November 19, 2020 Edition of the Bay Area Reporter

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Gay nurse honored

New CCSF program

Gay doc joins CDC

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Castro tree will go up without ceremony

by Cynthia Laird

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he Castro Christmas tree will go up this year but there won’t be the usual lighting ceremony due to the pandemic.

Masood Samereie, president of the Castro Merchants business Rick Gerharter group, confirmed the news in a November Carolers joined by 16 email, several days the San Francisco after the Bay Area Re- Lesbian/Gay Freeporter noted in an on- dom Band herline article that while a alded the lighting ceremony was unlikely, of the annual there was no definitive Castro holiday word on whether the tree in 2012. tree would be put up.

The artificial tree is normally assembled Thanksgiving week outside in the courtyard fronting the Bank of America building at the intersection of Castro and 18th streets.

“Yes, the tree is going up this year. And there will be no lighting ceremony due to COVID-19,” Samereie wrote.

See page 8 >>

SF DA hails criminal justice props results

Mixed results for youth vote measures

by Matthew S. Bajko

V

oters in the Bay Area and across California were of a mixed mind this month when it came to lowering the voting age.

While Oakland residents approved by a wide margin a measure on the November 3 ballot that will allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in school board elections, San Francisco residents defeated by a narrow margin a ballot measure that would have lowered the age limit to vote in local races from 18 to 16. But San Franciscans did pass a measure that will allow non-citizens of voting age to serve on city advisory bodies and commissions, such as the youth, planning, and health commissions.

State voters also rejected a measure that would have allowed 17-year-olds who will be 18 by a state general election to vote in the primary that year, though they did pass a statewide ballot measure restoring the right to vote to people on parole. Proposition 18 was rejected by 55.9% of voters, while Prop 17 was affirmed with 58.6% of the vote.

Both of San Francisco’s civic participation measures needed simple majorities to pass. Proposition C, allowing for non-citizen oversight panel members,

by John Ferrannini

C

A

See page 8 >>

Courtesy Ewan Barker Plummer

Ewan Barker Plummer worked on the San Francisco ballot measure to expand voting to 16- and 17-year-olds.

was adopted with 54.1% of the vote and will take effect as of January 1. Hans How, a gay immigrant community leader and vice president of the tech nonprofit AsylumConnect that provides online resources to LGBTQ+ asylum seekers, hailed its passage.

“The historic passing of Prop C will give LGBTQ+ aspiring citizens a platform for civic engagement during a glob-

al pandemic and economic crisis that has disproportionately sidelined immigrant and queer communities,” How told the Bay Area Reporter. “Prop C will also help to ensure that commissions reflect the diversity and interests of the LGBTQ+ community.”

The youth-oriented ballot item, Proposition G, was rejected by 50.79% of voters. San Franciscans had rejected a similar measure four years ago.

Ewan Barker Plummer, 16, who is queer and the son of two immigrants, had backed the two city measures and the statewide youth vote proposition. While he said Prop G’s defeat was “unfortunate,” Plummer contended that the idea had gained some ground since the 2016 election when 52.1% of the voters had rejected it.

“I hope it will be put on a ballot again soon,” he said. “I think we should expect it to be on the ballot again in 2024. As San Francisco becomes more progressive, I am hoping we will be able to pass it.”

Gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, who had backed Prop G along with his board colleagues, told the B.A.R. he wasn’t sure why the concept continues to be a hard sell with residents of the city.

“It is interesting San Franciscans have See page 8 >>

Memorial held in Ohio for gay SF man who burned to death

by John Ferrannini

alifornia voters signaled a more progressive approach to criminal justice when they cast ballots November 3.

As the Bay Area Reporter previously reported, Proposition 20 Rick Gerharter would have undone parts of AB 109 (2011), San Francisco Props 47 (2014), and 57 District Attorney (2016) by reinstituting Chesa Boudin stricter sentencing laws, making it more difficult to qualify for early release, and granting parole boards more discretion.

Drug possession and shoplifting could have been charged as felonies again, as before 2014.

Those convicted of these crimes would have to submit a DNA sample for databases.

But Prop 20 went down in a resounding 61.7%38.2% defeat, according to preliminary returns.

San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin, who was elected last year as one of a new breed of progressive prosecutors, told the B.A.R. that he

Vol. 50 • No. 47 • November 19-25, 2020

service was held November 12 in Ohio in memory of a gay San Francisco man who died from burn injuries in the South of Market neighborhood last month as police continue to investigate the case.

As the Bay Area Reporter previously reported Eric Michael Moren, 28, was discovered at 4:18 a.m. October 25 by San Francisco police in the area of Minna Street and Russ Alley. He was pronounced dead at the scene and police consider Moren’s death suspicious.

Larry Ackerman, a gay man who is Moren’s ex-husband, told the B.A.R. November 13 that he was in Ohio with Moren’s family. Moren was from Columbus.

“I flew in on Monday [November 9],” Ackerman said. “Yesterday we had a visitation and a service. I had a nine-minute memorial I wrote and some of his brothers spoke as well. We were all spaced out, wearing masks, and after, some of us went to a rural bar with few customers. I have 450 photos we projected and 16 video clips, many made by [Eric] himself.”

Ackerman said that Moren was scheduled to be cremated November 13.

Moren was homeless, Ackerman previously told the B.A.R. Ackerman said the two were mar-

Courtesy Larry Ackerman

Eric Michael Moren died October 25

ried in 2014 but Moren “ran off three months after we got married.”

Ackerman said that Moren had run a cleaning business but that was apparently short-lived.

San Francisco District 6 Supervisor Matt Haney expressed his sympathy.

“Supervisor Haney did reach out and give condolences to some of the people who knew Mr. Moren,” Honey Mahogany, a trans woman who is a legislative aide to Haney, wrote in an email to the B.A.R. November 12.

Ackerman said that he recalled seeing a message come to him over Facebook.

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The San Francisco Police Department told the B.A.R. it had no updates in the case and that “your best bet would be to check in [with] the [Office of the Chief Medical Examiner] to see when they anticipate making a finding on their investigation.”

A report with the cause and manner of Moren’s death won’t be available “anywhere from three to six months,” an unnamed spokesperson for the medical examiner’s office wrote in an email to the B.A.R. This aligns with the timeline Ackerman informed the B.A.R. he was told by the medical examiner’s office, which said a report would be ready in February or March.

The medical examiner’s office has not answered a question about whether this is a usual timeline for such reports to be completed. Mahogany is not sure of the timeline either, but said Haney would talk to the police to inquire.

The medical examiner’s spokesperson also did not answer a question about whether the three to six month timeline is related to recent issues in the office. As KQED reported September 21, a drug arrest in Utah of a San Francisco medical examiner lab analyst named Justin Volk led a former medical examiner’s office employee to tell the station (speaking on the condition of See page 8 >>

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<< Community News

2 • Bay Area Reporter • November 19-25, 2020

Scott W. Wazlowski Vice President of Advertising

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Gay Castro midwife wins Sutter nurse award

by John Ferrannini

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gay nurse and midwife who llives in the Castro neighborhood has been named as one of four Nurse The of the Year award winners by Sutter Health.

44 Gough Street #204, San Francisco, CA 94103 John Fassett, a certified nurse mid(415) 829-8937 • www.ebar.com wife who became one of the pioneer male midwives 26 years ago and has been a registered nurse for 40 years, Below Market Rate (BMR) Rental Units Available was announced as an award win235 Valencia Street, San Francisco, CA 94103 ner November 2. Among the 1% of 2 studio units at rent $1,182 a month 20,000 certified midwives in the Unit1 one bedroom unit at rent $1,979 a month ed States who is male, he has delivered 1 two bedroom unit at rent $1,494 a month 1 two bedroom unit at rent $3,080 a month over 4,000 babies.

Applicants must not own a housing unit, meet the "Resident Selection Criteria" and be income eligible.

“To me, you don’t get to see many Households must earn no more than the maximum income levels outlined below at 65%, 90% and 130% miracles on this Earth and that’s why area median income (AMI) depending on unit: 5 Persons HOUSEHOLD SIZE 1 Person 2 Persons 3 Persons 4 Persons childbirth is amazing,” Fassett told the Max. Annual Income 65% AMI $58,250 $66,650 $74,950 $83,250 $89,950 Bay Area Reporter. “It’s an amazing $80,700 $92,250 $103,750 $115,300 $124,500 Max. Annual Income 90% AMI opportunity to witness the delivery.

Max. Annual Income 130% AMI $116,550 $133,250 $149,900 $166,550 $179,850 There’s nothing like it, even after 40 Applications available from Wednesday, November 18th, 2020 years. It’s such an amazing event; such and due by 5PM Wednesday, December 16th, 2020. a miracle.”

Applications must be submitted online at housing.sfgov.org Fassett, 60, moved to San FranFor more information contact Brian Minall (415) 647 7191 ext. 127. cisco in 1978 at the age of 18 from brian.minall@caritasmanagement.com Sunnyvale to attend the University Units available through the Mayor's Office of Housing and Community of San Francisco School of Nursing.

Development and are subject to monitoring and other restrictions.

“I wanted to cut hair. That’s Visit housing.sfgov.org for an application and further program information. what I wanted to do – cosmetology school,” Fassett said. “[My parents] wanted medical school, and I talked them into nursing school.”

SERVING OUR FULL MENU!!

