June 28 2018 Edition of the Bay Area Reporter by Bay Area Reporter

Women rule Alice event

Trans March inspires

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'Ring' cycle

Gina Yashere

The

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

Vol. 48 • No. 26 • June 28-July 4, 2018

Pride provides strength in troubled times Rick Gerharter

A man slept on a sidewalk in the Castro district in April.

Castro Cares program revamps

by Matthew S. Bajko

community-driven homeless outreach program in the Castro is planning to relaunch this summer in an effort to provide more targeted assistance to individuals living on the streets in San Francisco’s gay neighborhood. Known as Castro Cares, the initiative first launched in the fall of 2014. It is a joint effort by the Castro/Upper Market Community Benefit District and a number of other Castro-based neighborhood groups. It had hired members of San Francisco’s Homeless Outreach Team to engage with homeless individuals several times a week along the upper Market Street corridor. As they did, they offered the people they encountered a wide array of services, from handing out free pairs of clean socks to arranging for medical care or a shelter bed to stay in for the night. But as the Bay Area Reporter reported last June, just 20 individuals over a 33-month period had utilized a shelter bed reservation made for them by the HOT team. Castro Cares officials reasoned the low usage rate was largely due to the individuals having to arrange their own transport to the shelter later that day. Last June 30, at the end of the city’s fiscal year, the Castro Cares initiative ended the HOT team outreach. Its organizers then spent several months researching how to revamp it in order for it to have a greater impact. “We came to the conclusion we should really try to do some kind of outreach and case management that is more intensive rather than just generally trying to reach a lot of people with a ‘Hi, how are you?’ wellness check,” explained CBD Executive Director Andrea Aiello. To achieve that goal, Castro Cares has teamed with the San Francisco AIDS Foundation to hire a temporary health educator to work 20 hours a week at varied times on different days and nights reaching out to homeless individuals in the neighborhood. The person would be part of SFAF’s substance use program known as the Stonewall Project and be based out of the See page 12 >>

Good Karma used different colors for its multi-hued balloons during the San Francisco Pride parade.

by Tony Taylor

fter weeks of heartbreaking news involving the Trump administration’s immigration strategy of childhood separations and zero tolerance at the southern U.S. border, a jubilant afternoon in San Francisco reminded thousands of people there’s hope – and strength – in numbers.

Themed “Generations of Strength,” San Francisco’s 48th annual Pride parade celebrated with confetti, sequins, and countless political statements Sunday, June 24. More than one million people attended the parade that began near the Embarcadero at 10:30 a.m. and lasted about six hours, according to CBS5, which livestreamed the event. Over 240 contingents paraded along Market Street

spilling into the Civic Center Pride festival. Officials with the San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration Committee were expecting more than 100,000 to view the parade along Market Street, according to the website. The weekend of activities likely brought close to a million people to the city. Dykes on Bikes led the procession of floats, groups, and other participants, See page 12 >>

Gay man launches new homeless nonprofit Rick Gerharter

by Matthew S. Bajko

mid his duties as an honoree at last weekend’s Pride celebration, Shaun Haines was overseeing the public debut of a new nonprofit aimed at giving homeless people in San Francisco a leg up. San Francisco Impact Partners, which Haines founded last year, organized a care package pop-up Saturday afternoon at the Episcopal Church of Saint John the Evangelist on 15th Street between the city’s Mission and gay Castro districts. Volunteers handed out packs filled with personal hygiene products like toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, and mouthwash. According to Haines, the majority of the 100 homeless people they saw that day were African-American and Latino, some of whom were transgender men and women. He hopes to regularly hold the pop-up events in the coming months. “I hope they will get bigger and bigger as we progress and are able to provide more services as time goes on,” said Haines, 40, a gay man who received this year’s Heritage of Pride Pride Community Award and rode in the parade Sunday in an open-top convertible. Haines, a former member of the board that oversees Pride, is serving as executive director of the new nonprofit on a volunteer basis for now. It stems from his own experience struggling to find housing in San Francisco, where he was born and raised.

Rick Gerharter

Shaun Haines, who started San Francisco Impact Partners, was an honoree in this year’s Pride parade.

In the past year Haines has gone from sleeping one night on the street to couch surfing with friends to renting a shared apartment in the Mission district after securing employment last fall. “I do have experience breaking down my house into several rolling bags,” i.e. suitcases on wheels, said Haines, who has been working for an IT service provider since November.

During his time without a permanent home, Haines was able to store his belongings in friends’ homes or offices. The experience made him realize there is a lack of storage facilities for homeless individuals in the city, as commercial storage facilities are economically out of reach for the majority of people living on the streets. “I have been in poverty many times before and homeless many times before. What made me successful was I always had access to storage, laundry, and a shower,” said Haines. “It is vital infrastructure support to get people through their poverty situation.” Providing storage space would not only benefit homeless individuals, noted Haines, but also lead to cleaner streets, an oft-cited concern of residents, tourists, and business owners. “It will address the cleanliness of the city by giving storage access to people who are homeless on the street,” said Haines. Providing storage space to homeless individuals is gaining greater attention as cities grapple to address ever-growing numbers of people living on their streets. Earlier this month San Diego city officials opened a storage facility that will allow up to 500 homeless people to store their belongings in a secure space. In San Francisco, there is a homeless storage facility located in the city’s Tenderloin neighborhood. It provides free storage service for shoes and clothing only and has limited space. The need for additional no-cost storage facilities for the homeless is an issue Haines hopes his nonprofit will be able to address. See page 12 >>

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TAKE PRIDE IN YOUR BRAIN

RY Everyone with a brain is at risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. During Alzheimer’s & Brain Awareness Month in June, learn the facts about brain health.

SF 1

<< Community News

2 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 28-July 4, 2018

LEARN MORE AT ALZ.ORG/ABAM

Steven Krzanowski, Alzheimer’s Association Events Manager (left) and Jaime McElmon, RN at Sutter Health and Alzheimer’s Association Volunteer (right)

D ay

yelling and approached the scene, at which point a suspect was arrested and taken into custody, Tomlinson said. One victim, 19, suffered a stab wound to his abdomen and two stab wounds to his leg. The other victim, 20, was stabbed twice in the back, according to the SFPD daily log. “We don’t believe this is gang related, and it is not being looked at as a hate crime,” Tomlinson told the Bay Area Reporter Monday. It is not known if the two victims are members of the LGBT community. Tomlinson could not confirm if either the suspects or victims were festivalgoers or had gone through security, although the scene of the alleged attack was on festival grounds. In order to gain entry into festival grounds, all attendees were required to go through safety screenings, which included a bag check and a walk through a metal detector or screenings with handheld wands. San Francisco Pride officials did not respond to a request for comment. Formal safety screenings were instituted at the SF Pride celebration two years ago following the June 12, 2016 massacre at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, where 49 mostly LGBT people of color died in one of the nation’s deadliest mass shootings Aside from the stabbings, Tomlinson said Pride was relatively tame. “This year’s celebration was less violent than it has been in previous years,” he said.

Another incident that occurred during the Pride festival included a brawl that broke out near the Pride headliner and hip-hop artist Kehlani’s set at Civic Center Plaza during the festivities on Sunday, June 24. A video has been circulating on various social media outlets of a fight that involved multiple people. Navdeep Thind, a student at Diablo Valley College, who captured the incident on his cellphone, told the San Francisco Chronicle that he heard from others that the brawl started after one festivalgoer asked another what time Kelanhi’s set started and the person responded rudely. The fight snowballed from there. The video shows punches thrown, hair being pulled, and people smashing people’s faces on the ground. The fight was broken up after seven minutes and no arrests were made, according to the Chronicle. Other incidents that happened near the Pride festival over the weekend include on Sunday, around noon, a 34-year-old Hispanic male was struck in the face by an AfricanAmerican male in his 30s or 40s near Eighth and Market streets. The suspect stole the victim’s cellphone then fled on foot, according to the SFPD daily log. Also on Sunday, around 2:15 a.m., an African-American male, 25, was assaulted and had his cellphone stolen by four African-Americans, ages 25 to 30, near Ellis and Hyde streets. t

Women take center stage at Alice Pride Breakfast by Cynthia Laird

owerful women were front and center at Sunday’s Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club Pride Breakfast, and the three main speakers did not disappoint. The keynote speaker, Senator Kamala Harris, urged attendees to “fight for the best of who we are and what we can be,” as the nation experiences deep divisions in the era of President Donald Trump. Ticking off a list of issues where she believes the president is wrong, including human rights and the environment, Harris, California’s junior senator, said she thinks the administration has “a fear of the present and future.” “We need to march with pride and speak with pride because we are on the right side of history,” Harris told a sold-out audience to applause at the Hyatt Embarcadero June 24. She said that she rejects the notion, put forth by the president and other Republican leaders, that Democrats, such as herself, somehow don’t love America. “I believe we are a great country,” Harris said, adding that the ideals contained in the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and the Bill of Rights are worth fighting for. “And fight we will. It’s our flag too,” she said, mentioning not only the stars and stripes, but also the rainbow flag that symbolizes LGBT rights. “And we know we aren’t going to accept any false choices. We are also here and clear-eyed.” Harris, who has not ruled out a 2020 run for the presidency, according to MSNBC, said she was heartbroken when she addressed a room full of California teenagers, including her 19-year-old stepdaughter. “The first questions was, what do

Rick Gerharter

Senator Kamala Harris addresses the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club’s annual Pride Breakfast June 24.

we do about a divided America?” Harris recalled. “That broke my heart. I said, ‘I reject the premise – we have so much more in common.’” But Harris did acknowledge that the country has its problems, including racism, sexism, homophobia, and transphobia. Those things are real, she said. “America has a problem with mass incarceration, and the Department of Justice is reviving the failed war on drugs,” Harris said. And she had harsh words for Trump and the Department of Homeland Security, which have been in the news for the last week over the president’s controversial childhood separation policy that ended when he signed an executive order several days ago, though most of the more than 2,000 detained children have yet to be reunited with their parents. “Ripping children from the arms of their parents is not border

security,” Harris said. San Francisco Mayor-elect London Breed received a standing ovation and applause when she made brief remarks. Breed, who will be sworn into office July 11, was gracious to her main opponent, gay former state Senator Mark Leno, who did not attend, but who, like Breed, was endorsed by the Alice club. “I just want to take this opportunity to thank Mark Leno,” she said. “Mark Leno has a legacy of important work, not just for LGBTs, but the entire city. He has extended his hand to continue to do great work for the city, and I’m grateful for that.” Breed said she’s excited about her soon becoming mayor. “I can’t wait to roll up my sleeves and get to work,” she added. “We have so much to do, but today, we celebrate.” See page 12 >>

O C C A TOB XIC O T IS

S I TH S I E F I L N NO C I X TO

<< Community News

4 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 28-July 4, 2018

Project Inform’s Van Gorder to depart by Alex Madison

fter 10 years of leading the nonprofit HIV/AIDS advocacy organization Project Inform, Dana Van Gorder is stepping down as executive director and entering a new chapter in his life. He is not retiring, but will take some time off before journeying on to something else, though he isn’t exactly sure what that is yet. His future may be unclear, but he is leaving behind a legacy at Project Inform. “I arrived at the agency at a really fascinating time during the epidemic where I realized the agency’s approach needed to fundamentally change,” Van Gorder, 61, told the Bay Area Reporter in a recent interview. “Ten and a half years later, I feel as though it’s time for the agency to take another step back and look at what it’s doing into the future, and that requires a set of new eyes and fresh energy.” His last day is June 29. David Evans, 50, a gay man who has been the director of research advocacy for Project Inform for about seven years, officially starts as the interim executive director July 1. When Van Gorder, a gay man, first arrived at Project Inform, after spending eight years with the San Francisco AIDS Foundation as a state lobbyist – and the San Francisco health department before that – it was right before Barack Obama was elected president in 2008. At the

Rick Gerharter

Dana Van Gorder

time, treatment like PrEP had not yet transformed HIV prevention. Van Gorder and his Project Inform team called on the Obama administration to commit to developing a national HIV prevention and care strategy. He worked closely with the administration in informing the contents of that strategy and has worked to see it implemented. He also lobbied at the state level to beef up spending to establish new programs that were needed to heighten the response to the ongoing battle of HIV/AIDS, particularly prevention and early treatment. “When I started at the agency, data was just beginning to suggest that starting people on treatment would be really beneficial,” he said.

“I was proud of that change that was set in motion and in encouraging early treatment for HIV.” Under Van Gorder’s leadership, Project Inform was influential in the national education campaign of PrEP as a preventative treatment. Advocating for the implementation of the Obama administration’s Affordable Care Act and ensuring that HIVpositive people and those living with AIDS and hepatitis C were covered under that program was a focal point of Project Inform. The agency also became more involved in advocacy around hepatitis C. Many people living with HIV also have hepatitis C, a disease, at the time, many health agencies were not focusing on, Van Gorder said. Though he talked about his accomplishments, Van Gorder praised his staff and said he could never have done any of the work without them. “We really made an impact with a small number of people,” he said. “I decided what we worked on, but it was really the great staff that made it happen.” Project Inform has about five people running its programs and a total of eight employees. It’s annual budget is $1.56 million, Evans said. Van Gorder’s salary was $139,000. Evans’ salary as interim executive director will be $130,000.

Emerging issues

When asked about the emerging issues of HIV/AIDS and what he feels the agency should focus on in its next chapter, Van Gorder talked a lot about the aging population of people living with HIV and the care they need. “There are a lot of clinical and psychological issues that the aging HIV-positive population are facing and the agency is thinking about its role in addressing that topic very closely,” he said. Evans and Van Gorder have worked closely together in the last few months preparing for the transition and discussing the direction of the agency. Van Gorder praised Evans and said, “He is very knowledgeable and smart about all aspects of the epidemic.” Evans will focus on ensuring health care providers are attentive to HIV/AIDS and how it relates to the opioid epidemic, as people injecting drugs are often at high risk of contracting HIV, and the funding challenges the agency faces. Evans will be taking on the job during a time when President Donald Trump and his administration are rolling back the civil rights of LGBTs and other minorities; something Evans said is affecting more than just Project Inform. “I think one of the most important things facing all nonprofits that work in health advocacy is how to

respond to an environment where the federal government is so deeply hostile to the most vulnerable people in society and that includes most people living with HIV,” he said. As new cases of HIV infections in San Francisco and in some other parts of the country continue to decrease, Evans said there is a public misperception that there is not as an immediate need for funding or advocacy, something he is working to combat. He will continue to focus heavily on HIV care retention, and health care advocacy and policy work, locally and nationally. As well as science advocacy efforts and looking at HIV cure work through a different lens. In 1999, Evans started at Project Inform as a volunteer before spending time at various other nonprofits including the Stop AIDS Project, which has since merged with SFAF, and Gay Men’s Health Crisis in New York City. He then came back to Project Inform where he led the science advocacy side of the agency. As a close friend of the nonprofit’s founder, the late Martin Delaney, Evans explained he has an obligation to continue the legacy of both Delaney and Van Gorder. “Project Inform is all about hope and striving for a cure and treatment,” he said. “It is that level of hope, that vision, and optimism that I have a personal responsibility to uphold.” t

Twin Peaks Tunnel closed for construction compiled by Cynthia Laird

he San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency this week began its two-month closure of the Twin Peaks Tunnel, meaning there is no train service at West Portal and Forest Hill stations for much of the summer. SFMTA announced that buses will run in place of the M-Ocean View and L-Taraval train lines. KIngleside trains will run a shorter route between Sloat/St. Francis and Balboa Park. There will be no K, L, or M trains running in the Muni Metro. The shutdown began Monday, June 25. SFMTA officials said in a news release that the Twin Peaks Tunnel is in need of extensive interior work to continue to operate safely and reliably for years to come. Work will be done on the tunnel’s infrastructure, including the

Matthew S. Bajko

The West Portal Muni station is closed for two months.

tracks, walls, and drainage systems. Seismic reinforcements are also needed, the agency stated. To learn more about the project, there is a video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stUO9PXPGFk.

Berkeley Marina hosts July 4 fireworks

The Berkeley Marina will hold its July 4 party from noon to 10 p.m. next Wednesday. There will be family fun in an alcohol-free environment

culminating with fireworks over the bay. Adventure Playground, where kids ride a zip line or use hammers, nails, saws, and paint with parental supervision is free and open until 8. There will also be a photo booth, and Berkeley Canoe Racing Club will give free dragon boat rides from noon to 5 p.m. People can also bring a kite and fly it at the Cesar Chavez Kite Park. Live entertainment will delight kids and adults alike, and there will be dancing. The fireworks will begin at 9:35. Viewing is best along Frontage Drive south of the Berkeley Pier or from Hs Lordship’s parking lot. Vehicle parking at the marina is $20 for the day ($50 for large vehicles). Public transit options are also available. Details are at www.anotherbullwinkleshow.com.

O K E L L’ S

Point scholars announced

The Point Foundation has announced its 2018 scholarship recipients. The 20 LGBTQ students were chosen to be Point scholars from more than 2,000 applicants. Point also recognized 25 LGBTQ students in its community college scholarship program. “Point’s diverse class of scholarship recipients give us hope and make us proud,” Jorge Valencia, executive director and CEO of the Point Foundation, said in a news release. “These young leaders are determined to make our nation and our world a much better place than it is today.” The recipients also represent the diversity of the LGBTQ community. See page 13 >>

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<< Open Forum

6 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 28-July 4, 2018

Volume 48, Number 26 June 28-July 4, 2018 www.ebar.com PUBLISHER Michael M. Yamashita Thomas E. Horn, Publisher Emeritus (2013) Publisher (2003 – 2013) Bob Ross, Founder (1971 – 2003) NEWS EDITOR Cynthia Laird ARTS EDITOR Roberto Friedman BARTAB EDITOR & EVENTS LISTINGS EDITOR Jim Provenzano ASSISTANT EDITORS Matthew S. Bajko • Alex Madison CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Ray Aguilera • Tavo Amador • Race Bannon Erin Blackwell • Roger Brigham Brian Bromberger • Victoria A. Brownworth Brent Calderwood • Philip Campbell Heather Cassell • Belo Cipriani Christina DiEdoardo • Richard Dodds Michael Flanagan • Jim Gladstone David Guarino • Liz Highleyman Brandon Judell • John F. Karr • Lisa Keen Matthew Kennedy • Joshua Klipp David Lamble • Max Leger Michael McDonagh • Juanita MORE! David-Elijah Nahmod • Paul Parish Sean Piverger • Lois Pearlman Tim Pfaff • Jim Piechota • Bob Roehr Adam Sandel • Jason Serinus • Gregg Shapiro Gwendolyn Smith • Tony Taylor • Sari Staver Jim Stewart • Sean Timberlake • Andre Torrez Ronn Vigh • Charlie Wagner • Ed Walsh Cornelius Washington • Sura Wood ART DIRECTION Max Leger PRODUCTION/DESIGN Ernesto Sopprani PHOTOGRAPHERS Jane Philomen Cleland • FBFE Rick Gerharter • Gareth Gooch Jose Guzman-Colon • Rudy K. Lawidjaja Georg Lester • Dan Lloyd • Jo-Lynn Otto Rich Stadtmiller • Kelly Sullivan Steven Underhil • Dallis Willard • Bill Wilson ILLUSTRATORS & CARTOONISTS Paul Berge • Christine Smith ADVERTISING/ADMINISTRATION Colleen Small Bogitini

SF must approve homeless funding T

he rejection of Proposition D by voters earlier this month left homelessness and housing services unfunded by $40 million. And, while voters approved Proposition F, which called for legal services to support tenants facing eviction, there was no funding source identified for it. On Monday, June 25, Mayorelect London Breed, who’s stepping down this week as president of the Board of Supervisors, and District 10 Supervisor Malia Cohen, announced a proposed rebalancing plan that includes money for these services, as well as rapid housing for adults and transitional age youth. Breed and Cohen’s plan draws on funds from the state’s proposed budget, currently under the governor’s consideration, to support housing and homeless services, coupled with newly identified recent reductions in retiree health costs approved by the Health Service System Board earlier this month. The total is about $14.1 million for the 2018-19 fiscal year, and $29.2 million for the 2019-20 fiscal year, according to a letter sent to the board by Breed and Cohen. For rapid rehousing, the plan calls for expanding the rehousing voucher program for adults and transitional age youth. The plan also proposes funding a new Navigation Center tailored for the needs of transitional age youth and one-time capital for the replacement of existing shelters or construction of the new TAY Navigation Center. Transitional age youth include many LGBTQs, as they age out of the foster care system or are drawn to San Francisco after experiencing discrimination elsewhere. The city must move forward with this Navigation Center, as it will provide a critical safe space while these young people seek permanent housing and contact with social service providers. This week, the Bay Area Reporter is partnering with the San Francisco Chronicle and many other media

by Brian Basinger

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outlets in the San Francisco Homeless Project, a daylong blitz of coverage on the homelessness issue, which has vexed the city for decades. We urge the full board to approve this rebalancing, so that homeless services can continue to receive funding, especially those programs that target youth and young adults.

An abysmal travel ban ruling

We’re not surprised that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Tuesday to uphold President Donald Trump’s travel ban that barred travelers from several majority-Muslim countries. Since the Senate confirmed Neil Gorsuch to the high court last year – after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) refused to allow a vote on former President Barack Obama’s nominee to replace the late Antonin Scalia – we braced for these terrible rulings. Tuesday’s decision, along with one that allows faith-based pregnancy centers to hide behind the First Amendment in refusing to provide abortion information under a California disclosure law, proved how one appointee can shift the balance of the court. Of course, Trump claimed total vindication

after the decision was announced. But make no mistake, Trump’s racist, isolationist world view, which spawned the travel ban in the first place, is a major blow to LGBTQ people seeking asylum here from dangerous conditions in those majority-Muslim and other countries. “This is a dark day for the United States, as shameful as the internment of Japanese-Americans and the doors slammed shut to Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany,” Rachel Tiven, CEO of Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, said in a statement. The latest iteration of the ban affects several countries: Venezuela, North Korea, and the majority-Muslim Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, and Somalia. While the restrictions vary per country, the ban prohibits their citizens from immigrating to the U.S., and many are barred from working, studying, or visiting family here, Lambda Legal stated. The court’s decision will only embolden Trump to act more cruelly. Last week, he faced intense pressure to end his administration’s decision to separate children from their parents when entering the country through the southern border. Images of crying toddlers and children kept in cage-like detention centers sparked outrage on both sides of the political aisle. Now, with Trump able to block people from the listed countries, we can expect stepped up screenings at airports and other ports of entry, and increased hassles from immigration authorities. The travel ban does, as Lambda Legal said, threaten America’s core values. And it will frighten many people, which is exactly what the president and his supporters want; just as separating children from their parents scares those fleeing horrendous situations in Central America for the chance at a better life here. Likewise, the travel ban will separate families, but permanently, and, in the case of those who are persecuted, like LGBTs, create a long, uncertain, and demoralizing path forward that will now likely exclude the U.S. This is wrong, and not the principles our country was founded upon.t

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his fall, Californians will have a chance to vote on the Affordable Housing Act, which would repeal the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act and return to city governments the option to expand rent control if they feel it’s necessary to their communities’ needs. While the Legislature had been working on a compromise to the ballot measure, it was reported that talks collapsed last week, meaning the initiative, which has already qualified for the ballot, will go to voters, as the secretary of state’s deadline to remove items from the ballot was Tuesday. The repeal campaign is largely funded by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which is very exciting. AHF was founded in 1987 as the AIDS Hospice Foundation in Los Angeles. At the time, many people living with HIV/AIDS were abandoned by their families, treated inhumanely at hospitals, and were evicted by landlords only because of their medical condition. The foundation was set up to provide affordable housing for people living with HIV/AIDS, as it was a critical issue for the AIDS movement in the U.S. – and that has not changed. As the founder of the AIDS Housing Alliance SF – now known as the Q Foundation – I know that housing is the #1 battle for people with HIV/AIDS, but I also know we’re facing a statewide housing crisis for all people, so it’s very moving to me that the AIDS community, despite past discrimination in housing from society, is leading this fight. For years, I have mused on the almost spiritual nature of HIV/AIDS, and how the suffering of people with HIV has been a sacrifice that moves society forward. Yes, we experienced unimaginable horror as our bodies, our loved ones, and our entire communities were wiped out, but we learned about our bodies – and propelled the global society’s knowledge of disease and health forward in nearly unimaginable ways. We learned how to fight against the odds, how to band together to come out of hiding, to stare down extensive

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discrimination and threats to our well-being. And we finally learned that the cavalry was not coming, that our government had been captured by forces that would not allow it to address the crisis that was so central to our lives. Thirty-five years after starting my career in AIDS activism, I sit here today seeing so many parallels between the obstacles to effective action on the housing affordability crisis, and the obstacles we faced with the HIV crisis. And we know from experience, essential resources are not coming. Too many politicians in Sacramento have been captured by the corporate landlord lobby and are afraid to take action to address the suffering of millions of Californians. That’s why it is time for the community to, again, rise up and take matters into its own hands. It’s especially important for people living with HIV/AIDS to be able to stay in long-term affordable housing, as we have specific and critical needs that require us to stay in communities where we have access to specialized medical care and social

support networks that we fought to create. Yet, all over the state, corporate landlords and real estate speculators are displacing members of the HIV-positive and LGBTQ communities in search of more profit from their homes. I know, as I was one of those displaced. I ended up OK, but I was one of the lucky ones. Repealing Costa-Hawkins is the single most important thing we can do today to make things better. Just like there was no single magic bullet to combat the HIV virus, there is no magic bullet to address the housing affordability crisis – but repealing Costa-Hawkins will probably be the best thing to come along for tenants in my lifetime. Nearly everyone knows someone who has had to move because his or her rents went up astronomically. All over California, families who just want to be able to live near where they work, or send their kids to good schools, have been displaced into areas far from their jobs and quality child care. Opponents of repealing Costa-Hawkins would like you to believe that allowing cities to expand rent control protections will only worsen the housing crisis, that new developers won’t build new housing if they can’t reap as much profit as they possibly can. But it’s important to remember that landlords are guaranteed a profit for their rental units under the state constitution. They can even pass on the costs of repairing their buildings onto their tenants. The only thing that would prevent developers from building new units under a CostaHawkins repeal is greed. This November, voters will have the opportunity to repeal Costa-Hawkins and tell corporate real estate interests that we value people over profits. The opportunity will come, in part, from the sacrifice of people with HIV/ AIDS. And I, for one, am very proud of that. t Brian Basinger is executive director of the Q Foundation.

