November 12, 2020 Edition of the Bay Area Reporter by Bay Area Reporter

SOMA housing stalled

Clothing transforms

GLF pioneer dies

ARTS

French twists

The

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Vol. 50 • No. 46 • November 12-18, 2020

Celebrations over, Biden releases plan to curb COVID cases by Liz Highleyman Courtesy Commission on Judicial Appointments

Justice Martin Jenkins was unanimously confirmed to the California Supreme Court November 10.

1st out justice joins Califoria Supreme Court by Matthew S. Bajko

ith his confirmation Tuesday, Justice Martin Jenkins is the first out LGBTQ person serving on the California Supreme Court. The gay Oakland resident is also the third Black man to serve on the state’s highest court. All three West Coast states now have out justices on their state supreme courts. Jenkins is the sixth out person serving on a state’s highest court, according to a database compiled by the LGBTQ Victory Fund. “I think I have a perspective on cases and controversies that the high court deals with on a daily basis,” said Jenkins, who received an evaluation of “exceptionally well qualified” to serve on the court. “You can have confidence of the buck stopping with me.” He told the court it took him four days to think about Newsom’s offer to appoint him to the supreme court seat and agree to his “call of service” to become a judge again. As a man of faith, said Jenkins, he saw the appointment as “a calling” that he could not refuse. “It is not about me elevating myself to some lofty perch,” said Jenkins. “I thought I could do good work, quality work, and had a voice that could add to this discussion. Not better but different.” The Commission on Judicial Appointments unanimously confirmed the 66-year-old Jenkins to the bench, as expected, after receiving testimony about his qualifications during the November 10 hearing. The oversight body consists of Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, Attorney General Xavier Becerra, and senior Presiding Justice of the state Court of Appeal J. Anthony Kline. Jenkins was known as “the James Brown of the judiciary,” testified retired federal justice Thelton Eugene Henderson, who served alongside him as the senior judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. “The singer James Brown was known as the world’s hardest working man in show business. Marty we felt was not the hardest working man in the judiciary but certainly the hardest working man on our court.” Kline called Jenkins “an impressive person” and an “extremely eloquent man” whose “voice is going to be needed” as the judiciary becomes even more politicized in today’s age of highly partisan politics. And Becerra joked he was waiting for Jenkins to say, “I feel good” about his appointment. In October, Governor Gavin Newsom had appointed Jenkins, his judicial appointments secretary since 2019, to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Ming W. Chin this summer. Jenkins is the first African American man to serve on the court in nearly three decades. LGBTQ leaders had hailed Newsom’s decision to appoint an out justice to the bench and were elated with Jenkins’ confirmation. For years LGBTQ legal groups have sought to see an out person serving on the state’s highest bench, and earlier this year LGBTQ lawmakers had also urged Newsom to name an LGBTQ person to succeed Chin. Despite rumors of there being a closeted jurist on the Supreme Court of California, there has never been an out LGBTQ person serving on it, as the Bay Area Reporter has noted for years in stoSee page 8 >>

hile street parties celebrating President-elect Joe Biden’s win have ended and Donald Trump’s refusing to concede the November 3 election, the incoming team has hit the ground running, releasing a plan to combat the nation’s burgeoning COVID-19 pandemic. On Monday, November 9, the transition team for Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris announced the members of its COVID-19 task force, which will include three Bay Area experts. The same day, Pfizer and BioNTech announced that a coronavirus vaccine front-runner appears more effective than expected. During brief remarks from Wilmington, Delaware, Biden implored all Americans to wear face coverings. COVID infections have surged in recent weeks, with the country averaging 100,000 cases a day. In San Francisco, Mayor London Breed on Tuesday announced a rollback of some activities, including indoor dining, due to a spike in local cases. Despite not taking office until January 20, Biden is using his bully pulpit during the transition to address the health crisis and the eco-

Rick Gerharter

People gathered on Castro Street November 7 to celebrate the victory of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as the country’s incoming president and vice president.

nomic fallout from it. “President-elect Biden believes that the federal government must act swiftly and aggressively to help protect and support our families, small businesses, first responders, and caregivers essential to help us face this challenge, those

who are most vulnerable to health and economic impacts, and our broader communities – not to blame others or bail out corporations,” according to the plan, available at www.buildbackbetter.com. See page 8 >>

Uber-backed Prop 22 passes; rent control loses again by John Ferrannini

he passage of Proposition 22, which grants exemptions to Uber, Lyft, and other app-based companies from California’s gig worker law, dealt a crushing blow to workers’ rights, opponents said, and a win that advocates said may soon go nationwide. The measure, which passed with 58.4% of the vote, according to unofficial returns, was the app-based services’ answer to the controversial AB 5, the gig-worker bill that was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom last year. AB 5 changed the status of app-based drivers, among other workers, from independent contractors to employees. Uber and Lyft had been fighting the law in court and secured signatures to put Prop 22 on the ballot. Cherri Murphy, a Lyft driver and independent social justice minister in the East Bay, is a Black queer woman who is a lead organizer with Gig Workers Rising, a leading advocacy organization for labor protections for gig workers. She said that Prop 22’s success was a loss for economic justice. “We were in for a fight up and down the ballot regarding racial and economic justice, including Prop 22,” Murphy said. “It gutted wage and labor protections and created a special law for Lyft, DoorDash, and Uber. It guts workers’ rights to collective bargaining, and to file for unemployment in the middle of a pandemic and a recession.” Murphy believes many Californians voted for the measure because of the over $200 million the companies spent on advertising during the campaign. “This ballot measure was deceptive in its campaigning,” Murphy said. “Two hundred million dollars was spent tricking voters into thinking this was a pro-worker campaign, but it exempts any ordinances created for workers to take sick time off in the middle of a pandemic.” Anthony Foxx, chief policy officer at Lyft and former U.S. secretary of transportation under former President Barack Obama, was among several who has expressed a desire to bring Prop

Courtesy AP

Uber and Lyft spent over $200 million for Yes on Proposition 22.

22 to other states now that it passed in progressive California. “Ideally, now that this issue has been resolved in California we can have a broader conversation about how to replicate something like Prop 22,” Foxx told the Hill last week. Responding to that prospect, Murphy said all she can do is keep fighting. “Organizing will continue,” Murphy said. “I’m so proud to stand beside other app-based workers and unions – everyone who stood up to make this clear.” In a statement on November 10, Uber spokesperson Davis White praised the passage of the measure. “California voters agreed that instead of eliminating independent work, we should make it better,” White stated. “Soon, drivers in California will be guaranteed a minimum earnings standard of 120% of minimum wage and will gain access to important new benefits like health care, accident insurance, and more.” The measure does guarantee 120% of the local minimum wage for the time drivers are actively engaged in trips. While it does not mandate or provide health insurance, it requires for some drivers a stipend they can use to cover some health care costs.

Housing

Two of the three housing-related propositions lost in last week’s election. Proposition 15, known as the “split roll” fix, would have repealed 1978 commercial property tax caps for properties worth over $3 million, generating billions of dollars in tax revenue for schools and local governments. But it failed, 51.7%-48.3%, according to preliminary results. Though it would not have applied to residential property, opponents portrayed it as a stepping-stone to repealing 1978’s Prop 13, often called the third rail of California politics. Proponents touted increased money it would have provided the state’s education system. Proposition 21 was resoundingly rejected, with 59.6% voting no, according to preliminary results. Similar to 2018’s Prop 10, Prop 21 would have expanded local government’s ability to enact rent control laws, ending statewide limits on such ordinances that were imposed by the Costa-Hawkins Act in 1994. San Francisco was the only California county where Prop 21 passed, according to election returns. See page 8 >>

<< Community News

2 • Bay Area Reporter • November 12-18, 2020

SOGI info only applies to positive COVID cases by John Ferrannini

he requirement that local health departments and health care providers must report the sexual orientation and gender identity data of COVID-19 cases does not apply to everyone being tested – only to those who have received positive tests. But SOGI information is requested as part of San Francisco’s contact tracing protocols, an official said. As the Bay Area Reporter previously reported, Dr. Mark Ghaly, secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency, announced July 28 that SOGI data of COVID-19 cases must be asked going forward. A careful reading of the July 28 regulations defines a case as “a person who has been diagnosed by a health care provider ... to have a particular disease or condition.” Senate Bill 932, authored by gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and signed by Governor Gavin Newsom in September, requires SOGI data collection for reportable communicable diseases, including COVID-19. But this only applies to cases or suspected cases. When asked for comment, the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management, which is overseeing

