individual and signed by MIRNA EVELYN HERRERA. The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/29/15.

JUN 28, JULY 05, 12, 19, 2018 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-18-554019

In the matter of the application of: SYDNEY KHOO, 591 25TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner SYDNEY KHOO, is requesting that the name SYDNEY KHOO, be changed to HANSWE KHOO. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 514, Room 514 on the 14th of August 2018 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

JULY 05, 12, 19, 26, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038201200 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: TADASHI WOOD COMPANY, 2045 CABRILLO ST #5, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed RYAN TADASHI HONDA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/20/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/27/18.

JULY 05, 12, 19, 27, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038188200

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038201700

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SNIDER IMMIGRATION SERVICE, 1438 QUESADA AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed BRETT SNIDER. 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 6/27/18.

JULY 05, 12, 19, 26, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038203300 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: LOVE GREEK LIFE, 27 SEARS ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed NICHELLE EMELIA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/01/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/28/18.

JULY 05, 12, 19, 26, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038201600

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: LK KERR BOOKS, 41 MERCED AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94127.

This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed LAURA KERR. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/31/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/27/18.

JULY 05, 12, 19, 26, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038195300

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: DYNAMO; DYNAMO DONUTS; DYNAMO DONUT & COFFEE, 2760 24TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110.

This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed THREE DOGS AND A CAT INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/29/08. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/21/18.

JULY 05, 12, 19, 26, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038204100 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: 2040 BUILDERS, 2345 BALBOA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed 2040 SERVICES (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 06/28/18.

JULY 05, 12, 19, 26, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038200500 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: FIX AUTO SAN FRANCISCO - SOMA, 785 BRYANT ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business is conducted by a trust, and is signed MARIVIC VILA, TRUSTEE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/26/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/26/18.

JULY 05, 12, 19, 26, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038201300

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SAN FRANCISCO PROFESSIONAL MOVERS; EASY MOVE; FOSTER CITY MOVERS; MOVERS BURLINGAME; SAN RAFAEL MOVERS; SIMPLE MOVE, 383 KING ST #1712, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94158. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed SPECTRUM MOVERS LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/27/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/27/18.

JULY 05, 12, 19, 26, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038200400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: DUE DATES, 912 IRVING ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed SHALINI SHAH. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 04/29/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/15/18.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: H2 DISTRO; DISRUPTIVE DOSES; TOWN BUDS; HONEY HIVE, 36 SHOTWELL ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed H4L 2 LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/26/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/26/18.

JULY 05, 12, 19, 26, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038203800

JULY 05, 12, 19, 26, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038201000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ACHIEVERS BOOKS, 730 MADRID ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ART G. MADLAING. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/28/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/28/18.

JULY 05, 12, 19, 26, 2018

Cleaning Services>> CLEANING PROFESSIONAL

27 Years Exp. (415) 794-4411 Roger Miller

RAMBO WITH A VACUUM Housecleaning Richard 415-255-0389

Hauling>>

HAULING 24/7 – (415) 441-1054 Large Truck

/lgbtsf

Tech Support>>

SFMACMAN.com RICK

415.821.1792

JULY 12, 19, 26, AUG 02, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038194100

JULY 05, 12, 19, 26, 2018 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-035295100

JULY 12, 19, 26, AUG 02, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038203400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: GRAPHICUSER LLC, 4789 19TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed GRAPHICUSER LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/18/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/29/18.

The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: GRAPHIC USER, 4789 19TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business was conducted by an individual and signed by BRADLEY S. THOMAS. The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/09/13.

JULY 05, 12, 19, 26, 2018 NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF BOB COGDELL BRADSHAW AKA BOB BRADSHAW IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO: FILE PES-18-302035

To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both, of BOB COGDELL BRADSHAW AKA BOB BRADSHAW. A Petition for Probate has been filed by JEANNIE THORNTON BRADSHAW in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco. The Petition for Probate requests that JEANNIE THORNTON BRADSHAW be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent. The petition requests the decedent’s will and codicils, if any, be admitted to probate. The will and any codicils are available for examination in the file kept by the court. The petition requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important actions, however, the personal representative will be required to give notice to interested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action.) The independent administration authority will be granted unless an interested person files an objection to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority. A hearing on the petition will be held in this court as follows: Aug 01, 2018, 9:00 am, Rm. 204, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102.

If you object to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing. Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney. If you are a creditor or contingent creditor of the decedent, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal representative appointed by the court within the latter of either (1) four months from the date of first issuance of letters to a general personal representative, as defined by section 58(b) of the California Probate Code, or (2) 60 days from the date of mailing or personal delivery to you of a notice under section 9052 of the California Probate Code. Other California statutes and legal authority may affect your rights as a creditor. You may want to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law. You may examine the file kept by the court. If you are a person interested in the estate, you may file with the court a Request for Special Notice (form DE-154) of the filing of an inventory and appraisal of estate assets or of any petition or account as provided in Probate Code section 1250. A Request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk. Attorney for petitioner: MR. AARON M. PALLEY 260544, NEAL & ASSOCIATES, 6200 ANTIOCH ST #202, OAKLAND, CA 94611; Ph. (510) 339-0233.

JULY 12, 19, 26, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038210200

JULY 12, 19, 26, AUG 02, 2018

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MIND YOUR VIBE, 1630 CALIFORNIA ST #407, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed KIMBERLY KHUNARAKSA. 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 07/05/18.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: IMPRINT DISTRIBUTION, 350 TOWNSEND ST #140, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed SANJEEV RAI. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/20/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/20/18.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: HANDY GLASS GUY, 990 FULTON ST #206, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed YUNUS AKBAG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/27/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/28/18.

JULY 12, 19, 26, AUG 02, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038200100

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: HERRERA ESCOBAR SERVICES, INC, 3327 24TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed HERRERA ESCOBAR SERVICES, INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 02/14/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/26/18.

JULY 12, 19, 26, AUG 02, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038211800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ARDEN HOME, 336 HAYES ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed CAN AUSSIE INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/01/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/06/18.

JULY 12, 19, 26, AUG 02, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038212800 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: AIRAM, 1156 SHAFTER AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed AIRAM INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/02/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/09/18.

JULY 12, 19, 26, AUG 02, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038205600 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SHAMROCK CHILDCARE, 1900 17TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed CATHERINE NAUGHTON FLYNN LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/01/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/29/18.

JULY 12, 19, 26, AUG 02, 2018 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-037719400

The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: SUSHI SHOH, 406 DEWEY BLVD, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116. This business was conducted by a general partnership and signed by ALICE HO & YUNRONG CEN. The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/10/17.

JULY 12, 19, 26, AUG 02, 2018 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-037438900

The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: BUSINESS BRA’S, 1415 7TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business was conducted by a general partnership and signed by MELANIE GARCIA & TRISHA HEIGL. The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/24/17.

JULY 12, 19, 26, AUG 02, 2018

To place your classified ad, call

415-861-5019

Then go have a drink & relax...

Movers>>

Notices>>

Pet Services>>

– THANK YOU ST. JUDE –

Professional 30+ years exp Virus/Malware GONE! Device setup Mobile Support Network & wireless setup Discreet

•Home OR OFFICE •27 YEARS EXPERIENCE

JULY 05, 12, 19, 26, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038205400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: TROOP BEVERAGE CO., 849 AVENUE D, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94130. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed TREEHOUSE CRAFT DISTILLERY, 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 06/27/18.

JULY 05, 12, 19, 26, 2018

Ralph Doore 415-867-4657

MACINTOSH HELP

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038209800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: LAST WAVE FILM, 156 RISE ST, SAN FRANCISCO CA 94102. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed KINDRID PARKER. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/03/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/05/18.

Tech Support

 Yelp reviews

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038202100

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: RAFF DISTILLERIE, 1615 INNES AVE #C, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed RAFF BEVERAGE, 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 06/27/18.

Classifieds

t

35 PUC # 176618

May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be adored, glorified, loved and preserved throughout the world now and forever. Sacred Heart of Jesus, pray for us. St. Jude, worker of miracles, pray for us. St. Jude, helper of the hopeless, pray for us. Say prayer nine time a day for nine days. Thank you Jesus and St. Jude for prayers answered. Publication must be promised. B.K.

415 861-5381

16

Queer King

18

Merola music

21

20

Women only

Krontastic

Vol. 48 • No. 28 • July 12-18, 2018

www.ebar.com/arts

Jenny Graham, Oregon Shakespeare Festival

Homosexual ‘Oklahoma!’ wows in Oregon

by Jim Gladstone

R

aise your curtains of preconception and imagine a musical: There’s a spunky, sexually adventurous gay boy pursued by a hardworking man, a few years older, who wants to tame the young-un’s wandering eye and get domestic.

See page 22

>>

“Chicks and ducks and geese better scurry.” Curly (Tatiana Wechsler, right) tries to entice Laurey (Royer Bockus) into accompanying her to the box social.

by Sura Wood

T

Henrik Kam

The David Ireland Houseguest

“Josh” (2018), silicone, steel, hair, urethane, clothing by Tony Matelli, from “I hope all is well...,” through Oct. 13 in the Back Parlor Room of 500 Capp St.

he 1886 Edwardian-style Italianate home at 500 Capp Street in the Mission District, where the late San Francisco conceptual artist David Ireland lived for three decades until several years before his death in 2009, is possibly his greatest, most enduring achievement. After closure during an extensive renovation project, it reopened in 2016, and since then has offered guided tours for the public. The home, which Ireland turned into a living work of art, is like a movie set or a haunted house, though not the scary kind, and its aesthetics are, well, idiosyncratic. Ireland slathered the mostly mustard-colored walls with 20 coats of polyurethane, giving them an eerily high sheen. Detritus like dirt dug up from the property, preserved in jars in utilitarian ceramic wash basins, shares space with sleek industrial design touches like cold steel hardware in the bedroom sink.

Twin, low-slung, cognac leather chairs, positioned with their backs against a window at the far end of the upstairs parlor, sit across the room from a pair of mini propane tanks – Ireland’s version of a chandelier – dangling from the ceiling in front of the fireplace.

See page 22 >>

{ SECOND OF THREE SECTIONS }

A Gay Fantasia on National Themes PA R T O N E : M I L L E N N I U M A P P R O A C H E S PA R T T W O : P E R E S T R O I K A BY

Tony Kushner Tony Taccone

D I R EC T ED BY

FINAL WEEKS!

MUST CLOSE JULY 22

Call 510 647-2949 Click berkeleyrep.org LE A D S P O N S O R S

SEASON SPONSORS

Randy Harrison and Caldwell Tidicue P H OTO BY K E V I N B ER N E

<< Out There

16 • Bay Area Reporter • July 12-18, 2018

Continuing perils

by Roberto Friedman

with his homosexual desires. In a small-town, working-class, adolesy the time young gay French aucent world, that made him a prime thor Edouard Louis’ first novel target.

“The End of Eddy” was translated “Words like affected or effemiinto English and published in the nate could always be heard in the U.S. last year, all of our friends who mouths of adults around me: not still read books had read it just at school. They were like and were urging us to razor blades that would dive right in. cut me for hours, for Let’s take a second days, when I heard to celebrate those of us them, words I picked who still read novels, up and repeated to short stories, nonfiction myself. I told myself over and essays collected in and over again that they book form, who do not were right. I wished I need to be stimulated could change. But my by screens and their body would never obey own solipsism 24/7. me, and so the insults OK, now back to the review. would start up again.”