Letters >>

Glide is under threat

June 28-July 4, 2018 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 7

Glide Memorial Church, the congregation that embraced me after I was publicly humiliated by the Church of Christ for being gay, is under threat by its more conservative United Methodist denomination. Not only did Glide embrace me as a proud gay man, the church also empowered me as a program director to serve over 6 million meals to the poor and homeless; serve 75,000 holiday meals and give away 35,000 grocery bags to the poor under my leadership. Many of these people were queer. But the denomination seems to believe there is not

enough “church” at the church. I guess the Methodists would rather that the pews be empty and that people like me be worthless, shamed, and go to hell – than feed the poor, live vibrantly, and love people. I’m confident that if Jesus were here today, he would be hanging out with people like me in the San Francisco Tenderloin, not with the self righteous, finely robed leadership of the spiritless, arrogant, and backwards United Methodist denomination. Calvin Lavan Gipson, Denver, Colorado Former Director, Glide Daily Free Meals Program Former President, SF Pride Parade and Celebration

Mandelman prioritizes homelessness, housing issues by Matthew S. Bajko

Barry Schneider Attorney at Law

ay District 8 Supervisor-elect Rafael Mandelman is eager to get to work at City Hall addressing two of the city’s most pressing concerns: homelessness and housing. Having defeated the current representative for the city’s gay Castro district, as well as Noe Valley, Diamond Heights, and Glen Park, in the June 5 primary election, Mandelman will succeed gay Supervisor Jeff Sheehy when he takes his oath of office July 11. Mandelman, 44, formerly worked for the city of Oakland as a deputy city attorney and throughout his legal career has helped cities across the East Bay build housing. During the campaign for supervisor, he highlighted the need for San Francisco to build more affordable housing and improve the services it offers to people living on the streets. And he spoke often of how the dual issues have personally impacted his own family. When he was 11 years old his mother, struggling with mental illness, ended up homeless. Mandelman had to fend for himself, and in high school, lived with a couple who offered him a place to stay in the city’s Richmond district. He eventually secured guardianship over his mother in order to get her the care she needed. It is why he supports revising the state’s conservatorship laws in order to make it easier to provide services to homeless individuals struggling with mental illness or substance use on the city’s streets. Thursday, Mandelman will be in Sacramento testifying on behalf of gay state Senator Scott Wiener’s Senate Bill 1045, which would give counties more flexibility in administering conservatorship programs for the chronically homeless. (Mandelman will serve out the remainder of Wiener’s supervisor term through early January 2019. Wiener resigned from his board seat after being elected to the state Senate in November 2016.) His position on the policy dovetails with that of Mayor-elect London Breed, the first African-American woman to be elected mayor of San Francisco. Like Mandelman, Breed, 43, has pledged to address the city’s lack of affordable housing and ongoing homelessness crisis as her top concerns. The two met last week at the Grove, a restaurant not far from City Hall, to discuss their priorities once they take office. “We both are concerned about the folks on the street who are just very, very sick,” said Mandelman. “I also want to work with her on the larger homelessness issues of having thousands of people living on our streets.” Since being appointed to Wiener’s seat in January of last year, Sheehy has focused on increasing city funding for homeless youth, especially LGBTQ youth who make up nearly half of those living on the street. He worked with both the late mayor Ed Lee and Mayor Mark Farrell to secure $1.54 million this current fiscal year and in the proposed budget for the next fiscal

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District 6 supervisor candidate Matt Haney, left, rode with District 8 Supervisor-elect Rafael Mandelman in Sunday’s Pride parade.

year to support several programs targeted at homeless youth. Mandelman told the Bay Area Reporter that he would ensure that the city continues to allocate the funding, which provides housing assistance and funds the LGBT Community Center’s LGBTQ homeless youth services. And he insisted that “there is a lot we can do” when it comes to building affordable housing in District 8. Mandelman is meeting with Kate Hartley, director of the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development, to discuss the issue. Over the last decade the only new below-market-rate housing project built in the district, noted Mandelman, has been the apartments geared for LGBT seniors at 55 Laguna. “I want to do an inventory of sites in District 8 that could accommodate new affordable housing development,” said Mandelman. “There are some but not a ton.” He pointed to such sites as corner gas stations and city-owned parking lots in the Castro, and underutilized commercial spaces along the upper Market Street corridor as possible redevelopment sites. Mandelman would also like to see buildings with rent-controlled units in District 8 be acquired through the city’s small sites acquisition fund. “One problem is we are not looking at larger buildings. The per-unit cost there could be lower,” he said. “We need to be realistic about our expectations, as sites may be more expensive in some neighborhoods than others. But that doesn’t mean we give up on doing affordable housing in the Castro.” One idea Mandelman floated is establishing a community development organization focused on building affordable housing for the LGBT community in the Castro. It would be modeled after established agencies in the city’s Chinese and Latino communities. By the end of the year Mandelman pledged to reach out to property owners to gauge their interest in redeveloping their sites. “I do think there are potential sites for new developments of affordable housing,” he said.

Staff, swearing-in set

Mandelman is expected to be sworn into office at 1 p.m. Wednesday, July 11, a couple of hours after Breed takes her oath of office to become mayor. He will also resign that day from his seat on the

city’s community college board, allowing Breed to appoint his replacement. Mandelman said he did not suggest anyone in particular to Breed. He does believe she should look at naming an Asian-American appointee since that community currently is not represented on the college board. He already has hired his three legislative aides to assist him at City Hall. Fellow gay community college board trustee Tom Temprano will be handling issues related to the Castro. The well known DJ will need to step away from the bar he co-owns in the Mission due to working for Mandelman. Kyle Smeallie, a straight man who was Mandelman’s campaign manager, will focus on Noe Valley where the campaign had its headquarters. Erin Mundy, a queer bisexual woman who served as the campaign manager of gay former state lawmaker and city supervisor Mark Leno’s failed mayoral bid, will handle issues in the hillside neighborhoods of the district. They are still determining what citywide policy issues each will focus on in the supervisor’s office. Mandelman’s victory last month means the progressives will once again have a 6-5 majority on the board, as Sheehy had aligned with the moderates. But moving to block the progressive supervisors from electing a member of their bloc the new board president, Breed resigned from the position at the end of the supervisor’s June 26 meeting. (She will step down as the District 5 supervisor the day she becomes mayor.) She voted Tuesday night with the 10 other supervisors to elect District 10 Supervisor Malia Cohen as her successor through the end of the year. Cohen, who is termed out this year and seeking a seat on the state tax board in November, was the only person to be nominated for the powerful post. With competitive races for the board’s District 2, 4, 6, and 10 seats on the November ballot, control of the board could swing back to the moderates next year. A new board president will be elected in early January when the winners of the fall races are sworn into office. Facing only token opposition in November, Mandelman is expected to easily win a full four-year term as supervisor. “It means I get to start doing the job. I don’t have to spend the next six months dividing myself between a campaign and doing the job,” said Mandelman. “It is hard to do that and do a good job as a supervisor.”t

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t Hate crime charge reinstated in Guerneville case 8 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 28-July 4, 2018

by Alex Madison

he Guerneville man who was arrested for threatening to kill LGBTs is once again charged with a felony hate crime after a judge reversed an earlier dismissal at a June 22 hearing. Vincent Joseph O’Sullivan, 55, is also facing two misdemeanor counts of petty theft for stealing rainbow flags from the Guerneville Plaza flagpole in a separate case. In May, O’Sullivan pleaded not guilty to a felony hate crime charge for making criminal threats after threatening to “bomb the gay people in Guerneville” at a local Safeway store, authorities said. But Superior Court Judge Andria K. Richey dismissed the hate crime charge at his May 29 preliminary hearing citing a lack of evidence to convict him. Prosecutors in the case then appealed this ruling, which was the topic of Friday’s hearing at the Sonoma County Superior Court. Superior Court Judge Jennifer

V. Dollard ruled that there was an error of law in that Richey failed to hold O’Sullivan to answer for his threats. “It was important for the court to look at the law carefully and the actual threats that were made,” said Robert Maddock, the deputy district attorney prosecuting the case. “[Judge Dollard] ruled correctly that the original judge wasn’t following the law correctly.” He continued, “It’s not about whether the defendant carried out the threat or was going to carry it out. It’s about how it affected the victim.” The victim was a gay male employee of a Starbucks located inside the Guerneville Safeway store off Highway 116. During the hearing, Maddock said the victim suffered nightmares and feared for his life. Maddock also reiterated the language used by O’Sullivan, which included, “I am going to kill all the motherfucking gays,” and “I am going to blow you up you motherfucking faggot.”

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O’Sullivan was expected to appear in court Tuesday for a filing of information and will remain in custody on $55,000 bail. A jury is expected to be chosen soon for a trial on misdemeanor charges that O’Sullivan stole the rainbow flags. Martin Woods, O’Sullivan’s defense attorney, was upset about the judge’s ruling at Friday’s hearing. “There is no error of law,” he said. “Judge Richey specifically addressed the language used by [O’Sullivan], saying it was reprehensible and frightening, but that it doesn’t rise to the level of a hate crime.” Beth Streets, a straight ally who started a Flag Supporters group that has been replacing the stolen rainbow flags, has been to many of O’Sullivan’s court hearings, including the Friday hearing. She was happy that the hate crime charges were reinstated. “I am very pleased that our D.A. did not agree with the prior ruling because this is serious,” Streets said. “This sends a message to the whole community that there is no tolerance for hate.” As previously reported by the Bay Area Reporter, O’Sullivan was taken into custody by deputies from the Sonoma County Sheriff ’s Guerneville substation May 12 after the threats he made at the Safeway store. He was charged with making criminal threats, which constitutes a hate crime.

Courtesy Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office

Vincent Joseph O’Sullivan

Judge Jamie Thistlethwaite ordered O’Sullivan to stay away from the unnamed worker and the Guerneville Safeway store itself, according to the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. The sheriff ’s office began its investigation April 26, according to a statement by Lieutenant Eddie Engram on website Nixle.com, after a rainbow flag was stolen from the flagpole in Guerneville Plaza. Soon, the office became aware of threats to manufacture a pipe bomb. Several of the rainbow flags have been taken from the plaza flagpole, including one after the B.A.R.’s initial article reporting the stolen flags. As the sheriff ’s office’s investigation progressed, deputies

developed probable cause that O’Sullivan was a suspect for both the flag thefts and the threats. Sergeant Spencer Crum said the investigators connected the flag vandalism with the threats based on two different incidents. Crum said deputies reviewed videos taken by surveillance cameras owned by the county and aimed at Guerneville Plaza. “We saw O’Sullivan and another person on the plaza before the theft, then the other person covering the video camera, and at the end, when the camera was uncovered, the rainbow flag was gone,” he said. Then, when O’Sullivan allegedly issued threats at Safeway, investigators concluded the intent was specifically to injure members of the LGBTQ community. Crum said O’Sullivan told Safeway employees he wanted to “bomb the gay people of Guerneville.”

History of petty theft

At the time of his May 12 arrest, O’Sullivan was already out on pre-trial probation for a petty theft case April 22, according to Sonoma County Public Defender Kathleen Pozzi, who has represented O’Sullivan in the past. Pozzi told the B.A.R. she has previously defended him for evading arrest, possession of methamphetamines, and for multiple violations of driving with a suspended license.t

SFPD may have a break in ‘Doodler’ cold case by Alex Madison

an Francisco police may have a suspect in the cold case involving the serial killer known as the “Doodler,” who preyed on gay men in the mid1970s, but the department would only say it is “actively” working the case. A CNN article was published June 20 in which San Francisco Police Department Homicide Inspector Dan Cunningham, who is the lead on the investigation, said he has a suspect in the case. “We have a suspect in the assault that spawned the sketch,” Cunningham told CNN of a sketch of the killer released decades ago. However, Cunningham refuted his CNN remarks to the Bay Area Reporter Sunday, June 24, saying there is not a suspect just yet, but that he and another detective are investigating the case. “We are seeing what can be done. What testing can be done, but we don’t have a suspect,” Cunningham told the B.A.R. A day after the CNN article was published, SFPD released a statement also saying there is nothing new to report in the cold case. “The CNN article regarding the Doodler caused interest in this cold case. Contrary to rumors this morning, there are NO new developments and there is NO press conference scheduled,” read a statement released by SFPD spokesman Officer Michael Andraychak. Cunningham did confirm to the B.A.R. he is investigating five specific murders that the Doodler may be responsible for, though he is still putting the pieces together. “We are looking into these murders, but at this time we can’t connect them yet to the Doodler,” Cunningham told the B.A.R. The homicide inspector said he is also trying to track down victims, who may or may not be alive, who survived assaults by an attacker who may be the Doodler. Three victims who somehow

Courtesy SFPD

An old sketch of the “Doodler” serial killer.

managed to escape attacks by the Doodler nearly four decades ago – a Hollywood entertainer, a European diplomat, and another man who did not return police phone calls – provided police with descriptions of their attacker at the time of their assaults. One victim’s description led to the initial sketch of the Doodler. It’s the suspect in this victim’s assault that Cunningham is focusing on. But Cunningham still needs to do more investigating before a suspect can be officially confirmed. “We are seeing if these three attacks are connected to the murders,” Cunningham said. “The attacks in the incidents where the three people survived are consistent, but we don’t know if they are connected to the murders.” On June 21, SFPD sent out a news release confirming that the homicide/ cold case unit is specifically looking into the murders of five gay, white males whose bodies were found either on local beaches or in Golden Gate Park in the late 1970s. A “new forensic sketch that shows an ‘age progression’ of the suspect has been created,” the news release also stated, but SFPD are not releasing it at this time. If the Doodler is alive, he would be in his 60s, Cunningham told CNN. Cunningham is hoping that with the use of modern forensic technology, the SFPD crime lab may be able to extract DNA from evidence gathered

at two Doodler crime scenes at the time of the murders. The Doodler is one of San Francisco’s most infamous cold cases. According to Cunningham, 16 gay men were killed in an 18-month period in San Francisco in the 1970s. It is believed by initial detectives on the case that the Doodler is responsible for killing at least five people and as many as 14 between January 1974 and September 1975. He would target gay men in the Castro district and other places, luring them into sexual encounters then murdering them and leaving their bodies in parks and beaches around the city. He got the Doodler nickname after one of the victims who survived an attack provided information to police that the suspect said he was a cartoonist and the suspect was doodling while conversing with the victim in a late night diner, according to an SFPD news release. Cold cases are heating up with the use of modern forensic science. In April, the long hunt for the Golden Gate Killer finally lead to an arrest. Joseph James DeAngelo Jr., 72, a former police officer, was charged with eight counts of murder after connections made with DNA testing. He is believed to be the Golden Gate Killer who is responsible for more than 50 rapes and 12 murders throughout California. t

Community News>>

June 28-July 4, 2018 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 9

Mountain View’s HRC OKs preliminary LGBT report by Heather Cassell

ollaborating with Santa Clara’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs was one of the recommendations that came out of a preliminary report that looks at Mountain View’s queer community. The preliminary report about needs for LGBTQ residents was presented to the Mountain View Human Relations Commission earlier this month and received unanimous approval. The initial report was the result of an earlier listening tour in the Peninsula city, and overseen by the panel’s LGBTQ needs assessment subcommittee headed by Commissioners Arti Sharma and Julie Solomon. The county Office of LGBTQ Affairs organized the listening tour. At a June 7 meeting, the women received assistance from commission staffers Christina Gilmore and Audrey Seymour Ramberg, who were also present to answer questions from the commissioners and the public. The first citywide report on Mountain View’s LGBT community received a small sampling of respondents who met the criteria for both the adult and youth surveys, the women reported. “Certainly, a common question from folks is, ‘How many people are we talking about? How many people self-identify as LGBTQ here in Mountain View?’” said Solomon. “The short answer is that we really don’t know, but we share here the best data that we have.” The adult survey received 33 responses, while the youth survey, conducted at Mountain View High School with the assistance of the school’s queer youth alliance, generated 14 responses. The adult respondents echoed many sentiments expressed at the listening tour that was held in January. Namely, that Mountain View is a safe and

Jo-Lynn Otto

Mountain View Human Relations Commissioner Arti Sharma co-presented the city’s LGBTQ needs assessment.

welcoming place for LGBT residents, overall. Respondents appreciated the progressive attitudes of their neighbors. However, some participants reported experiencing poor treatment (13.8 percent) at local businesses, such as restaurants and stores, due to their sexual orientation or gender identity. Others reported being called names or insulted (10.3 percent) due to being LGBT. The respondents didn’t report any hate crimes in Mountain View. However, attendees of the listening tour expressed a need for easier reporting of hate crimes. The participants expressed similar feelings about their workplaces. They appreciated the diversity and that it was safe. However, 3.6 percent reported being treated unfairly at work due to being LGBT. Participants also expressed appreciation for the city’s parks, trails, bike lanes and festivals, despite also desiring more inclusivity and visibility. The report highlighted areas where the city could improve, especially among seniors and youth.

There is a need for either LGBTspecific or welcoming services and a gathering space for the community. LGBT seniors, particularly, expressed that they didn’t feel there were services for them in Mountain View. “I don’t think there’s a lack of wanting to feel part of the LGBTQ community within the Mountain View community,” Sharma told the Bay Area Reporter after the meeting. “I think there’s a real longing to be able to have spaces and opportunities for members in the community to connect either with allies or people who identify.” Some of the adult respondents (27.6 percent) expressed a lack of visibility in general at community events. More than 40 percent of the respondents reported going to events and services outside of Mountain View.

Mountain View’s queer youth

LGBT youth wanted more formal policies at their schools for students and families focused on queer students’ needs, especially gender-neutral restrooms and anti-bullying materials. More than half (64.3 percent) were dissatisfied with the restroom options, while only 14.3 percent reported being satisfied in the online survey distributed in May. “There is a gender-neutral restroom, but there are a number of issues that came up about it,” said Solomon. She noted students expressed distance and signage were issues regarding the bathroom, and that there was a number of other concerns about bathrooms raised by the students. “This is really very timely for there to be input to the school on what some of these concerns are from some of the students,” said Solomon, noting that the school might be undergoing renovations soon. Youth respondents also reported the

gender-neutral bathrooms; and sensitivity training for all school personnel and students. The subcommittee members will conduct more research with community organizations to share the report and gather feedback in preparation for being placed on the Mountain View City Council’s agenda sometime next year. Community members offered support for the next iteration of the report and programs. Lakshmy Menon, community health programs specialist and elder care consultant at El Camino Hospital, asked about outreach to LGBT seniors and funding for the survey. Menon, a bisexual woman who is a member of the hospital’s Health Care Equality Initiative Committee, noted that isolation among seniors becomes more complicated with LGBT seniors who create an external family. “I know how many seniors, especially, would be able to provide their input,” she said. Valarie Stinger, chair of the Palo Alto Human Relations Commission, thanked the commission for its help with Palo Alto’s listening tour forum. She suggested that the commission combine forces by bringing the two cities together to benefit their LGBT communities. Responding to Commissioner Nicole Isger’s question about outreach, Sharma said the goal is that the report “may create other opportunities for points of connections,” for recommendations. “Someone has an answer or someone has a connection for us,” she told the commission. “I think that’s what we are looking for now.” t

need for LGBT sensitivity training for school administrators and faculty, as well as health care providers, such as respecting preferred gender pronouns. They also wanted to build a better relationship and trust with police, including an easier way to report hate crimes. The county’s earlier “Status of LGBTQ Health: Santa Clara County 2013” report published by the public health department formed the foundation of Mountain View’s report. Additionally, the subcommittee members examined 17 other reports and other literature. The report was mostly volunteerdriven, with some help from the commission’s staff and the county Office of LGBTQ Affairs.

Potential solutions

Sharma and Solomon made several preliminary recommendations to improve the quality of life for LGBT adults and youth in Mountain View. They suggested bringing service providers together to designate a space to provide LGBT services, including possibly bringing San Jose’s Billy De Frank LGBT Community Center to Mountain View to ensure LGBT-specific services are provided. Seed grants to support programs was another recommendation, as was collaborating with the county’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs for sensitivity training for all city staff and encouraging other community organizations to get training. Sharma and Solomon also suggested the city’s police department to collaborate with the LGBT office to conduct community outreach and dialogues about bullying, hate crimes, and other law enforcement issues. The human relations commissioners encouraged schools to develop and implement LGBT policies with community input; consider adding

To read the report, visit: www. mountainview.gov/council/bcc/ hr.asp. Public comment should be directed to hrc@mountainview.gov.

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10 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 28-July 4, 2018

LGBT center to focus on mental health of homeless youth by Alex Madison

he San Francisco LGBT Community Center will soon offer mental health services to homeless youth. The center won a competitive grant proposal last year for $250,000 annually for six years from the San Francisco Department of Public Health to fund its new on-site mental health assistance services. “We really saw a need in the community to increase mental health services to LGBT youth,” said Roberto Ordeñana, the deputy executive director of the center. “Homeless and marginally housed youth are carrying trauma from rejection of their families and communities in addition to the challenges of living on the streets.” In the United States, 50 percent of homeless youth, younger than 24, are LGBT and on any given day over 600 LGBT youth are living on the streets of the city, Ordeñana said. “These numbers are unacceptable,” he said.

