July 22, 2021 edition of the Bay Area Reporter, America's highest circulation LGBTQ newspaper

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Vol. 51• No. 29 • July 22-28, 2021

San Francisco LeatherWalk to return

by Matthew S. Bajko

T Rick Gerharter

State Senator Scott Wiener

CA appeal court tosses part of Wiener’s LGBTQ senior law

by John Ferrannini

A

state appellate court struck down a key provision of the LGBTQ Senior Bill of Rights, which requires longterm care staff to refer to facility residents by their preferred names and pronouns, as unconstitutional under the First Amendment.

In the case of Taking Offense v. California, a three-judge panel of the 3rd District California Court of Appeal in Sacramento came to a unanimous decision that the provision violated the rights to freedom of speech and the free exercise of religion.

The petitioner, Taking Offense, is described only as “an unincorporated association which includes at least one California citizen and taxpayer who has paid taxes to the state within the last year.” Taking Offense asserted what is known as a facial challenge to the LGBTQ Senior Bill of Rights, which was authored by gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) in 2017.

A facial challenge does not require the law to have been applied or enforced against a petitioner; rather it is sought to prevent a law that is prima facie unconstitutional from being enforced.

“We agree with Taking Offense that ... the pronoun provision, is a content-based restriction of speech that does not survive strict scrutiny,” Justice Elena J. Duarte stated in the ruling. “A person’s right to speak freely prohibits the government from compelling adoption of a government message and protects the right of citizens to refrain from speaking.”

Wiener blasted the court’s decision in a July 19 statement.

“The court’s decision is disconnected from the reality facing transgender people,” Wiener stated. “Deliberately misgendering a transgender person isn’t just a matter of opinion, and it’s not simply ‘disrespectful, discourteous, or insulting.’ Rather, it’s straight-up harassment. And, it erases an individual’s fundamental humanity, particularly one as vulnerable as a trans senior in a nursing home. This misguided decision cannot be allowed to stand.”

See page 3 >>

he San Francisco LeatherWalk will return this fall after being on hiatus for several years. The event, with a new route, will help to kick off Leather Week in late September.

Meanwhile, city officials have agreed to include a number of leather-themed elements as part of the streetscape improvement project for Folsom Street. When construction wraps in 2024 crosswalks in the colors of the leather flag will be among the new features found between Seventh and 11th streets on one of the main thoroughfares in South of Market.

The revised LeatherWalk is expected to snake its way along a segment of Folsom Street in that area as it makes its way from City Hall to the gay-owned Eagle bar at the intersection of 12th and Harrison Streets Sunday, September 19. The bar will host a Leather Pride Festival that afternoon within its confines and on the leather-themed Eagle Plaza parklet that fronts it on 12th Street.

It will bookend the fetish and kink street fair being held Sunday, September 26.

Dubbed Megahood 2021, it is being held in lieu of the Folsom Street Fair this year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The exact route and kickoff time for the LeatherWalk have yet to be determined. Those

Rick Gerharter

Participants carried a giant leather flag along Market Street for the 25th anniversary of LeatherWalk in September 2016. This year’s event will see a new route for the walk.

details likely will be revealed at a relaunch party for the LeatherWalk being held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 29, at the Eagle.

The board of the Leather and LGBTQ Cultural District, which comprises a section of Western SOMA, is now overseeing the walk.

The cultural district recently acquired the license to the LeatherWalk from PRC. For legal reasons, it paid the nonprofit agency a nominal fee of $10 in making the transaction, though the district has no intention of re-

quiring groups who mount LeatherWalks in other cities to pay it in order to use the name.

“We own the entire rights: the domain name and all the associated stuff,” said Robert Goldfarb, a gay man who is the president of the cultural district’s board. “It is not something we are considering, licensing it out to groups in other cities. We are primarily focused on restarting the walk and getting the one in San Francisco moving again.”

See page 6 >>

Castro overdose deaths alarm leaders

by John Ferrannini

I

n the days before Pride weekend, gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman posted a stark warning on his Facebook page.

“Learning of three suspected overdose deaths in the Castro today,” Mandelman wrote. “Like most SF overdoses, these folks were indoors. The Fire Department is increasingly seeing meth and cocaine tainted with fentanyl. Reminding everyone this Pride week to be extra careful and take care of one another.”

Speaking with the Bay Area Reporter recently, Mandelman said that “I was careful with that post” because the San Francisco Fire Department could only speak in general terms.

“They were not willing to confide particulars with me, but they said all three died of overdoses on the same day: two together, and one separately,” Mandelman said. “The chief [Jeanine Nicholson] told me increasingly they are finding people who think they’re using something that’s not fentanyl. … That seems to be something that’s happening.”

The SFFD would not make Nicholson – a lesbian who has been chief since 2019 – available for an interview, and the department referred the B.A.R. to the office of the chief medical examiner, which released data showing overdose death patterns in San Francisco for the first five months of this year.

Rick Gerharter

San Francisco leaders were alarmed last month when there were reports of three overdose deaths in the Castro on the same day.

The data shows that through May 31 there were 299 accidental overdose deaths in San Francisco, compared to 250 up to the same point in 2020.

This includes five deaths in the 94114 ZIP code that includes the Castro, compared to one during the same period in 2020.

Much of the city’s drug overdoses are concentrated in the 94102 ZIP code that contains the Tenderloin/Union Square neighborhoods, which saw a decline from 2020 numbers: from 66 last year to 59 this year

through May 31 of both.

The 94103 ZIP code, which contains some of the heavily LGBTQ areas South of Market, saw an increase from 43 in 2020 to 60 in 2021 over the same timeframe.

Citywide, 218 of the overdose deaths were fentanyl-related, 172 were methamphetamine-related, and 103 were cocainerelated, according to a June 21 report from the medical examiner’s office to Mayor London Breed.

See page 9 >>

<< Community News

2 • Bay Area Reporter • July 22-28, 2021

t

SFPD officers added to Castro area during tourist season

by John Ferrannini

T

he San Francisco Police Department is deploying 26 additional officers on foot and bicycle patrol to the city’s most visited destinations – including two to the LGBTQ Castro district – during the summer tourist season.

They are expected to patrol along both Castro and upper Market streets in the neighborhood. The deployments are part of the city’s efforts to welcome back the millions of tourists who flock to San Francisco each year, officials said at a July 19 news conference in front of Chinatown’s Dragon’s Gate.

Mayor London Breed, standing in front of a phalanx of police officers, said that she had the opportunity to visit many San Francisco neighborhoods last weekend.

“I met so many people not from San Francisco who are so happy to be in the neighborhoods, so happy to walk into our businesses,” Breed said. “We have work to do to make sure that when people come to San Francisco that they feel safe, that they’re not concerned about their car being broken into, about being robbed, or witnessing crimes as well.

“Sadly we’ve seen a number of terrible, terrible events that have occurred that are hard to watch on video,” Breed said, seeming to concede that while some reported violent crimes are down, an emerging narrative casts the city as being increasingly lawless – and not entirely without evidence, since reported cases of burglary, auto theft, and gun violence are higher than in recent years. Re-

John Ferrannini

Joe D’Alessandro, at podium, joined Supervisor Ahsha Safaí, Mayor London Breed, and Police Chief William Scott to discuss an increase in patrol officers in different parts of the city during the summer travel season.

ported cases of rape and robbery have declined, crime data shows.

Breed pointed at the uniformed officers behind her.

“In almost every instance of a violent attack, this police department – the guys and women behind me – they have made an arrest,” Breed said. “You will not get away with these horrible attacks in our city.”

Police Chief William Scott addressed the specifics of the Tourism Deployment Plan. The 26 officers will be deployed in five of the city’s 10 police districts.

The Central District, the most visited part of the city, will see 14 of these 26 officers deployed. It includes the Union Square, Chi-

natown, Fisherman’s Wharf, and North Beach neighborhoods.

The rest of the officers will be deployed to the Mission District (two, who will patrol around the Castro neighborhood), the Northern District (six, who will patrol around the Palace of Fine Arts, Alamo Square, and Japantown), the Park District (two, who will patrol on and around the Haight), and the Richmond District (two, who will patrol around Golden Gate Park).

“On the way to this press conference, on the police radio, I heard two officers interrupted a car break-in in progress at Golden Gate Park,” Scott said. “We’re not going to tolerate this nonsense.

“A word to the people breaking into cars at the Palace of Fine Arts – you will be caught,” he added.

Scott said the success of the Tourism Deployment Plan is also up to the neighborhoods.

“It’s not just police; it’s community leaders, civic leaders, elected officials,” Scott said. “We all have to come together to make our city better.”

The city is expecting 15.3 million tourists by the end of the year, according to a news release from Breed’s office.

Joe D’Alessandro, a gay man who is the CEO of San Francisco Travel, said that tourists pump $10 billion into the city’s economy each year and some 86,000

people are employed in the sector.

“Due to the impact of COVID-19 we saw a decline in 60% of visitations,” D’Alessandro said.

“The recovery will be long, slow, and painful, but it’s absolutely essential people who visit San Francisco feel safe when they come here and have a great experience.

“The No. 1 thing a visitor visiting a destination wants is to feel safe,” D’Alessandro added.

D’Alessandro told the Bay Area Reporter that SF Travel has “a number of different programs and initiatives” to attract LGBTQ visitors.

“We don’t just market to the LGBTQ market as a niche, but include it into everything we do – convention marketing, tourism – we are always telling the story of San Francisco and our history,” D’Alessandro said.

SF Travel has a year-round partnership with GayCities , he added. It also has a dedicated LGBTQ page on its website at https://www.sftravel.com/lgbtq When asked how SF Travel hopes to attract people to the Castro specifically, D’Alessandro framed it in terms of the organization’s efforts to get visitors outside of downtown.

“We have a very focused campaign to get people out in the neighborhoods,” D’Alessandro said. “It makes people stay longer in San Francisco. Our philosophy is that the economic impact is then more significant in our community. So, we tell lots of stories about our neighborhoods.”

Overall visitor spending is unlikely to return to pre-COVID-19 levels for the next four years, SF Travel estimates.t

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50 years in 50 weeks 1986, B.A.R. turns 15

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(415) 550-6777 • www.caldwells.com

he Bay Area Reporter celebrated its 15th anniversary and the 17th observance of the Stonewall riots in our June 26, 1986 issue, which also marked San Francisco Pride. The paper, at 100 pages, was chock full of profiles of early LGBTQ leaders like the late San Francisco Judge Herb Donaldson and former Judge Mary Morgan and her then-partner, attorney Roberta Achtenberg, who would go on to become a San Francisco su-

pervisor and top official in the Clinton administration. The articles were provocative too. One piece was titled “The Movement Did Not Begin at Stonewall,” while a special “Community AIDS Report” laid out in charts the progress San Francisco had made at the time with its community model for addressing the deadly disease. To view the issue, go to https://archive.org/ details/BAR_19860626/page/ n45/mode/2up

t

Community News>>

July 22-28, 2021 • Bay Area Reporter • 3

Twitter’s Dorsey gives $500K to LYRIC compiled by Cynthia Laird

T

witter co-founder and CEO Jack Dorsey has donated $500,000 to the Lavender Youth Recreation and Information Center through his #StartSmall Awards.

According to a recent news release from LYRIC, the grant will be used for its Flourish with LYRIC campaign.

With the funds from Dorsey, the campaign has now raised over $2.1 million toward its $2.5 million goal to expand and renovate its youth center in San Francisco’s LGBTQ Castro district.

“LYRIC is so grateful to Jack Dorsey and #StartSmall for the transformative donation to help expand facilities due to a big leap in demand and LYRIC’s growth in recent years, and to ensure the safety of LGBTQQ+ youth, especially to ensure their safety in the wake of COVID-19,” Toni Newman,

<<

CA appeal court

From page 1

As the Bay Area Reporter previously reported, the LGBTQ Senior Bill of Rights was signed into law four years ago by then-Governor Jerry Brown. The law is intended to protect LGBTQ seniors from being discriminated against in long-term care facilities throughout the state.

Modeled after a similar policy that San Francisco officials adopted several years earlier, it requires employees at such facilities to allow same-sex couples to live together and, until the appellate court decision, to use the preferred names and pronouns of transgender residents.

The court did uphold a part of the law that held it is not unlawful for transgender residents to be assigned rooms in accordance with their gender identity, unless they request otherwise, when room assignments are based on gender.

Taking Offense argued this was unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause. The court disagreed.

“Taking Offense fails to show that the right afforded to transgender residents by the room assignment provision – the right to a room assignment in accordance with the resident’s gender identity – is any different from the right afforded to non-transgender residents,” Duarte stated. “Accordingly, we conclude Taking Offense has failed to establish that the room assignment provision violates equal protection.”

In a concurring opinion, Justice Ronald B. Robie stated that the goal of the LGBTQ Senior Bill of Rights was laudable but that it “went too far.” He suggested the Legislature try again.

“To not call one by the name one prefers or the pronoun one prefers, is simply rude, insulting, and cruel,” Robie stated. “The impact of using inappropriate pronouns is even more offensive and hurtful when it occurs in an environment where one cannot choose the persons with whom one associates.

The Legislature recognized this fact (as recounted in the opinion) but unfortunately chose a prophylactic remedy to eliminate misuse of pronouns that just went too far.

“Instead of mandating that employers ensure the use of proper pronouns in the workplace, the Legislature unwisely made misuse of pronouns a crime,” Robie continued. “When we rule this law cannot stand, we do not reject the need for persons to use appropriate pronouns but, in my opinion, are suggesting that the Legislature fashion a workable means of accomplishing the laudable goal of the legislation.”

Equality California Executive Director Rick Chavez Zbur called the ruling “beyond disappointing.”

LYRIC’s executive director, stated in a news release.

