July 30. 2020 Edition of the Bay Area Reporter

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CA to collect LGBTQ data

Greens' White House bid

COVID vaccine trials progress

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Vol. 50 • No. 31 • July 30-August 5, 2020

In SF LGBTQ Castro district, commerce moves outside Christina Giles

John Ferrannini

Mercy Housing under fire from 95 Laguna resident

by John Ferrannini

A

disabled bisexual woman who is a resident of 95 Laguna Street is seeking mediation with Mercy Housing following a series of injuries she said she sustained after moving to the San Francisco affordable housing complex geared toward LGBTQ seniors.

Christina Giles told the Bay Area Reporter that in the time since she moved into her apartment in the summer of 2019, she has been found unresponsive in her room due to high temperatures and once required intubation; has had her ventilator cut off because of overloaded electrical circuits; had an accident that caused a large amount of blood loss; and that reasonable accommodations were not made for her wide wheelchair.

Giles has given several written statements and interviews to the B.A.R., one of which was a sitdown interview July 13. At that time she signed a release authorizing Mercy Housing and her case manager, who works for Openhouse, which partnered with Mercy on the senior housing complex but does not manage it, to speak with the paper regarding her issues with her apartment.

Three hospitalizations

Giles, 63, said she has been a San Francisco resident since childhood.

She said she has been a stand-up comic and for a time was a “minister who would travel around the world to marry people at their destination weddings.”

She said she had lived in a rent-controlled unit in the Pacific Heights neighborhood for several decades but moved to get away from what she described as an abusive roommate situation.

Giles said she began living at 95 Laguna Street in August 2019. In a letter she said she sent to Mercy dated October 25, 2019, she stated that she did not see the apartment before she signed the lease.

“I was told it was the ‘very last one,’” Giles wrote. “I felt forced to sign the lease.”

Because of excess carbon dioxide in her body, Giles has to be on a ventilator, but the wattage of the electrical outlets in her apartment were not enough to keep the ventilator up and running, she said.

See page 8 >>

Ramsey Garcia, right, co-owner of Fable, serves Katie Brillault and Rick Holthouse on the patio of the restaurant.

by Matthew S. Bajko

M

issing one of her favorite spots in the Castro, Veronika Fimbres took her friend Desiree Ruskin to Harvey’s last Friday for lunch, grabbing one of the tables set up on the sidewalk. Like a number of restaurants and bars in San Francisco’s LGBTQ district, the corner eatery at Castro and 18th

streets has moved its operations outdoors.

“The Castro has always been my favorite place, just because I know everybody there,” said Fimbres, a nurse and well-known transgender activist. “It is a really exciting thing to see it coming back to life.”

Up the street at the restaurant Fable, coowners Jon Vargas and Ramsey Garcia have moved a few tables onto the sidewalk, par-

ticularly during their weekend brunch service.

But they prefer to seat their customers in their backyard open-air patio, which allowed them to reopen for table service in early June after focusing solely on to-go orders since April.

“It was a tough two months. The Castro looked like a ghost town,” recalled Garcia, as most businesses on the street were closed during the spring. “We thought we needed to be See page 6 >>

LGBTQs help spearhead new SF police policies

by John Ferrannini

S

an Francisco Police have revised what constitutes a reportable use of force in the wake of nationwide protests over police violence following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

The new guidelines state that “physical controls that are used in any attempt to overcome any physical resistance” constitutes a use of police force, “regardless of injury or complaint of pain.”

The new Department Bulletin 5.01 is the result of a collaborative process among the San Francisco Police Commission, the San Francisco Police Department, and the Department of Police Accountability, according to Paul Henderson, a gay Black man who is the executive director of DPA. A 2016 version of the policy had defined “reportable force” as “any use of force which is required to overcome subject resistance to gain compliance that results in death, injury, complaint of injury in the presence of an officer, or complaint of pain that persists beyond

Steven Underhill

Paul Henderson is the executive director of the San Francisco Department of Police Accountability.

the use of a physical control hold.”

“We have expanded those definitions so that now, every use of force is reported,” Henderson said in a July 17 phone interview with the Bay Area Reporter.

Steven Underhill

Henderson said that this change is important for measuring how police in the city interact with several populations, including people of color and the LGBTQ community.

“Use of force is one of those areas with a high race disparity – it has a high rate of being used against vulnerable communities,” Henderson said. “The LGBT community are incarcerated at twice the rate of the heterosexual community; that’s why drilling down on issues like this is so important. Getting to race neutrality also helps us get to neutrality in other vulnerable populations – the LGBT community, the immigrant community, seniors, the disabled community.

“The majority of the ideas and content came from working groups and from my policy director,” Henderson added.

That policy director is Samara Marion, a lesbian who has been involved in these issues for decades. In a July 20 phone interview, Marion said much of the credit should go to Police Chief William Scott, whom she said had initiated the changes.

See page 8 >>

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<< Community News

2 • Bay Area Reporter • July 30-August 5, 2020

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Castro Pride vandalism was work of ‘hooligans,’ community patrolman says

by John Ferrannini

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Castro Community on Patrol leader recently told members of a neighborhood group that the vandalism that occurred over Pride Sunday last month was largely the work of “hooligans.”

Greg Carey, chief of patrol for the volunteer CCOP, gave the update before a forum on the future of policing held during a virtual meeting of the Eureka Valley Neighborhood Association July 21.

As the Bay Area Reporter previously reported, several neighborhood buildings had their windows smashed or were graffitied as various protest marches merged in the Castro neighborhood that afternoon.

“The Castro was pretty badly damaged by a group of hooligans on Pride Sunday,” Carey, whose group often provides security at protest marches, said. “We weren’t directly involved with that one but I was monitoring it on the police radio. ... The graffiti was not instigated by the group engaged in the demonstration. At the beginning of the protest in Dolores Park, the police noticed a number of anarchist-type folks who had backpacks and possibly weapons, and as we look at the video we see most of the damage was done by folks using skateboards as weapons, outsiders attaching themselves to the main group probably to discredit the main group.”

The main group organizing the Pride is a riot march called “for the liberation of Black, Brown and Indigenous people, and to demonstrate that trans and queer people are in this fight.”

When asked to comment by the B.A.R., San Francisco police did not answer whether Carey’s characterization was correct, but did state that two incidents “that involved the ‘smashing’ of windows and appear to be related to the march” were reported that day – one of which was in the Castro. “[At] approximately 4 p.m. officers were dispatched to a business located on the 200 block of Valencia Street. Suspects smashed the windows of the bank and spray painted ‘Black Trans Lives Matter Fuerta’ and the letter ‘A’ inside a circle on the exterior walls,” a police statement to the B.A.R. July 23 reads. “At approximately 4:45 p.m., officers responded to an alarm call on the 200 block of Church Street and found the front window of a business had been shattered. These are open cases with no arrests.”

Stuart Goldstein

Graffiti filled a Muni bus stop at 18th and Castro streets on Pride Sunday, June 28.

simply by police reform, but that a culture of white supremacy in housing, education, and other areas of society contributed on the back-end to the issues seen on the front-end, such as police brutality disproportionately used against Black Americans.

“Black children are the least likely to be born healthy. When they are born, they are born with trauma, which is infused throughout their lives. They are developed and systematically trained for that encounter with a police officer from the day they are conceived.

To fix policing we have to change the totalizing gaze of white supremacy,” Quick said. “We can’t start by talking about race. Race is the baby of white supremacy.”

Quick said that city councils have to be held accountable for food deserts, school districts have to answer for gaps in achievement between races, and states have to be held accountable for access in equal access to health care.

“These are all crimes against humanity that need to be prosecuted from a civil rights point of view,” Quick said.

Quick, who served previously as a legislative representative for the Atlanta Board of Education, said that the U.S. Department of Justice used elementary school test scores to predict how many spaces were needed in U.S. jails.

“We know there’s a systematic question at play,” he said.

‘Race is the baby of white supremacy’

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The panel discussion afterward featured San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin; Sheryl Evans Davis, the executive director of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission; the Reverend Danté R. Quick of the Friendship Missionary Baptist Church in Vallejo; and Laurel Beeler, a magistrate judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.

District 10 Supervisor Shamann Walton had originally been scheduled to attend but could not due to the concurrent Board of Supervisors meeting.

The panelists agreed that racial disparities in the criminal justice system could not be solved

Screengrab John Ferrannini via Zoom

SF DA Chesa Boudin

Confusion over ‘defund the police’

The panelists also agreed that the rhetoric about defunding the police has confused some observers.

“When I think about defunding the police, this is distinct from a conversation about abolition,” Boudin said. “It’s the same conversation we as taxpayers have ev-

ery year about every public agency and service, but it’s one we haven’t had about the police in decades. Is this the best way to use our money from what we spend on it?”

Boudin said that the vast majority of police calls in San Francisco are not for “violent crime in progress,” and that money should be rerouted to community groups who can respond better to specific incidents, such as homeless individuals experiencing a mental health crisis.

“We’re spreading the police thin and asking them to do all things at once,” Boudin said. “We need a wider array of emergency response teams who don’t carry guns.”

Beeler suggested that police shouldn’t be the agency to enforce traffic laws, for example.

“What the heck are police doing with traffic violations. In England, it’s like AAA,” Beeler said, referring to the automobile association.

Boudin and Quick discussed the case of Sean Monterrosa, who, as the B.A.R. previously reported, was a 22-year-old San Francisco man shot and killed by Vallejo police last month.

The Solano County District Attorney’s office has recused itself from the case, and as of press time the state Attorney General’s office is only investigating allegations of destruction of evidence, stating in a news release that “absent a conflict of interest ... the Department of Justice does not assume responsibility for local investigations or prosecutions typically handled by the local authorities.”

Quick suggested that the recusals may have been part of collusion between the offices, which Solano County District Attorney Krishna Abrams denied in a statement to the B.A.R. July 22.

“We listened to our community and their concerns for a transparent, conflict-free and independent review of the facts and circumstances,” a news release states. “We heard their voices and recognized how an independent review from someone not involved in Solano County law enforcement might work to ease concerns and restore trust in the system. Since our initial request, we have made repeated requests asking the attorney general to help our community heal, to lead our community through this unique time, and provide the transparency so many have demanded. We stand by that request today.” t

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Community News>>

July 30-August 5, 2020 • Bay Area Reporter • 3

CA to collect COVID LGBTQ SOGI data

by John Ferrannini

C

alifornia will now be requiring health care providers and local health departments to report data on the sexual orientation and gender identity of COVID-19 patients, according to a July 28 news release.

The new regulations were announced Tuesday by Dr. Mark Ghaly, secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency.

