May 13, 2021 edition of the Bay Area Reporter, America's highest circulation LGBTQ newspaper

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Vol. 51 • No. 19 • May 13-19, 2021

Unclear when SF’s Jazzie’s Place shelter will reopen

by John Ferrannini

A Rick Gerharter

Petra DeJesus recently stepped down from the San Francisco Police Commission.

Lesbian longtime police commissioner DeJesus steps down

by John Ferrannini

T

he only out member of the San Francisco Police Commission has stepped down as her term has ended.

Petra DeJesus, a lesbian and attorney, concluded her stint on the powerful oversight panel April 30. Speaking to the Bay Area Reporter on her penultimate day in office, DeJesus said, “I’ve been there a long time and my term is up.”

DeJesus, who was initially appointed by the Board of Supervisors in 2005, has used her time on the commission to advocate for police reform.

“I think they are on the way,” she said about how that is going, adding that in the past year Mayor London Breed’s efforts to establish a street crisis response team to answer some 911 calls is a step forward.

DeJesus’ day job is as an associate at the firm Kazan, McClain, Satterley and Greenwood. She has “no plans for anything next, just going to take a breather.”

DeJesus said her proudest moment on the commission came in response to police officers fatally shooting Mario Woods in 2015, which led to an update of the San Francisco Police Department’s use of force policies. An autopsy showed Woods had suffered 20 gunshot wounds, including six in the back.

“I think updating the use of force policy to get rid of karate chokeholds and shooting at cars, and changing the tenor of the policy to ensure the sanctity of life, was bold at the time and contentious with the unions, but it was the right move,” DeJesus said.

On the other hand, DeJesus said the worst moment of her time on the commission was “when they took the vote to allow tasers.”

The commission approved the use of tasers by the police department in a 4-3 vote during a November 2017 meeting. However, the Board of Supervisors has subsequently refused to provide funding for the equipment.

“There are no tasers – because there is no money to buy them,” DeJesus said. “Three times we’ve had a vote on tasers and the first time we were successful at keeping them out of the department’s hand, but just a couple of years ago, they voted tasers in. There are studies that show it is a less lethal weapon, but it is still lethal, even when used as intended. There’s a lot of things wrong with them; when you have a teenager, people without real body weight, you can pierce their organs, and See page 10 >>

nF Sa

rancisco

homeless shelter for LGBTQ adults in San Francisco shuttered last year during the COVID-19 pandemic.

But as the city turns the tide on the health crisis, it’s unclear when it will reopen.

Jazzie’s Place is located on South Van Ness Avenue in the Mission district and overseen by Dolores Street Community Services. Right now, people who had been staying there are residing at shelter-inplace hotels, DSCS officials said.

The 24-bed shelter is named in honor of the late Jazzie Collins, a transgender woman who advocated for housing, seniors, and other issues and died in 2013. It opened in 2015.

Laura Valdez, a queer woman who is the executive director of DSCS, told the Bay Area Reporter that Jazzie’s Place closed the weekend of July 4 “when we began to operate a shelter-in-place hotel.”

At that time, some 15 people were moved to the hotel (the shelter had to downsize due to physical distancing requirements), the identity of which is undisclosed.

“HSH doesn’t want us to name the hotel,” Valdez said, referring to the San Francisco Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing. She added that other DSCS clients are also staying there.

“The timing for reopening our original shelter location has still not been determined by HSH,” Valdez said. “We’re waiting to reopen our shelter. It depends upon

Courtesy DSCS

Dolores Street Community Services Executive Director Laura Valdez

when they will end the shelter-in-place hotels and determine the guidance and occupancy. ... We haven’t gotten a firm response.

At one point, it looked like March or April, but then that changed. Then we heard July 30, and now we are hearing three more months, which could be September.”

When reached for comment, HSH referred the B.A.R. to the city’s Department of Emergency Management.

A DEM spokesperson who asked to be attributed that way told the B.A.R. that “these temporary hotel rooms are funded

by FEMA through September, but the work to rehouse people into long-term solutions

is happening now,” referring to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

“San Francisco has adjusted rehousing and demobilization timelines to allow for more flexibility in our efforts to work with [shelter-in-place] residents and service providers to facilitate stable exits to permanent supportive housing,” the spokesperson stated. “The adjusted end rehousing date is now December 31, 2021 and the hotel demobilization date is now January 21, 2022.”

Those dates are projections and could change, the official added.

See page 10 >>

Few trans people transferred under new CA prisoner law

by John Ferrannini

A

new California law that allows incarcerated transgender people to ask for a transfer to a state prison or detention center that matches with their gender identity went into effect in January, but so far few people have been approved for it, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Senate Bill 132, authored by gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), was signed

by Governor Gavin Newsom last year. To date only 21 requests from transgender and gendernonconforming incarcerated people to move to gender-appropriate facilities have been approved this year, out of 382 requests, according to CDCR officials.

Eight people have been transferred.

Prison officials offered some reasons for the low number of approvals.

“Transfers are dependent on several factors including bed availability and COVID-19 precautions have impacted overall inmate transfers,” CDCR deputy press secretary Terry Thornton stated in an email to the Bay Area Reporter.

Courtesy ABC30

The Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla

No requests from trans inmates to be moved to gender-appropriate facilities have been outright rejected so far.

“Requests for housing based on gender identity are reviewed by a multi-disciplinary classification committee chaired by the warden and made up of custody, medical, and mental health care staff, and a [Prison Rape Elimination Act]

compliance manager,” Thornton stated. “This committee conducts an in-depth case-by-case review of all case factors and the individual’s history to make a recommendation for approval or disapproval of the request.”

But doubts linger among some people about whether incarcerated trans people are being treated fairly under the requirements set forth under SB 132.

As the B.A.R. previously reported, in addition to allowing incarcerated individuals to apply for a transfer, the bill also requires state prison personnel to record the person’s self-reported gender identity, gender pronouns, and honorifics during the intake process. And it requires not just prison staff but also contractors and volunteers to properly address the individuals by name and pronoun.

There are 1,167 trans and gender-nonconforming people in the California prison system, according to CDCR statistics.

However, as Wiener told the B.A.R. last week, “there have been some reports of CDCR staff either trying to dissuade people or causing concern among cisgender women.”

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<< Community News

t City College trustees OK salary cuts to avoid layoffs 2 • Bay Area Reporter • May 13-19, 2021

by John Ferrannini

visor Gordon Mar, stated that he is “committed to honoring City College’s agreement to work on joint legislative efforts with faculty and other stakeholders to gain long-term and sustainable funding for the college.”

Some members of the Board of Supervisors are advocating the city provide emergency funding to the institution, which has struggled with budgetary problems for years.

T

he City College of San Francisco Board of Trustees voted unanimously May 10 to approve an agreement to impose salary cuts in order to avert massive layoffs and the resulting class cuts at the educational institution.

The salary reductions were approved prior to the meeting by members of the American Federation of Teachers Local 2121, which had reached a tentative agreement with the college administration May 8.

According to a news release from the union hours before the board meeting, 82% of the members voted in favor of the pay cuts to avoid layoffs.

As the Bay Area Reporter reported last week, it was anticipated that the college’s board would vote at its May 10 meeting on the budget matter. The board had already approved the sending of layoff notices to 163 faculty members and 34 administrators across 39 departments as a way of dealing with a projected deficit of $33 million.

Those AFT members who voted, about 79%, accepted salary reductions, ranging from 4-11%, to prevent “devastating cuts and protect access for students,” the release stated.

“The CCSF Board of Trustees meets this afternoon at 4 p.m. to make their final decision on proposed layoffs and cuts,” the news release, which was sent minutes before the trustees met, stated. “AFT 2121 urges them to demonstrate the same commitment to CCSF that its educators have just shown. CCSF has been long underfunded by the state: the needs of San Francisco have always far surpassed support from Sacramento. The solution to this problem cannot be the elimination of the public community college that San Franciscans depend on to access quality higher education.”

AFT 2021 cited America’s most famous community college professor:

‘Absolutely appalling’

Screengrab

City College trustees and others took part in the May 10 meeting to address a $33 million budget deficit.

first lady Jill Biden.

“While the national conversation increasingly moves towards recognizing the essential role of community colleges in addressing racial, class, and gender inequities, cities such as San Francisco need to ensure that they adequately fund, in the words of Dr. Jill Biden, their own ‘most powerful engines of prosperity,’” it stated.

Tom Temprano, a gay man who is vice president of the City College board, stated after the meeting that the school needs local, state, and federal help.

“Tonight I joined with my colleagues to vote for an agreement with our faculty that closed the budget gap for the time being,” stated Temprano, a legislative aide to gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman. “Fortunately, that means no layoffs and no class cuts this year. Like community colleges across the country during the pandemic, City College has lost thousands of students and tens of millions of dollars – and it’s going to get worse if we don’t address our structural budget issues. We need help from the

federal, state, and local government to grow again and I’m committed to working to make that happen.”

Temprano was in the heat of the controversy late last week after unsupported and unfounded accusations he called the police on protesters who showed up to his Castro neighborhood home May 6, as the B.A.R. reported.

Shanell Williams, a bisexual woman who is the president of the board, stopped a public comment midway through from English professor Tehmina Khan when they repeated those accusation during Monday’s meeting.

Williams did not return a B.A.R. request for comment by press time.

The one-year agreement will result in an expense reduction of $22.6 million and provide for a 5% cash reserve, according to the trustees. Of that, $13.3 million will come from the faculty proportionate share salary reduction, $8.6 million from salary savings, and $4.8 million in retirement savings.

Final layoff notices will not be issued to any full-time faculty.

Trustee Alan Wong, who’s also a legislative aide to District 4 Super-

During public comment, dozens of people expressed their frustration with the whole process, characterizing the relationship between the trustees and faculty as “abusive” and “bullying.” Faculty also expressed concern the agreement only kicks the can down the road to next year.

Leslie Simon, who has taught for decades at the college, told the trustees that if not for the agreement “you would have voted to end your political careers.”

“Word was without AFT’s brilliant strategy to avoid massive layoffs, you would have voted for layoffs and against an estimated 31,000 student education opportunities,” Simon said. “You would have voted for one of the most dramatic attacks on academic freedom in the country. You would have voted to turn City College into a gig employer.

You would have contributed to union busting.”

Though Williams insisted “we are not cutting Cantonese,” several people expressed their fears the trustees were planning to do just that.

“I’m concerned about the indefinite cut of the Cantonese classes,” CCSF student Karen Leung said.

“Cantonese is my home language, the language that is spoken by almost 20% of the San Francisco community. It is already classified as a language that needs preservation.

It is not the same as Mandarin, and it’s a language that needs to be spoken in order to be taught.”

Laura Cohen, who spoke during public comment, responded to Williams saying that by “making the only Cantonese teacher to teach Mandarin,” the trustees are “effectively cutting them [classes].”

“It seems you actually don’t care about this school,” Cohen said. “If you would like to prove that you do care, take a pay cut yourself. Austerity doesn’t work – it’s a tool of white supremacy. ” Sandra Lee McKay, Ph.D., a professor emeritus at San Francisco State University, said that she is “shocked and appalled by the administration and trustees” for “putting the faculty in the position of having to give up salary to keep jobs and classes.”

“This is absolutely appalling that they would have to lose from 4-11% in order to save courses and prevent layoffs,” McKay said.

Williams said during the meeting that state and federal leaders who the trustees had spoken with were not very willing to spend cash to alleviate CCSF’s particular budget shortfall until they see “structural changes.”

“There is little appetite for bailing out City College at the state level,” Trustee Brigitte Davila said. “The state should be paying more to the community colleges and the [California State University system]. I think that’s something we all agree on.”

Davila tried to address some of the concerns of those who expressed their dismay during public comment.

“The trustees have worked their asses off to do as much as they possibly humanly can, and I know everyone has in their heart the best interest of City College,” she said.t

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<< Business News

4 • Bay Area Reporter • May 13-19, 2021

Coworking space opens in downtown SF

by Matthew S. Bajko

A

new queer and female coowned coworking space has opened its doors in downtown San Francisco just as the city begins to reopen. And with vaccinations now widely available for adults, anyone using the space as of June 1 will need to show proof they have been inoculated against the virus.

Trellis welcomed its first users Saturday, May 1, at its 981 Mission Street location. The South of Market space had formerly been home to a different coworking space called Covo.

“Trellis is the workspace I wish I had every day I was stuck at home during the pandemic. A beautiful, calm oasis where I can stretch out my legs, be productive, caffeinate, and safely connect with real human beings,” said founder Rebecca Pan. Joining Pan and her husband, Jason, in launching Trellis are queer co-founders Beau-Robert Metcalfe, the company’s strategy manager, and Brandon King, its operations manager. It takes its name from a garden trellis, as the co-founders envision it is a space that encourages growth and where ideas can “flourish in a post-pandemic world.”