Untitled-4 1 11/17/20 11:13 AM After finishing his degree in 1982, Fassett joined the U.S. Navy and was stationed in Oakland. He worked in post-partum at first before being transferred to labor and delivery.

Fassett was then stationed at Adak Island in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, where he delivered babies before returning to the Bay Area to work in Santa Clara County.

The new hours of Orphan Andy’s He wanted to return to active military duty, but was discharged other will be Sun-Thurs 8:30 am-7:30pm than honorably on May 3, 1989 “for Fri and Sat 8:30am--8;30 pm being gay,” he said. (Before 1994, being gay was ipso facto against military rules. Only in 2011 did open service by lesbian and gay people become legal after the repeal of “Don’t

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Courtesy Sutter Health

Nurse and midwife John Fassett holds a baby at Sutter Health’s California Pacific Medical Center Van Ness Campus hospital in San Francisco. He was conducting an in-patient postpartum visit, where he checked the patient’s incision and vital signs. He also talked with her about breastfeeding and other postpartum aftercare.

Ask, Don’t Tell,” a Clinton-era compromise that allowed gays and lesbians to serve but not openly.)

A friend to whom he disclosed his sexual orientation repeated it, triggering an investigation.

“I was charged and I ended up getting counsel,” Fassett said, adding that he was discharged as “other than honorable” before a courtmartial would have proceded.

“I accepted that so I could move on with my life,” he added.

Fassett quit drinking and took up his dream of going to graduate school. He entered UCSF in 1992 and graduated in 1994, becoming a midwife. His first job as a midwife was at the old St. Luke’s Hospital in Bernal Heights, which became Sutter Health California Pacific Medical Center some years ago.

He has been a Sutter Health employee since 2012. He now works at California Pacific Medical Center Van Nes Campus.

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More kids in the Castro Fassett is also the chair of Sutter’s Advanced Practice Committee and is a nurse reviewer for nurse midwife practice with the California nursing board. He has lived in the Castro since 1993, and said that the biggest change in the neighborhood since those days is the number of children.

“When I moved into my building, 75% of the building were gay men without kids,” Fassett, who is single, said. “Now there’s a lot of couples with kids. I love kids so for me it’s been amazing. When I moved in there were no kids in the building.”

Fassett was selected from among 16,200 nurses and midwives network-wide to win the award.

“Each of these winners of Sutter’s first Nurse of the Year Award bring their best every day, living our See page 5 >>

Queer Chicana artist is QCC Executive Director

by Sari Staver

3991-A 17th Street, Market & Castro 415-864-9795

t

atalia Vigil, a queer Chicana artist who was born and raised in San Francisco, was named executive director of the Queer Cultural Center of San Francisco earlier this year.

9:47 AM Founded in 1983, QCC promotes social justice and the artistic and financial development of queer artists, art, and culture. Vigil, who was hired in August, is the group’s first executive director; Pamela Peniston, one of the original founders of QCC and the artistic director for more than 25 years, retired from the nonprofit this year.

Vigil, 40, a writer and multimedia curator, has been the development and communications director at the Lavender Youth Recreation and Information Center for the past six years. She is also the co-founder and artistic director of Still Here San Francisco Productions, an intergenerational cultural preservation project amplifying creations by LGBTQ artists raised in the city, since 2012.

Previously, Vigil was community engagement coordinator at Coleman Advocates for Children and Youth. Vigil was one of the publishers of the “Still Here San Francisco” anthology last year.

“We are so pleased to name Natalia Vigil as our first full-time executive director,” QCC board Pres-

Sari Staver

Queer Cultural Center Executive Director Natalia Vigil

ident Jacqueline Francis wrote in the organization’s newsletter. “She is an acclaimed queer artist and activist who brings exceptional vision, communication skills, and leadership to our organization.”

In a telephone interview with the Bay Area Reporter in early November, Vigil talked about her vision for the new job.

“Growing up in San Francisco, the artists and art spaces of the Bay Area were my inspiration and my teachers and they gave me the courage to become the artist I am today,” she said.

“Artists continue to play an instrumental role in uniting communities, uplifting voices, and leading the way toward societal change,” Vigil added. “As QCC’s executive director, I will continue

the legacy built before me and dedicate myself to the work of creating supportive spaces for voices on the margin.”

In an email, Francis explained what QCC was looking for.

“After 20 years of impactful, collective leadership, we decided to seek out an individual who demonstrated the qualities that our founding members have: vision for supporting queer arts and culture and commitment to cultural equity and social justice,” she wrote.

“We’re so thrilled to bring aboard Natalia because she brings experience, skills, and passion for QCC’s mission and values to the ED role.”

Vigil’s involvement with QCC began a decade ago and grew from her involvement with QCC’s emerging artist program, which was the foundation for the “Still Here San Francisco” show.

“I am thrilled” to have this opportunity to work with QCC, she added.

Vigil received a master of fine arts degree from Mills College in Oakland in 2008 and a Bachelor of Arts degree in social science and creative writing from Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts in 2004.

Vigil’s salary as executive director is $80,000. The organization’s annual budget is about $848,000, according to the organization’s 2017 IRS Form 990. t

t

Community News>>

November 19-25, 2020 • Bay Area Reporter • 3

City College trustees OK LGBTQ public safety certificate program

by John Ferrannini

A

new certificate program in public safety centering the LGBTQ community unanimously passed the San Francisco City College Board of Trustees at its November 12 meeting.

Two City College professors launched the program, which is probably the first of its kind in the country.

Ardel Thomas, longtime chair of the college’s LGBT Studies Department, told the Bay Area Reporter that the idea came to them while talking with Greg Miraglia, an administration of justice instructor, after the police killing of George Floyd earlier this year that renewed discussions of how law enforcement treats minority groups.

“Greg and I were talking and I said, ‘Greg, nobody’s got a combined degree of Administration of Justice and LGBTQ,’” Thomas, who is nonbinary and trans, said during a phone interview. “He said ‘my God, you’re right.’ In the state of California, first responders have to have LGBTQ+ training. I said, ‘this would be a perfect time for us to thoughtfully put together a combined certificate of 18 units.’ So what we did was look at administration of justice, saw courses that would work, and developed ADMJ 55 specializing on law enforcement and the LGBTQ+ community and successfully got it through the curriculum process.”

Miraglia, who had a career in law enforcement, said he helped draft the legislation – which became law last year – requiring LGBTQ-specific training for law enforcement. As the B.A.R. reported in October 2018, Assembly Bill 2504 was introduced by gay Assemblyman Evan Low (DCampbell) and was signed into law by then-Governor Jerry Brown.

It requires the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training to develop a course of training for peace officers and dispatchers on issues related to sexual orientation and gender identity differences in order to create a more inclusive workplace and improve law enforcement’s effectiveness in serving the LGBTQ community. “[The courses] will serve not only law enforcement officers but also firefighters and [emergency medical technicians] very well,” Miraglia said.

Rick Gerharter

City College of San Francisco, shown here in a 2018 photograph, is expected to begin offering a new LGBTQ public safety certificate program

According to the certificate requirements that Miraglia sent to the B.A.R., the other administration of justice courses students would have to take are ADMJ 54-Principles and Procedures of the Justice System, ADMJ 57-Introduction to Administration of Justice and ADMJ 64-Progressive Policing in the 21st Century.

“Criminal procedure is important for a potential activist because it talks about how the system works, and how you can create change, specifically” Miraglia said. “Progressive policing talks about how law enforcement should be engaging with the community in the 21st century context. So it’s a nice package for criminal justice proficiency.”

Thomas said that the certificate requirements are rounded out by six units from their department: LGBT 50-Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Communities of Color in the U.S. and LGBT 18-Transgender Lives, Culture, and Art. “We wanted to make sure the two LGBT classes would be focused on people of color,” Thomas said. “We are at this moment where people are looking at intersectional ideas of racism, homophobia, and transphobia and that’s why we picked LGBT 50. Greg and I talked and asked ‘should Intro to LGBT studies be the other one?’ We answered ‘No. The community with the most trouble with policing and social justice is-

sues is covered in the transgender lives class.’”

Thomas said that the certificate program is 18 total units because “you need a certain number of units to qualify for federal financial aid – you can do a little nine-unit certificate if you want but this helps incentivize it.”

Thomas said that while a lot of focus is still on policing, other first responders sometimes fail to be sensitive to the needs of LGBTQ people.

“Five or six years ago a nonbinary, trans student had a seizure. They had no bracelet and I had no idea why,” Thomas recalled, referring to the medical alert IDs people who suffer seizures often wear. “Firefighters showed up and misgendered the person even though we said they are

nonbinary. They asked ‘is this a boy or a girl’ and I said ‘they’re not.’ And then they literally didn’t do anything for the person. This was here in San Francisco. Imagine if it’d been in Oklahoma – where I grew up.”

Thankfully, Thomas said, two trans women who used to serve in the U.S. armed forces “carried them over the shoulder and took them to St. James Infirmary.” That nonprofit serves trans and nonbinary people.

“The student ended up being OK but those are the kinds of situations you see all the time,” Thomas said.

Both Thomas and Miraglia said this is the first certificate of its kind in the country that they know of, and certainly the first in California.

The two have collaborated on various projects since 2010, they said.

Miraglia said he hopes it should be available for students beginning in fall 2021. Thomas said, however, that students can start taking courses for the certificate next semester.