Trish Tunney

Roberto Ordeñana

Starting in August, LGBT youth, ages 18-24, will be able to make an appointment to meet one-on-one with a mental health specialist for a therapy session or participate in group therapy. Additionally, the

specialist will be available on site for youth who attend the drop-in hours at the center. Since 2006, the center has offered drop-in hours for homeless LGBT youth in a youth-oriented space at the facility, located at 1800 Market Street. There, the young adults can relax, take a shower, eat, and access the various resources the center provides like help with housing, employment, and education. Last year, the center expanded these drop-in hours to 30 hours a week including on Saturdays, something it achieved with the help of late mayor Ed Lee and gay District 8 Supervisor Jeff Sheehy. The SF LGBT center, which opened in 2002, offers the city’s only LGBT drop-in space, according to Ordeñana. The center also provides a queer youth meal night every Tuesday from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Rainbow Room on the second floor. Around 300 youth per year attend these drop-in hours.

The mental health services are designed to “meet youth where they are at,” said Vanessa Teran, a queer woman, who is the associate director of youth services at the center. Teran explained that the center will not push any kind of agenda or force services on their youth clients, but instead, will allow them to decide for themselves if they want to pursue therapy or other services. “It will really be about building relationships with the youth and understanding their situation and needs,” Teran said. “This could look like group sessions, one-on-one meetings with a therapist, or taking a walk around the block with our clients talking about their challenges or their opportunities and how to cease them.” The first couple of months that this new service is offered will act like a pilot program and will assess the wants and needs of the center’s youth. Though it will initially focus on therapy, it could expand into

youth being provided with medication or hospitalization if the youth request it. The therapy sessions will also allow the opportunity to connect youth to the various wraparound and support services offered at the center, including additional health services and referrals to Navigation Centers, which allow people to bring their belongings and pets and work to get people into permanent housing. The center hired one mental health specialist, Micah Rea, about three months ago, who will be the main therapist available to youth. Rea, who identifies as queer and nonbinary, is not currently licensed as a clinical professional, so will be supervised by a licensed clinical provider until they become licensed. Ordeñana said he expects a lot of referrals to come in from other agencies for youth to use its new services, and he said, they’re ready for them. t

High court punts in florist case by Lisa Keen

he U.S. Supreme Court Monday vacated a Washington Supreme Court decision that said a florist violated state law when she refused to sell flowers to a same-sex couple for their wedding, claiming that she was exercising her religious beliefs. In doing so, it sent the case back to the state Supreme Court for “further reconsideration in light of” the Supreme Court’s June 4 decision in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado. The Alliance Defending Freedom, which represented the florist in the Arlene’s Flowers case, portrayed the

The Washington Supreme Court will reconsider the Arlene’s Flowers case.

announcement as a step forward for its client. And Lambda Legal Defense

and Education Fund expressed frustration at the court’s unwillingness to decide the big issue looming in this case and others: Can a business person claim a First Amendment right to free exercise of religion to justify violating a state law prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation in public accommodations? “Today’s decision is immensely frustrating and disappointing,” said Jenny Pizer of Lambda Legal. “The Supreme Court should simply have reaffirmed long-standing constitutional principles that freedom of religion is not a license to discriminate. Laws requiring businesses to be open

to all do not conflict with the Constitution. It is past time to put to rest these proliferating attempts to undermine the civil rights of LGBT people in the name of religion.” Ria Tabacco Mar, an ACLU attorney on the Masterpiece case, said the Arlene’s Flowers’ case is “virtually identical” to Masterpiece, with one exception. There has been no claim that Washington state officials exhibited any hostility toward the businessperson’s expressed religious beliefs against LGBT people. That was one feature of the Masterpiece case that prompted the U.S. Supreme Court to vacate a Colorado state decision

against a baker who refused service to a same-sex couple. The U.S. Supreme Court did not address the legal issue of whether a First Amendment claim could outweigh an anti-discrimination law. Mar predicted the Washington Supreme Court will simply reaffirm its earlier decision. In its February 2017 decision in Washington v. Arlene’s Flowers, the Washington Supreme Court ruled that anti-discrimination laws serve a “broader societal purpose: eradicating barriers to the equal treatment See page 13 >>

French minister charmed and full of Pride in SF by Heather Cassell

rance showed its support of San Francisco’s LGBT community over Pride weekend. French Minister of Gender Equality Marlène Schiappa came to San Francisco to learn about, and support, the LGBT community for its big weekend. Speaking at the pink triangle ceremony atop Twin Peaks June 23, Schiappa, a straight ally, expressed her appreciation and France’s admiration for the city’s LGBT community. She noted the shared histories of France and San Francisco’s LGBT communities fighting for their rights, especially during the HIV/AIDS crisis. “Today, we celebrate all the activists who during generations of strengths, faults, and risked their lives to combat discrimination on sexual orientation or identity,” Schiappa told the crowd. She said that decades of work can be undone quickly and that much remains to be done. “We can’t forget that in many countries LGBTQ persons still face discriminations and violence. We still have to speak out and iterate that human rights are universal and apply to all humans, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity,” she said. The Bay Area Reporter had the opportunity to speak with Schiappa before the ceremony with the assistance of her interpreter. Schiappa’s visit to the city was part of her diplomatic mission. She also met with technology leaders as part of her responsibilities on a task force launched between France and the United States with the World Economic Forum to bring together the best each country has to offer in the private and public business sphere.

Bill Wilson

French Minister of Gender Equality Marlène Schiappa, left, joined San Francisco Mayor-elect London Breed at the pink triangle ceremony June 23.

Schiappa, 35, came to work on LGBT rights 15 years ago from the French feminist movement. A mother of two children, she believes the “two subjects are very related.” Prior to becoming France’s first minister of gender, she was a feminist blogger, founding Maman Travaille, the country’s leading working mother’s blog. The ministry is responsible for gender equality and LGBT rights. Despite harsh words from critics, polls have shown Schiappa to be the fourth most popular member of President Emmanuel Macron’s cabinet since her appointment to the post in May 2017, reported the New Yorker. Gender equality is a major piece of Macron’s platform, and gender parity has been the law in France since 2000. Women have gained a strong foothold in French politics. Last June, the French elected 23 women to France’s parliament. That made the legislative

body 38 percent female, nearly 50 percent more than the previous record, reported the New Yorker.

LGBT rights

In France and the country’s territories, there is much work to be done to combat homophobia. Much of it is education, visibility, and enforcing the laws that are in place, Schiappa told the B.A.R. “There are theoretical laws, but there’s still homophobic acts being committed,” she said, noting that national statistics published annually show hate crimes against LGBT people are decreasing, slightly. “Even if there were just two, that be two too many.” In contrast, SOS Homophobie, a French LGBT organization, reported that hate crimes are increasing,

according to the organization’s records. Last week, French General Consul to the Pacific Northwest Emmanuel Lebrun-Damiens, a gay man, told the B.A.R. that hate crime figures remained the same for the past two years, but a closed examination showed a decrease in physical violence and an increase in verbal or written anti-gay hate speech. “So, we’re continuing to fight this cultural battle and not tolerate anything,” Schiappa said. Right now, one of her battles is harassment and hate crimes committed online, including social media. One of France’s new policies is that it’s now legal to prosecute one or a group of individuals for posting or sending single anti-gay message online to an individual, instead of basing the crime on a series of hate messages, she said. The law has stiff penalties. She would like to create similar laws for women to stop harassment, such as young girls being cat-called and followed on the street. Schiappa is also working on decreasing anti-LGBT crimes in rural and poorer parts of France, and in the French territories. “I believe that there are places in the world, and in France, where it’s harder to be gay than in others,” she said. One of those places is Trappes, a poor suburb outside of Paris on the way to Versailles where there is a large immigrant community. “It’s a very taboo issue in that area,” said Schiappa, who is implementing LGBT sensitivity training in the suburb to combat homophobia. She’s funding educational

campaigns and trainings about the LGBT community, and Pride events throughout France, in French territories, and other countries, she said. The French government is also seeking to create Pride events where none currently exist, she added. Speaking with Schiappa about immigrant communities, the B.A.R. asked her about what France was doing to help LGBT refugees. She talked about France’s recently passed controversial immigration reform bill. The bill fast-tracks immigration processing to cut down on time, among other issues that have been highly criticized. However, the bill also includes a redefinition of refugees and automatically gives refugee status to any illegal immigrant who identifies as LGBT and comes from countries known for being anti-gay, she said. “So, now, even when you are an illegal immigrant, if you are coming from that kind of country, you are automatically considered a refugee because your country is not safe,” said Schiappa. One of the things Schiappa is taking back with her to France are the LGBT advertising campaigns and the televised broadcast of San Francisco Pride. Schiappa was impressed. She told the B.A.R. that she plans to speak with Francoise Nyssen, the French minister of culture, regarding advertising and broadcasting Pride events on French TV throughout the country. t A longer version of this column is online at ebar.com. Got international LGBT news tips? Call or send them to Heather Cassell at Skype: heather.cassell or oitwnews@gmail.com.

Commentary>>

June 28-July 4, 2018 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 11

The Ides of Trans March by Christina A. DiEdoardo

HAIR RESTORATION

o Jennicet Eva Gutiérrez, the faults in our society lay not in our stars, but in our past failures, like those of Brutus, to recognize and confront tyranny when it appears. Before a cheering crowd of over 1,000 people at the 2018 Trans March in Mission Dolores Park Friday, June 22, she served notice that continued inaction was no longer acceptable. “We cannot, as a community, tolerate abuses inside the prison industrial complex and we should not tolerate abuses happening in immigration detention centers under any administration,” said Gutiérrez, a trans woman and community organizer with Familia Trans Queer Liberation Movement. “We’re here to live openly and unapologetically and to send a strong political message: Down with white supremacy, down with racism and up with liberation.” Gutiérrez, 32, who made Out magazine’s Top 100 list of queer activists in 2015, is best known for directly confronting President Barack Obama during a White House Pride Month reception that year about his administration’s immigration abuses, including its decision to house trans women in male immigration detention facilities. At the time, she received major pushback from the other queer attendees, most of whom, like the house they were in, appeared to be white. On the other hand, she’s one of the few people that have noticeably caused

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Trans activist Jennicet Eva Gutiérrez demands the abolition of both the prison industrial complex and immigration detention centers at the 2018 Trans March June 22.

a ripple in Obama’s famously placid public demeanor. Gutiérrez said she’s fine with that. “I didn’t want to go [to the White House] to celebrate,” she told the attentive crowd in Dolores Park as she recalled her meeting the president.“I wanted to go to make a political statement and to talk about the injustices and the treatment undocumented LGBTQ people are facing inside immigration detention centers across the country. “I also was challenging the Obama administration to end all deportations and all detentions,” she added. Since 2015, Gutiérrez has been speaking and engaging in direct actions around the country in opposition to the federal government’s

crackdown on both undocumented immigrants and asylum seekers. Indeed, by the time the human cost of the regime’s so-called zero tolerance immigration policy became apparent to many cisgender Americans in June as photos of crying toddlers made front pages, the trans immigrant community was already mourning the death of Roxsana Hernández. “She died in ICE custody after fleeing violence in Honduras,” Gutiérrez said, referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “Facing all kinds of discrimination, she risked everything to seek protection; she was held and denied basic meds and, as a result, we lost her on May 25.” According to the Transgender Law Center, Hernández – who was

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Lesbian wins San Mateo ed race by Matthew S. Bajko

votes, or 49.5 percent of the total. He called Magee that evening to congratulate her on her victory. In a concession note he posted to Facebook, he thanked his supporters and pledged to assist Magee in overseeing the county education office. “Nancy has spent her career in the service of students and I am certain that she will continue that tradition as San Mateo County superintendent of schools,” wrote Waddell. “I look forward to supporting Superintendent-elect Magee in the service of San Mateo County.” The candidates are currently colleagues at the county education office. Waddell, a resident of Pacifica,

currently serves as deputy superintenCall Now to dent of the instructional services diviMake an Appointment with a Wallbed Expert! sion at the county education office. Magee, a resident of Half Moon Bay, is the county’s associate superinten2 Convenient Locations dent for the student services division. 550 15th Street Waddell told the B.A.R. that he has yet Suite #2 to make any decisions about his future San Francisco employment plans. He noted he was 415-854-7748 proud to seek office as an openly gay candidate highlighting the needs of LGBTQ 2515 S. El Camino Real and other disadvantaged youth. San Mateo In his concession statement, he 650-264-9541 noted that he and Magee are closely Newly Designed Location aligned on many education issues. “While campaigns are largely about Accessories and More From highlighting differences between candidates, Nancy and I agree on much more than we disagree,” he wrote. “We Largest Selection of Murphy Wallbeds In Town! SFMurphyBeds.com both believe in the importance of student voice, of innovative approaches to education, and of building a counWallbeds_053118.indd 1 5/30/18 10:46 AM ty office of education that is forwardthinking and makes an impact in the lives of children and families. I will do everything in my power to assist Nancy in accomplishing these goals.” Campbell is expected to serve out the remainder of her term through the end of the year. Once she determines a retirement date, Magee told the B.A.R. she would schedule her swearing-in date. t

to those she loved, blazed a path of compassion from coast to coast. Recently, she began a new career in hospitality with Marriott, which she greatly enjoyed. Hope is best known for her work founding Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere, or COLAGE, for the LGBTQ community, and her leadership and determination interpreting and advocating for the deaf community. She spoke up, she acted up, she was a change maker. Of all her accomplishments, none was as precious to her as her daughter, Lila Anne Manley. Lila was Hope’s North Star, her proudest joy, and her reason for being. Hope was predeceased by her father, David Berry; and grandparents, Mimi and Bobi Phillips and Mabel and Fred Berry. Hope is survived by her mother, Karen Veronica; sister, Andrea (Berry) Benson; aunts, uncles, and cousins; Lila’s father, Dion Manley; and Hope’s vast community.

A celebration of Hope’s life will be held at her home in Gahanna, Ohio, Friday, June 29, at 4 p.m., with her burial at Crown Hill Cemetery, Twinsburg, Ohio Tuesday, July 3, at 2 p.m. There will also be a memorial gathering at the Benedictine Grange in West Redding, Connecticut August 29, at 1 p.m. Arrangements entrusted to Schoedinger Northeast Chapel. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Hope’s GoFundMe page, https://www.gofundme.com/mvc. php?route=search&term=Hope Manley, to handle final expenses and to provide for her daughter. Hope often quoted, “Start as you wish to continue,” and “Be the Change you wish to see in the world.” Mission accomplished, Hope. She lived up to her name, and will be remembered and missed by all who knew her. To share memories and leave condolences, visit, www.schoedinger.com.

an Mateo County public schools will continue to have a lesbian superintendent after Nancy Magee won the contest for San Mateo County superintendent of schools on the June 5 primary ballot. She will succeed lesbian San Mateo County Superintendent of Schools Anne E. Campbell and be the highestranking out official in the county. After serving two four-year terms in the position, Campbell opted not to seek re-election. “It was amazingly close. I am thrilled with the outcome and preparing to take on this big job,” Magee told the Bay Area Reporter. Peninsula voters elected Magee over her gay opponent, Gary Waddell, Ph.D., in a squeaker of a race. On Election Night Magee had been in second place, but two weeks later had edged past Waddell to take the top spot. Her hold on first place strengthened last Wednesday, June 20, when elections officials posted a new vote count. She won the race by 1,157 votes. According to the unofficial returns, her total vote count was 63,404 or 50.5 percent. Waddell received 62,247

Courtesy Facebook

Nancy Magee

Obituaries >> Hope Berry Manley July 22, 1969 – June 21, 2018 Hope (nee Berry) Manley passed away unexpectedly after sudden illness. Her beautiful and amazing heart, a heart that loved deeply and was deeply loved by an amazing breadth and diversity of friends and family, could not sustain her. Many strive their entire lives to leave a legacy. Hope can rest in peace knowing she made a real difference in the world. Mother, daughter, sister, activist, and advocate, Hope’s passionate intensity and drive to help the marginalized, and fierce devotion

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<< Pride 2018

12 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 28-July 4, 2018

Pride

From page 1

including a shiny appearance by the Golden State Warriors’ newest NBA championship trophy. Robust contingents for politicians included Mayor-elect London Breed; gay District 8 Supervisorelect Rafael Mandelman; California gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom, the state’s lieutenant governor; California Senator Kamala Harris (D); House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco); and gay state Senator Scott Wiener. Local organizations included Cheer SF, Glide Memorial Church, Bay Area Furries & Friends, and the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. As one of the Pride parade judges who honored the LGBTQ+ youth leading the campaign to end America’s gun violence epidemic, Sister Merry Peter offered an emailed statement to the Bay Area Reporter after the weekend’s festivities. “It was a wonderful parade full of joy, energy, and resistance showing that our communities are united, ready to fight for our rights and the rights of others,” Sister Merry said. “‘Generations of Strength’ reminds us we have faced oppression before and that when we come together in common cause, we are unstoppable. “So many signs called out the scandal of taking children from their families and the border, said Black Lives Matter, spoke up for trans rights and women’s health, and to end gun violence, especially violence targeted at LGBTQ+ youth and youth of color,” Sister Merry continued. Thousands of crafted signs made statements of love and political action. A scant few included: “More nice, less ICE,” “No Human Is Illegal,” “Families belong together,” and “It was never about cake,” calling out the Colorado battle over a baker’s refusal to make a same-sex wedding cake, citing freedom of religious and artistic expression. (The U.S. Supreme Court earlier this month ruled in favor of the baker, citing hostility on the part of a Colorado commission.) In reference to opposing male circumcision, a man donning white pants with a faux blood-stained groin area held the sign “His Body, His Choice.” San Francisco Pride is one of the largest events in California and first

Castro Cares

From page 1

agency’s Strut men’s health center located at 470 Castro Street. Rather than talking to as many people as possible, the hope is the person will be able to form closer relationships with homeless individuals who call the Castro home. In the case of a person expressing interest in being housed at a shelter, the health educator would help them travel there, or they could bring them to get a state ID so they

Homeless nonprofit

From page 1

“Everybody is providing housing and shelter. But no one is doing access to storage for the thousands of people

Alice Breakfast

From page 2

Former Alice co-chairs Rebecca Prozan and Susan B. Christian paid tribute to Julius Turman, a gay man and former city police commissioner who died in May. Prozan noted that Turman was an Alice co-chair in 2007 when Elizabeth Edwards, then the wife of presidential candidate John Edwards, spoke at the Pride breakfast and gave her support for same-sex marriage.

time spectator Alexandra Covington, 34, traveled from Los Angeles to celebrate. Covington, who identifies as a straight ally, said while the Pride parade “is founded on queerness, that’s only a starting point. “Right now, people need to feel good about themselves and their community because there are so many reasons to lose faith,” Covington continued. “Sometimes, with politics, you think that everybody’s corrupt, but when it comes down to the people level, people are wonderful.” A contingent carrying international flags, particularly Mexico at the moment of the interview, was met with chants from the crowd. “Mexico! Mexico! Mexico!” began a group behind Covington. The parade participants shouted back as they continued along Market Street, “Mexico! Mexico!” Covington became emotional. “There have been several times where I started getting teary eyed and I wanted to start crying right now,” she said. “That’s Pride in the face of oppression. There’s so much negativity, and pride is just pure positivity.”

Jane Philomen Cleland

Motorcycle riders took part in the Dyke March June 23.

Pride in rainbows

Since the late Gilbert Baker – and his friends Lynn Segerblom and the late James McNamara – first unfurled the rainbow flag 40 years ago during San Francisco Pride, countless corporations have put their spin on the iconic LGBTQ symbol. This year, Nordstrom, Macy’s, Twitter, Facebook, Google, Uber and a multitude of other big businesses sent floats and festival flare through the parade. Apple’s contingent, complete with gay CEO Tim Cook, was estimated to have nearly 1,000 participants and Kaiser Permanente, too, was “1000plus strong” according to Twitter. Cheering along the parade route with a vibrant purple Levi’s balloon more than twice her size was 7-year-old Aalyah, who shared with the B.A.R. why Pride was important to her. “I like how [the] sponsors and stores [are places] you can go to to buy stuff that can support you and what you’re going through,” the Hayward resident, who did not give her last name, said, adding an experience she had with a classmate recently. “[Pride] is inspiring to me because

Jane Philomen Cleland

Khuong Lam sent a message to President Donald Trump at the San Francisco Pride parade.

Jane Philomen Cleland

Kehlani performed on the San Francisco Pride main stage June 24.

when we’re celebrating the holiday at school, my friend was talking about gay and trans,” Aalyah said. “I have two aunts who are gay, and she has two uncles who are gay. Other people make fun of us for it, but not everyone bullies people who are gay and trans.” Santa Clara resident Jacob Gillaspie, 17, described the parade as “intense.” “I’m pansexual and feel amazing,” Gillaspie said. “It’s great that [Pride] brings us all together. The Trump administration is bringing us apart. Growing up in Gen Z with all the

LGBTQ support, it’s great to come to this. I’m going to the Navy soon in Illinois and they’re not super out there with Pride yet.” As one of the top five biggest crowds in America, San Francisco Pride is the sole LGBTQ event with the top rank in any state, according to Tricia Harte, outreach manager for Digital Third Coast. New York City’s New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square is the most attended event in America with more than two million annual attendees. Jim Gebbie, 76, has lived in San Francisco since 1970 and imagines he’s been to “at least half ” of the

Pride [celebrations]. “I went to the first one in 1972,” said the gay Diamond Heights resident, shouting over enthusiastic onlookers. Sylvester’s classic “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)” blasted through the speakers of a passing contingent. (According to Wikipedia, there was a small gathering in 1970, but a parade has been held annually since 1972.) “When same-sex marriage was accepted there was a huge turnout, too. Since Trump has been so antigay, the LGBT community has to stick together,” Gebbie added. “This, too, shall pass.”t

can access various social services. The health educator could also take the people they meet to have a cup of coffee and learn more about the issues they are facing that led to their being on the streets. “They would help people who are in a place where they are maybe interested in getting help,” said Aiello. SFAF did not respond to a request for comment by the B.A.R.’s press time Wednesday. Aiello said they approached SFAF to collaborate on the program since the nonprofit agency has the capacity and experience to provide professional

supervision to the health educator. The hope is to see the position be filled and begin work by the end of July. The hiring notice was recently posted by SFAF, meanwhile the CBD is working to finalize a contract with the city’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development since funding is partially coming from a $125,000 city grant. “We are really excited,” said Aiello. “We can’t wait until they start.” The salary for the half-time position is $64,000 over the next 12 months. Within six months, Aiello said they plan to evaluate how the

program’s new focus is working out. The earlier iteration of Castro Cares showed the need is there. Between mid-September of 2014 and the end of June last year, the HOT team encountered 4,306 people, 63 percent of whom engaged with them in some manner. The overwhelming majority were men (79 percent) between the ages of 20 and 39. Of the 618 people asked about their sexual orientation, 38 percent were straight, 15.5 percent were gay or lesbian, 3 percent were bisexual, and 2 percent were questioning or unsure.

This time out the program’s success will be evaluated on different measures than how many people engage with the health educator. Rather, it will be judged on the outcomes individuals set for themselves, such as reducing the number of times they inject drugs or use dirty needles, or sought a bed in a city shelter. “Whatever it is for them. They will have their own goals,” explained Aiello. To learn more about the Castro Cares initiative, visit its website at http://www.castrocares.org/.t

homeless on the street,” he said. To ensure San Francisco Impact Partners is viable as a nonprofit, Haines has set a goal of raising $500,000 over the next three years. By the end of this year, he is aiming to raise at least $100,000.