“The End of Eddy” is an autobiNow “The End of Eddy,” in a ographical account of growing up translation by UC/Berkeley profesgay, poor and bullied in a provinsor of French literature Michael cial village in Northern France. As Lucey, has been published in a child, Eddy Bellegueule (Louis paperback (Picador, $16) so more isONO-School a pseudonym) was precocious, readers find 1:17 it. The of Rock_BAR-ad.qxp_ONO Card can 7/10/18 PMoccasion Page 1 is effeminate and already in touch the U.S. publication of Louis’ sec-

B

T HE R ICHMOND /E RMET A ID F OUNDATION

B E NEFIT

PRESENTS

CABARET

WITH CAST MEMBERS FROM THE BROADWAY TOURING CAST OF

SCHOOL OF ROCK An Evening of Pop, Rock & Broadway Benefiting The Richmond/Ermet Aid Foundation & Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS

Monday, July 16, 7:30pm

Brava Theater

• 2781 24th Street @ York

with special guest American Idol, Recording Star

DAVID HERNANDEZ TICKETS & INFO

www.reaf.org or 415-273-1620

StevenUnderhill PHOTOGRAPHY

TS HEADSHO S PORTRAIT EVENTS

StevenUnderhill.com StevenUnderhillPhotos@gmail.com

415 370 7152

ond novel, “History of Violence,” in a translation by Lorin Stein (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $25). If “Eddy” was a tough read because of its unflinching look at bullying and torment, “History” is no walk in the wine country either. It’s another autobiographically based tale, this time the story of when Louis was raped and almost murdered by a man he picked up in the street on Christmas Eve 2012, in Paris.

“He was Kabyle. When I repeated this, and explained that his being Kabyle had profoundly affected the course of the evening, the officer interrupted and said, ‘So Arabs are your thing?’ They waited for me to answer, and I didn’t say anything at first, then, in the idiotic way one does, I answered – as if the ques-

tion had been a real question, as if it had been appropriate, as if it were acceptable – that he wasn’t an Arab but a Kabyle, that I had studied that part of the world, and that thanks to my studies I was familiar with certain elements of Kabyle culture.”

“History of Violence” has been likened to Truman Capote’s “In Cold Blood,” another so-called “nonfiction novel” centering on a horrible crime. But Louis has more on his mind than explicating his victimhood. He is a born novelist interested in the forms and structures of fiction. Point of view shifts; long sections are monologues voiced by Louis’ sister as she tries to make sense of the crime. Louis knows that stories have power over

t

us according to who is telling them, and even filing a police report takes the power of narration, in effect, away from its protagonist.

“I knew that once I went forward with the story, according to their cues and directions, I couldn’t take it back, and I’d have lost what I wanted to say; …I felt that whenever I spoke a word in front of the police, other words became impossible, now and forever.”

This type of discourse fits squarely in the tradition of French letters, where the philosophy and interior monologues of the author are as important to the novel’s impact as are any particulars of the narrative. But Louis’ novels are not overly intellectualized; they are fully grounded in the visceral and the violent, in the brutal realities he’s had to endure. The following passage is from “End of Eddy”: “I felt his penis hard against my buttocks and then inside me. He gave me directions. Spread them, lift your butt a little. I obeyed his orders with the sense that I was in the process of turning into what I had always been.”

The early admirers of Louis’ work Out There mentioned above had access to advance readers’ copies and prior editions published abroad.

But with his first two novels now out in English and available from a major press, there’s no reason not to make the acquaintance.

RIP Tab Hunter, 86, Hollywood heartthrob, then gay icon.t

Derek Jarman’s queer king

by Brian Bromberger

D

erek Jarman was one of the leaders of the New Queer Cinema in the late 1980s-90s, whose innovative work intertwined culture and politics. His controversial movies were meant to shock viewers with his anger and social criticism.

His most accessible film arrived in his raw and captivating interpretation of Christopher Marlowe’s play “Edward II” (1991), which has been digitally restored in a pristine Blu-ray version just released by Film Movement. His Edward is a biting metaphor for the repressive homophobia in Britain during Margaret Thatcher’s final years and her Conservative government’s support of Clause 28. He draws a parallel between Edward’s secular martyrdom and the persecution of modern LGBTQ people, reinventing Marlowe’s play.

The plot is simple, serving as a skeletal framework. Edward II (Steven Waddington) is crowned in 1307 after the death of his father. He arrives with his working-class lover Piers Gaveston (Andrew Tiernan), rejecting his wife Isabella (Tilda Swinton) and neglecting his royal duties. He gives regal titles and access to the treasury to Gaveston, both of them indulging in a life of ease and pleasure. Torn with jealousy, Isabella conspires with scheming Earls and Barons as well as her lover, the sadomasochistic General Mortimer (Nigel Terry), to convince Edward to banish Gaveston, which he reluctantly does. Eventually Mortimer tortures and murders Gaveston, and with the help of Isabella, plots a military coup to oust Edward. Edward is taken prisoner and murdered, impaled with a hot poker.

In Jarman’s eyes, both Edward and Gaveston are early martyrs for gay liberation. While Gaveston is being killed, Jarman intercuts images of the gay activist resistance group OutRage carrying signs reading “Gay Desire Is Not a Crime” and

“Get Your Filthy Laws Off Our Bodies,” and clashing with police. In a romantic episode just before Gaveston is banished, singer Annie Lennox serenades the lovers with Cole Porter’s “Every Time We Say Goodbye” as they dance in their pajamas. Jarman has a penchant for rewriting history as queer.

Designer Sandy Powell uses clothes to express style and politics. The ruling class is dressed as a corporate board of directors, and Isabella dresses in elegant designer gowns to signal her wealth and distance from Edward.

All the characters vary from modern dress to medieval costumes, only one aspect of Jarman’s use of creative anachronisms in the film. His staging is innovative: four blank walls serve as stand-in for a medieval castle, baroque visuals and lighting serve as mood-setters.

Tilda Swinton was Jarman’s muse, appearing in five of his films as both creative collaborator and actress. She’s splendid here, conveying a woman starved for love, maintaining a veneer covering sexual passions. Her Isabella could have been a caricature, yet despite her desire to wreak vengeance, we feel pity for her. Waddington and Tiernan are best in their love scenes together, determined to fight the tyrannical forces arrayed against them.

Jarman was the first celebrity in Britain to reveal his HIV status publicly, speaking poignantly about his experiences, giving a muchneeded face to the disease, proclaiming he wasn’t a victim. Though the film doesn’t mention AIDS, it’s not a stretch to interpret the OutRage sequences as PWAs fighting against the medical and federal establishments, showing disrespect

for authority, persevering, and not surrendering to a death sentence.

Sadly, Jarman died of the disease in 1994 at age 52.

To his credit, Jarman is not unwilling to present his gay characters in an unflattering light. Edward is weak and reckless, and Gaveston is dissolute and opportunistic. Yet Jarman is also hopeful, adding an alternative ending where Edward’s execution is just a nightmare. He awakens to his executioner throwing away his deadly instrument, and kissing the man he was supposed to kill. Also in the final scene, we see Edward’s son, in drag wearing lipstick and earrings, playing Tchaikovsky’s “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” on his Walkman, prancing on top of a cage incarcerating Isabella and Mortimer. The androgynous Edward III will not surrender.

Is “Edward II” still potent? Jarman’s defiance is as relevant today as it was in 1991. Watching “Edward II” reminds us of how AIDS robbed us of artistic geniuses. A viewer can’t help but be overwhelmed by melancholy and admiration for Jarman’s elegant, scathing inventiveness.t

MY MOMENT

to celebrate!

Discover more ways to play and enjoy new luxury accommodations, our world-class spa and salon, award-winning dining, gaming and entertainment! Experience every moment, all in one great destination.

US 101 TO EXIT 484. 288 GOLF COURSE DRIVE WEST, ROHNERT PARK, CA P 707.588.7100 PLAY WITHIN YOUR LIMITS. IF YOU THINK YOU HAVE A GAMBLING PROBLEM, CALL 1-800-GAMBLER FOR HELP. ROHNERT PARK, CA. © 2018 GRATON RESORT & CASINO

JOB #: GRT-151906

JOB TITLE: My Moment to Celebrate

<< Music

18 • Bay Area Reporter • July 12-18, 2018

Future stars of the opera stage

by Philip Campbell

I

n the good old summertime, San Francisco music-lovers can always rely on the Merola Opera program to uphold a celebrated tradition, selecting, training and showcasing young singers. Last week, the newest class of gifted campers got the 61st season off and running with the Schwabacher Summer Concert at SF Conservatory of Music and Stanford’s Bing Concert Hall in Palo Alto.

Director Aria Umezawa provided some clever stagecraft to imaginatively stitch together full scenes from a wide range of operas.

Galen Till supplied subtle costume designs, and Eric Watkins’ lighting design was effective. Conductor Kathleen Kelly led the well-balanced orchestra from behind the playing area, giving the performers rich additional support.

Versatility and ease with contrasting performance styles are important aspects of Merola training. The sheer variety of the recent bill offered an engaging chance to witness the promise of the class of 2018.

There were a few unsteady moments and a couple of broken notes along the way, but nothing to detract from the overall feeling of euphoria, or which couldn’t be chalked up to opening-night nerves.

Spotting exciting talent and enjoying polished productions are guaranteed, and there are always a few early standouts that prove the enduring success of the program. Audience interest for the two fully staged operas to come and the always thrilling Merola Grand Finale is assured.

Act I, Scene 1 from Samuel Barber’s “Vanessa,” libretto by Gian Carlo Menotti (his almost-lifelong

Kristen Loken

Merola Opera Program’s Schwabacher Summer Concert featured baritone Xiaomeng Zhang performing the title role in scenes from Mozart’s “Don Giovanni.”

partner) seemed a rather dark choice to open the concert, but the composer’s soaring lines certainly offered a quick introduction to the singers’ capabilities.

In the title role, soprano Brittany Nickell (Coral Springs, FL) brought a bright, manic edge to her characterization. She was nicely balanced by mezzo-soprano Megan Grey (Cedar Falls, IA) as Vanessa’s niece Erika. She is one of those poised early standouts we delight in. Tenor Brian Michael Moore (Cincinnati, OH) as Anatol, son of Vanessa’s long-lost love, also made a strong impression with his ardent and clarion tone. In the smaller role of the Major Domo, bass-baritone Andrew Moore (Point Pleasant, NJ) still managed to alert us to an excep-

tionally even and rich voice.

Scenes from Puccini’s verismo “Il tabarro” really let the singers go fullthrottle. There’s nothing like a big Italian melodrama to get the vocal chords opened up. If relationships between the characters could only be partially explained in the abbreviated staging, their hot-blooded emotions were molto evidente.

Soprano Marlen Nahhas (Houston, TX) was well-cast as the conflicted Giorgetta, blending sensuality with passion. Megan Grey was back to give endearing insight to the less-complicated Frugola, matched for warmth by Andrew Moore as her husband Talpa. Tenor Christopher Colmenero (Burlington, VT) was convincing as Giorgetta’s seducer Luigi, contrasting

perfectly with baritone Jaeman Yoon (Seoul, South Korea) as her suspicious husband Michele.

After intermission, selections from all three acts of Bizet’s melodious “Les pecheurs de perles” (“The Pearl Fishers”) offered highlights that allowed further opportunities for the singers to shine.

Soprano Kendra Berentsen (Portland, OR) was fine as the heroine Leila. Her strong singing in the higher register has a satisfying lower range, and she also shows talent as an actress (another big part of Merola training).

Tenor WooYoung Yoon (Seoul, South Korea) as her true love Nadir, and baritone SeokJong Baek (JeonJu, North Jeolla, South Korea) as his friend Zurga (Leila’s intended)

this movement” perhaps his greatestever uncalculated joke) and orating at others through open doors.