LYRIC’s board noted that with this latest donation, it is now on the threshold of the public phase of the campaign to raise the remaining $400,000; it should launch in January. Other campaign contributors include the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation ($500,000), Crankstart ($500,000), and the city of San Francisco ($361,000).

The expansion project initially was to be completed this summer. Last October, the city’s planning commission signed off on the agency’s renovation plan, which will enclose a portion of the building’s driveway on Collingwood Street by pushing out the ground floor facade to bring it flush with the rest of the building. In front would be a courtyard area and a new ADA-accessible main entrance.

“The court’s decision is beyond disappointing, especially for our state’s transgender and nonbinary seniors,” Zbur, a gay man, stated.

“Let’s be clear: refusing to use someone’s correct name and pronouns isn’t an issue of free speech – it’s a hateful act that denies someone

not, and identify policies that help or continue to harm.

The meeting will be hosted by Juliana DePietro, director of harm reduction services at GLIDE. She will be joined by panelists Wes Saver, policy manager at the Center for Social Justice; Del Seymour, a longtime Tenderloin community member who founded the Tenderloin Walking Tours and Code Tenderloin and who was chronically homeless and a former drug user and seller; and John Negrete, a lifelong Californian who has lived both rural and urban lives and who has had a long and complex relationship with drugs and homelessness but currently is housed and working as a program manager for GLIDE’s harm reduction services. t

GLIDE’s Center for Social Justice

and Harm Reduction Program will present the free virtual event “Harm Reduction as Justice: Policy, Courage, and Survival” on Thursday, July 29, from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

Comprising a range of public health strategies, harm reduction is designed to lessen the negative social and/or physical consequences associated with various human behaviors, both legal and illegal. GLIDE’S harm reduction programs center on the dignity and humanity of people who use drugs, who we love unconditionally, and aim to serve with respect and compassion. The panel will feature the voices of those who have overcome challenges, illuminate what harm reduction is and is

their dignity and truth. Study after study has shown that trans people who are misgendered face alarming and life-threatening rates of depression and suicidal behavior.”

Zbur framed the court’s ruling in the context of the epidemic of isolation among LGBTQ seniors.

“And older LGBTQ+ people face feelings of isolation, poor mental health and extreme vulnerability to communicable diseases like COVID-19,” he stated. “California’s nursing home patients deserve better than this – and we’ll be fighting until this decision is overturned.”

The California Attorney General’s office stated to the B.A.R. that it is “reviewing the ruling to determine our next steps.”

David Llewellyn Jr., the attorney for Taking Offense, also did not return a request for comment by press time. t

Interior remodels of the main building’s first floor and a rear building will allow the agency to provide expanded space for its youth programs, a new kitchen area, and additional spaces where staff can meet privately with clients. A rear yard patio between the two structures will also be reconfigured to provide better access and use of the space.

According to the new timeline on the project’s website LINK: https://lyricflourishing.org/#timeline, construction should begin in October and wrap by next June during Pride Month.

Harm reduction seminar

To RSVP, go to https://bit.ly/3io6VBr

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4 • Bay Area Reporter • July 22-28, 2021

Volume 51, Number 29 July 22-28, 2021 www.ebar.com

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<< Open Forum

t Politicians delay while overdoses soar I

t seems like some legislators in Sacramento do not realize or do not want to acknowledge the severity of the drug overdose crisis in cities like San Francisco, Oakland, and Los Angeles.

These were the jurisdictions included in gay state Senator Scott Wiener’s (D-San Francisco) pilot safe consumption site legislation, Senate Bill 57, which earlier this month was punted to 2022. Wiener has been trying to get this bill passed for years, and even with a supermajority of Democratic lawmakers in Sacramento, he can’t get it done. Meanwhile, overdose deaths in the city continue to flummox officials, demonstrating the urgency for this type of program. The San Francisco Chronicle reported in May that there were more than 700 drug overdose deaths in the city in 2020, eclipsing 257 deaths here from COVID-19. During the first four months of this year, there were 252 accidental overdose deaths. The Chronicle reported this week (https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/ article/S-F-sees-slight-dip-in-fatal-overdosesbut-16327944.php) that there has been a slight dip in the number of overdose deaths since its article from a couple of months ago, but the number is still stubbornly high – 344 in the first six months of 2021. As we report this week, gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman was alarmed in June when he learned there were three overdose deaths in the LGBTQ Castro neighborhood on the same day. These people all died indoors, he noted in a Facebook post, meaning they were probably not among the unhoused residents of the neighborhood.

Safe consumption sites, also known as supervised injection facilities, allow people to use drugs under the watch of trained staff, reducing the risk of overdose deaths. They provide sterile needles to prevent transmission of HIV and hepatitis B and C, and offer clients an entry point for seeking medical care and addiction treatment. Indoor sites also reduce street-based drug use and improper syringe disposal, a chronic problem in the city. While there are currently no

Liz Highleyman

Supplies that would be used at a safe consumption site, as shown in a 2018 demonstration project that San Francisco officials set up to show what such a facility might look like

sanctioned injection sites in the United States, around 150 such facilities operate worldwide.

Efforts to open such a site in Philadelphia were dashed by a federal judge earlier this year, when he determined it would violate federal law.

That appears to be what’s happening with Wiener’s bill, too.

The Chronicle, in an editorial in support of SB 57, (https://www. sfchronicle.com/opinion/editorials/article/Editorial-Californialawmakers-pointless-16302472. php) noted that Assemblyman Jim Wood (D-Santa Rosa), chair of the Assembly Health Committee, wanted to give U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland time to develop a position on the legality of such facilities. While federal authority is crucial to the long-term success of safe consumption sites, we believe that Wiener’s pilot program deserved a vote this year. During debate over previous iterations of Wiener’s bill, then-President Donald Trump’s administration strongly

Why I oppose recall of DA Chesa Boudin

by Bevan Dufty

I

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opposed safe consumption sites and indicated that cities operating such programs could expect federal repercussions. We believe the new administration is more open to jurisdictions trying innovative programs to help people who use drugs, and at any rate, Garland likely would not threaten state or local government officials the way his predecessors in the Justice Department did. San Francisco Mayor London Breed said as much when Wiener introduced SB 57 last year, noting that then President-elect Joe Biden had stated he would govern by science in public health matters. And make no mistake, drug use is a public health emergency and should be treated as such. Both methamphetamine and fentanyl, which is much stronger than heroin, are part of the city’s current overdose rate.

Wiener said that he was disappointed in Wood’s action, but emphasized that SB 57 is not dead. “The Assembly Health Committee has informed me that it will not be hearing Senate Bill 57 ... this year and will instead hear it and act on the bill this coming January,” Wiener stated in a news release. “Because we are in the first year of a two-year legislative session, the bill can be heard during either year.

In other words, SB 57 is very much alive, albeit delayed. The chair of the committee has assured me that the bill will be heard in January.”

Wiener pointed out that his bill has passed the Assembly and Senate twice in its different forms over the past five years, and he’s optimistic that SB 57 will eventually be approved.

Governor Gavin Newsom has expressed support for the concept of safe consumption sites.

Unfortunately, the delay in hearing SB 57 sidesteps the real immediate need for this type of pilot project, which, of course, would take some time to set up. All of this is to say that Wood was wrong to delay SB 57 and his committee’s inaction this year only exacerbates the drug crisis. Safe consumption sites have been shown to work in other countries and it’s time California take the lead in the U.S. – starting with a pilot program. We urge the Legislature to swiftly take up Wiener’s bill in January and pass it as soon as possible. t

n just about seven weeks, Californians will head back to the polls to vote whether to recall Governor Gavin Newsom. I appreciate our lieutenant governor, Eleni Kounalakis, for setting an expeditious date so we can swiftly move on from this Republican recall.

While there certainly have been Democrats and independents who signed recall petitions, the reality is that a flood of right-wing Republican money – much of it from Donald Trump donors and the Republican National Committee – fueled the process leading to the ballot. And now, California taxpayers must spend at least $276 million on an election that instead could actually help people and small businesses who continue to suffer from the impacts of COVID-19.

Has there been any legitimate reporting about the Newsom recall finding anything positive about this sideshow of a campaign? Or, with the prominence of Caitlyn Jenner, should we file this under another example of politics turned into a reality show à la Trump?

Unfortunately, the end of the gubernatorial recall won’t mark the end of Republican recalls. Here in San Francisco, there is another effort, similarly funded by Republican mega-donors, to recall District Attorney Chesa Boudin.

And while there are recall supporters who are not Republicans, the catalyst is again money coming from forces who fundamentally want to maintain the status quo of a deeply unjust justice system.

In 2019, Boudin ran on an agenda for criminal justice reform coupled with common sense policies that reduce crime. And the voters of San Francisco gave him a clear mandate to advance this work.

These reforms were desperately needed: disproportionate treatment of Black and Brown people in arrests, prosecutions, and lifetimes of incarceration isn’t just a trend of a few decades – it has taken place over centuries in America.

Many in our LGBTQ+ community are in desperate need of criminal justice reform now.

Rick Gerharter

San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin

The process to undo this unjust treatment has only begun – here in San Francisco and across the nation. Yet even as District Attorney Boudin set to do this hard work, he was confronted with tremendous challenges.

A backlog of 5,593 open cases – including 1,127 that were more than two years old – got even worse when COVID hit and courts largely shut down. Mandated shelter in place posed a challenge to every part of our government, and the loss of employment and business hit our most vulnerable residents hard.

The fact that almost the entirety of Boudin’s tenure has occurred under these circumstances speaks to how farcical this recall is.

To his credit, Boudin still managed to move forward on a number of priorities: expanding victims services, prosecuting public corruption, supporting survivors of domestic violence and holding perpetrators of sexual assault accountable, among other achievements.

And he’s worked to expand community outreach and programs that make our city safer, such as a community liaison program that connects prosecutors, investigators, and other staff in every supervisorial district.

In 2019, it happened that I had worked for many years with another candidate in the race for district attorney – Suzy Loftus. She had my vote, but I also respected the issues and fundamental change that Boudin’s campaign articulated.

Over the past year and a half, I have had the opportunity to work with our DA and he has been hard working, responsive, and thoughtful. His door is open, and I’ve seen him be active and go throughout this city, even when a group has been critical.

In two years, DA Boudin will come before the voters when he will be eligible for reelection. At that time, Boudin will have the opportunity to present his record of accomplishments and other candidates will have the opportunity to present their platforms and records.

Recall supporters want to short circuit that process – and divert our attention from the meaningful solutions that can make our city safer. The truth is that reform and change must come from so many areas of government. It’s not just the district attorney.

San Franciscans realize that we can’t arrest our way out of mental illness, addiction, and homelessness. This year’s city budget, agreed to by Mayor London Breed and the Board of Supervisors, represents the biggest change by dramatically increasing investments in crisis intervention, mental health services, and most of all, housing.

Our city should be accountable and transparent to show that we are doing our share to improve public safety. This recall will only distract from the hard work we need to do to achieve that.

Thank you for considering the reasons why I oppose the recall of our district attorney. t

Bevan Dufty, a gay man, previously represented District 8 on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. He is currently an elected member of the BART Board of Directors and an elected member of the committee that oversees the local Democratic Party. The views expressed here are his own.

t

Politics >>

July 22-28, 2021 • Bay Area Reporter • 5

SF supes seat gay historic preservation commissioner

by Matthew S. Bajko

A

fter months of debate about the need for LGBTQ representation on San Francisco’s Historic Preservation Commission, the Board of Supervisors has seated a gay man on the oversight body. The supervisors unanimously voted 11-0 July 20 in approval of Mayor London Breed’s appointment of Jason Wright to the commission’s Seat 3, which is designated for an architectural historian.

If the mayor administers his oath of office in time, Wright could take part in the commission’s Wednesday (July 21) meeting. He is replacing Commissioner Jonathan Pearlman, a gay man, and will be the only out person on the seven-member advisory panel.

Earlier this year Breed opted to also replace Andrew Hyland, a gay man who had been president of the commission. Her initial selection of three straight people for the trio of seats up for renewal this year drew criticism from both LGBTQ preservationists and members of the supervisors’ rules committee, who review mayoral appointees.

Its rejection of the only non-incumbent appointee, Christina Dikas, led her to withdraw her nomination ahead of the supervisors’ meeting in April where it was expected the board would refuse to seat Dikas. That led Breed to submit in June Wright’s nomination for review by the board.

He has a background in both design and conservation, and has 18 years of work in preservation architecture. He has overseen both conservation and architectural projects and engaged in laboratory and other technical conservation methodologies.

“I am really excited and humbled to be considered,” Wright told the rules committee July 12 when it voted 3-0 to recommend the full board approve his nomination.

Rules committee chair District 3 Supervisor Aaron Peskin thanked

Barry Schneider Attorney at Law Screengrab

Jeffrey Wright, lower left, was approved by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to serve on the Historic Preservation Commission.

Breed for listening to the panel’s concerns and selecting Wright for the seat. He called him a “qualified” and “independent voice” for the commission.

Gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman also praised the mayor for Wright’s nomination.

“This seat has been a little bit of an effort for this committee and the mayor, but I think the mayor landed on someone good for this spot,” he said. “I am glad and grateful the mayor has nominated Jason Wright. I am happy about this nomination.”

Wright has also been active with the GLBT Historical Society’s Historic Preservation Working Group, and leaders of the nonprofit praised his being selected by Breed to serve on the oversight body. It weighs in on such matters as the landmarking of LGBTQ historical sites in the city and can exert pressure on historic preservation staff at the planning department to bring forward properties that merit being deemed city landmarks.

“Having grown up gay in a small town in Ohio, and now experiencing and living the LGBTQ community’s reality in San Francisco, has given me great appreciation for its history and value, not only to the city but to the

nation and the world,” he said.