“If all goes according to schedule it’ll be starting in the fall,” he said. “It has to go up for approval to the state chancellor’s office first.” The chancellor’s office did not respond to a B.A.R. request for comment.

Miraglia said earlier this week that it is “my understanding is that the approval will come almost immediately once CCSF enters the program and course into the chancellor’s office system. There isn’t a special date or meeting required to approve it.

Approvals are ongoing.”

The City College board of trustees approved the certificate program during its regular approval of curriculum changes.

Tom Temprano, a gay man who is vice president of the college board, told the B.A.R. why he supports it.

“City College’s Public Safety LGBTQ+ Certificate will be the first of its kind in the country and will help to educate those in public safety careers about the unique experiences of our queer community and what safety means to us,” he said. “I’m grateful to our Administration of Justice and LGBT Studies departments for collaborating on this new certificate and to my colleagues for their unanimous support for this groundbreaking program.”

Thomas said they hope the certificate will lead to practical change.

“We want to begin to address what we hope is a positive change in the first responder community,” they said. “What’s going on cannot continue.” t

MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE COMMUNITY

Who says there’s no such thing as a FREE BRUNCH?!

Saturday, November 21, 11 AM Avenidas Rainbow Collective and AARP are partnering up to offer you opportunities to volunteer in the community.

Join us if you: • Would like to make a difference in the community • Want to be more engaged in your present life • Desire to connect with others • Are a resident of Santa Clara County • Feel hungry for a delicious, free brunch!

Sally gets her Way

T

he Port of Oakland installed a replacement for the long-missing street sign for Sally Ride Way at the Oakland International Airport November 12. As the Bay Area Reporter noted in a recent article, the port com-

mission approved the street sign – named after the first American woman in space – back in 1988, but it apparently went missing as construction took place over the years as leaseholder Federal Express expanded its

Cynthia Laird

footprint. Ride died in 2012, and it was only after her death that it was publicly disclosed she was a lesbian. https://www. e b a r. c o m / n e w s / news//298613.

Brunch deliveries are limited, so please register ASAP!

If you are a Santa Clara County resident and register before November 14, then you are eligible for brunch to be delivered to your home just hours before the start of the event on November 21st at 11am.

We will feature volunteer opportunities that you can perform at home offered by AARP, Avenidas Rainbow Collective, Second Harvest Food Bank, and others.

Registration QR Code (Use your camera phone)

Email Thomas Kingery for registration and information tkingery@avenidas.org

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<< Open Forum

4 • Bay Area Reporter • November 19-25, 2020

Volume 50, Number 13 November 19-25, 2020 www.ebar.com

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Don’t follow Newsom’s failure

G

overnor Gavin Newsom acknowledged Monday that he had made a “bad mistake” by attending a dinner party earlier this month at the exclusive French Laundry restaurant in Yountville to celebrate a friend’s 50th birthday. As first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, Newsom and his wife were part of the gathering that included more than three households, in contradiction to instructions he gave Californians to stem the spread of COVID-19. “Do as I say and not as I do” riffs soon appeared on social media. Newsom said last Friday when the story broke that he modeled poor behavior.

He’s right about that.

But Californians shouldn’t tune out Newsom because of his unforced error.

Many of us have forgotten to wear a mask – if only briefly – on occasion, gathered with too many people when we shouldn’t have, or taken some other risk. Nobody’s perfect.

The point is that while we’re all tired of being cooped up and not able to meet with friends and family, now is not the time to shirk what experts say are the best ways to stay safe: wear a mask, socially distance, and wash your hands frequently. The fact is that in this third wave COVID-19 cases are exploding around the country and the Golden State is not exempt.

The situation in California is alarming, now with over 1 million cases. According to Newsom, the state has an average of 164,345 daily COVID tests, with a positivity rate of 4.6%.

(That rate needs to fall below 3%.) The state is seeing a daily case average

Courtesy Twitter

Governor Gavin Newsom apologized Monday for going to a dinner party with people from more than three households.

of 8,198 and a 48% increase in the hospitalization rate over the last two weeks. The ICU rate has increased by 39% over the last two weeks. On Monday, Newsom said he was “pulling an emergency brake” on reopenings, with 41 counties (94% of the state’s population) being moved to the most restrictive purple tier – that includes Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Clara, and most other Bay Area counties. San Francisco is in the red tier, after achieving the least restrictive yellow status just a few weeks ago. San Mateo County is also in the red tier.

It’s scary how quickly plans can fall apart,

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and especially frustrating for businesses like restaurants – one day they’re allowed to have modified indoor dining, the next it’s back to take-out and delivery only. On Tuesday, state officials gave an update that says all residents should wear face coverings “at all times when outside of the home” by everyone over the age of 2. Exceptions are when people are eating or alone in their home or room, outside if six feet apart, and some rare medical conditions.

With Thanksgiving next week, the anxiety is even higher as family gatherings are strongly discouraged by public health officials – as is traveling to visit relatives or friends – and people are figuring out what to do this year.

It’s even more important to adhere to state officials’ directives now that President Donald Trump has abandoned leadership of the issue since his defeat. He has totally neglected the pandemic – even more than he did previously – now spending his days tweeting, watching Fox News, or hitting the golf course. His inability to accept reality puts lives at risk everyday. And, while news on possible COVID-19 vaccines is promising, it will be at least next spring before they are available for most people.

So, curse at Newsom for his foolishness or make a joke at his expense if you must.

But after you get it out of your system, continue to wear a mask. It’s the single most important thing you can do to prevent virus droplets from spreading – and it protects you too, according to infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention belatedly acknowledged that in a recent update to its COVID-19 guidance.t

TV news networks fail the trans community

by Alex Paterson

M

arilyn Monroe Cazares was a 22-yearold transgender Latina who “courageously lived her truth” in Brawley, California. But on July 13, her body was found near an abandoned building, stabbed and burned in what her family believes was a hate crime.

She is one of the at least 34 trans or gendernonconforming people who have been brutally killed in the U.S. in 2020, according to the Human Rights Campaign. The majority of these victims were Black and Latinx trans women. This year has become the deadliest one on record for trans Americans.

Hate crimes against trans people are surging, and the community has only a patchwork of state laws providing protection from hate crimes on the basis of gender identity.

Anti-trans attacks in the U.S. have become so grave that in 2019, the American Medical Association called them an “epidemic of violence against the transgender community.” Violence is an omnipresent threat that trans people confront in nearly every aspect of their life, and too often it is an issue that media and cisgender people ignore.

But if you get your news coverage from national TV networks – and TV news is the most preferred news source of Americans – you might think trans people were being killed only during Pride Month. Media Matters for America, a nonprofit organization that monitors and corrects misinformation in the news, analyzed broadcast and cable TV coverage of anti-trans violence from June to August, and we found that networks reported on the topic for 29 minutes in June, most of it on MSNBC, but then largely ignored it for the rest of the summer.

Over half of that coverage focused on demonstrations for Black trans lives that took place in New York City and Los Angeles on June 14. These powerful demonstrations drew an estimated 45,000 people in total and coincided with Black Lives Matter protests across the globe – including San Francisco’s Courthouse 2 Compton’s march on June 18.

Protesters held signs calling out systemic racism in the LGBTQ community and chanted the names of three Black trans people who had been senselessly killed in the prior two weeks: Tony McDade, Dominique “Rem’Mie”

Courtesy Media Matters via Fox News

Transgender Day of Remembrance is November 20.

Fells, and Riah Milton. All three were under 40 years old.

Yet in July and August, outside of a 1-minute report from ABC, TV news outlets failed to report on anti-trans violence at all. At least eight trans or gender-nonconforming people were killed in the United States during this time, but networks failed their viewers by ignoring these tragic deaths.

This is part of a yearslong trend of TV news networks failing to report on the topic.

What’s more, local news outlets often misgender and deadname slain trans people, in large part because they are parroting initial police reports that exclusively refer to victims by their legal name and gender. This has happened to at least 22 victims in 2020, even though it’s a dehumanizing practice that goes against journalistic standards.

LGBTQ advocates push for solutions to the epidemic of violence year-round, but our community is often noticed in corporate advertisements and TV news only during Pride Month. Courageous trans people of color have literally had to grab the mic to call for change for years – as Sylvia Rivera did in 1973 and as a woman did at the September 25 Black Trans Lives rally at San Francisco City Hall.

Nonetheless, TV news networks’ failure to adequately cover issues facing trans people, paired with the fact that only 30% of Americans know someone who is trans, yields a troubling void of accurate trans representation. Right-wing media and extreme antiLGBTQ groups seize on this lack of reporting

and in turn spread dangerous misinformation about the trans community. A Media Matters study of Facebook posts about trans topics found that content from right-wing sources dominated the platform. This is notable, as 43% of Americans report getting news on Facebook.

This media ecosystem vilifies trans people and fuels bigoted legislatures as they propose and pass laws that ban trans people from competing in sports, prevent them from updating identity documents, and even cut off access to life-saving health care.

It is vital that media, particularly TV news networks, produce intentional, fact-based reporting on violence facing the trans community beyond Pride Month. This epidemic of violence, which has claimed at least five lives since September 1, urgently requires national attention and widespread action. When networks do report on the topic, they must center trans voices, contextualize the socioeconomic factors that leave trans people vulnerable to violence, and call out the racist, ciscentric systems that erase trans experiences.