“I have a three-year goal to get to a certain amount of funding not just to employ people but to be able to go out and advocate and promote what we want to accomplish,” said Haines. As he works to gain 501(c)3 status, Haines has partnered with several

other nonprofit groups. The A. Phillip Randolph Institute San Francisco is serving as a fiscal sponsor so any donations to San Francisco Impact Partners are tax-deductible. The Gubbio Project and Sacred Space SF teamed with Haines on the

care package pop-up, which was San Francisco Impact Partners’ first official public event. To learn more about San Francisco Impact Partners, visit its website at https://sfimpactpartners.org/.t

The women announced that the club would be creating an award in Turman’s memory to support the next generation of diversity in local politics. Kate Kendell, the outgoing executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, received the club’s Jim Foster Lifetime Achievement Award. San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera, who introduced Kendell, said he doubts she has finished her work. “It is only the beginning for what she’s going to do next,” he said.

Kendell, who’s on something of a farewell tour among LGBT organizations until she steps down at the end of the year, reiterated that the word that best sums up her 22 years at the helm of NCLR is “gratitude.” NCLR was instrumental in the fight for marriage equality, and Kendell worked with Herrera’s office in the federal trial in San Francisco that overturned Proposition 8, the state’s same-sex marriage ban, that later went to the U.S. Supreme Court and was tossed out

on a technicality, allowing samesex weddings to resume in the Golden State. “We have so changed the landscape,” Kendell said, referring to the progress that’s been made over the last two decades. Being queer in the U.S., for the majority of people, is a safe thing, she said. But she added, “there are still folks who suffer horrific attacks.” She also criticized the Trump administration, particularly Immigration and Customs Enforcements and the Border Patrol.

“Who has any doubt that we will bend the arc for these folks?” she asked. And while she said, “The vast majority don’t need to worry about ICE showing up,” she also asked the audience to do their part in combatting the administration. “What I’d exhort all of us to do ... is say, ‘you’re not getting to them without coming through us.’ “That’s our future – to do better,” she said.t

Election 2018>>

t Polis wins Colorado Dem primary by Lisa Keen

ongressman Jared Polis scored a “comeback kid” victory Tuesday, winning the Democratic nomination for governor of Colorado just two months after losing to his chief opponent at the state party convention. He’ll now face Republican state Treasurer Walker Stapleton in the general election in November. If elected, Polis will become the first openly gay person to be elected governor of any state. Annise Parker, head of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, called Polis’ primary win a “huge victory.” “While it is a historic and promising night for the LGBTQ community, primary voters chose Jared not because he could be a historic first, but because of his unquestionable integrity and positive vision for Coloradans,” said Parker. Polis was one of three openly gay candidates in gubernatorial primary races Tuesday. The other two did not advance. Best known to the LGBT community as the most senior of six openly LGBT members of the House of Representatives, Polis is familiar to Coloradans as a wealthy businessman with a strong interest in improving public education and the use of renewable resources. Polis, an early developer of internet-based businesses, funded his campaign primarily with his own money

News Briefs

From page 4

According to stats compiled by the foundation, 70 percent identify as people of color or bi/multiracial; 60 percent other than male; 55 percent as bi, polysexual, or queer; 45 percent as transgender or gender nonconforming; and 35 percent first-generation college students. For community college scholarship recipients, there was also a lot of diversity, with 72 percent identifying as people of color or bi/multiracial, and 64 percent identifying as other than male. Forty percent

Florist case

From page 10

of all citizens in the commercial marketplace.” “Were we to carve out a patchwork of exceptions for ostensibly justified discrimination, that purpose would be fatally undermined,” said the state Supreme Court. The decision was unanimous. Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, said the June 25 announcement in Arlene’s Flowers means “very little.” “All that today’s remand means is that the Washington Supreme Court will review the decision in Arlene’s

Resist

From page 11

HIV-positive – died of pneumonia after being detained in a facility where immigrants are often kept in freezing cells for days at a time. To stop these sorts of atrocities from reoccurring, Gutiérrez said that trans activists need to broaden their focus. “When we talk about trans liberation, we are saying we are in solidarity with the black community, that we are in solidarity with the indigenous community, that we are in solidarity with the Muslim community, and all communities that are under attack,” she said. “We have to get in the mindset of abolition. “We have to abolish the prison industrial complex, we have to abolish

Courtesy CBS News

Jared Polis spoke to supporters Tuesday night.

– reportedly more than $6 million. Polis, 43, had a tough race on his hands. At the statewide Democratic convention April 14, his chief opponent for the Democratic nomination, former state Treasurer Cary Kennedy, won 62 percent of the delegates, to Polis’ 33 percent. The Denver Post reported that some participants in the assembly were afraid that Polis’ being gay could “make Polis a harder sell to more conservative voters in November.” But Polis doubled down, running more than 3,000 television ads and spending more than all the other candidates combined. Polis will go up against a proTrump Republican in November,

seeking to replace Democratic Governor John Hickenlooper, who is term-limited. Four out of the last five governors have been Democrats. And in 2016 voting, Colorado voters preferred Democrat Hillary Clinton to President Donald Trump. One of its two senators and three of its seven U.S. representatives are Democrats.

identified as transgender or gender nonconforming. Local scholarship recipients or those attending Bay Area colleges include: Kevin Canton Mancia, attending UC Berkeley; John Daniel, Cal State, East Bay; Mark Jeng, Stanford University; Teague Shattuck, Reed College; Zoe RidolfiStarr, New York University School of Law; Will Tong, UC Berkeley; Vanessa Warri, UCLA; and Calliope Wong, Stanford. For community colleges, local scholarship recipients or those attending Bay Area schools include: Tayler Hammond, Merritt College; Omid Mehrage, Diablo

Valley College; Laith Ocean Rodriguez, Santa Rose Junior College; and Emmett Tassin, Berkeley City College. For more on the Point Foundation, visit pointfoundation.org.

Flowers to be sure it was not similarly tainted. Since there is no evidence that it was, the Washington Supreme Court will almost certainly reaffirm the decision below in favor of the same-sex couple who brought the case,” Minter said. “The important point for LGBT people is that the law continues to protect them” in Washington state, said Minter, “and even businesses owned by people who would like to deny them certain services based on the owner’s religious beliefs must comply with anti-discrimination laws.” In the Arlene’s Flowers case, two gay men decided to get married in Washington state in 2013 and approached

their regular florist to provide decorations. But Arlene’s Flowers balked at their request, saying it was due to the owner’s religious views. Washington state law prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation in public accommodations, and the state courts ruled that the business owner in this case was, despite their religious claims, violating that law. In the Masterpiece decision issued June 4, a 7-2 majority of the U.S. Supreme Court ruled only that the record in a case from Colorado showed there had been significant hostility shown by the state civil rights commission for a businessman’s religious views against marriage for same-sex couples. The case involved baker Jack

the immigration detention centers and DHS and move on with our liberation,” she said, referring to the Department of Homeland Security.

TERFs invade Dyke March

For the first time in years, Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminists, or TERFs, made an organized attempt to disrupt the San Francisco Dyke March – which has been publicly inclusive of trans women for some time – on Saturday, June 23. According to multiple reports, about 12 people carried transphobic signs, and one TERF reportedly beat a trans woman with her cane. To their credit, organizers of the Dyke March quickly and publicly disavowed the TERF incursion via a Facebook statement and reiterated that

Other races

In Maryland, gay gubernatorial candidate Rich Madaleno came up short in his bid for the Democratic nomination in Maryland. A state senator, Madaleno made his being gay a prominent part of his campaign. He ran a political ad in

Ed Lee film project is crowdfunding

The Chinese Historical Society of America has started a GoFundMe page to raise money for an hourlong documentary on the late San Francisco mayor Ed Lee. Lee, 65, died last December after suffering a heart attack. According to a news release, CHSA is partnering with Bay Area television

the march would remain an affirming space for trans women. Even so, many activists believe that this sort of behavior is likely to reoccur unless those responsible are named and shamed – as has been happening on social media since Sunday.

Families belong together

In the wake of activists shutting down ICE facilities in Portland and elsewhere by direct-action occupation, immigration activists have called for nationwide demonstrations Saturday, June 30, to protest the regime’s immigration policies. Those in the Bay Area have two options. At 10 a.m., Families Belong Together San Francisco and a coalition of other groups will lead a march from Dolores Park to City Hall. The event is

June 28-July 4, 2018 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 13

which he kissed his husband as an example of his willingness to “stand up to Trump.” Madaleno and his husband also did a campaign video reading out loud many of the antigay messages he received as a gay candidate. But Madaleno’s biggest challenge was his competition. He was up against better known figures, including former president of the NAACP Ben Jealous, a straight ally who won the nomination. In Oklahoma, gay exotic animal keeper Joe Maldonado came in third out of three candidates seeking the Libertarian Party nomination for Oklahoma governor. Oklahoma news media depicted Maldonado as a somewhat unusual political candidate, noting that he sported a half-bleached blond hairstyle and six earrings in his campaign photo. He also expressed a desire to pardon all people convicted for non-violent marijuana crimes. Finally, Chelsea Manning, a transgender woman who made a long-shot bid for the U.S. Senate, came up with only 5 percent of the vote against popular pro-LGBT incumbent Maryland Democratic Senator Benjamin Cardin in the primary. Manning is best known for having been convicted of leaking classified government documents to WikiLeaks. Just before he left office, President Barack Obama commuted her 35-year sentence, allowing for her release in May 2017. t

producer and Emmy-winner Rick Quan to produce the film, which has the support of Lee’s family. CHSA is a nonprofit and the oldest organization in the country dedicated to the preservation of the history and contributions of Chinese-Americans in the U.S. The film, with the working title, “Ed Lee: The People’s Mayor,” is projected to be completed in the fall of 2018. Producers hope to raise a minimum of $50,000 to fund the project, and already have reached nearly $11,000. Donations are tax-deductible and can be made at https://www.gofundme. com/mayoredlee.t

Phillips, who refused to sell a cake to a same-sex couple for their wedding reception, claiming his religious beliefs prevented him from doing so. The high court set aside the lower court ruling against Phillips in Masterpiece and said the greater issues in the case – concerning religious beliefs and civil rights laws protecting LGBT people – would have to be “resolved in the future ....” With its June 25 announcement, it is clear that the U.S. Supreme Court’s idea of “future” is not the Arlene’s Flowers case, at least not right now. Many predict the case will be back before the U.S. Supreme Court as soon as the state Supreme Court reconsiders its ruling. t designed to be a child-friendly, nonconfrontational march. For those with more of a direct action bent, activists will gather from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Contra Costa County West Detention Center at 5555 Giant Highway in Richmond, the closest facility in the Bay Area that holds ICE detainees through a contract with the federal government. As the date marks the anniversary of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which forms the basis for modern immigration law, organizers are hoping for a big turnout. They are also requesting that participants who can do so bring baby books, diapers, and toys to be left behind at the facility after the action. t Got a tip? Email me at christina@ diedoardolaw.com.

Legal Notices>> ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-18553945

In the matter of the application of: BIMALA GURUNG THING, 255 HYDE ST #619, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102, for change of name having been ﬁled in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner BIMALA GURUNG THING is requesting that the name BIMALA GURUNG THING, be changed to BIMALA THING. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 514, Rm. 514 on the 19th of July 2018 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

JUNE 07, 14, 21, 28, 2018 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE

CNC-18553947 In the matter of the application of: STACEY CHONG, 227 MOSCOW ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112, for change of name having been ﬁled in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner STACEY CHONG, is requesting that the name STACEY CHONG, be changed to ALEX KOI CHONG. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 514, RM. 514 on the 17th of July 2018 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

JUNE 07, 14, 21, 28, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038175800 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: HARLEQUINN TOURS, 333 JEFFERSON ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed DEREK DEWITT. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 08/18/03. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/05/18.

JUNE 07, 14, 21, 28, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038169600 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: OCEAN BLUE LAUNDRY & CAFE, 8 VALENCIA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MARJORIE V TOBILLO. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 05/30/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/31/18.

JUNE 07, 14, 21, 28, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038162500 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SELA MAC, 550 SPRUCE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed SARAH MCNAMARA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 03/01/12. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/25/18.

JUNE 07, 14, 21, 28, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038157700 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: POST DRY CLEANERS, 1610 POST ST #102, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed TSEDENISH TSOGZOLGARAV. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 05/23/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/23/18.

JUNE 07, 14, 21, 28, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038170200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SEE.SAW.SEEN OPTOMETRY; SEE SAW SEEN OPTOMETRY; SEE.SAW.SEEN; SEE. SAW.SEEN EYEWEAR; 515 GOUGH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed SEE.SAW.SEEN OPTOMETRY (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 04/23/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/31/18.

JUNE 07, 14, 21, 28, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038170000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: THATCHER’S GOURMET POPCORN, 1201 MINNESOTA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed X GOURMET PLUS INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on NA. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/31/18.

JUNE 07, 14, 21, 28, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038166900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: LAKESIDE NAIL BAR, 2671 OCEAN AVE, SAN FRANCISO, CA 94132. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed LAKESIDE NAIL BAR (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 05/14/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/29/18.

JUNE 07, 14, 21, 28, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038166500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: GIRON CONSTRUCTION, 170 QUINT ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed GECMS INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 08/31/12. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/29/18.

JUNE 07, 14, 21, 28, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-03816000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PIZZA FLIRT; CYBELLA’S, 464 BROADWAY ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed CITY PIZZA AND BURGER INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 04/20/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/24/18.

JUNE 07, 14, 21, 28, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038159300 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: LUMINATE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, INC, 16B FUNSTON AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94129. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed LUMINATE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, INC (DE). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 12/13/17. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/24/18.

JUNE 07, 14, 21, 28, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038167200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: EMPAWTHY, 3215 20TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed EMPAWTHY LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 05/15/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/30/18.

JUNE 07, 14, 21, 28, 2018

<< Classifieds

14 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 28-July 4, 2018

Legal Notices>> FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038168400 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: RAW VINO, 1307 DE HARO ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed RAW VINO 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 05/30/18.

JUNE 07, 14, 21, 28, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038168700

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ROYAL OIL COMPANY, 704-708 BRYANT ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed H4L 3 LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 05/16/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/30/18.

JUNE 07, 14, 21, 28, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038167400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ARTFARM PRODUCTIONS, 40 POND ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed BRET PARKER & KATRINA BARMA. 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 05/30/18.

JUNE 07, 14, 21, 28, 2018 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-037005201

The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: EUROGIRLS, 537 JONES ST #2166, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business was conducted by an individual and signed by VITA CAMPISI. The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 03/22/16.

JUNE 07, 14, 21, 28, 2018 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-037841300

The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: 18/8 FINE MEN’S SALON SAN FRANCISCO, 1 EMBARCADERO CENTER, LOBBY LEVEL, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94111. This business was conducted by a limited liability company and signed by JB DESTINY PARTNERS LLC (CA). The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/13/17.

JUNE 07, 14, 21, 28, 2018 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-037119200

The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: T HAYNES LIGHTING, 1322 47TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business was conducted by an individual and signed by LUIS H. PINE. The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/31/16.

JUNE 07, 14, 21, 28, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038184400 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: AMERICAN CHINESE HERBAL COLLEGE, 4651 MISSION ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed XUSHI LIANG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 04/04/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/12/18.

JUN 14, 21, 28, JULY 05, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038176000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ALTERNATIVE MORTGAGE SOURCES, 2358 MARKET ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed BETH MARCIA HOFFMAN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 05/01/86. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/05/18.

JUN 14, 21, 28, JULY 05, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038174300

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038180800

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038188300

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0381800-00

JUN 14, 21, 28, JULY 05, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038179900

JUN 21, 28, JULY 05, 12, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038172900

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

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: KONG LAI CONSTRUCTION CO, 2242 22ND AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ALLEN KWONG SETO. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 10/02/89. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/08/18.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: HAVEN GROUP, 1400 VAN NESS AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JOHN SOLAEGUI. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on NA. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/08/18.

JUN 14, 21, 28, JULY 05, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038179000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BABY & MOM NUTRITION, 4992 MISSION ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed GUIMEI WU & LIFENG WU. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 06/07/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/07/18.

JUN 14, 21, 28, JULY 05, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038161200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: GOURMET NOODLE HOUSE INC, 3751 GEARY BLVD, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed GOURMET NOODLE HOUSE INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 05/25/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/25/18.

JUN 14, 21, 28, JULY 05, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038174800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SENIORES PIZZA, 320 11TH STREET, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed 11TH STREET PIZZA INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 06/04/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/04/18.

JUN 14, 21, 28, JULY 05, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038176800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BWG PARTNERS, 1699 VAN NESS AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed PACIFIC UNION INTERNATIONAL INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on NA. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/05/18.

JUN 14, 21, 28, JULY 05, 2018 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-18-553959

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

JUN 21, 28, JULY 05, 12, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038190900 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: APRETTYDAI BOUTIQUE; SASS MINKS, BLINKS & WINKS, 165 PRAGUE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed NICOLE WILLIAMS. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 06/18/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/18/18.

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

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: KELLY’S JANITORIAL, 3600 SIERRA RIDGE ROAD #4106, RICHMOND, CA 94806. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed SONIA RAQUEL HERNANDEZ. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/23/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/04/18.

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

JUN 14, 21, 28, JULY 05, 2018

JUN 21, 28, JULY 05, 12, 2018

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The following person(s) is/are doing business as: KGWMEDIA; SHEEPDOG’S APPAREL, 60 VAN NESS AVE #704, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed KYLE WARREN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on NA. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/01/18.

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

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The following person(s) is/are doing business as: STUDIO MUNROE, INC, 1427 DOLORES ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed STUDIO MUNROE, INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 06/28/13. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/08/18.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PICNIC, 1808 POLK ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed POLKAPICNIC LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 06/11/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/11/18.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

JUN 21, 28, JULY 05, 12, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038189900 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: THE GIFTED BASKET, 1201 MINNESOTA ST. SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed THE GIFTED BASKET INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 06/18/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/18/18.

JUN 21, 28, JULY 05,12, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038188700 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MCBAKERS MARKET, 1800 MCALLISTER ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed JADA & SONS INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on NA. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/15/18.

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

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

JUN 21, 28, JULY 05, 12, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038181400 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ZUNI CAFE, 1658 MARKET ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed CUCAGNA, LTD. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 02/15/79. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/11/18.

JUN 21, 28, JULY 05, 12, 2018

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

In accordance with the provisions of the California Commercial Code, Section 7201-7210, there being due and unpaid storage for which Closetbox holds the lien as warehouseman on the goods hereinafter described and due notice having been given to parties known to own or claim an interest therein and the time speciﬁed in such notice for payment on such charges having expired, notice is hereby given that the goods located in San Francisco will be sold at www. storagestuff.bid On 7/17/8 at 3:30PM. The household goods of Alexis Gordon are being sold on monies owed of $1994.40 and include Furniture.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SUPERCLEAN BUILDING SERVICES, LLC, 1385 FAIRFAX AVE, #C, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed SUPERCLEAN BUILDING SERVICES, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 05/01/05. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/11/18.

JUN 21, 28, JULY 05, 12, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038187300

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: COW MARLOWE, 3154 FILLMORE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94123. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed COW MARLOWE SF LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on NA. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/14/18.

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

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

JUN 28, JULY 05, 12, 19, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038198300 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SALON REYES, 166 GEARY ST #400, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94108. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed TODD REYES. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 06/02/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/25/18.

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

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

JUN 28, JULY 05, 12, 19, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038193600 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CHEZ SHIVY, 350 LAWTON ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed SIOBHAN K. CUNNINGHAM. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 01/01/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/20/18.

JUN 28, JULY 05, 12, 19, 2018

Notices >> PUBLIC NOTICE OF INTENT TO SOLICIT BIDS WITH NOTICE INVITING BIDS Sealed bids will be received by Golden State ADHC/CBAS at 738 La Playa Street, San Francisco, CA 94121 until of 12:00 p.m. 07.31.18 for meals to be served in the center. At 4:00 p.m. 07.31.18 and promptly thereafter, all bids that have been duly received will be publicly opened and read aloud. Description of Product for Bid: Bulk type for meal inclusive milk will be used based on a 6 weeks menu cycle with delivery of hot meals to the center daily. The contract will be for meals, inclusive milk ( breakfast, lunch and supplement ) for 1 year period beginning 10.01.18. The contract will be awarded to Responsible bidder whose bid is responsive to this invitation and is most advantageous to the Golden State ADHC price and other factors considered. All meals of each type must meet the minimum standards set by the USDA for meals according to the current CACFP Meal Pattern for Adults. Any questions regarding this proposed contract may be referred to Dmitry Margusov at 415-387-2750.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038167300 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: RICHARD CLARK REDBACK BOOTS USA, 145 CORTE MADERA #143, CORTE MADERA, CA 94920. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed RICHARD CLARK. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 08/04/17. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/30/18.

JUN 28, JULY 05, 12, 19, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038191400 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MOCKINGBIRD WELLNESS, 3197 16TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MARCIA SEGURA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on NA. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/19/18.

JUN 28, JULY 05, 12, 19, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038191500 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: EIGHTEA, 91 6TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed YONGHENG FENG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 05/21/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/19/18.

JUN 28, JULY 05, 12, 19, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038192100 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MIKE & OLIVER, 4040 24TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed OLIVER BURGELMAN & MIKE ACKERMAN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 06/19/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/19/18.

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

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

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

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: POLARIS INSIGHT CENTER, 4257 18TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed POLARIS INSIGHT CENTER-A PSYCHOLOGICAL CORPORATION (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on NA. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/18/18.

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

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

JUN 28, JULY 05, 12, 19, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038198500 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: GE TOWING&AUTO REPAIR BODY SHOP, 1390 WALLACE AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by a married couple, and is signed JUAN G. ESCOBAR & ROSARIO ESCOBAR. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 06/25/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/25/18.

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

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

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

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

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

JUN 28, JULY 05, 12, 19, 2018

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Foreign affairs

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Vol. 48 • No. 26 • June 28-July 4, 2018

Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera

www.ebar.com/arts

‘American Ring’ cycle, well-rung!

by Philip Campbell

Cali Thornhill-Dewitt

Falk Struckmann as Alberich, and Greer Grimsley as Wotan in Wagner’s “Das Rheingold.”

rom a darkened orchestra pit, and felt as much as heard, “the chord of E-flat Major, surging incessantly in broken chords,” filled the air of the War Memorial Opera House recently as listeners old and new were guided into the world of composer Richard Wagner’s massive “Ring” cycle. The beginning of “Das Rheingold” (“The Rhinegold”), preliminary evening to “Der Ring des Nibelungen” (“The Ring of the Nibelung”), is one of the most magical moments in opera. See page 24 >>

Second coming of Hunx and His Punx Seth Bogart of Hunx and His Punx.

by Elle Carroll

here was never any question that Seth Bogart was an explicitly queer artist, in every sense of the term. In an era when artists are pushing against the already fraught boundaries of identity – the most obvious example being the hoards of creative women demanding freedom from being forever qualified as “women artists” – Bogart’s definite positioning as a queer artist doesn’t bother him in the slightest. See page 16 >>

{ SECOND OF THREE SECTIONS }

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

Tony Kushner Tony Taccone

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<< Out There

16 • Bay Area Reporter • June 28-July 4, 2018

88 keys spread over 14 CDs by Roberto Friedman

t’s not often that one can take full measure of a wide swath of a concert artist’s career, but Deutsche Grammophon affords just that opportunity with its release “Pogorelich – Complete Recordings.” Over the course of 14 CDs, the set follows the brilliant career thus far of Croatian concert pianist Ivo Pogorelich, now 60 years young. Out There took the opportunity to dive deep into the recordings side of his artistic career, from 1981-95. We worked our way through the 14 discs twice, then went back to savor particular favorites. CD 1: Frederic Chopin, Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor, and six other pieces. When Pogorelich was dismissed as “eccentric” at the 1980 International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, piano giant Martha Argerich resigned from the jury, insisting, “He’s a genius!” DG gave him a recording contract. Already in his first recording you can hear his original way with Chopin, all the hallmarks of a “musical revolutionary.” Liner notes point out his “magnificent disregard for Chopin’s dynamic markings.” No

matter, you can tell he has this music in his fingers and bones. CD 2: Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor; Robert Schumann, Symphonic Etudes (in the Form of Variations), Toccata in C Major. The youthful rebel, shown on CD covers wearing jeans and trainers like the moody member of a boy band, has his way with some classic greats. CD 3: Chopin, Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2, Polonaise in F sharp minor; Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Claudio Abbado. Here we can hear Pogorelich’s way of working with a great symphony orchestra. He leaves none of his fingerprints behind, and shows he can still play well with others. CD 4: Maurice Ravel, Gaspard de la nuit; Serge Prokofiev, Piano Sonata No. 6 in A Major. The Prokofiev, a personal favorite of OT’s, can turn brutal and banal in the wrong hands (it was composed in 1940), but IP is able to tame it without neutering it. CD 5: Peter Tchaikovsky, Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 1 in B flat minor; London Symphony Orchestra, Claudio Abbado. In his youth, Pogorelich studied at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Mos-

cow, and that training is clearly the backbone of his Russian repertoire. CD 6: Johann Sebastian Bach, English Suite No. 2 in A minor, English Suite No. 3 in G minor. We first “stopped” in our initial traversal of the discs here, at the two English Suites that one mightn’t think are a perfect fit for this pianist’s temperament. But Pogorelich evinces precisely the light touch and precision that a fully engaged reading of Bach requires. CD 7: Chopin, 24 Preludes. This is IP’s most famous Chopin recording, one where he draws out the colors and textures of the Preludes as if by second nature. Liner notes admit he “takes surprising liberties with articulatory details,” but it doesn’t matter: the spirit of the great piano composer is here.