Courtesy YouTube

California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly

the city’s COVID-19 response, deferred to Clair Farley, a trans woman who is the director of the Mayor’s Office of Transgender Initiatives. Farley said November 6 that it is her understanding that both the regulations and SB 932 only mandate reporting SOGI data for positive test results. Test SF, a project of the San Francisco Department of Public Health being conducted in coordination with the lab Color, is not asking the

sexual orientation question as part of the demographic questions to answer before testing that are available to fill out online. It is, however, asking under a banner labeled “Gender Identity” if someone is “Female,” “Male,” “Trans Female,” “Trans Male,” “Genderqueer/Gender Nonbinary,” “Not Listed,” or “Prefer not to say.” A subsequent banner labeled “Sex” asks if someone is “Female,” “Male,” or “Nonbinary.” Farley said that the sexual orientation of COVID-19 positive tests is ascertained by DPH during contact tracing and that the questions asked on the aforementioned demographic form were decided upon by Color, which has not responded to a B.A.R. request for comment. “We started to ask for the information for contact tracing before the order,” Farley told the B.A.R. “We are still exploring how we can incorporate the question into testing. We want to make sure the community is getting tested.” Farley said that DPH is in charge of the “contact tracing piece.” “The legislation and the health order require [SOGI] data collection for those who test positive,” Farley said. “For anyone who tests positive, they ask about gender identity

and sexual orientation. For testing it looks that as of November 3, there’s 5.5% who have tested positive in San Francisco who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or other, and 1% who are transgender.” The SOGI questions have been asked as part of the city’s contact tracing efforts since April 28, Farley said. Originally, there was not a gender identity banner in the demographic questions Color asks. “The reason that the testing piece is still up in the air is because the collection of demographic data has a different origin, in the lab working with Test SF,” Farley said, referring to Color. “[Color] was just asking about sex assigned at birth so we were brought in to ask gender identity.” The reason why the gender identity question was added was to provide consistency between the city’s efforts and private test providers, Farley explained. But Color’s lack of a sexual orientation question is not universal, as the question “How do you identify your sexual orientation?” is being asked by Logistics Health Inc. if one signs up for a COVID-19 test through that provider in California. Logistics Health has not responded to a request for comment.

When asked during a news conference November 4, Ghaly responded to the lack of a sexual orientation question among the demographic questions City Test SF asks when people take a COVID-19 test. “I don’t know the specifics,” Ghaly said. “Again, it’s a fairly new order and expectation, and I think we can certainly find those exceptions. I don’t want to minimize it in any way. We’ll look into that specific issue. I’m always interested to hear from those who have to put into practice some of these changes, what the difficulties are, whether there is a reason it’s delayed, that at the state level or the local level we can intervene and support. “So I will highlight we are getting more and more of the sexual orientation-gender identity data attached to our cases,” Ghaly added. “Of course, there’s going to be some entities we know that don’t put into practice the expectations and those are all worth following up.” When asked November 9 if Ghaly’s remarks could be clarified in light of the order’s definition of a “case,” California Health and Human Services spokesman Rodger Butler responded, “I will let his remarks stand for themselves.”t

SOMA housing project stalled by sidewalk issue by John Ferrannini

sidewalk issue has apparently stalled a housing project in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood, but a tentative

agreement with the developer has been reached, officials said. San Francisco Public Works has reached a tentative agreement with the developer of a housing development adjacent to the LG-

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BTQ bar and nightclub Oasis that will allow the project to move forward. Rachel Gordon, a spokeswoman for the public works department, told the Bay Area Reporter that a sidewalk needs to be widened to comply with Americans with Disabilities Act standards for the project at 1560 Folsom Street to continue as scheduled. In another issue, as the B.A.R. previously reported, the Leather & LGBTQ Cultural District was working with the San Franciscobased real estate development company AGI Avant to mitigate potential noise issues. Noise emanating from the long-established LGBTQ bars and nightclubs into the early hours of the morning in SOMA, in particular, have been issues with some of their neighbors in the past. The project had been scheduled to be heard at the planning commission, but has been “continued indefinitely,” according to an announcement from the planning department. Gina Simi, a spokeswoman for the planning department, told the B.A.R. last month, “The project sponsor requested to suspend the

Rick Gerharter

The 1500 block of Folsom Street, as seen from the parking lot of Action Rentals, left, to the Oasis nightclub.

project. I’m afraid I can’t speak for them, but recommend you reach out directly for more information.” AGI Avant did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The project consists of 232 mostly market-rate units. Oasis’ D’Arcy Drollinger told the B.A.R. that he does not know what happened, and that two people he spoke with who might have known also did not, but were “not surprised.” Robert Goldfarb, president of the board of the Leather & LGBTQ Cultural District, told the

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B.A.R. that he heard it was due to a public works issue, and according to Gordon, the request to suspend the project did not mean that it was not going forward. “Here’s what’s been happening: In order to proceed with the project as proposed, the developer would need to widen Burns Place sidewalk to comply with ADA accessibility standards and expand the width of the roadway to at least 18 feet to allow for two-way traffic,” Gordon wrote in a November 2 email. “The developer has proposed using Burns Place to access the planned garage for the 1560 Folsom project. Public Works will be alerting the planning department that we reached tentative agreement with the developer on those requirements. There is progress,” Gordon added. In July, the leather district began circulating a petition asking AGI Avant to help mitigate the ef10 fects of gentrification in the area. Persons “The 1560 Folsom Street location is an epicenter of our commu$94,800 nity, and we welcome development that will become a good neighbor, by supporting the cultural district, welcoming the Folsom Street Fair and other traditional and cultural events, and mitigating the effects of gentrification that the addition of this project’s nearly 700 new residents, in 232 mostly marketrate units, will bring to the heart of the Cultural District,” the petition stated.t

10/27/20 11:55 AM

Business News>>

t Clothing brands transform gender-based designs

November 12-18, 2020 • Bay Area Reporter • 3

by Matthew S. Bajko

even years ago lesbian married couple Naomi Gonzalez and Fran Dunaway launched their Seattle-based TomboyX clothing line to market underwear and shirts specifically tailored to fit feminine physiques. Their designs were a hit with women and transgender shoppers and sales took off, with gay men also attracted to their colorful boxer briefs and undies. “If you focus on fit and quality, it does work for every body type,” said Dunaway, 60, who’s been with Gonzales for two decades. “We do focus most of our marketing toward women or the trans community and trans Scott Thompson men. We have done some shoots that Fran Dunaway, left, founded TomboyX with her wife, Naomi Gonzalez. include men, mostly gay men.” The genesis for their company came straight ally, also markets his clothing put their own style on our products.” from Dunaway’s inability to find men’s to both men and women. His eponyPhiladelphia-based En Femme fobutton-down shirts that fit well. While mously named brand – Franky Baca cuses on designing clothes for crossthe shirts were a hit, the company now – has been worn by the likes of San dressers and transgender women. It focuses primarily on undergarments Francisco 49ers wide receiver Kendis the second iteration of a company and loungewear, recently increasing rick Bourne, photographed in Sepfirst begun by owner Tyler DeSouza’s their available sizes up to 6X. They tember sporting Baca’s red vinyl hat mother when he was in junior high work with a lesbian-owned factory in ($38) and white four-pocket polyester in 1984. Divorced and running her China to produce their specialty bras Stripe Sweat Pant ($85). own beauty salon, she was and are expanding to work with more “Especially nowadays so many prodinspired to create clothwomen manufacturers in both Camucts are worn by the opposite sex and ing after seeing a British bodia and Columbia. work just as well. None of the product woman featured on “The “We felt responsible for figuring I have is necessarily for men or women, Phil Donahue Show” who out what this community was really just whoever wants to buy them,” said organized tea parties for wanting,” said Dunaway. Baca, who is based in Los Angeles and men who liked to dress in TomboyX is known for its imaginahas some of his clothes made in Napa female clothing. tive prints, such as a rainbow unicorn County. “I am conscious of the fit of “My mom said,‘I could design ($20 for briefs or boy shorts), my products so both genders have the do that.’ She put a studio and bright colors,ISO like12647-7 orange crush, Digital Control Strip 2009 product that works for them.” in our house and started 100and 100 70 30 100 60 40 100 40 100 60 plum. 100 Its “hero 70 30 100 60 100 70 30 100 40 40 70 40 A sunshine, product” Since launching his brand in 2013, connecting with the community,” said it has built its brand around, noted Duand rolling out his first designs to the DeSouza, 50, who joined his mom in naway, is boxer briefs that fit women. public a year later, Baca said it has been a the business after college.“Since I was 12 “We had a chat about it, and Nao“cool experience” seeing how his clothes I have been around all gender-variant mi said we were getting a lot of reare worn in ways he never expected. people. It is part of my100world. ”40 100 10 40 40 100 100 60 100 100 70 70 30 30 100 100 60 100 100 70 70 30 30 100 100 60 100 100 70 70 30 30 100 40 40 quests for boxer briefs for women,” “You design clothes and then see Their efforts grew into a successful she said. “When I typed it into an people wear your clothes in a different mail-order catalogue business under online search nothing came up, so way than you would think to style it. You the name Suddenly Femme. DeSouwe set out to make the most comza revamped the brand in 2018 after see women wear things traditional to fortable pair you could get.” his mom passed away and gave it a men’s wear and vice versa,” he noted. “It T:9.75" Bay Area native Franky Baca, 29, a more modern name. is an awesome experience to see people 3%

And DeSouza relies on his customers’ feedback to inspire the types of clothes they design. “I like them to help drive the bus,” said DeSouza. “They are always evolving. I am not going to speak for them. I want to give them what they want.”