Complaints notwithstanding, the author does nothing to deface LB’s reputation as a devoted family man. What gives this book its essential ballast are the accounts of his children painstakingly making lives for themselves – and families and children of their own – ultimately returning rather than spurning “Daddy’s” indisputable love.

Temperamentally, LB did not age any better than the cheap scotch, and the literal, automotive reckless driving his daughter recounts becomes a metaphor for the his ever-increasing capacity to hurt, embarrass and exasperate the family he hugged to death and kissed full on the mouth. (“Daddy kissed everybody.”)

This is not a revenge memoir. And while it’s hardly the first time LB’s homosexuality is acknowledged in print, it’s the least contentious and most personal. JB recounts the three Bernstein children’s being invited to the home of Joan Peyser for a collective interview for Peyser’s unauthorized biography of their father. Having plied the trio with exotic food and drink, Peyser plunges into the interview, “Now about your father’s homosexuality –” His children are long over it.

Still, as recently as his late-career tour with the Vienna Philharmonic in the 1980s – during which I heard a revelatory Mahler Fifth in Davies Hall – it was still not cricket to speak, if at all, of anything but LB’s bisexuality, or his “omnivorous” erotic appetites. Subtly, the author gives the issue a new frame with an overdue, loving, three-dimensional portrait of her mother, Felicia Montealegre, whom most people know

only as the impassioned narrator of LB’s overwrought text of the first performances and recording of his often maligned “Kaddish” Symphony.

Early on, we’re entertained with the story of their nervous honeymoon road trip to Mexico. Later it is spelled out that Montealegre balanced her husband’s erratic driving with a grounded, explicit acknowledgement of his sexuality. In her 1951 letter to Bernstein, first published in 2013, she wrote, “You are a homosexual and may never change. I am willing to accept you as you are, without being a martyr and sacrificing myself on the L.B. altar.” She answered Jamie’s questions about the rumors with a crisp, “He’s queer as a coot.”

A turning point came when Harry Kraut, openly gay even then, became Bernstein’s personal manager, effectively for the duration of his career. It was, the author writes, “equally tough to process the way Harry seemed to be enabling Daddy’s slow creep to overt gayness.”

But it was a creep at an LB tempo, and the book’s second half names many of LB’s flames, crushes, boyfriends and lovers, all more documentarily than scoldingly. There’s unmistakable affection in the tales of who came to dinner, and who was still there for breakfast.

Late in the marriage, the fatally ill Montealegre snapped, not in public but at one of the never-private dinners at the family apartment in the Dakota. “At one point, the conversation turned dark over something,” the author writes. “Mummy pointed her finger across the table at her estranged husband and, with her big-

t

paired for a thrilling rendition of the famous duet “Au fond du temple saint” (“At the back of the holy temple”). They offered the kind of power and sheer beauty of tone that signal success. Both are obviously on the brink of big careers.

The long but briskly paced concert closed with Act II, Scene 13 of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni.” Baritone Xiaomeng Zhang (Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China) was terrific in the title role, and his suitably cowering servant Leporello was amusingly portrayed by Andrew Moore. Both filled the Conservatory Concert Hall to the rafters and beyond with steady and youthful strength.

Jaeman Yoon was back to sing a frightening Commendatore. Brittany Nickell and Marlen Nahhas were excellent as Donna Anna and Donna Elvira. Kendra Berentsen was a sweet Zerlina, and SeokJong Baek got another chance to let his tenor ring as her Masetto. Brian Michael Moore was just right as Don Ottavio.

The moralistic close to the opera itself is also something of a happy ending for the survivors, and the Merolini still left standing by Mozart and his librettist DaPonte assembled for the big finish – with Merola apprentice coaches as game supernumeraries firing confetti guns!

The Merola 2018 season continues with fully staged productions of Mozart’s “Il re pastore” and Stravinsky’s “The Rake’s Progress” later in July and early August. The Grand Finale at the War Memorial Opera House is Aug. 18. All events offer more opportunities to meet all of this year’s participants and the real fun of catching a rising star.t sf.opera.com

Daddy issues

by Tim Pfaff

T

he opening pages of Jamie Bernstein’s “Famous Father Girl: A Memoir of Growing Up Bernstein” (Harper) foretell the chaos and have the flavor of the beginning of Proust’s sprawling novel in a mixer of “Hansel and Gretel” with a chaser of Trump-Russia pee-pee tape (except it’s a dog). But this deeply felt, finely balanced account of being Leonard Bernstein’s oldest daughter captures the madness of life in the orbit of one of the last century’s

most influential, larger-than-life musicians with equal parts candor and compassion.

Smells are another leitmotif. Early on we’re informed that LB (as she typically refers to him) loved “jokes about bodily functions.” Chapter and verse come by way of ripe descriptions of his morning breath, his chain-smoking L&Ms breath, the fragrance of lowly Ballantine’s scotch aging in his mouth and routine accounts of his “stinky” trips to the toilet, where he was known to linger, studying scores (“just let me finish

gest, scariest actress voice, laid her curse on him: ‘You’re going to die a lonely, bitter old queen.’”

In fact, like his wife, LB died of lung cancer, but not without one last, late-blooming romance with a much younger male colleague.

What disturbs his daughter is the likelihood that his death was at least accelerated by the drug abuse common among star performers then, with LB’s fueling himself from color-coded canisters of amphetamines and barbiturates.

Composer centenaries come from the Marketing Department in the Sky. Bernstein’s has been little short of adoring, career-confirming and reputation-elevating. His daughter’s memoir is in the same key.

If you’re overwhelmed with the choice of centenary Bernstein box sets, go for Sony’s “Leonard Bernstein – The Composer.” It’s the fun stuff, the serious stuff – and the music his daughter writes eloquently about.t

Call 1-800-514-3849 to order by phone, or visit the Rodney Strong Tasting RoomGATES from 10OPEN AM – 54PM PM dai—lySHOW to purchase 5PMin person.

THE This Motown doubleheaderCAis not to be missed!

RODNEY STRONG VINEYARDS • 11455 Old Redwood Highway, Healdsburg, 94558

TEMPTATIONS

AUGUST

For more than 50 years, The Temptations have prospered, propelling popular music with a series of smash hits and sold-out performances throughout the world.

26

& THE

The Four Tops' first Motown hit, “Baby I Need Your Loving” in 1964, made them stars. Soulful and bittersweet, their songs thereafter were successes across the board.

FOUR TOPS Music and Wine, all Summer long!

BOZ SCAGGS

SEPTEMBER MICHAEL MCDONALD

MICHAEL MCDONALD

THE TEMPTATIONS

TATIONS

9

Boz Scaggs’ career has spanned more than 50 years, beginning in the Bay Area with the Steve Mil er Band in the 1960s. His solo triumphs followed with such classic albums as Silk Degrees, Middle Man, and Dig.

MELISSA ETHERIDGE

MICHAEL MCDONALD MELISSA ETHERIDGE

MELISSA ETHERIDGE

MICHAEL MCDONALD

THE FOUR TOPS

M ICHAE L M CDONALD

THE TEMPTATIONS

GATES OPEN 4PM — SHOW 5PM

THE FOUR TOPS

THE TEMPTATIONS

MELISSA ETHERIDGE

BOZ SCAGGS

GATES OPEN 5PM — SHOW 6PM

JULY

One of the world’s most distinctive singingBOZ voices, THE FOUR TOPS SCAGGS BOZ SCAGGS

8

Michael McDonald has had a storybook career as a member Steely TOPS Dan and The Doobie Brothers, THE of FOUR and as a solo artist and songwriter.

BOZ SCAGGS

OPEN 5PM SHOW 6PM GATES OPEN GATESGATES OPEN 5PM —— SHOW 6PM5PM — SHOW 6PM

MLE LISSA L JULY JULY One JULY GATES OPENNOW 5PM — SHOW TICKETS ON SALE AT 6PM One of the world’s most distinctive singing voices, M ICHAE of the world’s most distinctive singing voices, M ICHAE JULY Michael McDonald has had a storybook career as asinging voices, Michael McDonald has had a storybook career as a One of the world’s most distinctive ICHAE L member of Steely Dan andmember ETH E RM I DG E 22 of Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers, The Doobie Brothers,

TICKETS ON SALE NOW AT RODNEYSTRONGCONCERTSERIES.COM M CDONALD CDONALD 8 8 Known for her confessional lyrics and raspy, smoky vocals, Melissa Etheridge has been one of America’s favorite singer-songwriters for over two decades.

8

Michael McDonald has had a storybook career as a RODNEYSTRONGCONCERTSERIES.COM and as a solo artist and of songwriter. and as a solo artist and songwriter. member Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers, and as a solo artist and songwriter.

M CDONALD

to order by phone, or THE to order by phone, or visit the Rodney Strong Tasting Room from 10 AM – 5 PM daily to purchase in person.

Call 1-800-514-3849 visit the Rodney Strong Tasting Room from

TEMPTATIONS M E LISSAJULY M E LISSA

GATES OPEN 4PM — SHOW 5PM Call 1-800-514-3849 This Motown doubleheader is not to be missed!

OPEN 5PM — SHOW 6PM 5PM — Temptations SHOW 6PM ForOPEN more than 50 years,GATES The have prospered, AUGUSTGATES JULY propelling popular music with a seriesdaily of smash to hits and 10am 5pm purchase in person.

GATES 5PM SHOW 6PM Known for her confessional lyrics and raspy,—smoky Known for her confessional lyrics and raspy, smoky OPEN sold-out performances throughout the world. vocals, Melissa Etheridge been one of America’s vocals, Melissa has been one ofKnown America’s for has her confessional lyrics and raspy, smoky The FourEtheridge Tops' first Motown hit, “Baby I Need Your Loving” favorite singer-songwriters for over two decades. favorite singer-songwriters for overand two decades. in 1964, made them stars.

Soulful bittersweet, their vocals, Melissa Etheridge has been one of America’s songs thereafter were successes across the board. favorite singer-songwriters for over two decades.

JULY M E LISSA 26 STRONG VINEYARDS • 11455 Old Redwood Highway, Healdsburg, CA 94558 ERODNEY R I DG E TH E R ETH IFOU DG E 22 22 R TOPS ETH E R I DG E 22 & THE

GATES OPEN GATESGATES OPEN 4PM —— SHOW 5PM4PM — SHOW 5PM OPEN 4PM SHOW 5PM

SEPTEMBER BOZ THE THE GATES OPEN 4PM — SHOW 5PM This doubleheader is not to be missed!

This Motown doubleheader is notMotown to be missed!

THE This Motown doubleheader is not to be missed! more thanhave 50 years, The Temptations have prospered, more than 50 years, TheFor Temptations prospered, SCAGGS AUGUST 9 For AUGUST TEMPTATIONS MPTATIONS

& THE

Boz Scaggs’ career has spanned more than 50 years, beginning in the Bay Area with the Steve Miller Band in the 1960s. His solo triumphs followed with such albums as Silk Degrees, Middle Man, music and propelling popular with propellingclassic popular music with a series of smash hitsDig. and

TEMPTATIONS

26

& THE & THE

series of The smash hits and have prospered, For more thana50 years, Temptations sold-out performances throughout the world. sold-out performances throughout the world.propelling popular music with a series of smash hits and sold-out performances the world.

Four Tops' first Motown hit, “Baby I throughout Need Your Loving” The Four Tops' first Motown The hit, “Baby I Need Your Loving” in 1964, made them stars.

Soulful and bittersweet, theirI Need Your Loving” in 1964, made them stars. 11455 Soulful and bittersweet, their Four Tops' first Motown hit, “Baby Old The Redwood Highway songsacross thereafter were successes across the board. songs thereafter were successes theinboard.