The regulation comes following a unanimous vote June 25 in favor of Senate Bill 932, introduced by gay state Senator Scott Wiener (DSan Francisco) and co-authored by out state Senate President pro tem Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), lesbian state Senator Cathleen Galgiani (DStockton); out Assembly members Todd Gloria (D-San Diego), Sabrina Cervantes (D-Corona), Susan Talamantes Eggman (D-Stockton), and Evan Low (D-Campbell); and Assemblyman David Chiu (D-San Francisco).

The bill now awaits a vote in the Assembly.

SB 932 originally would have required SOGI data reporting only on COVID-19 before it was amended to cover all reportable diseases.

In a statement Tuesday, Wiener said that the LGBTQ community “has suffered a long history of government neglect when it comes to our health care system” and that Ghaly’s order is an important step in remedying that.

“I want to thank the state for listening to the LGBTQ community – namely, LGBTQ advocates and the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus – and responding by enabling this data collection moving forward. It’s a deeply important and promising first step and I am grateful for Governor Newsom’s leadership and allyship,” Wiener said.

“This is just the beginning. SB 932 is more important than ever, because we must codify this change into law. This data collection, not just for COVID-19 but for all reportable communicable diseases, is essential to ensure that our community gets the resources it needs moving forward,” Wiener added.

“We can’t keep leaving the LGBTQ community behind when it comes to public health. California can and should lead the way in giving the LGBTQ community the health justice it deserves.”

Chiu wrote in a statement July 28 that he is happy to see the data finally being collected.

“As reflected in prior SOGI laws, this data is crucial to identifying and reducing disparities among our LGBTQ communities,” Chiu stated. “Having this data reported for COVID-19 outcomes and other diseases will be invaluable for keeping all of our communities safe and healthy, which is why I strongly support efforts to make this data collection permanent.”

LGBTQ activists nationwide have been pushing for months for the SOGI data of COVID-19 patients to be asked and reported after medical experts began warning that LGBTQ people might be at particular risk from the virus due to a number of factors.

Some electeds indicated that they were hesitant to mandate asking for SOGI data, such as gay Colorado Governor Jared Polis (D) and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D). In May, Philadelphia Gay News reported that Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf (D) announced the state health department would begin collecting SOGI data for those who test positive for COVID-19.

Courtesy AP

Dr. Mark Ghaly, shown here with Governor Gavin Newsom at an earlier press briefing, announced Tuesday that SOGI data would be collected for COVID-19.

On May 13, Governor Gavin Newsom indicated he was supportive of SB 932 but did not say that the state’s executive branch would act unilaterally to collect SOGI data, in response to a Bay Area Reporter question submitted to Newsom’s then-daily afternoon news conferences.

“I’ve been very clear that we want this information to be forthcoming. We’ve been in touch with Scott Wiener, who’s been an outstanding leader in this space, and have been in contact with the LGBT caucus on this,” Newsom said at the time.

“I’m very deferential to the work Scott Wiener is currently doing.

Nobody wants to see this information more than (state public health director) Dr. Sonia Angell.”

In a statement July 28, Angell said that the SOGI data will help officials have a fuller picture of where and how COVID-19 is impacting the state.

“Complete data is essential to addressing health inequities and better designing public health interventions that save lives,” Angell stated. “These changes apply to COVID-19, and all reportable diseases, to help us understand their impact by race, ethnicity, gender identity and sexual orientation.”

The B.A.R.’s question and Newsom’s response came after activists were critical of Newsom’s lack of action on the issue during a call with reporters earlier that day.

“This is a really urgent issue. In my six years as director of Equality California this has truly been the biggest, most urgent, and troubling wake up call I have experienced,” Rick Chavez Zbur, the executive director of EQCA, said that day.

“In 2020 in the state of California, we literally have to beg our government and public health officials to collect information to protect the health of LGBT people.”

In a statement July 28, Zbur praised Newsom.

“We appreciate that the governor, his staff, Dr. Ghaly and Dr. Angell understood the urgency of this problem and worked to ensure that this critical data is collected and reported,” Zbur stated. “This data will finally give our government, our public health leaders, and our community an understanding of the degree to which this pandemic is devastating LGBTQ+ people – and what steps need to be taken to save lives.”

EQCA is co-sponsoring SB 932.

“Today’s victory also highlights the need for the Legislature to pass and the governor to sign Senator Wiener’s SB 932, which will codify these data collection requirements for every existing reportable disease and any new threat to our community’s health and well-being that may emerge,” Zbur stated.

“We must never allow a vulnerable community like ours to be ignored or erased again.” t

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<< Open Forum

4 • Bay Area Reporter • July 30-August 5, 2020

Volume 50, Number 31 July 30-August 5, 2020 www.ebar.com

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Show the Castro some love

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t’s been a stark four months of mostly sheltering in place for the city – and the rest of the Bay Area – but there are signs that the Castro is coming back to life. Outdoor dining has resumed, while the neighborhood’s restaurants and bars (which can be open for outside service if they serve food) are trying mightily to stage a comeback. Although, amid the uptick in COVID-19 cases, the situation could be reversed at any moment. State and local officials have been sowing confusion with constantly changing orders; some businesses are allowed to open one day and ordered closed the next. Everyone wants businesses open as quickly as possible – but that can only happen if conditions are safe for workers and patrons.

O n e of the key safety precautions, of course, is that everyone should wear a mask.

During photographer Steven Underhill’s recent visit to the Castro, everyone in his photos was wearing a face covering, from servers to hosts to customers – a promising sign of appropriate and considerate behavior that can help to contain the virus. While it has been known for some time that wearing a mask can prevent you from spreading the novel coronavirus droplets, it was reported this week that there’s evidence that the mask can also protect you from others.

The growing consensus is that for general safety everyone should don a face covering when outside of their own home.

Castro eateries are conforming to a viable plan for returning to some semblance of normalcy.

Tables are spaced apart to meet physical distancing requirements, although reducing the amount of overall seating. Only cautious behavior and practices can provide safe environments

which would allow restaurants to serve more diners outdoors, is expected to start soon in the Castro. According to gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman’s office, 18th Street between Hartford and Castro streets, and 18th Street from Castro to Collingwood streets, will be closed to vehicular traffic and become temporary pedestrian zones from 1 to 10 p.m.

Fridays through Sundays. The program is expected to run until December 31. The New York Times recently explored a similar program there where eateries became creative in delineating the new dining areas. In the Castro, Hi Tops has already taken the lead by building a protected seating area across several parking spaces in front of the gay sports pub.

Local businesses need support now and must be saved Steven Underhill for the greater Clockwise from top right, Mark Bowen, drag host Glamorous Mrs. health of our Gaysel, and Vinny Pontes take a selfie outside the Midnight Sun; neighborhoods.

Fernando Alvaro enjoys a meal at Castro Tarts; Desmond Perrotto The fragility of and Dan Lefler eat at the Midnight Sun; as does Omar Carthe Castro should mical and Michael Christopher, who were served by Bowen. concern us all and it can only rein which businesses and pabound with a conscious effort to revitalize trons can operate, which in time its businesses. Stores like Cliff ’s Variety were can help reduce and beat the never shuttered, and others have reopened spread of the virus. No one wants for in-person visits or curbside pickup. So to return to severe shelter-in-place plan to visit the Castro for shopping and orders, so we must do all we can dining – but do it safely, to protect yourself, to reduce infection rates. others and our community. t The Shared Spaces program,

Supreme Court avoids another Dred Scott

by Arlo Hale Smith

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n its June 15 decision holding that Title VII of the Federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination against LGBT people, Bostock v.

Clayton County, two conservative court members, Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch, pulled the court away from the brink of issuing another Dred Scott decision.

The real vice of Dred Scott was not its ruling that Congress could not prohibit slavery on U.S. territories (a ruling that could be circumvented by territorial officials banning slavery – which California did in its 1849 Constitution before it became a state), but its alternative holding that persons of African descent – even if NEVER slaves – were not citizens of the United States.

Why? Because the court argued that the Founding Fathers only intended white people to be full citizens. Here is what seven members of the court actually said in Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857) 60 US 393, 404: “They [African Americans] were at the time [1788] considered as a subordinate and inferior class of beings who had been subjugated by the dominant race [whites], and, whether emancipated or not, yet remained subject to their authority, and had no rights or privileges but such as those who held the power and the government might choose to grant them.”

Justice Benjamin Curtis had by far the better argument: “The first section of the second article of the Constitution uses the language, “a natural-born citizen.” [With reference to the qualifications for election as president.] It thus assumes that citizenship may be acquired by birth. Undoubtedly, this language of the Constitution was used in reference to that principle of public law, well understood in this country at the time of the adoption of the Constitution, which referred citizenship to the place of birth.”

Since Dred Scott was born in America, he was “a natural-born citizen” under the Constitution’s plain language. The court majority overlooked the plain text in order to protect slave-owner interests.

Courtesy CNN

Justice Neil Gorsuch, left, and Chief Justice John Roberts

This ruling came over a vigorous dissent, and resulted in a political backlash in the North, leading to the election of Abraham Lincoln.

I have no doubt that most of the founders did not want even free African Americans to be able to vote or hold public office. However, as Curtis pointed out in his dissent, the Constitution contains no clause excluding African Americans born in the United States from citizenship on the basis of their race.

Bostock involved a similar conflict between statutory language and judicial opinions about “original intent” of such language. Title VII plainly prohibits almost all employment discrimination “because of” “sex.” The statute uses the word “sex,” not “gender” and it says “because of” not “solely because of.” Six justices, including Roberts and Gorsuch, concluded that a prohibition on firing an individual employee “because of sex” necessarily precludes firing of that employee because he is a man who prefers sex with men, a woman who prefers sex with women, or a person who choses to live life as the opposite gender than assigned at birth, because all such firings involve “sex.”

I believe the six justices are correct about the unambiguous statutory language.

Do I think Congress was even thinking about the issue of LGBTQ rights in 1964? No. But that is irrelevant.

When adopting laws involving “big picture” issues such as discrimination, no lawmaker can foresee every application of the laws or constitutional provisions he or she drafts.

I am certain that when the 14th Amendment was ratified in 1868, its drafters didn’t foresee that “equal protection under the laws” would be used to challenge laws that discriminated against women. Why? Because in most states, women lacked property rights equal to men and were barred from many professions, including practice of law. No state allowed women to vote until Wyoming was granted statehood in 1890, as women had gained the right to vote in the territory in 1869. An “1868 understanding” of equal protection did not stop the U.S. Supreme Court from later invalidating laws that restricted women from serving as probate administrators, or gave women fewer military benefits than men.

