November 30, 2017 Edition of the Bay Area Reporter by Bay Area Reporter

Yosemite goes to the dogs

Alameda Holiday Home Tour

ARTS

Girls of the Golden West

Norm Lewis

The

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

Vol. 4 • No. 48 • November 30-December 6, 2017

Rick Gerharter

Westside Community Services CEO Mary Ann Jones, left, and Craig Hutchinson, director of HIV/AIDS programs.

Agency provides lifeline to HIV clients in SF

Ghost Ship fire anniversary nears

by Matthew S. Bajko

The site of the Ghost Ship warehouse as it looked November 25, nearly a year after a fire killed 36 people.

or Hal Christiansen, who has lived with HIV for three decades, the AIDS case management services he receives from Westside Community Services have been invaluable in helping him to recover from a stroke he suffered in April 2002 and severe depression following the deaths of his parents. He first turned to the nonprofit for help 10 years ago and receives home visits from both a social worker and a nurse at his apartment near San Francisco’s Russian Hill neighborhood. One time, his social worker brought Christiansen to UCSF’s Alliance Health Project and sat in on the intake interview with him. “I couldn’t talk, I was so overwhelmed,” recalled Christiansen, 64, adding that his social worker was able to answer any questions on his behalf “and got me the help I needed. His kindness really stood out for me.” Over the years the Westside employees that have worked with Christiansen, a gay man who had been a litigation secretary, have gone out of their way, he said, to see that he receives the social support and medical care he needs. His last nurse, for instance, stepped in to ensure he could see a dentist after Christiansen was having trouble securing an appointment. “I have a private doctor who specializes in HIV, but I really rely on Westside Community Services,” said Christiansen. “I don’t know where else in the community I would go to get such good service.” So when the agency announced earlier this year that it would have to end its case management as well as health home care programs for people living with HIV or AIDS due to a lack of funding, Christiansen urged the nonprofit’s leaders to do everything they could to continue the programs. “I was terrified because I really depend on Westside for medical services,” said Christiansen. The agency, which just celebrated its 50th anniversary, has served hundreds of HIV positive San Francisco residents since launching its AIDS Case Management Program in 1988. It is the only Medi-Cal Waiver funded program in the city. But Westside has struggled to maintain the critical services for its HIV clients, as it had not received a rate increase over the past decade. Most of the agency’s AIDS case management clients See page 17 >>

Jane Philomen Cleland

by Seth Hemmelgarn

aturday, December 2 will mark the first anniversary of Oakland’s Ghost Ship warehouse fire, which killed 36 people who had gathered for an electronic music performance. Since the blaze, which took the lives of at least three transgender people, government

officials have worked to improve safety, and two men who essentially ran the building have each been charged with 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter. The fire and the loss of life brought an outpouring of support from local artists, including those in the LGBTQ community. Memorial art projects were unveiled, and many artists called attention to high rents in the

Bay Area that resulted in some people living in unsafe buildings, such as the Ghost Ship. In a November 9 report to Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf and the City Council, City Administrator Sabrina Landreth said the fire “was a tragedy that resonated across Oakland and the nation. It highlighted deep and complex issues that Oakland has been wrestlilng See page 25 >>

Raunchy musical a holiday hit for theater by Matthew S. Bajko

musical with swearing puppets, two of which have sex on stage while a female actor portraying the late television star Gary Coleman sings it’s OK for them to be loud while making love, wouldn’t seem to be a fit for the holiday season, when many people treat themselves and their loved ones to theater tickets. Yet “Avenue Q,” the 2004 triple Tony Awardwinner for best musical, score, and book, has proved to be a smash hit for San Francisco’s New Conservatory Theatre Center. This December marks the fifth year in a row the nonprofit LGBT theater company has mounted the show, which does feature a human character named Christmas Eve, a Japanese immigrant who is a therapist in need of clients. “We had no expectation that it would be as good a fit as it turned out to be,” Barbara Hodgen, New Conservatory’s executive director, told the Bay Area Reporter during an interview in early November in the theater’s Mason’s Bar. The 36-year-old theater company has historically presented musicals at the end of the year, such as “Xanadu: The Musical” in 2011 and “Dames At Sea” in 2009. They tend to leave the audience feeling cheerful, fitting for the yuletide season. “It is a good time to do a musical because people are feeling festive,” explained Hodgen. But its prior musical productions didn’t

Lois Tema

Nicky (Brendon North) is one of the zany but lovably furry characters living on Avenue Q in the production of the same name.

generate the same demand for tickets as “Avenue Q” has over the last four years. The initial five-week run in 2013 sold out and was extended for two weeks. Based on that success, the theater took a chance on bringing it back a second time the

{ FIRST OF THREE SECTIONS }

next year. It was a smart decision, as the five shows a week over five weeks all sold out. The run was again extended two more weeks. “Those sell-outs happened earlier in the second year,” recalled Hodgen. “We thought three See page 26 >>

What is TRUVADA for PrEP?

Who should not take TRUVADA for PrEP?

TRUVADA for PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) is a prescription medicine that is used together with safer sex practices to help reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 through sex. This use is only for HIV-negative adults who are at high risk of getting HIV-1. To help determine your risk of getting HIV-1, talk openly with your healthcare provider about your sexual health.

Do not take TRUVADA for PrEP if you:

Ask your healthcare provider if you have questions about how to prevent getting HIV. Always practice safer sex and use condoms to lower the chance of sexual contact with body fluids. Never reuse or share needles or other items that have body fluids on them.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION What is the most important information I should know about TRUVADA for PrEP? Before taking TRUVADA for PrEP: ® You must be HIV-negative before you start taking TRUVADA for PrEP. You must get tested to make sure that you do not already have HIV-1. Do not take TRUVADA to reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 unless you are confirmed to be HIV-negative. ® Many HIV-1 tests can miss HIV-1 infection in a person who has recently become infected. If you have flu-like symptoms, you could have recently become infected with HIV-1. Tell your healthcare provider if you had a flu-like illness within the last month before starting or at any time while taking TRUVADA for PrEP. Symptoms of new HIV-1 infection include tiredness, fever, joint or muscle aches, headache, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, night sweats, and/or enlarged lymph nodes in the neck or groin. While taking TRUVADA for PrEP: ® You must continue to use safer sex practices. Just taking TRUVADA for PrEP may not keep you from getting HIV-1. ® You must stay HIV-negative to keep taking TRUVADA for PrEP: ® Get tested for HIV-1 at least every 3 months. ® If you think you were exposed to HIV-1, tell your healthcare provider right away. ® To further help reduce your risk of getting HIV-1: ® Know your HIV status and the HIV status of your partners. ® Get tested for other sexually transmitted infections. Other infections make it easier for HIV to infect you. ® Get information and support to help reduce risky sexual behavior, such as having fewer sex partners. ® Do not miss any doses of TRUVADA. Missing doses may increase your risk of getting HIV-1 infection. ® If you do become HIV-1 positive, you need more medicine than TRUVADA alone to treat HIV-1. TRUVADA by itself is not a complete treatment for HIV-1. If you have HIV-1 and take only TRUVADA, your HIV-1 may become harder to treat over time. TRUVADA can cause serious side effects: ® Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. TRUVADA is not approved to treat HBV. If you have HBV and stop taking TRUVADA, your HBV may suddenly get worse. Do not stop taking TRUVADA without first talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to monitor your health.

® Already have HIV-1 infection or if you do not know your HIV-1 status. If you are HIV-1 positive, you need to take other medicines with TRUVADA to treat HIV-1. TRUVADA by itself is not a complete treatment for HIV-1. If you have HIV-1 and take only TRUVADA, your HIV-1 may become harder to treat over time. ® Also take certain medicines to treat hepatitis B infection.

What are the other possible side effects of TRUVADA for PrEP? Serious side effects of TRUVADA may also include: ® Kidney problems, including kidney failure. Your healthcare provider may do blood tests to check your kidneys before and during treatment with TRUVADA. If you develop kidney problems, your healthcare provider may tell you to stop taking TRUVADA. ® Too much lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious but rare medical emergency that can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: weakness or being more tired than usual, unusual muscle pain, being short of breath or fast breathing, stomach pain with nausea and vomiting, cold or blue hands and feet, feel dizzy or lightheaded, or a fast or abnormal heartbeat. ® Severe liver problems, which in rare cases can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow, dark “tea-colored” urine, light-colored stools, loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, or stomach-area pain. ® Bone problems, including bone pain, softening, or thinning, which may lead to fractures. Your healthcare provider may do tests to check your bones. Common side effects in people taking TRUVADA for PrEP are stomach-area (abdomen) pain, headache, and decreased weight. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effects that bother you or do not go away.

What should I tell my healthcare provider before taking TRUVADA for PrEP? ® All your health problems. Be sure to tell your healthcare provider if you have or have had any kidney, bone, or liver problems, including hepatitis. ® If you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if TRUVADA can harm your unborn baby. If you become pregnant while taking TRUVADA for PrEP, talk to your healthcare provider to decide if you should keep taking TRUVADA. ® If you are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed. If you become HIV-positive, HIV can be passed to the baby in breast milk. ® All the medicines you take, including prescription and overthe-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. TRUVADA may interact with other medicines. Keep a list of all your medicines and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist when you get a new medicine. ® If you take certain other medicines with TRUVADA, your healthcare provider may need to check you more often or change your dose. These medicines include certain medicines to treat hepatitis C (HCV) infection. You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.FDA.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Please see Important Facts about TRUVADA for PrEP including important warnings on the following page.

I’m courageous, not careless. I know who I am. And I make choices that fit my life. TRUVADA for PrEP™ is a once-daily prescription medicine that can help reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 when taken every day and used together with safer sex practices. ® TRUVADA for PrEP is only for adults who are at high risk of getting HIV through sex. ® You must be HIV-negative before you start taking TRUVADA for PrEP.

Ask your doctor about your risk of getting HIV-1 infection and if TRUVADA for PrEP may be right for you.

Learn more at truvada.com

IMPORTANT FACTS

This is only a brief summary of important information about taking TRUVADA for PrEPTM (pre-exposure prophylaxis) to help reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 infection. This does not replace talking to your healthcare provider about your medicine.

(tru-VAH-dah) MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT TRUVADA FOR PrEP

POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF TRUVADA FOR PrEP

Before starting TRUVADA for PrEP: • You must be HIV-1 negative. You must get tested to make sure that you do not already have HIV-1. Do not take TRUVADA for PrEP to reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 unless you are confirmed to be HIV-1 negative. • Many HIV-1 tests can miss HIV-1 infection in a person who has recently become infected. Symptoms of new HIV-1 infection include flu-like symptoms, tiredness, fever, joint or muscle aches, headache, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, night sweats, and/or enlarged lymph nodes in the neck or groin. Tell your healthcare provider if you have had a flu-like illness within the last month before starting TRUVADA for PrEP. While taking TRUVADA for PrEP: • You must continue to use safer sex practices. Just taking TRUVADA for PrEP may not keep you from getting HIV-1. • You must stay HIV-negative to keep taking TRUVADA for PrEP. Get tested for HIV-1 at least every 3 months while taking TRUVADA for PrEP. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you think you were exposed to HIV-1 or have a flu-like illness while taking TRUVADA for PrEP. • If you do become HIV-1 positive, you need more medicine than TRUVADA alone to treat HIV-1. If you have HIV-1 and take only TRUVADA, your HIV-1 may become harder to treat over time. • See the “How To Further Reduce Your Risk” section for more information. TRUVADA may cause serious side effects, including: • Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. TRUVADA is not approved to treat HBV. If you have HBV, your HBV may suddenly get worse if you stop taking TRUVADA. Do not stop taking TRUVADA without first talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to check your health regularly for several months.