“I think the diversity and creativity on our team embody that welcoming, San Francisco vibe that brought us all here in the first place.

That’s the kind of community we look to foster at Trellis,” stated Metcalfe.

Its three-level brick-and-timber building provides private meeting rooms and office space, as well as communal areas and a cafe and wine bar. For that reason, anyone not in a private area at Trellis is required to wear a mask, a policy that will be reexamined as public health officials revise their recommended maskwearing protocols for indoor spaces.

“We are hoping that will shift in the not too distant future,” Rebecca Pan told the Bay Area Reporter.

Pre-pandemic Trellis expected to be able to have 200 members, and 30 people already have signed up to use its space. Its capacity limits continue to change as the city adjusts the regulations for how businesses can operate during the pandemic.

It was at the suggestion of its members that Trellis adopted its vaccination requirement.

“The reason we are implementing that policy is because our members

Lindsay Smalling

Co-owners Brandon King, left, Beau-Robert Metcalfe, Rebecca Pan, and Jason Pan sit in a shared space at Trellis.

really pushed for it,” said Rebecca Pan. The Trellis staff is fully vaccinated, and there is a full health and safety policy posted to its website for members or prospective members to download.

“While many universities and hospitals have started to implement vaccination requirement policies, corporate and retail businesses have been more tentative, wary of putting a stake in the ground,” noted Metcalfe. “Given the feedback from members, Trellis believes the policy will increase inclusion and reach.”

Access costs $5 an hour, or monthly passes that come with various benefits can be purchased. An open seating pass runs $440 per month, a dedicated desk monthly pass costs $560, and a private office is priced at $840 a month.

Asked how things have been going as it nears its two-week mark of being opened, Pan told the B.A.R. May 11, “I have to say, they are going well.”

To learn more about Trellis, visit its website at https://www.trellis. social/.

App aims to diversify workplace recruitment

Courtesy Rhett Lindsey

Siimee co-founder Rhett Lindsey

A new app that is currently in beta mode and plans to launch publicly this fall is aiming to diversify the hiring process among technology firms and other companies. Siimee, pronounced as “see me,” aims to connect prospective employees with hiring managers in an inclusive manner.

One of its co-founders is Rhett Lindsey, who is queer and bisexual and previously worked for a Bay

Area-based gaming studio. He and his husband, Michael Perez, a digital imagining technician in TV and films, now live in Pasadena.

“We want to eliminate equality biases that historically occur in the recruiting process,” Lindsey told the B.A.R. during a recent phone interview. “What we stand for is inclusion is the connecter between diversity and opportunity.”

Lindsey, whose father is Irish and mother is African American, grew up in a suburb of Atlanta. After earning a degree in social work from the University of Kentucky, he made his way to Southern California in 2015 after landing a job as a recruiter for the think tank Applied Minds.

From there Lindsey has had a peripatetic career, landing jobs with such varied companies at the Walt Disney Studios, Facebook, Tinder, and the Redwood City-based video game developer Crystal Dynamics Inc. He helped recruit talent for each of his employers, and was often focused on improving the company’s diversity and inclusion hiring.

Oftentimes Lindsey found himself to be the only person of color in the corporate settings, or one of just a few employees who were not white.

Late last year he joined William Mehserle Jr. and Shazan Ashroff, both straight allies, to co-found Siimee with the goal of connecting more people of color and women with the recruiting and hiring directors of major companies.

“We created it because of my six-plus years working in recruitment and human resources and the challenges I faced within that,” said Lindsey.

He and Ashroff had worked together at Tinder, while he first met Mehserle in college. Although the knew the need for a more diverse workforce is acute, Lindsey said the trio also didn’t want their app launch to be perceived as piggybacking off the Black Lives Matter movement and the protests that erupted last summer across the country in response to the police killings of unarmed African Americans.

“I would say as challenging as the last year was, the biggest hurdle we had to get over was really making sure this was the right time,” said Lindsey. “I think the launching of an

app that has a specific mission like Siimee does, because of the climate of racial injustice and police brutality, it addresses that need for change.”

The co-founders have designed their app to address the conscious and unconscious biases people bring with them to the workplace and hiring process. Emulating the ease of making a connection via a dating app, Siimee allows users to swipe right on the profiles of people they want to engage with or swipe left for those they do not.

But what information they are initially shown is purposefully limited so that a hiring manager at first will not see the photo or full name of the people seeking employment.

The app grays out people’s photos and only uses the initials of their names until there is a match. Then both parties are allowed full access to each other’s profile.

“The profiles are focused on their background,” explained Lindsey.

“When it comes to job searching or reviewing resumes, a lot of biases happen. And not just with a person of color, it can happen with anyone no matter what their race, gender, nationality, or professional background is. We are trying to address it head on.”

The app is intended to be free for those seeking employment, while companies will be able to purchase different subscription tiers for their hiring and recruiting managers to use. At the moment they are focused primarily on getting people in the tech sector to sign up as early users, though others in different professions are also welcome to submit an application.

When it launches Siimee’s creators hope it will foster a more inclusive hiring process, said Lindsey.

“We are giving everyone an opportunity to get their foot in the door,” he said. “We are eliminating barriers around diversity and redefining what it means to do diversity recruiting.”

To learn more about Siimee and to sign up as an early user of the app, visit https://siimee.com/. t Got a tip on LGBTQ business news? Call Matthew S. Bajko at (415) 829-8836 or e-mail m.bajko@ebar.com.

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May 13-19, 2021 • Bay Area Reporter • 5

SF AIDS Foundation appoints interim CEO

by John Ferrannini

ager. Four leadership positions were among those eliminated.

Rogers has been with SFAF since 2019. As his bio states on the nonprofit’s website, he and his partner live with their twin daughter and son in the city’ LGBTQ Castro district, where the agency’s health center Strut is located.

According to a May 5 email to supporters, he was previously CFO and chief operations officer for the California Water Environment Association and president of an early-stage online business developed by the International Association of Business

Communicators. Rogers also served as director of technology and chief information officer for GE Capital’s San Francisco-based global container leasing entity.

SFAF said that Rogers was not available for an interview. The agency has yet to release Rogers’ compensation as interim CEO. “It is an honor to serve as the interim CEO for SFAF as the organization conducts the search for the foundation’s next CEO,” Rogers stated in the email. “In my time here at the organization, I have gained a deep appreciation for the incredible work

SFAF does in the community and for clients. I look forward to providing leadership as we continue to advance our mission of health justice.”

In a farewell statement released early May 6, Hollendoner did not specifically reference the layoffs but did state “challenges still exist ... but I’m confident in this organization’s ability to weather any storm.”

He did tout other benchmarks.

“Some of the accomplishments I’m proudest of include: Launching new programs to address the urgent needs of people experiencing homelessness and people who inject drugs. Deepening our commitment to long-term survivors so the first generation of AIDS activists can age with dignity, [and] transforming our programs and services so that community members most impacted by HIV today, especially communities of color, are prioritized,” Hollendoner stated.

“It is with sincere and heartfelt gratitude that I say thank you for supporting our work, and the lives of the more than 25,000 clients we serve,” he added. “Leading San Francisco AIDS Foundation with its talented and dedicated employees and volunteers has been an incredible experience that has meant so much to me professionally as well as personally.”

Rogers thanked Hollendoner for his time as CEO; he took over in 2016

us they’d look into it, but that it was not a widespread issue but they’d still look into it.”

Oakland-based attorney Jennifer Orthwein, a queer trans-identified nonbinary person, told the B.A.R. that “we are getting reports that cisgender male correctional officers and their supervisors are mocking transgender women by claiming they also identify as transgender women to intention-

ally deny them their requests to be searched by officers who identify as women.”

“We are very disappointed with CDCR’s failure to hold their officers accountable for violating the law or to thoughtfully and expeditiously implement the law, given it is long overdue and that failure to implement is causing very real and increased danger for transgender, intersex and nonbinary people at-

tempting to assert their rights under the law,” Orthwein stated.

Orthwein stated that CDCR has stopped transfers while adjusting the process. They did not identify a trans prisoner that the B.A.R. could speak with.

“Since no one has been officially denied, their attempts to file grievances for not having their requests to be transferred granted or even considered are being rejected as

C

apping a week of significant changes for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, the city’s largest provider of HIV and other health services to the LGBTQ community has named an interim CEO. It comes just days after the nonprofit quietly laid off 17 staff members.

Kevin Rogers, previously the foundation’s chief financial officer, started as its interim CEO May 7. He is succeeding Joe Hollendoner, a gay man who had announced in January that he would resign in May in order to join the staff of the Los Angeles LGBT Center in July.

As the Bay Area Reporter previously reported, Hollendoner will ascend to CEO there in July 2022. He is succeeding lesbian longtime CEO Lorri L. Jean, who is retiring.

The appointment last week of Rogers to lead SFAF as it searches for a permanent CEO came a day after the B.A.R. broke the news about the staff layoffs at the agency. In response to the B.A.R.’s queries, Hollendoner had confirmed the downsizing of the nonprofit’s 200+ workforce.

The staff cuts were due to “impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic and associated declines in revenue,” according to Chad Ngo, the foundation’s communications man-

<<

Prisoner law

From page 1

Indeed, the Los Angeles Times reported April 5 that incarcerated people at the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla said guards warned them “men” and sexual violence “are coming.”

“We reached out to CDCR about that,” Wiener said, referring to the article. “They [CDCR] told

Courtesy SFAF

Kevin Rogers has been named interim CEO of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation.

after serving as first deputy commissioner at the Chicago Department of Public Health.

“The example provided by Joe in both his commitment to our clients as well as our staff will be a source of inspiration to me as I serve in this interim role,” Rogers said. “I would like to thank Joe for his fearless leadership and confidence in me to serve in this capacity until the Board selects the next CEO.” The foundation’s board of directors has appointed a search committee of members to oversee the selection of the next CEO. Russell Reynolds and Associates, a global leadership film, will be assisting.

“The board of directors is very pleased to name Kevin as interim CEO,” board co-chairs Douglas Brooks and Maureen Watson stated.

“Kevin’s many years of management and leadership experience, his commitment to SFAF, and his passion and enthusiasm for the mission of the organization make him the perfect candidate to shepherd the organization through this time of change.”

According to an annual financial report the foundation published for Fiscal Year 2019-2020, SFAF had a revenue of $52.0 million and expenses of $48.9 million. Hollendoner’s salary and benefits at the time totaled $376,430, according to the document.t not an appealable issue,” Orthwein stated. “So they are essentially in limbo and waiting for CDCR to respond to their pleas for transfer.”

In a statement, Thornton confirmed that “CDCR is working on additional processes to help classification committees in their review of gender-based housing requests,” but would not characterize these as pausing transfers.

See page 10 >>

<< Open Forum

6 • Bay Area Reporter • May 13-19, 2021

Volume 51, Number 19 May 13-19, 2021 www.ebar.com

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So long, Joe Hollendoner

F

ormer San Francisco AIDS Foundation CEO Joe Hollendoner dropped a bomb on the eve of his departure. He had barely confirmed to us that the agency had issued 17 layoff notices among its 200-plus staff then poof – he was gone!

Leaving Wednesday, May 5, he’s off to Southern California, as we’ve previously reported, (https:// www.ebar.com/news/latest_news//301488) to begin training to take over the Los Angeles LGBT Center next year. We won’t miss him, because we didn’t really know him.

In his five years at the AIDS foundation, Hollendoner, a gay man, did not reach out to us – we never got a chance to meet him, unlike previous CEOs who took the helm and sat for interviews.

In reviewing our past reporting, we found that he couldn’t even be available for a phone interview when he was hired in 2016 (https://www.ebar. com/news///246016).

It is in stark contrast to his predecessors, who routinely spoke to the B.A.R. about various issues related to SFAF, from its workplace environment to merging with other AIDS agencies. Over the decades, we’ve been unsparing in our criticism when warranted, and praise when it’s due.

The last time we reported on a workforce reduction at SFAF was in 2002. That turned up a gem of a B.A.R. headline, “Pat takes a pay cut.”

The article detailed layoffs of 28 of its 117 employees in addition to salary reductions for administrators, including then-executive director Pat Christen. (With this year’s job cuts, SFAF officials wouldn’t say if top paid officials were taking a reduction in pay.) Longtime readers will recall we reported on Christen’s increasing salary over the years, at a time when clients desperately needed services.