1964, made them stars. Soulful and bittersweet, their

AUGUST

26 26

FOUONRSALE TOPS OU R TICKETS TOPS RODNEYSTRONGCONCERTSERIES.COM Healdsburg, CA 94558 FOUNOW R AT TOPS

songs thereafter were successes across the board.

Call 1-800-514-3849 to order by phone, or visit the Rodney Strong Tasting Room from 10 AM – 5 PM daily to purchase in person.

RODNEY STRONG VINEYARDS • 11455 Old Redwood Highway, Healdsburg, CA 94558

OPEN GATES OPEN 4PMGATES — SHOW 5PM4PM — SHOW 5PM SEPTEMBER SEPTEMBER BOZ GATES OPEN 4PM Boz Scaggs’ career spanned more than—50SHOW years, 5PM Boz Scaggs’ career has spanned more than 50has years, SEPTEMBER in theMiller Bay Area beginning in the Bay Area beginning with the Steve Band with the Steve Miller Band BOZ

BOZ SCAGGS9 SCAGGS

9

Boz Scaggs’ career has spanned more than 50 years, in the followed 1960s. His solo triumphs followed in the 1960s. His solo triumphs with such beginning in the Bay Area with with such the Steve Miller Band classicMiddle albumsMan, as Silk Degrees, Middle Man, Dig. with such classic albums as Silk Degrees, and Dig. in the 1960s. His solo triumphsand followed

<< Theatre

20 • Bay Area Reporter • July 12-18, 2018

Five Lesbian Brothers in the mix

by Jim Gladstone

“O

edipus in Palm Springs,” a play by The Five Lesbian Brothers, a writing collaborative that includes Lisa Kron, was in rehearsals for a rare revival at Theater Rhinoceros (opening July 12 at the Gateway Theatre, with a local cast).

“Fun Home,” the Tony-winning musical for which Kron wrote libretto and lyrics, had just opened to terrific reviews on London’s West End. But last week, when the Bay Area Reporter spoke to Kron in New York, it was neither of these projects that she seemed most excited about. In fact, the work she repeatedly returned to, with generous praise and a slight sense of awe, wasn’t her own.

“I need to point to ‘Nanette,’” a typically modest Kron said early in our conversation. “For every lesbian I know, seeing Hannah Gadsby’s show has been an epic event.”

The Tasmanian-born Gadsby’s one-woman stand-up act cum spiritual awakening was filmed at the Sydney Opera House and debuted on Netflix last month. It’s a complex, layered examination of the otherness felt by women, and particularly lesbians, in the culture of comedy, a sometimes devastating demonstration that female humorists have been culturally required to beat themselves with their own punchlines. And an urgent call to lay down the gloves.

“She’s broken open and smashed down the wall that so many of us have been running against for all of our careers,” said Kron. But there’s little question that the road toward Hannah Gadsby was paved in part by Kron and her colleagues in The Five Lesbian Brothers. Their

DIY-spirited WOW Café Theatre in late-1980s Manhattan, “we were utterly invisible. Except for a couple of critics at The Village Voice, C. Carr and Alyssa Solomon, nobody was paying attention to lesbian theater. We all had other jobs. I worked as a temp. The idea of a professional theater career doing lesbian material in New York was just not an option.” The Brothers collaborative was hatched as a plan to potentially create a less-marginalized career.

“Mo and I decided to explore the idea of making a show that could tour small theaters and campuses after we performed at WOW,” said Kron. The pair enlisted the remaining three Brothers and hoped that, by serving as both creators and performers, they might build someJoan Marcus thing sustainable and allow Lisa Kron, one of The Five Lesbian Brothers: them to set other jobs aside “When we started, we were utterly invisible.” to work only in theater for a stretch. Along with achieving that goal (at least five full-length works – “Voyage sporadically), said Kron, the group’s to Lesbos,” “Brave Smiles,” “The creative process was critical in sharpSecretaries,” “Brides of the Moon,” ening her own skills as a dramatist. and “Oedipus…” – each whip wit, “I’m uncomfortable being pulled literary references and feminist out of the collaborative to talk about consciousness into a delectably this,” Kron admitted with typical tart, barb-garnished mousse. modesty. “But I will say that our Kron, now 57, majored in thework together is what really turned ater as an undergraduate and was me into a writer. It’s been some of performing autobiographical solo the most rewarding and transforworks in New York while working mational of my creative life. as a temp when the women first col“The essential tool in our process laborated in 1988. is free writing,” said Kron. “We get “When we started,” Kron recalled into a room together and prompt of the quintet’s early days at the

each other with the germ of an idea, then riff. One of the earliest prompts we ever worked with was this ridiculous SlimFast television commercial where Elizabeth Ashley said, ‘A delicious shake for breakfast, a delicious shake for lunch, and a sensible dinner.’

“At the same time, we’d be talking about what’s been going on in our lives. The death of a parent. Losing a job. A political situation. We’ll be pulling in and out of writing and talking until things are moving in the direction of a play.

“Then, at some point, we’ll say, ‘OK, let’s all write an outline of the whole plot,’ or, ‘What are the five things we want to accomplish in this scene?’ and then, ‘Now draft the dialogue for that scene.’ We’ll write, then read aloud, and write and read, repeatedly. Eventually images, jokes and characters start to cross-pollinate. Sometimes we’ll do improvs.”

The group then splits up to do “homework,” and later reconvenes for further collective efforts.

“The depth of collaboration that the Brothers have with each other is a type that even collaborators don’t imagine is possible,” said Kron. “In many groups, ultimately there is some kind of hierarchy. But we have really been a five-headed hydra in the process of making these plays.

For me, it’s been a revelation to see what’s possible.”

Kron said her work with the Brothers was essential preparation for “Fun Home.” “Music theater,” she explained, “is inherently collaborative. It’s often practiced by people with incredible specific talents, but no skills or faith in collaboration. But ‘Fun Home’ ended up feeling amazingly harmonious.

It was the hardest thing I’ve ever

t

worked on, but the team worked together so beautifully.”

“Oedipus in Palm Springs,” the group’s most recent work, began with a desire to build something that started with Greek mythology: “What would it mean to have a butch lesbian take the place of the seminal protagonist of Western drama?”

“At first,” said Kron, “we just knew we wanted to do something called ‘Oedipussy.’ We were riffing about having it set in The House of Pancoccus, a spin on the House of Pancakes. So we were going to set it in a Greek diner. Then we went and read a bunch of the original Greek plays, which led us to thinking, ‘What if a woman found out that her girlfriend was really her daughter?’”

The New York Times described the resulting 2005 work as “brave, funny and quite lovable,” full of “ribald jokes, flagrant nudity and voluptuous doses of sexual play.”

Remarkably, it’s only now, as the play reaches its bat mitzvah year, that “Oedipus in Palm Springs” is making its regional debut at Theatre Rhinoceros.

“The world is so divided right now,” said Kron. “There is one kind of person who feels that they are the only ones who matter and will crush any pretenders under our boots. On the other hand, we’re living at a time when so many people are standing up to insist on visibility, dignity and humanity. It’s amazing to be at a point where Netflix is picking up Hannah Gadsby, and that so many people are watching it. I’ve talked to so many men who have watched it. It’s very gratifying to have our play be in the mix at this particular moment.”t

Warm weather page-turners: mysteries

by Tavo Amador

S

ummertime, and the reading is easy – or at least entertaining.

A fine crop of murder mysteries is available to keep readers engaged while at the beach, the pool, or flying to an interesting destination.

During the first half of the 20th century, Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia (1901-17), youngest daughter of Tsar Nicolas II and Tsarina Alexandria, was rumored to have miraculously

Since 1977

Serving Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner all day Open 24/7 3991-A 17thSt Market & Castro, San Francisco

415-864-9795

survived the brutal shooting by the Bolshevik Secret Police that killed her parents, three older sisters, and brother. Several women claimed to be the Romanov daughter, but only one mounted a compelling case. In “I Was Anastasia” (Doubleday, $26.95), Ariel Lawhon recreates the life of the mysterious “Anna Anderson” and her decades-long struggle to prove her royal identity. Cousins, aunts, uncles of the imperial family saw her as a threat to their claims to the Russian throne in the event of a restoration.

Nor did they want her to have access to an alleged fortune secreted in an English bank. Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna was understandably skeptical that her granddaughter lived, yet was intrigued by the thought. Lawhon’s compelling, albeit fictional account raises enough questions to keep the reader guessing.

Christine Mangan’s “Tangier” (CCC, $26.95) is set in that fascinating Moroccan city. Alice Shipley and her husband discover more than an exotic adventure when they unexpectedly meet her old roommate and one-time closest friend Lucy Mason there. It’s been more than a year since their falling out. But soon the two are once again inseparable. Lucy helps Alice adjust to her new environment.

Yet Alice begins to feel uneasy. Then her husband disappears. Is Lucy responsible? Has she once again harmed Alice? This suspenseful, atmospheric debut is a splendid read that builds to a superb climax.

“Memento Mori” (Bloomsbury Publishing, $28) is the latest in Ruth Downie’s popular Medicus series.

This one is set in the Roman spa of Aquae Sulis (modern-day Bath in England). The intrepid team of Ruso and Tilla is pulled into a murder investigation when the wife of Ruso’s

friend Valens is found dead – stabbed while taking the waters. This was not the healthy outcome she had expected from her visit. Local officials and priests fear divine vengeance almost as much as they dread a drop in tourism. Their plan to cover up the incident is foiled by the dead woman’s father. He thinks Valens is guilty of the crime. Valens realizes that he will be unfairly convicted if he stands trial.

If he doesn’t, his father-in-law will take custody of his children. Ruso and Tilla will need every bit of their resourcefulness to save their friend, assuming he really is innocent.

Laura LaPlante’s “Widows” (Zaffre, $16) brings new meaning to surviving spouses moving on with their lives – in this case, three women whose husbands were killed in a failed security-van heist. One of them, Dolly Rawlins, discovers the detailed plans for the robbery that somehow went astray. Should she turn them over to the authorities? Should she sell them to another crook? Or should she and the other two widows finish the job that their husbands bungled? The last option is irresistible. Dolly and her cohorts rehearse every detail until they are ready for the big day – except for one not-so-minor detail. For the plan to work, four people are needed.

But only three were killed. Who is the fourth? Where is he? What does he know? What can Dolly do about it? Another ingenious entertainment from LaPlante.

Napa is one of the world’s great culinary capitals, a place where fine food is almost a religion. In Daryl Wood Gerbe’s “A Deadly Eclair” (Crooked Lane, $15.95), it’s also dangerous. Widowed Mimi Rousseau has always wanted to own and run her own bistro, but her late husband’s substantial debts must be repaid be-

fore that happens – or so she thinks.

Her friend Jorianne James introduces her to wealthy investor Bryan Baker, who finances Mimi’s dream. She can run the bistro while repaying his loan.

Things get more exciting when Mimi is hired to cater a swank wedding for a well-known talk-show star. But on the morning of the big affair, Bryan is found dead in the bistro’s kitchen, an eclair stuffed in his mouth. Mimi is the prime suspect for many reasons, not least of which is that Bryan’s will forgives her debt. The restaurant is now hers, assuming she can prove her innocence. Mimi is sympathetic and smart. Gerbe balances culinary information with a clever plot. Recipes are included.