Gorsuch’s majority opinion notes that the Supreme Court had already applied Title VII to forbid some discriminatory actions by employers the drafters probably never contemplated: i.e., allowing a suit by a male employee against a male boss for sexual harassment, forbidding an employer from charging female employees higher benefit assessments (even though the policy was based on the actuarial fact that women live longer), barring women from certain jobs due to pregnancy (only women get pregnant).

I believe that Gorsuch and Roberts were statesman who saw the court would face widespread public disrepute if it ruled that LGBTQ employees had “reduced” civil rights compared to heterosexuals. The real vice of Dred Scott was that it declared African Americans to be second class citizens: Gorsuch and Roberts did not want to repeat that mistake.t Arlo Hale Smith is a gay San Francisco resident and attorney who once served on the BART board of directors and the SF Democratic County Central Committee.

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Politics >>

July 30-August 5, 2020 • Bay Area Reporter • 5

With bi VP candidate, Green Party fights to get on state ballots

by Matthew S. Bajko

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n addition to battling for the attention of both the media and voters while their barnstorming is constrained due to COVID-19, Green Party presidential candidate Howie Hawkins and his running mate Angela Walker, who is bisexual and was the Socialist Party’s vice presidential candidate in 2016, are also fighting to get onto the fall ballot in all 50 states.

As of this month, the Green Party had guaranteed its candidates would be on ballots in 25 states, including California, and in Washington, D.C. They account for more than 300 Electoral College votes, so enough to win the election.

Nonetheless, the party is waging court fights in a number of the remaining states to get on their November ballots. In other states it is asking election officials to rescind requirements that they gather signatures in person from a certain threshold of voters due to the health crisis.

“In this coronavirus pandemic, we are appealing to state governments to let us get on the ballot other than having to physically gather petition signatures, which is against public health guidelines,” said Hawkins during a recent video interview with the Bay Area Reporter.

“The response varies state to state.”

In Vermont, for instance, state officials allowed the Greens ballot access since the party had done so in past elections, said Hawkins.

Other states, like Maryland and New Jersey, he said granted permission for the party to submit digitally gathered signatures. But the party has had to go to court in other states, such as Illinois, Indiana, Arizona, and Oklahoma, to ensure its candidates are included on the ballot.

“One of the complications of running for president as a third party candidate is you have to worry about getting on the ballot. It is a big job,” noted Hawkins, who was his party’s gubernatorial candidate in New York the last three election cycles for that office.

Hawkins, 67, was born in San Francisco and grew up in San Mateo. Drafted into the Vietnam War in 1972, he enlisted with the Marine Corps. He left the Bay Area for Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, and ended up staying in New England.

In 1984, he helped form the Green Party. Hawkins is now retired from his Teamster job unloading trucks for UPS and lives in Syracuse, New York, which he has called home for nearly 30 years.

Walker, 46, grew up in Milwaukee in a working-class Black family and moved to Jacksonville, Florida, in 1993 with her daughter, Epiphany. She studied education then history at a local university before dropping out in 2001 to become a school bus driver.

In 2009, Walker returned to her hometown in Wisconsin and landed a job with the local transit system. As a member of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 998 Walker took part in the protests against then-governor Scott Walker and his anti-labor policies, leading her to be hired as her union’s legislative director.

She ran unsuccessfully for sheriff in 2014 and, following the last presidential election, relocated to Florence, South Carolina. Now a grandmother of five, Walker works as a dump truck driver. It was her bid for sheriff that first brought her to the attention of Hawkins, as they were invited that year to speak on the same panel by a New York socialist group.

Courtesy Howie Hawkins

Howie Hawkins, left, and Angela Walker are running as the Green Party’s presidential ticket.

“I don’t think I told her then, but I was very impressed. She speaks very well and very clearly with a conviction you can feel,” recalled Hawkins, adding that when the socialists tapped her four years ago, “I said, ‘Damn! The Greens let her get away.’”

Walker was at the top of his list for potential running mates, and in April Hawkins reached out to ask her to join his ticket.

“I was sitting here minding my own business,” joked Walker, admitting she at first thought Hawkins was calling to seek her endorsement. “That was not what he asked for.”

His platform’s focus on environmental issues appealed to her – their campaign tagline is “We want an Ecosocialist Green New Deal!” – and she was impressed by Hawkins’ convictions on myriad issues. She also saw his invitation as a way to press for passage of the Equality Act, the federal legislation that would end discrimination against LGBTQ people in numerous areas like housing and employment.

“Making sure it has teeth in it so all of us on the rainbow are protected and it is codified into law so we can not be discriminated against because of who we are, that is a big one for me,” said Walker.

Her only hesitancy in being his running mate, said Walker, stemmed from having to return to the public spotlight. She had been enjoying being out of the limelight in her small Southern town.

“The hesitation came from the fact I am an introvert. I live a really quiet life on purpose. I don’t necessarily enjoy the exposure of being a candidate, though I know how to handle it,” said Walker.

“Anyone else than Howie, I would have looked at them as stupid. But I know him and his character and integrity, so my hesitation was just on apart of I am going to be out front again.”

As for seeking the White House as an out candidate, Walker said that precedent has already been set by past candidates, most recently Pete Buttigieg, the gay former mayor of South Bend, Indiana who had sought the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination this year.

“I think because there are so many people who are on the rainbow and who are running for office, it’s not something I feel like I am in a special box,” said Walker, adding it would be interesting if lesbian Wisconsin U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin is picked as the running mate of former vice president Joseph R. Biden Jr., the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate. “She is somebody I have respect for.”

As for the contention their candidacies will steal votes away from the Democratic ticket and hand President Donald Trump a second term, Hawkins and Walker said the Democratic Party would have no one to blame but itself should its candidates lose. There is a solution, noted Hawkins, to ensuring the winner of the popular vote becomes president.

“We should replace the Electoral College with ranked choice and go by the popular vote for president.

But the Democrats, they don’t embrace that. They don’t talk about it,” he said. “Instead, they try to keep us off the ballot. Party suppression is a form of voter suppression.”

He pointed to exit polling that found 60% of the people who voted for the Green Party’s presidential candidate in 2016, Jill Stein, would have just stayed home had she not been on the ballot. They would not have voted for Hillary Clinton, the Democrat’s candidate four years ago, he said.

“So we bring new voters to the polls,” said Hawkins. “A vote for the Green Party ticket is a vote against Trump. It is not a vote in his column, it is a vote in our column.”

Ranked-choice voting, used in local races in cities like San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley, should be adopted nationwide, argued Hawkins.

“I have put it to Joe Biden, why don’t you embrace that and solve the spoiler problem. That way, people can vote for the candidate they like the most,” he said.

Walker said she understands why voters are afraid about the impact their choice on the ballot will have this year.

“There is a lot of trepidation about this individual – I refuse to say his name - retaining this office and the people who follow him,” she said. “I give the same answer that Howie does, it is the Democrats’ fault. If you continually nominate unpalatable, unelectable candidates that people don’t like, you can’t chastise them when they don’t show up to vote.” t Web Extra: For more queer political news, be sure to check http:// www.ebar.com Monday mornings for Political Notes, the notebook’s online companion. This week’s column reported on the SF Democratic Party endorsements in the city’s fall supervisor races.

Keep abreast of the latest LGBT political news by following the Political Notebook on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/politicalnotes.

Got a tip on LGBT politics? Call Matthew S. Bajko at (415) 8298836 or e-mail m.bajko@ebar.com.

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<< Community News

6 • Bay Area Reporter • July 30-August 5, 2020

Creating Change to go virtual in 2021 compiled by Cynthia Laird

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or the first time in its 33-year history, next year’s Creating Change conference will be completely virtual.

The National LGBTQ Task Force, which puts on the progressive queer conference, made the announcement July 16. The conference is scheduled for January 27-31.

“We are disappointed we will be unable to gather in person, one of the most powerful elements of Creating Change, but the Task Force is committed to planning a virtual experience that is diverse, accessible, and addresses the many issues facing LGBTQ+ communities,” Andy Garcia, director of Creating Change, stated in a news release.

Garcia said that Creating Change plans to convene a virtual host committee. And while there are some things that will be missed because of an online gathering, Garcia did point to at least one benefit.

“A virtual Creating Change conference also means we will be accessible to many more participants, including many who have wanted to join us in person but have been unable to for various reasons,” he stated.

The conference has been held in various cities over the years, including Oakland.

Organizers said that the current vision for the conference is an online pre-event in the fall – a Queering Racial Justice Institute October 10 – followed by the multi-day online experience in January.

For more information, go to www.creatingchange.org.

Courtesy LGBTQ Task Force

Creating Change director Andy Garcia

Equality Coach Alliance membership hits 1,000

Equality Coaching Alliance, an online support network for LGBT+ sports coaches, administrators, and staff, recently hit the 1,000-member mark, founder Roger Brigham announced.

Brigham, a longtime wrestling coach and sports columnist for the Bay Area Reporter, started the organization nine years ago as an outreach initiative of the Federation of Gay Games. At the time, Brigham knew less than a handful of LGBTQ coaches who were out at work. (Brigham’s Jock Talk column is on hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic.)

Brigham formed the idea for the group while he was volunteering on the FGG’s external affairs committee.

There were numerous LGBT+ sportsfocused groups that had either just begun or were forming in 2011, but Brigham noticed none were specifically designed for the sports professionals who were mainstays in the industry

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and best positioned to help change sports policies and internal culture.

He reached out to former college basketball coach Helen Carroll, who was sports director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights at the time, to discuss ideas for trying to connect coaches and set organizational goals.

Brigham created the name, designed a logo, and launched a private group Facebook page, which remains the group’s primary means of internal communications. ECA also has a public social media presence for more visibility and is in the process of launching a website.

ECA launched on May 26, 2011 with three members. Within five days, the membership was at 13.

“When Roger outlined this program, I was immediately excited,” Carroll stated. “My hopes were to have a place where LGBTQ coaches who felt so isolated could meet each other and discuss their experiences, needs, and of course, job difficulties and discrimination. Working for NCLR, I felt it important for this group of talented coaches to understand there is a legal organization where they can go, pro bono, to seek legal help or a referral to an attorney that could help, advise or represent them in tricky job situations.”

From the beginning, the membership gender balance has hovered at right around 50%.

“Having equal gender representation was spoken of on Day One,” Carroll said. “I was a bit concerned that in the beginning there was not the representation of people of color as members and role models, but that changed quickly with several coaches stepping into the idea of ECA being the really first LGBT coaches organization working for equal representation of everyone. It appears this has happened.”

Several ECA members are not out professionally. ECA gives them a safe place to be themselves and get advice from peers whether they plan to come out or not.

<<

Castro commerce

From page 1

open because the community didn’t have a lot of options.”