TRUVADA can cause serious side effects, including: • Those in the “Most Important Information About TRUVADA for PrEP” section. • New or worse kidney problems, including kidney failure. • Too much lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious but rare medical emergency that can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: weakness or being more tired than usual, unusual muscle pain, being short of breath or fast breathing, stomach pain with nausea and vomiting, cold or blue hands and feet, feel dizzy or lightheaded, or a fast or abnormal heartbeat. • Severe liver problems, which in rare cases can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow, dark “tea-colored” urine, light-colored stools, loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, or stomach-area pain. • Bone problems. Common side effects in people taking TRUVADA for PrEP include stomach-area (abdomen) pain, headache, and decreased weight. These are not all the possible side effects of TRUVADA. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any new symptoms while taking TRUVADA for PrEP. Your healthcare provider will need to do tests to monitor your health before and during treatment with TRUVADA for PrEP.

ABOUT TRUVADA FOR PrEP TRUVADA for PrEP is a prescription medicine used together with safer sex practices to help reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 through sex. This use is only for HIV-negative adults who are at high risk of getting HIV-1. • To help determine your risk of getting HIV-1, talk openly with your healthcare provider about your sexual health. Do NOT take TRUVADA for PrEP if you: • Already have HIV-1 infection or if you do not know your HIV-1 status. • Take certain medicines to treat hepatitis B infection.

HOW TO TAKE TRUVADA FOR PrEP • Take 1 tablet once a day, every day, not just when you think you have been exposed to HIV-1. • Do not miss any doses. Missing doses may increase your risk of getting HIV-1 infection. • Use TRUVADA for PrEP together with condoms and safer sex practices. • Get tested for HIV-1 at least every 3 months. You must stay HIV-negative to keep taking TRUVADA for PrEP.

BEFORE TAKING TRUVADA FOR PrEP Tell your healthcare provider if you: • Have or have had any kidney, bone, or liver problems, including hepatitis. • Have any other medical conditions. • Are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. • Are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed. If you become HIV-positive, HIV can pass to the baby in breast milk. Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take: • Keep a list that includes all prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements, and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist. • Ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist about medicines that should not be taken with TRUVADA for PrEP.

HOW TO FURTHER REDUCE YOUR RISK • Know your HIV status and the HIV status of your partners. • Get tested for other sexually transmitted infections. Other infections make it easier for HIV to infect you. • Get information and support to help reduce risky sexual behavior, such as having fewer sex partners. • Do not share needles or personal items that can have blood or body fluids on them.

GET MORE INFORMATION • This is only a brief summary of important information about TRUVADA for PrEP. Talk to your healthcare provider or pharmacist to learn more, including how to prevent HIV infection. • Go to start.truvada.com or call 1-800-GILEAD-5 • If you need help paying for your medicine, visit start.truvada.com for program information.

TRUVADA FOR PREP, the TRUVADA FOR PREP Logo, the TRUVADA Blue Pill Design, TRUVADA, GILEAD, and the GILEAD Logo are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc., or its related companies. All other marks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners. Version date: April 2017 © 2017 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. TVDC0161 07/17

TVDC0161_PrEP_D_9-75x16_BayAreaReporter_Cafe_p1.indd 3

8/29/17 7:45 PM

Community News>>

November 30-December 6, 2017 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 5

Wine country LGBT youth resilient after fires by Heather Cassell

ollowing the October wildfires in the North Bay, LGBT youth in Napa and Sonoma counties sprang into action – helping their own community and others. “These are the times that we really do need to come together as an individual community and as a larger community, or what we call Sonoma County,” said Javier Rivera-Rosales, director of programs at Positive Images, an LGBT youth organization in Santa Rosa. “There’s a sense of humanity that happens in a disaster.” Ajay Bass, a 22-year-old bisexual transgender man, attends Positive Images regularly. “I guess people are starting to realize how much we need each other,” said Bass about what has changed after the fire. “They don’t care what you’re doing. They don’t care how you identify.” Bass was one of many who had to evacuate during the fires. LGBTQ youth leaders quickly acted in the early hours of October 9, when their phones started ringing, alerting them about the fires and evacuations. Staff at LGBTQ Connection and Positive Images initiated phone trees to connect with team members and participants to ensure they were safe, Eduardo Rivera, a 29-year-old queer man who is program coordinator at LGBTQ Connection in Napa, told the Bay Area Reporter. As the fires raged, Rivera and Rivera-Rosales worked with their teams, identifying needs in the community. Some lost everything in the flames. “It’s a community trauma,” said Rivera. “It’s very beautiful for me to be able to help folks.” In Napa, LGBTQ Connection

Courtesy LGBTQ Connection Napa

Eduardo Rivera is the program coordinator at LGBTQ Connection in Napa.

youth realized that emergency alerts and updates weren’t reaching people who spoke Spanish. On the Move, a youth leadership development organization, quickly connected the Spanish-speaking youth among its umbrella organizations, including LGBTQ Connection, and hooked them up with the graphic response team on the emergency alert system. The youth translated announcements into Spanish to the community, Rivera said. Matt Boiadjiess and Rivera worked at the evacuation centers in Calistoga. Rivera-Rosales and Eliseo Rivas, a 26-year-old gender nonconforming individual who is the program coordinator at LGBTQ Connection’s Sonoma County office, continued to work with the newly forming North Bay Rainbow Network, a virtual LGBT community center. Both organizations opened their offices by October 11. LGBT 9.75friends in. youth and their could come in and connect to free Wi-Fi, charge their devices, and get food

and support. Donations began pouring in. The organizations funneled the supplies to people in the community. “We were just there with each other and the community, making sure that we were helping each other out, checking in with each other,” said Rivera. For the youth, it wasn’t just about them. They were also concerned about LGBT seniors and undocumented individuals, they said. They rapidly reached out to the various communities, offering services and support. At the end of October, LGBTQ Connection and Positive Images started to resume regular programming. Boiadjiess and Rivera said they were still helping at the shelters, guiding people to assistance.

Eerie atmosphere

Several people recalled that there was an eerie atmosphere before the fires broke out. Rivera-Rosales said the energy

Heather Cassell

Ajay Bass was evacuated during the fires, and finds community at Positive Images in Santa Rosa.

was unusual, with the warm winds that were behaving strangely. Bass agreed. “I had this weird feeling that something was going to happen,” said Bass. “The winds were so strong. It was like, something’s not right. I figured like, it’s California, it would be an earthquake.” Despite the oddity they, like others, went to sleep, but were awoken during the early morning hours. Rivera-Rosales received a call from a friend telling him that, “Santa Rosa is on fire,” he said. On the other side of the hill, the night started out like any other for Rivera and Boiadjiess, who were then awakened by calls. Rivera didn’t have to evacuate even though his family’s home was near the Silverado Trail. For Boiadjiess the phone call was the beginning of a very long night for him and his family. “We could see the glow in the mountains,” said Boiadjiess, who

fled over the hill from Calistoga to Santa Rosa with his family, only to keep moving from one location to another as evacuations were issued throughout the early morning hours. “The whole situation was just very surreal,” said Boiadjiess. “I didn’t expect to really have to evacuate or just keep moving and moving and moving.” It was two long days before the family returned home. Fortunately, the family’s house was saved, along with the animals they left behind in the rush to get to safety. Boiadjiess then focused on working with LGBTQ Connection at evacuation centers in Calistoga. “I feel like this is going to be something that maybe, some folks aren’t experiencing any emotions now, but [in] a month ... it’s going to crop up. Something’s going to be triggered,” said Rivera. “One of the most powerful aspects of this is that we learned a lot from our young folks. They’re driving their enthusiasm and their resilience for going forward.” LGBTQ youth and adults can learn more at an upcoming holiday event sponsored by LGBTQ Connection Sonoma and Positive Images. “Recovering with Pride: A Holiday Gathering” takes place Saturday, December 9, from 3 to 6 p.m. at Fountaingrove Lodge, 4210 Thomas Lake Harris Drive in Santa Rosa. The party will be an opportunity to learn about what is being done to support LGBTQ people and fire victims. Admission is free and open to the public. To RSVP, contact eliseo@lgbtqconnection.org or visit http://bit.ly/2hBAbFS. t

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<< Open Forum

6 • BAY AREA REPORTER • November 30-December 6, 2017

Volume 47, Number 48

November 30-December 6, 2017

www.ebar.com

PUBLISHER Michael M. Yamashita Thomas E. Horn, Publisher Emeritus (2013) Publisher (2003 – 2013) Bob Ross, Founder (1971 – 2003) NEWS EDITOR Cynthia Laird ARTS EDITOR Roberto Friedman BARTAB EDITOR & EVENTS LISTINGS EDITOR Jim Provenzano ASSISTANT EDITORS Matthew S. Bajko • Seth Hemmelgarn CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Ray Aguilera • Tavo Amador • Race Bannon Erin Blackwell • Roger Brigham Brian Bromberger • Victoria A. Brownworth Brent Calderwood • Philip Campbell Heather Cassell • Belo Cipriani Richard Dodds • Michael Flanagan Jim Gladstone • David Guarino Liz Highleyman • Brandon Judell • John F. Karr Lisa Keen • Matthew Kennedy • Joshua Klipp David Lamble • Max Leger Michael McDonagh • David-Elijah Nahmod Michael Nugent • Paul Parish • Sean Piverger Lois Pearlman • Tim Pfaff • Jim Piechota Bob Roehr • Adam Sandel Khaled Sayed • Jason Serinus • Gregg Shapiro • Gwendolyn Smith Tony Taylor • Sari Staver • Jim Stewart Sean Timberlake • Andre Torrez • Ronn Vigh Charlie Wagner • Ed Walsh Cornelius Washington • Sura Wood ART DIRECTION Max Leger PRODUCTION/DESIGN Ernesto Sopprani PHOTOGRAPHERS Jane Philomen Cleland • FBFE Rick Gerharter • Gareth Gooch Jose Guzman-Colon • Rudy K. Lawidjaja Georg Lester • Dan Lloyd • Jo-Lynn Otto Rich Stadtmiller • Kelly Sullivan Steven Underhil • Dallis Willard • Bill Wilson ILLUSTRATORS & CARTOONISTS Paul Berge • Christine Smith ADVERTISING/ADMINISTRATION Colleen Small Bogitini VICE PRESIDENT OF ADVERTISING Scott Wazlowski – 415.829.8937 NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE Rivendell Media – 212.242.6863

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BAY AREA REPORTER 44 Gough Street, Suite 204 San Francisco, CA 94103 415.861.5019 • www.ebar.com A division of BAR Media, Inc. © 2017 President: Michael M. Yamashita Chairman: Thomas E. Horn VP and CFO: Patrick G. Brown Secretary: Todd A. Vogt

News Editor • news@ebar.com Arts Editor • arts@ebar.com Out & About listings • jim@ebar.com Advertising • scott@ebar.com Letters • letters@ebar.com Published weekly. Bay Area Reporter reserves the right to edit or reject any advertisement which the publisher believes is in poor taste or which advertises illegal items which might result in legal action against Bay Area Reporter. Ads will not be rejected solely on the basis of politics, philosophy, religion, race, age, or sexual orientation. Advertising rates available upon request. Our list of subscribers and advertisers is conﬁdential and is not sold. The sexual orientation of advertisers, photographers, and writers published herein is neither inferred nor implied. We are not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or artwork.