Hyland also praised the selection of Wright, who two decades ago interned at the firm where Hyland worked. He expressed his faith in seeing Wright push for city officials to landmark more properties related to LGBTQ history in the city.

“Thank you Supervisor Mandelman for insisting this seat be held by a member of the LGBTQ community.

It is more impactful for us to have a seat at the table,” said Hyland.

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The San Francisco Democratic Party has hired a queer mixed-race Filipina woman to be its new executive director.

The local party announced the selection of Jackie Prager for the position on July 15. The Bay Area native graduated from the University of San Francisco with a B.S. in politics and a master’s degree in urban and public affairs.

Prager has experience working on myriad local political campaigns, including the elections of Mandelman and District 5 Supervisor Dean Preston, as well as nonprofits serving predominantly BIPOC women and youth. She has been serving as a delegate to the California Democratic Party, representing Assembly District 17, and on the executive board of the San Francisco Young Democrats. t LGBT PROGRESSIVE CATHOLICS † OUR FAMILIES & FRIENDS

Letters >> Leave rainbow flag as is

I think we should leave the rainbow as it is [“Cultural district to have survey on Pride flag,” July 15]. It makes me very proud each and every time I visit the Castro. The old saying, if it is not broken, leave it alone. Also I think it a bit stupid to spend over $4 million dollars on the Castro entrance to the Muni at Harvey Milk Plaza. I think the money could be better spent.

James Robinson San Francisco

Jenner goes Down Under

As Caitlyn Jenner heads to Australia, we’re all briefly spared her seriously deranged campaign to unseat Governor Gavin Newsom as the poster girl for the increasingly fascist Republican Party.

If they ever come to take us LGBTQ people away in boxcars, Jenner can tell them she’s a Republican.

Maybe, they’ll let her sit up front.

John Caton Oakland, California

Town halls needed on flag

family law specialist*

After reading your excellent coverage and editorial [“Castro cultural district can unify the neighborhood,” Editorial, July 15] last week about new developments in who controls the rainbow flagpole on taxpayer-funded public land at Harvey Milk Plaza, I believe there should be several in-person and virtual town halls for the local LGBTQ community to discuss regaining public control of the rainbow flagpole at Harvey Milk Plaza.

The Castro Merchants since the spring of 2011 have promised to organize a debate about their domineering and sole control of this vital piece of municipal property, and the group’s

president Masood Samereie, in an August 2020 Bay Area Reporter essay, pledged he would soon hold that debate and with other stakeholders participating. Never happened.

I suggest the merchants hold their own open discussion or two to explain their views and to hear directly from the community of folks who want to change what flies on the flagpole. It’s the least they can do to finally deliver a smidgen of accountability to us.

The Gilbert Baker Foundation, from its Greenwich Village base, also needs to put on a Zoom town hall to provide us San Franciscans with a full accounting of their private push with Supervisor Rafael Mandelman and Mayor London Breed’s offices to quickly landmark the enormous erect pole, attempting to bypass a community-led process.

The Castro’s supervisor and his aide, Tom Temprano, who have given valuable staff time to the Baker foundation of New York, additionally needs to hold a coffee hour or two solely on the rainbow flag issues for their constituents.

Finally, while I heartily endorse the Castro LGBTQ Cultural District’s upcoming rainbow flagpole forum in September, I must take it to task for failing to encourage community participation in their twice-monthly Harvey Milk Plaza Pride Flag Committee virtual meetings. The district’s recent release about its upcoming flag survey and fall forum omitted mention of the committee, saying nothing urging folks to join their one-hour chats every second and fourth Wednesdays of the month at 5 p.m.

Let’s run transparency and meetings up the flagpole, so to speak, and see if they fly with the grassroots community.

Michael Petrelis San Francisco

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<< Community News

6 • Bay Area Reporter • July 22-28, 2021

t

Former B.A.R. publisher Horn fêted at French ceremony

by Cynthia Laird

F

oreign diplomats, state, and local officials were on hand July 19 as former Bay Area Reporter publisher Thomas E. Horn formally received France’s National Order of the Legion of Honor during a ceremony in the Green Room at the San Francisco War Memorial Building.

Horn, a gay man, was notified in January by French President Emmanuel Macron that he would be re-

ceiving the honor, which is the highest award given by the French Republic for outstanding service to France. It is conferred upon men and women, either French citizens or foreigners, for outstanding achievements in military or civil life.

Dubbed San Francisco’s own “French connection” by protocol chief Charlotte Mailliard Shultz, Horn beamed as Philippe Étienne, the French ambassador to the United States, pinned the award on him after

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praising Horn’s work to strengthen San Francisco’s relationship with France and its culture. Étienne noted that in 2019, when a fire gutted Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris and destroyed its historic spire, Horn was among the first to organize a San Francisco fundraiser to help with the rebuilding process.

“Thanks to international fundraising, renovation of the roof is progressing,” the ambassador said.

Horn is chair of the San FranciscoParis Sister City Committee. He was also a former chair of the Alliance Française de San Francisco.

“I cannot tell you how much this recognition means to me,” Horn said.

“My love of France and French culture dates back to my childhood.”

He explained that he first visited the country when he was 16 and later learned the language. He gave his remarks in English and French.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed welcomed the dignitaries, who, in addition to Étienne included Frederic Jung, the new consul general of France to San Francisco, Maguy Maccario Doyle, ambassador of Monaco to the U.S. and Canada, and California Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis.

Horn is the honorary consul general for Monaco in San Francisco, to which Prince Albert II of Monaco appointed him in 2009.

“We’re celebrating someone we’re so proud of and honored to know,”

<<

Cynthia Laird

Thomas E. Horn, center, thanked French Ambassador to the United States Philippe Étienne, left, after receiving the Legion of Honor as San Francisco protocol chief Charlotte Mailliard Shultz looked on.

Breed said. “His history and work over the decades is extraordinary.

Tom and his work in advocating for civil rights in the past and support for the LGBTQ community.”

Horn, an attorney, started his career with the American Civil Liberties Union.

The mayor mentioned Horn’s time at the helm of the B.A.R. and touted his investments in art and culture. As a member of the War Memorial Board and currently its president, Horn had a key role in the restoration several years ago of the War Memorial Building, including the vaunted Green Room.

“You led the effort to keep these buildings together,” the mayor said, referring to the War Memorial and Op-

era House. “Something you definitely deserve is the Legion of Honor.”

Kounalakis, herself a former ambassador to Hungary during the Obama administration, pointed out that there are nearly 2,000 French-owned firms in California and that economic ties between the two countries are important.

“I can testify that nothing is [more important] than strong people-topeople ties,” she said. Étienne began his remarks noting that Horn has worked to promote French culture for more than 30 years.

This is Horn’s fourth decoration from the French. He previously received Arts & Letters and twice the National Order of Merit (Chevalier and then Commander). t

LeatherWalk

From page 1

LeatherWalk history

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The first LeatherWalk was held in 1992 by Art Tomaszewski, a former AIDS Emergency Fund board president and former Bare Chest Calendar man and Mr. Headquarters Leather.

In 2001, Sandy “Mama” Reinhardt, a longtime leather community member and fundraiser, took over production of the walk.

Mr. San Francisco Leather 2010 Lance Holman, who had been a longtime walk volunteer for AEF and its former sister organization the Breast Cancer Emergency Fund, assumed leadership of the walk in 2013. Two years later Folsom Street Events, which produces the Folsom Street Fair, took over organizing the annual event in partnership with AEF/BCEF in an effort to boost participation and increase the amount of money raised for the trio of nonprofits.

After a leadership change at the nonprofit group that oversees the fetish fair and its smaller counterpart the Up

Leather-themed elements, like this crosswalk, will be incorporated into the Folsom Streetscape Improvements Project.

Your Alley Fair, Folsom Street Events decided not to hold a LeatherWalk in 2019. The owners of the Eagle held a Leather Parade that September in lieu of the walk, which wasn’t held last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

PRC acquired the license to the LeatherWalk when it merged with AEF in 2016. BCEF at the time became its

own standalone entity. With it now overseeing the annual AIDS Walk and hosting other fundraisers throughout the year, PRC decided to relinquish its oversight of the LeatherWalk.

A spokeswoman for the agency said it had no comment for this story and See page 9 >>

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Sports >>

July 22-28, 2021 • Bay Area Reporter • 7

Here come the Summer Olympics

by Roger Brigham “We have been cornered into a situation where we cannot even stop now. We are damned if we do, and damned if we do not.”

– Japanese Olympic judo medalist Kaori Yamaguchi

T

here’s something decidedly queer about the Summer Olympic Games set to open in Tokyo this weekend, and it has little to do with the record number of openly LGBTQ athletes who will be competing.

For sure, many of us are rightfully celebrating this Olympics as being the gayest ever. According to lists compiled by Outsports and various other organizations, 15 openly gay, lesbian, or bisexual athletes competed in the Summer Olympics in 2008 in Beijing; and 23 in the Summer Olympics in 2012 in London. That number jumped 68 athletes who were either openly gay or lesbian during the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro or came out shortly thereafter.

This year? The number skyrockets to at least 157, including the first two openly transgender athletes – more than the number of openly LGBTQ athletes in all previous Summer Games combined.

The explosion in numbers is in and of itself a triumph of Olympic proportions. It signifies the bravery of past athletes to come out and speak up. It is a testament to tireless work that has gone into education, support, and advocacy for equal rights and acceptance.

It gives individuals in our community extra incentive to watch, cheer, and celebrate their comrades in sports.

But in the more classic sense of the word queer, so much else about this Olympics is odd or off-putting.

Consider: • More than 11,000 athletes will spend the next two weeks in Japan in

Screenshots

Team USA’s white uniforms, left, brought to mind SF Giants “Melk Man” fans in 2012, top right, and the Village People in “Can’t Stop the Music.”

a spectacular array of tournaments and matches showing athletic prowess that would trigger spontaneous cheers of wonder and delight from the crowds if anyone were actually in the stands to see them.

The Summer Games of the XXXII Olympiad were delayed a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The lack of spectators in the stands is because a staggeringly low percentage of host Japan’s population has been vaccinated and the city of Tokyo remains in a health-crisis lockdown. The reason why the event has not been canceled outright, despite polls indicating that the vast majority of Japanese residents want it to be stopped because of the risk they face of the Olympics superspreader event, is because the International Olympic Committee stands to lose billions of dollars (which, by the way, for the most part never find their way to the pockets of the athletes whose talents generate the cash) in advertising and sponsorship revenue if they fail to produce an event.

The decision to hold the Olympics

despite the ongoing pandemic is so unpopular in Japan that this week Toyota Motor Company said it was pulling all of its local television advertising for the duration of the Olympics.

• Already COVID cases have been playing heavy with Olympic rosters.

American tennis star Coco Gauff and gymnastics alternate Kara Eaker tested positive this week for the virus and will miss the Olympics. USA Basketball announced that Katie Lou Samuelson will be unable to play in the women’s three-on-three competition because of health and safety protocols. Two-dozen people with the South African soccer team in the Athletes Village, as well as one of the country’s rugby coaches, have tested positive – all five days before the start of the Olympics.

• Athletes were warned they could be fined, disqualified, or deported if they violate social distancing protocols or engage in optional physical contact – and were also given 160,000 free condoms. Guess we can expect a lot of spontaneous water balloon fights.

• Many of the athletes were surprised when they arrived at the village and discovered they would be sleeping on cardboard beds. Rumor immediately spread the beds were made from cardboard so athletes would think they were too flimsy to hold up under the weight of two or more people on them having sex with or without those condoms. Athletes have since proved that rumor false by posting videos online of them jumping up and down on the beds and we are told cardboard was used so the material can be recycled after the Olympics are over and the athletes have finished jumping up and down on them throwing water-filled condoms at each other.

• Organizers pledge the opening ceremony is built around the concept of “Unity in Diversity.”

Not sure if Japanese lawmakers ever got that memo. A national ban on same-sex marriage has been ruled unconstitutional in court but it still is not legal in Japan; Japanese law requires transgender adults to be sterilized if they want to be legally recognized by their gender identity; and the legislature went into recess from its latest session without passing a popular promised anti-discrimination bill.

Not sure if the international governing body for swimming ever got the message either. In late June, it ruled that swimmers cannot use a newly designed swim cap that accommodates natural Black hair because international swimmers had “never used, neither require to use, caps of such size and configuration,” and that it did not follow the “natural form of the head.”

Not that it offered a competitive advantage – they just hadn’t ever allowed it before.

Who knows? Maybe they’re not racist, just really fussy about headwear.

• The dominant star of the Summer Olympics, of course, will be the same it always is: the national and international cartel of aristocratic politicians and dealmakers who control the profits, policies, and power structure of the Olympics – the ones who hear the motto “Citius, Altius, Fortius” and think, “More for Us, More for Us, More for Us.” For them, control of the Olympic movement is the ultimate addiction.

They will do all they can to preserve everything around them exactly as it has always been in their pristine bubble world in order to maintain what they have.

Had a bit of weed to self-medicate depression and loss in your personal life? Hey, we know it gives you no competitive advantage, but we don’t like it so you’re off the team.

Feel the need to speak out against violence and racism while you have the public’s attention?

We got your back, but don’t pull that crap on our watch. We own your 15 minutes of fame and don’t want you to say or do anything that would offend viewers or sponsors who do not want to be bothered to think about the issues.