Back in 2002, the layoffs and salary cuts were attributed to post9/11 donor fatigue; now, the cause is the COVID-19 pandemic, which understandably has affected the ability to fundraise. The cancellation of last year’s AIDS/LifeCycle, the 545-mile bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles produced by SFAF and the LA center, was a severe

Courtesy SFAF

Former San Francisco AIDS Foundation CEO Joe Hollendoner

setback. This year’s ride has taken a virtual twist, but won’t raise near the $19 million it did in 2019.

Given the situation, there are not many options to easily replace the event or donations, which are split between the two organizations. Layoffs may be justified as a result, but they’re still painful for the people affected, obviously, and the foundation clients and co-workers. We’ve heard that the employees weren’t given much notice, which might have been handled more sensitively by Hollendoner and the SFAF board.

In the late 1990s we started reporting on what were then ballooning salaries, not only at SFAF, but other LGBTQ and HIV/AIDS nonprofits as well. We’ve been criticized for asking incoming leaders about their compensation even though the information becomes publicly available when a charity eventually files its federal 990 tax returns. Donors, most of whom do not investigate tax returns, deserve to know this fact about any nonprofit and assess whether its leader is capable of providing frank answers to routine interview questions or dodging them.

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We firmly believe that all donors, volunteers, and employees of nonprofit agencies, which we acknowledge do amazing work, deserve to know the salaries of top officials and the operations’ financial health. In order to engender public confidence and support, agencies must be transparent. We remain committed to that principle.

Over the years, SFAF leadership has made some noteworthy achievements, the last ambitious one being the opening of the Strut health center in the Castro – and we’ve reported on that too. Still, the silence from SFAF’s 1035 Market Street headquarters is deafening.

We’d like to say welcome to SFAF interim CEO Kevin Rogers, who was previously the agency’s chief financial officer. He has his work cut out for him, and right off the bat it’s not all positive. For one thing, Rogers was not available for an interview either. According to a May 5 email to supporters, Rogers, who’s been with SFAF since 2019, was previously CFO and chief operations officer for the California Water Environment Association and president of an earlystage online business developed by the International Association of Business Communicators.

Rogers also served as director of technology and chief information officer for GE Capital’s San Francisco-based global container leasing entity.

As the new leader of the city’s largest HIV/AIDS service organization, we wanted to ask about Rogers’ HIV status, his salary, immediate and long-term plans for SFAF, the state of the agency and other customary questions. By declining an interview or otherwise disclosing his HIV status, Rogers and SFAF are helping to perpetuate the very stigma that they claim to be against as part of the city’s Getting to Zero initiative. One of the goals of that effort is zero stigma. Whether he’s positive or negative, it’s relevant to the identity of the leadership of an HIV/AIDS agency.

Whenever SFAF has come under criticism, like many organizations its first instinct is to close ranks. Unfortunately, that strategy benefits neither the nonprofit agency nor its clients. We’d still like to meet Rogers for an interview, and we hope that whomever SFAF selects for its permanent CEO will abandon the impulse to circle the wagons and instead engage the public. t

My coming out day

by Stephanie Battaglino

S

Bay Area Reporter

t

o there I was. Standing all by myself in the middle of this fairly large and open lobby in a building that had about a thousand people in it – and no one was around. I was almost wishing that somebody, anybody would come through the lobby with their morning coffee just to break the silence. But it was not to be. Just me – and my thoughts.

Before me, right in the middle of this large, glass-enclosed space, stood a large center staircase that went up to the third and top floor of the building. That’s where my office was. In much the same fashion as I had done when I made my debut in New York City, I took a deep breath, collected myself, said a quick prayer, and up the staircase I went. It is not, by any measure, a short staircase. It seemed even longer on this particular morning. But as I slowly made my way up the stairs, and got closer to the level of the floor, I could start to see all of the cubicles come into my field of vision. To my right there were some of my staff’s offices, but I didn’t see anyone. To my left was where the remainder of my staff was, but again, I didn’t see anyone. I thought for a second, “has everybody taken the day off and not told me?” It turns out it was the calm before the storm – of emotions, that is.

As I hit the floor I purposefully took the route to my office that I always did. Along the floor to ceiling windows I went until I came to the aisle where my office was, made a quick left, and – boom – there it was! I was stopped dead in my tracks by what I could only describe as a sea of flowers staring back at me! And there were cards too! I felt like I had just won a beauty pageant or something like that. It momentarily took my breath away. Of all the scenarios that I had run through my mind, this was most definitely not one of them! I was absolutely floored. As I turned around, seemingly out of nowhere appeared all of the women – my direct reports and one of our temps, too – that were responsible for the floral cavalcade. There were hugs and congratulations all around. And of course I began to cry, right on cue. I opened each of their cards, read their warm well wishes, and cried even more. I was utterly

Courtesy L’Oste Vineyard Press

Stephanie Battaglino’s new book has a forward by Brian Bond, the executive director of PFLAG National.

overwhelmed by their thoughtfulness. We were making quite the commotion.

I suspect this gave everyone else around us the okay to come by, because it suddenly seemed as if the entire department had descended upon my office. It turned into quite a scene. Such an immense outpouring of support that I have cherished every day since. What I remember most is how heartfelt their good wishes were. I really felt like the new kid on the block being warmly welcomed into the fold.

In particular, I remember our temp, Marcia – a huge Miami Dolphins fan – who, after giving me a hug said, “Finally, another woman I can talk football with!” How great is that?

As things quieted down, and I rearranged the flowers on my desk so I could actually plug my laptop into its docking station, I knew there was a phone call I had to make. I called Ann, the HR VP and my point person for everything, and thanked her profusely for all she had done to facilitate my workplace transition. She was very gracious in her response and told me that if I needed anything else, or if something didn’t change over

like it was supposed to, that she was just a phone call away. As I hung up the phone, it occurred to me that she remained unwaveringly true to the pledge she made to me at that very first meeting: that she “wanted to make my transition as smooth as we can for you.” I was smiling very broadly at that thought for more than a few moments when I suddenly was broken out of my mini daydream by the realization that I still had something very important that I needed to do.

Sometime the week before, my building services colleague had delivered my new nameplate.

If I have given you the impression that this was some large metal plate that had my name meticulously engraved in it then for that I must apologize. My new nameplate wasn’t really a “plate” at all. It was more like a heavier than normal paper stock with my name printed on it in the block style font and color that matched everyone else’s “nameplate.” This could very easily be slipped into the bracket that was attached to one of the tall walls of my cubicle.

And now the time had come to do that. To just about anybody else throughout all of New York Life that day, nothing could be seen as any more routine than changing one’s nameplate when they switch offices. But I wasn’t just switching nameplates, I was switching people.

This was not something that I could ever imagine taking so lightly. Like my ID badge, it was symbolic of everything I had accomplished up to that point in my corporate life. I know that’s a lot to put on a couple of mere corporate artifacts, but to me they were treasures. As I removed the old card with “Michael Battaglino” on it, and replaced it with the new one that would forever say “Stephanie Battaglino,” an immense sense of satisfaction washed over me. t

This is an excerpt from Stephanie Battaglino’s memoir, “Reflections from Both Sides of the Glass Ceiling: Finding My True Self in Corporate America,” which was published May 11 by L’Oste Vineyard Press. Used with permission. For more information, go to https://stephaniebattaglino.com/.

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Politics >>

May 13-19, 2021 • Bay Area Reporter • 7

Jackson, courtesy city of San Francisco; Sengun, courtesy Facebook; Santamaria, courtesy El/La Para Trans Latina

Akira Jackson, left, Okan Sengun, and Nicole Santamaria are three of the 24 people expected to be approved for seats on the San Francisco Human Rights Commission’s reconstituted LGBTQI+ Advisory Committee.

New San Francisco LGBTQ advisory group begins to take shape

by Matthew S. Bajko

T

he reconstituted LGBTQI+ Advisory Committee for the San Francisco Human Rights Commission is beginning to take shape, with the oversight body set to recommend applicants for all but one of the 25 committee members at its May 13 meeting.

Mayor London Breed will then need to sign off on the 24 appointees and swear them in before their selection becomes official, said HRC Vice Chair Joseph Sweiss, a queer man who has been working to revive the advisory committee.

It is expected that the new LGBTQI+ Advisory Committee members will hold their first meeting sometime in late June during Pride Month or early in July. As the Bay Area Reporter has previously reported, it has been more than three years since such an advisory group has met.

First established in 1975, the committee is tasked with advising the HRC on issues affecting the LGBTQ community. Under its previous configuration the committee’s 12 members were expected to meet monthly except for December, due to the holidays, and June, in recognition of Pride Month.

Members had to be city residents and were not paid for their service.

But in October 2018 the B.A.R. disclosed that the advisory panel’s last meeting had been in March of that year, as it had trouble reaching the required quorum needed to hold its meetings. A HRC spokesman chalked up the reason for the panel going dormant to the city agency having to follow more rigid rules and regulations on how it conducts its meetings than what community-based LGBTQ organizations have to follow.

At the time Susan Belinda Christian, a lesbian then serving on the HRC, had told the B.A.R. that the advisory panel should be re-envisioned so that it worked closer with the full commission, the city’s LGBTQ residents, nonprofits, and other queer organizations. And in fact, that is what has occurred under the reimagining of the panel that was adopted by the HRC in August 2019.

The COVID pandemic delayed the process to recruit members for the revamped advisory committee. Its seats will now be divvied up between community members, representatives from elected officials, and staff or leaders from city-based LGBTQ nonprofits and social service agencies.

According to the proposed membership list released by the HRC May 10, four of the five seats for elected officials will be filled by Joe Adkins,

an administrative aide for gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman; Assemblyman David Chiu (D-San Francisco) District Director Tom Paulino; Zahra Hajee, a Bay Area field representative for U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-California) who used to work for gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco); and city firefighter Keith Baraka, an elected member of the Democratic County Central Committee that oversees the San Francisco Democratic Party.

Adkins, Paulino, and Baraka are all gay men, while Hajee is bisexual. As the B.A.R. previously reported, Baraka is suing the fire department for alleged discrimination due to his being an out Black man.

The person to serve in the fifth seat representing an elected official has yet to be named.

Six of the 10 seats for community groups are to be filled by gay men: LYRIC board member Michael Appel; LGBT Community Center community programs manager Timothy Hampton; Our Family Coalition education director Rick Oculto; GLBTQ+ Asian Pacific Islander Alliance Chair Michael Nguyen; San Francisco AIDS Foundation Vice President of Behavioral and Substance Use Health Michael Discepola; and LGBT Asylum Project co-founder Okan Sengun. The other four seats will go to transgender leaders Nicole Santamaria, executive director of El/La Para Trans Latina; Juniper Yun, a program associate with the Transgender District; Akira Jackson, director of Trans Activists for Justice and Accountability Coalition; and Monica Paz, a caseworker with the San Francisco Community Health Center.

Among those to serve in the 10 seats dedicated for community members are Michelle Meow, a lesbian and former president of the San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration Committee; intersex therapist Niki Khanna; USF university chaplain the Reverend Donal Godfrey, a gay Jesuit; therapist Roger Kuhn, a twospirit man who is a member of the Poarch Creek Tribe; and Instituto Familiar de la Raza development director Noris Chavarria.

Also expected to be seated are Homeless Children’s Network Executive Director April Silas, a Black LGBTQ leader; gay attorney Nick Clements; transgender advocate JoJo Ty, a former city youth commissioner who is now a certified community health worker; Hilary Burdge, who is queer and vice president of program, strategy, and impact at Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco; and transgender Lebanese refugee Sophia Kass, pro-

gram manager of the LGBTQ+ Aging and Abilities Support Network at the Shanti Project.

Roughly 100 people applied to serve on the advisory committee, which is now only required to meet at least quarterly, instead of 10 times a year. According to an HRC staff report, part of its vision is that “by centering the most marginalized, we are rooted in the collective liberation of all community members.”

And the mission of the new HRC’s LGBTQI+ Advisory Committee “is to help expand full freedom, justice and equity for all members in the LGBTQI+ community in San Francisco through: coalition building, advocacy, funding, policy, and technical assistance.”

The San Francisco Human Rights Commission meeting begins at 5 p.m. Thursday, May 13. For information on how to watch the livestream of the meeting, visit https://sf-hrc. org/commission-meetings-and-information.

Barry Schneider Attorney at Law

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

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

LGBTQ API week proposed in SF

In light of the uptick in violent attacks and harassment of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders during the COVID pandemic, local leaders are seeking to have the city declare May 22-29 as Queer and Transgender Asian and Pacific Islanders Week in the City and County of San Francisco.

Mandelman introduced a resolution during the Board of Supervisors’ May 11 meeting in support of the weeklong observance. The supervisors are set to vote on it when they meet Tuesday, May 18. The city already celebrates May as Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.