With indoor dining still banned by city officials due to the coronavirus outbreak, but outdoor dining now allowed, a number of restaurants and bars on the 400 and 500 blocks of Castro Street and a portion of upper Market Street have taken over the sidewalk and parking spaces in order to serve patrons outside. For bars that don’t serve their own food, such as the Edge on 18th Street and 440 Castro on the 400 block of Castro Street, they have teamed with nearby restaurants in order to reopen, though they now close around 10 p.m. most nights.

“If you’ve been to Europe, you know there is a whole sidewalk feel there. It is exciting to see the vibrancy you would see at bars and restaurants falling out onto the streets,” said Dave Karraker, a spokesman for the Castro Merchants business association. “It opens up a whole new experience for residents and tourists.”

The neighborhood merchants’ group is looking to add more of a European flavor to the Castro by closing a portion of 18th Street to vehicle traffic on the weekends so that nearby bars and restaurants can turn the roadway into a spot for al fresco dining. The plan is to close off 18th Street between Hartford and Castro streets and between Castro and Collingwood streets from 1 to 10 p.m. Fridays through Sundays.

The city’s transit agency is expected to approve the request Monday, August 3, as part of its Shared

t

“I’ve noticed that coaches and sport professionals really appreciate a safe space to voice dialogue surrounding LGBTQ athletes while creating a diverse network around the world,” stated Galen Dodd, a volleyball coach at Lewis University who has stepped up to lead the organization’s membership committee. “Many people we add have already shown themselves to be successful coaches or leaders in their industry. Joining ECA now gives them another tool in their toolbox to use.”

Many members have been active in informing peers about ECA, but none more so than UCLA softball coach Kirk Walker, one of the first coaches to join.

“Recruitment of coaches and sports professionals begins with my reaching out to friends of ECA members on Facebook and introducing myself and the groups to them,” Walker stated.

In recent months, ECA has developed a working relationship with GOSPACE, whose mission is focused on current and former LGBTQ student-athletes. Walker said the vast majority of ECA members were student-athletes before becoming sports professionals, so the cooperative relationship between ECA and GOSPACE provided mutual benefits, including the opportunity for athletes to get mentoring from coaches.

Outsports has also begun running features on many ECA members and their stories.

So far, ECA has existed as an informal network with no official structure or bylaws. Having reached a critical mass of members, it is now poised to organize more formally as a nonprofit organization, seek funding, and increase its workshop, policy and educational activities. Committees have formed and have been holding regularly scheduled online video meetings.

People interested in ECA can visit its public page on Facebook.

Lime helps with SF trans housing

Streets program that has allowed for similar street closures in other business districts such as North Beach and the Mission’s Valencia corridor.

If it does, then 18th Street could be turned into a dining piazza as soon as next Friday, August 7.

The Castro Merchants are also expected to seek a similar weekend closure request for Noe Street between Market and Beaver streets.

It is the same block that is closed to traffic Wednesday afternoons for the neighborhood’s seasonal farmers market.

“We want to provide a little bit of hope to the residents and businesses going through this challenging time,” said Masood Samereie, a local Realtor who is president of the merchant group.

Vargas of Fable hopes it will attract more patrons for all businesses in the Castro by increasing foot traffic in the neighborhood on weekends.

“It will drive people from other neighborhoods to go to the Castro,” he said.

Turned down for a government loan because he is deemed an “adult entertainment business,” Batt was able to negotiate a rent reduction during the spring months from his landlord.

Now he worries if he will be able to survive through the end of the year without additional assistance.

“The bulk of my deep-pocketed collectors come from New York, Los Angeles, and Europe. They loved the store, especially New Yorkers,” said Batt. “They have disappeared completely, which is beginning to scare me.”

Other businesses also worry how much longer they can hold on while forced to remain closed, such as nail salons, barbershops, and gyms.

Among them are Karraker and his husband, Glenn Shope, who own MX3 Fitness on upper Market Street.

Earlier this month they started offering fitness sessions on the sidewalk in front of their gym. Demand has steadily increased, and they are now providing supervised workouts in addition to the personal training.

“It has been inspiring,” said Karraker.

Nonetheless, the San Francisco Independent Fitness Studio Coalition the couple belongs to upped its pressure this week on city officials who continue to bar small, locally owned fitness studios and gyms from reopening with new safety protocols in place. They filed a request for information on what is behind their decision.

“We are trying to work with the city cooperatively to develop reopening guidelines for small fitness studios,” said Karraker, adding that the group “is not ruling out potential legal action.” t

Struggles remain

But not everyone supports the street closure, which will also result in the loss of the city parking lot accessed from 18th Street. Patrick Batt, owner of Auto Erotica on 18th Street, is concerned it will drive away visitors to the neighborhood.

“The biggest issue for customers coming into the neighborhood is looking for parking. As the stay-athome order is lifted, obviously more people are out and about,” said Batt, who relies on tourists for the bulk of his business selling vintage gay porn magazines and other ephemera.

Lime, the micromobility company, is partnering with Our Trans Home SF to support its mission to raise awareness of, and end, trans homelessness in the San Francisco Bay Area.

As a Lime Hero partner, San Francisco Lime scooter riders will be able to round up the cost of each ride and donate the difference to Our Trans Home SF. Our Trans Home SF is a city initiative championed by Mayor London Breed in the 2019 city budget. It includes rental subsidies and an apartment building near Chinatown that provides housing for 12 individuals. It works with several nonprofits, including St. James Infirmary and Larkin Street Youth Services.

“We are so excited to partner with Our Trans Home SF and connect our riders with their critical work to end trans homelessness in San Francisco,” EV Ellington, Lime’s general manager for Northern California, stated in a news release. Ellington is also head of the company’s LGBTQIA+ employee resource group.

Akira Jackson of Our Trans Home SF stated that the trans and gender-nonconforming community faces homelessness rates about 18 times above other groups.

“We’re thankful that Lime and their riders are helping draw attention to these issues and support our work to end trans homelessness in San Francisco,” Jackson stated.

In 2018, Lime became the first micromobility operator to offer an opt-in donation module allowing riders to round up the cost of trips and donate the spare change to a community organization of their choice. The program has raised over $170,000 for nearly 40 local nonprofits worldwide.t

t

Community News>>

July 30-August 5, 2020 • Bay Area Reporter • 7

Coronavirus vaccines look promising in early studies

by Liz Highleyman

A week after receiving the second injection, all 24 participants who received the low or intermediate dose developed neutralizing antibodies. A related study in Germany found that the vaccine triggered CD4 “helper” and CD8 “killer” T-cell responses in most of the volunteers.

The companies will test the selected vaccine candidate, dubbed BNT162b2, in a large global trial that also started this week. The study will enroll 30,000 volunteers and will include sites in 39 states.

F

our experimental coronavirus vaccines have shown promise in early-stage clinical trials, setting the stage for larger studies – which began for two of them Monday – to see if they can prevent infection and lower the risk of COVID-19 in the real world.

All four vaccines triggered both antibody production and T-cell responses to the new virus, officially known as SARS-CoV-2. But experts caution that it is too soon to say whether they will lead to long-lasting immunity. Some recent studies suggest that antibodies against the virus may not last very long, but T-cell immunity could prove more durable.

Speaking at the recent International AIDS Conference, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Dr. Anthony Fauci said he predicts that at least one vaccine could be available by the end of 2020 or the beginning of 2021, and that the chances of success are improved by “taking multiple shots on goal.”

mRNA vaccines

Two of the experimental vaccines use messenger RNA (mRNA) technology. These vaccines use nanoparticles to deliver genetic sequences encoding the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, which the virus uses to bind to human cells. Cells can then display these proteins to trigger an immune response.

The vaccine candidate mRNA1273 is being jointly developed by researchers at NIAID and the biotechnology company Moderna, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Scientists were already working on experimental vaccines for related coronaviruses, so they were able to quickly pivot to target SARS-CoV-2. But to date, no mRNA vaccines have yet been approved for any disease.

A phase 1 clinical trial of the vaccine enrolled 45 people in Seattle and Atlanta. They received

Adenovirus vaccines Courtesy Oxford University

Dr. Andrew Pollard is leading a coronavirus vaccine study in the United Kingdom.

two injections of one of three different doses administered in the upper arm about a month apart.

Study results were published this month in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Fewer than half of the volunteers produced neutralizing antibodies – the type that disable the virus – after the first injection, but everyone did so after the second shot.

Antibody levels in the blood were similar to those seen in people who have recovered from COVID-19.

The vaccine also stimulated T-cell immune responses. Participants will be followed for a year to see how long these responses last.

A phase 3 clinical trial of the vaccine, which started this week, aims to enroll 30,000 volunteers at 89 study sites across the United States.

A vaccine being developed by Pfizer and the German company BioNTech uses a similar approach.

Four versions are being tested in phase 1/2 trials.

The companies recently announced early findings for the most advanced candidate, known as BNT162b1. Here, too, 45 volunteers in the U.S. received different doses of the vaccine given as an initial injection followed by a booster shot three weeks later.

Two other vaccine candidates use a weakened adenovirus – similar to viruses that cause the common cold – as a vector to deliver SARS-CoV-2 spike genes.

A vaccine being developed by researchers at the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca, dubbed AZD1222 or ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, uses a chimpanzee adenovirus vector.

This vaccine was studied in a phase 1/2 trial that enrolled 1,077 volunteers in the United Kingdom.

Most received a single injection, but a small subgroup of 10 people received a booster shot about a month later. Results were published this month in The Lancet.

Most people (91%) showed neutralizing antibody responses a month after the first shot, as did all of those who received a booster dose. Here, too, neutralizing antibody levels were similar to those seen in recovered COVID-19 patients. In addition, all participants showed T-cell responses that lasted for the two months of follow-up so far in the ongoing trial.

“The immune system has two ways of finding and attacking pathogens – antibody and T- cell responses,” lead study author Dr. Andrew Pollard of the University of Oxford explained in a news release. “This vaccine is intended to induce both, so it can attack the virus when it’s circulating in the body, as well as attacking infected

cells. We hope this means the immune system will remember the virus, so that our vaccine will protect people for an extended period.

However, we need more research before we can confirm the vaccine effectively protects against SARSCoV-2 infection, and for how long any protection lasts.”

This vaccine is now being tested in phase 2/3 trials in the United Kingdom, Brazil, and South Africa, and one is expected to start soon in the United States. The company said future studies would evaluate whether two shots of the vaccine generate stronger immune responses than one.

Another vaccine candidate, being developed by the Chinese biotech company CanSino Biologics, uses a weakened form of the human common cold virus known as adenovirus 5.