Designers welcome competition

Gender-neutral clothing is gaining more mainstream attention of late. Two-time World Cup Champion soccer player Megan Rapinoe, a lesbian who was also on the Olympic gold-winning U.S. team, co-founded the gender-neutral clothing company Re-Inc. Courtesy Franky Baca “It kind of came from just our frustration and desire to express 49ers wide receiver Kendrick ourselves more fully,” said Rapinoe Bourne wears the clothes of during a recent virtual talk hosted Franky Baca. by the University of San Francisco. “We felt there was a community out “We thought En Femme was a there pretty untapped.” better fit,” said DeSouza, whose male The female-led company aims to partner is from Marin County and make clothing by women for everyone, assists him with marketing. “When a not just other women, noted Rapinoe, cross-dresser says they are going out, who is from Redding, California. they say ‘en femme,’ or as a wom“Usually it is clothing made by men an. It is what they all use.” for everyone or by men for women, The couple was in Palm which we know doesn’t work well,” Springs earlier this year for she said. a fashion shoot featuring Baca said he welcomes other designtrans models. En Femme’s ers marketing their brands as unisex. designs skew feminine, “I think it’s really awesome so many such as floral wrap dresspeople are kind of moving in that dies or vegan leather mini rection of unisex clothing. I don’t dresses (prices vary), and think people want to be as constricted are all sold online at ennow, more than ever people are really femmestyle.com/. 70 40 40 40 70 40 40 70 40 70 40 40 25 50 75 90 just products that only100fit “The clothing we make and3 the 10 rejecting into a certain box,” said Baca. things we do are all made for bodTomboyX’s Dunaway also said the ies assigned male at birth,” explained more designers making unisex garDeSouza. “No matter what someone ments the better. For too long that does in their journey0 0to0 0 transition, 20 70 70 70 70 40 70 40 40 3.1 2.2 2.2 10.2 7.4 7.4 25 19 19 50 40 40 75 66 66 100 100 100 80 70 70 100 segment of the fashion industry, she there are things they can’t change like added, has been overlooked. their sleeve length, inseam, and how “I think the world is changing. It is long their torso is. It is always going to a radically different place then when be a challenge when buying clothing.” we first started in terms of our unSan Francisco and Los Angeles are two of the company’s biggest markets. See page 8 >>

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<< Open Forum

4 • Bay Area Reporter • November 12-18, 2020

Volume 50, Number 13 November 12-18, 2020 www.ebar.com

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Newsom, Biden can make LGBTQ history G

overnor Gavin Newsom has joked about it, but it should not be surprising that Democrats of all stripes are vying to promote potential nominees as he decides on a successor to California Senator Kamala Harris, the vice president-elect who will leave Congress when she and President-elect Joe Biden are sworn in January 20. Under state law, the decision is solely Newsom’s to make and will be one of the most consequential of his first term. He said during a Monday news conference that he did not spend last weekend thinking about Harris’ replacement; he was consumed with the rising cases of COVID-19 in the Golden State. However, he said that he does have criteria. The pick needs to be “inclusive,” he said, and, “I want to be considerate of people’s points of view.” Let us add our two cents: Newsom should appoint an LGBTQ person, preferably, a queer person of color, probably from Southern California, since the state’s other Democratic senator, Dianne Feinstein, hails from the Bay Area. It should be someone younger, as the next generation of political leaders is the key for future progress on myriad issues. Those candidate characteristics mirror findings in a recent USC Schwarzenegger Institute California Issues Poll of 1,155 registered voters that was conducted between October 27-31. In it, 76% of voters want a senator with “a fresh and new voice in politics;” a senator with legislative experience (75%); and a senator who will “chart their own course and distinguish themselves” from Feinstein (77%). A plurality, 48%, prefers someone who is not part of Washington, D.C. or Sacramento. Picking a historic first-time candidate doesn’t seem to matter to most voters surveyed (52%) but it’s important to us. California has never had a Latino senator, nor have we had an out person in the upper chamber of Congress. The survey noted that 31% want Newsom to pick the state’s first Latino senator, while 24% want the governor to name an LGBTQ person to the seat. Among the many names floated, one LGBTQ person stands out: Robert Garcia, the mayor of

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Courtesy AP, CNN

Governor Gavin Newsom and President-elect Joe Biden

Long Beach. His name was mentioned in the USC survey as a possible candidate, though not in a head-to-head matchup with others – and received a majority of support (57%). Straight allies who received positive numbers include Los Angeles Congresswoman Karen Bass (53%), Secretary of State Alex Padilla (53%), and Oakland Congresswoman Barbara Lee (51%). Gay Bay Area Assemblyman Evan Low (DCampbell) has also been suggested, as has lesbian state Senate President pro Tempore Toni Atkins (D-San Diego). The Bay Area Municipal Elections Committee and Stonewall Democrats Silicon Valley sent a letter to Newsom this week urging him to select Low, pointing out his youth, cultural diversity, and accomplishments in the Statehouse. So, as Newsom grapples with this historic decision, we urge him to keep the state’s queer community and communities of color in mind. As for Biden, he too can make historic picks to his cabinet. We say that it’s long past due for an LGBTQ cabinet official (sorry, Ric Grenell’s brief stint as acting director of national intelligence in the Trump administration doesn’t count – it was cabinet-level, not one of the

secretaries in the president’s cabinet). While there have been news articles ruminating on numerous possibilities among former Obama administration officials and others, again, we think the country would be better served with some fresh faces. Two who have demonstrated acumen and their potential to play greater roles in national government are Pete Buttigieg, the gay former mayor of South Bend, Indiana and a onetime presidential candidate; and lesbian Senator Tammy Baldwin, who hustled to get the vote out in her state, Wisconsin, which flipped back to the Democrats in the presidential race. Buttigieg, a veteran, has been mentioned as a potential head of the Department of Veterans Affairs or as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Baldwin, long a champion of access to health care, would be a solid pick to lead the now-troubled Department of Health and Human Services. There are other queer people who have also been suggested for a cabinet post, such as Randy Weingarten, a lesbian who is president of the American Federation of Teachers. All of these public servants, and other qualified LGBTQs out there, would indeed bring unique perspectives and inclusivity to any administration. Serious challenges lay ahead for California and the nation and we need to cultivate young, talented, and diverse candidates for government positions at the highest levels. t

The 1st test of LGBTQ+ rights on Barrett court by Michael Vargas

On November 4, in the shadow of the national election, the Supreme Court or at least the past 15 years, the heard oral arguments in another case U.S. Supreme Court has had a 5-4 seeking to further expand the court’s conservative majority. Until 2018, the new religious freedom doctrine. In moderate conservative Justice AnthoFulton v. Philadelphia, the court heard ny Kennedy served as the swing vote, the appeal of Catholic Social Services, and his leftward bent on LGBTQ+ which lost its contract to provide fosrights resulted in major decisions ter care and adoption services with the AP striking down anti-sodomy laws, city of Philadelphia because it refused protecting LGBTQ+ people from New Supreme to provide services to LGBTQ+ people. discrimination, and securing mar- Court Justice The city determined that this was a vioriage equality. When he retired, the Amy Coney Barlation of its anti-discrimination law, and conservative bloc struggled to find its rett ended the contract. equilibrium, giving the liberal justices The question before the justices is opportunities to form unlikely coaliwhether Philadelphia violated the retions in key cases. One of these was Bostock v. ligious freedom of CSS. In order for the court to Clayton County, which held that LGBTQ+ peofind in favor of CSS, it would have to expand its ple were protected from workplace discriminareligious freedom doctrine once again, to allow tion under Title VII. religious institutions to discriminate against With the confirmation of Justice Amy Barrett to their customers and clients. the Supreme Court, and the dawn of a 6-3 conserDuring oral arguments, Justice Brett vative super-majority, the struggle for LGBTQ+ Kavanaugh accused the city of “lookrights in the courts may have stalled. Most legal ing to pick a fight” because no sameobservers anticipate that Barrett will be hostile sex couples had actually been turned to LGBTQ+ rights, based on her radical views of away by CSS. However, finding in “religious freedom.” Barrett, like some of the other CSS’ favor would almost certainly justices, believes that the Constitution protects the result in LGBTQ+ people being “right” of religious individuals and organizations excluded from key public services to ignore laws with which they disagree. because religious institutions have beThe justices specifically declined to adopt this come a critical part of the U.S. social safety net. They position in the 2018 Masterpiece Cakeshop case, have taken a central role in poverty and homelessin which the court held that a baker did not have ness programs, adoption and foster care programs, a constitutional right to discriminate against gay and even our health care system. and lesbian customers. However, in a series of In adoption and foster care alone, allowing cases, the Supreme Court has created, and slowly discrimination by religious institutions would expanded, a narrow religious freedom doctrine mean tens of thousands of LGBTQ+ children for religious institutions. In 2012, the court held and millions of LGBTQ+ couples potentially that religious institutions had a right to ignore losing access to foster care or adoption services. anti-discrimination laws in the selection of It would mean as many as 60% of homeless shelclergy. This right has no basis in the text of the ter beds becoming unavailable to the homeless Constitution, but the conservative justices have members of the LGBTQ+ community. It would reasoned that any government interference in the mean one-sixth of hospitals refusing to serve LGselection of clergy would create an undue entanBTQ+ people. glement in religion. In 2019, the court expanded Perhaps even more troubling, however, was this nascent religious freedom doctrine to cover a question by Chief Justice John Roberts. Even all church employees, including secular teachers though the case has nothing to do with same-sex at religious schools, largely on the same grounds. marriage and CSS is not challenging marriage