It is believed that San Francisco would be the first city in the country to declare a QTAPI Week. Leaders of the GLBTQ+ Asian Pacific Alliance, which recently held several rallies in the city’s LGBTQ Castro district to protest the rise in AAPI hate, and the Bay Area QTAPI Coalition have worked with Mandelman on the QTAPI Week proposal.

During the observance, various QTAPI groups plan to host member meetings, networking activities, capacity building events, and supportive facilitated conversations to further their work. Its starting on May 22 coincides with the annual observances of Harvey Milk Day, a day of special recognition in California timed to the birthday of the late gay San Francisco supervisor.

“QTAPI Week is a time when organizers demonstrate the strength and resilience of the Asian American community in the face of continued violence as well as pride in identity as part of the LGBTQ+ community,” states the resolution. t

LGBT PROGRESSIVE CATHOLICS † OUR FAMILIES & FRIENDS

Celebrating our Sexuality and Love as Gifts of God Liturgy & Social: Every Sunday 5pm First Sunday Movie Night Second Sunday Potluck Supper Third Wednesday Faith Sharing Group 1329 Seventh Avenue † info@dignitysanfrancisco.org Follow us on Facebook!

<< Community News

8 • Bay Area Reporter • May 13-19, 2021

t

Pink triangle will be lighted for Pride Month compiled by Cynthia Laird

To sign up for any of the volunteer opportunities, go to https://signup. com/go/YyCALyL. For more information on the pink triangle, go to http://www.thepinktriangle.com/.

P

reparations are underway for this year’s 26th pink triangle installation, which will see it lighted at nighttime atop Twin Peaks for Pride Month in June.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing restrictions will result in the giant display appearing different during the daytime again this year. Only the outline of the symbol, which will still be highly visible, will be installed, co-founder Patrick Carney stated. Nighttime lighting will then take place in the center area. Once again, the installation is being done by Illuminate, the group behind the Bay Lights on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. Ben Davis, Illuminate founder and chief visionary officer, revealed to the Bay Area Reporter last week new plans his organization and others have for the Music Concourse Bandshell in Golden Gate Park that will see it pay tribute to Black history.

The pink triangle’s illumination will feature 2,700 bright pink LED nodes.

The mesmerizing pink triangle – covering nearly an acre – will serve as an uplifting and enduring symbol of San Francisco’s resilience, Carney stated.

There are some volunteer opportunities this year, Carney explained. The

Survey on LGBTQ smokers

Rick Gerharter

Pink Triangle co-founder Patrick Carney, left, and Sister Roma cheered as the 25th annual display of the pink triangle on Twin Peaks was lighted last year.

outline of the pink triangle will be set up Saturday, May 29, at noon. About 25 people are needed.

This year’s lighting ceremony will take place Tuesday, June 1, at 8 p.m. It will feature San Francisco Mayor London Breed and other dignitaries, who will be wearing masks and physically distanced. People are encouraged to watch from their rooftop, balcony, or window along Market Street, or any high point in San Francisco or beyond. Carney said the ceremony will also be livestreamed.

The pink triangle originally was used to brand suspected homosexuals in Nazi concentration camps. It was revived in the 1970s as a symbol of protest against homophobia, and has been used to symbolize LGBTQ+ Pride ever since.

Carney stated that after the pink triangle goes up, volunteers are needed to serve as site ambassadors to monitor it from May 30-July 1. Various shifts are available. Volunteers are also needed July 1 to help take down the outline.

We Breathe, a program that aims to reduce LGBTQ tobaccorelated disparities, is working with Harder+Company Community Research to conduct a short survey of people who identify as LGBTQ and who use or have used tobacco products. According to a news release, the survey will help We Breathe identify ways to prevent and reduce tobacco use among LGBTQ people.

Qualifying participants who take the survey will receive a $15 gift card. The survey, which takes about 10 minutes, is available at https:// harderco.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/ form/SV_77cVhBCHTnWDVXg.

Sisters seek queer artists

It seems like murals are in the news these days, what with the honey bears

being defaced at the San Francisco LGBT Community Center and that organization’s pledge to use queer muralists for the next one.

Now, the San Francisco Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence (who had a honey bear painted by artist fnnch that pays tribute to them) are looking for queer artists and owners of queer spaces who would like a mural.

According to a news release, the Sisters, a charitable drag nun group, have announced a community-sourced art initiative for elevating and uplifting the diversity of LGBTQIA+ artists throughout the Bay Area.

“We have secured funding to provide the artists the opportunity to create public art in queer spaces that inspire, challenge, celebrate, mourn, and evoke the multifaceted perspectives of our community, and we are asking for help from you,” the release states, adding that conversations were held following the debut of the fnnch Sisters honey bear outside the Powerhouse bar in the South of Market neighborhood.

“We are listening,” the release adds.

The project will include a call to the community to help create a volunteer selections board of independent artist non-Sisters, chaired by the San Francisco Abbess, Sister Tilda NexTime. As locations are secured, the board will announce the space, and information around submissions (the community it honors, themes, size, and materials to use) to the public via the Sisters’ social media platforms. The community would then submit ideas. Each project will have a proposed due date for submissions, as well as a submissions town hall, where each applicant will be invited to speak before the committee.

“The board will choose the finalists to be submitted to the owner of the space for a final selection, and we’ll foot the bills,” the release states.

The Sisters are currently looking for the first space.

Owners of buildings and artists can email the Sisters with thoughts and feedback. People should contact Sister Celine Dionysus (celine@thesisters.org) or NextTime (tilde@thesisters.org).

City College offers in-person registration

City College of San Francisco is offering in-person registration for the summer and fall semesters at six locations throughout the city. The school’s popular English as a second language course will meet MondayThursday from June 7-July 15 There are morning, afternoon, and evening noncredit classes available and all are free, according to a news release.

The in-person registration is not just for ESL classes; students can sign up for all courses, credit and noncredit. The link for the ESL classes includes dates, times, and locations for in-person registration: https://bit.ly/3bj1GQx.

GLBT Historical Society seeks history maker nominees

The GLBT Historical Society is seeking nominees for this year’s History Maker Awards, who will be recognized at the organization’s October 21 gala.

The society is looking for people who are inspiring, whose award-worthy leadership has gone unrecognized, and whose work should be held up as an example to others.

Recent honorees have included trans activist and community leader Miss Major; rainbow flag co-creator the late Gilbert Baker; and trans Asian American and Pacific Islander leader Tamara Ching.

To submit a nomination, go to https://bit.ly/3eAusOL. The deadline is May 24. t

t

Community News>>

May 13-19, 2021 • Bay Area Reporter • 9

Nonprofit aims to diversify recording industry

by Matthew S. Bajko

W

hen Bay Area-based The Onyx decided to record their latest album, its five members turned to Women’s Audio Mission in San Francisco. The allBlack women’s group spent several days in the nonprofit’s studios South of Market last December laying down eight new songs.

Due to the COVID pandemic, the group had to split up who could be in the recording booth on different days. Masks had to be worn the entire time, and everyone had to abide by social distancing requirements.

“They had great COVID protocols to make sure no one got sick while we were doing this,” recalled Rhonda Kinard, a queer woman who performs bass in The Onyx.

The band’s three instrumentalists came in first then the vocalists entered the studio to work with Veronica Simonetti, a recording engineer at WAM. To assist the singers in syncing up with the recorded music, Kinard was there for all four recording days.

“It was beautiful. I found the session to be very well organized.

Veronica and the folks we were working with at WAM were extremely easy to communicate with,” Kinard told the Bay Area Reporter in a recent phone interview. “We felt like we were in good hands. It was nice to have a team of women working on this music, especially since we are a band of women.”

WAM founder and Executive Director Terri Winston, who is herself queer, had approached the group about recording its new music at the nonprofit’s studio after seeing it perform. Not only did the nonprofit end up covering all of the expenses to record The Onyx’s album, said Kinard, it also gave it $2,000 to use toward promotional efforts.

The Onyx has been mastering the songs for its new album and plans to release it sometime this summer. The band had first learned about WAM in 2019 a year after it had formed and was invited to perform at the nonprofit’s Local Sirens showcase.

“It felt wonderful; it felt very validating, and we felt seen,” said Kinard. “It was really nice to have this woman who has access – not

Rick Gerharter

Layla Moheimani, left, studio coordinator and instructor, and Elena Botkin-Levy, special projects, sit in the control room at Women’s Audio Mission.

just access to all these resources, she is the director – to have this person make available these resources through their grant funders and things like that so we are able to get our music out into the world. It is pretty incredible.”

Winston founded WAM in 2003 while she was a tenured professor and director of the Sound Recording Arts Program at City College of San Francisco from 2001 to 2011. Her goal was to help diversify the recording industry, as according to WAM less than 5% of the people creating the sounds, music, and media that people encounter on a daily basis are women and/or gender-nonconforming individuals.

At the same time there has been an “alarming 70% decline,” noted WAM, over the last two decades in the number of women and girls enrolling in college STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) programs.

“I think WAM is a pretty incredible organization,” said Elena Botkin-Levy, a queer woman who, as of April 1, is now overseeing the nonprofit’s special projects.

Formerly WAM’s managing director and director of education,

Botkin-Levy joined the nonprofit after working in journalism and as an audio educator. Through WAM’s educational offerings for women, girls, and gender diverse individuals interested in audio careers, the nonprofit is “thinking about how do we make sure diverse voices are creating all of the sound in our lives,” said BotkinLevy.

Citing her busy work schedule, Winston declined the B.A.R.’s interview request for this story.

According to WAM it is the only professional recording studio in the world built and run by women and gender-nonconforming individuals. Each year it educates and trains more than 2,000 underserved women, girls, and gender diverse individuals interested in STEM and creative technology studies.

“It is such a huge part of what we do because a lot of our focus is on folks behind the scenes,” said Botkin-Levy. “So the engineers behind the console or the folks creating beats or doing audio technology or engineering, there are so much and so many pathways and job opportunities for folks in this field.”

Work with schools

The nonprofit works with various public school districts in the Bay Area and also offers an internship program for college students and educational classes for adults.

Normally hands-on, in-person offerings, WAM’s classes and trainings it provided to 4,000 women, girls and gender diverse folks in 2020 were largely conducted virtually due to the health crisis. One benefit in doing so was attracting a global audience.

“It is interesting to think about how to get people, particularly girls, excited about these fields.

They love music already, so opening their eyes to the work and career paths they can take in this industry is really important for us,” said Botkin-Levy.

While men and boys are welcome to sign up for WAM’s programs, Botkin-Levy said the nonprofit asks them to consider that their doing so takes up a spot that could go to women or transgender and nonbinary individuals.

“Because our focus is on increasing the gender balance in these sectors, we ask folks to make decisions on how they are supporting that work,” she said. “So no one is

turned away, we just want people to be mindful if they are taking a seat that is one less woman or gendernonconforming individual we can serve.”

As for usage of its recording studios, any band or musician is welcome to sign up for a session.

Sheila E., the Kronos Quartet, and Neko Case are among some of the award-wining musicians who have recorded at WAM’s studios over the years.

The nonprofit in 2014 purchased its building at 542 Natoma Street at Seventh Street and opened up the recording studios it built a year later. Rates vary for studio time, and all include a WAM engineer to work with the recording artist(s). A full day up to 10 hours costs $450, a half day is priced at $250, and the hourly charge with a two-hour minimum is going for $75.

“Whenever someone is booking time in the studio, they are always working with a woman or gender diverse individuals; that is the incredible part of our studio,” noted Botkin-Levy. “We love it when anybody books time, and they can do that on the website.”

Kinard told the B.A.R. she is still floored by the fact The Onyx was able to record its upcoming album during the health crisis because of WAM. “I think it is really incredible we were still able to work with them despite all of the challenges and need to reschedule several times because of statewide shutdowns or local ordinances,” said Kinard. “It was really great. It’s pretty amazing this was able to happen at all.”

After the positive experience the group had at WAM’s studio and with its professional staff, Kinard has been singing its praises to other musicians and bands she knows. She told the B.A.R. she is surprised that the nonprofit doesn’t have a wider reputation within the music industry.

“I will recommend WAM to any and everyone. It has state-ofthe-art equipment, and they know what they are doing,” said Kinard.

“They are women and gendernonconforming people so they bring different experiences and identities than folks might be accustomed to to the process.”

To learn more about WAM and the programs it offers, visit https:// womensaudiomission.org/. t

Let’s talk cannabis.

50 years in 50 weeks: 1976

Courtesy B.A.R. Archive

T

he Bay Area Reporter early on used its political clout to endorse candidates for office, and this October 28, 1976 issue supports Republican state Senator Milton Marks for reelection. (He switched parties in 1988, when he won reelection as a Democrat, and represented the city for 38 years.) Marks was well-known

for his retail politics and was an ally to the LGBTQ community. The paper’s cover listed his endorsers, which included the late Harvey Milk, who would go on to be elected as a San Francisco supervisor in 1977.