CD 8: Franz Liszt, Piano Sonata in B minor; Alexander Scriabin, Piano Sonata No. 2 in G sharp minor, Op. 19, “Sonata Fantasy.” His most important teacher was three times removed from a pupil of Liszt’s. Clearly, he can do virtuoso. CD 9: Joseph Haydn, Piano Sonata in A flat Major, Piano Sonata in D Major. CD 10: Domenico Scarlatti, 15 Sonatas. Pogorelich is one of the very rare pianists who could go up against Vladimir Horowitz in these Scarlatti. CD 11: Johannes Brahms, Capriccio in F sharp minor, Intermezzo in A Major, Rhapsodies, Intermezzi. CD 12: Modest Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition; Ravel, Valses nobles et sentimentales. Again, IP takes some liberties with the Mussorgsky score, but proves his mettle with the Russian classic. CD 13: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Fantasia for Piano in D minor, Piano Sonata No. 5 in G Major, Piano Sonata No. 11 in A Major. CD 14: Chopin, 4 Scherzos. Not surprisingly, IP’s DG recording career begins and ends with his special sense for Chopin. After listening to the 14 discs twice through, to which pieces did we return just for the joy of hearing them again? Chopin through-

out, certainly, but also the Ravel “Gaspard,” the Prokofiev Sonata, the Bach Suites, a few Scarlatti Sonatas, surprising Brahms, and those Pictures from Mussorgsky’s Exhibition. Ivo Pogorelich is no longer a rebel boy, he’s a man with a famous career. His pianism stirs our heart, and makes our fingers twitch.

Film Finale

Frameline 42, the fabulous San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival, came to a rollicking good finale with the closing-night film “Studio 54” (director Matt Tyrnauer), the doc about the famous 1970s NYC disco. Yes, the coke-fueled, all-night partiers included Liza Minnelli, Cher, Grace Jones and Elton John, but the doc goes into the whole sordid downfall of the club, and the IRS plight of club owners Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager. The closing-night afterparty transpired at swank SoMa nightclub Oasis, a pretty happening place all these years, and so many disco balls, later! Thanks to all of the writers, photographers, film publicists and Frameline staff who helped with our coverage, these last few weeks, of Frameline 42. Thanks as well to everyone who took the time to tell us they enjoy our film coverage all year-round.t

Hunx/Punx

From page 15

But why would it? Queerness is inextricable from the garage pop and lo-fi punk he spent the better part of a decade making. He started as a Bay Area fixture, one of those gorgeous and effortlessly artistic outsider waifs in Girls’ moment-defining “Lust for Life” music video – a nearly nude (save for a pair of red underpants and a clapboard) cameo which, as he admitted to Paste’s Evan Minsker in 2010, garnered him more recognition as “the guy in that Girls video” than he would have liked. That said, Bogart was never just the boy in the video. He was the boy in many videos, mainly as the frontman, occasional guitarist, and sleaze-loving leader of Hunx and His Punx, a quartet Bogart formed in 2008 after leaving Oakland electroclash outfit Gravy Train.

Courtesy the subjects

Hunx and His Punx never really disbanded.

Seth Bogart: “In 2018, we need stuff like queer punk more than ever.”

By 2010, the band, which includes Shannon and the Clams frontwoman Shannon Shaw, had caught critics’ attention with debut record “Gay Singles.” The album cover features a close-up of Bogart modeling his best zebra print underwear. By

Ramones-style rhythms; scuzzy, 70s punk-inspired guitarwork; and lyrics lamenting disappointing but nevertheless irresistible boys, acne, and the overuse of the word “fabulous.” But writing a 26-second song to issue a moratorium on the other Fword wasn’t Bogart’s only critique of gay culture. Case in point: “U Don’t Like Rock n Roll” describes Bogart’s displeasure over the discovery that his adorable new boo has extremely questionable taste in musical genres. He doubles down on this sentiment in the accompanying video, in which Bogart’s new man suggests they listen to “Liza or Judy or Babs” instead of “Gay Singles.” It’s a funny, trenchant moment, and an accessible critique of the mainstream monopolization of gay culture that predates the straight embrace of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” “I think a lot of gay culture is super-boring, just like straight culture,” he said. “Top 40 can monopolize all the gay culture it wants. There’s only so many interesting people in the world, and endless squares.” Since its inception, punk and queerness have maintained a simultaneously tenuous and fruitful relationship. The genre has long provided an outlet for queer expression, be it through the riotous bisexual rage of Sleater-Kinney or the flamboyant defiance of Pansy Division. But punk has also been co-opted by groups courting homophobic, white supremacist, and misogynist ideals more than a few times. All the same, Bogart’s faith in queer punk remains undimmed. “In 2018, we need stuff like queer punk more than ever,” he said.

the time the Punx released 2011’s “Too Young To Be in Love,” Bogart was an underground queer hero. It was a flurry of lipstick, leather, nail polish, and horned-up garage rock campy enough to please Dr. Frank N. Furter. Think hard-driving,

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Hunx and His Punx never officially disbanded, but its members dived into other projects after the 2013 release of “Street Punk.” Bogart relocated to Los Angeles that same year, and released music under his own name before dedicating himself to a visual art practice. It was the Burger Boogaloo event organizers that got the band back together, specifically by asking them to play this year’s festival. Then Bogart got a birthday party invitation from John Waters, who asked the band to play in his celebration at El Club in Detroit. “Who turns that down?” asked Bogart. “We needed to practice. It was really fun, but I got stoned out of my mind, which is a really great and really terrible idea at the same time.” For the record, this doesn’t count among the Punx’s wilder exploits. That title belongs to when drunken French fans stripped him naked onstage. There’s also a tale starring Jay Reatard, Nobunny, and urine briefly touched on in a 2011 Nardwuar interview. A bare-chested Bogart wears dark glasses, a loose bowtie, and a striped blazer throughout. Burger Boogaloo offers Bogart a return to that musical madness, however temporary. There are still no plans to try to make his campy, queer punk mainstream. “In L.A. I immediately found that a lot of bands were focused on having managers and getting as famous as possible. It grossed me out,” he said. “I could care less now. I just want to make things.”t burgerboogaloo.com

Theatre>>

June 28-July 4, 2018 • Bay Area Reporter • 17

The Clinton & I: a Chinese twist They, along with Sam Pinkleton’s thoughtful choreography, lift “Soft Power” to levels of pleasure that transcend its academic smarts. Billed as “A Play with Music,” “Soft Power” indeed plays beautifully with music. It also lets us watch Hwang play with ideas that he’s been exploring throughout his career. His play “Yellow Face” was a response to the controversy over the casting of Jonathan Pryce as the lead Vietnamese character in the musical “Miss Saigon.” Hwang radically revised the script of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Flower Drum Song” to alleviate its reliance on Chinese stereotypes. His Tony-winning Broadway debut “M. Butterfly” challenged white preconceptions of Asian masculinity. In “Soft Power” Hwang continues to dig, revealing new complexities within subject matter that compels him. An American success Craig Schwartz Photography story, he was attacked, Conrad Ricamora and Francis Jue in the world premiere of David Henry Hwang post-election, in a racial and Jeanine Tesori’s “Soft Power,” now playing at the Curran. hate crime, and he uses this show to mull over David Zinn, who just won a Tony what feels like perpetual by Jim Gladstone for his wackadoodle “SpongeBob” insider/outsider status. It’s a notion provocative popcorn machine seascapes. that’s also embedded in the show’s of intellectual entertainment, Here’s pre-election Hillary musings about the differences be“Soft Power,” playing the Curran (Alyse Alan Louis) campaigning tween Chinese, Chinese-American Theater through July 8, delivers a in a Busby Berkeley fantasy Mcand dominant American culture rat-a-tat fusillade of sociopolitical Donald’s. She emerges on a giant (which is to say “white” with a little satire, musical parody, and auburger, and when serious policy hip-hop thrown in). tobiographical angst. Written by discussion bores the crowd, balancBut the fact that Hwang is able to David Henry Hwang with music es an order of fries on her forehead, appreciate the nuances of these isby Jeanine Tesori, this surreal exa seal trained into submission by travaganza explodes directly into convention and cable news. the here-and-now with hot takes Here are Xing and Hillary waltzon the 2016 election (Hillary Clining a pitch-perfect parody of “Shall ton is a singing, dancing, major We Dance” from “King and I.” character) and the racist attack that Here’s the Chief Justice of the SuHwang (himself a character, played preme Court (Jon Hoche) rattling by Francis Jue) experienced in its off a “Schoolhouse Rock”-style aftermath. patter song in a miserable attempt “Soft Power” also hums with a to rationalize the U.S. electoral deeper thesis about white Ameriprocess. And here’s a colloquium ca’s long-held cultural prejudices in 2066 Shanghai during which against Asians, Exhibit A being the Chinese academics lay claim to the broad-stroke exoticism of “The Broadway musical as a part of their King and I.” That Rodgers and national heritage. Hammerstein classic, for which Louis gives a breakout star-turn playwright-Hwang and characteras Hillary, pulling faces like Carol Hwang express both admiration Burnett, dancing like Ginger Rogand consternation, is turned inside ers, and somehow, amidst the luout in “Soft Power”’s fantasy musinacy, summoning up unexpected cal scenes. Chinese businessman moments of sorrow and solitude. Xue Xing (Conrad Ricamora) travThe ensemble cast is glorious, els to a 2016 America populated with comedy chops worthy of entirely by blond-haired, gun“SNL” at its sharpest, and singing toting, southern-accented men and voices that help make even novelty blonde-haired, gun-toting, underlyrics sound sublime. I say “help” appreciated women. because, along with further asRicamora, who plays the HIV+ sistance by music director David Oliver on “How To Get Away with O and a lush 21-piece orchestra, Murder,” has a velvet vocal tone and the heavy lifting is done by Jeanine remarkable range that give even his Tesori. lighter songs a rich, almost operatic Tesori, best-known for intimate, feel. Like schoolmistress Anna in idiosyncratic musicals “Fun Home,” “King and I” Thailand, the well“Violet” and the Tony Kushnerintentioned foreign interloper Xue scripted “Caroline, Or Change,” is the single fully realized character proves the adage that you have to in these numbers. The ensemble of master the foundations before you monochromatic “ethnic” natives build on them. With grand songs have much to learn from the more incorporating nuanced stylistic civilized society he comes from. echoes of not just “The King and Musical scenes form the most I,” but also “The Sound of Music,” dominant of four nested art-vs.-re“The Music Man,” “My Fair Lady” ality storylines within “Soft Power.” and more, she demonstrates a deep But this conceptual complexity is understanding of Golden Age musirarely off-putting. Some audience cal tropes. members will revel in dissecting Hwang and Tesori share credit the show’s structure, but it’s easy to for the humorous lyrics, which opt out of overanalysis. You can incould easily have been carried by dulge Hwang in his elaborate Mothe sort of smart pastiche tunes bius striptease while keeping your found in Hasty Pudding Club lamfocus on the pageant of laugh-outpoons. Instead, Tesori has written loud set-pieces on sets designed by genuinely swoon-worthy sparklers.

sues with insight doesn’t mean they can all be effectively addressed in a single work of art. Despite a noble effort, director Leigh Silverman isn’t quite able to wrangle Hwang’s abundance of ideas into a shapely whole. There are sometimes abrupt shifts in tone from scene to scene, and monologues delivered by Jue, playing Hwang, throw a wrench at momentum. At these moments and others, including unnecessary dialogue about male-male affection in which the playwright waves his liberal flag, it feels as if Silverman

holds back on reining in Hwang’s restless mind. But in the end, even more than Tesori’s transporting music, it’s the fecundity of Hwang’s mind that makes “Soft Power” a thrilling work of theater and advocacy. The play’s kernels of truth sometimes burst forth so fast and furious that they’re hard to digest. But on to the next, on to the next. As an audience member, you’re given a jumbo bucket of thinking to do, with plenty to take home and chew on afterwards.t

<< Theatre

18 • Bay Area Reporter • June 28-July 4, 2018

Eclectic performance events by Jim Gladstone

“P

eople who thrive in the Bay Area love to take on a bit of a challenge, and love to have their minds blown,” says Ben Yalom. “Whether it’s going out to an innovative restaurant, or being part of a camp at Burning Man, or starting while it’s still dark in order to see sunrise from a summit. “And that’s who Fury Fest is for,” explains Yalom, the Executive Director of Fool’s Fury, the local theater company that hosts the Fury Factory Festival. Beginning on July 10, this biannual gathering of performer-creators from around the country will take over spaces throughout the Mission District and in Oakland to present an eclectic, boundary-pushing series of theatrical events. North Carolina-based Pelú Theater’s “Pícaro” will present a circusinfluenced tale of Latin-American migration full of masks and music. Mumbai-born Pratik Motwani offers the funny, headspinning

Wendy Yalom

Deborah Eliezer in “Displaced,” part of the Fury Factory Festival.

“#//<EMBEDDED>//#,” [sic] which uses live performance to represent online personas, and recorded video to represent real life. The Swim Club collaborative’s “Other Inland Empires” uses movement and storytelling to explore

the unlikely relationship of Jewish culture and surf culture. That’s just a few of over two dozen shows, panel discussions and workshops that comprise the 12day festival. What the Fury Factory’s curated events have in common is

their creators’ commitment to “devised theater,” which Co-Artistic Director Debórah Eliezer describes as “not playwright-driven. Not based on a model of producer, director, actors and script. “These performances,” she explains, “are developed by groups of artists – which can include designers, directors, performers, choreographers – working together in a collaborative process to come up with a work to share with the public.” “The group creative process takes place over a much longer period than the rehearsal period for a traditional scripted play,” explains Yalom. “Many months are spent building the work.” At some mutually-agreed-upon point in the creation process, the development is declared finished. “At which point,” stresses Yalom, “a more conventional rehearsal period begins, to polish performances and tighten things up.” “These are not improvisational works,” emphasizes Eliezer. “There may have been improvising involved in the process of making them. But

the moments that audiences experience are meticulously crafted and intentional.” That said, Eliezer notes that crowd participation is often an element of Festival works. “There’s a heightened sense of live-ness, a feeling that you’re a part of something special happening in that room at that moment.” Yalom says that the while the core of the Fool’s Fury and Festival audience understands the hybrid nature of the performances they’ll see – dance meets clowning meets rock concert meets performance art meets kitchen sink – he takes enormous pleasure from curious spectators who go in unsure of what to expect. “It hits them on an emotional, visual, visceral level that just doesn’t match what they’ve come to think of as theater. I was so happy when a guy came up to me after one show and said, ‘I thought I didn’t like theater, but I loved that!’”t Fury Factory Festival, June 1022, multiple venues. foolsfury. org/fury/FURYFactory/.

Summer classics play the Castro Theatre by David Lamble

he Castro Theatre ends June and kicks off July with an arresting series of big dramas from SF’s Francis Ford Coppola and NYC-raised expat Stanley Kubrick. The Castro lets you judge how these signature classics have stood the test of time. “Psycho” (1960) It takes a special artist to pull off a career gamechanger as he turns 60, and boy, did Alfred Hitchcock succeed in a big way. “Psycho” begins with an afternoon sex tryst between a bored secretary, Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), and boyfriend Sam Loomis (John Gavin). Back at work, Marion impulsively steals $40,000 from her boss. Hitch fools us into thinking the movie is about this petty crime until 40 minutes in, when both we and Marion are blindsided by a maniac who stabs her 14 times in a shabby shower at the Bates Motel. “Psycho” proved a career turningpoint for co-star Anthony Hopkins. As “mama’s boy” motel manager Norman Bates, he’d appear in three not-so-terrific sequels. The career of the (gay off-screen) actor was both helped and trivialized by this type-casting. The 45-second shower sequence is arguably Hitch’s scariest, most effective scene, taking pleasure in breaking the Hollywood rule: anyone can die in the first act except the star. Shot in glorious B&W, “Psycho” is a thriller/gorefest that never grows old. Plays with “Sisters” (1972), Brian De Palma’s homage to “Psycho.” Intrepid reporter (Jennifer Salt) gets dangerously entangled with a pair of homicidal Siamese twins. (both 6/28) “Sing-A-Long Sound of Music” (1965) This family-friendly event combines a treasured classic with a yummy collection of off-screen audience treats. With Julie Andrews,

Christopher Plummer and Eleanor Parker, and a score by Rodgers and Hammerstein. (6/29-30, 7/1-2, 5-6) “Jaws” (1975) My choice for summer blockbuster “guilty pleasure.” Then-20something Steven Spielberg took a pulp page-turner and created an adult thriller with first-rate cast and script. His sea tale combines an infernal killing machine with a trio of male actors who bond while taking shots at each other’s pride and masculine bluster. Robert Shaw’s bullshitting macho proves surprisingly thoughtful and vulnerable as he regales his sharkhunting mates, Roy Scheider’s landlubber police chief and Richard Dreyfuss’ youthful shark expert, with a true-life shark-attack tale that cost the lives of WWII-era naval shipmen. A modern “Moby Dick” without literary baggage. “Duel” (1971) Spielberg expanded on his made-for-TV version, a spine-chilling adventure as a solitary motorist (Dennis Weaver) is terrorized by the unhinged driver of an oil tanker who appears to be out for blood. Spielberg dips into his youthful trick-bag to illustrate Hitchcock’s theory: that the most powerful screen thrills appear suddenly out of nowhere on a stretch of open highway in broad daylight. (both 7/3) “The Godfather” (1972) Al Pacino takes over the reins of his New York crime family in the first part of Francis Ford Coppola’s brilliant trilogy based on Mario Puzo’s pulpy bestseller. Oscars for Best Picture, Actor (Marlon Brando) and Screenplay (Coppola and Puzo). Coppola is well-known in the movie business for prodigious feats of ghostwriting for other filmmakers. Here we view a protean film genius out in the open, getting all the credit he so richly deserves for what amounts to an Italian American origin-myth epic. Brilliant supporting cast, many

of whom would go on to great heights with other directors: Diane Keaton, Robert Duvall, James Caan, Richard Castellano, Talia Shire, Sterling Hayden, Abe Vigoda, Richard Conte. “The Godfather Part II” (1974) It’s rare that the sequel to a mega-Oscar winner lives up to the original, let alone comes close to surpassing the first film. Coppola succeeds by creating two riveting plots: one traces the early life of Marlon Brando’s Don Corleone; the second, the slightly depressing reign of Al Pacino as present-day “Godfather” don. The nearly four-hour epic is much more than just a slick gangster flick. It becomes a compelling retelling of the classic rags-to-riches immigrant story, at a time when those tales are both potent and poignant. (both 7/8) “Barry Lyndon” (1974) At a tad over three hours, this Stanley Kubrick adaptation of an 18thcentury novel by William Makepeace Thackeray will seem long to some, but for me it has always had a trance-like, hypnotic quality. With a strong title performance from 70s pretty-boy Ryan O’Neal, lead from the sentimental 1970 big-screen soap “Love Story.” Co-stars Marisa Berenson, Patrick Magee, Murray Melvin and Hardy Kruger. “Filmworker” (2017) The story of Leon Vitali, a young man whose character in Kubrick’s “Barry Lyndon” fights a duel with Ryan O’Neal’s rogue Sir Lyndon Barry. This doc follows Vitali’s decision to quit acting and serve as an assistant to Kubrick. (both 7/9) “The Shining” (1980) Based on the Stephen King novel. A man (Jack Nicholson) goes mad while serving as the caretaker of a snowbound resort. Fascinating idea goes

off the rails as Nicholson overacts beyond the point of camp. Chasing after his wife (Shelley Duval) with an axe, Nicolson pops through a door exclaiming, “Here’s Johnny!,” an over-the-top reference to latenight talk host Johnny Carson. The movie’s debut was promoted by a trailer showing elevator doors opening, a river of blood flowing out. A cool idea that just didn’t work onscreen. “Full Metal Jacket” (1987) Kubrick’s Vietnam drama features a verbally abusive Marine Corps drill instructor played harrowingly by R. Lee Ermey, himself a retired DI. Balance of the film is a combat drama with a strong turn from Matthew Modine as a battle-tested Marine. Among the best of a small number of good Vietnam War combat films, with the first-half training footage upstaging Kubrick’s take on the actual fighting. (both 7/10) “Eyes Wide Shut” (1999) Kubrick’s final work completed in his lifetime stars then-real-life partners Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman as a married couple who part after she reveals a sexual fantasy. A seldomscreened Kubrick masterpiece that

received much attention at the time of his death. Co-stars Sydney Pollack and Alan Cumming. Screens with “Filmworker” (both 7/11) “The Beatles Yellow Submarine” (1968) For those who think the Beatles on film begin and end with the full-action classics “A Hard Day’s Night” and “Help,” the 50th anniversary edition of this splendid animation will be a revelation. With the boys at the height of their musical powers, cartoon versions of John, Paul, George and Ringo travel to “Pepperland” to save citizens from the “Blue Meanies.” It’s pure, silly fun, a soundtrack brimming with Beatles songs including “All You Need is Love,” “When I’m 64,” Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” and the title ballad. Directed by George Dunning. (7/15-18) “San Francisco Jewish Film Festival 38” The Castro serves as West Bay home for the world’s longest-running showcase for Jewish-themed narratives and docs, with an emphasis on Holocaust and contemporary Middle East affairs. Our capsule reviews will appear in the July 19 issue. (7/19-29)t

DVD>>

June 28-July 4, 2018 • Bay Area Reporter • 19

Sexuality emerging from shame by Brian Bromberger

he adage “The more things change, the more they stay the same” could be the subtext of the glorious new English film “Man in an Orange Shirt,” which premiered at Frameline 42, was originally shown on BBC Two last year, broadcast on PBS’ Masterpiece Theatre (and streamable for free through July 1) and is now available on DVD. It was written by the gay English novelist Patrick Gale to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Sexual Offences Act, which decriminalized homosexuality in Britain. Gale based his screenplay partially on his own family drama of his mother burning discovered love letters his father had received from another man. This heartrending tale consists of two love stories, separated by 60 years, revealing how fraught sexual identity can be regardless of social progress. The film begins during WWII in Italy when British Captain Michael Berryman (dreamy actor-model Oliver Jackson-Cohen) saves the life of the wounded Captain Thomas March (James McArdle), an official war artist. Michael realizes that he had gone to school with Thomas. He is engaged to his childhood sweetheart Flora (Joanna Vanderham), but while visiting Thomas in the hospital during his recuperation realizes he is attracted to him. In a great seduction line, the injured Thomas, while trying to pee, says to Michael, “It’s bloody embarrassing, but I can’t button my fly single-handedly,” which leads to them kissing. Thomas asks Michael to look him up after the war is over. Michael locates Thomas in London, and they spend a passionate weekend together at Michael’s rundown country cottage. Thomas sketches Michael for a painting that will become “Man in an Orange Shirt.” Thomas wants them to be together, despite the fact that homosexuality in England was then illegal. Michael replies, “You didn’t think we could set up home together like man and wife?” Instead, Michael invites Thomas to be his best man at his wedding to Flora. He reluctantly complies. Michael’s marriage to Flora is turbulent, and she finds letters Thomas wrote to him during the war revealing their love for each other. She opts to stay married, in a “Don’t ask, don’t tell” relationship. Thomas is caught cottaging in a public lavatory, and is sent to prison for a year. There is one last meeting with Michael once Thomas is released. The second hour flash-forwards to today. Michael and Thomas have died. Flora (now played by Vanessa Redgrave) rents out her basement to her grandson Adam (enticing Julian Morris), whom she raised. He’s now a veterinarian and a constant user of a gay hookup app, “Gruff.” At work he meets Steve (David Gyasi), an architect with a dying cat. Steve is in an open relationship with another man, but longs for something more stable. Flora has given Michael’s old country cottage to Adam, who asks Steve to help him restore it. They are attracted to each other, but Adam is ashamed about being gay, not out to Flora, and is a commitment-phobe. Can Adam and Steve come together despite their differences? The standout performer is the incandescent Vanessa Redgrave, now 81. Her character Flora is the link between the two stories, and she finds sex between two men disgusting. Undoubtedly drawing from her own personal experiences of having

a bisexual father (actor Michael Redgrave) and having been married briefly to the bisexual director Tony Richardson (“Tom Jones”), Redgrave is able to convey both repression and liberation of her feelings, often in the same glance. We feel empathy for her plight and her denial, laughing at her comment, “I can’t turn liberal overnight.” The film is really about the

Title character from “Man in an Orange Shirt,” written by gay English novelist Patrick Gale.

internalization of shame and self-loathing, showing how these emotions harm not only gay lives but also the straight people they unwittingly victimize. Gale wants

June 30 Michael Franti & Spearhead

to show that there are still LGBTQ people ashamed of who they are, who hide behind hookup apps, not revealing their faces and asking for discretion. Legal equality does not

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mean social equality. The film argues that everyone is happier when all can be who they are without denial.t

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<< Film

20 • Bay Area Reporter • June 28-July 4, 2018

Message to Hollywood: Black films matter!