What would summer be without a new Commissario Guido Brunetti mystery from Donna Leon? In her latest Venetian-set novel “The Temptation of Forgiveness” (Atlantic Monthly Press, $26), Brunetti is ordered by his pretentious, vain superior Pata to stop the embarrassing leaks about police affairs coming from the Questura. They make him look bad. This is of far less concern to the compassionate Brunetti than are the problems of an old friend of his wife, Paola, the socialist daughter of a Venetian count. Paola’s friend fears her son may be using drugs, Then her husband is found near a bridge, suffering from a severe head wound that has damaged his brain. Is there a connection with the boy’s drug problem? Brunetti’s investigation leads to discoveries that are as unanticipated and frightening as walking around Venice on a foggy, moonless night. As usual, La Serenissima in all its corrupt, decadent beauty and magic, is as much a character as any of the sharply drawn humans Leon expertly creates.t

t

Film>>

July 12-18, 2018 • Bay Area Reporter • 21

Bruce LaBruce’s sexy ‘Mädchen’ remix

by Erin Blackwell

Brain,” too, with lashings of de Sade, and more than t’s time to reconcile your a sprinkling of Molière’s revolutionary beliefs with “Précieuses Ridicules.” your sexual politics.” I feel All these great films are like I’ve just been dragged by modern; “The Misandrists” the hair backwards through is post-modern, and postmy radical feminist past and revolutionary. Even as the seduced into enjoying the characters repeat slogans ride. Watching Bruce Laminted in the 80s, their Bruce’s new movie induced meaning is undermined by flashbacks of woman-only laughably extreme rituals. space in all its glory and terror.

This is camp, after all, a selfTo see the gamut of lesbian consuming piece of cake, separatist tropes reiterated as and ultimately a parody camp delighted me because of the extremism it seems they’re old friends who have to celebrate. How could it been shoved aside by waves not be? LaBruce came from of watered-down feminism.

Canada, but Berlin is his Feel like reliving the wombynstomping ground, and his centric agitprop of the 1980s film drips with German hisas a porn-friendly fantasia? Go torical consciousness of the see “The Misandrists,” startfailure of radical politics.

Courtesy Cartilage Films ing Friday at Opera Plaza.

His most subversive move The story by LaBruce was Kita Updike and Olivia Kundisch in a scene from director Bruce LaBruce’s is to place biological males inspired, he says, by “The “The Misandrists.” at the heart of a lesbian Beguiled” (1971), wherein separatist cult. wounded Yankee soldier Clint Films-within-theherself aloof from the curriculum’s mental rule-breaking. Smoking is Eastwood is literally and figuratively 85-minute-film are interspliced compulsory lesbian liaisons. This verboten, but the girls spend their taken in by headmistress Geraldine with impunity. The first is gay male secret cell will ultimately shatter Big class breaks puffing away. Ulrike Page’s Southern girls school during porn clips presented as aversion Mother’s essentialist stronghold.

Ottinger’s “Madame X” for the the Civil War. “The Misandrists” are therapy for two students who comOther cinematic influences or glamorous narcissistic sadism of a cult of young female “victims of plain they already hate men plenty. references abound in this eclectic Big Mother; Diderot’s “Nun” for male sexual exploitation,” as their The second is an excerpt from Lapastiche filmed two hours outside the nun’s habits cloaking lesbian “Big Mother” tells the officer who Bruce’s “Ulrike’s Brain,” which Big Berlin in English and German: passion; and Lizzie Borden’s “Born comes to their secluded villa searchMother starred in. This reference to “Mädchen in Uniform” for its in Flames” for the revolutionary ing for a wounded soldier. The solUlrike Meinhof, the ultimate poster romantic purity, followed closely paramilitarism in the name of dier has in fact been hidden in the girl for radical political action, by “St. Trinian’s” for its temperaliberation. A pinch of “Donovan’s cellar by a new student who holds feminist icon and martyr, locates a

“I

deep wound in the radical feminine psyche. Here it’s played for laughs, and for the shock value of laughing at Meinhof, tragic heroine.

There’s another film-within-thefilm when we’re shown the audience who’s watching the film we’re watching. Are we that audience? Do we identify with them and join in their orgy? Or do they merely serve to further distance us from the misandrist cult? Is lesbian separatism a laughable social mutation, now obsolete? Is the new utopia transgender? Are two-spirit people the ultimate radical paradigm? Could this strange film inspire queers to claim queer space? Can films effect social change? Does watching movies make us better revolutionaries?

These are questions to be mulled over in bed with the love object of your choice. One thing is clear: anti-porn radical feminists lost the battle. The historical rift in the happy wombyn-only cosmos is brilliantly embodied by that wounded male soldier in the cellar with his accomplice. Men will always clamor to be included, and women will always be forced to let them in. That is the way of the world. LaBruce has put more thought than most into the tragicomedy of the battle of the sexes as it plays out in queer culture. “Misandrists” is equal parts homage to and refutation of women’s right to self-define and self-govern.t

From festival screens to distribution

by David Lamble

I

n its early days, the Frameline LGBTQ film festival was often the only place to view cutting-edge queer cinema making its way into the marketplace. Just how far we’ve come is illustrated by this summary of films from Frameline 42 that have already secured theater distribution or TV deals.

“McQueen” Powerful biopic about queer fashion designer Alexander McQueen, who shocked the world with his designs and a hell of a lot more by the time of his death by suicide at age 40. “I saw myself in the public eye as a gazelle, and the gazelle always gets eaten.” (7/27) “The Miseducation of Cameron Post” On the heels of a Sundance Grand Jury Prize, director Desiree Akhavan (“Appropriate Behavior”) tells the tale of a 1990s teenager sent to a Christian-run “gay conversion” camp. Timely hooks include a camper hiding marijuana in her wooden leg. (8/10) “Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood” “Studio 54” direc-

tor Matt Tyrnauer gives us the true story of a former US Marine who found a profitable post-WWII job arranging sexual liaisons in Tinseltown. Scotty Bowers, now 94, recalls Hollywood’s pre-AIDS days when helping big stars avoid sexual scandals was a vital profession. (8/10) “Skate Kitchen” Crystal Moselle, creator of the Sundance Awardwinner “The Wolfpack,” sets her new narrative in the world of Long Island’s teen girl skateboarding scene. The film documents a special way to waste your summer vacation.

(8/17) “When the Beat Drops” Famed choreographer Jamal Sims directs this bold, energetic nonfiction film about “bucking,” a dance subculture that spread from the African American LGBTQ community in the South. This pop craze took off in historically black colleges and universities, went through an evolution at underground clubs, and led to fierce competitions at large venues. (Logo TV, 8/9) “Quiet Heroes” This quietly powerful doc from Jenny MacKen-

zie, Jared Ruga and Amanda Stoddard traces the early days of the AIDS epidemic and the work of a pair of Utah women doctors who became a romantic couple.

(Logo TV, 8/23) “Studio 54” Draws on previously hidden sources to show what went on behind the velvet rope at the former CBS-TV studio turned Manhattan disco. Today it’s hard to believe that Studio 54 lasted a mere 33 months, from 1977-80. Director Matt Tyrnauer zooms in on its celebrity owners Steve Rubell (dead from AIDS by 1989) Frameline and Ian Schrager, who met at college and lived to showcase Scene from director Crystal Moselle’s “Skate Kitchen.” the exhilarating highs and deadly lows of the club scene. formats killed off by the late-70s shoes, feather your hair, and prepare The disco was in many ways dance-club craze, the disco era was a to get down with this documentary an apt metaphor for the political moment when early post-Stonewall about the dance parlor where Elton and financial shenanigans illustratkids got down with their oppresJohn, Cher, Grace Jones and other ed by the infamous tabloid headline, sors, a once-cool society crowd used celebs bumped up against common “[Pres.] Ford to NYC: Drop Dead!” to deciding who was and was not fit guys and gals lucky enough to get While disco remains a touchy to be seen.

So strap on your dancing past the velvet rope. (10/12)t subject for those of us loyal to radio

Word of mouth

by Jim Piechota

Against Memoir: Complaints, Confessions & Criticisms by Michelle Tea; Amethyst Editions, $18.95

O

utspoken, forceful, and eminently significant, Michelle Tea has been a literary force of nature for well over a decade. In “Against Memoir,” her first collection of essays and speeches, she delivers opinion, history, and introspective thought with the one-two gutpunch the author is known for in both her nonfiction and fictional offerings.

There are more than 20 entries here, each meticulously crafted and arranged; some are as new as from 2017, others more than a decade

old. As a queer feminist, Tea, 47, infuses each section with opinions, perspectives, and warnings galore on how our queer counterculture could suffer unless behaviors and attitudes shift. The book is split into three parts: Arts & Music, Love & Queerness, and Writing & Life.

Tea infuses each section with black humor, tough love, avant-garde creativity, and stark honesty.

Her anecdotal pieces are riveting and offer personal glimpses into the author’s life, akin to her 2015 memoir “How To Grow Up.” Each entry hums with authentic heart. In the opener, she reflects on her days traversing the Tucson, Arizona desert “in the midst of what I now refer to as my Radical Lesbian Feminist Nervous Breakdown” pondering the turbulence of her adolescence, the

awareness of “something dark and perverse” inside of her, and her interest in the life and work of radical Valerie Solanas (1936-88), known for her “SCUM Manifesto” and her murder attempt on Andy Warhol in 1968.

An essay on her early days in San Francisco as a burgeoning writer and goth girl finds her “drunk in the daylight and also at night and about having sex in dark, damp rooms, hands smelling like cigarettes and pussy, the beds perpetually grimy, flat on the dusty floor.” In other pieces, Tea is still discovering herself in 1980s Boston, commingling with “goths, skaters, art fags, punks, and misfit-alternatives.”

Tea’s voice remains original and consistent. She discusses the movie “Times Square” in great detail, the

“sex laced throughout” Prince’s masterpiece “Purple Rain,” her alcoholism and subsequent sobriety, her dislike of emotions, a miscarriage, and the birth of her son. She also dares to list 24 gender myths with authority, and offers up some tough, timeless and priceless advice on “How To Not Be a Queer Douchebag.” This is the kind of wisdom that should be printed on pamphlets and cast out from San Francisco rooftops. The same goes for her galvanizing city-dwellercall-to-action “Pigeon Manifesto,” which begins, “The revolution will not begin in your backyard, because you do not have a backyard.”

Michelle Tea has a lot to say, and we are listening. Her latest, the author’s 15th book, is an urgent cultural proclamation.t

<< Theatre

22 • Bay Area Reporter • July 12-18, 2018

<<

Oklahoma!

From page 15

There’s a sheltered, uncomfortably ambiguous girl torn between the attentions of a slow-burning hunk and a worldly woman.

The voice of wisdom belongs to an elderly transgender aunt.

Is this the latest work from the creators of “Hedwig?” An acting maxi-challenge on “Drag Race?”

The fever dream of a progressive millennial show queen?

In fact, it’s the groundbreaking 75th anniversary production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma!” playing through October at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) in Ashland, one of the largest and most widely acclaimed nonprofit theater companies in the U.S., and just a five-hour drive from San Francisco. (Direct flights from SFO to nearby Medford, OR are also an option.)

Having grown phenomenally since its founding in 1935, OSF’s second and third initials can create confusion today. As evidenced by “Oklahoma!,” the works of the Bard represent just a fraction of its productions. And with the exception of November through January, it runs all year long, which has transformed Ashland, a town of 20,000, into an artsy, foodie, queer-embracing oasis in conservative rural Oregon.

For gay theater-lovers, OSF’s “Oklahoma!” is a destination event.

The acting and production quality are as high as you can find on Broadway. And director Bill Rauch’s vision is ingenious; in changing the genders of the lead characters, he simultaneously gives this classic/

<<

chestnut a thrilling jolt of freshness, and reveals the essential timelessness of the original.

If you’re familiar with “Oklahoma!” from the 1955 film or a school or community theater production, you’ll remember the flirty, comic role of Ado Annie. Well, Ado Andy is male now.

Curly, the cowpoke who pines for Laurey, is a woman. Aunt Eller is trans.

And in what’s long seemed like the whitest of white-bread musicals, both Curly and Will, Andy’s suitor, are African American.