Marks died in 1998.

CASTRO • MARINA • SOMA C10-0000523-LIC; C10-0000522-LIC; C10-0000515-LIC

<< Community News

10 • Bay Area Reporter • May 13-19, 2021

<<

DeJesus

From page 1

holding down longer than 10 seconds gives lots of electricity.”

DeJesus also cited studies showing that Black Americans are more likely to die after being tased.

Several years ago, DeJesus had to fight to stay on the police commission. When her term expired in April 2017, labor leader Olga Miranda was backed by moderates such as District 11 Supervisor Ahsha Safaí to replace her, as the B.A.R. previously reported. (https://www.ebar.com/ news///247278) (Three of the seven commissioners are appointed by the supervisors, and four by the mayor.)

However, Miranda withdrew her candidacy in June and DeJesus was reappointed, with support from progressive board members such as District 9 Supervisor Hillary Ronen.

DeJesus alluded to this in her interview, but did not want to discuss it, just saying, “The last time I reapplied was more difficult. There’s new blood and it’s time to move over and let the young ones come through.”

This year, Ronen introduced a resolution to the board declaring April 21

<<

Prisoner law

From page 5

“CDCR has not stopped transfers and is thoroughly evaluating incarcerated people’s requests to be housed in an institution that aligns with their gender identity,” Thornton stated.

In response to a question about the mocking of trans women, Thornton stated only “CDCR has a process to investigate complaints made by incarcerated people and every allegation of staff misconduct is investigated.”

Wiener’s office reached out to CDCR two days after the LA Times piece, asking several questions, including how CDCR is

Scott credited DeJesus with moving the needle on police reform.

“There are so many positive changes she’s been directly involved in, from major revisions in use of force that put us in the forefront to crisis intervention work that has developed in the past decade to language access: a big issue of hers,” Scott said. “I could go on and on, but that’s the story. These are significant accomplishments that have moved our department forward, and have put us ahead of the game.

I’m going to miss her as a commissioner. I hate to see her go.”

But Scott did say that he stands by his pro-taser position.

“I still believe there’s a role for tasers in policing, but definitely as chief of police, I respect Petra and the Board of Supervisors’ position on that,” Scott said. “We’re not always going to agree, but I work at the will of the people and a decision was made.”

Scott said the department has “found other ways to do our work,” and that the tasers are “not the issue for us to focus on.”

Paul Henderson, a gay man who is the executive director of the city’s Department of Police Accountability, said that he has worked with DeJesus during his various roles at the DA’s office, the mayor’s office and, now, overseeing DPA. “Petra has been an institution at the police commission,” Henderson stated to the B.A.R. “What stands out to me is her fierce and intentional focus on addressing disenfranchised communities and the various positions she has taken over the years to empower the LGBT community, youth, immigrants, women and people of color.”

Henderson stated that DeJesus worked to reform the city’s early intervention systems, which helps to address problematic behaviors before they result in police misconduct.

“One of the more important issues that Petra has championed over the recent years has been the collaborative work with the DPA on reforming the early intervention systems to develop a matrix to alert the police department about problem behaviors before a crisis,” Henderson stated. “The impact of this work directly affects our own LGBT community, which is disproportionately represented in the

criminal justice system.

“Petra’s voice and work on behalf of others will be missed and I’m hoping she stays involved in the future with the work that has meant so much to her over the years of service that she has given to reforming policing,” Henderson added.

DeJesus thanked the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club for its strong support of her over the years. In a statement, Edward Wright, the club’s co-president, wrote that DeJesus is “a leader in every sense of the word.”

“Petra DeJesus has spoken truth to power and been a change agent in the fight for justice. We are immensely grateful for her service to the City and County of San Francisco – a service that has brought us closer to realizing the fundamental change we need,” Wright wrote. “Petra knows that progress comes from the bottom up, and her position at City Hall didn’t just belong to her – it belonged to all of the us-es, the countless grassroots community members, organizers, and activists she listened and held herself accountable to. San Francisco is better because of her work on the Commission, and even as she leaves it, the work continues.” t

ated representatives on the Inmate Advisory Council (IAC), as well as a couple of transgender women, but were not able to identify specific staff who may have been inciting fear,” Morimune added.

“The warden is aware of the concerns and is closely monitoring for any indication that intimidation or evoking fear by any staff is taking place. If specific incidents are identified, they will go through the appropriate disciplinary process.”

At certain prisons, town hall meetings have been held to allay fears as the law is implemented, according to Morimune.

“As with most changes inside and outside our institutions, it takes time and concerted effort to bridge the gap between individu-

als and cultural differences. We are working tirelessly with staff and the incarcerated population to not only be aware of the changes, but also be accepting,” Morimune stated. “Executive leadership and institutional leadership will continue to reinforce the importance of the changes that will be key to helping address cultural deficiencies. The Department has been proactive in the last several years in developing training and education on this topic and we are searching for ways to build upon our progress.”

It’s all too familiar to Bamby Salcedo, a trans woman who is the president and CEO of the TransLatin@ Coalition. Before SB 132 became law, Salcedo toured a

women’s correctional institution with Wiener.

“I think we have to understand the culture of CDCR,” Salcedo said. “There’s definitely exclusionary practices within the system so, yes, I’m very concerned that this is something that is happening.”

Salcedo had been a major advocate for Wiener’s bill. She said that she did not know any trans prisoners that the B.A.R. could speak with.

“SB 132 was intentionally to insure the safety of trans people in the California correctional system, so CDCR needs to make sure trans people are safe and free of violence,” Salcedo said. “They need to ensure compliance with legislation.” t

in accordance with [Department of Public Health] guidance.”

The DEM spokesperson also stated that the department is facilitating housing replacements through batch referrals to service providers.

“Five batches, or a total of 165 residents, have been referred to date,” the spokesperson stated.

“Another option is through expedited deployment of flexible rental assistance with social services so that SIP guests can be housed in the community. Resources have been allocated to this program model through the Mayor’s Homelessness Recovery Plan and Our City, Our Home funds.

“The [COVID command center] anticipates beginning this effort next week. The CCC has also

formed a Housing Acquisition Strike Team to evaluate sites for possible acquisition for additional permanent supportive housing.

The team is evaluating current SIP hotels sites and sites outside of the current portfolio,” the spokesperson added.

Valdez said DSCS is grateful for the opportunity to operate a shelter-in-place hotel.

“It’s been a difficult year and the stress and trauma our guests have faced has been significant,” Valdez said. “I thank the city for allowing us to be a provider for a shelter-inplace hotel. For me, it’s not a matter of timing, but ensuring people have access to housing. We want to be careful and intentional.” t

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039306100

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039304300

to be Petra DeJesus Day in the city, in honor of her Bernal Heights neighbor.

“During her tenure on the commission, Petra has been a consistently progressive driver of new policies to promote police accountability, civic engagement, constitutional policing, and individual rights,” Ronen stated. “She has been the leading voice on the commission on use of force policy, prioritizing the sanctity of life and setting clear guidance on officer-involved shootings, including strict constraints on firing at moving vehicles, the carotid chokehold, and most recently – in the aftermath of the heinous murder of George Floyd – the use of knees on a person’s back or body parts on a person’s neck.

“She deserves to be recognized for her bravery and persistence in pushing for meaningful reform and for persisting despite attacks and intimidation,” Ronen continued.

DeJesus was the last sitting member of the commission that recommended Police Chief William Scott for his position in 2016.

“I thought she was a very good commissioner,” Scott told the B.A.R. “She was the last commissioner on the commission that recommended

me to be the chief, so there’s a special bond there, at least on my end.”

monitoring staff at the CCWF and what training and education CDCR is providing to staff.

A CDCR spokesman detailed training staff are receiving.

“Custody staff were trained on the requirements of SB 132 (housing, searches, etc.) and they are also receiving training titled, ‘Working Successfully with Transgender, Intersex and Non-Binary Inmates’ that covers pronoun usage, respect, definitions, and information about better understanding an individual’s pathway to prison,” Ryan Morimune of CDCR wrote in a reply email.

“Institutional leadership heard the rumor about staff exacerbating fears and met with the incarcer-

Moving the needle

<<

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Jazzie’s Place

From page 1

After the DEM spokesperson was asked why Jazzie’s Place cannot reopen before shelter-in-place hotels close, an unnamed spokesperson for HSH stated, “The city, along with our partner, Dolores Street Community Services, is committed to the capabilities and cultural capacity of Jazzie’s Place in our Homelessness Response System. These important services are critical to the queer and trans community we serve.

Unfortunately, Jazzie’s Place was not large enough to allow for adequate social distancing. Creating a safe space is a priority and we are currently exploring re-opening Jazzie’s in the next month or two,

When in advance, you canofdesign every detail of your ownand unique memorial detail own memorial provide Contact usyour today about theunique beautiful ways to create a lasting legacy atyour theloved San Francisco Columbarium. and provide loved ones with true peace mind.

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Planning protects your loved ones from unnecessary stress and financial ahead protectsProudly yourserving loved onesCommunity. from unnecessary burden, the LGBT allowing them focus on whatburden, will matter most them at thattotime—you. ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE stresstoand financial allowing OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT focus on what will matter most at that time—you.

OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-21-556248 Contact us today about the beautiful ways to create a lasting legacy In the matter of the application of SU JUNG HAN, 1924 GREAT HIGHWAY, SAN FRANCISCO, at the San Contact FranciscousColumbarium.

CA 94116, for change of name having been today about the beautiful ways to create filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner SU JUNG HAN a lasting legacy at the San Francisco Columbarium. is requesting that the name SU JUNG HAN be

Legals>>

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FD 1306 / COA 660

changed to CLAIRE SUJUNG HAN. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Rm. 103 on the 20th of MAY 2021 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

APR 15, 22, 29, MAY 06, 2021 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-21-556260

One Loraine Ct. | San Francisco | 415-771-0717

SanFranciscoColumbarium.com FD 1306 / COA 660

In the matter of the application of CARMINA PRICILLA GONZALEZ, 1188 MISSION ST #2013, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner CARMINA PRICILLA GONZALEZ is requesting that the name CARMINA PRICILLA GONZALEZ be changed to PRISCILLA CARMINA CORTEZ. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N on the 20th of MAY 2021 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

APR 15, 22, 29, MAY 06, 2021

The following person(s) is/are doing business as OTHER OPTIONS; MORGAN OAKES GALLERY, 1465 CUSTER AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by a married couple, and is signed SHERIDAN OAKES & CAROLINE OAKES. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/01/87. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 03/25/21.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as BAESUGAR, 215 FILLMORE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed CHRISTINA MARIE PINCKNEY. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 02/14/21. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 03/23/21.

APR 15, 22, 29, MAY 06, 2021

APR 15, 22, 29, MAY 06, 2021

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039288700

SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-21-556277

The following person(s) is/are doing business as LITTLE DOG WALKER, 100 FILBERT AVE #B, SAUSALITO, CA 94965. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed STACY PARLIN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 02/16/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 03/10/21.

APR 08, 15, 22, 29, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039315100

The following person(s) is/are doing business as SAN FRANCISCO GAY MEN’S CHORUS, 170 VALENCIA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed GOLDEN GATE PERFORMING ARTS, INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 03/01/78.

The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/09/21.

APR 15, 22, 29, MAY 06, 2021

In the matter of the application of CASEMIRO TEIXEIRA CAMARA, 77 VAN NESS AVE #1011181, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner CASEMIRO TEIXEIRA CAMARA is requesting that the name CASEMIRO TEIXEIRA CAMARA AKA CAS CAMARA be changed to CAS CAMARA. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N on the 1st of JUNE 2021 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

APR 22, 29, MAY 06, 13, 2021

See page 11 >>

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Classifieds>>

Legals

From page 10

SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA RAPID TRANSIT DISTRICT NOTICE TO PROPOSERS - GENERAL INFORMATION The SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA RAPID TRANSIT DISTRICT (“District”), 300 Lakeside Drive, Oakland, California, is advertising for Request for Proposals (RFP) to Provide Management Services to Operate BART’s Bike Station Facilities (RFP) N o. 6M6150, on or about May 3, 2021, with proposals due by 2:00 PM local time, Tuesday, May 25, 2021, to BART District Secretary, 300 Lakeside Drive, 23rd Floor, Oakland, CA 94612. All general questions regarding this RFP should be directed to Rhonda Lockhart at rlockh2@bart.gov.

DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES TO BE PROVIDED The District is soliciting Management Services to operate Bart’s Bike Station Program at Embarcadero, Fruitvale, Downtown Berkeley, Ashby Station, MacArthur & Civic Center as described in Exhibit 1, AGREEMENT FOR TECHNICAL SERVICES, Attachment A, Scope of Services of this RFP. In brief, the services may include, but not necessarily be limited to, the following: A. Operate two attended bicycle parking facilities and three self-serve group parking facilities.

B. Coordinate operation of self-serve group parking with eLock Technologies.

C. Contractor shall be responsible for the security of each Bike Station.

D. Implement and maintain a marketing program for Bike Station operations.

E. Provide a display of informational brochures and maps for customers.

F. Contractor shall provide monthly reports and an annual survey on Bike Station operations.

G. Maintain and keep confidential User Registration System.

H. Provide a single, locally based manager as the primary point of contact for all management responsibilities.

I. Contractor shall respond in a timely way to user emergencies and complaints in accordance with this agreement.

J. Provide bike related retail and repair services.

K. Provide janitorial services for each Bike Station.

L. Enter into a sublease agreement with BART. REQUIRED REGISTRATION ON BART PROCUREMENT PORTAL In order for prospective Proposers to be eligible for award of an Agreement being solicited on the BART Procurement Portal, such Proposers are required to be currently registered to do business with BART on the BART Procurement Portal on line at https://suppliers.bart.gov and have obtained Solicitation Documents, updates, and any Addenda issued on line so as to be added to the On-Line Planholders List for this solicitation.

If a prospective Proposer is a joint venture or partnership, such entity may register on the BART procurement portal with the entity’s tax identification number (TIN) and download the Solicitation Documents so as to be listed as an on-line planholder under the entity’s name prior to submitting its Proposal. If such entity has not registered on BART procurement portal in the name of the joint venture or partnership prior to submitting its Proposal, provided that at least one of the joint venturers or partners registered on line on the BART Procurement Portal and downloaded the Solicitation Documents so as to be added to the on-Line planholders List for this solicitation, such entity will be required to register with the entity’s TIN as an on-line planholder following the submittal of Proposals, in order for the entity to be eligible for award of this Agreement.

PROPOSERS WHO HAVE NOT REGISTERED ON THE BART PROCUREMENT PORTAL PRIOR TO SUBMITTING A PROPOSAL, (OR FOR JOINT VENTURE OR PARTNERSHIP AS DECRIBED ABOVE PRIOR TO AWARD) AND DID NOT DOWNLOAD THE SOLICITATION DOCUMENTS FOR THIS SOLICITATION ON LINE SO AS TO BE LISTED AS AN ON-LINE PLANHOLDER FOR THIS SOLICITATION, WILL NOT BE ELIGIBLE FOR AWARD OF THIS AGREEMENT. A Pre-Proposal Meeting and Networking Session will be held on Tuesday, May 11, 2021. The Pre-Proposal Meeting will convene at 10:00 A.M. to 11:00 A.M., local time, via WebEx Presentation. All interested parties must RSVP via email to: bartprocurementsupport@bart.gov by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, May 10, 202 1 in order to participate in this Pre-Proposal Meeting. The email subject must include RFP 6M6150, Management Services to Operate BART’s Bike Facilities.

At the Pre-Proposal Meeting the District’s Non-Discrimination Program for Subcontracting will be explained. All questions regarding MBE/WBE participation should be directed to Fei Liu, Office of Civil Rights at (510) 874-7348. Prospective Proposers are requested to make every effort to attend this only scheduled Pre-Proposal Meeting, and to confirm their attendance by contacting the District’s Contract Administrator, telephone 510-874-7318, prior to the date of the Pre-Proposal Meeting Proposals must be received by 2:00 pm, local time, May 25, 2021 at the address listed in the RFP. Submission of a proposal shall constitute a firm offer to the District for one hundred and eighty (180) calendar days from date of proposal submission.

Dated at Oakland, California this 30th day of April 2021. /S/ Bernadette Lambert Bernadette Lambert, Manager, Contract Administration San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District 5/13/21 CNS-3467880# BAY AREA REPORTER

May 13-19, 2021 • Bay Area Reporter • 11

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF RAYMOND C. YIN (AKA RAYMOND YIN, AKA RAYMOND CHING HSIANG YIN) IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO: FILE PES-20-303725

To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both, of RAYMOND C. YIN (AKA RAYMOND YIN, AKA RAYMOND CHING HSIANG YIN), C/O MARISSA C. SMITH (SBN#275382), 4306 GEARY BLVD #301, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. A Petition for Probate has been filed by JACQUELINE L. YIN in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco. The Petition for Probate requests that JACQUELINE L. YIN be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent. The petition requests the decedent’s will and codicils, if any, be admitted to probate. The will and any codicils are available for examination in the file kept by the court. The petition requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important actions, however, the personal representative will be required to give notice to interested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action.) The independent administration authority will be granted unless an interested person files an objection to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority. A hearing on the petition will be held in this court as follows: MAY 10, 2021, 9:00 am, Rm. 204, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. If you object to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing. Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney. If you are a creditor or contingent creditor of the decedent, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal representative appointed by the court within the latter of either (1) four months from the date of first issuance of letters to a general personal representative, as defined by section 58(b) of the California Probate Code, or (2) 60 days from the date of mailing or personal delivery to you of a notice under section 9052 of the California Probate Code. Other California statutes and legal authority may affect your rights as a creditor. You may want to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law. You may examine the file kept by the court. If you are a person interested in the estate, you may file with the court a Request for Special Notice (form DE-154) of the filing of an inventory and appraisal of estate assets or of any petition or account as provided in Probate Code section 1250. A Request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk. Attorney for petitioner: MARISSA C. SMITH, 4306 GEARY BLVD #301, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118; Ph. (415) 742-4522.

APR 22, 29, MAY 06, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039317400 The following person(s) is/are doing business as HYDE & PACIFIC LIQUOR, 1600 HYDE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed CHRISTINA YOUNG SIN PARK. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/04/09. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/13/21.

APR 22, 29, MAY 06, 13, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039316000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as YAMEEN, 5758 GEARY BLVD #224, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed YAMEEN FRIEDBERG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/12/21.

APR 22, 29, MAY 06, 13, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039313600

The following person(s) is/are doing business as DIM SUM CLUB, 2237 TARAVAL ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed DIM SUM CLUB INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 03/11/21. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/07/21.

APR 22, 29, MAY 06, 13, 2021 NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF LYNN MCKANNAY, AKA LYNN BLASKOWER MCKANNAY IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO: FILE PES-18-302353

To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both, of LYNN MCKANNAY, AKA LYNN BLASKOWER MCKANNAY, C/O RICHARD H. MCKANNAY JR., 170 AVILA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94123. A Petition for Probate has been filed by RICHARD H. MCKANNAY JR. in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco. The Petition for Probate requests that RICHARD H. MCKANNAY JR. be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent. The petition requests the decedent’s will and codicils, if any, be admitted to probate. The will and any codicils are available for examination in the file kept by the court. The petition requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important actions, however, the personal representative will be required to give notice to interested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action.) The independent administration authority will be granted unless an interested person files an objection to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority. A hearing on the petition will be held in this court as follows: MAY 26, 2021, 9:00 am, Rm. 204, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. If you object to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing. Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney.

If you are a creditor or contingent creditor of the decedent, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal representative appointed by the court within the latter of either (1) four months from the date of first issuance of letters to a general personal representative, as defined by section 58(b) of the California Probate Code, or (2) 60 days from the date of mailing or personal delivery to you of a notice under section 9052 of the California Probate Code. Other California statutes and legal authority may affect your rights as a creditor. You may want to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law.

You may examine the file kept by the court. If you are a person interested in the estate, you may file with the court a Request for Special Notice (form DE-154) of the filing of an inventory and appraisal of estate assets or of any petition or account as provided in Probate Code section 1250. A Request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk. Attorney for petitioner: RICHARD H. MCKANNAY JR., 170 AVILA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94123; Ph. (415) 217-9696.

APR 29, MAY 06, 13, 2021

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039316200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as SF BAYSHORE GROCERY OUTLET, 355 BAYSHORE BLVD, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed BAYSHORE FAMILY MARKET (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/12/21.

APR 22, 29, MAY 06, 13, 2021 SUMMONS (FAMILY LAW) SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO NOTICE TO RESPONDENT: CARMEL VALENZUELA SANCHEZ, YOU ARE BEING SUED. PETITIONER’S NAME IS MICHAEL JAMES SANCHEZ CASE NO. FDI-15-784009

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

NOTICE: The restraining orders following are effective against both spouses or domestic partners until the petition is dismissed, a judgment is entered, or the court makes further orders. They are enforceable anywhere in California by any law enforcement officer who has received or seen a copy of them.

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

SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO, 400 MCALLISTER ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102; the name, address, and telephone number of petitioner’s attorney, or the petitioner without an attorney, is: MICHAEL JAMES SANCHEZ, 750 O’FARRELL ST #107, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107.

July 05,2015 Clerk of the Superior Court by MELISSA ORTIZ, Deputy.

WARNING: California law provides that, for the purposes of division of property upon dissolution of a marriage or domestic partnership or upon legal separation, property acquired by the parties during marriage or domestic partnership in joint form is presumed to be community property. If either party to this action should die before the jointly held community property is divided, the language in the deed that characterizes how title is held (i.e., joint tenancy, tenants in common, or community property) will be controlling, and not the community property presumption. You should consult your attorney if you want the community property presumption to be written into the recorded title to the property.

STANDARD FAMILY LAW RESTRAINING ORDERS: Starting immediately, you and your spouse or domestic partner are restrained from: 1. Removing the minor child or children of the parties, if any, from the state without the prior written consent of the other party or an order of the court; 2.

Cashing borrowing against, canceling, transferring, disposing of, or changing the beneficiaries of any insurance or other coverage, including life, health, automobile, and disability, held for the benefit of the parties and their minor child or children; 3. Transferring, encumbering, hypothecating, concealing, or in any way disposing of any property, real or personal, whether community, quasi-community, or separate, without the written consent of the other party or an order of the court, except in the usual course of business or for the necessities of life; and 4. Creating a nonprobate transfer or modifying a nonprobate transfer in the manner that affects the disposition of property subject to the transfer, without the written consent of the other party or an order of the court. Before revocation of a nonprobate transfer can take effect or a right of survivorship to property can be eliminated, notice of the change must be filed and served on the other party.

You must notify each other of any proposed extraordinary expenditures at least five business days prior to incurring these extraordinary expenditures and account to the court for all extraordinary expenditures made after these restraining orders are effective. However, you may use community property, quasi-community property, or your own separate property to pay an attorney to help you or to pay court costs.

APR 29, MAY 06, 13, 20, 2021 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-21-556177

In the matter of the application of LIA CRUZ, 1265 INGALLS ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner LIA CRUZ is requesting that the name LIA CRUZ AKA LESLIE ANN LOREN CUSHMAN AKA ANALEIGH LISETTE CUSHMAN AKA LESLIE ANN LOREN CUSHMAN-MELVILLE be changed to ALESSIA THALIA ALTA. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N on the 3rd of JUNE 2021 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

APR 29, MAY 06, 13, 20, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039320600

The following person(s) is/are doing business as DEXISION CONSULTING, 1101 PACIFIC AVE #501, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ANGELO FRANCHINI. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 03/22/21. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/16/21.

APR 29, MAY 06, 13, 20, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039309300 The following person(s) is/are doing business as URBAN VERSES, 255 KING ST #308, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ALEXIS L. SPENCERBYERS. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/04/10. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/02/21.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039321400 The following person(s) is/are doing business as KALEIDOSCOPE; KALEIDOSCOPE FOODS, 1661 TENNESSEE ST #2K, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107.

This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed REGENERATION FOODS LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/01/21. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/19/21.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as FULLFILLED FOODS; MASAK MASAK, 1661 TENNESSEE ST #2K, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107.

This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed FULLFILLED LLC (CA).

The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 02/08/21. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/16/21.

APR 29, MAY 06, 13, 20, 2021

The following person(s) is/are doing business as GOLDEN CITY BUILDING MAINTENANCE, 2912 FLORIDA AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94804.

This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed GOLDEN CITY BUILDING MAINTENANCE 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 04/30/21.

APR 29, MAY 06, 13, 20, 2021

MAY 06, 13, 20, 27, 2021

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039314400

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039325800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as MAXWELL’S PET BAR, 1734 CHURCH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94131. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed THE DOG BAR LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/7/21.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as THE TAILOR’S SON, 2049 FILLMORE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94123. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed 2049 FILLMORE STREET, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 04/01/21. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/29/21.