Bay Area Reporter

equality, Roberts specifically asked CSS’ lawyer if it wanted the court to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 case that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. CSS’ lawyer demurred, but that question should send chills down the spine of every American. For a chief justice to unilaterally raise a legal issue that was never raised by the litigants at trial or on appeal is an almost unprecedented breach of judicial norms. It signals a court that is ready to enforce its radical antiLGBTQ+ ideology, and, just as President Donald Trump flouted democratic norms, we may be seeing the first signs that his judicial appointees or the other conservative justices will do the same on the nation’s highest court. Fulton is the first test of LGBTQ+ rights on the Barrett court that is stocked with three Trumpappointed activist judges. So far, it appears that we’re in trouble. Just a week after Barrett’s confirmation, the court is already moving quickly to legalize discrimination against LGBTQ+ people, and the justices have made known their desire to begin overturning the precedents that we worked for decades to achieve. Nevada may offer a path forward. In this election, Nevadans approved a constitutional amendment protecting marriage equality. This means that if the marriage equality cases (Obergefell and Windsor) are ever overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, Nevadans will still be protected. The LGBTQ+ community should follow this example. Relying on the federal courts is simply not going to be an option anymore. We need to adapt and begin codifying our legal gains in statutes and state constitutional amendments. We need to take our case to the statehouse, not the courthouse. Until we flip the Supreme Court, that is likely our best (and maybe only) path forward. t Michael Vargas is an adjunct professor of law at Santa Clara University Law School and an attorney at Rimon, P.C. in Menlo Park. Vargas is also the co-president of the Silicon Valley Stonewall Democrats and policy chair for the Rainbow Chamber of Commerce Silicon Valley.

Politics >>

November 12-18, 2020 • Bay Area Reporter • 5

Out Peninsula council candidates elected

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an Mateo County will see two more freshmen city council members as a pair of out candidates have been elected in South San Francisco and Redwood City. They are part of a trio of political newcomers who are LGBTQ people of color set to be the first out council members in their cities on the Peninsula. James Coleman, who is bisexual, will be the new District 4 council member on the South San Francisco City Council. First, he must finish his senior year at Harvard, where he is set to graduate in May with a degree in human developmental and regenerative biology. At age 21, Coleman will be the youngest person serving on his hometown’s city council and its first out LGBTQ member. He is biracial, as his late father was white and his mother is Asian. He defeated 18-year incumbent City Councilman and current mayor Richard Garbarino, who conceded during Monday night’s council meeting. In response, Coleman issued a statement thanking Garbarino for his near two decades of service to the city. “Now, we continue our fight for the working people of South City. We will fight for real financial COVID-19 relief, truly affordable housing, universal pre-K, police accountability, action on climate change, and much much more,” pledged Coleman, who waged most of his campaign from his dorm room in Cambridge, Massachusetts. “The future is progressive, and this is just the beginning. Tomorrow we start building a better South City for all!” Also headed toward becoming the Bay Area’s first nonbinary elected official is Lissette EspinozaGarnica, 24, a firstgeneration queer Chicanx who has lived in Redwood City their entire life and is the frontrunner in the race for the new District 3 council seat. Espinoza-Garnica came out of election night with a 17-vote lead ahead of the second place finisher, Janet Borgens, and has only seen that edge increase with each update to the count. As of Monday, Espinoza-Garnica was leading with 122 votes. But they are waiting for additional ballots to be counted before declaring a victory. The next vote count update will be posted at 4:30 p.m. November 11 past the Bay Area Reporter’s Wednesday press deadline. “While we can’t call this a win yet I remain optimistic!” Espinoza-Garnica wrote in an emailed note to their supporters prior to the council’s November 9 meeting asking people to call in about a development project on that night’s agenda. Added Espinoza-Garnica, “Thank you to everyone for believing in me and that I can be a city councilperson for the working-class that y’all can be proud of!” Espinoza-Garnica will be one of two LGBTQ people serving on the City Council in Redwood City. Planning Commissioner Michael Smith, 36, a gay Black business entrepreneur, ran unopposed for the newly created District 4 council seat.

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James Coleman will become the first LGBTQ person to serve on the South San Francisco City Council

East Bay council candidates win

Across the Bay both lesbian Oakland City Council President Rebecca Kaplan and gay political newcomer Terry Taplin in Berkeley maintained their leads in their races on election night to declare victory in recent days. Taplin called his race first, tweeting out on November 5 that he had defeated incumbent District 2 City Councilwoman Cheryl Davila. His victory means a gay Black man again will hold the seat, as Davila four years ago had ousted from office then-councilman Darryl Moore. (He is now a councilman-elect in Manassas Park, Virginia.) “It is an honor of a lifetime to serve my home district on the Berkeley City Council. District 2, what it do. West Berkeley forever!” wrote Taplin. Monday, November 9, Kaplan declared she had won reelection to a fourth term as the city’s atlarge council member. She fended off a strong challenge from gay businessman Derreck Johnson, who called her that morning to concede their contest and congratulate Kaplan. “This victory shows that Oakland is not for sale. Billionaire bullies and their $500,000 in expenditures against me were no match for Oakland voters and the trust placed in me by the community,” stated Kaplan. “I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues on the important issues facing our city.” While Kaplan will remain the lone LGBTQ person on her city’s council, Taplin will join lesbian City Councilwoman Lori Droste on the Berkeley council.

LGBTQ state caucus unlikely to break record

California’s Legislative LGBTQ Caucus is looking like it will once again have eight members in the next session but will not see a historic ninth member. As more ballots are tabulated, Democrat Abigail Medina falls further behind her Republican opponent, Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh, for the open 23rd Senate District seat. Due to Medina, who identifies as both queer and lesbian, being in a 50% dead heat last week with Bogh, state elections officials had marked their race as a “close contest.” That designation has now fallen away with Bogh now garnering 51.8% of the vote compared to Medina’s 48.2% of the vote. Medina has yet to concede in the race, and in an email she sent her supporters over the weekend, she indicated she would wait to do so until all the ballots are counted.

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Rebecca Kaplan was reelected to the Oakland City Council

She entered the race facing tough odds, as there has never been an out state legislator elected from San Bernardino County. When you plan your life celebration and lasting remembrance in And until this year, no LGBTQ advance, you can design every detail of your own unique memorial woman of color had won election and provide your loved ones with true peace of mind. Planning ahead to the state Senate. Lesbian AsWhen your celebration lasting protectsyou your plan loved ones fromlife unnecessary stress and and financial burden, semblywoman Susan TalamanWhen you plan your life celebration and lasting remembrance in allowing them to focus on what will matter most at that time—you. remembrance in advance, you can design every tes Eggman (D-Stockton) broke advance, you canofdesign every detail of your ownand unique memorial through that pink political glass detail own memorial provide Contact usyour today about theunique beautiful ways to create a lasting legacy ceiling with her victory in the race at the San Francisco Columbarium. and provide your loved ones with true peace of mind. Planning your loved ones with true peace of mind. Planning ahead for the open 5th Senate District protects your loved onesProudly from unnecessary stressunnecessary and financial burden, ahead protects yourserving loved onesCommunity. from seat. the LGBT allowing them focus on whatburden, will matter most them at thattotime—you. She defeated her GOP oppostresstoand financial allowing nent, Jim Ridenour, to succeed focus on what will matter most at that time—you. termed out lesbian state Senator Contact us today about the beautiful ways to create a lasting legacy Cathleen Galgiani (D-Stockton) and maintain the seat in the hands at the San Contact FranciscousColumbarium. today about the beautiful ways to create of an out legislator. Joining her as a lasting legacy at the San Francisco Columbarium. a newly elected out state senator One Loraine Ct. | San Francisco | 415-771-0717 will be former gay Assemblyman Proudly serving our Community. SanFranciscoColumbarium.com John Laird; he easily won his race Proudly serving the LGBT Community. for the open 17th Senate District FD 1306 / COA 660 seat along the Central Coast.t

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Web Extra: For more queer political news, be sure to check http://www.ebar.com Monday mornings for Political Notes, the notebook’s online companion. This week’s column reported on city council race results outside the Bay Area. Got a tip on LGBTQ politics? Call Matthew S. Bajko at (415) 8298836 or e-mail m.bajko@ebar.com.

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<< Community News

6 • Bay Area Reporter • November 12-18, 2020

SF art project marks 50 years of Pride compiled by Cynthia Laird

he San Francisco Arts Commission’s 2020 Art on Market Street Poster Series continues, this time with a celebration of the city’s 50th anniversary of LGBTQ Pride. The third artist in the series is Marcela Pardo Ariza, who identifies as genderqueer. Their project is “Kin Streets,” which is a series of staged photographs featuring members of the Bay Area queer community alongside images of the past. According to a news release from the commission, Ariza mined the archives of the GLBT Historical Society (before it was shuttered due to the pandemic) for images of past Pride celebrations. Those images were printed life-size and juxtaposed with Bay Area queer people, establishing a trans-historical relationship (i.e., transcending historical boundaries) between the queer community of the past and the LGBTQ community of today. “In this series I wanted to focus on highlighting gestures of care, intergenerational connection, and tender touch,” Ariza stated in the release. “I wanted to work to honor those who have literally and metaphorically walked the city streets before us to make space for those of us who now call these streets a queer home.” Denise Bradley-Tyson, the acting director of cultural affairs, noted that Ariza’s series honors San Francisco’s queer history. “Our city has a legacy of being a supportive home for LGBTQ people who can be and express themselves,” she stated. (Mayor London Breed announced November 6 that after a comprehen-

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sive search, Ralph Remington, from Tempe, Arizona, has been named the new director of cultural affairs. He’s expected to start the job in January.)