FCC’s dangerous plan to revoke net neutrality

jit Pai, the conservative chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, has announced plans to institute a rule change that would repeal network neutrality. Simply put, net neutrality, as it’s commonly known, means that all users have identical access to websites and internet services. T h a t means that internet service providers, or ISPs, can’t block some sites or deliberately slow down the speed of others. Pai wants to revoke the FCC rules put in place during the Obama administration; and since the commission has a Republican majority, it’s a very real – and dangerous – possibility. Without net neutrality, ISPs could charge more for faster speed, say, for watching Netflix or Amazon streaming services, or bundle different parts of the internet and charge a monthly fee for each, which is already happening in Portugal. In other words, consumers likely will end up paying more for faster speed. Under current FCC rules the internet is open for all equally. Gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) is exploring legislation to adopt net neutrality in California if the FCC ends it nationally. While the FCC claims that it has the right to overrule state net neutrality laws, Wiener wrote in a tweet this week that “I don’t agree. California needs to protect open internet access.” The end of net neutrality could be costly to LGBTs indeed, according to researcher Mary L. Gray, Ph.D. Writing on Huffington Post a few years ago, when net neutrality was an issue before the FCC developed the current regulations, Gray noted, “LGBT-identifying people will be collateral damage if internet service providers are allowed to discriminate among content, apps, or services. “Without net neutrality protections, content providers

generating critical information would likely have to pay more to get their content into (and from!) the hands of LGBT people,” Gray, an associate professor at Indiana University, wrote. “That means ISPs become the de facto gatekeepers controlling what content survives and what content falls by the wayside in the wake of a market-driven content tsunami. This, in turn, will raise the cost of providing LGBT content, reducing the overall amount of LGBT content available. This will be a significant barrier to the nonprofit sources of content that have proven critical to LGBT communities, including information provided by the U.S. government.” Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD, was equally alarmed at the prospect of ending net neutrality. Writing in the Advocate a few months ago, when the FCC’s plan was first floated, she noted the importance of the internet to LGBTs because it has enabled anyone with an idea to start a website or blog, create an online petition to call out discrimination, or gather information. For LGBTs in rural communities, the

future is even more uncertain. Rural areas have limited internet access now, and they are also farther away from institutions like libraries and LGBT community centers. The internet is critical to finding out information about coming out and our history. For trans people, it can be life saving. Sites providing critical information on HIV/AIDS treatment and services could be affected, as well as sites offering resources for queer youth, seniors, and others. Social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter could be slowed for some users, unless they pay more. In short, the internet would become a world of haves and have nots for information; it should be regulated as a basic utility like telephones and electricity. This isn’t progress, it’s a draconian effort by the Trump administration to reward giant broadband companies over unfettered internet access for everyone. The internet is central to freedom of expression and an essential tool of today’s society. It allows anyone to state their view (and to create misleading or false claims; just like anything else, one has to verify what they read online). But the positive aspects of our internet-connected world far outweigh the negatives. And it shouldn’t be up to big corporations to set fees for use. As San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee stated last week, Pai’s plan to repeal net neutrality “is the latest effort from this administration to favor the short term interests of large corporations at the expense of the greater public good.” The FCC plans to vote on Pai’s net neutrality rollback December 14. The commission should reject Pai’s plan, but because it will likely pass, we need state lawmakers like Wiener to take the lead on how California can set up its own regulations to keep the internet free and open for all. t

Holiday tips from a harm reductionist by Jeremy Prillwitz

to do so. In harm reduction, success is defined as any positive change, ou probably know what it feels and providers offer support and like to be in the throes of holiday feedback, but not instructions or stress. This stress may include dealdemands. ing with difficult people, feeling obliIf you feel your use of substances gated to take care of everyone around is becoming a problem, you may not you, or trying to push down feelings want to quit entirely, and it may not of grief and loss that seem to come be necessary to become abstinent. up every year around this time. Harm reduction offers a wide range The holidays may exacerbate Jeremy Prillwitz of approaches to any behavior that depression or feelings of loneliness is troubling you. and isolation. Here are some highlights of how It may seem like you are alone in your sufyou may use harm reduction with respect to fering, and drinking at the local bar or using drinking: other drugs may seem like the best way to escape these feelings and feel a sense of beSubstitution longing. The drinking or drug use may work Many people find that other substances very well in those respects, but you may find are less harmful than alcohol, and can serve that your bar tab is not the only cost you are many of the purposes alcohol serves. facing as a result of drinking more than you For example, you may drink one had intended. night, but another night you may smoke cannabis rather than Harm reduction drink. The substitution can also The Stonewall Project, a program of the San be something other than a subFrancisco AIDS Foundation, provides harm stance such as exercise, sex, or reduction services for gay, bi, and trans men good food, or maybe watching who have sex with men. At this time of year “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” in particular, we see many guys who are dealing with holiday stress, trauma, and shame, Fundamentals and find themselves self-medicating with subof moderate drinking stance use and misuse. Many people find that eating before drinkMany of the men who participate in our ing, alternating between water and alcohol, program have experienced treatment in the drinking beer or wine rather than hard alpast that required total abstinence, and offered cohol, or leaving the ATM card at home can a one-size-fits-all formula for recovery. Often, help prevent excessive drinking and its related we notice expressions of surprise when we tell harms. Some people set a firm limit on the participants that they can pursue managed use, number of drinks they will consume, bearing abstinence, or abstinence from one substance in mind that Castro bars offer overly generbut not from others. Decades of research ous portions of alcohol in their drinks. Some confirm that most people with substance use people designate days as either abstinence days problems make positive changes without seekor drinking days. ing or achieving lifelong abstinence. Harm reduction is a philosophy that meets Safer drinking habits people where they are, and accepts the reality You may not be as concerned about your that people use substances and will continue quantities, but may be very concerned about

safety in drinking situations. For example, driving may not be a good idea if you plan to drink. You may want to become more aware of behaviors that tend to come out when you drink heavily such as risky sexual encounters, violence, blackouts, accidental injuries, or reduced inhibitions. Having a friend accompany you for drinking adventures may be a helpful strategy as well if safety is a concern.

Quit drinking

Harm reduction philosophy is certainly not against abstinence. Some people will decide that it is very difficult to manage drinking and the consequences of alcohol consumption are too severe. Abstinence certainly reduces a lot of harm if a person is ready, willing, and able to do it. These are just a few of the countless strategies people use to help reduce harms. This is certainly not a new idea. People have been practicing harm reduction throughout human history, but we did not have a name for it. If you fasten your seatbelt when driving, for example, you are practicing harm reduction. You are the only one who truly knows what you want from life, and how much risk you are willing to accept. Harm reductions asks you to take an honest look at yourself, and develop creative and realistic plans to reduce harm to a level consistent with your goals.t For more information about the Stonewall Project, go to www.stonewallsf.org, www. cheersqueers.org, or call (415) 487-3100. Jeremy Prillwitz has been a harm reduction counselor at the Stonewall Project since 2012. He regularly presents at conferences and provides trainings on harm reduction and related matters, and is currently writing a book on harm reduction as a treatment philosophy.

Letters >>

November 30-December 6, 2017 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 7

Don’t mess up workable plaza design

Count me in agreement with Paul Turner and Joe Mac [Mailstrom, November 23] with questions about the renovation of Harvey Milk Plaza. Leave it to the Castro powers-that-be to spend money foolishly and mess up a workable design. The LGBT Community Center has been a white elephant since it was established with a poor design in a poor location. The benches at Harvey Milk Plaza have come, gone, come, and gone again. Jane Warner Plaza is yet another. Intentions are good, but it’s hard to keep anything nice in San Francisco. The current design of Harvey Milk Plaza at the Castro Muni station serves people well from

three bus lines, 35, 37, 24, along with the F-Line. An entrance on the Collingwood side makes little sense. This would create a longer walk for seniors and people with disabilities. Also, keep in mind that this part of the plaza gets maybe four months of sun per year at most. Those spearheading this renovation should focus more on creating businesses that will bring people into the neighborhood. Empty storefronts, which are numerous, are not good. Common sense goes a long way. Phil Points San Francisco

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Quartet of out candidates runs for SF school board by Matthew S. Bajko

wo transgender candidates, one a bisexual married father, a gay man, and a lesbian married mother have all pulled papers to run for a seat on the San Francisco Board of Education next year. If either Martin Rawlings-Fein or Mia Satya wins, they would become the first transgender elected leader in the city. Rawlings-Fein would also be the first bisexual man to win elective office in San Francisco. Should Phil Kim, who came up short in his school board bid last year, be elected, he would be the only LGBT Asian-American currently holding public office in the city. And if Sarah Thompson-Peer wins a seat, she would be the first lesbian to hold elective office in San Francisco since 2008. The quartet faces daunting challenges, however, should they remain in the race. (The filing deadline is next summer.) Fourteen people, so far, have indicated they plan to seek one of the three seats on the sevenmember oversight body that will be on the ballot next November. At least one will be an open seat. Rather than seek re-election, Shamann Walton, currently the board’s president, is running for District 10 supervisor. Emily Murase, Ph.D., has pulled papers to seek re-election, while Hydra Mendoza-McDonnell, the board’s vice president, has yet to do so. Until this year, it had been eight years since the board, which oversees the San Francisco Unified School District, had a member on it from the LGBT community. Gay school board member Mark Sanchez was elected to the school board last November. Having previously won a seat on the board years ago, he had stepped down from the body at the start of 2009, as he ran unsuccessfully the year before for supervisor rather than seek re-election to his seat on the education board. Prior to Sanchez’s victory, several out candidates, including transgender educator Jamie Rafaela Wolfe, had fallen short in their bids to be elected to the school board. The down-ballot race usually attracts little notice outside of school circles and hardly any media attention. Because of the historic nature of their candidacies, Rawlings-Fein and Satya have garnered some press coverage, particularly due to transgender candidates making history across the country earlier this month by winning their races in Palm Springs, California; Minneapolis; Virginia; and Pennsylvania. While they both acknowledge their election would mark another political milestone for the city’s LGBT community, it is not the sole

Barry Schneider Attorney at Law

Rick Gerharter

Mia Satya at her campaign kickoff at the Stud.