But except for the occasional shift of a “he” to a “she,” or “girl” to “boy” and vice versa, the original script and song lyrics of the songs haven’t been changed.

A gay man, director Rauch – who, since 2007, has also been Artistic Director of OSF in its entirety – has long been attracted to the idea of mounting the old-fashioned “Oklahoma!” in a new-fangled way. Musing over the idea, he kept discovering new angles to support it: Lynn Riggs, the playwright of “Green Grow the Lilacs,” which “Oklahoma!” was based on, identified as gay. Riggs was also part Cherokee. Despite the imagery presented in productions of “Oklahoma!” the musical, the 1906 Oklahoma territory had a population that included more Native and African Americans than whites. It made perfect sense for Rauch’s production to be diverse racially as well as sexually.

To Rauch’s surprise, when he finally submitted a proposal a couple of years ago, it was approved by the Rodgers and Hammerstein estate.

“Oklahoma!,” Rauch notes, “is

considered the grandparent of all musical comedy, for the way it integrates song and dance into the story.” But like many grandparents, it’s a bit out of touch with younger generations.

At a recent weekday matinee performance, several large high school groups were in attendance. They welcomed characters’ climactic embraces with approving “aaawwwws” and spontaneous applause.

Many of these students had never seen “Oklahoma!” before. Perhaps someday they’ll attend a genderbent straight version.

For queer audience members, there are lines in Oscar Hammerstein’s original script and lyrics that take on amusing new shades of meaning when delivered among characters now portrayed as gay or lesbian: Here’s Andy’s Pa, blessing his son’s marriage to Will: “Take keer of her, son. Take keer of my little rosebud.”

Or Curly, aggressively tooting her own horn: “Who’s the best bulldogger in 17 counties? Me, that’s who! And looky here, I’m handsome, ain’t I?” And when “I Cain’t Say No” is sung by a man, the already humorous lyrics get funnier: “S’posin that he says that you’re sweeter than cream?/And he’s gotta have cream or die?”

But those occasional bits of winking humor just add a little extra sizzle to what’s really at stake in this production. Among the most stirring moments in any “Oklahoma!” are the musical declarations of love.

At OSF, it feels at once beautifully classic and utterly groundbreaking when Will gives Andy his “All

Capp St. Project

From page 15

Sealed off from the outside world within the confines of the house, where there’s a confluence of the real and unreal and things are not quite what they seem, the surreal ambiance has its way with you. Not so coincidentally, Ireland’s patron saint was Marcel Duchamp, an artist prankster similarly fond of the uncanny; a large photograph of him is propped against a wall. When Ireland resided there, he hosted monthly dinners in his darkened theatrical dining room, where attending artists gathered around the long, narrow, hand-carved wooden table, a strand of tiny festive Christmas lights strung above it.

Last year, the curators at Capp Street began inviting artists to mount shows calibrated to comment on or engage with the environs. The latest culprit is trickster illusionist Tony Matelli, a game New York-based sculptor whose wily humor and disconcerting challenges to perception and the laws of physics are in synch with Ireland’s offbeat sensibility. Matelli’s solo exhibition, “I hope all is well…,” consisting of about a dozen hyperrealistic, lifelike sculptures, requires

Henrik Kam

“Window” (2013), painted bronze by Tony Matelli, from “I hope all is well...,” through Oct. 13 in the Front Parlor Room of 500 Capp St.

t

Jenny Graham

“To you I was as faithful as c’n be, fer me.” Ado Andy (Jonathan Luke Stevens, left) and Will Parker (Jordan Barbour) try to come to an agreement on the nature of their relationship.

or Nothing” ultimatum, and when Curly and Laurey croon “People Will Say We’re in Love.” As presented by Bill Rauch and OSF, these indelible old melodies become cata-

lysts for new ways of thinking.t

a series of double takes and leaving one’s assumptions at the door.

That there’s something amiss – and misleading – about his objects confronts visitors as soon as they enter the foyer, which was once Ireland’s paint-stained studio. What’s surely a large, innocuous cardboard box, with a half-empty glass of water casually left on top of it, sits in the reception area. But not so fast; its materials are actually painted polyester and fiberglass, with blown glass masquerading as both the vessel and H2O. Ditto for the dustcovered mirror with a Tic-Tac-Toe grid scrawled on its surface, crafted not from glass but layers of tinted urethane.

On the upstairs landing, Ireland’s battered wood chair is glued with its seat facing midway up a wall near Matelli’s “Weed,” a determined, convincingly rendered, green plant that appears to be growing out of a hole in a corner floorboard – on the second floor, no less. In the front parlor is a bronze window sculpture that Matelli cast from a cracked pane and painted a handsome slate gray. He added a string of matching bronze lights from Christmas past to the façade, echoing the lighting in the dining room, as well as a sad cactus with no future. The piece is

adjacent to “Copper Window” (ca.

1978), a work in which Ireland replaced a broken window, shattered when a brick was thrown through it, with a copper etching plate. (Shards of glass, testifying to the incident, fill a medicinal bowl nearby.)

Just a few feet away one comes upon the piece de resistance. There, by grace of god, or something, floats “Josh,” a witty, shockingly realistic facsimile of Matelli’s former roommate, who has been recreated out of silicone, steel and hair. He’s dressed in standard-issue college uniform: T-shirt, shorts and plaid shirt, but he’s no average Joe. He’s laid out, levitating about two feet off the ground, as if he had been seized by a trance on his way to the refrigerator to grab a beer. That it’s difficult to discern the mechanism that keeps him aloft maintains the illusion of a body whose soul has departed or is perhaps roaming the premises.

Given the supernatural aura of the context, it’s not as strange a sight as one might think.

Installed all but alone in the guest bedroom is yet another of Matelli’s gravity-defying feats: a supersized chunk of twisting, electric-blue rope, forged from silicone and stainless steel. It curls ever upward, with no evident supports, lured on its path by an unseen snake charmer.

Attached to a wall of the home office is a redacted “manifesto” that gives the show its name. “I Hope All Is Well” is the plaintive letter Matelli wrote to his gallerist in 2000, outlining his desperate financial straits.

“America is killing me,” he writes.

“Next year, I think I’m gonna disappear in the hills were [sic] there are no rich people. This is the real problem! My proximity to rich people; it fills me with greed and self-doubt.”

Though nowadays Matelli is doing just fine, these are sentiments to which many displaced San Francisco artists can certainly relate.t

Learn more about the Oregon Shakespeare Festival at www.

OSFashland.org

Artist-guided tours, every Wed., Thurs. & Fri., 11 a.m., 2 & 4 p.m. Self-guided tours, Sat., 12-5 p.m. Check website for ticket prices. Through Oct. 13. www.500cappstreet.org

24

26

Rockin’ & ‘raising

Leather

www.ebar.com

Thu 12

e’re tight on space, but long on talent. Here are some choice events.

Destroy Boys @ Bottom of the Hill

Fri 13

Garage, psyche and ska rock night with Destroy Boys, The Band Ice Cream, Beauty Queen and Paper Dolls. $10-$12. 8:30pm-1am. 1233 17th St. www.bottomofthehill.com

Boy Division @ Cat Club

Thu 12 Brit Floyd @ The Warfield The acclaimed Pink Floyd tribute band (approved by the band) performs their trippy rock show, with multiple projections and a light show. $42-$75.

8pm. http://www.britfloyd.com/

Comedy @ Ashkenaz, Berkeley Ngaio Bealum, Francesca Fiorentini, Victor Pacheco, and Lisa Geduldig perform at a benefit for RAICES: The Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services. $15-$100. 8pm. 1317 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley. www.ashkenaz.com

Puff, Love @ The Stud The queer cannabis-friendly night (but no smoking in or near the bar!)) include live music (Maria Konner) and DJed grooves (Sergio Fedazs) pot-related prizes and more. $10.

7pm-10pm. Love follows, with Thee Pristine Condition, Mama Dora and Ultra. $5-$10. 10pm-3am. 399 9th St. www.studsf.com

Levonia Jenkins @ Oasis Gender Fluids with Martha T. Lipton, Brooklyn’s bearded drag performer Greg Scarnici’s offbeat comedy songparody show. $20. 8pm. 298 11th St. www.sfoasis.com

Night Garden Piano @ SF Botancial Garden Flower Piano’s evening party’s expanded to three nights, with stellar musicians in multiple genres, food trucks & drinks for sale, and a mesmerizing nighttime lighted tour of the Garden. $45.

8pm-11:30pm. Also July 13 & 14.

1199 9th Ave., Golden Gate Park. sfbotanicalgarden.org

Sara Gazarek @ Feinstein’s at the Nikko The accomplished jazz vocalist performs a concert of her own songs, with accompanist Peter Eldridge. $19$45. 8pm. Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. www.feinsteinsatthenikko.com

The Queer Wave, punk and dark wave night returns with DJs Xander, Tomas Diablo, gogos, retro fun and giveaways. $5-$10. 9:30pm-3am.

1190 Folsom St. www.sfcatclub.com

Maria Diamond @ Hotel Rex

John Zorn, Bill Laswell @ The Chapel First of two music nights with proceeds benefitting Keep Families Together charities. $60-$65. 9pm. Also July 14.

777 Valencia St. www.thechapelsf.com

Queens of Adventure @ Oasis The roving Dungeons & Dragons gaming event with celebrity drag stars returns, with Pollo Del Mar, Erika Klash, KaiKai Bee Michaels, Rock M. Sakura, plus Andrew Slade and Matt Baume. $13-$18. 7pm. Also July 14.

298 11th St. www.sfoasis.com

Uhaul @ Oasis The popular women’s dance party features DJs Angie Vee, That Girl. $15.

10pm-2am. 298 11th St. sfoasis.com

Sat 14 Celebrates two decades of co-owners Bob & Robby, with complimentary food, champagne and entertainment.

3pm-7pm. 1723 Polk St. cinchsf.com/

Bastille Day @ Beaux Songs of the New Revolution, the Imperial Council of San Francisco’s drag celebration of revolution, resistance, and all things French; with hosts Emperor Leandro Gonzales and Empress Pollo Del Mar. Proceeds benefit Tenderloin Tessie. Donations.

3pm-6pm. 2344 Market St. www.imperialcouncilsf.org

30 breweries offer beer, with free food, live music, raffle prizes and games at the benefit low-income women with cancer. $50-$65. 1pm5pm. Fairgrounds, San Rafael. www.thebreastfest.org

Pound Puppy @ SF Eagle Jorge, Blake and Boy’s groovy sexy monthly night with DJs Siobhan Aluvalot & Taco Tuesday. $10. 9pm2am. 398 12th St. www.sf-eagle.com

Splish @ Oasis Tsunami Water Polo Team’s festive annual fundraiser precedes Mother’s Moulin Rouge night. 9pm. 298 11th St. www.sfoasis.com

Trap Girl, Commando, Homobiles @ El Rio Punk, rock, queercore! Live music! $7-$10. 9pm-1am. 3158 Mission St. www.elriosf.com

Writers with Drinks @ Make Out Room

20th Anniversary @ The Cinch

BreastFest Beer Festival @ Marin County Fairgrounds

Society Cabaret celebrates the 90th birthday of the cabaret singer.

No cover; cocktails & small plates available. 8pm. 562 Sutter St. www.societycabaret.com

Night Garden Piano @ SF Botanical Garden

Disco Daddy @ SF Eagle DJ Bus Station John celebrates Stevie Wonder’s danceable classics at the post-beer bust T-dance. $5. 7pm-1am.

398 12th St. www.sf-eagle.com

Mama Tits @ Oasis The big talented Seattle drag queen performs her live cabaret show, Big and Loud, with pop and soul classics, stories and comedy. $27-$40. 8pm.