Tenderloin Tessie to-go for Thanksgiving

Tenderloin Tessie, which provides annual holiday dinners for those in need, will go ahead with its Thanksgiving meal, but this year’s will be to-go due to the coronavirus pandemic. Michael Gagne, president of the all-volunteer group’s board, wrote in an email that meals will be available for pick-up Thursday, November 26, from 1 to 4 p.m. at First Unitarian Church, 1187 Franklin Street in San Francisco. See page 8 >>

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Obituaries>>

November 12-18, 2020 • Bay Area Reporter • 7

GLF pioneer Nikos Diaman dies by Cynthia Laird

ikos Antony Diaman, an early member of the Gay Liberation Front, the Radical Faeries, the Billy Club, and other gay organizations, died November 8 in Athens, Greece, his son has confirmed. Mr. Diaman was 84. Aaron Sachowitz, Mr. Diaman’s son, wrote to the Bay Area Reporter from Greece, where he had gone to help his father. Mr. Diaman died of multiple organ failure after emergency surgery to repair a ruptured and likely cancerous tumor in his intestines, his son said. “He was a remarkably healthy and fit person up until his hospitalization, walking miles to visit friends or run errands rather than take the bus or metro,” Sachowitz wrote. Mr. Diaman was a longtime San Francisco resident. “He had gone to Greece, first on the island of Ikaria, were his parents were both from, then in Athens, to do genealogical research to continue his work on the many family trees he’s pieced together in the last several decades,” Sachowitz wrote. Mr. Diaman participated in the early gay civil rights scene, from Stonewall to Harvey Milk’s politicized San Francisco, his son stated. Mark Segal, one of the original founders of GLF and publisher of Philadelphia Gay News, said he wasn’t close to Mr. Diaman but admired him. “He came to the premier of my book at the NLGJA convention in 2015 to show his support,” Segal, the author of “And Then I Danced: Traveling the Road to LGBT Equality,” wrote in an email, “and was amazed and humbled when I introduced him to the audience and he got a great round of applause. “While our politics in GLF were all radical, as an individual he was a

Nikos Diaman

gentle man,” Segal added. Joey Cain, a gay longtime activist, praised Mr. Diaman’s life. “Through his activism with New York Gay Liberation Front, the San Francisco Radical Fairies, and the gay community in Greece, as well as his humanism, passion, and persistence, Nikos helped create the contemporary LGBTQ world we live in today,” Cain wrote in an email. “Well into his 80s, Nikos showed up to events throughout our community. As an author, he put the history of that community into his novels. I’ll miss him deeply.” Sachowitz noted that Mr. Diaman was involved in the “Milk” film that was shot in San Francisco in 2008. “I remember he was excited to be an extra on the biopic ‘Milk,’ but complained that he only got to be in the scenes where he hadn’t actually been present, and all the times he had really been present, he didn’t get to be in the film,” Sachowitz wrote. His son added that Mr. Diaman wrote and self-published 10 books, a mix of novels and memoir. “While I don’t think he ever achieved much critical fame for his writing, he was a pioneer for writing about openly gay themes when he first began publishing in the late 1970s,” Sachowitz explained. Mr. Diaman was also an early video artist and documentarian of the gay

scene. His son said that his father always hoped to return to collecting oral histories of his generation’s gay leaders while they were still alive. He was also a photographer and leaves behind a deep catalogue of photographs taken across the U.S., Greece, and Mexico. “He accomplished so many things, but never quite got the recognition he wanted for his achievements,” Sachowitz wrote. Mr. Diaman was born Nikolaos Aristotle Diamantidis on November 1, 1936 in San Francisco. He was mostly raised in the city and after stints in Los Angeles, Paris, and, New York, called San Francisco home since at least the mid-1970s, his son stated. Sachowitz, who lives in Berkeley, wrote that he first met his father about 16 years ago, when Mr. Diaman tracked him down. He had been the anonymous sperm donor that Sachowitz’s lesbian parents used. “I don’t know if we were close,” his son wrote. “I think we both have personalities that tend toward a degree of introversion and independence. While I loved him, and he loved me, we would often go a month or more without much communication other than a brief email or two, though preCOVID we tried to get together every couple of months to have lunch, and I took him out to dinner on his birthday for most of the last five or six years.” Mr. Diaman was an avid genealogist and had family trees connecting cousins all over the world. “It was pretty amazing,” his son stated. In addition to his son, Mr. Diaman is survived by three granddaughters, Roque Luna Carillo Rowe, Octavia Rue Sachowitz, and Mélika Pearl Sachowitz; as well as his sister, Anna Galaxidas (nee Diaman); nephew John Galaxidas and niece Yvonne GalaxidasMoustakas, and their families. t

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<< Community News

8 • Bay Area Reporter • November 12-18, 2020

Rent control

From page 1

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation provided $40 million, almost all of the funding for Prop 21. When reached for comment, René Christian Moya, the director of Housing is a Human Right at AHF, blamed Newsom for opposing the proposition. “Running against both the governor of California and his allies in the powerful real estate industry was never going to be easy. Given the head-

Business Briefs

From page 3

derstanding and appreciation of the fluidity of both gender and sexuality,” she said. “It is wonderful to see more women and LGBTQ people entering into entrepreneurism.”

Sales hold steady

With people spending so much time at home in their loungewear because of the coronavirus pandemic, TomboyX has seen its sales increase about 50% this year, the same rate of growth it has seen in previous years. And it is bracing for a frenzied fourth quarter, as November is its busiest time of the year due to holiday shop-

News Briefs

From page 6

Gagne said that volunteers will distribute masks, gloves, and hand sanitizer to each person waiting in line. There will be hand-washing stations and portable toilets. The same plan will be in place for Tessie’s Christmas dinners on December 25, he stated.

Leather district focus groups

The San Francisco Leather & LGBTQ Cultural District is presenting several focus groups in the coming weeks. Officials noted in an email to supporters that these virtual meetings will determine which cultural district projects the city will fund over the next three years. All the focus groups meet via Zoom from 6 to 8 p.m. A meeting on tenant protection and land use will be held Tuesday, November 17. This will allow participants to share their ideas on both tenant protection (residential and business) and land use regulations to promote and protect culturally relevant businesses. A leather focus group takes place

Out justice

From page 1

ries about the demographic makeup of the Golden State’s judiciary. All six of the current Supreme Court members identify as straight according to the annual reports that detail the sexual orientation and gender identity of the state’s judges. Until his appointment last month, Jenkins was not out publicly. He only came out as gay to family and friends late in life, which he addressed during a news conference with Newsom to announce his being tapped for the court seat. “Anyone who knows me knows my identity has been as a gay man perhaps the greatest challenge of my life. And it

Biden

From page 1

The United States has seen more than 10 million cases of coronavirus infection and more than 244,000 deaths to date. Cases are rising nationwide, including in the Bay Area, with several states reporting that their hospital capacity is becoming overwhelmed. The Biden-Harris plan promises to listen to science, ensure that public health decisions are informed by experts, and “promote trust, transpar-

winds we faced – some very deeppocketed and deceitful opponents – we are disappointed, although not completely surprised that Prop 21 fell short at the ballot box tonight,” Moya stated to the B.A.R. November 3. “We vow to continue the fight for housing justice for California’s 17 million renters and express our profound gratitude to our dedicated campaign team as well as great thanks to over threehundred organizations, elected officials and individuals who endorsed Prop 21 – a coalition that will live to fight on in this battle.” ping. It has several unique designs for the season, such as its nutcracker motif and, new this year, a golden night pattern. “We had a little bit of worry at the beginning of the health crisis where we might end up so we took some precautions. But at the end of day things turned around,” said Dunaway. “We’re fortunate people are sitting around a lot in their underwear these days, so they have been shopping here.” As it happened, the women had decided to design a line of multiclavas ($10) prior to the start of the COVID-19 outbreak that their customers could use to tie back their hair or for other reasons. As they also Thursday, November 19. Finally, a kink focus group will be held Tuesday, December 1. For more information and to sign up, go to sfleatherdistrict.org/focus/.