A phase 2 trial enrolled 508 participants in Wuhan, the first epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic.

They were randomly assigned to receive a single intramuscular shot of a high or low dose of the vaccine or a placebo injection. Results were recently published in The Lancet.

In this study, 59% of volunteers in the high-dose group and 47% in the low-dose group produced neutralizing antibodies. The lower response rate was likely related to the fact that many study participants had pre-existing immunity to this adenovirus so it did not work so well as a vaccine vector. (The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine avoids this problem by using a chimpanzee version.) However, about 90% of participants in both dose groups developed T-cell responses, which occurred regardless of prior adenovirus immunity.

A phase 3 trial of this vaccine is now underway in the United Arab Emirates, and China has already approved it for use by its military.

Vaccine challenges ahead

All four vaccines were generally safe, but a majority of study volunteers experienced side effects.

Efren Ramirez, beloved SF gay photographer, remembered

by Daniel Nicoletta

E

fren Convento Ramirez, a gay man who was a photographer for the now-defunct San Francisco Sentinel newspaper, is being remembered several years after his death.

Mr. Ramirez died in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on January 22, 2017. He was 75. A cause of death was not provided.

He had an undying passion for creativity and participation in progressive social justice causes.

Mr. Ramirez was born in Cavite City, Philippines on July 30, 1941 to Jose Ramirez and Flaviana Convento.

He had one older sister, Evangeline Ramirez, who married Dionisio Solomon. Mr. Ramirez is survived by his niece, Delma Solomon, and many grand nieces and nephews, as well as many chosen family members from his storied life.

Mr. Ramirez’s birth dad joined the U.S. Navy and immigrated to the U.S. when Mr. Ramirez was a young boy (circa 1949). Father and son later reunited in the U.S. when Mr. Ramirez joined the U.S. Navy via an enlistment in the Philippines in the early 1960s.

Mr. Ramirez was a perennial scholar with credentials in photography and film, teaching and art, and art history.

He moved from Washington, D.C. to San Francisco in 1971 to be with

Daniel Nicoletta

Efren Convento Ramirez

the LGBTQ people that were migrating to the region then. He became a well-known and beloved figure in the LGBTQ community and worked as a photographer at the Sentinel, an LGBTQ paper. Mr. Ramirez was also a contributing photographer to numerous periodicals, including the Bay Area Reporter and Drummer.

In 1976, Mr. Ramirez received artist grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the California Arts Council, which enabled the publishing of his elegant and seminal book about Bay Area LGBTQ life in the 1970s, “In Pursuit of Images.”

With this author, Rink, Glenn Meisenheimer, and Sandy Graham, Mr. Ramirez co-founded the Gay Freedom Day Photo Archive. They did group exhibitions at art fairs and

slide lectures throughout the Bay Area in the mid-1970s.

Mr. Ramirez was one of several people who followed Harvey Milk’s career closely and was a significant contributor of archival material to numerous projects about Milk, most notably the Oscar-winning documentary “The Times of Harvey Milk,” and, in 2009, the prestigious exhibition “Gay Icons” at the National Portrait Gallery in London.

By 2003, Mr. Ramirez moved to Colorado Springs, but sadly, lost much of his archive in the process of moving. In Colorado, he enjoyed a quieter life living with his close friend, Mervin Scott, and he worked as a substitute teacher in special education and as a college adjunct instructor in ancient art history. He volunteered in the adult literacy program of the region and enjoyed working as an actor in films and theater including Disney’s “The Lone Ranger” and the local theatre company Off Broadmoor Productions.

Into his Colorado Springs years, though the remains of his lost photographic archive were scant, Mr. Ramirez continued to lend great support to numerous LGBTQ projects until his death.

There is a section devoted to his work in the now-archived LGBTQ history website called Uncle Donald’s Castro Street. t

These included soreness at the injection site and flu-like symptoms such as fever, chills, fatigue, and muscle aches. These were usually mild or moderate and temporary.

Such side effects indicate that the vaccine is successfully triggering an immune response, but they could discourage some people from getting vaccinated. “[W]hen things are urgent, we must proceed cautiously,” Dr. Naor Bar-Zeev and Dr. William Moss of the International Vaccine Access Center at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health wrote in an editorial accompanying the Lancet reports. “The success of COVID-19 vaccines hinges on community trust in vaccine sciences, which requires comprehensive and transparent evaluation of risk and honest communication of potential harms.”

It will be important for the larger trials now getting underway to include more racial and ethnic diversity. Volunteers were mostly white in the early studies of the first three vaccines and Asian in the Chinese study. The trials will also need to enroll older people, who are at greatest risk for severe COVID-19 but may be slower to develop immune responses to a vaccine.

If one or more of the vaccines prove safe and effective in these larger studies, producing enough for global distribution will be a challenge, especially if they require more than one dose. And vaccine pricing and availability will be keys to their success. Scientists and advocates are demanding that COVID-19 vaccines must be made available to all who need them worldwide.

“If we just let drugs and vaccines go to the highest bidder instead of to the people and the places where they are most needed, we’ll have a longer, more unjust, deadlier pandemic,” Bill Gates said at the COVID-19 conference that followed AIDS 2020.t

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<< From the Cover

8 • Bay Area Reporter • July 30-August 5, 2020

<<

SF police policies

From page 1

Scott did not respond to a request for comment.

“We were able to contribute to those changes and so we were a big part of what was adopted by the commission,” Marion said, adding that the policy revision was made July 15 and went into effect immediately.

“Now, there’s not a need of injury or complaint of pain, and that’s important because it helps us understand who they’re really using force against, in what situations, and whether it’s disproportionate in certain populations,” Marion said.

“That information is critical.”

The new policy also makes it reportable whenever an officer takes out their weapon.

“They have to document why and justify it under policy,” Marion said.

“When an officer takes out his or her gun, there are many things that happen. It changes dramatically the situation and an officer has created intense anxiety on the part of the person who is the subject of the weapon, so it’s important to have to justify and document why.”

Policy change comes amid national uproar

Henderson said that the policy change is one way the city is moving beyond the #8CantWait menu of police reforms. #8CantWait is an agenda of police reforms championed by activists from Campaign Zero. A September 2016 study from that organization claims that if adopted, the eight policies can reduce police violence by up to 72%. There has been a renewed push for these to be instituted following Floyd’s killing and they have been championed by former President Barack Obama.

SFPD has already adopted all eight, which include banning choke-

<<

Mercy Housing

From page 1

This, coupled with what Giles described as lack of air circulation in her apartment, led to at least three hospitalizations in the first several months of her lease, Giles said in a July 28 phone interview with the B.A.R. One of those times she had to be intubated.

“It was determined the entire wattage output of my equipment by each of the manufacturers was not going to cause a problem, when in fact your building has too-sensitive outlets that blew the circuit again and again,” Giles stated in a letter to Mercy Housing that she gave to the B.A.R. After that last hospitalization, Mercy agreed that Giles should have an extension cord for her ventilator and oxygen, she said.

Giles said that her wheelchair does not fit in many of the doors of her apartment, which has resulted in the left armrest being damaged when Giles goes in and out of rooms. (This reporter found the wheelchair to be so damaged.)

“The company [is] responsible for my injuries,” Giles wrote in a July 22 email to the B.A.R., her case manager, and the San Francisco Human Rights Commission, referring to Mercy. “My $35,000 wheelchair is broken in more

holds and strangleholds, requiring de-escalation, requiring a warning before shooting, exhausting other non-lethal alternatives, banning shooting at moving vehicles, establishing a use of force continuum, requiring all force be reported, and requiring a duty for officers to intervene when another officer is inappropriately applying force.

Still, as the B.A.R. previously reported, SFPD is compliant with less than 15% of 272 reform recommendations made by the United States Department of Justice in 2016.

“Right now we’re in a moment of ‘we can’t wait’ ... and a national conversation about use of force,” Henderson said. “We’re at a watershed moment of civil unrest about a number of factors. The community is tired of seeing videos of incidents on body-worn cameras or cellphones. These are transgressions that people are shocked by and it is coming at a time when people are exacerbated by COVID-19 and where we’re having deep conversations about policing in the budget.

“I think it’s important that the community has evolved beyond the arguments we’ve been having for decades and have now transitioned into having an educated call to reform the use of force policy,” Henderson added.

Henderson said that people are asking “how are we supposed to have law enforcement without [racial] disparities built in?” and added that, nationwide, “we know use of force is used 19.3 times more when it involves communities of color.”

“We know that this has a high correlation with the LGBT community as well,” Henderson added, saying that while LGBTQ people are more likely to be policed, they are also more likely not to seek the help of law enforcement because of real and perceived prejudicial attitudes on the part of police, which makes everyone less safe.

“The highest rate of underreporting is in our trans community, and it’s as high as 82%,” Henderson said.

“That’s huge.”

Henderson said it’s important people know that it is out LGBTQ people, such as he and Marion, who are fighting for these changes. While he knew of LGBTQ people in government when he was younger, they were mostly white, he said.

“Our community needs to be seen and it’s really hard for young people growing up because I had no vision of what success could look like,” Henderson said. “You can’t replicate success that you can’t define.”

Petra DeJesus, a lesbian who sits on the Police Commission, could not be reached for comment.

than one place and it’s brand new.”

But the incident that left Giles the most shaken occurred in February, when she said she had an accident in her apartment that caused a loss of almost one-half a gallon of blood and alleged a Mercy official advised that she shouldn’t be helped due to potential legal liabilities.

Giles’ extension cord had gotten tangled in her wheelchair: “It was a perfect storm,” she said in the July 28 phone interview.

“In February, the cord got caught in my wheelchair and a gash that barely missed my artery. 1,500 cc of blood loss, and by the time I was about to faint from blood loss, I made it downstairs,” Giles wrote in a July 7 email to the B.A.R. “Down in the lobby, this young man picked up the phone, not to call 911 but to call [Mercy senior property manager at 95 Laguna] Karen [Zhou], who told him not to have ANYONE touch me because MERCY HOUSING could be liable if they did.

Give me a break. Pools of blood and me in my chair asking for a [tourniquet.] Finally a butch dyke said ‘fuck it,’ grabbed some paper towels, and applied pressure till paramedics came.”

Giles received 15 stitches at the emergency room and returned home, she said.

Despite the release Giles signed, Mercy only issued a brief statement.

“Mercy Housing is working with its partner, Openhouse, at 95 Laguna, and Christina Giles’ case manager, to address her concerns,” Rick Sprague, Mercy regional vice president, wrote in a July 27 email to the B.A.R. “Our core values of respect, justice, and mercy define that the well-being, health and safety of the nearly 20,000 residents – families, seniors and individuals with special needs – who reside at one of the 148 affordable housing communities in California, owned and managed by Mercy Housing California, are our highest priority.”