Courtesy SFFILM

Scene from director Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing,” part of “Black Powers: Reframing Hollywood.”

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kins’ gentle, gay coming-of-age love story that took home the Best Picture Oscar in 2017, are but the latest message to Hollywood studios that there’s a substantial African American (and white) audience hungry for movies by black filmmakers. In that context, and amidst recent campaigns for recognition of black talent in front of and behind the camera, “Black Powers: Reframing Hollywood” couldn’t be more timely. Shown over the course of three weeks, this thoughtfully programmed sixth season of “Modern Cinema” is both a second look and a primer on the nearly century-long history of work by African American directors, and a showcase for contributions by their contemporary heirs. Opening weekend includes Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing,” which marked a seminal moment in American culture and the emergence of an important cinematic voice when it burst on the scene in 1989. Unfolding over the course of a steamy, racially charged summer’s day on a single block in the Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, the film, with a jazzy, hip-hop soundtrack punctuating the director’s trademark visual motifs, was shot by brilliant cinematographer Ernest Dickerson, who became Lee’s frequent collaborator. Lee is among a long line of trailblazers; some, like Oscar Micheaux, are not as wellknown to mainstream moviegoers as they deserve to be. His silent-era melodrama “Body and Soul” (1925),

starring Shakespearean actor and famous bass baritone Paul Robeson in dual roles as both an escaped convict masquerading as a minister, and his poor but decent brother, offered black movie audiences of the time one of the few alternatives to segregated Hollywood fare. Once called “the greatest cinematic tone poem of American urban life,” Charles Burnett’s quietly devastating “Killer of Sheep” (1978) is the episodic tale of a disheartened, burned-out African-American slaughterhouse worker whose profession serves as a metaphor for the state of his soul and wider social oppression. Set in Watts during the 1970s and anchored by Burnett’s spare, understated script, it was filmed in black & white and made for a song, primarily with a cast of non-actors.

The series highlights the early ventures of an impressive field of women directors, from Kasi Lemmon’s heavily atmospheric “Eve’s Bayou” (1997), a hypnotic Southern Gothic gumbo of regional rituals, voodoo and Louisiana gentility revolving around a Creole family, and Julie Dash’s sensuous, trancelike migration saga “Daughters of the Dust” (1991) to “Middle of Nowhere” (2012), a low-budget, female-centric drama shot in 19 days by Ava DuVernay, who went on to make “Selma” and the disappointing “A Wrinkle in Time,” the biggest-budget fantasy directed by a woman of color. With last year’s “Mudbound,” lesbian filmmaker Dee Rees achieved the distinction of being the first African American woman nominated for an Academy Award for best adapted screenplay. Her 2011 debut feature “Pariah,” executive produced by her mentor Spike Lee, is screened here. A sensitive exploration that gets inside the vulnerability and identity confusion of adolescence drawn from Rees’ own experiences, it’s a coming-out story of budding Brooklyn poetess Alike. The boyish lesbian teenager is tentatively coming to terms with her sexuality, while trying not to alienate her churchgoing family, especially her mother, who disapproves of her daughter’s increasingly obvious preference for girls, and prays it’s just a phase. The Liberian-born, Oaklandbased Cheryl Dunye, a product of the 1990s “Queer New Wave,” is a director, producer and writer of hybrids of documentary and fiction who gravitates towards themes of race, sexuality, gender and the sometimes humorous trials and tribulations of black lesbians. In “The Watermelon Woman” (1996), a disarming critique of Hollywood’s

obliviousness to queer black women, with pontificating commentary by none other than Camille Paglia, Dunye portrays a version of herself, a newbie black filmmaker taking a deep dive into LGBTQ and black cinematic history. She combined authentic and recreated archival materials from the 1930s and 40s for this loosely structured homage to unsung, forgotten or uncredited black actresses, such as the fictional black lesbian character Fae Richards, whose signature “role” gives the film its name. The title is also a riff on Melvin Van Peebles’ Kafkaesque satire “Watermelon Man” (1970), with Godfrey Cambridge, initially in white face, playing a complacent white suburban racist who wakes up one morning horrified to discover he has black skin. Richmond’s own Carl Franklin supplies one of the series’ guilty pleasures, “Devil in a Blue Dress” (1995). A stellar follow-up to his break-out sleeper hit “One False Move,” this tasty L.A. neo-noir, adapted from Walter Mosley’s mystery novel of the same name, is a vintage vehicle for Denzel Washington, to whom the film belongs. He is Easy Rawlins, the restless WWII vet-turnedreluctant-private-eye who’s more at home in neighborhood juke joints and smoke-filled clubs – the moody umber “downtown” palette comes courtesy of cinematographer Tak Fujimoto – than on the trail of the missing girlfriend of a white politico, a case that screams, “Trouble ahead!”t Modern Cinema, a collaboration between SFMOMA and SFFILM, screens at SFMOMA’s Phyllis Wattis Theater, July 12-29. For more info: sfmoma.org. modern-cinema.

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<< Film

22 • Bay Area Reporter • June 28-July 4, 2018

When Paris was lesbians stop Sapphists in 1920s Paris. Au contraire. A new film, “Ladies Almanack,” pays experimental homage to these unrepentant bohemians, June 30 only, at the Roxie. Djuna Barnes (1892-1982) is someone it’s always nice to have an excuse to contemplate and inject into conversation to raise or lower the tone. She wrote, illustrated, and self-published “Ladies Almanack” in Paris in 1928, the same year Radclyffe Hall published the polemical “Well of Loneliness.” Hall got into trouble for pleading Courtesy Roxie the cause of women Scene from director Daviel Shy’s “Ladies Almanack.” who want to be married like normal people. Barnes escaped aged in libertine circles, but not as by Erin Blackwell censure for celebrating women’s a goal in itself. Even today, children proclivities for same-sex passion, here are so many lesbians runare seen as worth spending your adoration, scandal, heartbreak, folly, ning around now, it’s hard to time raising. Two women “alone” and dollies. imagine a time when they were together are judged selfish, even or Both books are challenging reads at a premium. As a warm-up to especially when they enlarge their for different reasons. Hall is maudheterosexual coupling, of course, couple to embrace transients. Such lin, and Barnes is a crackpot, or to lesbianism has always been encourpetit-bourgeois concerns didn’t

paraphrase her fan T.S. Eliot, more genius than talent. Certainly the native of Storm King Mountain, New York, had style. Her prose will defeat the literal-minded, which makes it strategic. If you make it through one of her sentences, you must be a lesbian, in spirit if not in flesh, being linguistically savvy enough to let ladies do what they will. Her tongue is allusively allinclusive, transgressively digressive. Snippets do not suffice. Nonetheless, a sample: “I would,” she said, “that there were one Woman somewhere that one could take to task for Lethargy. Ah!” she sighed, “there were many such when I was a Girl, and in particular I recall one dear old Countess who was not to be convinced until I, fervid with Truth, had finally so floored her in every capacious Room of that dear ancestral Home, that I knew to a Button, how every Ticking was made! And what a lack of Art there is in the Upholstery Trade, for that they do not finish off the under Parts of Sofas and Chairs with anything like the Elegance showered upon that Portion which comes to the Eye!” (Capitalization as in original.) To transcribe the High Priestess of Queer Hermetic High Modernity

onto film, writer-director Daviel Shy chose super 8. The images were somewhat aquatic, less than crisp, in the online press screener. That’s what makes it experimental, along with makeshift sets and costumes. Words spoken are not synched to lips. Barnes’ immortal text, like the mortal women it celebrates, is merely the pretext for a mostly amateur cast to pose, parade, and declaim in vignettes arranged, as befits an almanack, by month. Several sequences are wordless, free-form dance rituals. Bosoms are bared, twerking happens, the aesthetic is awkward and austere. Impenetrability is a lesbian trope. Sometimes the point of a film is to relish the opportunities such a project affords to gad about Paris and rub elbows with Eileen Myles, Hélène Cixous, Terry Castle, Guinevere Turner, Deborah Bright, and other lesser-known queers. The metaphysical imperative to transpose lesbian genius for a new generation has never been more urgent than in today’s low-brow cultural moment. Alternatives to assimilation are life-enhancing goads to self-determination since, as Monique Wittig wrote, “A lesbian who does not reinvent the world is a lesbian going extinct.”t

Classic Genet comes out on BluRay by David-Elijah Nahmod

roduced in 1975, the American Film Theatre’s riveting adaptation of gay writer Jean Genet’s play “The Maids” now makes its BluRay debut. The film is also available on DVD. The American Film Theatre was an experiment in blending live theatre with the cinema. From 1973-75, AFT produced 12 film adaptations of classic plays. Season 1 offered eight films, while Season 2 offered five. Tickets were sold via season subscriptions, and each film was shown four times at each of the AFT theatres. Marketing campaigns suggested these were exclusive engagements, and that AFT films might not be made available again. AFT did not continue for a third season, and for decades the films sat on the shelf until Kino Lorber, purveyors of classic films for the home viewing market, resurrected them.

“The Maids” is a darkly comic, disturbing tale about Solange and Clare (Glenda Jackson and Susannah York), who work as servants for a mistress known only as Madame (Vivien Merchant). Madame denigrates her two charges constantly, and the two maids have come to hate her. When Madame isn’t at home, Solange and Clare take part in elaborate sado-masochistic ritual games in which they take turns playing Madame and re-enact the power divide between them and her. The point of these rituals is to act out their fantasies of killing Madame, a fantasy they never realize because they spend so much time on the details of their power-play game. The film “The Maids” is a recreation of a production of the play that was performed at the Greenwich Theater in London with the same cast. The play has been slightly “opened up” for the screen with brief, dialogue-free shots of Ma-

dame’s much younger lover (Mark Burns), who has been arrested after Solange sends a series of anonymous letters to the police. The content of these letters is never revealed, nor is it made known why the young man, known only as Monsieur, has been arrested. Monsieur, not seen in Genet’s original play, is seen being arrested in the film, getting fingerprinted, and being locked in a jail cell. These scenes are played sans dialogue because AFT productions were committed to presenting the plays as written, with no changes from the playwright’s dialogue. “The Maids” is fascinating in its peek into the lives of the two servants. Often when servants are seen on stage or screen, they’re presented as thrilled to do the bidding of their employers. “The Maids” gives audiences a look inside the souls of these servants, who resent their lower stations in life. Jackson and York brilliantly play the rage of two who want

what Madame has. They despise Madame because she flaunts her wealth and never misses a chance to remind her charges she is their social superior. Jackson and York play off each other beautifully throughout. Their performances are a unique blend of intense drama and high camp. The film itself stands as a valuable preservation of the stage production these two great actresses appeared in some 45 years ago. Now that it’s available on disc, lovers of avant-garde theatre are assured this great play will be preserved for generations. The film runs 94 minutes. Kino Lorber’s disc includes a 30-minute interview with director Christopher

Miles; a second interview with Edie Landau, widow of American Film creator Ely Landau; and a promotional film for AFT.t

Garden of Life & Death by Erin Blackwell

2017 documentary, shot in 2014, introduces the work of a tall Dutchman named Piet Oudolf, an innovative landscape gardener. He’s written books you can buy, and large public projects you can visit, so as an infomercial it might succeed in creating demand, or at least desire for a better documentary. The film is 71 minutes with four minutes of credits, and so content-sparse it could be whittled down to 30. If you’re a gardener or plant-lover, or yearn for footage of plants waving in a breeze, you have from June 29July 1 to see “Five Seasons” at Yerba Buena, the final film of its Architecture and Design Films Showcase. For a documentary, “Five Seasons” is short on facts, context, and garden lore. Producer-director Thomas Piper seems to be one of those uncurious souls who simply does not ask questions, or line up a nice sampling of people to ask. He doesn’t seem to care about the individual plants themselves, which are in fact the subject, and although

mute, deserve star treatment. There are endless shots of Piet walking through gardens he’s planted, taking pictures of meadows he hasn’t planted, and turning his blue eyes on the camera to speak in English and Dutch of his love for plants. There’s endless music in various styles and moods overscoring montages of unidentified plants, which is maddening until you abandon hope. We learn: Oudolf, born in Haarlem in 1944, grew up in the bar and restaurant run by his parents, and had a series of jobs before finding the one thing he knew he wanted to devote Argot Pictures his life to. Age 37, he bought an Landscape gardener Piet Oudolf in director Thomas Piper’s “Five Seasons.” old farmhouse in Hummelo, in the Netherlands, and started a nursery. There he raised and sold in gardens designed to be beautiful but speaking about plants he’s plants with a difference: not just well past the flowering. hopeful and even vulnerable in his the obvious cheery flowering plants, Oudolf is a towering clotheshorse passion. He wears checked shirts, but outlying quirky ones interesting with a carefully arranged forelock jeans, and an array of field jackets for their structure and seedpods. that falls just so alongside his right that are not worn or tattered. He has Slowly but surely he became famileye. His features are sharp, his face the vanity of the artist who performs iar with many, many plants, and gaunt, and in repose he seems sad, for the public, an interesting quality began incorporating their life cycle

for someone whose work is based in Nature, time, and patience. He has the humility of the sage, saying, “Life is about birth, life, and death. And that is the garden as well. What we do in our whole life span happens here in one year. That works on your soul.” Over the past 10 years, Oudolf has published a number of books and designed some large gardens in New York City, Chicago, and Bruton, England, all of which we’re shown in fall, then winter, spring, summer, and again in fall, these being the “Five Seasons” of the title. As the organizing principle of a film about the complexities of planting it’s unimaginative, but it might have worked if the filmmaker cared about seasons. The cinematography is uninspired, without close-ups or time-lapse, settling for gauzy group shots of plants that give a vague Impressionist placemat feel. This is a missed opportunity to raise consciousness about the nature of plants in general and a new philosophy of gardening in particular.t

DVD>>

June 28-July 4, 2018 • Bay Area Reporter • 23

Sunshine & coconut milk by Matthew Kennedy

y several estimations, “Midnight Cowboy” (1969) should not age well. Director John Schlesinger employed multiple trendy late1960s devices: fractured linear time, multiple film stocks, Harry Nilsson pop tunes, and even a party scene that could only come from the Warhol era. “Midnight Cowboy”’s sheer “what’s happening now” vibe ought to render it more valuable as history than as enduring cinematic art, likening it to compatriots “Alice’s Restaurant” (1969) and “Easy Rider” (1969). But it doesn’t. Nearly 50 years after its release, it’s clear “Midnight Cowboy” pulled off a neat trick. Its story of a naïve “Texas longhorn bull” hustler and a low-rent con man is of its time and timeless, a mod urban “Of Mice and Men,” and a cinematic thunderclap that amplifies the human heart. Schlesinger was the somewhat unlikely maker of a Hollywood Renaissance masterpiece. A British gay man who came of age professionally making documentaries for the BBC, he emerged as a leading British New Wave director with “A Kind of Loving” (1962), “Billy Liar” (1963), and “Darling” (1965). There were clues he had it in him to make “Midnight Cowboy” and guide Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman to career-best performances. His early films are smartly observed personal dramas edited with a skittish energy and a dedicated ambivalence to dreamers, opportunists, and misfits. “Midnight Cowboy” isn’t a gay movie per se, in that it doesn’t set out to preach, condemn, or make a fuss. Instead, it was part of Schlesinger’s quiet revolution in homosexuality on the screen. “Darling” includes a gay character whose active sexuality

(he shamelessly cruises and picks up a waiter before our very eyes) is woven into the story as no big deal. In Schlesinger’s triangular “Sunday Bloody Sunday” (1971), a gay man has an affair with a bi man who has an affair with a straight woman. In “Midnight Cowboy,” gay themes come without the slightest whiff of sensationalism. Homophobia is in service to plot and character, and is absent the 1960s cinematic expectation that any glint of same-sex desire requires subsequent torture and death. The film is further set apart in Schlesinger’s early canon as an American creation enriched by the penetrating gaze of an outsider. He didn’t hesitate to put on film what he saw, no matter how ugly. The unconscious (or is he dead?) man on 5th Avenue was a cauterizing movie moment in 1969. How could we grow so inhuman as to pass him by unattended? Of course today such city visions are as common as parking meters, empty hypodermics, and ATMs. “Midnight Cowboy” is probably the most honest buddy movie ever produced in America. Plenty has been said about the performances of Voight and Hoffman as an unlikely duo whose emotional retardation resulted from confined notions of masculinity. As limping and consumptive Ratso Rizzo, Hoffman, fresh from “The Graduate,” could have destroyed his career with an off-pitch performance. The then-unknown Jon Voight could have done likewise as Joe Buck, a new kind of anti-hero who pushes the boundaries of sympathy. But as city discards, they’re thrilling to watch, spectacularly enabled by Schlesinger to explore, embrace, and fly as actors. Schlesinger “wanted to be surprised,” said Hoffman in a

documentary nestled in Criterion’s yummy extras. While Voight finds Joe by twiddling the dials of his transistor radio, Hoffman as Ratso checks pay-phone slots for stray dimes. Such are the actors’ character discoveries that bring a smile to Schlesinger. For all of Hoffman’s showy brilliance, “Midnight Cowboy” is Voight’s movie. He is Dorothy to Hoffman’s (pick one: Scarecrow, Tin Man, Cowardly Lion) he meets along the way. It is Joe’s story and transformation that propel the

film, and Waldo Salt’s screenplay is charged with finding his troubled core. Every line of the screenplay adaptation from James Leo Herlihy’s novel seems to expand and humanize the characters. Salt called Joe’s moments of remembrance not flashbacks but “flash presents,” as they appear when the past is conjured in Joe’s present. When New York is replaced by Florida, Joe sheds the cowboy drag and becomes infinitely more beautiful. A woman flirts with him; it goes nowhere. Joe has found another kind of love, not

necessarily gay, but a love born from basic human affection. His transformation makes the finale all the more shattering. There is a lot more at play than two great performances. “Midnight Cowboy”’s camera is fantastically peripatetic, freely moving from diners to bars, pawnshops, hotel rooms, bathrooms, theaters, grocers, and hotel lobbies. It is shot through with quick cuts of TV, billboards, and crawling light boards screaming for consumer attention. Times Square is here a seedy fleshpot, not the vertiginous light show of malignant Capitalism it would become. Indelible characters ring Voight and Hoffman, from John McGiver’s religious zealot, to Brenda Vacarro’s savvy partygoer, Bob Balaban’s timid young man on the prowl, and Sylvia Miles’ crass strumpet. Even the speechless extras are perfect. Stealing shots with long, hidden lenses, Schlesinger and director of photography Adam Holender caught self-important drones pushing themselves through the city. “Midnight Cowboy” came out when the ratings system was new, and it got slapped with an X. Anyone paying attention knew it wasn’t pornography, and it went on to become a commercial and critical hit nominated for seven Academy Awards. With the recent conservative Best Picture choices of “The Sound of Music” (1965), “A Man for All Seasons” (1966), and “Oliver!” (1968), “Midnight Cowboy” wasn’t favored to win. But it did win Best Picture, along with statues for Schlesinger and Salt. Those are Academy choices that hold up. The ghosts of Joe and Ratso are still out there in the shadows, going no place in particular to the sounds of a lonely harmonica.t

Plight of homeless LGBTQ youth

by David-Elijah Nahmod

ewly out on DVD, Max Emerson’s “Hooked” is a powerful drama about a homeless New York street hustler. The film’s world premiere, at Newfest, New York’s LGBTQ film festival, was a benefit for The Ali Forney Center, a homeless shelter and advocacy group for LGBTQ kids in New York City. Director Emerson promises that 50% of the film’s profits will be donated

to not-for-profit affiliated organizations, including the Forney Center and GLAAD. Jack (Conor Donnally) is living in a NYC youth hostel with his boyfriend Tom (Sean Ormond). Jack, who has a penchant for getting into trouble due to his borderline personality disorder, hopes to build a better life for himself and Tom. He earns a living by turning tricks. In the film’s opening scene, Jack is punched by a coked-up client.