APR 29, MAY 06, 13, 20, 2021

MAY 06, 13, 20, 27, 2021

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-21-556300

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-21-556284

In the matter of the application of ANTHONY DEAVEREAUX BLANCHARD, TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner ANTHONY DEAVEREAUX BLANCHARD is requesting that the name ANTHONY DEAVEREAUX BLANCHARD be changed to ANTONIO FRANCISCO DEAVEREAUX. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 103, on the 15th of JUNE 2021 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

In the matter of the application of MICHELLE DUBONNET, 4320 PACHECO ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner MICHELLE DUBONNET is requesting that the name MALINA ANUHEA AHUMADA be changed to MALINA ANUHEA DUBONNET. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N on the 8th of JUNE 2021 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

MAY 06, 13, 20, 27, 2021

MAY 13, 20, 27, JUNE 03, 2021

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039316600

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-21-556322

The following person(s) is/are doing business as AAA CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION AND PLUMBING CO, 3450 SACRAMENTO ST #124, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ROBERT KORMAN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/01/19.

The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/12/21.

MAY 06, 13, 20, 27, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039316100 The following person(s) is/are doing business as THE GARDEN HOME, 4095 MISSION ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ADAM CHANG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 03/01/20. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/12/21.

MAY 06, 13, 20, 27, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039323900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as FIVE STAR ELECTRIC, 17 REDONDO ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed CARLOS H. AGUILAR. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 03/18/21. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/26/21.

MAY 06, 13, 20, 27, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039319300

The following person(s) is/are doing business as THE CABLE CAR STORE, PIER 39 SPACE P-3, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed D AND D RETAIL ENTERPRISES INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/24/96. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/14/21.

MAY 06, 13, 20, 27, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039323500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as PARK PRESIDIO LIQUORS, 4400 CALIFORNIA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed GOLDEN PARK VENTURES INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 04/15/21. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/26/21.

MAY 06, 13, 20, 27, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039323600

The following person(s) is/are doing business as SUPER SAM, 691 MCALLISTER ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed G&S LIQUOR AND CONVENIENCE STORE INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/29/18.

The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/26/21.

MAY 06, 13, 20, 27, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039331500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as EQ-1 LOAN, 1160 BATTERY ST #100, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94111. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed EQ-1 LOAN, INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 04/03/21.

The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/04/21.

MAY 06, 13, 20, 27, 2021

In the matter of the application of EGHOSASERE STEPHEN IGBINOSA, 750 HARRISON #601, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107 for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner EGHOSASERE STEPHEN IGBINOSA is requesting that the name EGHOSASERE STEPHEN IGBINOSA be changed to STEPHEN EGHOSA IGBINOSA. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N on the 22ND of JUNE 2021 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

MAY 13, 20, 27, JUNE 03, 2021 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-21-556315

In the matter of the application of MEENAL BEN SINGH, 62 ARGONAUT AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94134, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner MEENAL BEN SINGH is requesting that the name MEENAL BEN SINGH be changed to MEENAL BEN PATEL. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N on the 22ND of JUNE 2021 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

MAY 13, 20, 27, JUNE 03, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039330600

The following person(s) is/are doing business as FINO RESTAURANT; THE ANDREWS HOTEL, 624 POST ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed HARRY H. ANDREWS. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/29/81. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/03/21.

MAY 13, 20, 27, JUNE 03, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039329800 The following person(s) is/are doing business as SUAREZ-KUEHNE ARCHITECTURE, 2410 14TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed JOHN STEVEN SUAREZ & SCOTT CARL KUEHNE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 02/14/97. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/30/21.

MAY 13, 20, 27, JUNE 03, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039331900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as BEST IN CLASS EDUCATION CENTER, 780 BROADWAY, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed A&K EDUCATION LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/16/11.

The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/04/21.

MAY 13, 20, 27, JUNE 03, 2021 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039329900 The following person(s) is/are doing business as STRIKE KERR & JOHNS, 556 COMMERCIAL ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94111. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed BARRY STRIKE, TOM KERR & MELANI JOHNS. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/01/20. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/30/21.

MAY 13, 20, 27, JUNE 03, 2021

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Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir, and Happy Together, featured as part of CAAMFest 2021.

by Brian Bromberger

C

AAMFest, the nation’s largest festival of Asian American and Asian film, food, and music presents a dynamic program from May 13 to 23. The festival will feature virtual screenings, panels and performances, as well as an opening weekend with drive-in programs at Fort Mason Flix.

Following in last year’s footsteps, CAAMFest, taking place during Asian Pacific American Heritage month, will showcase its diverse innovative program virtually, celebrating the Asian American community in a year rocked by the pandemic and anti-Asian racial discrimination.

“The violent attacks and hateful rhetoric have made the past year difficult for the Asian American community,” says Stephen Gong, executive director of CAAM, “making it essential that we continue to produce CAAMFest as a place to come together around stories that show the breadth of the Asian American experience and our interconnectedness with other communities.”

CAAMFest will include a few LGBTQ films in its lineup, capturing the breadth of the diverse multi-variant queer Asian Pacific experience. The festival hosts a screening, just in time for its upcoming 25th anniversary, of the now restored seminal searing romance Happy Together directed by Hong Kong’s auteur Wong Kar Wei. We are reintroduced to the gay lovers Ho Po-Wing (Leslie Cheung) and Lai Yiu-Fai (Tony Leung), who fight to keep their relationship together despite being caught in a vicious cycle of infatuation and jealousy, as they travel through Argentina. The raw emotional yet empathic complexity of Cheung’s and Leung’s performances, have established the film as one of the cornerstones of the New Queer Cinema.

Asian American cinematic bests

CAAMFest 2021’s screenings, panels online See you; shorts

Out/Here, the queer shorts program, has been a staple of CAAMFest for more than a decade. Duet has a sensual, dreamlike quality about a reunion of a high school music teacher and an old colleague performing together for the first time in a piano duet.

Will Zang, a San Francisco-based producer and cinematographer, has directed his first short, The Leaf, an encapsulated autobio on his emigration from China, as he faces racism here against immigrants, while he applies for a video editor position.

Driving with the Top Down, directed by Edward Gunawan, is a touching intimate tour de force personal video essay about a queer Chinese Indonesian man, who –due to prejudice in his home country not only against LGBTQ people but for being Chinese– relocates to Oakland.

An outstanding featurette, Love X Bites from Singapore, chronicles two women who must quarantine together sharing a room at a hotel.

Sexual tensions ignite and they find themselves in a passionate affair.

Summer Winter Summer also possesses a noirish bent. Directed by the Vietnamese Thy

Tran, it deals with Duy coping with his lover Martin’s disappearance by resorting to anonymous hook-ups to escape his emptiness.

In a combined panel and screening, May 16’s programs will include a talk with Margaret Cho, and a screening of her short film, Koreatown Ghost Story.

My favorite in this collection, a sevenminute delight produced by The New York Times, is Club Quarantine. Every night during the pandemic, hundreds of people from around the world gather in a virtual massive queer dance party to showcase their diversity but also their need to find community as they move from isolation to joy.

How To Die Young in Manila is an 11-minute dream-like meditation about a teenage boy who follows a group of young hustlers, thinking one of them might be the anonymous hook-up he’s arranged to meet; an evocative journey into an underworld few get to explore.

Synchronized is a local experimental short as five women of color reflect about their experiences living in an ever-changing Oakland.

Skillful interweaving of voices, natural landscape sounds, and unconventional Oakland

Televisionary

Nam June Paik retrospective at SF MOMA

Nam June Paik’s TV Garden at SFMOMA.

by Jim Provenzano

S

an Francisco Museum of Modern Art’s new retrospective of more than 200 works by celebrated multimedia artist Nam June Paik is not only absorbing and historic; it’s also a lot of fun.

As we ease from binge-watching TV shows online and Insta-scrolling on our phones, this first U.S. retrospective of Paik’s major works provides a perfect segue, full of television monitors set up in unlikely places and positions.

nF Sa

rancisco

Paik (1932-2006) was a pioneer since the early 1970s when he coined the term “electronic superhighway.” Born in Seoul during the Japanese occupation of Korea, Paik lived and worked in Japan, Germany and the U.S. Trained as a musician, his fascination with electronics led to his hybrid interest in making art that combined both.

Since his first solo exhibition in 1963, he broke new ground with the use of video as a major component in his works. Half a century later, his art reflects the multimedia video screen excess of our daily lives.

Organized by SF MOMA and the Tate Modern, London, with additional presentations at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam and the National Gallery Singapore this year, the retrospective will be the first major Paik show in the U.S. in more than two decades. It’s also the first ever large-scale survey of his work on the West Coast.

Along with offering new perspectives on his cultural traditions (TV Buddha, 1974, in which an 18th-century Buddha sculpture watches himself on TV watching himself…), Paik infuses a sense of wit and humor, even irony, to his art. Some of his earlier works like

imagery reveal how the personal and environmental can coexist and thrive together.

F1-100, directed by Emory Chao Johnson, from Malaysia, uses graphic illustrations, art, animation, and archival footage to trace the evolution of becoming a trans man, as one’s voice changes on T (testosterone) through weeks and months, and the particular difficulties living with these changes during a pandemic.

Documentaries

Two documentaries, though not LGBTQrelated, have a local connection and should definitely be streamed. The first is Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir.

In an extended interview with the AsianAmerican San Franciscan author of The Joy Luck Club, The Kitchen God’s Wife, and The Bonesetter’s Daughter, Tan scans through a recently discovered box of old photos as she reviews her life and work, health difficulties (Lyme disease, depression, epilepsy, diabetes), dealing with success and writer’s block.

The film focuses on Tan’s complicated ultiSee page 15 >>

Zen TV were inspired simply by a faulty television monitor turned on its side to imply infinity and nothingness.

Many of the videos, embedded either in a garden of ferns or inside robot sculptures, harken back to the days of early cable-access channel programs, with low-tech green-screen dancers edited with pop music and repeated sound effects.

The fourth floor setting loops patrons through a series of rooms, from airy sculpture displays to comfy dark video screening rooms.

Become beguiled by the large scale projections of his Sistine Chapel, a cascade of sounds and images (warning: flashing lights and brief nudity) along with segments of Allen Ginsberg chanting, and Janis Joplin singing, as the dazzling display on white walls –at first overwhelming– eventually becomes almost soothing.

One room is devoted to the ephemera, objects and video recordings of Paik’s work with collaborator Charlotte Moorman, a classicallytrained cellist who varied her performances, from immersing in a tank of water to playing Paik himself as if he were an instrument.

SF MOMA will be limiting attendance, so make a reservation and enjoy the solitude of sitting on one of many benches, particularly in the dark room setting for TV Garden (197477/2002) where a multitude of video images blossom amid green plants.

Paik had three gay colleagues of note: poet Allen Ginsberg, choreographer Merce Cunningham and composer John Cage. Paik compared listening to his experimental music to “chewing sand.”

See page 15 >>

SPACE RESERVATIONS NOW BEING ACCEPTED! The Bay Area Reporter’s annual edition celebrating San Francisco Pride 2021 will publish on June 24.

EDITION

Reserve your advertising space by calling Scott Wazlowski at (415) 829-8937 or email advertising@ebar.com

Fancy seeing you here.

Now Open Reconnect with your Academy favorites.

From the splashing penguins in African Hall to the wildflowers on the roof, the building is bursting with life. You’re invited to come explore.

Make your reservation at calacademy.org.

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3/5/21 5:07 PM

<< Theatre, Cabaret & 50 in 50

14 • Bay Area Reporter • May 13-19, 2021

Smart staging Marin Theatre Company’s Brilliant Mind

by Jim Gladstone

S

o many of the streaming theater productions mounted during the pandemic have promised innovative uses of technology to create groundbreaking new sorts of theatrical experiences.

OPEN 7 DAYS AT WEEK AT 8AM

“As theater artists, we really found ourselves in quite a moment,” said the prolific Bay Area writer/actor/ producer Denmo Ibrahim in a recent interview with the Bay Area Reporter. “There was a continual inquiry into what really makes theater be theater.”

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Ibrahim, whose ambitious new work, Brilliant Mind, will be presented online by the Marin Theatre Company (MTC) beginning on May 18, isolated several key elements in her search for a broad definition of the art form.

“I feel like there has to be a live component,” she explained, expressing her belief that no two performances of a work should be exactly the same. Pointing to even well-received offerings like the British National Theatre’s videotaped presentations of past productions, Ibrahim noted, “A recording of theater isn’t exactly theater.”

Of the many play readings presented on Zoom –often by celebrated actors– Ibrahim pondered, “Without staging, is it theater? It’s not being reimagined for this different platform. If the visual is unimportant, why don’t we just listen to it as audio?”

Another element Ibrahim identified was intimacy. “Theater has a capacity to feel so personal and intimate; to create palpable emotional connections between the performers and audience members in real-time.”