Rachel Campbell, a steering committee member of TransLAW, about TV news coverage of trans issues, told me that “it’s important to see trans representation on TV because representation shows that the Black trans community is real.” She continued, “Representation in news showing trans people in a positive light would do so much towards showing that trans people want normal families, careers, and lives just like any other human being.”

Just last month, the country lost Monica Roberts, a titan of journalism on anti-trans violence. In her absence, it is ever more apparent that national media must speak the names of those we have lost to senseless violence and honor them with action. And it is far past time for the media to report on antitrans attacks year-round – not just during our one month of celebration. t Alex Paterson is an LGBTQ researcher at Media Matters for America, where he has worked since 2019.

t

Politics >>

November 19-25, 2020 • Bay Area Reporter • 5

Even with ballot wins, SF faces budget turmoil

by Matthew S. Bajko

D

espite San Francisco voters adopting a slew of revenue-generating local propositions on the November 3 ballot, the city is bracing for more budget turmoil over the coming months. The COVID pandemic has reduced the city’s coffers, so City Hall officials need to cut $115.9 million from the current fiscal year budget after already filling a $1.5 billion deficit when they passed a two-year budget in September.

The pain caused by the health crisis is likely to be felt over the next several fiscal years, which normally start on July 1. Some of the ballot measures that voters approved will go into effect January 1 and provide some fiscal relief, while others will be phased in over the next several years.

“I think they will help us get through what are going to be a very difficult few years but certainly aren’t going to solve anything close to all of our problems,” said gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, who backed all of the revenue-focused ballot measures.

Some of the approved ballot propositions will in fact add to the city’s costs, as they call for the creation of new city departments or oversight bodies. And Mandelman acknowledged he is adding to the problem by calling for the city to defer collecting a cannabis tax it imposes.

“We are going to have to make some real cuts and it is going to be real painful,” acknowledged Mandelman, who serves on the board’s budget and finance committee. “Right now, we need to find $115 million between now and the end of the fiscal year, but that number could increase during that time.”

Proposition F, which passed with 67.49% of the vote, does away with the payroll expense tax businesses pay and replaces it with a gross receipts tax. It is projected to bring in $97 million a year.

Proposition I, the real estate transfer tax adopted with 57.56% of the vote, raises the rates paid when property priced at $10 million or more is sold. It is estimated to net $196 million annually.

Approved with 65.07% of the vote was Proposition L, which imposes a tax on those businesses whose highest-paid managerial employee earns more than 100 times the median compensation paid to their employees in San Francisco. It is estimated to bring in between $60 to $140 million annually but doesn’t kick in until January 2022.

The city could see federal financial assistance with the election of Democratic former vice president Joe Biden to be the country’s next president. But how much is likely to be determined by the winners of two January 5 runoff U.S. Senate races in Georgia, as the victors will decide which party con-

<<

Midwife

From page 2

organization’s values and the Sutter nursing philosophy pillars while making a profound difference for the patients and families they serve,” Sutter Health Chief Nurse Officer Anna Kiger, DNP, DSc, RN stated in a news release. “They also stand out because their co-workers see them as leaders in our noble profession. We are truly blessed to have them as a part of our organization.”

There were 300 nominations and eight finalists interviewed, Fassett said, adding he was taking time off when he heard he had won the award.

“Patients and staff alike talk about how his ability to listen and

Rick Gerharter

Supervisor Rafael Mandelman

trols Congress’s upper chamber.

“I would feel more confident about that if we knew the results of the Georgia Senate races,” said Mandelman. “I know it is going to be a peculiar few years, so anything Biden wants to do, unless we win those Georgia Senate races, is going to require Majority Leader Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky).”

Police, sheriff props adopted

Proposition E, which does away with the requirement in the city’s charter that the San Francisco Police Department maintain a minimum of 1,971 full-duty sworn police officers, was approved by 71.36% of voters.

And at close to 70%, voters also favored Proposition D to create a new oversight board and Office of Inspector General for the sheriff’s department. Its author, District 10 Supervisor Shamann Walton, praised its passage in a November 16 email to his constituents, noting he had heard from people in custody about being abused by sheriff department personnel.

“Parent and families shared their treatment and staff even provided input about the injustices they have endured and witnessed,” wrote Walton. “This is why we had to advance sheriff oversight. Together, we wrote and pushed forward this justice reform initiative and together we can make a difference!”

Proposition K authorizes the city by ordinance to own, develop, construct, rehabilitate, or acquire up to 10,000 residential units of low rent housing projects within the city for the purpose of providing affordable rental housing.

The city will have more money to house and provide mental health services to the homeless, repair roads, and upgrade park facilities due to the passage of Proposition A. Nearly 71% of voters backed the $487.5 billion bond, which earmarks $239 million for park improvements across the city.

“This is a major milestone for our park system and will benefit communities for years to come,” noted Drew Becher, a gay man who is CEO of the nonprofit SF Parks Alliance.

With 61.33% of voters backing Proposition B, the city’s public works department will be split into two so there is a dedicated department for sanitation and streets. It also establishes new commissions to oversee public works and the new sanitation and streets department.

School, rail transit taxes pass

A slightly lower school parcel tax than the one passed two years ago that was tied up in court also won voters’ backing. Proposition J, which replaces the $320 per parcel tax adopted in 2018 with a $288 per parcel tax that will be adjusted for inflation each year, received 74.44% of the vote.

It will net an estimated $48.1 million each year for the San Francisco Unified School District to use toward teacher salaries. People age 65 or older are exempt from the tax, which sunsets on June 30, 2038.

More than 73% of voters in San Francisco also agreed to fund the regional Caltrain rail service from San Jose through the Peninsula and into San Francisco by passing Measure RR. It authorizes a 30-year one-eighth cent sales tax to provide roughly $100 million a year for the transit agency. Due to the demands of civic leaders in San Francisco and Santa Clara counties, it also restructures the governance of the rail service. t

More than 60% of voters approved Proposition H, aimed at addressing a glut of vacant storefronts in the city.

It allows for more uses to move into ground floor commercial spaces, such as nonprofits, social service agencies, and store pop-ups, while also reducing the neighborhood notification rules for allowed businesses and speeding up the permitting process.

Garnering close to 74% of the vote,

Web Extra: For more queer political news, be sure to check http:// www.ebar.com Monday mornings for Political Notes, the notebook’s online companion. This week’s column reported on the electoral troubles faced by two gay Central Valley mayoral candidates.

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

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

his sense of humor keep them relaxed, even during the tense times that accompany pregnancy, labor, and delivery,” a Sutter Health news release said of Fassett.

The other awardees are: Cara Phillips, RN, pre-admission testing, Memorial Medical Center (Modesto); Deborah Swartz, RN, education, Palo Alto Medical Foundation, Community Health Resource Center, Force of Good; and Andrea Trimble, RN, med/surgery Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, Humble Presence.

Fassett said he thinks he won because of his commitment to his job.

Frances Dayao, a straight woman who is patient services representative with Sutter and a colleague of Fassett’s, testified to that commitment.

“He delivered two of my babies,” Dayao told the B.A.R, adding that Fassett also officiated her wedding.

“He’s really very warm. Both of the days he delivered my kids he was not on call, but he stayed with me the whole day to make sure I was OK. He stayed up till the morning knowing he had a shift.

“I feel like he deserved [the award] a long time ago, so him getting it now is amazing,” she added.

“He’s a loving, caring, good man.

He didn’t have to stay with me, he could have gone home and slept, but he did.”

In 2002, Fassett got his other than honorable discharge overturned.

“I was able to reverse that stigma,” he said. “It’s 2020, but in 2002 that was a big deal.” t

Business, housing, park measures win

Barry Schneider Attorney at Law

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

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

LGBT PROGRESSIVE CATHOLICS † OUR FAMILIES & FRIENDS

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

<< Commentary

6 • Bay Area Reporter • November 19-25, 2020

TDOR 2020: A time to turn the tide

by Gwendolyn Ann Smith

I

n the earliest days of the Remembering Our Dead project, which led to the Transgender Day of Remembrance, may of us shared a hope that by showing the astounding level of anti-transgender violence we face, perhaps we could begin to stem the tide of our killings.

Yet in 2020, 34 people that we know of were killed in the United States due to anti-transgender violence. This is a new high water mark, beating last year and the year before.

When you plan your life celebration and lasting remembrance in Worldwide, some 350 killings advance, you can design every detail of your own unique memorial took place: nearly one for each day and provide your loved ones with true peace of mind. Planning ahead When your celebration lasting protectsyou your plan loved ones fromlife unnecessary stress and and financial burden, of the year.

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Planning ahead your ones with true peace ofof mind.

Planning the Transgender Day of Rememprotects your loved ones from unnecessary stress and financial burden, brance took off, we have seen an inahead protectsProudly yourserving loved ones from unnecessary the LGBT Community. crease in transgender visibility, and allowing them to focus on what will matter most at that time—you. stress and financial burden, allowing them to this development has led to better focus on what will matter most at that time—you. reporting about anti-trans violence.