After the B.A.R. contacted Giles’ case manager, who is an employee of Openhouse, agency Executive Director Karyn Skultety, Ph.D., emailed the paper July 15 stating that press inquiries should go through her. Skultety issued a brief statement at that time.

“Openhouse provides case management, services, and advocacy to LGBTQ seniors, including residents of our building and those across the Bay Area, to ensure their needs are met,” Skultety wrote. “We have been and will continue to work closely with our partners at Mercy to address concerns and continue to advocate for LGBTQ seniors.”

the 18th of August 2020 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner MEI FUNG YVETTE WUN, is requesting that the name MEI FUNG YVETTE WUN be changed to YVETTE M.F. CHAK; HO HEI CHAK be changed to MAX H.H. CHAK; HO YIN CHAK be changed to CHRIS H.Y. CHAK. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept.103N, Room 103N on the 18th of August 2020 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

Deaf and hard of hearing policy updated

Underpolicing is also an issue when it comes to Deaf and hard of hearing people, which is why Marion and Henderson also advocated for a change to SFPD’s policies in that regard.

“There are so many people who are underserved, and Deaf and hard of hearing is a community that is underserved,” Marion said. “We put together community stakeholders because Deaf and hard of hearing people were not getting the same service that they have a right to by law.”

In what Marion said was a “significant step forward,” San Francisco police now have a Deaf and hard of hearing policy. As Mission Local reported last month, advocates have been pushing for such a policy for years.

Deaf and hard of hearing people have had problems being understood by officers when they have needed police intervention.

Henderson called the policy “Marion’s baby.” Marion said that she convened a working group in

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2017 to help craft a policy, which was adopted July 15 by the Police Commission.

Orkid Sassouni, a straight ally who identifies as culturally Deaf with American Sign Language, was in that working group and is also a member of the Mayor’s Disability Council, which is staffed by the Mayor’s Office on Disability.

“I was invited to join the working group to help with their policies while I was on the council,” Sassouni said through an interpreter on a July 24 phone call with the B.A.R. She joined the disability council in January 2017.

Sassouni, who is from New York, said she has had a few run-ins with police – including in San Francisco – who showed a lack of proficiency in communicating with Deaf and hard of hearing people.

“I got stopped by an officer who didn’t believe I was Deaf. He thought I was trying to deceive him,” Sassouni explained. “I had to watch as the officer calmed down and I waited an hour while he flipped through his book for something to charge me with. If an officer is behind you and yells at you to ‘Stop!’ and you can’t hear him, he uses force. But there is no way for a Deaf person to even see nonverbal cues if they’re behind you.”

Sassouni said that when she went before a judge with a $200-$300 ticket, it was dismissed.

“They [officers] forced me to read lips,” Sassouni said. “There is no bridge between a lot of officers and the Deaf community at all.”

Marion said that there were seven complaints from Deaf and hard of hearing people in last year’s DPA report, of which three were sustained.

“Part of the policy is a communication card, so that if the police officer stops someone on the street or in a traffic stop, they have a card with icons and graphics so that the officer can use the card and people

can say they need a sign interpreter,” Marion explained.

Marion added that police will use their phones to set up a video conference with a sign language interpreter to communicate with the person they have stopped.

Sassouni said that some of the work the committee dealt with included updating language such as “hearing impaired,” which she said is not “an appropriate, ethical term to use for Deaf and hard of hearing people.”

“There was a lot of inaccurate terminology in these policies we had to remove; just like with the LGBT community there is a lot of diversity in the Deaf and hard of hearing community,” Sassouni said.

Sassouni said that the important thing is not so much that there is Deaf and hard of hearing training for police officers, but that the officers understand and internalize what they learn.

“I understand from the police’s perspective too, that a lot of people are deceitful out there; lying,” Sassouni said. “But there has to be another way than just making assumptions.”

Henderson said the new policy should help.

“There was not a Deaf and hard of hearing policy before,” Henderson said. “There were cases when we could not involve that population because [police] didn’t know what to do because they weren’t seen as a law enforcement partner. ... Now we have a policy, so Deaf and hard of hearing people can interact with the criminal justice system. It’s data-driven, by folks who’ve had problems.

“It’s not just Black Lives Matter,” Henderson added. “We don’t have the luxury at this time with [the Donald Trump] administration to be siloed. We all deserve public safety and the more inclusive this conversation is, the safer we are.” t

Mediation delayed

to that organization the same week “to set something up.”

In a phone call July 15, Marilyn L. Flores, an investigator/mediator with HRC, confirmed to the B.A.R. that she had spoken with Giles but said, “as a rule I don’t comment on the substance of any open matters before me. We are trying to help them clarify and resolve. ... It’s up to the parties to decide and agree upon who will conduct the mediation.”

But Giles said on the July 28 phone call that HRC told her July 24 that it could not conduct mediation yet because Mercy indicated it was willing to work with her.

“HRC is not going to move forward with mediation unless Mercy Housing after a short amount of time – they were very vague – would not comply,” Giles said.

Giles said she was asked to contact the San Francisco Department of Building Inspection. Now, she isn’t certain what she wants out of mediation.

“I’m not sure what the answer is but my knee-jerk reaction is to get out of Mercy Housing and go back to fair-market value housing where I can be left alone,” she said. “If that’s not an option, I’ll be forced to live here. I don’t know where I want to live.” t

Giles said July 13 that she wanted to move into a different apartment on the property that could better accommodate her needs.

She requested to see a specific unit and received a letter from Mercy Housing posted on her door. The letter, dated July 21, states, “We cannot give you access to this unit or any other requested unit in the building at this time. You have a reasonable accommodation request for a transfer which is still in process, and which will be answered in due course.”

Upset by what she saw as a stonewalling tactic, Giles sent a follow-up email to Zhou the next day.

“I do not understand,” Giles wrote.

“What does ‘for transfer’ mean? What does ‘still in process’ mean? Most confusing is ‘which will be answered in due course.’”

Giles said that she hoped mediation will allow her to move to a different apartment in the complex and that Mercy Housing will make adjustments for her wheelchair.

Giles has reached out to SF HRC to facilitate mediation.

According to a July 13 HRC email obtained by the B.A.R. “Mercy has requested mediation by the SF Bar Association Conflict Intervention Service” and HRC planned to reach out

Legals>> ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-20-555769

In the matter of the application of: HO NAM CHAK, 691 KEITH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner HO NAM CHAK, is requesting that the name HO NAM CHAK, be changed to JACK H.N. CHAK. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept.103N, Room 103N on

JUL 09, 16, 23, 30, 2020 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-20-555768

In the matter of the application of: MEI FUNG YVETTE WUN, HO HEI CHAK, HO YIN CHAK, 691 KEITH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124, for change of name having

JUL 09, 16, 23, 30, 2020 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE

OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-20-555772

In the matter of the application of: NICHOLAS JAMES CHEUNG DOMBROWSKI, 625 COLE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner NICHOLAS JAMES CHEUNG DOMBROWSKI is requesting that the name NICHOLAS JAMES CHEUNG DOMBROWSKI be changed to NIK JEDREK VALLEN. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this

Court in Dept.103N, Room 103N on the 18th of August 2020 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

JUL 09, 16, 23, 30, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039091800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MAIDEN, MOTHER, CRONE, 3150 18TH ST #260, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JANAYA CASEY. The registrant(s)

See page 9 >>

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Legals & Classifieds>>

Legals

From page 8

business name or names on 03/26/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/01/20.

JUL 16, 23, 30, AUG 06, 2020

commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/15/20. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/23/20.

JUL 09, 16, 23, 30, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039088200 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SEYMOURS FASHIONS, 211 SUTTER ST #700, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94108. This business is conducted by a married couple, and is signed KAVITA L. BULCHANDANI & LAL V. BULCHANDANI. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/10/75. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/19/20.

JUL 09, 16, 23, 30, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039091200 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: THE CANTELLUS GROUP, 52 CLARENDON AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed KES LLC (CA).

The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/01/20. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/23/20.

JUL 09, 16, 23, 30, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-329092800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: GOLDEN GATE CANNABIS COMPANY, 500 JONES ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed INFINITY WELLNESS TLC INC (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 06/25/20.

JUL 09, 16, 23, 30, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039095800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as FOUR DEUCES, 2319 TARAVAL ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116.

This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed TDMULL PROPERTIES, INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/22/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/30/20.

JUL 09, 16, 23, 30, 2020 SUMMONS MARIN COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT NOTICE TO DEFENDANT: SERGIO MELLO, AN INDIVIDUAL, SENTIS SYSTEMS INC., A CALIFORNIA CORPORATION, AND DOES 1-10, YOU ARE BEING SUED BY PLAINTIFF: MARCELO MELLO, AN INDIVIDUAL. CASE NO. CW1904254

NOTICE! You have been sued. The court may decide against you without your being heard unless you respond within 30 days. Read the information below.

You have 30 CALENDAR DAYS after this summons and legal papers are served on you to file a written response at this court and have a copy served on the plaintiff. A letter or phone call will not protect you. Your written response must be in proper legal form if you want the court to hear your case. There may be a court form that you can use for your response. You can find these court forms and more information at the California Courts Online Self-Help Center (www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp), your county law library, or the courthouse nearest you.

If you cannot pay the filing fee, ask the court clerk for a fee waiver form. If you do not file your response on time, you may lose the case by default, and your wages, money, and property may be taken without further warning from the court.

There are other legal requirements. You may want to call an attorney right away. If you do not know an attorney, you may want to call an attorney referral service. If you cannot afford an attorney, you may be eligible for free legal services from a nonprofit legal services program.

You can locate these nonprofit groups at the California Legal Services Web site www.lawhelpcalifornia.org), the California Courts Online Self-Help Center (www.courtinfo. ca.gov/selfhelp), or by contacting your local court or county bar association. NOTE: The court has a statutory lien for for waived fees and costs of on any settlement or arbitration award of $10,000 or more in a civil case.

The court’s lien must be paid before the court will dismiss the case.

The name and address of the court is: Marin County Superior Court, 35021 Civic Center Dr., San Rafael, CA 94903. The name, address, and telephone number of the plaintiff’s attorney, or plaintiff without an attorney, is: Brett L. Gibbs, Esq., 28 Altamont Ave., Mill Valley, CA 94941; (415) 341-5318. Nov. 19, 2019, James M. Kim, Clerk; Q. Roary, Deputy.

JUL 16, 23, 30, AUG 06, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039099800 The following person(s) is/are doing business as GROOM DAY SPAW, 938 CLEMENT ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed GREEN PAWZ, INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/15/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/07/20.