In Brilliant Mind, co-produced by MTC and Storykrapht –a new production platform created by Ibrahim

Writer/actor/producer Denmo Ibrahim

and creative partner Marti Wigder Grimminck, a digital and interactive designer who has developed theatrical productions internationally– one partial solution to the intimacy issue is provided via smartphones.

Ibrahim recommends that audience members experience the work with laptops and phones both handy.

While two of the play’s three characters are performed on pre-recorded video, the third will be played live at every showing from a fully designed set on the MTC stage. In addition to his spoken lines, the actor in this role –internationally acclaimed Egyptian performer Kal Naga– will

t

communicate with text messages, to which audience members will be able to respond should they wish.

“I can’t swear there aren’t going to be any screw-ups,” says Ibrahim, “But I didn’t begin this trying to deliver perfection; I want to break things open and see what can be done with theater and technology moving forward, even beyond the pandemic.”

“We need to keep experimenting and figuring out how to take advantage of technology,” she added. “Digital theater is here to stay, and for good reasons. Artists, not just administrators, have been stepping up and taking leadership during this past year.”

Ibrahim points to the value of new production and economic models.

“We built this show with MENA (Middle Eastern/North African) artists, storytellers and programmers in seven countries on five continents.

We’ve broken the notion of ‘local’ theater; we’re so far beyond the constraints of how many seats we can sell in a specific physical venue.”t Brilliant Minds will keep that ball rolling.

Brilliant Minds, May 18-June 13.

30. www.marintheatre.org

Feinstein’s returns

by David-Elijah Nahmod

F

e t a r o c e d h t i w f l yourse pride

einstein’s at the Nikko, San Francisco’s premiere nightclub, will once again bring Broadway stars and Bay Area icons to its stage. Performances are set to resume on May 20 with an all-star lineup which includes drag artist Katya Smirnoff-Skyy and the incomparable trans performer Mx Justin Vivian Bond, who once called San Francisco home. SmirnoffSkyy will perform June from 3-6 and Bond will be seen from June 16-19.

Covid-19 safety protocols will be in effect during every performance.

All patrons must be vaccinated in order to gain entry to the club, and proof of vaccination will be required.

Masks must be worn while in the Hotel Nikko lobby or when entering and exiting the club, but can be removed once guests are seated. The club will be operating at a reduced capacity in order to maintain social distancing, and there is a four-person limit on each order of tickets. There will not be food service for now, but cocktails will be served.

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Katya Smirnoff-Skyy, Branden & James, Justin Vivian Bond and Spencer Day are among the acts booked at the re-opened Feinstein’s at the Nikko.

Feinstein’s at the Nikko Creative Director and General Manager Randy Taradash told Bay Area Reporter that he was very excited to reopen.

According to Taradash, the club survived because it’s housed inside the Hotel Nikko, which remained open throughout the pandemic. The hotel was determined to continue its operations and evolved, following all safety requirements and protocols.

“And they did it,” Taradash said.

“They have really managed beautifully; it’s been amazing to watch them work and shift and evolve. It’s because of their commitment, and they were completely unwavering from day one. The management here felt that however long this lasts, the minute we can reopen we will reopen. Having that commitment level is really what it took to kind of get through.”

Besides Smirnoff-Skyy and Bond, other scheduled performers are Kelli Barrett and Jarrod Spector, who will be performing pop songs and songs from their Broadway careers. Bran-

den & James will perform an evening of Broadway covers. Jazz/pop singer Spencer Day will celebrate the return of live music, while Broadway and cabaret star Liz Calloway offers an evening of song by a variety of composers. Natalie Douglas will pay tribute to Nina Simone, and Tony Award winner Lillias White will debut a new concert show.

Many performers at Feinstein’s are known for doing meet and greets with the audience after the show, but Taradash says that this may not be the case for the time being due to safety protocols.

“If there is, it will be completely rethought,” he said. “We’ve moved so quickly that this hasn’t been completely talked through yet. We have to put safety first, from the artist to the audience to staffing. We are all in this together.”t www.feinsteinssf.com

Read the full article on www.ebar.com

50 years in 50 weeks: 1976­ -"Oh, Rocky!"

T

he ‘advertorial’ cover of the March 18, 1976 Bay Area Reporter did not include news of our nation’s Bicentennial celebrations, but instead the ongoing hit production of The Rocky Horror Show at the Montgomery Playhouse (622 Broadway); more our sort of anniversary (The participatory shout-along midnight Picture Show screenings at The Larkin Cinema, were advertised in the Sept. 2 issue, with admission a mere $2).

The issue also includes a two-page interview with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Harvey Milk and Wayne Friday’s political columns, Irene’s sports column and much more.t

Get all this in our archives at https://archive.org/details/BAR_19760318 Also, updates on the Queer Comics Expo, FX’s Pride Docuseries, plus arts, nightlife & community listings, all on www.ebar.com.

t

Books>>

May 13-19, 2021 • Bay Area Reporter • 15

the Record Show’ captures AIDS activism by the book ‘Let a movement’s rise and decline

by Jim Provenzano

Control. The oft-repeated slogan in posters and leaflets: “Women Don’t Get AIDS, They Just Die From It.”

I

n the lengthy Let the Record Show: A Political History of ACT UP New York, 1987-1993, author Sarah Schulman documents and analyzes the ideals, actions, successes and failures of the people who made up the AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power, specifically the first chapter in New York City, from its early days to its diminution in the early 1990s.

This is not a chronological history. Schulman divides the nearly 700-page tome into ‘books,’ sections that take on specific subjects. The influence of feminism, the conflicts of racism within and outside the group, and the divergence of street theatre protests and scientific research make up the tree of knowledge and empowerment the organization brought to its members and to People With AIDS. Full disclosure; I was an active member of ACT UP/NY from 1988 to 1992, and participated in most of the larger actions documented in Let the Record Show, along with the hourslong weekly Monday night meetings held at the Gay and Lesbian Community Center, and later, as ACT UP grew in numbers, at Cooper Union.

With 188 interviews (which can also be viewed online via various libraries and museums), the book provides multiple insights and reflections from the major organizers and members in the organization.

Schulman contextualizes, at length with accuracy, the times in which New Yorkers lived. From Mayor Ed Koch’s indifference to homelessness and poverty, to the injustices in healthcare towards women and people of color, the overwhelming governmental neglect and incompetence set the stage for the AIDS epidemic, and activists’ call for alarm.

One of the major successes of the movement was the focus on access to treatments. That included subgroups who targeted double-blind placebo tests as cruel and useless, when PWAs were more than willing to be test subjects.

<<

CAAM Fest

From page 12

mately forgiving relationship with her depressed –and at times suicidal controlling– mother, who told her stories about life in China before she emigrated to the U.S. This material that became the basis for her bestselling novels.

The piece de resistance of the festival is the documentary Try Harder, a bird’s eye view of students at Lowell (“looks like a prison”), the #1 public high school in San Francisco, most of whom are Asian American and want to attend Stanford, though very few will actually get accepted there.

<<

Nam June Paik

From page 12

In music, dance and art, the influence of Zen practice elements of chance had come to the forefront as a creative process for his colleagues as well as Paik, whose work sometimes visually reflects that, while at the same time giving a respectful nod to his Korean family roots.

Electronics nerds will love the cathode ray tube equipment, looped film projectors, assembled radios, and cassette players that make up other works and artifacts.

John Cage Robot II (1995) with attached ephemera from the composer himself, is set adjacent to Merce/Digital (1988), with Cunningham himself on tiny video monitors inside the sculpture. That the two sculptures inhabit the same room is no coincidence; Cage and Cunningham were art and life partners for decades.

Take me to church

Author Sarah Schulman

Along with epidemiological breakthroughs, through the interviews and recollections, the humanity of ACT UP members is recalled.

Many in the group were working toward national and global solutions while eagerly seeking any information on potential beneficial drugs to actually help them, at a time when the toxic AZT was the only approved medication.

Dying days

Many people, in their last months, gave final speeches at the weekly meetings in the then-called Gay and Lesbian Community Center, including author David B. Feinberg, Bob Rafsky (known for confronting Bill Clinton) and gay rights pioneer Marty Robinson.

We organized and attended memorials, almost weekly. We endured lengthy discussions, but also banded together in numerous interlinked social –and yes, romantic– circles.

While there were deaths, there was also a vibrant tribal connection. As prominent ACT UPer Jim Eigo is quoted, “It was the most splendid idea of community I’ve ever been a part of.”

Eigo and retired chemist Iris Long were the co-creators of the Treatment and Data newsletter, and

The film follows five students in their senior year as they apply to colleges (some as many as 26!) and see where they are accepted despite having to deal with Asian-American discrimination that’s both internalized and embedded in the application process itself.

Try Harder brilliantly questions how we define success and the huge emotional cost we pay for following such ambitious goals.t www.caamfest.com

Read the full article on www.ebar.com Related to these works, the museum’s online film series Dances for Camera: Nam June Paik, Merce Cunningham, Charles Atlas will stream on the museum’s website from June through August. Interaction without touching the artwork is possible in several works, including the video and film projectors where a selfie is not only welcome but feels obligatory. For more online viewerparticipant fun, visit the museum’s website to play with the scores of Video Commune and Electronic Opera #1. As we ease back from being inside to going out to enjoy art, the art of Nam June Paik provides an enlightening plugged-in bridge.t Nam June Paik, now through Oct. 3. 151 3rd St. Free/ $19-$25 for adults. www.sfmoma.org

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among the ‘insiders’ who spent years negotiating with FDA and NIH representatives, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, to expand access to drug trails.

Early in the book, in a section focusing on Puerto Rican ACT UP members’ work, Schulman admits that the group’s membership was mostly white and male. Yet with a broad focus that eschews the (also white male) media gaze, she shares the stories and work of the many women and POC members who contributed greatly to the organization’s successes. Each featured interviewee is also given a brief personal background.

The years-long struggle to redefine AIDS to include women focuses those who fought to access government medical meetings, where their male activist colleagues were more welcome. Drug trails refused to include women, and even Anthony Fauci came to impasse at one meeting, where he refused to acknowledge their needs. This culminated in one of several national actions, at the Atlanta Center for Disease

One of the more fascinating sections of the book documents the conception and execution of largescale actions, from the Wall Street protests to days when busloads of activists traveled to the FDA and National Institute of Health, to the CDC, and to International AIDS conferences in Montreal and San Francisco.

The October 1988 FDA protest most notably put ACT UP in the media spotlight on a global scale by also using clever media tactics.

In a dramatic multiple-interview account of Stop the Church, the famous protest in and outside St. Patrick’s Cathedral in December 1989, key participants, including members of WHAM (Women’s Health Action and Mobilization) offer their memories: Emily Nahmanson’s baptism by fire, it being her first protest; Victor Mendolia’s conviction in questioning the religious interference in public health policy; Michael Petrelis’ impulsive decision to stand atop a pew shouting, “You’re killing us!” as a hundred others (including this writer) silently lay down in the aisles. Thomas Keane recalls the moment he crumbled a holy wafer instead of taking communion. Neil Broome describes armored police boots clicking on the marble floors.

Despite the mostly negative media coverage, and discouragement by some ACT UPers afterward, Northrup said, “We were doing what we were doing to accomplish something about particular issues, and I think we did that, enormously successfully. We weren’t liked, but we forced people to pay attention and forced change.”

Collective contributions

While a collective, there were leaders who took on different roles.

The book’s ‘Inspiration and Influence’ section profiles author Larry Kramer, Mark Harrington who ‘saw AIDS treatment as a puzzle” and co-created the spin-off TAG (Treatment Action Group), and frequent meeting facilitator Maxine Wolfe, whose life of activism helped shape the group’s practical focus.

And of course, the iconic ‘Silence = Death’ stickers, posters, pamphlets and T-shirts are referenced and their origins traced, as designed

by Gran Fury (Avram Finkelstein, Jorge Socarrás and others) who brought their graphic arts and advertising expertise to create some of the most iconic imagery of 20thcentury activism.

Later in the book, personality clashes, divisions that led to TAG leaving ACT UP, and financial abuse by one member, were aspects that led to the decline in membership and focus. One of the latter yet most dramatic of protests, held in October 1992 under the Bush administration; the Ashes Action, with the cremated ashes of at least eighteen members and loved ones of ACT UP dispersed through the fence and onto the White House lawn.

As Schulman writes, her book “is an effort to make clear how the AIDS rebellion succeeded, and to face where it failed, in order to be more conscious and deliberate, and therefore effective, today.”t Let the Record Show: A Political history of ACT UP New York, 19871993. $40. app. 700 pages. Farrar, Straus and Giroux FSGBooks.com

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