Tom, meanwhile, is being subjected to sexual harassment at the youth hostel. Jack soon meets Ken (Terrance Murphy), a well-to-do closet case who lives with his wife and baby son in Connecticut. Ken is struggling against his “urges,” and seeks counsel from a priest. Even though they have no reason to trust each other, Jack agrees to accompany Ken on a trip to Miami. While there, he finds out about the wife that Ken had lied about. An enraged Jack, who thought he could trust Ken, steals Ken’s gun and storms out onto the streets of Miami, where he ends up meeting some very seedy characters who put his life at risk. Desperate to get back to New York and to Tom, Jack accepts an offer to jack off for a porn producer, who also hooks him up with a violent client. Things go from bad to worse. Emerson does a good job of illustrating the horrors that homeless LGBTQ youth face every day. Scenes where Jack is beaten are powerful and disturbing, as are the sequences in which Tom is sexually harassed. It’s not the life that either of them chose. In one heartbreaking scene Jack leaves his estranged mom a voicemail. She had thrown him out of the house. As title cards at the end of the film note, LGBTQ youth are eight times more likely to end up homeless, twice as likely to be sexually abused, develop severe drug addiction, or commit suicide. “Hooked” underscores these issues. “I miss the days when you made everything OK,” Jack tearfully tells his mom. The cast does good work. Conor Donnally is convincing as Jack, who tries to cover up his unhappiness

with a veneer of sarcasm. Terrance Murphy is equally good as Ken, a handsome, middle-aged man who comes genuinely to care for Jack, and wants to help him. Ken is torn between his feelings for Jack and his love for his family. His marriage ends when his wife finds out what’s going on. Ken’s wife is no villain. She’s a nice woman who wants her husband to be exclusive to their wedding vows. When she realizes he can’t do this, she leaves. But it’s Jack and Tom who form the heart of “Hooked.” They struggle to survive under conditions not of their own making. The two actors have wonderful chemistry together as they plan for the future

they dream of, make love, and worry about each other. Tom is particularly concerned for Jack, who cannot seem to avoid trouble and often makes things worse with his own actions. “Hooked” needs to be seen. Many who judge street kids, who think that these kids want to be on the street, might reconsider after seeing the film, which, without preaching, urges us to care for LGBTQ youth. Even today, with acceptance for the LGBTQ community at an all-time high, there are still thousands of parents who refuse to accept their queer kids. What happens to Jack and Tom could happen to anyone.t

<< Music

24 • Bay Area Reporter • June 28-July 4, 2018

Cover girls & guys by Gregg Shapiro

“S

ister Orchid” (Palmetto) is not the first time quirky singer-songwriter Nellie McKay has turned her attention on an album to the songs of others. That distinction belongs to 2009’s “Normal as Blueberry Pie: A Tribute to Doris Day.” On 2015’s “My Weekly Reader,” she sauntered through the 1960s. For “Sister Orchid,” McKay applies her unconventional interpretive skills to a set of jazz standards, with fragrant results. The subtly bubbling organ on opener “My Romance” gives the song a lighthearted texture. Much of the album has a pleasing, airy Blossom Dearie quality, particular on “Small Day Tomorrow,” “The Nearness of You,” “Lazybones,” “Everything Happens to Me” and “Willow Weep for Me.” Broadway belter Mandy Gonzalez steps out on her own on “Fearless” (East West), her debut EP. Gon-

’Ring’ cycle

zalez wisely chose to bracket the disc with songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda (the title track, “Breathe” from “In the Heights”). She also performs a bluesy rendition of “Que Sera, Sera” and a respectfully country-tinged cover of “Life Is Sweet,” co-written by Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland. Terrible album cover aside, “Back to my Roots” (Broadway) by Kate Rockwell, now on Broadway in “Mean Girls” as Karen Smith (the Amanda Seyfried role

from the movie), is a pretty good record. Rockwell, in possession of a powerful set of pipes, performs a selection of well-known contemporary Broadway show-stoppers including “Unexpected Song” (from “Song & Dance”), “Buenos Aires” (from “Evita”) and “What You Don’t Know About Women” (from “City of Angels”). The array of songs written by queer composers is noteworthy, including the Sondheim blend “I Know Things Now

You Know” (from “Into the Woods” and “Merrily We Roll Along”), Finn’s “I’m Breaking Down” and “The Games I Play” (from “Falsettos”), Herman’s “Song on the Sand” (from “La Cage Aux Folles”) and Ashman’s “Somewhere That’s Green” (from “Little Shop of Horrors”). The hidden track, about being a dog lover, is an added bonus. Recorded more than 20 years ago, “Music From Man of La Mancha” (Concord) by renowned jazz pianist Eliane Elias is only now getting an official release. Co-produced by Elias and the late Mitch Leigh, the man who composed the music for the Don Quixote Broadway musical “Man of La Mancha,” the album offers listeners a new way to experience familiar songs from the show, including “Man of La Mancha (I, Don Quixote),” “Dulcinea,” and of course, “The Impossible Dream.” The awkwardly-titled “The Fiddler Expanding Tradition” (Broad-

way) is another album of instrumental interpretations of songs from a beloved Broadway musical. In this case, it’s “Fiddler on the Roof,” and the performer is Kelly Hall-Tompkins, the violin soloist from the 2015-16 revival of “Fiddler.” The 12-track album features Hall-Tompkins performing favorite songs from the show including “Matchmaker,” “Wedding Dance,” “Do You Love Me?,” “Miracle of Miracles” and “Sunrise, Sunset” (joined by Danny Burstein, who played Tevye in the production). “If I Were a Rich Man” also makes an appearance on “Prince of Broadway: Original Broadway Cast Recording” (Ghostlight). The revue features songs from 15 Broadway musicals, including “West Side Story,” “Damn Yankees,” “Follies,” “Cabaret,” “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” “Sweeney Todd,” “Company,” “Evita” and “Fiddler on the Roof,” that had the touch of director-producer Hal Prince, who turned 90 in 2018. Performers include Chuck Cooper, Tony Yazbeck, Emily Skinner, Karen Ziemba and Bryonha Marie Parham.t

top of Act II in “Die Walkure” (“The Valkyrie”) perfectly displays Zambello’s ability to delight or madden an audience. Wagner’s plot has never been timelier, and the director has seized on opportunities to reveal feminist subtleties and inject some #MeToo moments when she can. It works, mostly, and resonates in the shellshocked landscape of America today. When Zambello’s narrowing of the message veers towards the banal, results are frustratingly anticlimactic. The only character who may be counted more or less blameless is Chief God Wotan’s daughter, Brunnhilde. Her lover Siegfried comes close in purity of soul, but he is fatally stymied by his own ignorance. Wagner leaves it to the goddess with a heart to redeem the world. It appears he always knew women possess the ultimate power. If Zambello occasionally belabors the point, especially in the newly imagined cataclysm of “Gotterdammerung” (“Twilight of the Gods”), we must admit she is still believably in synch with the composer’s cockeyed optimism. Analysis and critical commentary of the “American Ring” will continue long after the curtain falls on the final performance of the third complete cycle, but the triumph of the current revival’s musical realization is already undisputable. Standing ovations for the amazing cast and orchestra have been frequent and well-deserved. Former SFO Music Director Donald Runnicles has conducted the tireless orchestra with superb understanding and mastery. Singing roles were uniformly cast from strength, and the vocalists also

showed excellent acting skills. Seldom has the convoluted plot been so easy to follow. The supertitles by Francesca Zambello help, but Beguiled local audiences and the ensemble conveys the text with international visitors embarked clear understanding, and always on the journey on three separate sings with thrilling accuracy. opening nights as the San Francisco American bass-baritone Greer Opera devoted its summer season Grimsley took rightful pride of to a freshly-tweaked revival of place as an exceptionally nuanced director Francesca Zambello’s soWotan. His rich and imposing tone called “American Ring” from 2011. never wavered, even in scenes filled Improved technological advances with complex emotions. allow the director and her artistic Mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton collaborators near-cinematic license sang Fricka in “Das Rheingold” in creating a swifter-moving tetraland “Die Walkure,” and Waltraute ogy of music dramas spanning her in “Gotterdammerung.” Softening vision of American epochs from the usually harsh edges on Fricka the Gold Rush to the Industrial Age (Mrs. Wotan), Barton gave sympaand a calamitous future, spoiled by thetic insight and gorgeous voice to greed and ecological ruin. a difficult character. It is a lot of ground to cover, but In the perfectly structured first Wagner provided some 15 hours of act of “Die Walkure,” Finnish music and four days to tell the story, Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera soprano Karita Mattila was a radiand the director’s ever-evolving Daniel Brenna in the title role in Wagner’s “Siegfried.” ant Sieglinde and American tenor interpretation has proved again to Brandon Jovanovich portrayed a be an amazingly effective template. tations, even with good advance Irene Theorin triumphed as a late virile Siegmund. Their internaThere have been detractors who credits, portraying a sometimes replacement for ailing German tional star careers are assured, but find her updating and trendy referannoying but endearingly innocent soprano Evelyn Herlitzius, and they maintain their ties to SFO. As ences controversial, but Zambello Siegfried. His voice has the necesAmerican tenor Daniel Brenna a duo, they offered a fine example is sensitive to criticism, and the sary strength, and he uses his boyish also made a big success of his SFO of luxury casting from Company latest incarnation is notable for selflooks to advantage as the overgrown debut. Any worries about Theorin loyalty. editing and an eagerness to add even adolescent hero. With stamina to were dispelled the moment she Bass Raymond Aceto is another more contemporary relevance. spare and a sweet tone, Brenna rushed onstage in the second act of SFO stalwart, and his unique voice Some of the more audacious made good on his international “Die Walkure.” Her self-confidence was suitably menacing as Sieglinde’s time-specific visuals have been exreputation. and beautiful voice are remembered abusive husband Hunding in “Die cised, but the evocative projections Already established as a worldfrom her 2011 SFO debut in the Walkure.” He also appeared as the designed by S. Katy Tucker, based class Wagnerian, German basstitle role of “Turandot,” and she has giant Fafner in “Das Rheingold.” on her original designs with Jan baritone Falk Struckmann made portrayed Brunnhilde in many of American tenor David Cangelosi Hartley, are a real improvement, his SFO debut and role debut as the the world’s leading opera houses. reprised his performance from the and Michael Yeargan’s minimalist tortured thief Alberich, the rat who Watching her grow from a rebelSFO 2011 “Ring” as the avaricious sets are still outstanding in Mark steals the gold from the Rhinemaidlious and loving daughter to a brave Mime in “Siegfried” and “Das RheinMcCullogh’s vivid lighting design. ens in the first place. Struckmann champion, then betrayed lover, and gold.” Mime has become a signature Catherine Zuber’s fine costumes has sung other roles in the “Ring” finally a redemptive heroine, was role for Cangelosi, distinguished by appear unchanged, but who would before, including Wotan. His perawesome. Her Brunnhilde is one for his remarkably subtle nastiness. mess with the exciting theatrical formance as Alberich reflects his the SFO memory book. In the pivotal roles of Brunnhilde impact of a bevy of parachuting lengthy experience, and he invested Daniel Brenna surpassed expecand Siegfried, Swedish soprano aviatrixes? Their appearance at the the character with a startling degree of gravitas. There are no small roles in Wagner’s “Ring,” but individual mention of all the singers in the “American Ring” would go on at Wagnerian length. We applaud them all, but must single out mezzo-soprano Ronnita Miller’s lustrous Erda and First Norn. When the entire cast, Ian Robertson’s SFO Chorus, the full orchestra and production team assembled for a final curtain call after “Twilight of the Gods,” the audience filled the War Memorial with prolonged, heartfelt shouts of appreciation. Last chance to catch the final perBoth photos: Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera formances of “Siegfried” (6/29) and Left: Karita Mattila as Sieglinde and Brandon Jovanovich as Siegmund in Wagner’s “Die Walküre.” “Gotterdammerung” (7/1).t

From page 15

Right: The final scene of Wagner’s “Götterdämmerung.”

sfopera.com

Leslie Jordan

Nightlife Events

Leather Vol. 48 • No. 26 • June 28-July 4, 2018

www.ebar.com V www.bartabsf.com

Gina Yashere

The British comic’s back at Freight & Salvage by Cornelius Washington

Gina Yashere

See page 26 >>

Arts Events June 28-July 5

Thu 5

Flower Piano @ SF Botanical Garden

Listings start on page 27 { THIRD OF THREE SECTIONS }

friday, october 26

the fillmore + san francisco, ca

tickets available at livenation.com

David Burgoyne

ritish comic Gina Yashere, who’s sold out London theatres, been a Daily Show correspondent, and had a fourth Netflix special broadcast in March, returns to our shores to perform her new comedy show at Berkeley’s Freight & Salvage on Sunday, July 8. Also performing will be lesbian comic Karinda Dobbins, Shea Suga and producer Lisa Geduldig. During her travels, Yashere replied to a few emailed questions in advance of her show.

<< On the Tab

26 • Bay Area Reporter • June 28-July 4, 2018

Netflix in solidarity, was never going to work. What is your opinion of the Roseanne Barr debacle? She’s a racist, and I have no sympathy for her whatsoever. I don’t care about her apology. She is only apologetic because her wallet and the wallets of her co-stars have been affected. Her crying that she has lost everything makes me sick. She is still a multimillionaire. She hasn’t lost her home and everything she owns from a natural disaster or been criminalized and had her children taken away from her for simply trying to escape oppression and enter through the U.S. She needs to crawl back into her cave.

Gina Yashere onstage at Brixton’s The Academy in 2015.

Gina Yashere

From page 25

Cornelius Washington: When, and in what situation, did you discover the truth that you are hilarious? Gina Yashere: In school, I was the archetypal class clown, so I realized that I was funny from a young age. I used it to distract my classmates and diffuse tense situations. All of my school reports read, “Clever, but disruptive.” Do you write your own material, or do you partner with a writer? If you do, who are they and how do you collaborate to create your material? I write all my own material, as it’s based on my life and my opinions, but I sometimes talk through my ideas with friends. Sometimes, comics give each other taglines, so often a comic has seen me and said, ‘You could add this’, and I’ve taken stuff on board, and I’ve also done that for other comics.

What and when was your big break? My career has been a series of small breaks spread out over a long time. The biggest right now has got to be my Stand up Special on Netflix, as part of The Standups, Season 2. Netflix has simultaneously opened my audience up worldwide, and the joy of it not being on a network is that people can watch it whenever they want, so I’m seeing a continuous effect. Your routines about your African family wanting a middle-class career for you are brilliant! How do they feel about your career now? My mother wasn’t happy about my choice to leave my job as an engineer and become a comedian, but I got on TV within six months of doing so, and more importantly, got her on TV, so all has been good ever since. She’s super proud.

What is your opinion of the NetFlix scandal? If you’re talking about Monique, then I think what she was saying was essentially correct, in that women, and especially Black women are undervalued in every facet of life, and in every work environment. We are paid less, and white dudes are often rewarded for an inferior product. She went about making her opinion heard in totally the wrong way, though. No regular person gives a fuck about a celebrity complaining that they’re “only getting paid half a million dollars for an hour’s work.” Asking people, who mostly will never see that amount of money in their lifetime, to boycott

Your observations of Prince Harry’s wedding are spot-on! How do you think the wedding will affect international race relations? It won’t. Did a Black president help? Nope. In fact, I believe we got Trump because we had a Black president. It was the rebellion of the white voters, who thought their power was diminishing, in the new ever-changing America. How has your humor evolved in the past years of your career? I’ve become more of a storyteller. I’m delving deeper into my stories, so the joke quotient is the same. But I stay on one story for longer periods of time, and mine it. In the African-American entertainment world, there is a tradition that singers open for comedians (Patti LaBelle opened for Richard Pryor), and vice versa (Comedians Sinbad or Arsenio

Hall would open for Luther Vandross). For whom would you like to open, and who would you love to have open for you? In October, I’ll perform with Whoopi Goldberg in London. I’ve always wanted to work with her, so I’m done! What do you want people to know about the reality of what Africa is, versus the propaganda that they’ve been shown? I was born and raised in London, England. I’ve been to Nigeria twice, South Africa once, Gambia twice, Ghana once, and Tunisia once. Africa has 54 countries. What are your career goals? To sell out theaters all over the world. That’s it. I love live standup. Everything else is secondary. I enjoy doing TV, but for me, it is essentially a vehicle to get more people to see my stand-up. What are your personal goals? I want to be healthy and happy. I’m 70 percent there.t External Links: Official Site: https://www.ginayashere.com/ Official YouTube: https://www. youtube.com/user/ginayashere Official Facebook: https://www. facebook.com/ginaisfunny Official Twitter: https://twitter.com/ginayashere Official Instagram: https://www. instagram.com/ginayashere/ Gina Yashere (and Acquaintances) at Freight & Salvage, Sunday, July 8. $25-$30. 7pm. 2020 Addison St., Berkeley. www.thefreight.org

How do you identify, sexually? As a human, but if you want the label; Lesbian.

David Burgoyne

Gina Yashere

Arts Events>>

June 28-July 4, 2018 • Bay Area Reporter • 27

Sat 30

Marin County Fair @ Fairgrounds, San Rafael

TrumpCamp Protests @ Bay Area

Truth and Beauty @ Legion of Honor

Join thousands of protesters calling for an end to the cruel rightwing/ ICE incarceration of children at a rally and march; organized by Indivisible San Francisco and MoveOn. SF rally in Dolores Park to SF City Hall, 10am-1pm. 19th St. & Dolores. www.facebook.com/ events/332120563985925/ Part of 100s of nationwide protests www.moveon.org/event/familiesbelong-together/

Truth and Beauty: The PreRaphaelites and the Old Masters, an exhibit of 100 Victorian works alongside six renaissance masterpieces that inspired them; thru Sept. 30. Also, Julian Schnabel: Symbols of Actual Life, a large installation by the post-modern artist. Thru Aug. 5. Also, Séraphin Soudbinine, Lynn Hershman Leeson, Framing the Body, Mummies and Medicine and other exhibits of classical and modern art. Free/$30. Lincoln Park, 100 34th Ave. https://legionofhonor.famsf.org/

A Walk on the Moon @ Geary Theatre

Thu 28 The Go-Go’s @ The Fox, Oakland The popular women’s pop-rock band performs; Potty Mouth. $49-$120. 8pm. 1807 Telegraph ave., Oakland. http://thefoxoakland.com

A History of Violence @ SOMArts Group exhibit of varied media works exploring anti-LGBT violence, including Arthur Dong, Jason Hanasik, Xandra Ibarra, Julie Tolentino and more. Thru June 28. 934 Brannan St. www.somarts.org

In Braunau @ Strand Theater World premiere of Dipika Guha’s nuanced dark comedy about an American couple who turn Hitler’s Asutrian home into a bed & breakfast. $30. Thru July 7. 1127 Market St. www.sfplayhouse.org

Literary Speakeasy @ Martuni’s Enjoy readings by local and visiting authors Jennifer Barone, MK Chavez, Paul Corman-Roberts, and Keeley Anne Finn, along with musical guests Wally Bee and Matt Langlois, and host James J. Siegel, at the monthly event’s three-year anniversary. 7pm. 4 Valencia St.

Michelle Meow Show @ Commonwealth Club Meow and cohost John Zipperer discuss LGBT issues with different guests. 12pm. 110 Embarcadero. www.commonwealthclub.org

Soft Power @ Curran Theater David Henry Huang and Jeanine Tesori’s contemporary comic political satire and musical, about East-West relations and biases. $29-$165. Thru July 8. 445 Geary St. www.sffcurran.com

Fri 29

Gwenaël Rattke @ Romer Young Gallery

Hedwig and the Angry Inch @ The Stage, San Jose

The Berlin artist’s multimedia art exhibit. Thru July 21. 1240 22nd St. www.romeryounggallery.com/

South Bay production of John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask’s trans rock musical. $30-$65. Wed & Thu 7:30pm, Fri & Sat 8pm, Sun 2pm. Thru July 8. 490 South 1st St., San Jose. www.thestage.org

The Mushroom Cure @ The Marsh, Berkeley Adam Strauss returns with his hit solo show about treating his OCD with hallucinogenic mushrooms. $20-$100. Fri 8pm, Sat 8:30pm. Extended thru July 7. 2120 Allston Way, Berkeley. www.themarsh.com

The Ring Cycle @ War Memorial Performing Arts Center Richard Wagner’s epic operas Der Ring Des Nibelungen (The Ring Of The Nibelung), based on Norse mythology, are performed in repertory by San Francisco Opera and Chorus. $10-$535. Thru July 1. 301 Van Ness Ave. www.sfopera.com

Straight White Men @ Marin Theatre Company Young Jean Lee’s serio-comic play about identity and privilege. $10$37. Thu-Sat 7:30pm. Sat & Sun 2pm, 4pm. Thru July 15. 397 Miller Ave., Mill Valley. http://www.marintheatre.org

Sat 30 Art + Pride @ Harvey Milk Photo Center Group exhibit of Pride-themed photography and mixed media dozens of by LGBT artists and photojournalists. Thru July 22. 50 Scott St. harveymilkphotocenter.org

Finks @ Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts TheatreWorks Silicon Valley’s production of Joe Gilford’s musical play about his father’s McCarthyera red-baiting blacklist from the entertainment industry. $40-$100. Tue-Wed 7:30. Thu-Sat 8pm. Wed, Sat, Sun 2pm. Also Sun 7pm. Thru July 1. 500 Castro st., Mountain View. www.theatreworks.org

LGBTQ Histories from the WWII Home Front @ Rosie the Riveter Visitor Education Center, Richmond

Book Club @ Strut The monthly group discusses Tony Kushner’s epic drama, Angel in America. 7:30pm. www.strutsf.org/calendar/

Expedition Reef @ California Academy of Sciences

The outdoor entertainment series returns, with musicians and MC Donna Sachet. 12pm. Castro St at Market. castrocbd.org

Magnificent Magnolias @ SF Botanical Garden Visit the lush gardens for winter Magnolia displays, plus many other trees and plants. Free entry with SF proof of residency. $5-$10 for others. 7:30am-closing. 9th Ave at Lincoln Way. www.sfbotanicalgarden.org

Sat 30

A Walk on the Moon @ Geary Theatre

Marin County Fair @ Fairgrounds, San Rafael Annual festive fair, with live music (Michael Franti & Spearhead, The Beach Boys, Eddie Money, Los Lobos. LeAnn Rimes and others), food, drinks, fine art, horticulture exhibits, farm animals, carnival rides, and fireworks. $12-$20. 11am-11pm. Thru July 4. www.marinfair.org

Silver Tsunami @ PAWS Mixed gender Queer Elders Writing Workshop participants read their written work. Free. 1pm. 3170 23rd St. www.shanti.org

Exhibit of large-scale photos by women photographers focusing on West Coast communities. Thru May 2019. North Light Court, Ground Floor, 1 Dr Carlton B Goodlett Place. sfartscommission.org

Tue 3 Sun 1 Make Believe: The World of Glen Keane @ Walt Disney Family Museum Exhibit of animation art by the prolific artist (Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, Tarzan ). Thru Sept 3. Also, Walt Disney’s Nine Old Men: Masters of Animation ( Bambi, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp ) , thru Jan. 7. Other exhibits of Disney artifacts and film screenings. 104 Montgomery St, The Presidio. $5$25. 10am-6pm. Closed Tue. http://wdfmuseum.org/

Same-sex partner tango dancing, including lessons for newbies, food and drinks. $5-$10. 3:30pm6:30pm. 1970 Chestnut St, Berkeley. www.finnishhall.org

Respect: Hip-Hop Style & Wisdom @ Oakland Museum

Finks @ Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts

Exhibits and planetarium shows with various live, interactive and installed exhibits about animals, plants and the earth; Deep Reefs, Giants of Land and Sea, Gems and Minerals, and more. $20-$35. Mon-Sat 9:30am5pm. Sun 11am-5pm. 55 Music Concourse Drive, Golden Gate Park. 379-8000. www.calacademy.org

Westward @ City Hall

Queer Tango @ Finnish Hall, Berkeley

Sat 30

Mon 2

Live in the Castro @ Jane Warner Plaza

Tony Kushner’s multiple awardwinning two-part epic drama about the 1980s, AIDS and politics, returns to the Bay Area. Part One: Millennium Approaches and Part Two: Perestroika on separate dates, and a few double-header days; free events and talks, too. $40-$100. Tue-Sat 7pm. Most Wed, Thu Sat & Sun also 1pm. Thru July 22. 2025 Addison St., Berkeley. www.berkeleyrep.org

Berkeley Playhouse’s student production of the 1950s-themed hit musical. $22-$40. Thru Aug. 5. 2640 College Ave., Berkeley. www.berkeleyplayhouse.org

Enjoy weekly informed tours of various parts of San Francisco, from Chinatown to the Haight, and a ‘radical’ and political-themed LGBTinclusive tour. Various dates and times. $15-$25. wildsftours.com

Enjoy exhibits, a bookstore and gift shop that celebrates the era of ‘beatnik’ literature (Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs, etc.), with frequent readings, walking tours and other events in North Beach. $5-$8. Daily 10am-7pm. 540 Broadway www.kerouac.com

Park indoor exhibit that showcases the lives of historic LGBT people. Open daily 10am-5pm. 1414 Harbour Way South, Suite 3000, Richmond. www.roseitheriveter.org

Angels in America @ Berkeley Repertory Theatre

Grease @ Julia Morgan Theatre, Berkeley

Wild SF Walking Tours @ Citywide

Various Exhibits @ The Beat Museum

Kevin Berne

For full listings, visit www.ebar.com/events

American Conservatory Theatre presents the world-premiere musical by Paul Scott Goodman and Pamela Gary, based on her 1999 screenplay of the film about a woman’s affair at a 1960s summer camp, with a cast of talented Broadway actors. $10-$100. Tue-Sat 8pm. Wed, Sat & Sun 2pm. Thru July 1. 415 Geary St. www.act-sf.org

New exhibit that visualizes the movement and sound of the music genre, with many live events through the run, including Friday night parties/performances. Free$16. Wed-Sun. Thru Aug. 12. 1000 Oak St., Oakland. www.museumca.org

Community Meetings @ Strut Meetings for harm reduction, cycling, book club and more, most weekdays. www.strutsf.org

Divine Bodies @ Asian Art Museum New exhibit of sculptures and works about the Buddha, humans and their environments; thru July 29. Also, Pema Namdol Thaye’s A Guided Tour of Hell (thru Sept. 16), Traces of the Past and Future, Fu Shen’s painting and calligraphy, thru Sept., plus exhibits of sculpture and antiquities. Sunday café specialties from $7-$16. Free-$20. Tue-Sun 10am-5pm. 200 Larkin St. www.asianart.org

Formal Dimension @ Maybaum Gallery Inaugural group exhibit of works. Artists’ reception July 21, 6pm-8pm. Thru Aug. 31. 49 Geary St. #416. maybaumgallery.com

Martin Machado: Fluid State @ SF Art Institute Exhibit of works by the artist that visualize shipping containers traveling through the Bay; thru Aug. 19. Pier 2, Fort Mason, 2 Marina Blvd. http://sfai.edu

See page 28 >>

<< Cabaret

28 • Bay Area Reporter • June 28-July 4, 2018

Leslie Jordan The comic actor ‘Exposes’ himself at Feinstein’s

Leslie Jordan

by David-Elijah Nahmod

penly gay Leslie Jordan, beloved as queenie closet case Beverly Leslie on NBC’s Will and Grace, returns to Feinstein’s at The Nikko for a two-night run of raucous, autobiographical comedy. Jordan’s new show Exposed will be unveiled at Feinstein’s on July 13 and 14. “The secret to having a longrunning career is having a one-man show,” Jordan shared in a Bay Area Reporter interview. Speaking by telephone from Spain, he was busy filming Living The Dream, a sitcom for Britain’s Sky TV. “It’s about a British family moving to the USA to pursue the American dream in Florida,” Jordan explains of his new series. “I sell them a trailer park.”