JUL 16, 23, 30, AUG 06, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039100000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as ONJUNO, 1390 MARKET ST #200, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102.

This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed CAPITALJ 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 07/07/20.

JUL 16, 23, 30, AUG 06, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039091000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as RENAISSANCE SALON, 2600 SACRAMENTO ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed RSSF INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/01/20. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/23/20.

JUL 16, 23, 30, AUG 06, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039097100

The following person(s) is/are doing business as LEICA STORE SF, 463 BUSH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94108.

This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed CAMERA WEST INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039094100 The following person(s) is/are doing business as WEALTH VISION ADVISORS®, 582 MARKET ST #407, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94104. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed WEALTH VISION 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 06/29/20.

JUL 16, 23, 30, AUG 06, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039100800 The following person(s) is/are doing business as MUY LOCO ONVESTMENTS, 385 CASTANADA AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116. This business is conducted by a joint venture, and is signed ALEXANDRA CASTAILLAC SAINE & JUDITH EUPHRAT CASTAILLAC. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/08/20. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/08/20.

JUL 16, 23, 30, AUG 06, 2020 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-20-555779

In the matter of the application of HOK-JIEN GERHARD CHOI, C/O ROGER S. KUBEIN (SBN 197360) 2171 JUNIPERO SERRA BLVD #530, DALY CIY, CA 94014, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner HOKJIEN GERHARD CHOI is requesting that the name HOKJIEN GERHARD CHOI be changed to HOWARD HOK-YIEN CHOI. 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 27th of August 2020 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

July 30-August 5, 2020 • Bay Area Reporter • 9

and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both, of MELODY R. FULLER. A Petition for Probate has been filed by ANN FULLER in the Superior Court of California, County of San Mateo. The Petition for Probate requests that ANN FULLER be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent. The petition requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important actions, however, the personal representative will be required to give notice to interested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action.) The independent administration authority will be granted unless an interested person files an objection to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority. A hearing on the petition will be held in this court as follows: September 01, 2020, 9:00 am, Dept. 28, Superior Court of California, County of San Mateo, 400 County Center, 1st Floor, San Mateo, CA 94063. If you object to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing.

Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney. If you are a creditor or contingent creditor of the decedent, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal representative appointed by the court within the latter of either (1) four months from the date of first issuance of letters to a general personal representative, as defined by section 58(b) of the California Probate Code, or (2) 60 days from the date of mailing or personal delivery to you of a notice under section 9052 of the California Probate Code. Other California statutes and legal authority may affect your rights as a creditor. You may want to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law. You may examine the file kept by the court. If you are a person interested in the estate, you may file with the court a Request for Special Notice (form DE-154) of the filing of an inventory and appraisal of estate assets or of any petition or account as provided in Probate Code section 1250. A Request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk. Attorney for petitioner: JULIE FELDER (SBN 224855), HORIZON ELDER LAW & ESTATE PLANNING INC., 2333 SAN RAMON VALLEY BLVD. #145, SAN RAMON, CA 94583; Ph. (925) 244-1185.

JUL 23, 30, AUG 06, 13, 2020

JUL 30, AUG 06, 13, 20, 2020

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-20-555783

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF TUAN VAN TRAN IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO: FILE PES-20-303770

In the matter of the application of YOSEF HABTEAB HADGU, 735 GOUGH ST #G, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner YOSEF HABTEAB HADGU is requesting that the name YOSEF HABTEAB HADGU be changed to YOSEPH GEBREMEDHN EMBAYE. 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 27th of August 2020 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

JUL 23, 30, AUG 06, 13, 2020 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-20-555785

In the matter of the application of JENNIELYN DINO ROSSI, 5 ELSIE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner JENNIELYN DINO ROSSI is requesting that the name JENNIELYN DINO ROSSI be changed to JENNIELYN DINO. 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 27th of August 2020 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

JUL 23, 30, AUG 06, 13, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039098800 The following person(s) is/are doing business as VIDEOAMP, 350 OCEAN AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed SKOT KUIPER. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/01/00. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/06/20.

JUL 23, 30, AUG 06, 13, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039103900 The following person(s) is/are doing business as SLEEPWELL BOOKS, 3740 25TH ST #405, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ANDREA FABIAN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 02/08/10. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/13/20.

JUL 23, 30, AUG 06, 13, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039095500 The following person(s) is/are doing business as TOWER LAUNDROMAT, 1800 STOCKTON AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed KHIM S. LIM. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/22/20. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/30/20.

JUL 23, 30, AUG 06, 13, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039103600 The following person(s) is/are doing business as ORBITLINE CORPORATION, 241 LIBERTY ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed ORBITLINE CORPORATION (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/01/20. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/13/20.

JUL 23, 30, AUG 06, 13, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039099600

The following person(s) is/are doing business as BAR PART TIME, 145 CARMEL ST #3, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed WINES FOR A BEAUTIFUL WORLD LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/07/20.

JUL 23, 30, AUG 06, 13, 2020 NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF MELODY R. FULLER IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN MATEO: FILE 20-PRO-00811 To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors,

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039096900 The following person(s) is/are doing business as FRISCO’S FAMILY DELI, 28 LELAND AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94134. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed ISSA NAFE & OMAR HANNA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/01/20. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/30/20.

JUL 30, AUG 06, 13, 20, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039107500 The following person(s) is/are doing business as DISC ALIGN, 644 11TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed BACK-A-LINE INC. (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 07/17/20.

JUL 30, AUG 06, 13, 20, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039107200

Francisco, CA on 07/24/20.

JUL 30, AUG 06, 13, 20, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039106300 The following person(s) is/are doing business as CURRENT SF, 810 GONZALEZ DR #4F, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94132. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed CURRENT SF LCC (CA).

The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/10/20. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/16/20.

JUL 30, AUG 06, 13, 20, 2020 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-039051600 The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as SIMPLY NAILS, 5933 MISSION ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business was conducted by an individual and signed by WENDY DANG. The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/22/20.

JUL 30, AUG 06, 13, 20, 2020

The following person(s) is/are doing business as GRACE DENTAL GROUP, 1426 FILLMORE ST #215, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed WOO YOUNG LEE DDS, INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/10/07. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/17/20.

JUL 30, AUG 06, 13, 20, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039111800 The following person(s) is/are doing business as KITCHEN ALOHA, 752 VAN NESS AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed KITCHEN ALOHA (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/01/20. The statement was filed with the City and County of San

To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both, of TUAN VAN TRAN. A Petition for Probate has been filed by HUY NHAT DO & LAM TRAN in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco.

The Petition for Probate requests that HUY NHAT DO & LAM TRAN be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent. The petition requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important actions, however, the personal representative will be required to give notice to interested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action.) The independent administration authority will be granted unless an interested person files an objection to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority. A hearing on the petition will be held in this court as follows: August 18, 2020, 9:00 am, Dept. 204, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102.

If you object to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing. Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney. If you are a creditor or contingent creditor of the decedent, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal representative appointed by the court within the latter of either (1) four months from the date of first issuance of letters to a general personal representative, as defined by section 58(b) of the California Probate Code, or (2) 60 days from the date of mailing or personal delivery to you of a notice under section 9052 of the California Probate Code. Other California statutes and legal authority may affect your rights as a creditor. You may want to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law. You may examine the file kept by the court. If you are a person interested in the estate, you may file with the court a Request for Special Notice (form DE-154) of the filing of an inventory and appraisal of estate assets or of any petition or account as provided in Probate Code section 1250. A Request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk. Attorney for petitioner: CHARLES R. PERRY (SBN 124828), LAW OFFICES OF CHARLES R. PERRY, 100 PINE ST #1250, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94111; Ph. (415) 800-3937.

JUL 30, AUG 06, 13, 20, 2020 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-20-555803

In the matter of the application of MARIA DELIA ELIZABETH NUNEZ GUTIERREZ, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner MARIA DELIA ELIZABETH NUNEZ GUTIERREZ is requesting that the name MARIA DELIA ELIZABETH NUNEZ GUTIERREZ AKA DELIA E. NUNEZ AKA ELIZABETH NUNEZ be changed to ELIZABETH NUNEZ. 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 September 2020 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

JUL 30, AUG 06, 13, 20, 2020 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-20-555802

In the matter of the application of YANAI HUANG & AICHAO LIU, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner YANAI HUANG & AICHAO LIU is requesting that the name QINGPING LIU AKA QING PING LIU be changed to BENSON LIU. 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 September 2020 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

JUL 30, AUG 06, 13, 20, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039106800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as AMIA LUXE, 1315 QUESADA AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124.

This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed LADAVID ANDERSON. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/09/20. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/17/20.

JUL 30, AUG 06, 13, 20, 2020

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The Chicks atop a scenic hill.

by Gregg Shapiro

Gregg Shapiro: The Chicks’ previous album, Taking The Long Way Home, was released in 2006 and, in the interim, there was a 2013 solo album by Natalie and a couple of albums, in 2010 and 2013, by Emily and Natalie’s Court Yard Hounds. Why was now the right time for The Chicks to reunite and release a new album?

Emily Robison: I think the 2016 tour was really fun. It was a great reconnection with our fan base. At the same time, we were able to do the live album that Sony took as one of the last of our two albums for the label. So, the prospect of having one more studio album to do was a motivator, to be free agents. But we were

Chicks, still chirping Natalie Maines, Emily Robison and Martie Maguire on their new music and revised band name also having a lot of fun. If we were going to tour again, we definitely wanted to have some new music for the next tour.

How cathartic is it to create and perform these types of songs?

Martie Maguire: [Laughs] Well, we don’t get to perform them yet, really. The tour was supposed to start June 6, and that’s not going to happen for a while. We have heard a lot of people calling it a great divorce album. I don’t think we think of it that way. We do pull not from one experience but from all of our experiences and from our songwriters’ experiences.

So, I think those songs might have a common thread, but it’s probably ten people’s experiences all together.

Incorporated into all of the seriousness on the album is a display of The Chicks’ sense of humor in the song “Texas Man.” Is it important to you all, as performers and songwriter, to include that kind of thing?

NM: Yeah. I feel like there’s humor in “Gaslighter,” there’s humor in “Sleep At Night,” there’s humor in “Tights On My Boat.” There’s

José Espaillat & Clifford Faust

For Kim David Smith, life is a cabaret

Columbia Records

W

ay back when, during the early reign of George W. Bush (kind of miss him now, don’t we), musical country trio The Chicks (formerly known as Dixie Chicks) did the unthinkable. Not only did they speak their minds about Bush as POTUS, but also expressed their displeasure that, like them, he was also a Texan.