• Worried America is too deeply divided these days, with red and blue now symbolizing regional and parochial partisanship rather than national unity? Then you’ll be glad to know Team USA will march into the opening ceremony in uniforms of pure gleaming white. Not sure if that sends any message regarding unity or diversity – or swim caps, pot smoking or political protests – but the whiteSee page 8 >>

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<< Obituaries

8 • Bay Area Reporter • July 22-28, 2021

Lesbian educator Sally Gearhart dies

by Cynthia Laird

S

ally Miller Gearhart, the first out lesbian to receive a tenure-track position at San Francisco State University and a beloved LGBTQ rights advocate, died July 14, according to Jean Crosby, who sent out an email to friends. She was 90.

Ms. Gearhart had been in poor health for several years. She had lived for many years in Willits, California but had moved recently to a care home in Ukiah.

The GLBT Historical Society posted on Facebook about Ms. Gearhart’s passing, of which they were informed by her good friend, Ruth Mahaney.

“Losing Sally is like a huge tree falling. She was very tall, and she was so important in the world,” stated Mahaney. “She had been saying she wanted out of here, to be ‘up in the sky.’ She was ready to go.”

In 1973, Ms. Gearhart received the tenure-track position at SF State. She established one of the first women’s and gender studies programs in the country while at the university, and was a leading LGBTQ activist throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

The San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration Committee recognized Gearhart for her work in 2016 when she received the Heritage of Pride, Pride Freedom Award. She was unable to attend the parade.

Ms. Gearhart was featured in the

Melanie Nathan/via SF Pride

Sally Miller Gearhart

Oscar-winning documentary “The Times of Harvey Milk” (1984), having been a friend and colleague of Milk, the late gay San Francisco supervisor. Ms. Gearhart worked with Milk on the 1978 defeat of Proposition 6, a California ballot initiative that sought to exclude gay men and lesbians from teaching in public schools. Ms. Gearhart was also an acclaimed author of feminist science fiction.

During the Prop 6 campaign, Ms. Gearhart and Milk debated thenstate Senator John Briggs, the author of the anti-gay initiative. It is a clip of that debate that is featured in the documentary.

“Harvey Milk and I did wonderful things together. We looked like mom and pop,” Ms. Gearhart recalled of their work on the ballot measure campaign in Deborah Craig and Veronica Deliz’s 2018 short documentary “A Great Ride.”

The film showcased the lives of a number of senior lesbians living throughout Northern California.

The filmmakers followed Ms. Gearhart as she drove her beat up jeep with her dog, Bodhi, by her side through the Women’s Land all-female community she helped establish in Willits.

With the camera rolling, the relatively reclusive Ms. Gearhart at that

point in her life discussed her fears about aging. In her later years Ms. Gearhart had declined media interviews, while her friends raised funds to cover the cost to care for her.

“I am scared to lose my ability to drive and my independence,” she told the filmmakers.

Ms. Gearhart was also featured in “Last Call at Maud’s,” a 1993 film about the former San Francisco lesbian bar. Carrie Preston portrayed her in the 2017 TV miniseries “When We Rise,” which was partially inspired by gay activist Cleve Jones’ memoir of the same title.

Craig has been working on a fulllength documentary solely about Ms. Gearhart, which she had told the Bay Area Reporter she hoped to release this year. She found her to be “charismatic” and “a quirky hero.”

“She has this whole arc to her story that is really kind of ... hopefully we can make a great American story of transformation. She was this small town Southern girl and becomes a character and leader and icon,” Craig had told the B.A.R.. “A lot of people, women especially, felt she hasn’t gotten her due. She was written out of the ‘Milk’ film. I try not to pass judgment, but that is what happened.”

Terry Beswick, a gay man who’s executive director of the GLBT Historical Society, talked about the significance of Ms. Gearhart’s life in a Facebook post.

t

“Sally’s contributions to LGBTQ history and culture were immeasurable,” Beswick stated. “She was a courageous fighter for equality at a time when it made an indelible difference then and now. So many people do not know her story, and I’m so glad that there is a documentary in the works to honor this unsung hero.”

In the mid-1970s, Ms. Gearhart was co-chair of the Council on Religion and the Homosexual.

This organization offered a variety of speaking events and literature to educate followers on the JudeoChristian tradition. It also educated legislators about LGBTQ people and the issues that they faced.

Ms. Gearhart was born in Pearisburg, Virginia, on April 15, 1931 to Sarah Miller Gearhart and Kyle Montague Gearhart. According to her Wikipedia entry, Ms. Gearhart attended an all-women’s institution, Sweet Briar College, near Lynchburg, Virginia. She graduated with a bachelor of arts in drama and English in 1952.

At Bowling Green State University, she obtained a master’s degree in theater and public address in 1953.

She continued on at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, getting her Ph.D. in theater in 1956, with the intent of pursuing a life of academia. t

Marilyn Robinson, former TLC board member, dies

by Cynthia Laird

Ms. Robinson, a transgender woman, passed away following a second open heart surgery at UCSF, according to Mark Freeman, who got to know her when she appeared in his film, “Transgender Tuesdays: A Clinic

in the Tenderloin.”

“She was well aware that she might arilyn Sarah Robinson, a never leave the hospital, according founding board member of the to her oldest surviving sister of the Transgender Law Center, died June streets, Lisa Nicole Altman,” Freeman 30, according to friends. She was 60. wrote in an email.

“They were the hottest 20-somethings together ‘back in Denver and New Orleans, and we stayed friends for 40 years,’” Freeman said Altman told him.

Freeman stated that Ms. Robinson was not shy about sharing details of her earlier life when interviewed for his film, “bringing photos from her porn-star years that she was never ashamed to share,” he stated.

“Though not exactly an activist in the strict sense of the word (she never even owned a cellphone or computer!) still she represented every day on her daily dog-walk outings from her home near the Opera House in San Francisco to the Castro and downtown,” Freeman wrote.

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mercial scene in the movie “Can’t Stop the Music” or the “Melk Men” who blessed SF Giants home games in 2012 to cheer on outfielder Melky Cabrera during another World Series run (before he was suspended for failing a drug test).

• Lastly, in theory the Olympics are supposed to bring people and countries together in a spirit of peace, but apparently that won’t work out so well for a summit that had been tentatively planned to occur during the Olympics between South Korea president Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.

South Korea called the talks off last

Courtesy Mark Freeman

Marilyn Sarah Robinson

pressed.’ And then explained why in her direct yet always graceful way, via the details of her own life.”

Ms. Robinson was a driving force behind the initial trans economic development project undertaken by TLC and the San Francisco LGBT Community Center, Chris Daley, a gay man who was TLC’s co-founder and first executive director, wrote in an email. TLC was a fiscally-sponsored project of the National Center for Lesbians in 2002 before becoming

its own nonprofit two years later. Ms. Robinson served on its first board.

Ms. Robinson was born July 30, 1960.

A viewing for Ms. Robinson’s was held July 19 at Duggan Welch Funeral Home in San Francisco.

To watch “Transgender Tuesdays,” for free, go to http://www.queer4decades.com/ and tap the “Movie” icon in the Transgender Tuesdays section of the site. The film is one-hour long, and Ms. Robinson is a star among stars in it, Freeman stated. t

weekend on reports that a senior Japanese diplomat at the embassy in Seoul had said Moon was “masturbating with himself” if he believed anything would come of the talks.

Also, Olympic opening ceremony composer Keigo Oyamada, aka Cornelius, resigned this week when it was reported that in interviews in the 1990s, he had admitted to bullying classmates, including making a disabled schoolmate eat his own feces and masturbate in front of other students.

Can’t make this crap up.

“Today I am proud to publicly tell everyone that I am gay,” Prokop, 19, wrote on Twitter July 19. “It has been quite the journey to get to this point in my life, but I cannot be happier with my decision to come out. From a young age I have dreamed of being an NHL player, and I believe that living my authentic life will allow me to bring my whole self to the rink improve my chances for filling my dreams.”

Gary Bettman, the NHL commissioner, issued a statement about the prospect’s disclosure, writing, “I share his hope that these announcements can become more common in the hockey community. LGBTQ players, coaches and staff can only perform at their absolute best if they live their lives as their full and true selves. We do not take the meaning and importance of this announcement lightly.” t

NHL prospet comes out

Luke Prokop, a former Western Hockey League player from Edmonton, Alberta who was selected by the Nashville Predators in last year’s NHL draft, announced on Twitter this week that he is gay. This makes him the first openly gay player under an NHL contract.

t <<

Community News>>

LeatherWalk

From page 6

directed the B.A.R. to the cultural district, since its manager Cal Callahan used to work at PRC. He had been employed by AEF prior to the merger.

Callahan told the B.A.R. the $10 fee for the LeatherWalk was the idea of the cultural district. He thanked PRC for agreeing to turn over control of the event to the district’s board.

“PRC has been extremely generous and extremely supportive with this,” he said. “We are really grateful. A lot of PRC clients are constituents of the district, so it does make sense. We have more connections with the community who is going to want to do this.”

New route

The cultural district decided to change the start of the LeatherWalk from the Castro to City Hall for several reasons. A leather flag is no longer raised on the flagpole at Harvey Milk Plaza in the LGBTQ neighborhood, so there isn’t a need to have a kickoff ceremony at the site.

Plus, the previous route from the public parklet to the first stop in SOMA was fairly long for attendees who are often dressed head-to-toe in

<<

leather outfits and are walking during a time of year when San Francisco sees its hottest temperatures. Moving the start of the walk to City Hall will mean it will take fewer blocks to reach the first stop, as attendees pop into various businesses along the way, from LGBTQ-owned stores and eateries to bars in SOMA, as a way to boost their sales that day.

“I don’t think there is a more boring walk than walking all the length down Market Street. There is nothing to do there,” noted Ms. San Francisco Leather 2013 Val Langmuir, a gendernonconforming woman who is also nonbinary and serves on the cultural district board.

It also makes sense to set off from City Hall since city leaders help fund the leather district and have been supportive of its creation and projects within SOMA over the years, Langmuir pointed out.

“As we are a part of the city’s apparatus, why not celebrate the city that celebrates us by starting off our march by City Hall? It is kind of celebrating the city’s celebration of us,” said Langmuir.

“The fact is we live in such a progressive city that has the first leather cultural district anywhere in the world.”

Castro overdose

“San Francisco is a little unique in that some people know it’s fentanyl and want to use it,” Mandelman said.

“But, there are also people who use Fentanyl is a synthetic opiate that other kinds of drugs but overdose.” is more potent than heroin or morKyle Temple, a licensed clinical phine. It is used medicinally to treat social worker who is the senior dipeople in severe pain, but it is easy rector of the Stonewall Project at the to overdose, and illegally manufacSan 2009 Francisco AIDS Foundation, ISO“made 12647-7 Digital Control Strip tured fentanyl without the 100 60 100 70 30 60 100 70 30 100 60 100 70 A told the B.A.R. that100 more specificity quality controls of pharmaceutical is hard to come by in official stats. grade fentanyl” is “a major contrib“Fentanyl overdoses are definitely on utor to recent increases in synthetic the rise across the community in San opioid overdose deaths,” according Francisco, the30 30queer community into100the Los Angeles County Depart100 60 100 100 70 70 30 30 100 100 60 100 100 70 70 100 100 60 100 100 70 70 cluded,” Temple told the B.A.R. “We’ve ment of Public Health. had a significant number of overdose Mandelman said that one way in deaths but the number of queer-identiwhich the situation is murky is “befied people I can’t speak to.” cause many people have different Indeed, San Francisco made headdrugs in their system” simultaneously.

From page 1

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July 22-28, 2021 • Bay Area Reporter • 9 Streetscape project to sport leather flair

At the request of the leather cultural district, city officials have incorporated several leather-themed elements into the Folsom Streetscape Improvements Project. Crosswalks in the black and blue colors of the leather flag will be painted at the entrances to the alleys Langton, Rodgers, Dore, and Juniper Street.

Where the alley Rausch crosses Folsom Street, leather-themed crosswalks will be added to both the entrance into Rausch and across Folsom Street on both sides of the alley. Streetlight poles along Folsom Street between Seventh and 11th streets will sport plastic films the color of the leather flag that include the cultural district’s logo.

And 14 sidewalk plaques marking historic LGBTQ business locations will also be added along that stretch of Folsom Street. The bronze markers are part of a larger project the cultural district is undertaking to recognize the locations of more than 100 various LGBTQ bars, shops and bathhouses that once operated in SOMA, as well the sites of the 12 remaining such establishments in the area.

The district is seeking an estimated $120,000 to pay for at least 50 of the plaques from the community impact

fees the developer L37 Partners is required to pay for its 244-rental unit housing development in SOMA. The project is to be built at Folsom and 11th streets adjacent to the gay nightclub Oasis, which should be receiving a sidewalk plaque of its own someday.

“We are delighted to have those things approved,” said Goldfarb. “We look forward to having them on the street.”

Construction on the project is slated to begin next summer and be completed within 30 months. The public realm elements will be added in 2023 at the earliest, as they will be some of the last pieces installed.

“When you think about Japantown and all of that stuff that lets you know you are in Japantown, and when you are in Chinatown you have that beautiful gate at the bottom of Grant Street that leads you into an entire community of Chinese people and businesses,” said Langmuir, “so we are looking at having some kind of streetscape that identifies the center of our district and tells you this is a leather neighborhood.”

Langmuir, the IT director for TNDC, which oversees the residential building at the corner of Folsom and Dore streets, noted the leather streetscape elements will complement

lines for having twice as many deaths smoke fentanyl, then it’s used to in 2020 from accidental drug overdossmoke meth, and residue is on it. es (697) than from COVID-19 (257), Without a tolerance for it, it can afas Capital Public Radio reported . fect you in a pretty adverse way.”