Many cases that are reported toContact us today about the beautiful ways to create a lasting legacy day would not have made it into at the San Contact FranciscousColumbarium. today about the beautiful ways to create print or television 20 years ago, with some simply opting not to cover a a lasting legacy at the San Francisco Columbarium. trans death. Media outlets that do One Loraine Ct. | San Francisco | 415-771-0717 Proudly serving our Community. not cover the deaths of sex workers, SanFranciscoColumbarium.com Proudly serving the LGBT Community. the homeless, or people who are not FD 1306 / COA 660 young, white, or pretty also compound this.

In those days, you were more likely to find cases reported in police blotters, with only words like “unknown man wearing women’s clothing” or “bearded woman” to go on. There was neither time nor interest in presenting additional details.

One Loraine Ct. | San Francisco | 415-771-0717 Today, word spreads quickly in SanFranciscoColumbarium.com a social media-connected world.

Friends and family provide details FD 1306 / COA 660 that police and the media are still reluctant to present, humanizing

PlanningAhead Ahead isisSimple Planning Simple The benefits are immense.

Illustration: Christine Smith

Planning Ahead is Simple The benefits are immense.

The benefits are immense.

those we have lost.

The increased visibility of the transgender community comes with a price, however: as transgender people have gained a voice in the media and elsewhere, and as the trans community has moved from the backrooms we once inhabited and gained the smallest of toeholds into mainstream society, a backlash has formed.

The religious right, stinging from its defeat over marriage equality, has decided to make transgender people its next big target.

For several years, we have seen a continual parroting of claims that transgender people will lead to sexual threats in women’s restrooms. While some assert that it isn’t the transgender people themselves, but people unfairly taking advantage of such laws, few seem to make such a distinction. The view is that transgender people are deviants, and will prey on your happy family.

It’s the same argument one saw in the 1960s and 1970s, aimed squarely at the gay freedom movement and campaigners for the Equal Rights Amendment, not to mention be-

t

ing commonly used to argue for the separation of restrooms and other public services along race lines over the last 100 or so years.

Likewise, another classic trope is the notion that transgender people are somehow going to “recruit” others to their ranks. Today, the language used – Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria – is pseudoscience, aimed at parents and others who may be looking for an easy answer for their own children’s gender expression.

Both of these, pushed by religious conservatives, supposed “radical feminist” groups, and even a certain popular children’s fantasy writer, have helped to fuel this backlash, leading to several years of ballot measures and legislation to limit transgender rights. Thankfully, most of these so far have been unsuccessful, but with the more conservative courts established under the Trump administration with the support of the United States Senate, it is unclear if, or when, such laws may get through.

Speaking of the nowoutgoing Trump administration, the trans military ban and other attacks on trans rights stemming from the upper echelons of the executive branch have also aided those who want to cast transgender people as villains. These moves set the stage for disenfranchising transgender people, relegating us to the streets and out of the public sphere.

In the mix, too, are the sizable numbers of right-wing authoritarian paramilitary and white nationSee page 8 >>

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t

Community News>>

November 19-25, 2020 • Bay Area Reporter • 7

Trans Day of Remembrance events set compiled by Cynthia Laird

I

t’s Transgender Awareness Month, with Mayor London Breed raising the trans flag Monday, November 16, ahead of a rally and march that evening.

Virtual events will mark the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance Friday, November 20, allowing people to participate remotely.

The San Mateo County Pride Center will hold a vigil from 4 to 5:30 p.m. According to a flier, the event will include space for community mourning, reflection, and healing. There will be speakers, poets, and a community open mic. Counselors will also be available.

The free event will be held on Zoom and livestreamed on YouTube.

Registration is required and can be done at https://bit.ly/3pBvZHZ. The San Francisco LGBT Community Center will hold a Facebook Live event from 6 to 7:30 p.m. It is being organized by the center’s SF Transgender Empowerment Advocacy Mentorship Program (SF TEAM). For more information, go to https://bit.ly/3kzKMiE.

GAPA Runway moves online

The Gay Asian Pacific Alliance’s Runway 2020, “Rise of the Immortals,” takes place online Saturday, November 21, at 7 p.m.

Host for the evening will be Miss Gay SF 2013 Jezebel Patel. Past and current Miss and Mr. GAPA winners will share their drag, makeup, and talent.

Special guests include Cecilio Asuncion, founder and director of Slay Models, a trans modeling agency, and Lucy Shen, a nonbinary local politician who came up short in their recent race for Fremont school board.

Tickets range from free to $40.

For tickets and more information, go to https://bit.ly/3ntaze6.

Glide to provide Thanksgiving meals

Glide will hold its annual Thanksgiving celebration and meal Thursday, November 26. According to a news release, COVID-19 protocols will be in place to ensure safety and physical distancing.

“This year’s celebration may look different but will include all the hallmarks of Thanksgiving at Glide,” the release stated.

An outdoor dining room will be set up on the street in front of Glide, located on the 300 block of Ellis Street. Clients will have the option of taking their meal to go or using

Obituaries >> Nancy Wilcox

Rick Gerharter

San Francisco City Hall was lit with the colors of the transgender flag during a march observing the Transgender Day of Remembrance Monday, November 16.

the dining room. Additionally, Glide will deliver 200 meals to encampments across San Francisco.

Glide Church, meanwhile, will offer its celebration service online from 10 to 11 a.m. A new feature this year will be a virtual “Live from Glide” Thanksgiving starting at 9:30 a.m.

For more information, visit http://www.glide.org.

Glide recently reached a settlement and parted ways with the United Methodist Church after a lengthy dispute over Glide Foundation’s assets and its Tenderloin property. The San Francisco Chronicle recently reported that Glide church and its nonprofit foundation are completely autonomous.

The International LGBTQ Leaders Conference is the largest gathering of LGBTQ elected officials in the world and will take place virtually December 3-5. Registration for the conference and the “Ten Years Later: The Repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’” event are free.

The DADT portion of the conference takes place Friday, December 4, starting at 9 a.m. Pacific Time.

The event’s executive sponsor is the Tawani Foundation on behalf of the Pritzker Military Museum and Library.

To register, go to https://secure.everyaction. com/9KAUoCRSGUKepxo9D2bNw2.

All-star lineup for DADT repeal celebration

Operation Santa goes nationwide

The LGBTQ Victory Institute will honor House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) at the 2020 International LGBTQ Leaders Conference during a virtual event to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” which had banned gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military.

An award will be presented to Pelosi by former Pennsylvania Congressman Patrick Murphy (D), an undersecretary of the Army in the Obama administration, for her leadership in repealing the law. The award ceremony will be followed by a distinguished hourlong panel with Admiral Michael Mullen, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Valerie Jarrett, former senior adviser to President Barack Obama; and Aaron Belkin, Ph.D., director of the Palm Center. The conversation will be moderated by gay Washington Post writer Jonathan Capehart.

Thoughts of kids, the holidays, and wondering how to provide for them may be weighing heavily on many. But Santa and the U.S. Postal Service are here to help.

The USPS Operation Santa program celebrates its 108th year in 2020 by opening up for nationwide participation. Now, more than ever, the program is needed to help less fortunate kids and families during the holidays, a news release stated.

The postal service established the USPS Operation Santa program to help those in need at the holidays experience the joy of opening presents – and to create special holiday memories. Since it began, millions of less fortunate children and their families have been helped by the kindness of others. The program is for every person of every belief, or non-belief. The purpose is to help as many deserving families as possible. And that can only be done if good-hearted adopters step forward.

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November 26, 1946 – November 3, 2020

My good friend of 29 years, Nancy Wilcox, formerly of Eureka and Santa Rosa (born in Mount Vernon, Washington) passed away at 10 p.m. on election night November 3, in her sleep. I’d met Nancy at one of Jerry Jampolski’s Attitudinal Healing (based on A Course in Miracles) workshops in Tiburon, California in 1991 and we were in a family workshop group together. Nancy was a kind and loyal friend and quick to let out a hearty laugh.

Nancy was preceded in death by her brother Donnie Wilcox (2016) and her life partner Eva Blackwood (2003).

Nancy was 73 years of age when she passed away at a nursing home in Napa, and was suffering from dementia. Nancy had worked as a supervisor for a Sonoma County program that monitored the welfare of senior citizens.

Submitted by Dave Brown.

To participate in the USPS Operation Santa program as a possible recipient of holiday gifts, all you have to do is write a letter, put it in a stamped

envelope with a return address, and send it to Santa’s official workshop address, 123 Elf Road, North Pole, 88888. Letters will be accepted now through December 15.

These letters are opened by Santa’s Elves and, for safety reasons, all personally identifiable information of the letter writer is removed (i.e., last names, addresses, ZIP Codes) and uploaded to the website for adoption.

Beginning December 4, letters will be available for nationwide adoption by visiting www.uspsoperationsanta.com – all from the socially distant safety of your own home. Potential adopters can read the letters and pick one, or more, that they’d like to fulfill. For security reasons, potential adopters must be vetted by going through a short registration and ID verification process before they are allowed to adopt any letter. t

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$94,800

$35,850$71,700

$41,000$46,100$51,250$55,350$59,450$63,550$84,550 $89,700 $94,800 Applications and information can be $110,700 found on DAHLIASan Francisco Housing Portal at housing.sfgov.org. $82,000 $92,250 $102,500 $118,900 $127,100 Applications are due by 5pm on 12/1/2020.

Please call our information line at 415-692-0317 for more information.

Applications and information can be found on DAHLIA- San Francisco Housing Portal at housing.sfgov.org.