Courtesy Martin Rawlings-Fein

Martin Rawlings-Fein

Courtesy Sarah Thompson-Peer

Sarah Thompson-Peer

reason Rawlings-Fein or Satya entered the race. Having experienced bullying at school and indifference from her teachers and school administrators growing up in rural Texas, Satya wants to be a voice on the school board for any student struggling in the city’s schools. “I am running not just for transgender youth but for all youth. They all deserve an equal shot for success,” said Satya, 27, an employment specialist at the LGBT Community Center, at her campaign kick-off event November 15 held at the LGBT-owned nightclub The Stud. “We need people at the table who are passionate about equity and social justice. Just having a face at the table will not fix our issues. We need people who give a damn.” In a phone interview this week, Rawlings-Fein, 40, also said his candidacy is centered on being an advocate for not only students but also their parents. One of his top priorities would be addressing the

much-maligned school assignment system the district uses to place students in the city’s schools. “I am excited there are two transgender people running for school board. It is important, but we cannot forget this is about our children, the city’s kids,” said Rawlings-Fein, an education technology specialist at UCSF’s radiology department. “We have to, like, really bring it home this isn’t about being transgender. It is about being a parent and about being a part of the fabric of our community.” He and his wife, Shelli Fein, who works for the children’s agency First 5 San Francisco, are raising two public school students, Sadie Rawlings-Fein, 12, and Matthew Rawlings-Fein, 6, in the city’s Outer Sunset district. He had planned to run for school board in 2012 but decided not to in order to focus on his own health needs at the time. Since then he has gained even more experience with education issues, having been active in parent leadership roles at his kids’ schools. Two years ago he led their Jewish supplementary school during a transitional period, serving as the interim director of education. The Rawling-Feins are members of the primarily LGBT Congregation Sha’ar Zahav in the Castro. “This is a natural extension of being involved with the PTA. It is important for parents to get involved and be engaged,” said Rawlings-Fein of running for school board. Satya, a former youth commissioner for the city, has spent the last decade focused on issues impacting both LGBT and straight youth. She was a program assistant at the LGBT youth agency the Lavender Youth Recreation and Information Center, and later the director of youth engagement at TAYSF, the city’s program for transitional age youth coming out of the foster care system. She also served as vice chair of the Department of Children, Youth, and their Families Oversight and Advisory Committee, advocating for city funding to be directed to the public schools. More recently Satya was appointed to the school district’s Quality Teacher Education Act Oversight Committee. As a member of the school board, Satya would focus on improving the graduation rates for Latino and African-American students, ensure the schools are teaching LGBT history as well as ethnic studies, and push the district to prepare those students who don’t want to attend college to enter today’s workforce. While the school district is making strides, Satya said there is still “a lot of work to do.” Thompson-Peer and her wife, Katie Thompson-Peer, both 36, moved to San Francisco in 2012 and soon thereafter Sarah gave birth to their son, Evan, a fourth-generation See page 26 >>

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<< National News

t Cake case could allow businesses to refuse LGBTs 8 • BAY AREA REPORTER • November 30-December 6, 2017

by Lisa Keen

devoted much of its time and resources to challenging laws that prohibit sexual orientation discrimination. She is a graduate of television evangelical Pat Robertson’s Regent University School of Law.

he U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments Tuesday, December 5, in yet another case with major consequences for LGBT people. This one will decide whether any common business vendor – a restaurant, a hotel, a taxicab – selling products or services to the public can refuse to sell or accommodate LGBT people by simply claiming to have a religious belief hostile to such people. In Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado, a baker who prepares elaborate cakes for wedding receptions says that the mere act of selling any of his cakes for the reception of a same-sex couple amounts to “participating” in and supporting the wedding. The baker, Jack Phillips, claims to have a religious belief that opposes allowing marriage for same-sex couples. And he says that participating in a same-sex couple’s reception conflicts with that religious belief and his rights as an artist to create what he wants to create. The case is one of the most-watched cases before the U.S. Supreme Court this session because a ruling in favor of the baker would enable just about any business to refuse service to just about any patron by claiming a religious hostility to that patron or a creative license to refuse service. The Masterpiece Cakeshop case is the only argument the court will hear Tuesday. Here are some of the facts and issues to keep in mind as a flood of media coverage ensues.

When and where

The argument will take place from 7 to 8 a.m. (Pacific time), at the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. Seating for the public is very limited, and people interested in standing in the very long lines to get in often must arrive (or arrange for line-sitters) the day before the argument. However, audio recordings of major cases, such as this one, are usually available on the court’s website within a few hours of adjournment. And transcripts of the argument are also available on the same day on the court’s transcript page.

The laws in question

The case essentially pits a state law prohibiting sexual orientation discrimination in public accommodations against a federal law (the First Amendment to the Constitution) forbidding laws “prohibiting the free exercise of religion” or “abridging the freedom of speech.” The state law in this case is Colorado’s, but 20 other states have

Attorney for the US

The Trump administration has taken sides with the baker. It is sending Solicitor General Noel Francisco to argue their point. Francisco took office in mid-September of this year. A graduate of the University of Chicago Law School, he clerked for the late Justice Antonin Scalia. He was an associate counsel to President George W. Bush and served in that administration’s Department of Justice.

Attorney for Colorado Courtesy ACLU

Charlie Craig, left, and David Mullins will have their case heard before the U.S. Supreme Court next week.

laws to prevent discrimination against LGBT people. And all states have laws prohibiting discrimination based on race, sex, and other factors. The Colorado law, like those of most other states, exempts any entity “principally used for religious purposes.”

The person challenging the state law

The aforementioned Phillips, a “cake artist” and owner of the Masterpiece Cake bakery in a Denver suburb, refused to sell a cake to a same-sex couple, David Mullins and Charlie Craig, because “the Bible teaches [same-sex marriage is] not an OK thing.” According to a Heritage Foundation publication, Phillips “belongs to a Baptist-rooted church.” Phillips said his personal religious beliefs and his artistic sensibility prevented him from selling a wedding cake to the couple for their wedding reception.

The couple challenging discrimination

Craig and Mullins are a gay couple living in Colorado. They were married in Massachusetts in 2012, when the U.S. Supreme Court had not yet struck down state bans against marriage for same-sex couples (in Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015). After Phillips refused to sell them a cake for their reception, Mullins posted an account of the interaction on his Facebook page and urged friends to let the bakery “know you feel their policy is discriminatory,” reported the Denver

Post. That prompted media attention and alerted the couple that the action violated state law. So they filed a complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Commission.

The muddle

Phillips and his lawyers at the Alliance Defending Freedom have tried to shift the focus away from religiousbased discrimination to the idea that laws should not dictate to “artists” what projects they create. On a June 2017 episode of the talk show “The View,” Phillips said he would sell the same-sex couple “anything” in his store but not a wedding cake. “It’s not turning them away, it’s just this event,” he said. He later claimed, “I’m not judging these two gay men that came in, I’m just trying to preserve my right as an artist to decide which artistic endeavors to do and which I’m not.” The same-sex couple did not get a chance to ask Phillips to create an artistic endeavor just for them. He refused them service within “30 seconds” or in “less than two minutes,” according to his own accounts of the interaction. And Phillips’ website illustrates that most of the wedding cake designs he offers are neither religiously oriented nor include a male-female image.

The state’s action

he stop “refusing to sell them wedding cakes or any product [the baker] would sell to heterosexual couples.”

Colorado Solicitor General Frederick Yarger will defend the state’s law before the Supreme Court. Yarger has held his post for two years. He clerked for Timothy Tymkovich of the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit and has argued two other cases before the Supreme Court, both in 2016.

Chief arguments by baker

Attorney for the gay couple

Legal observers will be watching Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy in next week’s oral argument in the Masterpiece Cake case.

A state administrative judge, the Colorado Civil Rights Commission, and the Colorado Court of Appeals all ruled against Phillips. The commission did not order Phillips to design cakes for same-sex weddings, as Phillips claims, but rather it ordered that

The state law violates two First Amendment rights: free exercise of religion and freedom of speech. Phillips argues that his Christian beliefs oppose same-sex marriage and that the work he puts into baking cakes and his selling them for various events amount to speech or “expression.”

Chief response by civil rights groups

Lawyers supporting the state law say the religious-based arguments here are recycled from the 1960s, when opponents of laws prohibiting discrimination based on race argued that it violated their religious beliefs to serve black customers in the same space as white customers. (See Newman v. Piggie Park case.) And they say the artistic expression arguments misidentify who the real “speaker” is in the marketplace; it is the buyer, who says, “I will accept this product” or “I support this work.”

Possible narrow ruling

That Phillips’ religious beliefs might be implicated whenever he creates a custom-design cake for a couple (rather than when he sells them a cake with an existing design).

Attorney for the baker

Kristen Waggoner is head of the legal team of the Alliance Defending Freedom, an organization that has

Representing the gay couple will be American Civil Liberties Union national legal director David Cole, a longtime advocate for equal protection of the law for LGBT people and people with HIV.

Historic note

In 1996, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a voter-approved law in Colorado that sought to exempt everyone from local ordinances that prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation (Romer v. Evans).

Postscript

The Supreme Court will discuss in conference Friday, December 1, a public accommodations case involving anti-LGBT sentiment in another business transaction. Arlene’s Flowers v. Washington involves a florist who did not want to sell flowers for the wedding of a same-sex couple. Like the baker in Colorado, the florist in Washington state lost at the state supreme court and filed an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, a week before the Colorado case. Chances are the court will re-list the case and decide its fate after argument in the Masterpiece case. But they will not likely tip their hand on Arlene’s Flowers until they release their ruling on Masterpiece Cake – which could be as late as June.t

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<< Community News

10 • BAY AREA REPORTER • November 30-December 6, 2017

Castro gets holiday spirit

embers of various Bay Area queer choruses joined to sing carols at the annual lighting of the holiday tree at 18th and Castro streets, Monday, November 27. The Castro Merchants

Rick Gerharter

group has decorated the Palm trees along Market Street and holiday lights adorn sidewalk trees, all in an effort to lure shoppers and visitors to the gayborhood.