Jordan added that he was loving the European shoot. “I’m looking at the Rock of Gibraltar,” he said. “Here I am, a little boy from Tennessee, looking at the Rock of Gibraltar.” The always-busy actor/comic is also working on Fox’s The Cool Kids, in which he co-stars with Vicki Lawrence, Martin Mull and David Alan Grier. Set in a retirement community, Jordan describes the show as “The Golden Girls on crack.” “It tested higher than any other Fox pilot,” he said. “A brand new series takes a while to find its footing, but we’re all such veterans that I think we nailed it!” On top of all that, Jordan has appeared on NBC’s recently revived Will and Grace. “It’s almost surreal,” he said of the return. “It’s been 11 years. They’d

these days. We have a buffoon in the been doing the reboot for four epiThus Far, then My Trip Down The White House who got in that way.” sodes. I walked in on episode five. It Pink Carpet and the others. It’s all Jordan promises that he’ll be was so weird but we just picked it up about my ups and downs in show business.” sharing many such stories when he from where we left off. We just got Jordan recalls some of his earlier takes to the stage with Exposed. out there with verbal ping-pong.” one-man shows. “All anybody has to say is, ‘How Though he retains a lot of affec“I live in Tupac’s old apartment are you?’ and thirty minutes later tion for Will and Grace, Jordan ad(the murdered rap star), so I did a they have a story,” he said. “Here mits to having been a minor player show called Straight Outta Chattait is. I’m 63 and this is how I got on the series. nooga,” he said. “I only sold 17 tickhere.”t “It wasn’t a huge part of my life,” ets and thought, ‘How can this be?’” he said. “I only did 3 to 4 episodes So he put a nude photo of himself a year, they did 22. They were tightLeslie Jordan performs July 13 on Grindr and sold 90 tickets. knit and are rich as shit.” & 14 at 8pm, at Feinstein’s At The Nikko, 222 Mason Street $30-60 “My manager said, ‘Stop that!’ The comic explained how he ($20 food/drink min.) And I said why? That’s social mecame to do his one-man shows. www.feinsteinsatthenikko.com dia and that’s how we do things “The year I won my Emmy (for Will and Grace), I decided to kick back and wait for things to come to me,” he explains. “I was down to fourteen cents, so I decided to do what the Kardashians do: branding. I sold myself to the gay community.” Jordan sold himself by touring in a series of oneman shows in which he talked about his life, beginning with his childhood in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He also speaks about his 1982 arrival in Hollywood with $1500 sewn into his pocket by his steel magnolia mother. He has worked non-stop ever since and has always remained funny and relevant. “I used to ramble but now I got it down to 75 tight minutes,” Jordan said of Exposed, which he describes as an overview of his greatest hits. “I go through each of my oneperson shows, starting with Hysterical Blindness and Left: Leslie Jordan loves queer literature. Right: Leslie Jordan on stage. Other Southern Tragedies That Have Plagued My Life

Fireworks @ Pier 39

Castro Art Walk @ Castro Venues

Flower Piano @ SF Botanical Garden

Join thousands in the annual bay fireworks display from Crissy Field to the Embarcadero. 9:30pm. https://www.pier39.com/

Monthly (1st Thursdays) strolling events at participating bars and galleries, with artist exhibits and mini-chats, including Dog Eared Books, Blackbird Bar, Spark Arts and more. 6pm-9pm. castroartwalk.com

The festive annual series of informal and programmed outdoor concerts on a dozen pianos set in scenic locations around the Garden includes scheduled concerts and ‘open piano’ performances each day, plus gala nighttime fundraiser parties ($45). Free daytime entry for SF residents; otherwise $2-$8. Thru July 16. Golden Gate Park, 1199 9th Ave. www.sfbotanicalgarden.org

July 4 @ Berkeley Marina

Wed 4

Guarandinga at July 4 @ Berkeley Marina

Daytime family fun alcohol-free event with beach access, crafts, dancing, live music (Caribbean, folk, rock, and jazz), food and dessert trucks galore, and evening fireworks. 12pm-10pm. 201 University Ave., Berkeley. www.anotherbullwinkelshow.com

San Francisco Mime Troupe @ Dolores Park

Arts Events

From page 27

MORE! as Muse @ Apothecarium The famed pot store hosts a group exhibit of art about and inspired by nightlife and community icon Juanita MORE!, including Ariel Dunitz-Johnson, Criket, Doug Sandelin, Gooch, Grey Lux, John Foster Cartwright, Mr. David, Mutha Chucka, Sean Freitas and Spike. Thru July 3. 2029 Market St. https:// apothecarium.com/

René Magritte: The Fifth Season @ SF MOMA New exhibit of 70 artworks by the master Surrealist painter; thru Oct. 28. Sublime Seas : John Akomfrah and J.M.W. Turner, a captivating video installation (thru Sept. 16). Also, Nothing Stable under Heaven and Alexander Calder: Scaling Up. Free/$25. Fri-Tue 10am-6pm. 151 3rd St. www.sfmoma.org

Various Events @ Oakland LGBTQ Center Social events and meetings at the new LGBTQ center include film screenings and workshops, including Bruthas Rising, trans men of color meetings, 4th Tuesdays, 6:30pm. Film screenings, 4th Saturdays, 7:30pm. Game nights, Fridays 7:30pm-11pm. Vogue sessions, first Saturdays. 3207 Lakeshore Ave. Oakland. www.oaklandlgbtqcenter.org/

Wed 4 Block Party @ Jack London Square, Oakland Enjoy food, drinks, booths, live music, kids games, at the open-air July 4 celebration. All-day beer pass $35-$50. 12pm-5pm. Broadway at Embarcadero, Oakland. www.jacklondonsquare.com

The acclaimed theatre company returns with Rotimi Agbabiaka, Joan Holden and composer Ira Marlowe’s new political satire, Seeing Red: A Time-Traveling Musical, where a disgruntled Trump voter goes back to the Socialist movement on 1912. Free ($20 donations). 2pm. 18th St. at Dolores. Also, at other parks and venues throughout Northern California, thru Sept. 9. www.sfmt.org

Empowerment in Print @ GLBT History Museum Empowerment in Print: LGBTQ Activism, Pride & Lust, a mini-exhibit of periodicals from the collection. Angela Davis: OUTspoken, a new exhibit of art and ephemera about the historic lesbian activist and scholar, and Faces of the Past: Queer Lives in Northern California Before 1930, part of the Queer Past Becomes Present main exhibit. $5. 4127 18th St. www.glbthistory.org

Trans Resistance is Beautiful @ SF LGBT Center Group exhibit of original art from trans liberation activist-artist. T hru July 27. 1800 Market St. www.sfcenter.org

Thu 5 The Art of Rube Goldberg @ Contemporary Jewish Museum Art work and ephemera by the creative contraption illustrator and comic artist, thru July 8. 736 Mission St. https://www.thecjm.org

Carlo Fantin, Sara Lish @ Mercury 20, Oakland Duo exhibit of works by the artists who focus on political, sexual and personal themes. Thu-Sat 12pm6pm. Thru July 28. 475 25th St, Oakland. www.mercurytwenty.com

Wed 4

San Francisco Mime Troupe @ Dolores Park

Nightlife Events>>

June 28-July 4, 2018 • Bay Area Reporter • 29

Vice Tuesdays @ Q Bar Dot

Queer femme and friends dance party with hip hop, Top 40 and throwbacks, with DJs Val G and Iris Triska. 9pm2am. 456 Castro St. www.QbarSF.com

Wed 4 Fri 29

Baloney @ Oasis

Nightlife Events June 28-July 5 For full listings, visit www.ebar.com/events

Thu 28 Cuir @ The Stud New leather & kink night with DJs Power Top Raman, PopTart, performers Voodonna Black, Julian Gutierrez, Camille Tow and others. $5-$7. 9pm-2am. 399 9th St. www.studsf.com

Sundance Saloon @ Space 550 The Country-Western line-dancing two-stepping dance event celebrates 20 years. Free thru April 29; $5 after. 5pm-10:30pm. Also Sundays. 550 Barneveld Ave. sundancesaloon.org

Tubesteak Connection @ Aunt Charlie’s Lounge Disco guru DJ Bus Station John spins grooves at the intimate retro music night. 10pm-2am. 133 Turk St. at Taylor. www.auntcharlieslounge.com

Fri 29 Baloney @ Oasis The fun, sexy, hilarious (and occasionally disturbing) gay male burleque strip show returns with all-new acts, and some new hunks; choreography by Rory David and MC Michael Phillis. $27.50-$60. 7pm. Also June 30, July 5, 6, 7. 298 11th St. https://www.sfbaloney.com

Fantasy Friday @ Divas Weekly drag shows at the last transgender-friendly bar in the Polk; with hosts Victoria Secret, Alexis Miranda and several performers. Also Thursdays and Saturdays. Thursday karaoke night. $10. 10pm. 1081 Polk St. www.divassf.com

Kingdom @ Bar Fluxus

Prism @ Qube Bar & Grill, San Mateo

High on the Hog @ Epic Steak

New weekly LGBT night at the Peninsula restaurant and bar. 8pm11:30pm. 4000 South El Camino Real, San Mateo. https://qubelyfe.com/

Eat pork to benefit Guide Dogs for the Blind at the waterfront restaurant’s outdoor BBQ with pinot wines, live music and a great view. $75-$85. 1pm-4pm. 369 Embarcadero. http://www.epicsteak.com/

Vibe Fridays @ Club BnB, Oakland House music and cocktails, with DJs Shareef Raheim-Jihad and Ellis Lindsey. 9pm-2am. 2120 Broadway. (510) 759-7340. www.club-bnb.com

Sat 30 All Day I Dream @ Hellman Hollow Enjoy DJed music (Lee Burridge, Oona Dahl, Gorje Hewek), food trucks, art, clothing, jewelry vendors, Golden Gate Park. $25-$30. 12:30pm-5pm. https://upallnight.us

Green Eggs and Bam! @ Flore Drag shows and brunch at the central restaurant-café, with hostess Camille Tow. Shows at 12pm, 1pm, 2pm. 2298 Market St. www.flore415.com

Mother @ Oasis Heklina’s popular drag show, with special guests and great music themes; DJ MC2 plays grooves. June 30 is Britney vs. Christina night. $10$20. 10pm-3am (11:30pm show). 298 11th St. www.sfoasis.com

The Playground @ Club BNB, Oakland Revamped night at the popular hip hop and Latin dance club. $5-$15. 9pm to 3am. 2120 Broadway. (510) 759-7340. www.club-bnb.com

Sun 1 Dandy @ Oasis The popular monthly drag king show, with cohosts Leigh Crow & Ruby Vixen, goes Way Out West, with Velveeta, Meatflap, Guicho Domingo & Titus Androgynous, Jeff Stroker & Chester Vanderbox, Fudgie Frottage, Jay Mercury, Dicky Luv and Violet Streak. $15. 7pm show. 298 11th St. www.sfoasis.com

Gigante @ Port Bar, Oakland Juanita MORE! and DJ Frisco Robbie’s new weekly event, with Latin, Hip Hop and House music, gogo gals and guys, and a drag show. $5. 9pm-2am. 2023 Broadway, Oakland. portoakland.com

Queer As Fourth @ El Rio LGBTQ July 4 BBQ party. $12. 3pm8pm. Queeraoke 8pm-12am. 3158 Mission St. http://www.elriosf.com/

SheDevil @ Powerhouse Midweek drag rave with DJ Dreamcast. $5. 9pm-2am. 1347 Folsom St. www.powerhousebar.com

Circle Jerk @ Nob Hill Theatre Strip down with the strippers at the uninhibited play party in the downstairs arcade. $20. 9pm. 729 Bush St. at Powell. 397-6758. www.thenobhilltheatre.com

Queer Karaoke @ Club OMG KJ Dana hosts the weekly singing night; unleash your inner American Idol; first Thursdays are Costume Karaoke; 3rd is Kinky Karaoke 8pm. 43 6th St. www.clubomgsf.com

Thursday Night Live @ SF Eagle Rock bands play at the famed leather bar. $8. 398 12th St. at Harrison. www.sf-eagle.com

Playmates and soul mates...

Sail on the Bay @ SF Bay, Oakland Pier Join the Speakeasy cast on a threehour cruise around the Bay with a fictional retro theme aboard the actual FDR presidential vessel, the USS Potomac, with open bar drinks, appetizers, dancing, a Dixieland band, cup souvenirs. $150. 1pm. 540 Water St, Jack London Square, Oakland. https://www.thespeakeasysf.com

Thu 5

San Francisco:

1-415-692-5774

18+ MegaMates.com

Swagger Like Us @ El Rio Queer hip hop and performance afternoon on the patio. $8. 2pm-8pm. 3158 Mission St. elriosf.com

Mon 2 Bob the Drag Queen @ Oasis The stellar drag performer’s solo shows go beyond mere lipsych. $20$45. 8pm. 298 11th St. sfoasis.com

Munro’s at Midnight @ Midnight Sun Drag night with Mercedez Munro. No cover. 10pm. 4067 18th St. 861-4186. www.midnightsunsf.com

Underwear Night @ 440 Strip down to your skivvies at the popular men’s night. 9pm-2am. 440 Castro St. 621-8732. the440.com

Tue 3 Gaymer Night @ Midnight Sun Weekly fun night of games (video, board and other) and cocktails. 8pm-12am. 4067 18th St. http://www.midnightsunsf.com/

Hysteria Comedy @ Martuni’s Open mic for women and queer comics, with host Irene Tu. 6pm-8pm. 4 Valencia St.

The acclaimed drag king crew performs a 2nd anniversary party, with Alex U Inn, Mailman, Duke Madd Dogg 20/20 and many others; come as your favorite superhero. $10. Show 11pm, DJed dancing too. 18 Harlan Place at Grant Ave. barfluxus.com

Martha Wash @ Feinstein’s At The Nikko The iconic vocalist performs at the upscale cabaret. $49-$85 ($20 food/drink min.) 8pm. Also Sat., June 30. 222 Mason St. www.feinsteinsatthenikko.com

The Music of Stephen Schwartz @ Hotel Rex Vocalists Sandy Campbell, Jill Gould, Christopher Nelson, Brooke Michael Smith and Heather Watson perform songs from Wicked, Godspell, Pippin, and other Schwartz-penned musicals, with pianist G. Scott Lacy. $30-$50. 8pm. 562 Sutter St. https:// societycabaret.com Untitled-9 1

6/27/18 11:24 AM

<< Leather

30 • Bay Area Reporter • June 28-July 4, 2018

Leather Resistance Kink communities & political activism

All photos: Rich Stadtmiller

Left: The Leather contingent at the 2018 LGBT Pride march. Middle: Leather guys show a rainbow-colored ‘Abolish ICE’ sign at the 2018 LGBT Pride march. Right: The Rainbow Color Guard, a popular part of the Leather contingent’s annual participation in the San Francisco Pride March.

by Race Bannon

here are times when I begin to write this column and simply stall. I want to write about things like leather pride, great sex, kink events, and relationship options. I put fingers to keyboard, and I freeze. No, it’s not writer’s block of the garden variety. It’s instead the overwhelming feeling that as the American political landscape collapses around us into a heap of hateful dung, all my efforts should be focused on saving what’s left of our country rather than telling you how to have awesome sex or meet fellow kinksters. I question what I do here because it feels to me that loftier goals for this all too rare publication space are vital to ensuring we still have a democracy in which to enjoy our unique, adventurous take on sex, eroticism, identity and relationships. At the same time of year when San Francisco celebrates Pride, we are also approaching July 4, the day on which we enshrine our country’s Declaration of Independence. Freedom. Pride. Independence. Liberty. Autonomy. Liberation. Diversity. Acceptance. Within the course of a few days’ time we honor all these things. Yet, they’re all slipping away before our eyes. The urgency with which Americans are addressing the loss doesn’t seem commensurate with the danger at hand. The Resistance is alive and well, but considering the severity of the dangerous circumstances we now find ourselves in, I’m astonished that everyone isn’t in the streets daily and screaming from rooftops that this is not okay. Because it’s not okay. It’s not normal. It’s the most perilous time in our nation I’ve experienced in my 64 years on this planet. So, what does this all have to do with kink, leather, sex, relationships and all the other things I typically write about in this column? I’m old enough to remember what it was like to try to live my gay life in a world that didn’t want me to have any freedoms. I remember random police bar raids, arrests of drag queens for not wearing enough male clothing, frequent bashings, no legal protections of any kind – an environment entirely antagonistic to everything I am and wanted to be. Add on top of my gay identity my leather and kink identity, and the depth of disdain some had for my kind back then was often off the charts. In time, things got better; not perfect by any means, but better. Slowly but surely our freedoms, acceptance and legal protections grew. As LGBTQ and as leatherfolk we engaged in our own forms of resistance. We marched. We lobbied. We undertook research. We wrote. We called. We published. We brainstormed. We

organized. We boycotted. We did whatever it took to make the lives of LGBTQ and kinky people better. To a large extent we were successful, but we never achieved 100% success and the successes we have achieved are dissolving before our eyes, all led by a maniacal President hellbent on destroying everything that is good about our country. Take away the freedoms and protections we have achieved thus far, and the world becomes a lot less friendly to LGBTQ, leather, kink and indeed all the erotic and relationship adventurers. Make no mistake. If the powers in Washington, D.C. had their way, our nation would today be a rabidly right-wing religious state that would love nothing more than to wipe out all LGBTQ, kinky and non-conforming folks like us. Now, I know some will say to themselves upon reading this that this space is supposed to be for all who enjoy the erotic pleasures extolled herein. Generally, I would agree with you. But I need to take a stand personally, and my stand is that if you side with the powers occupying the White House today, you do not side with any of the radical adventurers – LGBTQ, leather people, kinksters, anyone seeking to express their sexualities and relationships in any non-conforming manner. You also don’t side with women, people of color, non-Christians or immigrants. Side with the enemy and to me you are the enemy, even if you’re dressed head to toe in cowhide. I’ve attended leather conferences at which I’ve heard someone proudly declare their love of Trump and his ideas while at the same time surrounded by their supposed friends who Trump is trying to systematically oppress. LGBTQ. People of color. Non-Christians. Women. Immigrants. The poor. The edgier slice of our culture that this column attempts to comment on and document is replete with people clearly in the White House administration’s and Congress’s crosshairs as people who must be demonized and devalued as less than, as unworthy, as those who deserve fewer rights than wealthy, white, heterosexual, Christian conservative men. I’ve held off writing a column like this for a while. The optimist in me felt that in time the obvious evil emanating from the White House and their Congressional enablers would clearly be noticed by everyone and dealt with appropriately. That’s not happening. Those in majority power in D.C. seem to be happily complicit in the destruction of our country and our freedoms if it adds to their coffers and powerbase. They have sold their souls and we are the chum they’ve decided to gladly throw into the Piranha-infested wa-

ters as sacrificial offerings to shore up their bank accounts and power. Dark, I know. But it is what it is. Sugar-coating it won’t make it go away. This is real. This is dangerous. This threatens all that we are and the freedoms to live our lives as we see fit. Please, resist. Every single day, until this national nightmare is over. My own forms of resistance come in many forms and I feel resistance must be daily and ongoing. However, I’m focused like a laser on the November elections and I hope you are too. Please register and vote. If you’re already registered, make sure your registration is still active and accurate. Get everyone you know to vote. I feel voting in every election is the duty of every American. I know it’s technically optional, but I don’t think it’s morally or ethically optional. Let’s make sure we return some Democratic control to Congress in November, because if we do not, I fear our country and our democracy may be lost forever, and along with them our erotic freedoms as well. Experienced activist that I am,

Rich Stadtmiller

Two of the many Dykes on Bikes at the SF Pride March.

I’d also be remiss if I didn’t say that to resist long-term you have to take care of yourself. Part of taking care of yourself means getting your sexual and social needs met. It means you must find some joy to counter the misery. Without those joys, you won’t find adequate strength to resist. So, now is the time to increase, not decrease, how often we gather, have sex, play, socialize, organize, and support each other. Be leather.

Be kinky. Be polyamorous. Be queer. Be an erotic rebel. Be whatever you want to be. But at the same time, never lose sight of the fact that it could all be taken away from you in a heartbeat.t For Leather Events Listings, visit www.ebar.com/events Race Bannon is a local author, blogger and activist. You can reach at www.bannon.com.

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June 28-July 4, 2018 • Bay Area Reporter • 31

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Wrestling for Charity @ El Toro L

ocal pros, heels and faces filled the ring with wacky athleticism when Wrestling For Charity presented SF Slam, the fourth fundraiser with MC and reigning Empress Pollo Del Mar. The kid-friendly action included hunks and camp creatures Chicago Flame, Lisa Lace, Lazarus and the Berkeley Brawler, among other wrestlers. Look for the next event at El Toro (2470 San Bruno Ave.) on July 26. http://www.wfcwrestling.com https://www.facebook.com/clubeltoro/ See plenty more photos on BARtab’s Facebook page, facebook.com/lgbtsf.nightlife. See more of Steven Underhill’s photos at StevenUnderhill.com.