“It’s difficult to understand Nick Mathews, a straight ally who where all this is happening, but we is CEO of the rehabilitation facilhave a suspicion it’s more prevaity Stillwater Behavioral Health in lent in cocaine than meth,” Temple Southern California, said that “in said. “What we suspect is some some cases” tainted cocaine or meth 40 100 40 100 3 10 30 100 40 40 70 40 70 40 40 40 70 40 40 70 40 70 40 40 cross-contamination or human er“is the narrative.” ror leads to use of fentanyl. Who “But in my experience, things knows? It’s part of the mix. Fentanyl laced with fentanyl are actively can be mixed with cocaine easily besought,” Mathews continued. “It’s cause of100how it100appears.” an incredible high, so3.1people seek 30 30 40 40 40 100 10 40 40 20 70 70 70 70 40 70 40 40 0000 2.2 2.2 10.2 7.4 7.4 Temple speculated that part of the it out, and it’s more likely they problem could be paraphernalia beseek it out than that they accidening used for multiple different drugs. tally use it.”

“People share pipes,” Temple said.

See page 10 >> T:9.75" “The pipe may have been used to

the San Francisco South of Market Leather History Alley on the segment of Ringold Alley that parallels Folsom Street between Eighth and Ninth streets. The installation includes bootprints honoring men and women who made a lasting contribution to the city’s leather community.

“I think people will come there and have their picture taken there as tourists,” said Langmuir.

It will also add to the leatherthemed placemaking created by the Eagle Plaza, which is close to being 100% complete. It includes a large flagpole where a leather flag is now being flown seven days a week and can be seen along with the gigantic rainbow flag above Harvey Milk Plaza from certain vantage points in the city.

The flag had gone missing earlier this year when the cultural district had to remove it for repairs. It is in the process of buying a second flag so there is an alternate to fly should the first one need to come down again.

Its absence, noted Goldfarb, “was definitely noticed.”

For updates about the LeatherWalk, bronze markers, and the Folsom Street project, visit the cultural district’s website at https://sfleatherdistrict.org/ t

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Rick Gerharter

Supervisor Rafael Mandelman

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10 • Bay Area Reporter • July 22-28, 2021

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Castro overdose

From page 9

Mathews said that in his experience in drug treatment fentanyl is on the rise.

“We first started seeing it pretty regularly three to four years ago, and now almost every opiate [addicted person] is using fentanyl in some form, maybe not consistently,” Mathews said.

Stonewall Project offers non-judgmental services

Mandelman said that he found the news during Pride week to be “shocking.”

“I posted about it because it was surprising to me – shocking – to hear of three deaths in the Castro on a single day, which just happened to be during Pride Month, within a few blocks of each other,” he said.

He said that SFAF’s Stonewall Project takes a “harm reduction approach.”

“They do not tell people not to use, but they tell people they should use with a friend,” Mandelman said.

Temple concurred, adding that its approach is “quite a departure from what people think of as drug treatment.”

“Harm reduction is based on mitigating potential harm to folks when it comes to drug and alcohol use,” Temple said. “I would encourage anyone who wants to explore their drug and alcohol use – whether they have a goal or not, but if they have any inkling it might be problematic, anyone with quality-of-life issues.”

Temple said that the Stonewall Project provides substance use counseling free of charge to “queeridentified folks.”

“We’re in the process of making services more inclusive to trans women and other folks,” he said, going on to say that there is individual

Courtesy SFAF

Kyle Temple, LCSW, is the director of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation’s Stonewall Project.

counseling, group counseling, and walk-in services.

“We try to get folks in with a counselor same-day,” Temple added.

On its website, the state-certified treatment program states that “everyone’s goals are welcome and can range from complete abstinence to controlled or safer use based on a desire to improve health, relationships or functioning in the world. … We welcome you wherever you’re at and do not require abstinence for you to receive services.”

Temple said that having a virtual model during the COVID-19 pandemic had mixed results for the Stonewall Project: some regulars stopped showing up but others started going more regularly.

“Stigma and isolation kill,” Temple said. “We encourage folks who are using drugs to have a safety plan.

Narcan is widely available. You can access it through our services, and it can reverse an overdose due to opiates immediately.”

Courtesy Stillwater Behavioral Health

Nick Mathews is CEO of Stillwater Behavioral Health

Narcan, or Naloxone, is a pharmaceutical drug used to counter opioid overdoses. It can be administered intravenously or by nasal insufflation. Since 2017, all San Francisco Police Department cars carry Narcan kits.

Temple also implored people “don’t use alone,” but if they do, at least set up a time a friend can check in with them.

Another strategy Temple suggested was to use test strips that can detect the presence of fentanyl in other drugs, such as cocaine.

“That way, you have an understanding if you are consuming something you are not intending to consume,” he said.

Mathews said that he started using as a teenager and achieved longterm stability around the age of 20, which was eight years ago.

Long-term stability refers to “the ability to stay sober without slip ups and maintain your life without chaos,” Mathews stated.

“Through treatment, I came to understand my life could be better,” he

said. “My desire to have a rehab facility sparked when I was a client, … I had to return what was given to me.”

Stillwater has three facilities in Southern California, including two in Montecito. Mathews said he tries to be “holistic.”

“Our facility always embodied connectedness from a spiritual standpoint,” he said. “We want to treat people as individuals and honor their experience. Addiction is a symptom of trauma in the core of a person, so our approach is to honor the entire person.”

Mathews stated that the facility is “definitely queer-friendly.”

“The facility is covered by moist PPO insurance plans,” he wrote in an email. “Private pay options range from $40-$90K per month but in most cases insurance covers the full cost of treatment. We are a for-profit company, however, we also have a nonprofit sister component to help people that cannot afford treatment otherwise.”

City’s drug problem has changed

Mandelman, who’d served on Breed’s methamphetamine task force (https://www.ebar.com/news/ news//283475), told the B.A.R. that the city’s “drug problem” has changed in recent years.

That task force, convened in February 2019, was the second dealing with the topic; then-Mayor Gavin Newsom convened a 2005 task force to deal with the problem of meth use in the LGBTQ community specifically.

Introducing a meth sobering center was the top recommendation of the 2019 task force’s report. The city is moving forward with a proposed sobering center at 1076 Howard Street.

Mandelman said that people don’t have to have used meth specifically or exclusively to go.

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“There’s a particular need for people who are meth-inebriated,” Mandelman said. “For them and the community it’s important there be a place.”

Mandelman said that the model for the meth sobering center is the alcohol sobering center at 1171 Mission Street, “a 24/7 nurse-managed program providing support to individuals who are actively intoxicated on alcohol,” according to its website.

A sobering center should not be confused with a safe consumption site, Mandelman said, which is where people can use drugs while being monitored by staff. (A bill by gay state Senator Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, to allow San Francisco, Oakland, and Los Angeles to establish pilot safe consumption site programs recently was delayed to January. He secured $4.2 million for San Francisco’s meth sobering center in the state budget for fiscal year 2021-2022.)

“For probably four decades, gay men have been overdosing on meth … so that has been a problem in the queer community,” Mandelman said. “We hear more now about opiate overdoses and that’s not as concentrated in the Castro and more concentrated in the Tenderloin, but citywide the number of opiate overdoses is horrendous. We’re on track to beat last year’s awful record.

“I think San Francisco has a serious drug problem that manifests in many different ways in many different communities,” Mandelman added. “We have to get to a better place.” t For more information about the Stonewall Project, call (415) 4873100 or visit https://www.sfaf.org/ programs/stonewall-project/ For information on Stillwater Behavioral Health, visit https:// stillwatertreatment.com/

Legals>> ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-21-556418

In the matter of the application of CHRISTINE WONG, 2208 MISSION ST #504, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner CHRISTINE WONG is requesting that the name CHRISTINE WONG be changed to CRYSTAL MOLLY WONG. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept.

103N, Rm. 103N on the 10th of AUGUST 2021 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

JULY 01, 08, 15, 22, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039377600

The following person(s) is/are doing business as PACIFIC WEST FINANCIAL SOUTH BAY (PWFSB), 29 LAKEWOOD AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94127. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed RUSSELL M. DAVIS. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/16/21. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/22/21.

JULY 01, 08, 15, 22, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039379100

The following person(s) is/are doing business as ART OF HAIR ACADEMY, 521 GREEN ST #15, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JOHN PAUL STRAND. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/23/21.

JULY 01, 08, 15, 22, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039361600

The following person(s) is/are doing business as BRIONES HOUSEKEEPING, 990 GEARY ST #209, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed DARIO BRIONES. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/01/21. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/08/21.

JULY 01, 08, 15, 22, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039378600 The following person(s) is/are doing business as B&J MANUFACTURING, 275 COUNTRY CLUB DR, SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94080. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed BERTHA JIMENEZ. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/21/86. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/23/21.

JULY 01, 08, 15, 22, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039380800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as HEIMWEE ANTIQUES, 56 MAYNARD ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed HUMBERTO JIRON. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/25/21.

JULY 01, 08, 15, 22, 2021

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039378900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as ONE UP REAL ESTATE, 891 BEACH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109.

This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed VINCENT HEUNG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/23/21.

JULY 01, 08, 15, 22, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039375800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as HRMONIK, 2261 MARKET ST #450A, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ANN JEAN-PHILIPPE DUTREUIL. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 03/08/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/22/21.

JULY 01, 08, 15, 22, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039378300 The following person(s) is/are doing business as ESCOBAR BROS RECYCLING, 1225 THOMAS AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed DOUGLAS ESCOBAR. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/23/21. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/23/21.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-030375400 The following person(s) is/are doing business as LOCALS DISTRO, 1500 BURKE AVE #A, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed THE BURKE GROUP (CA). 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 06/21/21.

JULY 01, 08, 15, 22, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-030375500 The following person(s) is/are doing business as BURKE EXTRACTS, 1500 BURKE AVE #A, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed THE BURKE GROUP (CA). 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 06/21/21.

JULY 01, 08, 15, 22, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039379500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as RADISH, 2565 3RD ST #310, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed MY RADISH, INC. (DE). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/24/21.

JULY 01, 08, 15, 22, 2021

JULY 01, 08, 15, 22, 2021

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039378400

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039380300

The following person(s) is/are doing business as ESCOBAR BROS TOWING SERVICE, 1212 UNDERWOOD AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed DOUGLAS ESCOBAR. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/23/21. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/23/21.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as DRUGOTC.COM, 1836 NORIEGA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed OJN, INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/05/11. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/24/21.

JULY 01, 08, 15, 22, 2021

JULY 01, 08, 15, 22, 2021

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039380900

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039373900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as LT HOME REPAIR SERVICE, 615 TARAVAL ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed LARRY LOC VO. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/25/21. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/25/21.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as PROPOSITION CHICKEN, 3465 CALIFORNIA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed REMA RESTAURANTS LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/18/21.

JULY 01, 08, 15, 22, 2021

JULY 01, 08, 15, 22, 2021

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039381500

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039379600

The following person(s) is/are doing business as FREEKEH; FREEKEH SF; 3126 16TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ARAFAT A. HERZALLAH. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/25/21. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/25/21.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as MFA FINANCIAL PLANNING; MOORE FINANCIAL ADVICE; 586-B WISCONSIN ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed CNM ASSOCIATES, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/24/21.

JULY 01, 08, 15, 22, 2021

JULY 01, 08, 15, 22, 2021

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039381600

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039379900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as PORK STORE CAFÉ VALENCIA, 3122 16TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed 3122 16TH STREET, INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/01/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/25/21.

JULY 01, 08, 15, 22, 2021

The following person(s) is/are doing business as CHAPTER, SAN FRANCISCO; CHAPTER HOSTEL; 655 ELLIS ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed COSA FRANKLIN STREET LLC (NV). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/15/21. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/24/21.

JULY 01, 08, 15, 22, 2021

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039372200 The following person(s) is/are doing business as CAFÉ MEUSE, 1400 PACIFIC AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed NOB HILL NOSHERY, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 11/29/06. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/17/21.

JULY 01, 08, 15, 22, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039381400 The following person(s) is/are doing business as THAI SPICE RESTAURANT, 1730 POLK ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed KUSONTHAMMARAT LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/25/21.

JULY 01, 08, 15, 22, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039361200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as THE HAT MAN, 3064 CANYON WAY, PITTSBURG, CA 94565. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MERRITT BROWN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/08/21.

The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/08/21.

JULY 01, 08, 15, 22, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039375100

The following person(s) is/are doing business as BISTRO CENTRAL PARC, 560 CENTRAL AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed BISTRO PARC LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 03/02/21. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/21/21.

JULY 01, 08, 15, 22, 2021 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-039057300

The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as BISTRO CENTRAL PARC, 560 CENTRAL AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business was conducted by a corporation and signed by BISTRO CENTRAL PARC, INC. (CA). The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/01/20.

JULY 01, 08, 15, 22, 2021 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-21-556421 In the matter of the application of WENJIE ZHONG, 288 9TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner WENJIE ZHONG is requesting that the name WENJIE ZHONG be changed to WENNIE ZHONG. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N on the 9th of SEP 2021 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

JULY 08, 15, 22, 29, 2021

SUMMONS IN A CIVIL ACTION IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA CIVIL ACTION NO. 3:21-CV-02362-SK BRIAN WHITAKER, PLAINTIFF V. EVA C. JEONG, IN INDIVIDUAL AND REPRESENTATIVE CAPACITY AS TRUSTEE OF THE STEVE M. JONG AND EVA C. JEONG REVOCABLE TRUST DATED DECEMBER 26, 1995; JOHNNY LY, DEFENDANTS To Eva C. Jeong, in individual and representative capacity as trustee of The Steve M. Jong And Eva C. Jeong Revocable Trust Dated December 26, 1995, 146 Wood St Apt 8, San Francisco, CA 94118-3465 and Johnny Ly, c/o Latte Express #5, 646 Kearny St, San Francisco, CA 94108, a lawsuit has been filed against you. Within 21 days after service of this summons on you (not counting the day you received it) – or 60 days if you are the United States or a United States agency, or an officer or employee of the United States described in Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(a)(2) or (3) – you must serve on the plaintiff an answer to the attached complaint or a motion under Rule 12 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The answer or motion must be served on the plaintiff or plaintiff’s attorney, whose name and address are Amanda Seabock, Esq., SBN 289900, 8033 Linda Vista Road, Suite 200, San Diego, CA 92111; Phone (858) 3757385; (888) 422-5191 fax. If you fail to respond, judgment by default will be entered against you for the relief demanded in the complaint. You also must file your answer or motion with the court. Date: 4/2/2021. Clerk of the Court Susan Y. Soong; signed Sheila Rash, deputy clerk.