COVID delays SFO Milk terminal construction

San Francisco International Airport announced plans November 9 to postpone additional construction projects as a result of reduced passenger activity and revenues caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. According to a news release, projects affected include the final phase of Harvey Milk Terminal 1, which will construct a new north check-in lobby area. Originally slated for completion in April 2023, this phase will be postponed by at least six months. SFO already completed the first nine gates of Harvey Milk Terminal 1 in July 2019 and opened an additional nine gates and south check-in lobby in May. The next phase, which will add seven more gates and a post-security connection to the International Terminal, will proceed with a planned completion date of May 2021. SFO will also postpone a portion of the Courtyard 3 Connector proj-

AHF was also a major bankroller of Prop 10. When asked if the foundation’s money would be better spent on HIV/AIDS services, Ged Kenslea, the senior director of communications for AHF, wrote that “we believe that we can walk and chew gum at the same time between our HIV/AIDS care and treatment programs and our innovative housing programs and advocacy such as Proposition 21.” “Research has shown that stable housing is a crucial determinant of health outcomes and well-being, something even more important for

people living with chronic conditions like HIV or AIDS,” Kenslea wrote. “AHF is also confident that our housing efforts with this ballot measure (as well as with our Healthy Housing Foundation, which currently provides housing to over 700 extremely lowincome or formerly homeless individuals in eight former SRO hotels in greater Los Angeles) fall under both advocacy and health care.” Proposition 19, on the other hand, passed with 51.1% voting yes, according to preliminary results. The measure will change property

tax transfers in two ways. Californians 55 and older, the disabled, and those displaced by wildfires could move their property tax rates with them throughout the state. The proposition will also change rules related to inheritance, requiring children or grandchildren to live in a house if they are also to inherit its low property tax rate. t

Courtesy En Femme

DeSouza never had to close his business due to COVID but did adjust his procedures and workspace to protect the health of his employees. Bracing for a dip in business, sales instead surged in the spring and are slated to be up about 30% for the year. “We were wondering why this was happening. The insight we have gotten from customers is they have a lot more time to spend at home. They are loving being able to dress more and to also invest a little bit more into their wardrobe,” he said. Baca also told the B.A.R. that his sales have held steady this year, but he is unsure of what to expect with the coming holiday shopping season. “I will be the first to say clothing

is not a necessity. If you have a basic T-shirt and pants to get by, you don’t need the latest fashion gear,” he said. “I think people are wanting to get back to that way of life where they can be individuals and different with their clothing. There is a lot of demand for it.” With people curtailing their travel this year to be with family on the holidays due to the health crisis, Baca said it is unclear if that will translate to people buying fewer gifts as well this December. “It is going to be really interesting to see how it plays out,” he said. “We will continue setting up our website and making sure we have everything available for people who do want to make purchases.” t

A model wears En Femme clothing.

make for a perfect mask, they quickly sold out and are on to their third run in designs like dinosaurs and winter bears. “They were on a boat making their way here when the pandemic hit,” recalled Dunaway. ect, which consists of pre- and postsecurity connecting walkways between Terminal 2 and Terminal 3, along with mixed-use office space. The connecting walkways will be completed as originally planned in October 2021, but the interior construction of office space will be postponed. The release stated that SFO is also postponing, in part or full, over 20 smaller projects that were intended to provide upgrades to terminal and support facilities. By postponing these projects, SFO will defer approximately $550 million of debt service resulting from issuance of airport general revenue bonds, which are used to finance construction projects at SFO. In April, SFO announced the postponement of the $1 billion Terminal 3 West project for a period of at least six months, also a result of reduced passenger activity and revenues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In October, this project postponement was extended for at least six more months.

Courtesy U.S. Travel Association

Joe D’Alessandro

The Bay Area Reporter will have more on the other state propositions next week.

he has addressed city challenges, such as homelessness, with purpose and compassion, the release stated. “Joe has been a passionate and committed leader to furthering San Francisco’s representation as a worldclass travel destination,” Mayor London Breed stated. “His work has supported the expansion of Moscone Center, which has helped San Francisco retain our strong position in drawing conventions and supporting our local jobs and economy.” Of course, COVID-19 has put a damper on visitors and conventions this year. Various meetings have largely moved online, such as the AIDS 2020 conference in June. Events such as the Pride parade also took place in virtual space, while hotel, restaurant, and nightlife options have been severely affected by the virus. Joining D’Alessandro in becoming a member of the Hall of Leaders will be Ernest Wooden Jr., president and CEO of the Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Board. The Southern California city, like just about everywhere else, has also seen a significant drop in visitors because of the health crisis. t

Travel industry leader Joe D’Alessandro, president and CEO of the San Francisco Travel Association,

will be inducted into the U.S. Travel Association Hall of Leaders during a virtual meeting November 18. Distinguished leaders are named to U.S. Travel’s Hall of Leaders for “sustained, noteworthy contributions that have positively impacted the travel industry and raised industry-wide standards,” according to a news release from the organization. D’Alessandro, a gay man, has led San Francisco Travel since 2006 and is an avid ambassador for the city’s culture and heritage. Prior to the pandemic, his success in destination management attracted an increasing number of visitors annually to the city – surging 30% since 2009 – and

has not been easy,” said Jenkins. Raised in San Francisco, Jenkins attended two Jesuit-run universities in the Bay Area, Santa Clara University and the University of San Francisco School of Law. He had signed a contract with the Seattle Seahawks football team but gave up being a professional sports player in order to pursue a career in the legal profession. “Justice Martin Jenkins is a pioneer and trailblazer who epitomize the American belief in upward mobility and the fulfillment of the American Dream. He is the son of a janitor who worked at Coit Tower and Parkmerced Apartment Building in San Francisco,” noted the Unity Bar Association of Sacramento County in a letter in sup-

port of his appointment co-signed by Sacramento’s LGBTQ+ bar association SacLegal co-chairs Ashley Harvey and Andi Mudryk. “His family was poor but regardless of their financial situation, the values of hard work, honor, charity, and dignity were instilled in Justice Jenkins and his siblings by their father. Justice Jenkins has exemplified these virtues and values in his life and in his legal and judicial career. It is who he is and has been to the present day.” A Democrat like Newsom, Jenkins started out as a prosecutor for the Alameda County District Attorney’s office from 1980 to 1983. He left to work in the U.S. Department of Justice during the Reagan administration as a trial attorney litigating civil rights

cases involving police misconduct and cross burnings. He also worked to promote gender equality through cases on pregnancy-related leave and sex discrimination. He was then hired as a trial attorney with the Pacific Bell Legal Department of San Francisco. In 1989 Jenkins became a judge on the Oakland Municipal Court and then on the Alameda County Superior Court. Former President Bill Clinton appointed him to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in 1997. Jenkins then became an associate justice on the California Court of Appeal, First Appellate District in 2008. He stepped down last year when Newsom tapped him to offer guidance on filling

judicial vacancies on the state’s courts. His longtime friend and colleague, first in the Alameda County D.A.’s office and later on the bench, Justice William R. McGuiness was one of the three people Jenkins asked to speak on his behalf. McGuiness, the administrative presiding justice of the California Court of Appeal, division three, in San Francisco, California, called Jenkins “bright, indefatigable, hardworking,” and someone who has “served with integrity and dignity.” He added that Jenkins “has always applied the law dispassionately and evenhandedly.” Jenkins will take his oath of office at a later date. He will earn $261,949 a year as a member of the court.t

ency, common purpose, and accountability in our government.” Specific proposals include doubling the number of drive-through coronavirus test sites, establishing a U.S. Public Health Jobs Corps to undertake culturally competent contact tracing, and using the Defense Production Act to ramp up production of personal protective equipment. Biden said he would reverse Trump’s withdrawal from the World Health Organization on his first day in office. In a departure from the Trump administration’s approach, the Biden-

Harris team promises to provide clear and consistent guidance for how communities should navigate the pandemic. To date, guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been vague and inconsistent, leading many to feel they have been unduly influenced by politics. On Tuesday, however, the CDC released new guidance on face coverings, stating for the first time that they protect the wearer as well as people around them. That’s the message that Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert, has been

hammering home for months. “Social distancing is not a light switch. It is a dial,” the Biden-Harris plan states. “President-elect Biden will direct the CDC to provide specific evidence-based guidance for how to turn the dial up or down relative to the level of risk and degree of viral spread in a community, including when to open or close certain businesses, bars, restaurants, and other spaces; when to open or close schools, and what steps they need to take to make classrooms and facilities safe; appropriate restrictions on size of

gatherings; [and] when to issue stayat-home restrictions.” The Biden-Harris team also promises money to help schools and small businesses operate safely, as well as increased funding for state and local governments. Although Biden has called on every American to wear a face covering when they are around people outside their household, and has asked governors and local officials to make mask use mandatory, he does not have the

D’Alessandro named to US travel hall of leaders

See page 9 >>

t <<

National News>>

Biden

From page 8

authority to issue a national mask mandate or a nationwide lockdown.