Many still get late HIV diagnosis by Liz Highleyman

any people with HIV are still being diagnosed late, and therefore not getting the full treatment and prevention benefits of starting antiretroviral therapy early, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest Vital Signs report, released this week in advance of World AIDS Day on December 1. “If you are at risk for HIV, don’t guess – get a test,” said Dr. Jonathan Mermin, director of CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention. “The benefits are clear. Prompt diagnosis is prevention. It is the first step to protecting people living with HIV and their partners.” Effective antiretroviral therapy prevents T-cell loss and the decline of immune function, and studies show that people who are on treatment that suppresses viral load to an undetectable level do not transmit HIV. In 2010 San Francisco was the first jurisdiction to recommend treating everyone living with HIV,

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and the city now aims to get people on treatment the same day they are diagnosed. U.S. government and World Health Organization guidelines now also call for universal treatment for everyone diagnosed with HIV. Getting tested is the first step to starting treatment. The CDC recommends that everyone age 13 to

64 should get a routine HIV test at least once, people at high risk for infection should get tested annually, and those using PrEP for HIV prevention should get quarterly tests. People at risk for HIV in the United States are now getting tested more often than they did in the past, and they are living with HIV for a shorter period of time before diagnosis, Mermin and CDC colleagues said at a November 28 media briefing. The median time between infection and diagnosis was three years in 2015, a seven-month decline since 2011. “These findings are more encouraging signs that the tide continues to turn on our nation’s HIV epidemic,” CDC director Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald said in a statement. “HIV is being diagnosed more quickly, the number of people who have the virus under control is up, and annual infections are down.” But HIV testing and diagnosis still often does not happen in a timely manner. The CDC estimates that, nationwide, 15 percent of

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The 600 foot buffer allow existing medical zone is what the state marijuana dispensaries to he Board of Supervisors aprecommends. sell recreational pot beginproved local regulations for recAlso defeated was an ning January 5. The board Hybrid/City Kid’s reational marijuana, but they will go attempt by Safai to get a voted in favor of Peskin’s Kid’s into effect early next year, missing the three-dispensary cap in the Hybrid/City Hybrid/City Kid’s motion. No attempt was January 1 date when sales of pot to Excelsior district, which made by Peskin to ban adults becomes legal in California. he represents. District 7 pot shops in Chinatown, Golden State voters passed PropoSupervisor Norman Yee which had been discussed sition 64 last year, legalizing the adult also failed at his own atin the past. Rick Gerharter use of marijuana. tempts to ban pot stores Supervisor Jeff Prior to the board meet“Today, the board heard our diverse from West Portal Avenue Sheehy ing a coalition of mariNow Open Thursday to 7pm! communities and voted to protect and to limit the number juana advocates, sellers, Road Mountain medical cannabis patients, ensure of dispensaries on Ocean and growers rallied across Road Mountain Mountainequity, and allow adult cannabis use Avenue. Road the street from City Hall Now OpentoThursday to 7pm! in San Francisco to begin in January,” “I don’t understand why we are in support of District 10 SuperviEvery Now Thursday April between 4 & 7pm Open in Thursday 7pm! gay District 8 Supervisor Jeff Sheehy Now Open Thursday to 7pm! pretending that this is so dangerous sor Malia Cohen’s equity proposals, Thursday to 7pm! take 20% Now OFF Open all parts, accessories & clothing.* said in a statement after the vote. for children,” said District 9 Superviwhich would help people with past Every Thursday April between & 7pm EveryinThursday in 4April between 4 & 7pm The board voted 10-1 on a series of sor Hillary Ronen at the November 28 marijuana convictions. *Salesbetween limited 4to&stock Every Thursday April 7pmon hand. Thursday inOFF April between 4&&in 7pm takeEvery 20%take OFF all parts, accessories clothing.* amendments to legislation introduced 20% all parts, accessories & clothing.* meeting. “Five and 3-year-olds don’t “We want to prioritize people Now Open Thursday to 7pm! take 20% OFF all & parts, accessories & clothing.* take 20% OFF all parts, accessories clothing.* by Sheehy and Mayor Ed Lee. Superviknow the difference between a pot that have been harmed by the failed *Sales limited to stock on hand. limited toAhsha stock on hand. sor Safai was the lone dissenter. shop and other shops. We are saying war on drugs,” said organizer Nina *Sales to stock on hand. *Sales limited to stock on*Sales hand. limited SPRING The board approved creating a 600 there is something wrong with these Parks. “Although marijuana arrests Every Thursday in April between 4 & 7pm foot “buffer zone” between schools shops – I disagree with that.” have been de-prioritized, people of m got take 20% OFF all parts, accessories We’ve & clothing.* and pot shops, despite multiple efforts Ronento also pointed out that pot colorride are still arrested for pot. We’re ready *Sales limited to stock on hand. by District 4 Supervisor Katy Tang to shops would provide much needed here to show solidarity as a cannabis increase the buffer zone to 1,000 feet. jobs for blue-collar workers. community.” Tang said she was merely reflecting Sheehy, who uses medical cannabis The city’s pot regulations were the wishes of her constituents. Memto treat his HIV-related symptoms, passed with an equity program bers of the Asian-American commu1065 & 1077 Valencia (Btwn (Btwn 21st & 22nd St.) •St.) SF SF said he agreed with Ronen. “For my that would benefit low-income 10651065 & 1077 Valencia 21st & 22nd 1065 (Btwn &• 1077 Valencia (Btwn St.) •nity SF loudly expressed their displeasure & 1077 Valencia 21st &415-550-6601 22nd St.) •21st SF &•22nd community it wasn’t that long ago residents, people with prior mariSALES 415-550-6600 REPAIRS Hybrid/City SALES 415-550-6600 • REPAIRS 415-550-6601 SALES 415-550-6600 • REPAIRS 415-550-6601 at the vote, forcing board President that it was said ‘these people can’t be SALES 415-550-6600 • REPAIRS 415-550-6601 juana convictions, and people Mon.Sat. 10-6, Thu. 10-7, Sun. 11-521st & 22nd St.) • SF 1065 & 1077 Valencia (Btwn London Breed to call for order. One around children,’” he said. displaced from their homes. Half Mon-Sat 10-6, Sun 11-5 Mon.Sat. 10-6, Thu. 10-7, Sun. 11-5 Mon.Sat. 10-6, Thu. 10-7, Sun. 11-5 Mon.- Sat. 10-6, Thu. 10-7, Sun. 11-5 woman carried a sign that read, “Stay District 3 Supervisor Aaron Peskin of the city’s dispensaries would SALES 415-550-6600 • REPAIRS 415-550-6601 away from our children.” proposed an amendment that would qualify for the program. t 1065 & 1077 Valencia (Btwn 21st & 22nd St.) • SF

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November 30-December 6, 2017 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 11

Yosemite area offers a dog-friendly retreat by Matthew S. Bajko

n the summer of 1869 famed naturalist John Muir landed a job as a sheepherder in the Sierra Nevada in order to finance a return to the forests and alpine landscapes he so dearly loved. Accompanying him in the mountains was a St. Bernard named Carlo, whose hunter-owner begged Muir to take with him so that the dog could escape the heat of the Central Valley. As Muir noted in the book “My First Summer in the Sierra,” based on his daily journal entries that were first excerpted by the Atlantic Monthly in 1911, Carlo’s owner predicted, “He will be good to you. He knows all about the mountain animals, will guard the camp, assist in managing the sheep, and in every way be found able and faithful.” Carlo proved to be a trusted canine companion, alerting Muir to the presence of bears nearby as the sheepherding party made its way farther up the mountains and into the heart of Yosemite Valley, whose rivers, waterfalls, and granite cliffs Muir would be instrumental in having designated as a national park in 1890. “No friend and helper can be more affectionate and constant than Carlo. The noble St. Bernard is an honor to his race,” wrote Muir. Nowadays four-legged travelers are not allowed to roam freely throughout Yosemite’s backcountry, as did Carlo and other dogs brought to the woods centuries ago by herders, hunters, and tourists. Nonetheless, the Yosemite area can still make for a dog-friendly getaway most any time of year. My husband and I decamped with our dog, Enzo, for a long Veterans Day weekend amid the pine

James LaCroce, Ph.D.

Enzo takes in the view at Yosemite National Park, with Half Dome in the background.

The Tenaya Lodge in Fish Camp is near the South Entrance to Yosemite National Park.

trees and redwoods of Yosemite and the Sierra National Forest to celebrate my birthday. The normal $30 entrance fee per vehicle to the park was waived for visitors on November 11 and 12 in honor of the federal holiday. Dogs on leash are welcome in all of the park’s developed areas and on paved trails throughout the valley floor. They can marvel at the sight and sound of Yosemite Falls and scamper over the Merced River via the Swinging Bridge in the nearby meadow. They can also trek up the first paved mile of the Mirror Lake Trail. While the park’s three hotels do not allow guests to stay there with their dogs, the main campgrounds are dog friendly, though campers are forbidden from leaving their

Wawona area, as visitors are welcome to check out the Pioneer Yosemite History Center with their dogs. Decades ago the Park Service relocated historic structures from around Yosemite to create a small village along the banks of the South Fork Merced River. After walking through a covered bridge, built in 1857, visitors will find cabins, stables, a former Calvary office, and an outpost once used by the San Francisco-based bank Wells Fargo. Across the street at the end of the paved road in the middle of the Wawona golf course is the start of the dog-friendly Wawona Meadow Loop trail, a 3.5-mile hike popular in the spring when the park’s wildflowers are in full bloom. Dogs are also welcome on the nearby Chowchilla Mountain Road, and Four Mile and Eleven Mile fire roads. But the trio of trails are obscure and unsigned, so ask a ranger for help

dogs unattended. (Dogs are not allowed at the park’s walk-in campgrounds or group campsites.) At Glacier Point, at the end of Glacier Point Road an hour drive from the valley floor, dogs can join their owners on the paved path out to a rocky overlook and marvel at the majesty of Half Dome across the canyon. (The road is closed in the winter after the first significant snowstorm of the season.) Another area of the park dogs can explore is Hodgdon Meadow near the Big Oak Flat Entrance on Highway 120. Not as crowded as other areas of the park, visitors can walk with their dogs on Carlon Road from the trailhead to the meadow as well as on the Old Big Oak Flat Road from the meadow to the Tuolumne Grove parking lot.

Wawona area

We headed to the park’s southern

locating them on a map of the park. The Park Service is currently revamping the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias, turning once paved roadways through the forest into hiking trails. When the area by Yosemite’s South Entrance reopens this spring, there will be more than half a mile of new accessible trails and boardwalks, though it is unclear how much of the redone walkways dogs will be allowed on. For a dog-friendly jaunt among the neck-straining trees, which can reach heights of nearly 300 feet, head to the Nelder Grove of Giant Sequoias. Part of the Sierra National Forest, the out-of-the-way spot is outside of Yosemite about 10 miles south on Highway 41 off of Road 632. The route into the grove is part of the Sierra Vista Scenic Byway, which meanders for 100 miles on old logging roads and fire access routes throughout the forest, though it is usually inaccessible during the winter months. The grove is currently closed to visitors as crews repair damage caused by the Railroad Fire that burned through the area in early September. It is expected to reopen in May; check for updates from the forest service at https://www. fs.usda.gov/main/sierra/home. Another dog-friendly way to see the forest and learn about the area’s logging history is to ride the Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad right off Highway 41 in Fish Camp. Hour-long excursions on the old Logger Steam Train take guests on a loop trip through the secondgrowth grove of trees, most now more than 85 years old. Luckily, we grabbed seats toward the back of the train far from the locomotive, as at one bend of See page 25 >>

Queer Reading>>

November 30-December 6, 2017 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 13

‘Big Love’ book inspired by New Age spirituality by Brian Bromberger

t a time when so many people are discouraged by the constant barrage of news coming out of Washington, D.C., perhaps they are ready to hear about how choosing love can make life better. Gay writer Scott Stabile, 46, with his inspirational posts and videos, has attracted a devoted social media following, including over 350,000 Facebook fans. A regular contributor to the Huffington Post as well as conducting personal empowerment workshops around the world, his new book, “Big Love: The Power of Living with a WideOpen Heart,” a combination of memoir and essays, has just been published by New World Library. While on a recent visit to the Bay Area, Stabile met with the Bay Area Reporter for an interview. Operating out of a New Age selfempowerment philosophy, Stabile, a self-described “love advocate,” has had to deal with some tragic episodes in his life, including his parents being murdered when he was 14, his brother dying of a heroin overdose nine years later, and, soon after, joining a cult for 13 years before wrenching himself out of it. Yet despite the hardships life has thrown at him, Stabile never succumbed to despair. “In each instance it was love that carried me back to my center,” he said. “Love challenged me to move forward, despite my fears. Every single time, love walked me home.” Stabile said that it was only when he began to share the core of himself – “courage and fear, happiness and heartbreak” – that his Facebook page really took off, even seeing his readers as a community, “where many feel comfortable sharing themselves and discovering in the process that we are not really alone. We are family.” When asked why he decided to write his book, Stabile replied, “I wanted to expand on some of the same themes I had talked about on Facebook in book form, such as kindness, compassion, and empathy.”