The reaction was swift and unnecessarily merciless. Airplay and record sales came to a virtually screeching halt. Not ones to sit idle, Natalie Maines, Emily Robison and Martie Maguire stood tall and came back with 2006’s Grammy-winning Taking the Long Way Home.

Following that, the members of The Chicks worked on some side projects and have now, thankfully, reunited for the amazing new record Gaslighter (Columbia/Sony Music). The album contains everything you love about The Chicks, including breathtaking vocal solos and harmonies. It also expands The Chicks’ style into modern pop territory, as well as featuring more musical political statements. Natalie, Emily and Martie were kind enough to answer a few questions during the summer of 2020.

humor in a lot of our songs. I think a lot of times humor can make a jagged pill easier to swallow, right [laughs]? We do like to stay light, even when it gets really heavy.

ER: I’m not sure if we’re conscious of it. I would say that certain days we’d go, “Let’s do something fun today or something a little bit less than what we’ve already been talking about.

That might be a conscious way we do it.

and a time, and people will know it in a historical sense. But I don’t know that we need to celebrate it.

NM: I do think that word will disappear. With products and businesses and, yes, even us. Yes, I think it will be part of the past.

by David-Elijah Nahmod

of the theater that gets me going. For me it’s only going to be fun if it’s safe. I open a show by wandering through the crowd, touching people, sitting on laps and being stupid, so that needs a huge rethink, depending on how people start reopening.”

Smith feels that when performing, it’s important to connect with the audience, which he does by singling audience members out during the show.

“You’re making eye contact, you’re singing directly to one person, then to another person with another line, and literally laying across their laps sometime,” he said. “So I just hope we get a vaccine so I can get back to throwing myself on people.”

In addition to his cabaret work, Smith has also performed in musical theater, including as the Emcee in the classic musical Cabaret. It was Bob Fosse’s 1972 film adaptation that played a major role in influencing his performing career.

“As a teenager, I would stay up really late watching the movie,” he recalls. “The vibe, the atmosphere; Bob Fosse’s fingerprints were all over it. Everything about it is so exciting and visceral. And it’s really well thought out. It’s like this semi-contained chaos, which is what the subject matter is. So I found it fascinating. I would watch ‘Mein Herr’ over and over again, and I thought that I was going to be Sally Bowles.”

On Live at Joe’s Pub, Smith’s dramatic voice and a piano, plus reactions from the audience, are all the listeners will hear, giving the album a warm, intimate feel.

“The point of the live album is for people to have something to take home and continue to live in the afterglow of a show that they had seen,” Smith said. “Most of what Tracy Stark (Smith’s music director) and I do and most of what I really enjoy is the relationship between us as music makers and storytellers. That to me is exciting. Listening to each other breathing together is the epitome of intimacy on stage, and that to me is what cabaret is all about.”t

Finally, since we all had to miss Pride this this year, if The Chicks were invited to perform at a Pride festival anywhere in the US, do I live in Fort Lauderdale you think that would ever and Dixie Highway runs happen?

MM: Sure! right through Broward NM: I went to my first County. Riviera Beach, The Chicks’ new album, Gaslighter Pride last year and it was so in Palm Beach County, much fun! renamed a stretch of Old Dixie Highway as President Barack Obama ER: The floodgates are definitely open!t Highway. Following your band’s name change, and other such examples, do you Read the full interview, with think the name Dixie is long for this earth?

ER: I think it’s always going to be a place music videos, on www.ebar.com

K

im David Smith, a gay Australian native who now lives and works in New York City, has released his first concert album: Live at Joe’s Pub. The album, available via digital and streaming platforms as well as on CD, was, as the title suggests, recorded live at Joe’s Pub, the Manhattan music venue and restaurant named after the famed theatrical impresario Joseph Papp. In 2013 Rolling Stone named Joe’s Pub as one of the ten best clubs in America.

Smith’s concert conjures up images of smoky nightclubs in Weimer Era Germany; the Weimer Era being the period between the world wars which saw unprecedented artistic freedom in Berlin. Accompanied only by a piano, Smith belts out a stirring rendition of “Jonny, Wenn Du Geburstag Hast,” a tune first sung by Marlene Dietrich in 1931. As performed by Smith, the song becomes a gay anthem. In his English intro to the song, Smith says, “I have a crush, his name is Jonny,” then begins singing in German, occasionally lapsing into English: “erotic, erotic, put your hands all over my body,” he sings.

The album’s single is a rousing, cabaretinfused take on fellow Australian Kylie Minogue’s dance hit “All the Lovers,” a song that was meant to be Smith’s wedding song this past April. Sadly, the wedding was postponed due to the pandemic.

“I’ve just been taking it one day at a time,” Smith tells the Bay Area Reporter, speaking from his New York City home. “It’s just been so bonkers, more bonkers for others than for some. In terms of not being able to perform live, which is one of my chief ways that I keep in touch with myself, it’s been crazy! So crazy.”

Smith’s album may make some listeners yearn for the days when they could go and see live shows and make them hope that those days will return soon.

“I have hopes of going to my favorite venues and doing some shows without an audience and taping them in that regard,” Smith said.

“There’s something to be said about the smell

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

t

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July 30-August 5, 2020 • Bay Area Reporter • 11

Written in Invisible Ink Hervé Guibert’s posthumous publication

by Mark William Norby

T

he incurable hotness of French Author Hervé Guibert owes nothing to the timely and shattering content of his mind and the publication of a most original work: Written in Invisible Ink. Guibert died of AIDS in 1991 at the age of 36 after a failed suicide attempt. This is Guibert’s collection of works from when he was twenty-one until his death, his voluminous earlier publications that earned him the reputation of a writer capable of bearing the entire contents of himself.

Nearly two decades after Guibert’s death, the work now emerges as a fresh contribution to the queer literary oeuvre. Written in Invisible Ink comprises four pivotal works previously published in France, including Propaganda Death; The Sting

Author Hervé Guibert

of Love and Other Texts; Singular Adventures, and Mauve the Virgin, the final compilation comprising more than a decade of Guibert’s life.

Made up of Autofiction, memoir, his personal diaries, and many short essays, readers will take delight, if not

even blush, at the variety, brashness, and utter subterfuge of his literary approach. With both the freshness of reportage combined with a spiked gay divulge, the writing extends the line between controversy and the more than occasional revulsion.

All God’s children get off

by Gregg Shapiro

I

f you saw Gillian Robespierre’s fantastic 2014 feature film Obvious Child, you know what Karen Maine is capable of as a screenwriter. The movie tackled a difficult subject (unplanned pregnancy) with humor and grace, no doubt leading to many heated and heartfelt conversations.

For her feature-length directorial debut, Maine once again does not shy away from subject matter that hasn’t gotten the attention it deserves. In the case of Yes, God, Yes (Vertical Entertainment), which opens with both a quote from the Book of Revelation and a definition of the tossed salad sex act, the hot button topic (so to speak) is female masturbation.

Alice (Natalia Dyer of Stranger Things fame) is a student at an extremely conservative midwestern Catholic high school at the turn of the 21st century. At the kind of school where an adult hall monitor, the very pregnant Mrs. Veda

(Donna Lynne Champline), hands out demerits like they’re candy, and carries a ruler to measure the height of female students’ skirts. The morality class, taught by Father Murphy (Veep’s Timothy Simons) is full of all sorts of warnings about God’s plan, God’s watchful eye, and the sin of masturbation.

Nevertheless, Alice has found ways to pleasure herself at home, even with audience member God watching. While rewinding to the sex scene between Jack and Rose in Titanic, for example. Or the AOL word game chat room that leads to a series of sexually graphic IMs from a fellow player.

Back at school, Alice is the subject of rumor about a particular sex act (which never occurred) at a weekend party. Eager to clear her name, Alice attends a four-day school sponsored religious retreat led by Fr. Murphy. Nina (Alisha Boe from 13 Reasons Why), assigned to be her group leader confiscates her watch, but Alice manages to keep her cellphone. Fortunately for her, the

Author and godfather of modern queer literature Edmund White, who knew Guibert while he lived in Paris in the 1980s, commented in a recent virtual reading of Guibert’s Written in Invisible Ink that, “Americans are prudish compared to the French.” The English translator of Written Jeffrey Zuckerman stated in an email interview, “Hervé is such a fascinating, difficult, sharp, and seductive writer. White has called him “Sade in jeans.”

To translate Guibert, for Zuckerman, “... was to translate truths I would have never let myself admit.

He taught me how love and hurt can be two sides of the same coin.” How Guibert’s obsessions with the body, illness, sexuality, discontinuity, confession, as the translator recounts; this is the work from one language to the next written first in French by

‘Yes, God, Yes’ reveals Catholic school kinks

T

he new documentary by Dawn Porter, John Lewis: Good Trouble, makes no pretense of being anything but a paean to the late Rep. John Lewis’s life and activist work. Erika Alexander, who produced the documentary said, “John Lewis earned his Good Trouble moniker and icon status the hard way; by committing his life to fight for civil rights and ‘justice for all’ in America. He did it without malice,

Read the full review on www.ebar.com

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Personals

Natalia Dyer in Yes, God, Yes

phone’s vibrate function will come in handy later.

Yes, God, Yes is one of the funniest and smartest comedies of 2020. It goes a long way in establishing Dyer as a talented young actress and Maine

as a writer/director worth following.

For the record, you’ll never watch Titanic in the same way again.t

Read the full review on www.ebar.com

Remembering John Lewis

by Victoria A. Brownworth

Guibert, and brought to us exquisitely in English prose.

Newly issued, published and republished, Hervé Guibert’s Written in Invisible Ink is an essential queer book for today.t

armed with the courage of his convictions and the abiding philosophy of nonviolence, unrelenting peaceful protests, and love for the beloved community.”

The film was made before the current months of protest triggered by the murder of George Floyd, but it feels prescient and prophetic– this is how we got here: through activists like Lewis who set a tone and created a model for “good trouble” –speaking truth to power, no matter the consequence. Lewis himself was

arrested 45 times– five of those while he was a sitting congressman.t

Read the full review on www.ebar.com

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And thanks too for the Ephesus and Pantheon rocks!

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Dakota Fanning, Daniel Brühl and Luke Evans in Season 2 of The Alienist

Murder, malice and misbehavior In this week's edition of The Lavender Tube, Victoria A. Brownworth covers allegations of racism and on-set hostility on Ellen DeGeneres’ talk show, Grantchester’s fifth season furthers the relationship between hunks Daniel and Leonard, and The Alienist’s second season includes historic issues of discrimination that are still relevant today. Read all this and more on www.ebar.com

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