COVID task force

Biden’s COVID-19 task force includes 13 people with expertise in public health, epidemiology, medicine, and public policy. The roster includes former Food and Drug Administration commissioner Dr. David Kessler, a professor of pediatrics at UCSF, and Dr. Robert Rodriguez, a professor of emergency

November 12-18, 2020 • Bay Area Reporter • 9

medicine at UCSF. Task force member Dr. Eric Goosby, also a UCSF professor, was previously director of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS program, CEO of the Pangaea Global AIDS Foundation (a partnership with the San Francisco AIDS Foundation), and U.S. global AIDS coordinator under President Barack Obama. On the same day the task force was named, Pfizer and the German biotechnology company BioNTech announced that their experimental coronavirus vaccine was more than 90% effective in reducing symptomatic COVID-19 in an interim analysis. Although the first vaccine may

receive emergency use authorization from the FDA by the end of the year, many hurdles remain. Millions of doses must be manufactured and distributed, and the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine requires ultra-cold refrigeration at minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit. Health care workers and others at high risk for coronavirus exposure will be first in line for vaccination, followed by older people and other vulnerable individuals who are more likely to develop severe disease. The supply may be adequate to vaccinate the general public by next summer. The Biden-Harris team vows to guarantee that every American will get a

vaccine for free. “I congratulate the brilliant women and men who helped produce this breakthrough and to give us such cause for hope,” Biden said in a statement, referring to the vaccine news. “At the same time, it is also important to understand that the end of the battle against COVID-19 is still months away. ... Americans will have to rely on masking, distancing, contact tracing, hand washing, and other measures to keep themselves safe well into next year. Today’s news is great news, but it doesn’t change that fact.”t

ing the position of West Coast head librarian. He served from 1994 to 1995 as president of the Northern California Association of Law Libraries. He served on several committees supporting the work of that association and the Standing Committee for Lesbian and Gay Issues of the American Association of Law Libraries. Todd’s life was one of remarkable kindness and amicability. His love of his family, friends, and colleagues brightened their lives. He dedicated much of his life to helping others. In college he worked as an aide to paraplegic students. During the worst days of the AIDS crisis, he cared for and mourned the loss of friends. He enjoyed spending holidays with friends and, as an amateur chef, preparing gourmet meals for them. A creative individual, he maintained an interest in fine arts and once had artistic am-

bitions himself. His family and friends also remember his love of pugs and his bond with his beloved pug, Oscar. Todd was preceded in death by his mother and stepfather, Shirley and Howard Melvin, and his father, Kenneth Bennett. He is survived by stepmother Jean Bennett of Brecksville, Ohio; brother and sister-in-law, Timothy and JoAnn Bennett of Springfield, Ohio; and his beloved nephew and niece, Jacob Bennett of Brooklyn, New York and Katherine Bennett of Springfield, Ohio. Todd’s name will be engraved at the National AIDS Memorial Grove in San Francisco. Todd will be included among those remembered at the dedication of names in 2021. We hope that friends will be able to join us at the dedication and ask that anyone wishing to honor his life consider donating to the memorial in his name.

Steve Walters

as ANNA BEAUTY SALON, 4 PERSIA AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ANA ANAYA GALEANO. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/09/20. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/10/20.

CHRISTOPHER MICHAEL BASKETT be changed to CHRISTOPHER KAI BROX. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 103 on the 1st of December 2020 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

AMANCIO LIANGCO JR., 605 MARKET ST #605, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105; Ph. (415) 974-5336.

Courtesy ABC7 Chicago

President-elect Joe Biden discusses his COVID-19 task force November 9.

Obituaries >> Todd Erich Bennett April 6, 1958 – August 18, 2020

With a profound sense of loss, the family of Todd Erich Bennett, 62, share that he passed away unexpectedly at his home in Stow, Ohio on August 18, 2020. Born April 6, 1958 in Dayton, Ohio, Todd was a longtime resident of San Francisco, California, a city he loved and considered his true home. As he faced declining health, he returned recently to Ohio to be closer to his family and cherished friends from his time as a student at Kent State University. Todd had a distinguished career as a legal librarian. For nearly 30 years, he worked at Thelen LLP, eventually hold-

May 7, 1935 – September 20, 2020

Steve Walters would have cheered the Biden-Harris team taking the White House. Instead of getting that opportunity, he got the jump on the rest of us and exhaled permanently on September 20, 2020. Steve’s heart attack happened just over a day after his favorite, U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, took her last breath. Steve’s political savvy about Mitch McConnell’s next steps may have hastened his demise. Stephen Harmon Walters, born 85 years ago in New York City, was active in Democratic politics in San Francisco in the 1970s and 1980s, with tenure as presi-

dent of the Alice B. Toklas LGBTQ Democratic Club in the late 1970s. Steve was also a founder of the Kaposi’s Sarcoma (KS) Research and Education Foundation, the precursor to the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, in the early 1980s. A gifted teacher of children, he was beloved at the progressive Peninsula School in Menlo Park and had a long stint as a union organizer at Service Employees International Union, leading trips to Europe in his retirement. Throughout his life his sense of humor led the way. If you remember Steve, you’ll remember that. He had a mouth on him too. Survivors include siblings Tina and Jay Walters, his goddaughter, Amanda Sonenberg, and her mother, Lynne Sonenberg.

Legals>> ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-20-555926

In the matter of the application of KARLA JESSENIA MELARA, 78 CARR ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner KARLA JESSENIA MELARA AKA KARLA JESSENIA MEJIA is requesting that the name KARLA JESSENIA MELARA AKA KARLA JESSENIA MEJIA be changed to KARLA MELARA MEJIA. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 103N on the 19th of November 2020 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

OCT 22, 29, NOV 05, 12, 2020 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-20-555944

In the matter of the application of CAROLE EILEEN ACUNA-PICKENS, 2212 POLK ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner CAROLE EILEEN ACUNAPICKENS is requesting that the name CAROLE EILEEN ACUNA-PICKENS be changed to TACHIRIA FLAMENCO ROMELIA. 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 December 2020 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

OCT 22, 29, NOV 05, 12, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039168800 The following person(s) is/are doing business as LAW OFFICES OF STANTON & KAUFMAN, 400 MONTGOMERY ST #502, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94104. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MARY BETH KAUFMAN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 04/01/08. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/05/20.

OCT 22, 29, NOV 05, 12, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039172900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as PAUL WOODFORD SERVICES, 296 COLERIDGE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed GEORGE PAUL WOODFORD. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/10/97. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/07/20.

OCT 22, 29, NOV 05, 12, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039177300

The following person(s) is/are doing business as SFGIFTBASKET.COM, 201 CLAY ST, 2 EMBARCADERO CENTER, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94111. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MITRA GHIASI. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/01/06. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/10/20.

OCT 22, 29, NOV 05, 12, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039168900 The following person(s) is/are doing business as DATARACY, 1583 SCHAEFFER RD, SEBASTOPOL, CA 95472. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed CAMERON HOLL. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/14/20. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/05/20.

OCT 22, 29, NOV 05, 12, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039177200 The following person(s) is/are doing business

OCT 22, 29, NOV 05, 12, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039164100 The following person(s) is/are doing business as CHORUS, 2370 MARKET ST #103 PMB 174, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed CHORUS WELLNESS INC (DE). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/17/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/01/20.

OCT 22, 29, NOV 05, 12, 2020 NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF CAROL ANN DODA IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO: FILE PES-20-303968

To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both, of CAROL ANN DODA. A Petition for Probate has been filed by THOMAS A. SMITH in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco. The Petition for Probate requests that THOMAS A. SMITH be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent. The petition requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important actions, however, the personal representative will be required to give notice to interested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action.) The independent administration authority will be granted unless an interested person files an objection to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority. A hearing on the petition will be held in this court as follows: November, 17, 2020, 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: DAVID W. KNIGHT (SBN 195105), LAW OFFICES OF DAVID W. KNIGHT, 2300 BOYNTON AVE #104, FAIRFIELD, CA 94533; Ph. (707) 422-5411.

OCT 29, NOV 05, 12, 2020 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-20-555935

In the matter of the application of CHRISTOPHER MICHAEL BASKETT, 88 HOWARD ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner CHRISTOPHER MICHAEL BASKETT is requesting that the name

OCT 29, NOV 05, 12, 19, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039163100 The following person(s) is/are doing business as AW MANERS AND ETIQUETTE, 126 TERRA VISTA AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ANGIE WANG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/15/20. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/30/20.

OCT 29, NOV 05, 12, 19, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039165300

The following person(s) is/are doing business as MORGEN DEPENTHAL DESIGN, THE XO MASK, 2101 DIVISADERO ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MORGEN DEPENTHAL. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/31/20. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/01/20.

OCT 29, NOV 05, 12, 19, 2020 AMENDED NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF ZETHER MCGRIGER IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO: FILE PES-20-303828

To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both, of ZETHER MCGRIGER. An Amended Petition for Probate has been filed by CECILEY MCGRIGER in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco. The Amended Petition for Probate requests that CECILEY MCGRIGER 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: November 30, 2020, 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: DAE HEE KIM (SBN 235808), LAW OFFICES OF

NOV 05, 12, 19, 2020 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-20-555966

In the matter of the application of MAYA STICKNEY, 5044 GEARY BLVD #2, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner MAYA STICKNEY is requesting that the name MAYA STICKNEY be changed to MAYA FUJIMURA-STICKNEY. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 103 on the 10th of December 2020 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

NOV 05, 12, 19, 26, 2020 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-20-555968

In the matter of the application of RALPH CRISTOBAL RASALAN, 3465 25th ST #8, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110 for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner RALPH CRISTOBAL RASALAN is requesting that the name RALPH CRISTOBAL RASALAN be changed to RALPH CRISTOBAL RASALAN TIETJEN. 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 15th of December 2020 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

NOV 05, 12, 19, 26, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039177400 The following person(s) is/are doing business as YOGA SHA, 4686 18TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JOSEPH A. NAUDZUNAS JR. 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 10/26/20.

NOV 05, 12, 19, 26, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039175700 The following person(s) is/are doing business as ZENFINITE CBD, 265 NUEVA AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94134. This business is conducted by a

limited liability company, and is signed SYNERGY GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE 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 10/08/20.

NOV 05, 12, 19, 26, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039169200 The following person(s) is/are doing business as FIORELLA, 2339 CLEMENT ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed PROJECT PIZZA LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/14/20. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/06/20.