Tragedies

The tragedies in his life have played a role in his work. His parents were shot and killed in the Detroit fruit market they owned by one of their employees. “The impact of their death is mostly in how it has helped me to connect with people,” Stabile said. “These experiences of trauma and grief have given me empathy for those who are going through any pain. I buried the reality of my parents’ death somewhere deep inside where I could ignore the pain of it all. Only when I started to face that pain did I begin to feel freer. “I think one of the great gifts that came from losing them was learning that I am stronger and more resilient than I imagined myself to be,” he said. “The heartbreak has made me a more empathetic and compassionate human being.” Stabile was ultimately able to forgive his parents’ murderer. “I had no intention of forgiving him for years, but we all know what it’s like to be ruled by something we feel is unforgivable and how toxic and ugly that can feel,” he said. “When I started to see him as another human being with pain and struggles, I could start to empathize with him. No one who is operating from self-love or who felt safe could murder other

Brian Bromberger

Author Scott Stabile

people. I couldn’t connect with the idea of murdering but I could connect with being so enraged I wanted people to die and I can connect with feeling unloved or unworthy. When you see people as human beings and connect to their pain, it’s hard to hate them. With empathy and compassion, I found forgiveness. Actually, through empathy and compassion, forgiveness found me.” Stabile also had to cope with his older brother, Ricky’s, addiction to heroin and eventual overdose death. He describes in his book a harrowing scene where his brother, desperate to kick his addiction, agreed to let his parents shackle him, with metal cuffs by wrists and ankles, to a pole in their basement connected to a thick chain that gave him five feet of mobility in any direction. He was dressed only in white briefs, with a mattress on the floor next to the pole and a dirty bucket nearby serving as his toilet. “I was shocked to see my brother chained up like a wild dog. Like a prisoner. Like someone who had already tried everything else to get clean,” Stabile said. This cold-turkey withdrawal didn’t work, despite going to Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings and many stints in rehab. Stabile feels addiction is a choice. “Years ago I came to the view that it was beyond his control, but changed my mind that even though we live in an addictive world, anyone who is living a sober life has made a choice to be sober and it is a choice they are making every day of their lives,” he said. “I absolutely believe that the way to overcome addiction is believing we have a choice to move beyond it.”

Cult

The grief he underwent after Ricky’s death was one of the factors that motivated him to join a cult. “I was longing for deeper spirituality and a greater sense of community in my life,” Stabile said. “I was 23 when I met a group of loving people, who were students of this guru, while working at a New Age bookshop. I met a charismatic spiritual teacher who offered a ‘faster track’ to enlightenment. In the cult some would call New Age, I found a family, and, in the leader, I found a best friend and father figure as well as an enlightened master.” Stabile doesn’t name the cult or the leader in his book, nor would he do so during the interview despite repeated attempts. “I don’t feel a desire to out him and there’s no name for the cult anyway. I just realized he wasn’t enlightened. He was professing to

be one thing, but in his actions he was saying something else, without going into any details. It’s a grand lie when you claim to offer enlightenment as your main thing but then discover it’s not true. The community treated me badly when I left, they shunned me.” So why not expose them publicly? “If you were to talk to his students, they would have a very different interpretation of their experience,” Stabile said. “He’s still around and people are still in his community. I didn’t want to be vindictive and saying his name seems vindictive to me and I don’t feel a need to do that.” Stabile talked about how being gay has influenced his philosophy. “I definitely had some shame around being gay when I was growing up,” he said. “But I later realized that this shame is rooted in other people’s ideas of what is right or wrong. Still, sometimes that shame is provoked by second-guessing some of my actions or holding back, thinking what I’m doing is effeminate, for example, and that kind of judgment on myself is that shame coming through. I’m living my life happily as an out gay man. I live with my partner in Michigan, but that shame does creep in once in awhile.” Stabile doesn’t think his Facebook fans care at all about his sexuality, and admits one could read his book and not even know he was gay (the ideal is for love that transcends all categories, including sexuality) but does hope that his openness about being gay makes it easier for some of his gay readers to be more open and comfortable with their sexuality. Also, if there are other readers who have prejudices about LGBT people that they might reevaluate and open themselves to acceptance of others regardless of their sexuality. When asked why LGBT people seem drawn to New Age philosophies (especially during the AIDS crisis, when the late Louise Hay, aka the queen of the New Age, was very popular), Stabile traced it back to the depth of shame they’ve had to carry and wanting to move beyond that and “embrace our truth, share our truth with the world. The truth of personal development, self-help or whatever you want to call that world, be who you are, embrace who you are, then see how the world is transformed once you do, I can see why LGBT people would find the New Age attractive.” How would Stabile apply his philosophy to President Donald Trump? “I haven’t mastered the ‘Big Love’ approach with Trump. Since his election I’ve been more vocal about my politics, which I hadn’t been previously, on my Facebook page. I think he’s an incredibly disillusioned, disinvolved human being who’s doing profound harm to our country and the world.” Stabile is honest about his failures. He talks about writing the 2012 children’s feature film “The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure,” which was a disaster. “I wasn’t going to let it stop me from sharing my creativity,” he said. “It taught me that success is built on a lot of failures. I now define success as what kind of person I am in the world, meaning how kind and compassionate I am, which is rooted in the energy of love.” Ultimately what Stabile wants all his readers, including his LGBT followers, to realize is that they aren’t alone in their struggles, so to consider choosing love more often and see how it impacts the relationships they have with themselves and others. t

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This isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;T abouT cake.

IT’S ABOUT WHETHER A BUSINESS CAN SAY “WE DON’T SERVE YOUR KIND HERE.” In early December, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Masterpiece Cakeshop, a case that has the potential to upend the hard-fought principle that no one should ever be denied service from a business open to the public simply because of who they are. The case might seem relatively minor: a Colorado bakery refusing to sell a same-sex couple a cake for their wedding reception. But this is not about cake, and it’s about a lot more than marriage. A ruling that says the Constitution gives businesses the right to turn customers away based on religious beliefs or creativity would create gaping holes in our nation’s longstanding nondiscrimination protections. It would say there is a constitutional right to discriminate—which could be used not only against LGBT people but also against religious and racial minorities, unmarried couples, single mothers and many, many others.

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Help Reduce Isolation in Your Community Give back as a one-on-one Shanti volunteer for our newest program!

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Shanti’s LGBT Aging & Abilities Support Network(LAASN) Supporting LGBT Seniors and Adults with Disabilities

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Since 1974, Shanti has trained 20,000 Bay Area volunteers to offer emotional and practical support to some of our most vulnerable neighbors, including those with HIV/AIDS, women’s cancers, and other life-threatening diseases. We are now excited to announce that our services are being offered to LGBT aging adults and adults with disabilities who face isolation and need greater social support and connection.

Shanti LAASN peer support volunteers: 2009

1. Go through the internationally-recognized training on the Shanti Model of Peer Support TM 2. Make a commitment of 2-4 hours a week for a minimum of 6 months

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3. Get matched with one client, for whom they serve as a non-judgmental source of emotional support and reliable practical help 4. Have one of the most rewarding volunteer experiences of their lives!

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To learn more about how you can be a Shanti volunteer, please contact Volunteer Services Coordinator, Kayla Smyth at 415-674-4708 or email: ksmyth@shanti.org. If you think you or someone you know could benefit by being a Shanti client, or to learn more about the services, please contact Joanne Kipnis at 415-625-5214 or email: jkipnis@shanti.org

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The LGBT Aging & Abilities Support Network is made possible by funding from the City and County of San Francisco’s Department of Aging and Adults Services.

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Community News>>

November 30-December 6, 2017 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 17

Holiday tour will feature gay couple’s abode by Charlie Wagner

Remodeling project

“We rely on our family and neighbors a lot more now,” Nathan WuFalkenborg said, “and we see the home tour as an opportunity to give back.” Tour organizers will post five docents in their home, allowing them to tour the other houses and enjoy the holiday tea. The couple first met seven years ago at a party in Singapore, where Nathan Wu-Falkenborg was working for an international company. They were married in July 2013 in San Francisco while still living in Singapore. Gabin Wu-Falkenborg is a native of Singapore and speaks

many languages, with English his second language. His mother worked for a French company when he was growing up so he is fluent in French and his first name is French in origin. He works in quality compliance at Genentech. They moved to Alameda to be closer to family. Nathan WuFalkenborg’s parents and sister live in Alameda and both men are close to their families. “You can’t raise children alone,” Nathan Wu-Falkenborg said. “My parents live within walking distance and come over almost every day.”

For their remodel, Nathan WuFalkenborg described how they worked with an architectural designer who specialized in mid-century homes. Their house was built in the early 1960s and they believe it was once a “party house” as they found a disco ball hanging from the ceiling in the largest room. The house also had two built-in bars and numerous outdoor tiki torches connected to the gas line. He itemized how they changed the wall colors, flooring, light fixtures, wiring and pipes, made some small structural changes, and added solar panels. The kitchen is entirely new but the house still looks mid-century from end to end. And the disco ball is no more. Their house is in the South Shore section of Alameda, adjacent to one of five connected, man-made lagoons and fed by saltwater from San Francisco Bay. The lagoon system supports wildlife as diverse as egrets, cranes, herons, ducks, and geese as well as providing storm drainage and treatment ponds. Their back yard overlooking the water has the feeling of a peaceful resort. The couple both expressed how much they look forward to the day of the tour. “It’s nice to connect with our community with and without our kids,” Nathan Wu-Falkenborg said. “And the people we’ve met have been lovely.” AFS is one of the few social service

piece. There was a time when it was plentiful, but there is really little funding for prevention,” Westside CEO Mary Ann Jones, Ph.D., told the Bay Area Reporter in a recent interview. “HIV and AIDS services is getting much less attention than it has gotten.” The nonprofit’s board had voted to end both the case management and health home care programs on

September 1. But after the state Department of Health Care Services announced a significant rate increase to the Medi-Cal Waiver Program for the fiscal year that started July 1, Westside rescinded its decision to close the programs. According to the agency, its rates went up from $400 to $600 a month per client and the additional revenue will fund the programs and

eliminate the structured deficit carried by Westside over the past decade. “I don’t anticipate we will have that problem again,” said Jones, 56, who is straight and started at the agency in 2004 as its clinical director. “It is unfortunate organizations were put in a position where they would not be able to provide services.” The agency, with a total budget of

gay couple with two babies will open their just-remodeled midcentury home Saturday, December 9, for the 47th annual Alameda Holiday Home Tour. The tour includes four other architecturally interesting homes, decorated for the holidays, and is organized by the volunteer fundraising auxiliary for the Alameda Family Services agency. Besides the home tour, the event will have a boutique for gift and holiday decor shopping, a gourmet shop for baked goods, candies and specialty food items, and a holiday tea at Alameda’s First Presbyterian Church. Nathan and Gabin Wu-Falkenborg decided to offer their home on the tour less than a year after becoming parents of twin girls Lily and Rosi. Their involvement with AFS started when they moved to Alameda in late 2016 as they were planning their family. Their immediate neighbor turned out to be Alysse Castro, president of the 14-member AFS board of directors. Nathan Wu-Falkenborg, 41, described how he had talked to Castro and her husband soon after moving in and heard a tentative request to host the tour in “the next 20 years or so.” But the Wu-Falkenborgs are an exceptionally organized couple and after careful thought told Castro, “Let’s go for it this year.” Gabin Wu-Falkenborg, 34, laughingly attributed their organizational skills to their shared background in data analytics.