Applications are due by 5pm on 12/1/2020.

Units available through the San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development Please call our information line at 415-692-0317 for more information. and are subject to monitoring and other restrictions. Visit ​www.sfmohcd.org​ for program information.

Units available through the San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development and are subject to monitoring and other restrictions. Visit ​www.sfmohcd.org​ for program information.

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<< Community News

8 • Bay Area Reporter • November 19-25, 2020

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Castro tree

From page 1

He did not respond to a question of when the tree would be installed.

In past years, the tree kicked off the all-important holiday shopping season in the gayborhood. It is usually lit the Monday evening after Thanksgiving accompanied by performances from both the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus and the San Francisco Lesbian/ Gay Freedom Band, the city’s official

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Youth vote

From page 1

been asked this question a couple of times and they have not agreed.

I don’t know why,” he said. “I think it would develop good democratic voting habits, but other people clearly feel 16-yearsold are not ready to vote.”

Peter Gallotta, a gay man who is a former president of the progressive Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club, expressed a harsher assessment of the measure’s rejection in a November 5 Facebook post, particularly since the youth voter measure was the

<<

<< <<

only local one on the November 3 ballot not to pass.

“OK, San Francisco, so we’re overwhelmingly cool with taxing ultra wealthy property transfers and billionaire CEO’s, we’re down with abolishing arbitrary police staffing levels, we’re all for social housing, we want cleaner streets and more government oversight, and we’re totally on board with undocumented San Franciscans serving on local Boards and Commissions,” wrote Gallotta.

“But let me get this straight, we’re not down with 16-year-olds casting a vote in local elections?? Can we unpack this? SMDH.”

In Oakland, however, voters agreed that teenagers age 16 and 17 should have a say in who is overseeing the Oakland Unified School District. Lesbian Oakland City Council President Rebecca Kaplan, who was reelected to her at-large seat, worked with a coalition of youth advocates and her council colleagues to put the youth vote charter amendment Measure QQ before voters of the East Bay city. It passed with 67.88% of the vote, far more than the 50% plus one it needed to secure. t

Props

Memorial

From page 1

anonymity) that Volk’s case is “just the tip of the iceberg with respect to poor management and bad forensic policy.”

Volk was later fired.

KQED reported that attendance is

gym capacity is being reduced. Indoor dining was closed last week.

“The COVID pandemic has certainly changed the dynamic regarding any gatherings or events in the Castro, including the annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony,” Samereie stated in an earlier email. “It has also given us cause to evaluate all programs to assure the money spent has the greatest impact while also being conscious of how each activity advances our goal of making the Castro the most vibrant, safe, and prosperous district in the city

From page 1

agrees with the result.

“The resounding defeat of Prop 20 – which would have increased penalties for certain nonviolent offenses and undermined incentives for people to engage in programming while incarcerated – shows that Californians can see past fear-mongering and focus on sound policy,” Boudin told the B.A.R. “The results in Propositions 17, 20, and 25 demonstrate that Californians continue to support criminal justice reform and there is appetite to further our recent progress.”

Prop 17, which restores the right of felons to vote upon the completion of their prison term, has passed with 58.5%, according to preliminary results.

“Prop 17’s restoration of voting rights to people on parole reenfranchises many thousands of people, and chips away at the legacy of slavery in this state,” Boudin said. “I am thrilled that Californians voted to expand our democracy to include more people who have been personally impacted by the criminal justice system and who we need to successfully and fully rejoin their communities.”

Proposition 25 would have ended cash bail in California and replaced it with individual risk-assessments from judges. It was defeated with 56.3% voting no, according to preliminary results.

Prop 25, which would have allowed 2018’s Senate Bill 10 to go into effect, was criticized for giving judges too much leeway in deciding who goes to jail to await trial and who is released on their own recognizance. Many progressives opposed Prop 25, as did the NAACP. The bail bond industry put Prop 25 on the ballot and spent millions of dollars in advertising.

“I took a neutral position on Prop

band. A Santa assisted by his sexy elves always makes an appearance.

But this year, due to the health crisis that has severely impacted businesses in the Castro, large gatherings over the holidays are being strongly discouraged by local health officials, who on November 16 announced another rollback in the city’s reopening plans due to a surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. San Francisco was moved into the red tier of the state’s reopening chart Tuesday, meaning nonessential offices are closed and

Transmissions

From page 6

alist groups who have gained prominence during this administration, who are happy to include transgender people among every other group they may choose to hate.

All of these, combined, make for a more dangerous world for transgender people and, yes, drive an in-

Cynthia Laird

Bail bond companies opposed Proposition 25, which was defeated.

for business owners and residents alike.

During the business association’s monthly meeting November 5, Cliff’s Variety owner and former Castro Merchants president Terry Asten Bennett argued that “the Christmas tree should go up” even if done so without any fanfare this year.

Rabbi Mychal Copeland of the synagogue said November 10 that a menorah was also unlikely to be unveiled this year at Jane Warner Plaza due to the pandemic. For several years now in December a menorah lighting

t

ceremony has been held to celebrate Hanukkah in the public parklet on 17th Street at the corner of Castro and Market streets.

“I imagine not,” she wrote in an email. “Sha’ar Zahav has had no inperson programs or services since COVID, and a gathering like that would not fit into our current protocols. Instead, we are doing Hanukkah lighting every night of the eight-night holiday online, with singing, learning, yoga ... all led by clergy and lay leaders.” t

ADVERTISE! The Bay Area Reporter reaches more LGBT consumers than any other advertising medium in the nine county San Francisco Bay Area.

Courtesy Hans How

Hans How was one of several LGBTQ leaders who backed a successful San Francisco measure that will allow non-citizens of voting age to serve on city oversight panels.

We’re also proud to be the only LGBT print publication with both an audited and verified circulation. Call (415) 861-5019 to market your business to more than 120,000 Bay Area readers.

ed. “It’s profoundly disappointing, and revealing about how far we still need to go, and how much hard and deeply rooted work we have to do.”

Wright said that the political process disenfranchises the working class and minorities.

“I think the results of both of these measures also show the shortcomings of our democratic process, even in a year with record turnout and historic engagement,” he stated. “White people are a minority of California residents, but still a majority of California likely voters, because there are still far too many barriers to voting, and because political parties continue to fail to represent the needs of a multiracial, working-class majority.”

Kevin Bard, a gay man who is copresident of the Milk club, said that some people may have been confused by the messaging on Prop 16.

“Unfortunately, I am not surprised Prop 16 failed,” Bard wrote. “Its tagline should have been ‘Legalize Diversity’ or something simple like that.”

When asked why he was not surprised, Bard said, “Yes/no campaigns are always difficult. Prop 16 was asking people to vote yes in order to say no to the affirmative action ban. Too many double negatives. I voted yes because thankfully, I knew better.”

Another progressive measure that went down in defeat on November 3 was Proposition 18, which would have allowed some 17-year-olds to vote. It lost 55.9%-44%, according to preliminary results.

A dispute between the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West and forprofit dialysis clinics led to Proposition 23, which would have required clinics to have at least one licensed doctor on hand at all times except in the event of a true shortage, and would have required that certain dialysis data be reported to

the California Department of Public Health, but it, too, went down in defeat 63.5%-36.4%.

Proposition 14, which authorizes $5.5 billion in state bonds for stem cell research, passed 51.1%-48.9%, according to preliminary results.

Jonathan Thomas, Ph.D., chair of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine board, thanked the voters in a statement.

“We are thrilled to see Proposition 14 approved by the voters of California. We are proud of what we have achieved so far – the cures and therapies we helped develop, the billions we brought into the state in additional investments, and the tens of thousands of jobs we created – and we look forward to continuing that work,” Thomas stated. “We are already working on ways to repay that trust and bring stem cell and regenerative therapies to all the people of this great state, particularly for communities that have traditionally been overlooked or underserved.”

The Yes on 14 campaign team touted the victory in an email.

“This is a massive victory for California patients with chronic disease and for the future of stem cell research, treatments and cures in the state – and it would not have happened without you,” a statement reads. “When COVID-19 lockdowns posed unparalleled obstacles to the signature gathering process, many campaigns threw in the towel. Our determined, patient advocate-led coalition refused to give up, came together, and activated their personal, professional, community and advocacy networks to gather the final signatures we needed to qualify, and just in time!”

Prop 24, which enacts newly expanded consumer privacy laws, passed 56.1%-43.8%, according to preliminary results. t

The practice of considering race, sex, or ethnicity in college admissions and public contracting and employment to ameliorate the effects of discrimination, known as affirmative action, was ruled to be constitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in the 1978 case of Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, so long as a specific quota system is not used and race is considered among a variety of factors.

Nevertheless, California voters passed Prop 209 in 1996 to ban affirmative action in the state.

Proposition 16 would have repealed California’s ban on affirmative action, but it failed 57.1%-42.8%, according to preliminary results, dealing a blow to progressives and other supporters who thought the time was right with a nationwide reckoning over race in the news this summer.

The defeat of Prop 16, and the success of the Uber/Lyft-backed Proposition 22, has elicited musings that the state’s reputation for progressivism is overstated.