NOV 05, 12, 19, 26, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039181300 The following person(s) is/are doing business as ROUTINE FITNESS, 1601 MARIPOSA ST #406, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed SOO MIN HWANG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/15/20. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/05/20.

NOV 12, 19, 26, DEC 03, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039180600

The following person(s) is/are doing business as SYLISKABEAUTY, 46 BRIDGEVIEW DR, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed SPYNSIR TUCKER. 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 11/05/20.

NOV 12, 19, 26, DEC 03, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039182000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as LUZ HOTEL, 725 GEARY ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed CANDARI INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/01/20. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/06/20.

NOV 12, 19, 26, DEC 03, 2020

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The French three-part Proud (Fiertes)

by Brian Bromberger

he limited series Proud, which was a huge success last year on French television, has been released on DVD in the U.S. by Kino Lorber and their Kino Marquee streaming service. This spectacle portrays the evolution of a family over three decades, using the backdrop of three important gay rights decisions in France as markers for significant events in the character’s lives. Victor, almost 18, working for his father’s (Charles) construction company, falls for Selim, the son of the Arab foreman. Charles spots the couple kissing and fires Selim. Charles, a left-leaning progressive, can’t accept Victor’s sexuality. Selim, threatened by his father, ends the romance. Victor begins a relationship with the twenty years older Serge, a gay rights advocate. Serge helps Victor accept his homosexuality and come out to his parents. All this upheaval occurs as Mitterrand wins the election as President in 1981, during whose term homosexuality will be decriminalized and declassified as a mental illness. The middle episode traces Victor’s (now an architect) open relationship with the HIVpositive Serge (working as a counselor for a homeless LGBTQ youth support group) as they decide to adopt, technically legal for gay couples, though they’re routinely refused. To secure a child, Victor must pretend he’s straight with the ambivalent help of his father, all of which occurs as civil union legislation is passed in 1999. Finally, the action moves to 2013 when same-sex marriage is approved, as adopted teenage son Diego must reconcile being bullied by his peers for having two dads, starting a romance with an older first year female law student, becoming close with grandfather Charles despite his estrangement from Victor, and Serge’s declining health. Unlike American television, Proud perceptively showcases an open intergenerational gay relationship, especially the impact of Victor’s sexual liaisons both with the married Selim and Serge’s pining physiotherapist.

French twists

Gay rights movements and dance moves in ‘Proud’ and ‘Bare’

Proud’s message is epitomized by Victor’s answer to Charles’s question, “What more do you want?” with his reply, “I don’t want anything more. I just want the same thing as everyone else.”

Bodies electric

The mostly French-language dance documentary Bare, being shown at DOC NYC (Nov. 11-19, available for streaming), oddly serves as a continuation of the progress gay men have made once Proud ends in 2013. Bare chronicles the auditioning, rehearsing,

behind-the-scenes peeks, and opening night of 11 male dancers performing fully naked in Belgian choreographer Thierry Smits’ composition Anima Ardens (Burning Soul) at the Studio Thor in Brussels, 2016. Smits, in both the auditions and rehearsals, urges the dancers to shed their prudishness and fight against the male tendency to be closed and guarded by giving their uninhibited all. Smits is a demanding taskmaster deliberately abstruse in what he wants, so as to inspire their creativity. Anima Ardens seems to embody Judith Butler’s axiom that gender identity is a performance as

Aleksandr Virogradov’s film Bare

well as demonstrating deconstructions of traditional male sexuality, power, and voyeurism. Smits is queer and from a few off-the-cuff remarks captured on camera, most of the dancers (with their muscular sculpted physiques) are probably gay. Also because the dancers are naked practically all the time, the viewer is rapidly desensitized to their independently-moving genitals, so any erotic attraction soon vanishes. The dancing is artfully filmed vérité-style by director Aleksandr Virogradov. However, the vague, even aimlessness of what is happening and why, will probably confound some audiences. With minimal dialogue, it is probably best to view the movie as a record of the enfleshed give and take artistic process from start to finish. What emerges is how physically and emotionally vulnerable being naked in front of other people remains, which resonates during this pandemic when our bodies seem so fragile in light of a potential attack from the Covid-19 virus. Victor’s vulnerability in Proud to accept his sexuality and live it out on his terms, is realized in Anima’s dancers’ pride to display the beauty and fluidity of their nude bodies as a source of freedom and desire.t

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Jacki Weaver and Adrian Grenier in Stage Mother.

Bambi Lake

Oct. 20, 1950 - Nov. 4, 2020

Mother dearest

Read the full obituary on www.ebar.com

Read Gregg Shapiro’s review on www.ebar.com

ambi Lake, a performer who sprung out of the Cockettes and the Angels of Light, later became an actress, street-level poet, and chanteuse known for her song, “The Golden Age of Hustlers.” After a brief hospitalization, she passed away at a Pacifica hospice on November 4, 2020. She was 70 years old.

here’s so much familiar territory visited in gay writer/director Thom Fitzgerald’s Stage Mother that watching it conjures feelings of déjà vu. A gay son is abandoned by his religious southern family, but his mother undergoes a kind of spiritual awakening and sees the error of her ways. Jacki Weaver, Adrian Grenier and Lucy Liu star in the San Francisco-set drag-filled film.

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November 12-18, 2020 • Bay Area Reporter • 11

Leather bound by Jim Piechota

ow in his mid-sixties, South London novelist and literary critic Adam Mars-Jones has enjoyed a prolific and critically acclaimed writing career that began in the early 1980s with an award-winning short story collection and a collaboration with Edmund White. Prior to the publication of the third installment in the projected John Cromer novel trilogy series after Pilcrow (2008) and Cedilla (2011) comes this trim, supremely resonant novella about the submissive relationship dynamics between a teenaged boy and an older leatherman. As the winner of the 2019 Fitzcarraldo Editions Novel Prize, which garnered a €3,000 book deal, the story is short yet packs an emotionally powerful gut-punch. It all begins with the 18th birthday of young Colin who escapes the confines of his discordant home life befit with a hospitalized mother and a mentally unstable father. It’s 1975 and the boy is emboldened and independent enough to trek to the Box Hill glade where motorcycle groups ceremoniously congregate on Sundays. Enamored by the leather riding gear and the fraternal nature of the gathered groups, Colin tells himself he’s just arrived there “to look at the bikes.” While walking amongst the rare, poisonous, densely trunked box trees in the coriaceous grove, he trips and tumbles over a leathergloved sleeping biker named Ray, who stands, sizes up the young lad, immediately “saw what he really

wanted,” and unzips his one-piece riding suit to put the boy to work. Colin embodies the book’s subtitle and regularly chides himself for being short, paunchy, and unattractive compared to Ray’s tall, chiseled brawn and brazen attitude in his candle-waxed leathers and formidable motorbike. Hypnotized by his finger snaps and intoxicated by his obvious sense of carnal experience, Colin drops to his knees and is instantly obsessed. After a call home with a flimsy excuse to his parents, he becomes Ray’s shotgun rider all the way home, grass-stained knees and all. From this point, the boy becomes tender, virginal fodder for the Master and Colin is shoved full force into the physical and emotional tempest that BDSM relationships can become especially for the uninitiated and the ill-prepared.

SERVING OUR FULL MENU!! As Ray began the ceremony of “taking possession” of young Colin, beer is force-fed mouth to mouth, asses are dry-raped (“I wasn’t even entitled to a smear of the candle grease that his leathers benefited from”), and, in Ray’s universe, boys The new hours of Orphan Andy’s are to be seen and not heard and are will be Sun-Thurs 8:30 am-7:30pm relegated to providing pleasure to his fellow riders and sleeping on the Fri and Sat 8:30am--8;30 pm floor at the foot of their master’s bed. These scenes can be rough reading for the faint of heart, but Mars-Jones clearly knows his territory and transfers these nuances to the page with an economy of words and an onslaught and in partnership with Twin Peaks of emotion and sheer intensity. serving food at their sidewalk tables Ray quickly becomes Colin’s king Mon--Wed 11 am--6pm and sexual educator over a turbulent, excessively serpentine six-year Thurs-1pm -8pm period, and though his allegiance Fri and Sat 1pm-9pm remained undaunted, a great levelSun 1pm-8pm ing tragedy befalls their relationship changing everything but their indelible memories of each other. “I have to make my own peace,” Colin concedes at the very end. 3991-A 17th Street, Market & Castro Richly drawn and impossible to forget, Mars-Jones’s story will appeal 415-864-9795 most to niche LGBTQ readers who appreciate the bold acidity of classic PLAYMATES OR SOULMATES BDSM leather-scented erotic fiction.OrphanAndys_25_082720.indd 1 10/28/20 9:47 AM Browse & Reply FREE! At under 100 pages, this is compact SF - 415-692-5774 1-888-MegaMates and sinfully gorgeous; blissfully free Free to Listen & Reply, 18+ of whitewashed editing and infused with the biting sting and the sweet surrender shared between a submissive and a dominant.t

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Box Hill: A Story of Low SelfEsteem by Adam Mars-Jones, New Directions Books, $15 paper/$10 e-book. ndbooks.com

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regg Shapiro gives us the low-down on new releases from P.J. O’Connor, Will Butler, Grant Lee Phillips, Same Doores, Jason Molina, Washed Out, and Blitzen Trapper. Read it on www.ebar.comt

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