HIV clients

From page 1

meet state Medi-Cal eligibility requirements and are thus ineligible for services funded by the federal Ryan White Treatment Modernization Act within the San Francisco Department of Public Health. “The funding is a really difficult

Charlie Wagner

Gabin Wu-Falkenborg, left, holding Lily, and his husband, Nathan Wu-Falkenborg, holding Rosi, stand in the newly remodeled kitchen of their Alameda home, which will be featured on a holiday home tour next month.

providers in Alameda whose programs aim to improve the emotional, psychological, and physical health of children, youth, and families who live on the East Bay island city. Its main programs include Head Start/Early Head Start, school-linked services, behavioral health care services, family support services and Dreamcatcher homeless youth services. Forty percent of Dreamcatcher clients are LGBTQ, estimated tour publicity coordinator Winkie Campbell-Notar, who is a volunteer. “This fundraiser is especially important,” said Campbell-Notar, “because so much of our funding is based on reimbursement. With these unrestricted funds, we can start programs while we wait for grant funding and take care of immediate needs.” She estimated the home tour will raise about $45,000. Campbell-Notar talked about the many AFS goals, a feeling shared by her husband, Ernie Notar, who is also an AFS board member. “We cover funding gaps in local schools,” she said. “So many children will benefit from the mental health services AFS will provide with the funds we are raising.”t Tickets for the Alameda Holiday Home Tour are $35 in advance or $40 the day of the event. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit http://alamedaholidayhometour.com/.

$11 million and administrative offices housed in an old Victorian on Oak Street near Divisadero, was one of the first in the city to provide people living with HIV or AIDS a nurse and a social worker that visit them at home. “It provides better continuity of care,” said Craig Hutchinson, 53, a gay See page 26 >>

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Queen Anne Victorian Mansion 705 Georgia Street, Vallejo $925,000 This magnificent Queen Anne Victorian with Eastlake influence was built in 1891 and is commonly known as the “Commodore Potts Home”. For the last 40 years, current owner has preserved this amazing mansion, winning multiple awards from the Vallejo Architectural Heritage and Landmarks Commission. All architectural details are intact and irreplaceable in style and quality. Ornate exterior includes gingerbread shingles, arched lattice work, elaborate chimney, wrought iron fencing and multiple stained glass windows. Rooftop finials and paint restoration contribute to its awe inspiring curb appeal. Mature landscaping includes a private secret garden. The carved double front doors open into a spacious entry hall which flows into a spacious living room, cozy parlor and elegant formal dining room, all with ornately designed stained glass arched windows, elaborately carved woodwork, turnings and mouldings, plaster medallions, crystal chandeliers, 3 unique tiled coal fireplaces, inlaid ballroom style wood floors, mahogany pocket doors, vintage European wallpaper and 11’ ceilings. The elegant grand staircase has original Lincrusta Walton wall covering. Upstairs, 3 sumptuous bedrooms with private washbasins, ornate coal fireplace, Comm. Potts’ secret porthole, working antique porcelain pull chain toilet, claw foot bathtub, large bath area, servants’ quarters and magnificent views. The 2956 sq ft mansion has 4 bedrooms, 2 ½ baths, large unfinished attic, basement, garage and workshop. New roof was installed in 2005. Superior restoration!! Lot size is 65X90, 5850 sq ft. A few blocks to Historic Downtown, shopping, Saturday market, artist lofts, waterfront and Ferry to SF for easy commute. By appointment only Call (541) 331-1263 or email: tbmnomad@yahoo.com

Open House schedule:

Sunday December 3rd 1-4 Grand Victorian Homes Tour Dec 10th 4-7

Community News>>

November 30-December 6, 2017 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 19

Wiener tries again to extend sales for alcohol by Seth Hemmelgarn

T:7.75” Rick Gerharter

T:13”

ay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) announced this week that he’ll re-introduce legislation that would allow alcohol to be sold as late as 4 a.m. Wiener’s new bill, which he plans to introduce when the Legislature reconvenes in January, could help bars, nightclubs, and restaurants in San Francisco and five other cities. Flanked by local drag queens and bar owners Heklina and Honey Mahogany at the SF Eagle Tuesday, Wiener said, “Nightlife is incredibly important in California.” He said that in San Francisco, it’s a $6 billion industry that employs more than 60,000 people. Despite that value, businesses are held to a 1935 law that says sales have to stop at 2 a.m. Wiener and other backers said that that restriction hurts business. Wiener is calling the bill the Let Our Communities Adjust LateNight (LOCAL) Act. It would be a five-year pilot program that Wiener and others say could help boost the economies of San Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Long Beach, and West Hollywood, whose mayors have expressed interest in the proposal. Liquor stores would be excluded from the bill. An earlier version, by Wiener and Senator Joel Anderson (R-Alpine), passed the Senate but stalled in the Assembly. (Wiener’s office said it had been “stripped of all its provisions and rendered meaningless.”) The version that Wiener plans to introduce in January carries the same provisions of what he’d previously proposed, except only the six cities where mayors have expressed support would be eligible. Wiener said Tuesday that the bill wouldn’t require alcohol to be sold after 2, and cities could choose to extend hours in different ways, such as just allowing later sales in a couple of neighborhoods or only on certain nights. The bill would allow for “pure local control,” he said. “Every city will decide what makes sense for it.” Mark Leno, the gay former state lawmaker who’s running in 2019 to be San Francisco’s next mayor, had introduced bills similar to Wiener’s when he was in the Legislature. “I am confident this bill will be the vehicle, because this is an idea whose time has come,” said Leno of Wiener’s bill Tuesday. Leno contradicted concerns that extending hours for alcohol sales would lead to more drunk driving. He said problems actually occur “when everyone is exiting the bar at about the same time” and trying to get “those last few chugs down” before 2 a.m. Heklina, who co-owns the Oasis nightclub, said she’s been working for more than 20 years to boost San Francisco’s nightlife, and she called the current law “an embarrassment” and “draconian.” Like others Tuesday, Heklina pointed to tourists being surprised when they find they can’t buy liquor after 2. “San Francisco is a world class city, and I think we need to adopt new thinking around this law,” said Heklina, whose given name is Stefan Grygelko. Honey Mahogany, who co-owns the Stud bar and is also known as Alpha Mulugeta, said Wiener’s bill would be “a really amazing way to keep small businesses open.” Before extending hours, cities would have to go through a public process that would include developing public safety and transportation plans. The state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control would also have to approve cities’ plans. Wiener’s bill is co-authored by

Local drag queen Heklina speaks in favor of state Senator Scott Wiener’s, left, proposed legislation that would allow six California cities, including San Francisco, to adjust their bar closing times. Other supporters include Honey Mahogany, right.

Democratic Assemblymen Miguel Santiago and Reggie Jones-Sawyer (D-Los Angeles), and Assemblyman Jay Obernolte (R-Hesperia). In Wiener’s news release, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee called the bill “a thoughtful measure that will allow a handful of cities to extend beverage service hours, providing local economies the chance to expand tourism offerings, increase tax revenue, and foster an active, vibrant nightlife.”t

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GENVOYA is a prescription medicine used to treat HIV-1 in people 12 years of age and older who weigh at least 77 pounds and have never taken HIV-1 medicines before. GENVOYA can also be used to replace current HIV-1 medicines for some people who have an undetectable viral load (less than 50 copies/mL of virus in their blood), and have been on the same HIV-1 medicines for at least 6 months and have never failed HIV-1 treatment, and whose healthcare provider determines that they meet certain other requirements. GENVOYA does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS. Ask your healthcare provider about how to prevent passing HIV-1 to others.

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Community News>>

November 30-December 6, 2017 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 23

Oakland LGBTQ center to hold winter holiday benefit compiled by Cynthia Laird

he Oakland LGBTQ Community Center will hold its inaugural holiday fundraiser Monday, December 11, from 6 to 10 p.m. at the Lake Merritt Hotel Terrace Room, 1800 Madison Street (off of Lakeshore Avenue). Since the center opened in September, it has offered numerous workshops, get-togethers, and other activities. Last week, it held a Transgender Day of Remembrance observance and Thanksgiving dinner for those who had no place to go or wanted to be with friends. Co-founder and Executive Director Joe Hawkins wrote in an email to the Bay Area Reporter that, in the just over two months that the center has been open, over 1,500 people have attended various activities or stopped by

either to get connected to community resources or to check out the facility. “It has been quite overwhelming,” Hawkins wrote, adding that over 500 people have requested to volunteer. In addition to weekly activities like open mic night (in partnership with Spectrum Queer Media), parents and kids playtimes, and Friday game nights, the center has held forums on racism and spirituality, Hawkins said. But he explained that the center is desperately in need of financial support. The center, he said, is not yet in the main grant cycle to apply for most funding opportunities. As the Bay Area Reporter noted in an August story on the center’s opening, rent at the facility is $5,000 per month. The upcoming benefit has a “Winter Fairyland” theme and will

SFAF to hold World AIDS Day vigil

Jane Philomen Cleland

Darrell Ferrell, right, waits to be served Thanksgiving dinner from Bishop Yvette Flunder, left, and Delanie McNair and Devyn McNair at the Oakland LGBTQ Community Center November 23.

be a drag show and holiday party celebrating the music of the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. Tickets are $55 for general admission, which includes the show and hors d’oeuvres, or $80 for VIP, which includes floor seating and two drink tickets. To

purchase tickets, visit https:// www.oaklandlgbtqcenter.org/ winter-fairyland. The LGBTQ center is located at 3207 Lakeshore Avenue (enter on Rand Avenue). For more information, visit https://www.oaklandlgbtqcenter.org/.