298 11th St. www.sfoasis.com

Sexy Good Time Wrestle Show @ Oasis Hoodslam’s hilarious pro wrestling show. $20. 3pm. 298 11th St. www.sfoasis.com

Mon 16 Bob the Drag Queen @ Oasis The stellar drag performer’s solo shows go beyond mere lipsych. $20$45. 8pm. 298 11th St. sfoasis.com

Piano Bar 101 @ Martuni’s Sing-along night with talented locals, and charming accompanist Joe Wicht.

9pm. 4 Valencia St. at Market.

Carol Queen guest-hosts the wild literary and cocktails night, this time with Esmé Weijun Wang, Adam Smyer, Rebecca Watson, Dickson Lam, Tina LeCount Myers, Beth Winegarner.

Proceeds benefit the Center for Sex & Culture. $5-$20. 7:30pm. 3225 22nd St. http://www.makeoutroom.com/

Tue 17

Sun 15

Vice Tuesdays @ Q Bar

Cocktail Robotics @ DNA Lounge The annual wacky nerdy robot bartender competition, with a $1000 cash prize. $20-$25 (includes 2 robot drink chips). 5pm-12am. 375 11th St. www.dnalounge.com

Daytime Realness @ El Rio Heklina, Carnita and crew host the wild daytime drag show and dance party. DJs Stanley Frank, Olga T and Robin Simmons. $10. 2pm-8pm. 3158 Mission St. www.elriosf.com

Shining Stars Vol. 48 • No. 28 • July 12-18, 2018

Nightlife Events July 12-19 W For full listings, visit www.ebar.com/events

27

Naked Night @ Nob Hill Theatre Strip down with the strippers at the clothing-optional night. $20. 9pm.

729 Bush St. at Powell. 397-6758. www.thenobhilltheatre.com

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

Miss Kitty’s Trivia Night @ Wild Side West The weekly fun night at the Bernal Heights bar includes prizes, hosted by Kitty Tapata. No cover. 7pm-10pm.

424 Cortland St. 647-3099. www.wildsidewest.com

SheDevil @ Powerhouse DJ Dreamcast spins at the midweek drag show. $5. 9pm-2am. 1347 Folsom St. www.powerhousebar.com

Thu 19 Comedy Returns @ El Rio Guest-host Dan St Paul, Michael Meehan, Karinda Dobbins, and Priyanka Wali perform. $10-$20. 7pm.

3158 Mission St. www.elriosf.com

I, Nomi @ Oasis April Kidwell’s fascinating darkly comic show based on the wacky character in Showgirls. $20-$35. Also 20, & 21. 298 11th St. sfoasis.com

Make @ Museum of Craft and Design Enjoy wine and craft-making at a new monthly (3rd Thu) hands-on party. $20. 6pm-9:30pm. 2569 3rd St. https://sfmcd.org/

Queer femme and friends dance party with hip hop, Top 40 and throwbacks with DJs Val G and Iris Triska. 9pm2am. 456 Castro St. www.QbarSF.com

My Bloody Valentine @ Fox Theatre, Oakland

Wed 18

Sarah Shook & Disarmers, Jason Hawk Harris, Secret Emchy Society @ Bottom of the Hill

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

{ THIRD OF THREE SECTIONS }

The rockin’ Irish band returns for a stop along their U.S. tour. $50-$70.

8pm. Also July 20. 1807 Telegraph ave., Oakland. thefoxoakland.com

Enjoy three Americana/Country bands with a queer edge. $12. 8:30pm-1am (9pm 1st show). 1233 17th St. www.bottomofthehill.com

<< Cabaret

24 • Bay Area Reporter • July 12-18, 2018

Rockin’ & ‘raising

t

School of Rock cast, David Hernandez at REAF songfest

Matthew Murphy

The School of Rock kids (Broadway production).

by David-Elijah Nahmod

C

Playmates and soul mates...

San Francisco:

1-415-692-5774 18+ MegaMates.com

ast members from the hit musical School Of Rock, which is now performing at the Orpheum Theater, will take to the Brava Theater stage on Monday, July 16 for a night of singing, dancing and good old-fashioned rock and rolling.

The evening is the latest fundraising event for the Richmond Ermet Aid Foundation, an organization which raises critical monies for HIV and other charities. In addition to benefiting REAF, some of the evening’s proceeds will go to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, a charity which benefits those in the theater community who are impacted by AIDS. In addition to the School Of Rock cast, the Brava event will include a special appearance by American Idol finalist and recording artist David Hernandez. Hernandez, who is openly gay, feels that it’s important to continue supporting AIDS service organizations.

“It’s a huge epidemic,” Hernandez said in his most recent Bay Area Reporter interview. “It’s obviously important that we raise awareness and funding in the hope of finding a cure and enabling people to obtain their medications and take care of themselves in the way they should and deserve to be taken care of.”

Hernandez has felt a responsibility to be part of the fundraising, especially since he came out.

“Coming out enhanced my life,” he said. “I don’t think anyone cares about my sexuality but it’s enhanced my life to be living in my own truth.

I came out publicly in 2016 because I got messages from kids who thought of committing suicide over their sexuality. I felt responsible to share my story to let people know that they can be successful in whatever endeavor they choose.”

His positive message has found its way into his music, which he’ll be sharing from the Brava stage.

“I’m going to be singing a couple of songs from my latest album, which has no name yet,” Hernandez said. “I have a song called ‘Shield (Coat of Armor).’ The song talks about being someone’s protector.

It’s about taking care of someone weaker than yourself.”

Hernandez equates the song with the mission of REAF. “What they’re doing is being that protector,” he said of the organization. “They’re raising money for the less fortunate, the tired, and for those feeling defeated.”

School Of Rock leading lady Lexie Dorsett Sharp echoed some of Hernandez’ sentiments.

“I feel this fundraiser is more important than ever,” she said.

“With the political climate that we are living in, showing support and raising funds for HIV-related charities is critical. The theatre community is a community I am incredibly proud to be involved with, because it’s a community that promotes love, individuality, and inclusiveness. The cast of School of Rock donating talents and time for

Above: Singer-songwriter David Hernandez.

Middle: School Of Rock tour leading lady Lexie Dorsett Sharp.

Below: School of Rock tour dance captain Christopher DeAngelis.

this REAF cabaret is one small but very viable way to use our gifts for a cause greater than us.”

Sharp promises a night of great entertainment to those who attend the REAF benefit.

“The line-up is a mix of all types of music,” she said. “Broadway tunes, standards, and rock-n-roll.

Several of the talented cast members are even accompanying themselves.

I’m doing “I Will Never Leave You” from Side Show with Emily Borromeo, who plays Patty. And I will be singing ‘Get Happy/Happy Days’ with Bella Fraker, one of our children swings.”

Christopher DeAngelis, who is the dance captain for School Of Rock and one of the show’s swings, is particularly excited that some of the show’s younger cast members will be participating in the benefit.

“We have about fourteen kids in the REAF benefit,” he said. “This is a good opportunity to educate them about AIDS. They see and learn a lot on the road. These kids are so incredibly talented. It’ll be fun for them to do their own thing outside of School Of Rock.”

It’s the kids who’ll be rocking out at the REAF benefit.

“The kids have created a couple of different bands,” said DeAngelis.

“The music they’ve picked is classic rock: ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water,’ ‘Come Together’ by The Beatles, songs by Journey. How do they know this music? They’ve opened my ears. This was not the music I listened to.”

DeAngelis added that he remembered the worst years of the AIDS crisis. He said that he came out just as the crisis was hitting.

“It’s not gone away,” he said. “It’s very important to support this. It’s not disappeared, it’s not invisible.

It’s important to remember those we lost and what they would have given to society.”

As a seasoned Broadway performer, DeAngelis is happy to be fundraising for Broadway Cares.

“I’ve worked with them for over a decade,” he said. “I’ve done a lot of their benefits, maybe seven Broadway Bares. I toured with Jersey Boys and I was in charge of raising funds.

That’s how I first came to know REAF, when Jersey Boys came to San Francisco. It’s always good to help.

We have these gifts so we can. This time I think it will be unique because of the kids in School of Rock.”

REAF presents One Night Only, a Benefit Cabaret with cast members from the Broadway touring cast of ‘School Of Rock.’ Monday, July 16, 7:30 PM, Brava Theatre 2781 24th St. $35-$65. https://www.reaf-sf.org/

July 12-18, 2018 • Bay Area Reporter • 25

Arts Events July 12-19

Sun 15 Ben Krantz

t

Arts Events>>

Thu 12 The Hunchback of Notre Dame @ Victoria Theatre

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

Thu 12 The Hunchback of Notre Dame @ Victoria Theatre Bay Area Musicals’ new production of the Disney Menken/Schwartz/ Parnell Broadway musical based on the novel. $35-$65. Thu-Sun 7:30pm, 8pm, 2pm. Thru Aug. 5.

2961 16th St. www.bamsf.org

San Francisco Mime Troupe @ Dolores Park The acclaimed theatre company returns with Rotimi Agbabiaka, Joan Holden and composer Ira Marlowe’s new political satire, Seeing Red: A Time-Traveling Musical, where a disgruntled Trump voter goes back to the Socialist movement of 1912.

Free ($20 donations). At parks and venues throughout Northern California, thru Sept. 9. sfmt.org

Yarn: Storytelling with Heather Gold and Friends @ Contemporary Jewish Museum The erudite comic hosts a night of storytelling, with Cintra Wilson, Betsy Salkind (who was a writer on Roseanne ), Virgie Tovar, and Julia Jackson. $15. 7pm. 736 Mission St. www.thecjm.org

Fri 13 Arjun Verma @ Old First Church Concert of North Indian classical music by the acclaimed sitar player, with tabla player Sudhakar Vaidyanathan. $5-$25. 8pm. 1700 Franklin St. oldfirstconcerts.org

The Sanctified Mic @ Oakland Peace Center Poet & activist Marvin K. White hosts the new monthly (1st Fridays) poetry and writing night, with Alan Miller and Terry Taplin. 6:30pm8:30pm. 111 Fairmount Ave., Oakland. oaklandpeacecenter.org

White @ Ashby Stage, Berkeley Shotgun Player’s production of James Ijames’ comic play about a white male artist, snubbed for arts funding, who hires a Black woman as his front. $8-$40. Thru Aug. 5.

1901 Ashby Ave., Berkeley. www.shotgunplayers.org

Sat 14 Grease @ Julia Morgan Theatre, Berkeley Berkeley Playhouse’s student production of the 1950s-themed hit musical. $22-$40. Thru Aug. 5. 2640 College Ave., Berkeley. www.berkeleyplayhouse.org

Lyndsay Tunkl @ E.M. Wolfman Bookstore, Oakland The conceptual artist and author hosts a book-signing and workshop on collective fears of death, related to her work Parting Practice: Rituals

for Endings and Failure. 2pm4:30pm. 410 13th St., Oakland.

Additional events at Lands End (July 15), Lake Temescal (July 21) and Mountain View Cemetery (July 22). http://lindsaytunkl.com/

Sunday in the Park With George @ SF Playhouse Stephen Sondheim & James Lapine’s fascinating musical about painter Georges Seurat and his sculptor grandson gets a local production. $20-$125. Tue-Thu & Sun 7pm. Fri & Sat 8pm. Also Sun 2pm. Thru Sept.