“I think the defeat of Prop 16 shows we have a lot of work to do to go beyond performative actions and toward the real policy and systemic changes needed to move towards racial and social justice,” Edward Wright, the chair of the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club’s political action committee, told the B.A.R. “Hashtags and marches have their place, and we also need to show up at the ballot box, in our communities, in our lives and positions of power to achieve change. California didn’t show up for justice when it counted,” he add-

“erratic,” office procedures regarding drugs are not being followed, and the office has high turnover in key positions, leading to death investigations sometimes taking up to one year.

Ackerman said he is having difficulty obtaining Moren’s backpack and other belongings from the medi-

cal examiner’s office.

“I’m not sure where to go,” he said.

The restorative justice ministry of the Archdiocese of San Francisco holds memorials where people have died in the streets. It held one such prayer service for Moren at Minna and Russ streets at noon October 30,

led by the Reverend Piers Lahey, a Daly City-based priest.

“We ask that you please remember in your own prayer, daily and Sunday services, all brothers and sisters who have died in violence, as well as affected family and friends, and those involved in [these] type of crimes,”

a news release from the archdiocese stated.

Anyone with information is asked to call the SFPD Tip Line at 415-5754445 or Text a Tip to TIP411 and begin the text message with SFPD. t

crease in the deaths of transgender people. It’s a pretty simple equation: the more hate toward a group, coupled with the less institutional power the group has, and you’ll likely see more casualties of that hatred.

What is less clear is how to come back from this.

While we are transitioning from a trans-hostile administration to a trans-welcoming one, we cannot as-

sume everything is going to be hunky dory come January 20. The far right will still be targeting transgender people and has already gotten plenty of anti-trans bills into state legislatures, ready to continue its fight.

Likewise, the courts are still a threat, as is – depending on the runoffs in Georgia – control of the Senate.

There are still plenty of people willing to push anti-trans narra-

tives, and those who are willing to act on same. Anti-trans violence will not end when Joe Biden places his hand on the Bible in two months.

That said, there is hope. We have a chance to turn the tide and make for a better world for trans and nonbinary people – and, frankly, everyone else. It may be more necessary than ever to continue to be visible in spite of it all. We need to keep fight-

ing and need to be ready to stand up to threats.

Let’s make 2021 a better year for transgender people and see the number of killings come down at last.t

25, a complex proposition that divided many in the criminal justice reform community,” Boudin said.

“Prop 25 did not succeed, in large part, because criminal justice reformers are demanding that bail reform is done right. I am confident that efforts to eliminate cash bail and the criminalization of poverty will soon prevail.

Until they do, I hope more prosecutors across California will follow our office’s lead and will stop seeking bail as it undermines public safety and makes a mockery of the promise of equal protection under law.”

Boudin ended cash bail for all criminal cases in San Francisco shortly after he took over as DA.

Affirmative action fails

Gwen Smith mostly just wants to be left alone by all these hate groups. You’ll find her at www. gwensmith.com.

t

National News >>

November 19-25, 2020 • Bay Area Reporter • 9

Gay physician named to federal CDC HIV post

by Sari Staver

T

he Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced this week that a gay physician has been named director of the agency’s Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention.

Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, a longtime leader in HIV, was appointed director of DHAP for the CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention in Atlanta. The appointment is effective December 21.

Daskalakis, 47, is an associate clinical professor of medicine who serves as the medical residency director of resident research and as the infectious diseases program director at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. In addition to caring for people with HIV at the Bellevue Hospital Center, he is the founding director of the Men’s Sexual Health Project, a research program extending clinical and research services to commercial sex venues catering to men who have sex with men in New York City.

He recently served as deputy com-

Courtesy CDC

Dr. Demetre Daskalakis

missioner for the Division of Disease Control at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

A specialist in infectious diseases, Daskalakis has authored more than 50 scholarly articles and has received numerous awards for his scientific and public health contributions, including Treatment Action Group’s Research in Action Award.

In a November 17 CDC news release, Daskalakis spoke about why he

was drawn to HIV work and improving the health of underserved communities.

“I still get emotional talking about the early days of the AIDS epidemic not because I’m sad, but because I can’t believe how different the story is today,” he stated. “We have the tools at our hands to prevent infection and to keep people living with HIV healthy.

Our barrier to achieving this vision is no longer science, it is systemic racism, sexism, homophobia, and transphobia.”

Longtime HIV specialist Dr. Howard Grossman called the appointment “the most exciting news I’ve heard since the election.”

Grossman, a gay man and medical director of Midway Specialty Care in Wilton Manors, Florida, wrote in an email to the Bay Area Reporter that Daskalakis “has done amazing work in New York for a long time and hopefully his appointment will bring fresh ideas and solutions to CDC and finally help us lower the rate of new HIV infections in the whole country, just as he’s done in New York City.”

Commenting on the appointment, San Francisco AIDS Foundation CEO Joe Hollendoner, a gay man, wrote in an email to the B.A.R.: “We congratulate Dr. Demetre Daskalakis on his appointment as the CDC’s Director of the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention. He is a proven public health leader in whom I have great confidence to advance our country’s efforts to End the HIV Epidemic.

“We look forward to working with Dr. Daskalakis, as well as members of the incoming Biden-Harris administration, to address the health disparities that continue to prevent our nation from achieving zero new cases of HIV and zero AIDS-related death,” Hollendoner added.

Dr. Jonathan H. Mermin, director of the CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, referenced Daskalakis’ work on New York’s Ending the Epidemic. The federal Ending the Epidemic program is a 10-year initiative that aims to reduce new HIV infections to less than 3,000 per year by 2030.

Mermin, who is also assistant surgeon general of the U.S. Public Health Service, said in the release that Daskalakis was “integral in designing and leading many HIV and [sexually transmitted disease] programs in New York City, including their Ending the Epidemic program, which is credited with decreasing HIV incidence to a historic low. We are excited for him to bring this leadership and experience to CDC to advance meaningful research, guide surveillance and programs, support and implement effective policy, and ultimately prevent HIV infections and increase HIV-related health equity across the United States.”

“Dr. Daskalakis is recognized nationally and internationally as an expert in HIV prevention and has focused much of his career on the treatment and prevention of HIV and other STIs as an activist physician with a focus on LGBTQIA+ communities. He has also dedicated much of his time to improving the health of underserved communities and is passionate about addressing health equity,” Mermin added. t

Election outcomes focus of Horizons panel

by David-Elijah Nahmod

P

anelists on Horizons Foundation’s virtual State of the Movement panel were pleased with the presidential election results, but pointed out that much work remains in the areas of racial and economic justice.

Horizons has, since its inception 40 years ago, given grants to a wide range of LGBTQ nonprofits and programs. Viewers were able to submit questions to the panel in advance as well as during the discussion itself.

“In the past four years many of

us have felt as though we were living in historic times, for pretty much all of the wrong reasons,” Horizons President Roger Doughty said as he opened the November 12 panel.

“Because it has been a time of grave retrenchment, of resurgent white supremacy, of callousness, of treating truth as though it were merely an option, and this past year it has only been more so, with the devastating pandemic, with intense hardship for millions of people in the U.S. alone, not to mention around the world.”

But there have been victories, Doughty noted, such as the Bostock

decision, a landmark Supreme Court ruling in June that held that Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act protects LGBTQ employees from discrimination in employment. Doughty also pointed to the record number of LGBTQ people, especially trans people, who were elected to public office in the recent elections. He added that this was a time of renewed hope because of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.

Doughty asked panelist Imani Rupert-Gordon, executive director of the National Center of Lesbian

Rights, what she thought the most critical implications of the recent election were.

“We’ve seen the current administration strip protections for LGBTQ people,” she said, referring to President Donald Trump. “This incoming administration has made commitments to be the most LGBTQ-inclusive administration ever. I am here for it and super excited.”

She noted that Harris’ chief of staff is Karine Jean-Pierre, a queer Black woman, and that Biden has committed to having 40% of his team made up of people from communities that

are underrepresented, such as people of color, LGBTQ people, and persons with disabilities.

“This is really huge,” Rupert-Gordon said. “This is also the first time we’ve heard a president-elect thank gay and transgender people. This is the very first victory address that has mentioned transgender people.”

Rupert-Gordon compared this to Trump, who has appointed many anti-LGBTQ judges to the federal courts. t

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

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039177400

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-20-555985

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039178300

A longer version of this article is online at www.ebar.com.

Legals>> 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 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.

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

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

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

In the matter of the application of MITCHELL CLAYTON CONQUER, 145 CASITAS AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94127, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner MITCHELL CLAYTON CONQUER is requesting that the name MITCHELL CLAYTON CONQUER be changed to MITCHELL CLAYTON SINKLERCONQUER. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 103 on the 29th of December 2020 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

NOV 19, 26, DEC 03, 10, 2020 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-20-555987

In the matter of the application of YEE MEN CHAN, 491 GAVEN ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94134, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner YEE MEN CHAN is requesting that the name YEE MEN CHAN be changed to BOBBY YEE MEN CHAN. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Rm. 103 on the 29th of December 2020 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

NOV 19, 26, DEC 03, 10, 2020

The following person(s) is/are doing business as AURABEAT NORTH AMERICA, 1830 HARRISON ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed BRONDELL, INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/22/20. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/29/20.

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Hopefully they find that they enjoy it. I finished Crazy Rich Asians and I just got back from A Simple Favor, which we filmed in Canada, so I was in the middle of a point in my career where I had just gotten started. I had nothing that the world had seen.

I think at that stage, I had always loved the idea of being involved with a much more personalized experience with filming a movie.