JULY 08, 15, 22, 29, 2021 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-21-556416

In the matter of the application of ROY MILTON BOSWELL, 1788 CLAY ST #207, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner ROY MILTON BOSWELL is requesting that the name ROY MILTON BOSWELL be changed to ROY MILTON BOSWELL-VIGGIANO. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 103 on the 10th of AUGUST 2021 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

JULY 08, 15, 22, 29, 2021 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-21-556432

In the matter of the application of SUNJUNG KIM, 260 KING ST #417, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner SUNJUNG KIM is requesting that the name SUNJUNG KIM be changed to MICHAEL SUNJUNG KIM. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Rm. 103 on the 17th of AUGUST 2021 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

JULY 08, 15, 22, 29, 2021

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Classifieds>>

Legals

From page 10

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-21-556436

In the matter of the application of GENEVA CARTER, 32 MAXWELL CT, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner GENEVA CARTER is requesting that the name AIRAM VERRILL JACKSON be changed to KY’REAL KENYA DUVALL and the name GENEVA HELEN CARTER be changed to MALAYSIA GRACE DUVALL. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N on the 17th of AUGUST 2021 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

JULY 08, 15, 22, 29, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039371800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as WELLNESS WARRIOR SF, 1050 NORTH POINT ST #402, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ELIZABETH CHANG WILSON. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 03/03/21. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/17/21.

JULY 08, 15, 22, 29, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039384600

The following person(s) is/are doing business as EARTH ALLY, 743 11TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed CHARLOTTE CANNER. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/02/20.

The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/30/21.

JULY 08, 15, 22, 29, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039387500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as SASSY LOCS HUMAN HAIR, 1101 PHELPS ST #A, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JANET PICKENSSTANFORD. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/02/21.

JULY 08, 15, 22, 29, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039386700

The following person(s) is/are doing business as MAESTRO APPLIANCE, 150 SAN MARCOS AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ANDRE SAVKIN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/02/21.

JULY 08, 15, 22, 29, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039364700 The following person(s) is/are doing business as MYPLIANCE, 136 FOERSTER, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed ROMAN STEPANYUK & OLEKSANDR STEPANYUK. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/11/21.

JULY 08, 15, 22, 29, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039386900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as PHO HUONG VIET, 5733 GEARY BLVD, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed PHO HUONG VIET INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/01/21. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/02/21.

JULY 08, 15, 22, 29, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039386400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as NAILS N BEAUTY, 2385 CHESTNUT ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94123. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed NAILS N BEAUTY (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/01/21.

The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/02/21.

JULY 08, 15, 22, 29, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039385100

The following person(s) is/are doing business as EGGCELLENT WAFFLES, 891 BUSH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94108. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed WAI YAM KWAN HK LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/01/21. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/01/21.

JULY 08, 15, 22, 29, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039386200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as LILIKOI, 3108 FILLMORE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94123. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed KINGDEW ENTERPRISES LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/02/21.

JULY 08, 15, 22, 29, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039385600

The following person(s) is/are doing business as THE ANCHOVY BAR, 1740 O’FARRELL ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed THE PROGRESS PROVISIONS, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/01/20.

The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/02/21.

JULY 08, 15, 22, 29, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039387600

The following person(s) is/are doing business as RITUAL NAIL BAR, 340 DIVISADERO ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed HOANG & NEAL, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/02/21.

JULY 08, 15, 22, 29, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039394600 The following person(s) is/are doing business as YOLANDA’S EZ REGISTRATION SERVICE, 1321 STEINER ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed YOLANDA R. JONES. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/08/21.

JULY 15, 22, 29, AUG 05, 2021

July 22-28, 2021 • Bay Area Reporter • 11

SUMMONS (FAMILY LAW) SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO NOTICE TO RESPONDENT: KACI L. LIN, YOU ARE BEING SUED. PETITIONER’S NAME IS JAMES R. LIN CASE NO. FDI-21-794891

You have 30 CALENDAR DAYS after this Summons and Petition are served on you to file a Response (form FL-120 or FL-123) at the court and have a copy served on the petitioner. A letter, phone call, or court appearance will not protect you. If you do not file your Response on time, the court may make orders affecting your marriage or domestic partnerships, your property, and custody of your children. You may be ordered to pay support and attorney fees and costs. For legal advice, contact a lawyer immediately. Get help finding a lawyer at the California Courts Online Self-Help Center (www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp), at the California Legal Services website (www.lawhelpcalifornia.org), or by contacting your local county bar association.

NOTICE RESTRAINING ORDERS: The restraining orders following are effective against both spouses or domestic partners until the petition is dismissed, a judgment entered, or the court makes further orders.

They are enforceable anywhere in California by any law enforcement officer who has received or seen a copy of them.

FEE WAIVER: If you cannot pay the filing fee, ask the clerk for a fee waiver form. The court may order you to pay back all or part of the fees and costs that the court waived for you or the other party.

UNIFIED FAMILY COURT – SAN FRANCISCO SUPERIOR COURT, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102; PETITIONER’S ATTORNEY: Michael Strebe (SBN #280375), Lewellen Strebe PC, 50 Osgood Pl. #500, San Francisco, CA 94133; (415) 818-1106.

May 12, 2021, Clerk of the Court: Tim Kyu. STANDARD FAMILY LAW RESTRAINING ORDERS: Starting immediately, you and your spouse or domestic partner are restrained from: 1. Removing the minor children of the parties from the state or applying for a new or replacement passport for those minor children without the prior written consent of the other party or an order of the court; 2. Cashing, borrowing against, canceling, transferring, disposing of, or changing the beneficiaries of any insurance or other coverage, including life, health, automobile, and disability, held for the benefit of the parties and their minor children; 3. Transferring, encumbering, hypothecating, concealing, or in any way disposing of any property, real or personal, whether community, quasi-community, or separate, without the written consent of the other party or an order of the court, except in the usual course of business or for the necessities of life; and 4. Creating a nonprobate transfer or modifying a nonprobate transfer in the manner that affects the disposition of property subject to the transfer, without the written consent of the other party or an order of the court. Before revocation of a nonprobate transfer can take effect or a right of survivorship to property can be eliminated, notice of the change must be filed and served on the other party. You must notify each other of any proposed extraordinary expenditures at least five business days prior to incurring these extraordinary expenditures and account to the court for all extraordinary expenditures made after these restraining orders are effective. However, you may use community property, quasi-community property, or your own separate property to pay an attorney to help you or to pay court costs. NOTICE-ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE HEALTH INSURANCE: Do you or someone in your household need affordable health insurance? If so, you should apply for Covered California. Covered California can help reduce the cost you pay towards high quality affordable care. For more information, visit www. coveredca.com. Or call Covered California at 1-800300-1506. WARNING-IMPORTANT INFORMATION: California law provides that, for the purposes of division of property upon dissolution of a marriage or domestic partnership or upon legal separation, property acquired by the parties during marriage or domestic partnership in joint form is presumed to be community property. If either party to this action should die before the jointly held community property is divided, the language in the deed that characterizes how title is held (i.e., joint tenancy, tenants in common, or community property) will be controlling, and not the community property presumption. You should consult your attorney if you want the community property presumption to be written into the recorded title to the property.

JULY 15, 22, 29, AUG 05, 2021 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-21-556439 In the matter of the application of ERIC MICHAEL SCHUMACHER & ERIN LYNN SCHUMACHER, 118 BACHE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner ERIC MICHAEL SCHUMACHER & ERIN LYNN SCHUMACHER is requesting that the name SADIE ROSE SCHUMACHER be changed to TOBY ROSE SCHUMACHER. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N on the 19th of AUGUST 2021 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

JULY 15, 22, 29, AUG 05, 2021 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-21-556447 In the matter of the application of SEAN JEFFREY HENNESSEY, 5021 DIAMOND HEIGHTS BLVD, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94131, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner SEAN JEFFREY HENNESSEY is requesting that the name SEAN JEFFREY HENNESSEY be changed to SEAN JEFFREY LI HSIANG HENNESSEY-HSIEH. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N on the 19th of AUGUST 2021 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

JULY 15, 22, 29, AUG 05, 2021 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-21-556448 In the matter of the application of KUN YUAN HSIEH, 5021 DIAMOND HEIGHTS BLVD, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94131, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner KUN YUAN HSIEH is requesting that the name KUN YUAN HSIEH be changed to BRIAN KUN YUAN HENNESSEY-HSIEH. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N on the 19th of AUGUST 2021 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

JULY 15, 22, 29, AUG 05, 2021 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-21-556453

In the matter of the application of CASSANDRA LOUISE MILLER AKA CASSANDRA LOUISE ATKINS, 1427 LARKIN ST #1, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner CASSANDRA LOUISE MILLER AKA CASSANDRA LOUISE ATKINS is requesting that the name(s) CASSANDRA LOUISE MILLER AKA CASSANDRA LOUISE ATKINS be changed to CASSANDRA LOUISE ATKINS. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Rm. 103 on the 24th of AUGUST 2021 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

JULY 15, 22, 29, AUG 05, 2021

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-21-556460

In the matter of the application of SAN LING, C/O JOHN F. LEE (SBN #154343), 15 BOARDMAN PL, 2ND FL, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner SAN LING is requesting that the name SAN LING be changed to KATHLEEN LING CHAU. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Rm. 103 on the 24th of AUGUST 2021 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

JULY 15, 22, 29, AUG 05, 2021 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-21-556461

In the matter of the application of SEEMA HAJI, 620 TERESITA BLVD, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94127, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner SEEMA HAJI is requesting that the name YUVAN JAMES BANERJEE be changed to YUVAN HAJI BANERJEE. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N on the 24th of AUGUST 2021 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

JULY 15, 22, 29, AUG 05, 2021 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-21-556462

In the matter of the application of SEEMA HUSSAIN HAJI AKA SEEMA KESWANI, 620 TERESITA BLVD, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94127, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner SEEMA HUSSAIN HAJI AKA SEEMA KESWANI is requesting that the name(s) SEEMA HUSSAIN HAJI AKA SEEMA KESWANI be changed to SEEMA HAJI LAWRENCE. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N on the 24th of AUGUST 2021 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

JULY 15, 22, 29, AUG 05, 2021 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-21-556463

In the matter of the application of KARISHMA HAJI, 2150 18TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner KARISHMA HAJI is requesting that the name KARISHMA HUSSAIN HAJI AKA KARISHMA KESWANI be changed to KARISHMA HAJI; the name MEERA NAINA HEIKER be changed to MEERA HAJI HEIKER; and the name ZOYA AMAYA HEIKER be changed to ZOYA HAJI HEIKER. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N on the 24th of AUGUST 2021 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

JULY 15, 22, 29, AUG 05, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039389800 The following person(s) is/are doing business as MEGA TRADING COMPANY, 2743 MISSION ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed CHOONG LI FEN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 03/29/06. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/06/21.

JULY 15, 22, 29, AUG 05, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039393800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as CITY LIGHT PALACE, 706 SACRAMENTO ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94108. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ALLAN P. NUTALL. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/08/21. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/08/21.

JULY 15, 22, 29, AUG 05, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039394300

The following person(s) is/are doing business as EMERALD SPA, 441 STOCKTON ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94108. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed HANNA HOANG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/08/21. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/08/21.

JULY 15, 22, 29, AUG 05, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039390100

The following person(s) is/are doing business as SIBERIAN SECRETS, 350 TOWNSEND ST #827, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed VITALY DANEKIN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/27/16.

The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/06/21.

JULY 15, 22, 29, AUG 05, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039386000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as LAUNDERWORLD, 2307 FOLSOM ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed AOIKUN INC (CA).

The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 02/01/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/02/21.

JULY 15, 22, 29, AUG 05, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039396900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as BAY AREA REPORTER, 44 GOUGH ST #204, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed BAR MEDIA INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/01/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/09/21.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039374800 The following person(s) is/are doing business as GOLDEN GATE INTERIORS, 362 BAYSHORE BLVD, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed MGS CO (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/16/21. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/21/21.

JULY 15, 22, 29, AUG 05, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039392600 The following person(s) is/are doing business as CENSORED EXPLICIT VODKA; THE STRAITS GROUP; 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 N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/07/21.

JULY 15, 22, 29, AUG 05, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039394500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as EVENTS BY GS, 1222 25TH AVE #A, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed EVENTS BY GS LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 02/22/21. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/08/21.

JULY 15, 22, 29, AUG 05, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039397600 The following person(s) is/are doing business as THE RED TAIL, 545 IRVING ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed FOG CITY BREWS LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/08/21. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/09/21.

JULY 15, 22, 29, AUG 05, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039386300

The following person(s) is/are doing business as JADE ELLEN, 1910 29TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116.

This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed JADE ELLEN, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/08/21. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/02/21.

JULY 15, 22, 29, AUG 05, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039384100

The following person(s) is/are doing business as HALCYON, 314 11TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103.

This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed 314 11TH STREET LLC (CA).

The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/01/21. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/30/21.