8. 450 Post St. 2nd floor, Kensington Park Hotel. www.sfplayhouse.org

Conversations With Gay Elders @ Koret Auditorium Screening of filmmaker David Weissman’s series of in-depth interviews and conversational documentaries focused on gay men whose journeys of self-discovery precede the era of Stonewall and gay liberation. 2pm. SF Public Library, 100 Larkin St., lower level. www.sfpl.org

Mike Greensill, Joe Cohen @ Old First Church Concert of the music of Duke Ellington, and new jazz compositions. $5-$25. 8pm. 1700 Franklin St. oldfirstconcerts.org

Mon 16 Perfectly Queer @ The Booksmith Pride Poetry Palooza, LGBT readings with author/poets Susan Dambroff, Natasha Dennerstein, Michael Tod Edgerton, Europa Grace, Philip Harris, David Hathwell, Randall Mann and Luna Merbruja; with cohosts Richard May and Wayne Goodman. 7pm. 1644 Haight St. www.facebook.com/ perfectlyqueerreadings/ www.booksmith.com

Trans Voices @ Strut Performances by queer trans artists with Breanna Elyce Sinclairé, Polythene Pam, Kay Nilsson, and cohosts Mya Byrne and KB Tuffy Boyce. 8pm-10pm. 470 Castro St. www.strutsf.org

Tue 17 Peter Hujar: Speed of Life @ BAM/PFA, Berkeley Exhibit of photos by the New York 1970s-’80s art/celebrity scene gay photographer who died of AIDS in 1987; thru Nov. 18. Also, Way Bay 2, thru Sept 2. Cecelia Vicuna: About to Happen, thru Nov. 18. Ongoing film series at the Pacific Film Archive.

Berkeley Art Museum, Pacific Film Archive, 2155 Center St. Berkeley. bampfa.org

Wed 18 After the Thrill is Gone @ MOAD Fashion, Politics and Culture in Contemporary South African Art. Also, Digitalia: Art & the Economy of Ideas, and Emerging Artists exhibit, each thru Aug. 26. Free/$10.

Wed-Sat 11am-6pm. Sun 12pm-5pm.

Museum of the African Diaspora, 685 Mission St. www.moadsf.org

Trans Resistance is Beautiful @ SF LGBT Center Group exhibit of original art from trans liberation activist-artists Micah Bazant, Chucha Marquez, Ethan X Parker, Art Twink, Amir Khadar, Rommy Sobrado-Torrico, Mojuicy, Edxie Betts, and others.

Thru July 27. 1800 Market St. www.sfcenter.org

Write, Talk, Taste Your Tongue @ Museum of African Diaspora Kimberly DaSilva, Jacqueline Francis, and Patricia Powell, queer, award-winning San Francisco Bay Area fiction writers, explore themes of migration, ghosts, and family ties that resonate in the experiences of people of the Caribbean and its diaspora.

Free/$10. 6:30pm-8pm. 685 Mission St. https://www.moadsf.org/

Thu 19 Natasha Dennerstein @ MOAD The local poet reads from her new work; part of the Poets Speak: Community Voices program. 5pm.

Museum of the African Diaspora, 685 Mission St. www.moadsf.org

<< Leather

26 • Bay Area Reporter • July 12-18, 2018

Gearing up!

t

by Race Bannon

O

ne of the more common leather world refrains I hear in recent years, especially from older gay leathermen, is the bemoaning of guys not “gearing up” when they go out. It’s true. When you walk into most of the previously leather-laden bars on a typical night, you see less of the leathered or fully-geared look nowadays.

However, this shouldn’t be interpreted as there not still being a highly active and engaged network of guys who revel in leather, uniforms and gear of various kinds. For many kinksters, the gear they wear is the thing. And if it’s not “the” thing, it’s certainly one of the key components of their sexuality. Some guys even require gear for their libidos to fire up at all.

In 1997, to help these gear-centric men connect, a man who goes only

by Leon founded an international organization called BLUF, which stands for the Breeches and Leather Uniform Fanclub. BLUF is a free community for men who have an interest in leather, uniforms and breeches. It has thousands of members around the world who organize dozens of events each year.

The BLUF website is now owned by a nonprofit and run by a team of volunteer admins, updaters, and event organizers. It remains completely free to use and relies upon donations and merchandise sales to cover its operating costs. www.bluf.com BLUF’s membership and events take place throughout Europe, the United States and Canada, but the first organized party was held right here in San Francisco. In September 1998, the first event was held during Folsom Weekend at the now defunct leather bar, Loading Dock. Although BLUF only had about 150 members at that time, the party was a huge success and helped launch the growing popularity of the organization.

Local Leathers

Here in San Francisco we’re lucky to have an active chapter of the organization, BLUF SF. Lately, BLUF SF has upped their game by proactively working to create more events to cater to the gear-centric kinky men among us.

BLUF SF offers a rich diversity of events. They host the casual Leather Lounge gatherings on the second Saturday of the month at the SF Eagle. They organize Leathermen at the Movies outings where they recently had a huge turnout of leathermen at the premier of Black Panther. And, since like all of us, leathermen like to eat, they host

Jon Fulton

Just a few of the many sexy, leathered up men who attended the BLUF SF 2015 annual In Gear dinner.

an annual big In Gear Dinner and regular Leather Dim Sum outings in Chinatown.

One of the new BLUF SF events I attended recently was Tribe, a special gear-focused night at the SF Eagle where men were encouraged to come out in their leather and fetish finest, and they did. The bar was packed with more leathermen in a bar than I’d seen in a long time.

The success of Tribe proved to me that there is indeed a subset of kinky gay men that do want to keep alive classic leather and gear culture. That doesn’t mean the scene itself isn’t changing. Classic leather garb is but one of many choices guys now have when looking to dress for their kink proclivities. I hope BLUF and other groups continue to create such events and gatherings where guys can strut their geared-up selves in hot and sexy settings.

One of the younger men who’s been working to revive San Francisco men’s leather and gear culture is Lexx King. Lexx was also the main driving force behind the Tribe event.

Lexx currently leads the BLUF SF group. Here’s what he said about one of their group’s goals.

“You often hear concerns in the leather community that the apps have reduced opportunities to meet people in person,” said King. “BLUF SF wants to reverse this. We’re all about creating ways for guys into gear to meet up socially and build community. For us, success is when we have an event and there’s a sea of people in gear having a good time.

You’ll often see guys in full leather at our events, but we want everyone who’s into gear to feel welcome to wear what they love.”

Check out information about BLUF SF and their events at their website. www.blufsf.com Dining In Gear As mentioned earlier, one of

Rich Stadtmiller

Lexx King (left), current head of the BLUF SF group, and Kevin Helvie (right) at the 2017 In Gear dinner.

other example of how we build ofBLUF SF’s annual events is fline leather and kink community. their In Gear dinner comI’ve attended this dinner many ing up soon. On Thurstimes and it typically draws a day, July 26, 6-10pm, at couple hundred hot, sexy, geared Don Ramon’s Mexican men. While the dinner has hisRestaurant, BLUF SF will torically catered to those in full host its annual dinner BLUF gear and their geared-up where gear guys can befriends, over time it’s become gin to ease into the bevy quite welcoming to a range of of events and happenings gear including leather, rubber, or that center around the various uniforms. BLUF SF wants now world famous Up you to just come in gear and have Your Alley street fair. a great time.

Late-night bar meet-ups Each year the net proceeds from are great and historically the dinner are donated to worthpopular activities in the while nonprofits from within the kink community. Howevlocal leather and kink communier, club dinners and special ties. This year the beneficiaries events are also rewarding Rich Stadtmiller are ONYX Northwest and San ways to gather and expand Attending the 2015 BLUF SF In Gear dinner Francisco Leathermen’s Discussocial connections in the were local leathermen Ghee Phua (left) and sion Group.Tickets are available kink world.

Kristofer Weston (right). at www.blufsfdinner2018.eventThe Golden Gate brite.com.t Guards has their annual duced a wonderful dinner for many cruise, which matches full years, associated with Folsom Street gear with an afternoon on the Bay. For Leather Events, visit Fair, but no more.

Club dinners so many of us have www.ebar.com/events The BLUF SF annual dinner enjoyed over the years have dropped is something of a survivor, and it off, like the annual Phoenix UniRace Bannon is a local author, means a lot to the men who crave form Club’s dinner in the Veteran’s blogger and activist. highly social, alternative ways to Building. The California branch of www.bannon.com gather in their own company. It’s anthe Boots & Breeches Corps pro-

Personals Massage>>

SEXY ASIAN $60 Jim 415-269-5707 MASSAGE ASIAN MALE

In Sunnyvale. Incall $60; Outcall $80. Call 408-893-1966

MEN TO MEN MASSAGE

I’m a Tall Latin Man. If you’re looking, I’m the right guy for you. My rates are $90/hr & $130/90 min. My work hours are 10 a.m. to midnite everyday. 415515-0594 Patrick call or text.

See pics on ebar.com

Rich Stadtmiller

Guys at BLUF events are often in leather, but guys into uniforms are also an integral part of their membership, like these men at the 2015 In Gear dinner.

“I don’t care whether people like me or dislike me.

I’m not on earth to win a popularity contest.

I’m here to be the best human being I possibly can be.” ­­— Tab Hunter

TO PLACE YOUR PERSONALS AD, CALL 415-861-5019 FOR MORE INFO & RATES

Models>> FABULOUS F**K BOY

Model looks 6’ 150# 27yrs, 8” uncut beautiful tight yummy ass. Smoky sexuality erotic male nympho. Hndsm hedonist. Str8, gay, married men at yr apt, hotel, mansion! Greek god Nick 415-290-2639. Leather fetish fantasy roleplay kink dom sub group scenes mild to wild. Pretty boy with a dirty mind, romantic & unforgettable! $400/hr, $2000 overnight negotiable.

People>> HOT LOCAL MEN

Browse & Reply FREE! SF - 415-692-5774 1-888-MegaMates Free to Listen & Reply, 18+

t

Shining Stars>>

July 12-18, 2018 • Bay Area Reporter • 27

Shining Stars Steven Underhill Photos by

The Monster Show @ The Edge

T

he Monster Show, The Edge bar’s weekly drag show, scintillates and scandalizes with campy big numbers on a tiny stage. Last week’s ‘Bruno Mars vs. Marina & the Diamonds’ theme featured an ‘illegal alien’ number by host Intensive Claire, plus ShangHiiee, Rock M. Sakura, Trangela Lansbury and Vanilla Carter. See the Monster Show Thursdays around 9pm. 4149 18th St. http://edgesf.com/ See plenty more photos on BARtab’s Facebook page, facebook.com/lgbtsf.nightlife. See more of Steven Underhill’s photos at StevenUnderhill.com.

Read more online at www.ebar.com

||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

For headshots, portraits or to arrange your wedding photos

call (415) 370-7152 or visit www.StevenUnderhill.com or email stevenunderhillphotos@gmail.com

NEW SALES RELEASE

SATURDAY TH JULY 14 Public Sales Release at Noon Blending the upbeat vibe of art culture with West Oakland’s history, Ice House brings ownership opportunities to a neighborhood where everything is thoughfully designed, diverse and vibrant. Love where you live.

• Solar-powered townhomes • 2 - 3 bedrooms • 1,200 - 1,580 square feet

VISIT TODAY

IceHouse@CityVentures.com | 510.238.1128 1818 14th St., Oakland, CA 94607 | Open Daily 10am - 6pm IceHouseCityVentures.com

Disclaimer: The qualifications to purchase these homes include many restriction not listed here. Please see Sales Manager for details. All renderings, floor plans, and maps are concepts and are not intended to be an actual depiction of the buildings, fencing, walkways, driveways or landscaping. Walls, windows, porches and decks vary per elevation and lot location. In a continuing effort to meet consumer expectations, City Ventures reserves the right to modify prices, floor plans, specifications, options and amenities without notice or obligation. Square footages shown are approximate. ©2018 City Ventures. All rights reserved. BRE LIC #01979736.