That’s what an independent (film) allows you.

by Gregg Shapiro

B

eginning with the double whammy of 2018’s Crazy Rich Asians and A Simple Favor, and continuing with 2019’s Last Christmas and The Gentlemen, actor Henry Golding is a hot commodity. In addition to high-profile movies, Golding also ventured into the world of independent features with Monsoon, written and directed by gay filmmaker Hong Khaou (2014’s Lilting).

In Monsoon, Golding plays Kit, a gay man who left Vietnam for the UK with his parents when he was a young boy. He returns 30 years later to scatter their ashes. While there, he meets Lewis (Parker Sawyers, who played young Barack Obama in 2016’s Southside With You), an American expat with whom he begins a relationship.

Gregg Shapiro: What was appealing to you about the character of Kit in Hong Khaou’s Monsoon that made you want to portray him?

Henry Golding: I think for me, it almost mirrors my personal journey in a sense. I grew up in an expat community in Malaysia until I was about eight. Then I moved from Malaysia to Surrey in the UK, just South of London. I grew up, pretty much, for the rest of primary school, secondary school, up until I was about 21 and made the decision on my own to move back to Malaysia in a search of trying to kind of get into broadcasting.

My experience of landing in Malaysia was just being kind of dumbfounded with how alien I felt. Thinking that because I’m halfMalaysian, I’m going to feel right at home, it’s going to feel great. But it’s often [laughs]

Good as Golding An interview with ‘Monsoon’ actor Henry Golding a very sharp slap in the face of, ‘Yeah, you’re definitely not used to this type of culture and culture shock.’ When I was reading (the screenplay for) Monsoon, it really resonated with me.

Jazzmeia Horn

Monsoon addresses loss, grief and family.

For fans who know you well from comedies such as Crazy Rich Asians, Last Christmas and A Simple Favor, how do you hope they’ll respond to you in such a serious role?

Monsoon doesn’t shy away from the subject of Kit being a gay man, and includes intimate scenes with Kit and Lewis, as well a scene with a guy that Kit picks up while he’s in Hanoi. Can you please say something about the challenges and rewards of playing a gay character?

For me, it was wonderful. Hong has a way of telling these stories. His sexuality wasn’t the driving fact or driving attribute to Kit’s personality or this story.

It really centered around his personal struggle of identity. I think he’s so secure in his sexuality, that it takes a backseat in a way.

For me, I think approaching it respectfully, approaching with the collaborative spirit that I, Parker Sawyers and Hong had on the set; there was real love on that set. There was so much trust, so there was never a question of ‘Should be doing this?’ It just felt so natural, in a way.t

Read the full interview on www.ebar.com

Mariah Carey

Q-Music: Women at work

by Gregg Shapiro

Y

oung and rising jazz vocalist and songwriter Jazzmeia Horn has been stirring things up since she won the Thelonious Monk Institute International Jazz Competition in 2015. Her debut album A Social Call earned Horn a Grammy nomination, as did its follow-up Love & Liberation (Concord). When you hear her cut loose on the Jon Hendricks/Hubert Laws song “No More,” it’s easy to understand why she has become such a sensation. Her scatting on

the original compositions “When I Say” and “Searchin’” (as well as her rapid-fire delivery), in addition to her ability to make Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Mercer’s “I Thought About You” her very own, prove she is an unstoppable force.

Suzzy Roche plays well with others. For years, she was best known as one third of the harmonious sister act The Roches. More recently she has been singing and performing concerts with daughter Lucy Wainwright Roche (whose father is Loudon Wainwright III). On I Can Still Hear You (Storysound), Suzzy and Lucy join forces and the results are

as exceptional as you might imagine. What’s truly remarkable is the way mother and daughter blend while also maintaining their own musical identities.

Comprised of 15 previously unreleased and rare recordings from 1990 to 2020, the first disc of Mariah Carey’s cleverly titled The Rarities (Columbia) double CD set perfectly illustrates the way she transformed from spectacular vocalist to spectacle. Early Carey co-compositions from the 1990s, including “Can You Hear Me” (co-written with music legend Barry Mann), “Here We Go Around Again” and “Everything Fades Away”

benefit from somewhat more restrained production than the approach she took in later years. A pair of covers – “Out Here On My Own” (from the movie Fame) and a live rendition of “Lullaby of Birdland” – highlight Carey’s skills as an interpreter. The second, 17-track disc in the set, consists of a 1996 live recording from the Tokyo Dome.t

Read more reviews of Joan Osborne and Brandy’s new music, including clips, on www.ebar.com

t

Books & Online Previews>>

November 19-25, 2020 • Bay Area Reporter • 11

The book of Daniel ting together a collection, especially one with a central theme like sexuality and travel: how to make the book’s overall reading experience a varied one. I tried to address this by including a mix of countries and character experiences; a diversity of character types, ages, and sexual orientations/ gender identities; a variety of styles and a range of moods.

Author Daniel M. Jaffe, and his book ‘Foreign Affairs’

by Gregg Shapiro

A

genuinely international experience, Foreign Affairs: Male Tales of Lust & Love (Rattling Good Yarns Press, 2020) by Daniel M. Jaffe takes readers around the globe in search of love and healing. Multi-hyphenate Jaffe, who, in addition to writing fiction, poetry and essays, holds a law degree from Harvard, stamps our literary passports in Munich, Seville, Prague, Mexico City and other destinations. One character arrives in Dublin while Ireland is abuzz with the gay marriage vote.

Jaffe was gracious enough to answer a few questions about Foreign Affairs shortly after the book was published.

Gregg Shapiro: Your new short story collection should come with a warning sticker on the cover that reads: “Not meant to be read on an empty stomach” because of all the detailed descriptions of delicious food. Do you consider yourself to be a foodie?

Daniel Jaffe: That’s so funny! Yes, I’ve enjoyed watching cooking shows and experimenting in the kitchen for decades. I most enjoy foods from cultures other than my own. When I travel, I do my best to try whatever the locals are known for, foods like Puerto Rican sancocho (a soup-stew full of local root vegetables) and mofongo (fried plantains mashed with cracklings and garlic, then topped

with meat or seafood sauces), Czech roast duck and dumplings, Austrian weinerschnitzel, Spanish tapas of all kinds—they’re worth the price of a plane ticket!

Have you traveled by plane at all since spring 2020, and if not, what do you miss most about traveling?

No, I haven’t. I was in Wilton Manors/Fort Lauderdale at the beginning of March. By that time, the country had already become aware that COVID was spreading, but the pandemic was still in its early stages.

What’s hardest is the unpredictability, not knowing when I’ll feel comfortable traveling by air again.

Just the other day, we Zoomed for a couple hours with an extremely close friend in Amsterdam whom I’ve known since she was six. She’s now the middle-aged mother of twin teens. Chatting with her and the boys made me miss them even more. One of Leo’s nephews is getting married in Puerto Rico next June, and has invited Leo to play an important role in the ceremony.

Will we be able to attend?

The ‘bearotica’ tale “The Trickster” is one of the stories that puts your sense of humor on display.

How important to you was it to include a funny story in the book?

It’s very important, so as to add texture to the collection as a whole.

That’s one of the challenges in put-

Have you been to all the places that you wrote about in the book?

Yes, I’ve been to all the historical sights, museums, restaurants, hotels, cafés, clubs, train stations, neighborhoods, streets, parks, beaches, etc. where my characters wander. I did make up a couple of apartment interiors.

Every night after a day’s travels, I typically make extensive notes about interesting places I’ve been, foods I’ve eaten, people I’ve met or watched (and sometimes fantasized about), conversations I’ve had or overheard, and story ideas sparked by the day.

Of all the places you wrote about in the book, could you ever imagine making one of them your forever home?

Leo and I both love Spain, especially Madrid and Barcelona. I don’t think we’re likely to move there permanently, but we’re looking forward to returning for a month at a time once the pandemic’s no longer an issue.

That said, if the political situation in the U.S. continues to deteriorate, with the government continuing to empower violent hate groups and erode minority rights, we might reconsider our assumption that we’ll remain in the U.S. I’m acutely aware of the repressions that grew in Nazi Germany during the 1930s, and am very much on the alert because we’re a gay Jewish-Puerto Rican couple. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that after the elections, the U.S. will begin returning to a sane society that strives, albeit with major missteps, to respect and protect the vulnerable.t

ay filmmaker David Freyne gets personal with his Ireland-set queer rom-com Dating Amber, set in 1995, after the decriminalization of ‘same-sex sexual activity’ in the church-oriented country. Eddie (Fionn O’Shea) and Amber (Lola Petticrew) while enduring Catholic school trials, come out to each other and decide to ‘date.’ Hilarity and heartache ensues. Read Gregg Shapiro’s review on www.ebar.comt

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Read the full interview on www.ebar.com

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We carry the best of everything from hardware & tools to cookware, gear and gadgets, garden supplies, toys, crafts and gifts. We also offer re-keying and lock repair, knife sharpening, glass, acrylic & wood cutting.

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ig Sky’s trans character, played by Jesse James Keitel, Candyland’s camp queerness, This Is Us’ lesbian teen and Grey’s Anatomy’s dramatization of the COVID-19 pandemic are among Victoria A. Brownworth’s TV subjects in the latest Lavender Tube column.

Tune in at www.ebar.comt

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