JULY 15, 22, 29, AUG 05, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039401300

The following person(s) is/are doing business as NUANCED COLLECTIVE, 800 INDIANA ST #347, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed FLOW STATE LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/12/21. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/12/21.

JULY 15, 22, 29, AUG 05, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039399200 The following person(s) is/are doing business as KING KONG MOVING, 1788 19TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MICHAEL NIU. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/09/21.

JULY 22, 29, AUG 05, 12, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039384700

The following person(s) is/are doing business as YOUNG VIOLINS, 620 7TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ZI YANG LIANG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/01/99.

The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/30/21.

JULY 22, 29, AUG 05, 12, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039400900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as AMY DESIGN CO., 150 28TH ST #12, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94131. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed AMY YOUNG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/23/20.

The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/09/21.

JULY 22, 29, AUG 05, 12, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039415500 The following person(s) is/are doing business as INFINITY MINER, 566 YALE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94134. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed SHAWN MITCHELL. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above

The following person(s) is/are doing business as BEIJING RESTAURANT, 1801 ALEMANY BLVD, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed BEIJING FOOD INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/11/08. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/21/21.

JULY 15, 22, 29, AUG 05, 2021

JULY 22, 29, AUG 05, 12, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039416500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as VACATION RESORT TRAVEL SERVICES, 567 24TH AVE #203, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed LILLIAN DO. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/28/21. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/20/21.

JULY 22, 29, AUG 05, 12, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039394400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as MACKENZIE WAREHOUSE, 3260 26TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed S.F. AUTOMOTIVE PARTS WAREHOUSE, INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 03/29/82.

The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/08/21.

JULY 22, 29, AUG 05, 12, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039408300 The following person(s) is/are doing business as PUNJ LIQUOR, 2301 VAN NESS AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed PUNJ ENTERPRISE INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/14/21. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/14/21.

JULY 22, 29, AUG 05, 12, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039413200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as MEDITERRANEAN AROMA, 900 16TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed PURELY MEDITERRANEAN INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/16/21.

The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/16/21.

JULY 22, 29, AUG 05, 12, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039408000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as GROCERY OUTLET VISITACION VALLEY, 2630 BAYSHORE BLVD, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94134. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed SUB EK INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 04/13/21. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/14/21.

JULY 22, 29, AUG 05, 12, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039415700

The following person(s) is/are doing business as SPOT-ON; PINPOINT PERSUASION; 222 COLUMBUS AVE #210, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed STEELWILL INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/15/09. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/19/21.

JULY 22, 29, AUG 05, 12, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039405900 The following person(s) is/are doing business as CHUNG | NAMONT, 4071 24TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed CHUNG NAMONT LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/13/21.

JULY 22, 29, AUG 05, 12, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039407500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as VICO CAVONE, 4248 18TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114.

This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed PARTENOPEA COMPANY LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/14/21.

JULY 22, 29, AUG 05, 12, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039412100

The following person(s) is/are doing business as VIC’S WINEHOUSE ON FILLMORE, 1870 FILLMORE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed VICTORIA WASSERMAN ENTERPRISES LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/15/21.

JULY 22, 29, AUG 05, 12, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039416900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as FTA, 313 IVY ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed 415 NATIVE LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/29/20.

The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/20/21.

JULY 22, 29, AUG 05, 12, 2021

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Jon Sams

by Gregg Shapiro

I

s there anything gay performer and Texas-native Todrick Hall can’t do? He sings.

He dances. He writes songs. He acts on Broadway, in movies, and on TV. He’s also an outspoken activist.

On Hall’s blockbuster new album Femuline (todrickhall.com), released in time for Pride 2021, he is joined by all-star collaborators including Chaka Khan, Brandy, Tyra Banks and Ts Madison, and the queer energy and spirit is through the roof. In fact, Hall tears off the roof and turns it into a fabulous costume.

Hall was kind enough to spare me a few minutes to talk about the new album as well as his upcoming concert tour.

Gregg Shapiro: Todrick, in “The Foreplay,” Femuline’s album opener, you refer to a ‘Gay National Anthem,’ which I think actually applies to the entire album, described by you as an “open love letter to the LGBTQ community.” As an LGBTQ ambassador, what do you think of the rapid strides the community has made in recent years?

Todrick Hall: It makes me feel optimistic about where the world is going. I feel like we’re nowhere near where we need to be. As a queer person in 2021, I don’t think I can list you a single song where a man is singing to another man using a pronoun that would typically be used to describe a man.

In 2021, when we have all the technology in the world, and we can fly people to outer space, and do insane things with science, and we can do incredible things with the technology that we have, the fact that

Todrick Hall

The multi-talent on gay anthems, mentors & new music

we have not yet advanced to the place where men can sing to other men on the radio without it being a subliminal thing or is kind of sugar-coated and not addressed head-on, is a sad thing.

I’m grateful for the strides that we’ve made, but we’re nowhere near where we need to be in normalizing being a part of the LGBTQ community. That is my goal with every project that I do; to introduce my music and my message, not just to people who are from my community, but to the allies and people who are heterosexual fans and followers that happened to tumble across my videos on YouTube.

Femuline was released in June 2021. In addition to being Pride month, it was also the time when Juneteenth was established as a federal holiday. Can you please say something about the significance of these two events happening concurrently?

Todrick Hall

I think that is so important that that exists. I had a close friend who didn’t know what Juneteenth was. It was somebody who I would consider to be typically “woke” and aware of everything that’s happening. But I think a lot of times, even people who are part of the Black community have celebrated Juneteenth for so long but didn’t really know what its origin was.

A lot of people who celebrate Pride month never knew why Pride existed. They don’t know anything about Stonewall or anything that has happened in the gay community. I think right now what social media is doing, because a lot of those things are not necessarily taught in every school, in every book, especially gay history –I don’t know that gay history even exists in public school districts– what’s so incredible about social media and the platforms that people have to receive information is that some people are educating themselves on things that they would

Eva Noblezada Broadway star brings ‘Flower Power’ to Feinstein’s

Eva Noblezada

by Jim Gladstone

S

omething new is in store for the genteel cabaret audiences that frequent Feinstein’s at the Nikko. On July 28-31, twotime Tony nominee Eva Noblezada will premiere a brand new solo set at the club … and she’ll be pole dancing.

Sure, she’ll be singing as well. But the pole is where the 25-year-old performer will really let her hair down in the show she’s calling Flower Power,

which blossomed in the thick of the pandemic.

Like many stage performers, Noblezada saw her tightly scheduled eight-show-a-week routine suddenly evaporate when Broadway shut down last March. She’d been playing Eurydice, a role she originated, in the Best Musical Tony-winning Hadestown. Physically and psychologically, the screeching halt was rough on working actors.

Noblezada, who has spoken openly about past struggles with anxiety and depression, grabbed ahold of the pole to pull herself out of a dark place.

“At one point I really went into a funk for about three months,” she told the Bay Area Reporter in a recent interview. “I was eating, watching a lot of movies and just generally losing my mind.

“I needed to find something to do with all the time. And I really don’t know what specifically made it happen, but there was a moment when I just decided that I should try pole dancing. I’ve been obsessed with burlesque since I was a little kid, but I can’t tell you why it suddenly came to the surface of my mind.”

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not normally be introduced to because their school districts are too conservative to give them that information.

Todrick Hall’s album, Femuline

See page 15 >> “Society sexualizes everything so much, but that’s not what drew me to pole,” Noblezada says of pole dancing. “It combines a sense of confidence and beauty in a way that feels so powerful to me. It’s so much more than most people understand. Pole is a sport and a performance art.”

“As I was really getting into it at home, I just started to think how cool it would be to just put together my dream show. All music that I love, an uplifting feeling, some laughs, and pole dancing, too.”

Asked whether she’s concerned about pole’s tawdrier associations, the refreshingly frank Noblezada laughs aloud and says, “I don’t give a fuck about stigma. Well, other than liking when it gets broken.”

That said, she confides that before sharing any of her routines on Instagram, she opened a second account under her nom de pole, @MissMirage_pole, “to avoid my grandmother accidentally seeing them alongside family photos.”

From the aisle to the stage

The support of her family has always been important to Noblezada, who had an early show business ally in an aunt, actress Annette Calud, who was a regular on Sesame Street when Noblezada was a child.

“I think I always knew I wanted to be some kind of performer,” Noblezada recalls, “But I didn’t know what. When I was quite young I had fantasies about singing opera. I don’t know why, but, look, I also went through a phase when I thought I was a horse, so, childhood fantasies aren’t particularly reliable.”

See page 14 >>

t

Nightlife >>

July 22-28, 2021 • Bay Area Reporter • 13

Matthew does Joan does Sharon…and Glenn!

by David-Elijah Nahmod

A

reasonable facsimile of Joan Crawford comes to life when actor Matthew Martin takes to the stage of the now reopened Oasis in The Hand That Rocks the Crawford, a wild reimagining of thrillers like The Hand that Rocks the Cradle, Fatal Attraction, and Basic Instinct, all performed as though Mommie Dearest herself had starred in them.

Martin is well known for his affectionate nods to Crawford, having starred a few years back in Trog Live, a staged parody of Crawford’s legendarily bad last movie.

As always, Martin will play Crawford (playing Glenn Close, Sharon Stone, etc.) with tongue planted firmly in cheek, but also with the respect and reverence worthy of one of his favorite actresses.

The show is written by Martin’s good friend, playwright Michael Phillis, who collaborated with Martin on Trog. The show can be seen at Oasis from July 22-August 7.

The actor has also performed in Billy Clift’s filmed parody of the classic Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? Titled simply Baby Jane, Matthew performed as another screen icon, Bette Davis.

“Ask a lot of the kids today about Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, and they’re like, ‘Bette who?’ and ‘Joan what?’” said Martin to the Bay Area Reporter. “So it was more relatable referencing with these movies but then putting Joan into the mix, as the villainess of all three, and it’s a send-up of all three.”

Martin recalls that when the cast did the first read through of the play’s script, they were crying with laughter.

Matthew Martin as Joan Crawford as Sharon Stone in Michael Phillis’ The Hand that Rocks the Crawford.

“Because it’s so well written, and it’s so ridiculously funny,” Martin said. “And then you have five juggernaut talents, Michael, myself, Sara Moore, Steven LeMay and J. Conrad Frank, and they’re

all playing the various roles. And we’re all friends, so it’s like working with family.”

Martin describes the show as “couture comedy,” as everyone in the cast is playing roles that were

Reach 120,000+ active, educated, and affluent arts-enthusiasts who read the Bay Area Reporter, as we herald and celebrate the the arrival of the highly-anticipated Fall Arts Season.

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written especially for them. He refers to the time we’re now in as “the end of the war,” an obvious reference to the end of the pandemic lockdowns.

“The troops need to be entertained,” he said. “People are so deprived, and I think not only are they going to laugh, but they’re also going to laugh their asses off and fall off their chairs. It’s just that funny. I think it’s going to go over really well. It’s more than just a funny show. It’s brilliantly, ridiculously funny and well-crafted.”

The Hand That Rocks the Crawford is the first show that Oasis is putting on since the pandemic lockdowns caused the club to shutter its doors for an extended period. Martin said he was honored to be the star of the club’s return engagement.

“I can’t wait to do it,” he said.

“I’m off book, if I had to I could do it tonight. And of course there’s a musical number thrown in. It’s in my contract! We’re having a blast.”

Martin promises that the infamous, legendary interrogation scene from Basic Instinct will be included in the show. As the scene played out in the original film, Sharon Stone seductively shocked members of the San Francisco Police detective squad as they questioned her about a murder. In the scene Stone crossed her legs, showing perhaps a bit more than the officers expected to see.

“I get to play an unhinged psycho bitch,” Martin said. “Which is like an actor’s field day.”

One similar role that Martin has wanted to play is the Jessica Walter character in the 1971 Clint Eastwood film Play Misty For Me. In that stalker chiller, a forerunner to films like Fatal Attraction, Walter

gave what Martin calls a “tour de force performance.”

“Actually, Joan Crawford wrote her a fan letter after seeing that,” said Martin. “That was shot in Carmel, and it was the first time Eastwood had been down there.

He fell in love with it and relocated there. I remember when Fatal Attraction came out in 1987, and I thought this was a complete ripoff of Play Misty For Me in a way.

So I always wanted to do a stage production of that, but maybe make it Play Mitzi For Me, as in Mitzi Gaynor.”

Martin feels that doing shows like this can turn audiences on to the work of whichever star he’s impersonating. He recalls doing a show in which he played jazz great Peggy Lee. His neighbors saw the show. When they got home, they Googled Lee. “It made me happy,” he said. “It was a teachable moment, I turned someone on to Peggy Lee. It’s the same way with old movies and Joan Crawford and recommending people to watch it.”

To anyone on the fence about attending The Hand that Rocks the Crawford, someone who might not be familiar with Joan Crawford’s work, Martin has a simple message regarding the show.

“It’s funny as hell,” he said. “And you don’t need to now the source material to appreciate it. So if I can turn someone on, if that inspires someone to go see the source material, great. It’s timeless material, I mean if everything is based on everything, then I say steal from the greats, that’s what they did. If something is well done and funny, then it doesn’t matter if you’re 16 or 61, if it’s well done, it should be appreciated.” www.sfoasis.com t

Publishing September 2

From the museums and galleries, to local theatre, performances, television, film, along with dance, music, books -- our fall arts preview edition presents comprehensive coverage of the arts scene in the world-class city we’ve called home since 1971.

As the undisputed newspaper of record for the Bay Area’s LGBT community, the Bay Area Reporter reaches the single largest audience of LGBTQ consumers in the San Francisco Bay Area

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<< Film

14 • Bay Area Reporter • July 22-28, 2021

Guilt vibration

by Brian Bromberger

Mark Wahlberg in ‘Joe Bell,’ a well-intentioned but unsteady melodrama

encounter about tolerance and accepting everyone for who they are, passing out anti-hate cards, whether it be presentations at high school auditoriums, consciousness raising at community centers, strangers at a diner, or denizens at a gay bar.

About halfway into the movie, the real reason for Bell’s journey becomes clear, but any queer viewer who isn’t comatose, will figure out the deception long before the big reveal in flashbacks, which won’t be spoiled here.

Bell is hot-tempered and guiltridden because when Jadin came out to him and confessed he was being bullied, he basically ignored and didn’t understand the seriousness of the situation, advising him to use the boxing lessons he had forced on Jadin to defend himself.

Bell’s inability to face his own role in Jadin’s misery while directing all that anger inward becomes the source of his march for redemption that because of its outcome became a national media story in 2013.

Rather than the two big revelations, the real shocker of Joe Bell comes in the credits when we see the screenplay was written by Larry McMurtry

I

n many ways, the new film Joe Bell is Hollywood do-goodism at its worst, especially when even in the trailer and poster one sees the now dreaded phrase, ‘Based on a true story.’ The theme is anti-gay bullying, certainly a worthy cause, but similar to movies like The Help –which opposes racism as seen through the eyes of a white Savior-figure– in Joe Bell we’re to view homophobia through the angst of a guilt-ridden parent. It’s a shallow lopsided perspective that winds up becoming an elongated PSA embedded within an irritating sentimentality that unintentionally softens rather than strengthens its underlying antihate message.

Joe Bell (Mark Wahlberg) is an Oregon man whose son Jadin (Reid Miller) was bullied in high school because he’s gay. In the opening scenes, the two are “traveling” together as they walk cross-country while pushing a cart of clothes and belongings to New York (the place where Jadin feels he will be more supported and can escape his oppressive hometown).

Bell preaches to whomever they

t

and Diana Ossana, Oscar winners for their magnificent Brokeback Mountain script. Joe Bell is a sad follow-up to that landmark effort, because here none of the characters are fully developed, especially the one bearing the film’s title.

Miller is heartbreakingly raw as Jadin, who is defined by his victimization and the online harassment he received (“just do us all a favor. Off yourself”) rather than the way he lived his life. We see snippets of a budding secretive relationship with a closeted football player but we rarely get to hear his struggles from his vantage point, only how his father failed him.

The film emotionally manipulates us into feeling sorry for Jadin, but it’s an unearned empathy because the film reveals so little about Jadin the person for whom we care as opposed to Jadin the raison d’etre for his father.

And then there’s Mark Wahlberg.

Joe Bell may be less Bell’s atonement than Wahlberg’s. His career began by following his brother Donnie’s footsteps as a pop-hip hop singer, followed by his modeling underwear for Calvin Klein. But before that success, Wahlberg was arrested several times for race-related attacks, and jailed for

Reid Miller and Mark Wahlberg in Joe Bell

45 days for assault (demoted from the initial charge of attempted murder).

So Joe Bell has all the earmarks of a redemptive plea asking forgiveness for those youthful hurtful actions. Wahlberg is fine, even heartfelt, as Bell in a role contrary to his usual uber-masculine portrayals. However, It’s difficult to recommend the film even to teenagers, queer or straight, because there is so little of their perspective enshrined here.

In the latter half of the movie, Jadin

serves little more than a postscript.

Despite its mostly self-inflicted wounds, Joe Bell in its virtuosity has its heart in the right place, so perhaps it might fortuitously speak to a parent in distress and consequently make a difference in some anguished teenager’s life. www.joebellthemovie.com t Read the full review on www.ebar.com.

50 years in 50 weeks:

1986, Call me

by Jim Provenzano

D

etermined to pick some prominent arts events from 1986’s Bay Area Reporter issues, what stuck out more prominently was the high number of phone sex ads.

The advent of phone sex paired with fears about AIDS/ HIV transmission through the mid-1980s. Prominent promos include those from April 3, January 16 and November 26.

The lure of a faceless voice providing a hook-up, or substitute for actual sex, may be incomprehensible to contemporary TikTok fans and phone app-users who bare all.

But yes, kids. There was a time where one could “connect” with others on a rotary phone and landline. t

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Eva Noblezada

From page 12

“But I remember going to New York for the first time when I was nine years old,” says Noblezada, who was raised in San Diego and later Charlotte, North Carolina. “My Auntie took me to my first Broadway show, which was The Lion King. I remember sitting there and watching all of the dancers come down the aisles as animals. It was flawless. I actually started crying and I just grabbed onto my aunt and through my tears I was like, ‘This is what I want to do when I grow up.’”

In her junior year of high school, Noblezada earned a spot the finals of the Jimmys (the National High School Musical Theatre Awards). There, she was famously spotted by a casting director, which ultimately led to her leaving school and moving to London to play Kim in Cameron Mackintosh’s 2014 revival of Miss Saigon, a part she went on to play on Broadway as well, earning her first Tony nomination. Almost simultaneously with Miss Saigon’s closing on Broadway, Noblezada won her Hadestown role for that show’s first major workshop. She’s been attached to the show ever since, appearing in London prior to New York.

“Developing the character of Eurydice and then having the show become such a success has just been amazing,” says Noblezada.

Also fairly amazing is the fact that her character’s love interest in the show, Orpheus, is played by Reeve Carney (the original Broadway Spiderman), who has become her real-

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Eva Noblezada as Eurydice in Hadestown and as Kim in Miss Saigon

life romantic partner as well.

Despite back-to-back Tony nominations for her first two Broadway shows, Noblezada says “I don’t know how much longer I will be on Broadway. If it’s the right role, maybe. But I’ve been working a lot on writing my own music.”

Noblezada says she won’t publicly perform any of her originals until she has an album out, obliquely describing her style as “If Jessie Ware, Amy Winehouse and Ella Fitzgerald had a baby that was the Gypsy Rose Lee of 2021.”

“I think an audience can feel it if I’m singing something I don’t love,” she says, explaining that show tunes aren’t a big influence on her compositions or a significant presence in her cabaret show.

“When I’m doing a role, it’s not me on stage, it’s my character. I don’t necessarily like the songs,

personally. When I’m in my Eva clothes and outside of the theater I really don’t like singing ‘I’d Give My Life For You’ [Her Miss Saigon showstopper]. My show at Feinstein’s will be all songs that I love, and that are written by women or identified with women singers.”

The only musicals she repeatedly turned to on video during the pandemic –along with Ted Talks, scary movies, Harry Potter, and ‘Grape Lady Falls’ (“If you looked at my YouTube searches, you’d think I’m a psychopath”) were the two Mamma Mia films. “I know a lot of people think they’re stupid,” says the determinedly iconoclastic pole dancer and general rabble rouser, “But I just love them!”t Eva Noblezada at Feinstein’s at the Nikko, July 28-31. 222 Mason St. $85. www.feinsteinssf.com

Books >>

t Michael Lowenthal’s dynamic ‘Sex with Strangers’

by Mark William Norby

I

n Michael Lowenthal’s fifth book, Sex with Strangers (University of Wisconsin Press), the writer steps out of the novel and delivers a fiery collection of eight stories coursing through queer and straight lives, revealing the untamed self and the tools that bring us both nearer to, and farther from, self and others. The book brings us closer to the questions of being here and there and wherever we find ourselves, inclined to intimacy, involved in this life where the body remains our preeminent companion.

Narrated in the manner that the best sex writing is written in, the book expands beyond mere interminglings of body parts with another’s body parts. Lowenthal’s deft sex writing allows the reader’s imagination to fill in more of the scenes and to do the thrilling work: to provide the color, the modes of performance, the dance between people entering intimate

<<

July 22-28, 2021 • Bay Area Reporter • 15

acts, providing the space to trigger the theater of the mind.

The story that rises out of the book and succeeds its own fascinations, “Overboy” delivers an exacting account of an Ecstasy high, the absolute “absence of doubt,” Lowenthal writes.

Keith is out at a gay club, alone, a gastroenterologist by profession, and it’s his 29th birthday. Regretting the end of his twenties, he meets Ryan, already high, already free. Keith takes one of Ryan’s pills and ends up on the dance floor where he discovers a hand inching into his jeans. But it turns out to be an older man named Stan, not Ryan, who is off dancing and cavorting with an Irish-looking guy with whom he leaves the dance floor.

Of Ecstasy, “Up was the perfect word for it, and not the hyper up of cocaine –nothing to do with superiority, with one person higher than another– but a soaring elevation of everything and everyone together.” Put into words many of us have tried to

express, Lowenthal transcends here.

Beyond casual encounters and hookups, beyond dating apps and quick, anonymous sex, Sex with Strangers looks at people and the content that makes them who they are. There is yearning in the stories, the universality of this condition, and how what mentally drives us is as indefinable as our biological impulses.

In “The Gift of Travel,” Ben is a writer taking care of Jim, his terminally ill mentor. Jim “... hoarded the miles in the past few years, before he got too sick to fly, hopping from campus to campus with his retrospective lecture ‘Filthy as Fuck: A Faggot Writer’s Life.’”

Further on, Jim asks “This is why we marched? And screamed our fucking faces off? And sat in all those nasty jail cells — this? For your right to be such boring marrieds?”

Lowenthal sums up in a handful of words what elder gays and lesbians have echoed and tried to keep asking.

It’s a pertinent question, one beyond sex, one that brings us closer to the now, to identity, to the answer who the LGBTQ community truly are. We are many things, but evolving, hopefully, as distinct creatures not only defined by a heteronormative world.

In language rich with metaphors, Lowenthal traces scenes that pop across the page and douse with fire the reader’s own ignited thoughts. It is writing in touch with the projections of life and how their reflections bounce from one another. t Read the full review, with quotes from the author, on www.ebar.com.

Todrick Hall

From page 12

The divas came out to play with you on Femuline; Tyra Banks, Brandi, and Chaka Khan, who can be heard on the song “Fabulosity.”

Chaka Khan and I did The Color Purple on Broadway in 2007 or 2008. She didn›t actually remember that I was in the ensemble because she was only in it for such a brief amount of time. But I›ve always had such a huge love for her from being able to watch her from the wings to get to hear her in a way that most people wouldn›t be able to.

When you hear someone sing eight shows a week on a Broadway stage, it lets you have a huge amount of respect for their instrument and their gift.

Undeniably, it was like a gift when she walked into the room to sing “Fabulosity.” She needed no warm-ups. She just said, “Press record and let’s go,” [laughs]. It was incredible to watch. It was like one of those moments in my life where I was like, “This is iconic!”

To be able to soak up her energy and listen to her stories from being a legend and working with people that to me are like figments of my imagination. To talk to someone who knew Prince or knew Luther Vandross or was friends with Whitney Houston was a remarkable thing that a lot of people don’t get to experience. That was eye-opening and life-changing for me and one of those Bucket List things, a milestone in my career that I’ll never forget.

The versatility inherent in the album’s title comes through loud and clear on the song “Both.” How important do you think it is to be versatile and flexible in life and in love?

I think that it was something that was so scary for me. Even if you’re a proud number of the LGBTQ community, there are so many rules even within that community that’ve already been so shunned and judged and put into boxes, that we as a community oftentimes put ourselves in.

Oftentimes somebody who blurs with the feminine side, at least pub-

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licly, gets shunned and becomes less desirable to other men that are in the gay community. That was a part of being in the community that I was super insecure about.

In my relationships, I never wanted the guys that I was dating to see me having heels or wigs around. I know a couple of guys who told me when people come over for dates they hide their heels. It was such a sad part of our community. I think writing an anthem that made people feel comfortable and confident about that aspect of being gay was something that was really important. I wrote that song and it is actually my favorite song. I think it’s such a powerful song.

There aren’t many songs you can write where you can say, ‘There’s no other song like this.’ As far as I know, there are no other songs that tackle that topic. I’m grateful that people have gravitated towards that song in the way they have.

That definitely comes through! “Rainin’ Fellas,” your homage to “It’s Raining Men,” made me wonder if you ever had the chance to meet Martha Wash, one of the original Weather Girls.

I have not been able to meet Martha Wash, but I think that she’s incredible.

By extension, because of Martha’s association with Sylvester, how much of an influence would you say that Sylvester has had on you?

There have been so many projects that have come up where people have compared me to Sylvester. A couple of years ago, I went down this rabbit hole and I started watching interviews with Sylvester’s parents and his closest friends. I saw how groundbreaking he was. The fact that he took his head voice, which a lot of people don’t have or shy away from.

There are few acts that have become known and synonymous for singing in their head voice, but it was similar to the way that Prince sang. It crossed the boundaries of masculinity and femininity, which I think is what this entire movement is about.

I think Sylvester is the only person that I know that has been able to successfully do that because of his talent and his gift. I’m a huge fan of Sylvester. I wish that more people knew about how legendary he was and how difficult it was for him to do what he did at the time that he did.

Yes! We’re speaking shortly before you’re going to begin this big concert tour.

I am doing something that I’ve never done before. I’m a proud person about the type of inclusivity that I have on my tour. I looked back on it this year and, as I say I’m learning and growing with every single project that I do, and I realized that I didn’t have enough trans representation. I think that I could do bigger and better and more.

But this time, more than ever, I want people to feel like they can come out of their house, dressed however they want, wearing whatever they want, and know that this is going to be the one night for some of these people out of the entire year that they wouldn’t be judged by anybody. In fact, they’re going to be celebrated for the fact that they’re so different. That’s what this tour is about. I’m going to make sure that the fans know that when they come there, but that they also see that when they watch the show. todrickhall.com t

Read the full interview, with music videos, on www.ebar.com.

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