The San Francisco AIDS Foundation will take its message of remembrance and community advocacy to the streets during a vigil to honor those lost to AIDS Friday, December 1, which is World AIDS Day. The vigil begins at 5 p.m. outside SFAF’s headquarters at 1035 Market Street. It will proceed toward City Hall along the sidewalk and through United Nations Plaza. Participants, including SFAF staff, clients, and volunteers, will have battery-powered candles and carry signs honoring loved ones. The event is open to the public. For more information and to RSVP, visit https://www.facebook.com/ events/504296706615127/.

St. James Infirmary seeks coats

St. James Infirmary, the country’s only occupational health and safety See page 25 >>

South Bay orgs get HIV grants for Getting to Zero by Seth Hemmelgarn

our South Bay organizations have received grants as part of Santa Clara County’s Getting to Zero campaign to fight HIV and AIDS. In his November LGBTQ newsletter, in which he announced the grants, gay Santa Clara County Supervisor Ken Yeager said the county-funded grants are part of reaching “the ambitious goal that I launched in 2016: zero deaths from HIV/AIDS, zero new infections, and zero stigma.” The county-funded grants are from the San Jose-based Health Trust, a nonprofit that provides support to people living with HIV/AIDS, homeless people, children, and others. One of the grants is going to Caminar, which got $19,550 in oneyear funding for its San Jose-based LGBTQ Youth Space GTZ peer advocacy program. Caminar spokeswoman Maryanne McGlothlin said the funds would be used to help LGBTQ youth develop as leaders and hold an educational series addressing topics such

as HIV prevention, testing, and stigma through videos and other materials that “they think will help reach their peer group effectively.” The plan is to launch the series in January. Rather than asking each youth leader to reach a specific number of people, McGlothlin said the aim is to educate “a wide number of people” throughout Santa Clara County on school campuses and other locations, as well as online. She pointed out that HIV/AIDS isn’t in the news as much as it used to be, and “there’s still a lot of misinformation ... so we’re trying to make sure youth are getting good information.” Cassie Blume, Caminar’s director of LGBTQ programs, said staff have been “pleasantly surprised” to see 18 youth sign up to be peer educators, when they had been expecting eight to 12. “We see really varied levels of understanding and awareness” among youth, said Blume. “... There’s definitely an interest to know more and to help each other within their

Courtesy Ken Yeager’s office

Those involved in Santa Clara County’s Getting to Zero effort include, from left, Candelario Franco and Paul Hepfer (Health Trust), Jenna Peterson (Planned Parenthood), Emrica Agossa (Roots Community Health Center) Supervisor Ken Yeager, Cassie Blume (Caminar/FCS/LGBTQ Youth Space), Matthew Capriotti (San Jose State University), Dr. Sarah Lewis (Santa Clara County Dept. of Public Health), and Charlie Bullock (Health Trust).

communities to understand better what kind of resources and information is out there.” McGlothlin said, “We’re really honored to be part of this initiative. It’s so important. We know the youth will do an amazing job.”

The San Jose State University Research Foundation is getting funded for its SJSU to Zero project, which aims to boost prevention and PrEP and PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis) use among the campus community, as well as decrease stigma,

according to Yeager’s newsletter. San Jose’s Planned Parenthood Mar Monte will use its grant to increase access to PrEP and PEP in the largely rural communities of Gilroy, Morgan Hill, and San Martin. There will be a special focus for teens and young adults, and the plan also includes increasing general sexual health testing and screening programs in the small cities. Also in San Jose, the Roots Community Health Center’s South Bay clinic got a grant for work that’s similar to Planned Parenthood’s, but rather than being geographically focused, it will be designed to reach the AfricanAmerican and African ancestry communities, Yeager said in his newsletter. “Focusing grant funds across these unique communities will serve to accelerate our progress,” said Yeager. “I remain confident that together we will reach our goals.” The Getting to Zero initiative started in 2014 in San Francisco and, besides the work being done in the South Bay, work is also being done at the state level to reach the campaign’s goals.t

NEA rejects grant for SF Mime Troupe by Tony Taylor

he San Francisco Mime Troupe may be down, but it won’t go out in silence. The avant-garde troupe issued a news release this week announcing that the National Endowment for the Arts rejected its $25,000 grant proposal, and the organization is recalculating its budget to move forward with its 2018 performance season. “In spite of our now eliminated NEA funds and the growing trend to devalue arts funding, we will continue to speak out loudly against the tyranny of bullies on and offstage,” read a statement on the main page of SFMT’s website. “We are up for whatever hurdles lie ahead.” The Mime Troupe regularly performs for free in Bay Area parks. The grant rejection may have been due in part to lesbian content in “Walls,” the troupe’s summer musical about immigration. “Trump NEA Grants $20K for Lesbian Illegal Alien Musical,” screamed a headline on the right-wing Breitbart News site in June. The troupe stated in its news release that Breitbart News was bolstering the case made by President Donald Trump for defunding the NEA entirely. Michael Sullivan, a collective member and resident playwright at SFMT, said that as one of the few theater

Mike@mikemelnyk.com

San Francisco Mime Troupe members Velina Brown, left, and Marilet Martinez performed “Walls.”

groups that doesn’t take corporate underwriting, the troupe is in a “tight squeeze.” SFMT is totally dependent on contributions from foundations, individual donors, and government grants, like the NEA. “Our mission is being a voice of the working class,” wrote Sullivan in an email to the Bay Area Reporter. “Dependency on corporate money can have a chilling effect on the consideration of any play that critiques the corporation, or capitalism in general.” Its summer 2018 show, ironically about the rise and fall (and rise again) of socialism in the United States, is now in jeopardy. Sullivan said there are certain costs

that cannot be cut. “Our performers, designers, and full-time staff are all paid, and our material costs are already bare-bones,” he wrote. “If we cannot make up the $20,000 we may have to cut back on free performances, which means we may not reach as many communities as we would like.” Since 2012, the Tony Award-winning SFMT has received up to $20,000 from the NEA for each production, but the political satirists who perform free shows in public parks may come up short for the 2018 season. “We do not know if this sudden evaporation of funds is a direct result of the relentless attacks on our friends at the NEA,” Sullivan said in a statement. “We hope this will be a temporary circumstance. If the only people in Congress who talk about free activist theater are those who oppose it, then theater of, by, and for the people cannot survive.” The experimental troupe got its start in 1959 with silent, avant-garde, indoor performances by director Ronald Davis, a trained dancer and mime. By the mid-1960s, the show moved to outdoor parks, combating capitalism and racism by mocking the absurdities of contemporary life during the formative years of America’s civil rights movement. Rarely, if ever, charging admission,

the SFMT has relied on post-performance donations from audience members, “pass the hat” style. “The grant from the NEA would have been used for general costs, like payroll,” Sullivan said. “Many people think because our shows are free, our writers, actors, and musicians are creating and performing for free.” According to Sullivan, who’s married to troupe member Velina Brown, SFMT employs seasonal, full-time jobs, and as a workers’ rights organization it is committed to paying workers for their labor. SFMT relies on volunteers and friends of the company through the non-production, off-season months. Dwindling grant support since the market crash of 2008 shrunk the mime troupe’s cast size from six to four actors and from four to three musicians. “Every little bit helps,” added Sullivan. “The NEA grant would have paid for two of our summer performers and now we have to fill that hole.” The troupe’s annual budget is now less than half a million dollars “on paper,” said Sullivan. The budget does not take into account the thousands of off-season hours put in by collective members and volunteers needed to fulfill their mission. In the 1970s and 1980s, SFMT’s budget was double its current

numbers and everyone was on salary, touring the U.S. twice a year and Europe every other year. “As governmental arts budgets have shrunk, so has ours,” said Sullivan. “Donations have remained strong, and if weren’t for [that] we would have folded long ago.” An NEA spokeswoman told the B.A.R. that the agency has not yet made an official announcement for its first round of 2018 grants. “The NEA would never comment on an application that is not recommended for funding,” Victoria Hutter, assistant director of NEA public affairs told the B.A.R. Wednesday. According to Hutter, each year, thousands of nonprofit organizations apply for grants. Each application is reviewed and recommended for award by a panel of citizen experts and laypersons from across the United States. Their recommendations are forwarded to the National Council on the Arts, then to the chairman for a final decision. “Prior NEA support is not a factor for consideration,” Hutter added.t To donate to the SF Mime Troupe’s educational and performance funding, visit http://www.sfmt.org/ donate/appeal.php.

<< Commentary

24 • BAY AREA REPORTER • November 30-December 6, 2017

From Tahrir Square to the Tenderloin by Christina A. DiEdoardo

ix years later, there’s still a light in Ahmed Salah’s eyes when he talks about the preparations for the January 25, 2011 uprising against the regime of Hosni Mubarak, then the American-backed dictator of Egypt, to a small group meeting at Pharaoh’s Mediterranean Sandwiches in the Tenderloin. “We told [the Egyptian people] ‘We are going out on January 25,’” said Salah, who has spent decades fighting for democracy in Egypt. “Is there anything that would make you join us?” The response he got will be familiar to anyone who’s done organizational work. “They said, ‘If I see that it’s a real thing, I’ll join,’” Salah said, with the hint of a smile. To make the revolution a real thing, Salah and his team eschewed trying to organize mass gatherings and focused instead on taking back Egypt alley by alley from the Mubarak government. “We started in the narrowest streets, because all the activists need to do there are a few things,” he said. “How to distribute flyers without being caught, how to draw graffiti without being caught, and how to spread rumors. “The idea is to make every house

Christina A. DiEdoardo

Ahmed Salah, pro-democracy activist and author of “You Are Under Arrest for Masterminding the Egyptian Revolution,” spoke recently in San Francisco, where he now lives in exile.

talk about us,” Salah added. Contrary to the story spun by the American media at the time, Salah credits that type of ground-game activism – rather than the internet – for what happened that day. As planned, those who occupied those alleys and streets didn’t stay there,

but fed into the main thoroughfares of Cairo until they seized control of Tahrir Square, which is about 11.2 acres in size (or more than five times the size of San Francisco’s Union Square) after a two-hour battle with regime forces. Within a few weeks, Mubarak was out of office and under arrest. Salah, who was both tortured by regime forces and shot by one of their snipers, traveled to Washington, D.C. to meet with then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and others on how the U.S. could help support a democratic Egypt. Unfortunately, in April 2011, according to Salah, the United States decided it wanted to “reconcile” the Islamists of the Muslim Brotherhood with the Egyptian military, leaving Salah’s democracy activists out in the cold. Despite an outstanding warrant for his execution issued by the military, Salah managed to leave the country and is now in exile in San Francisco. His memoir, “You Are Under Arrest for Masterminding the Egyptian Revolution,” is available through Spark Press and http://www.amazon. com. Salah also hopes to consult with local activists in the Bay Area to help improve the effectiveness of their organization and tactics.

No eviction without representation

At 11 a.m. Saturday, December 2, at the San Francisco Tenant’s Union at 558 Capp Street in San Francisco, the SF Right to Counsel Committee will host a signature kickoff for its “No Eviction Without Representation Act” initiative. The measure, which according to the group needs 9,485 signatures from San Francisco voters to make it to the ballot for the June 2018 election, would obligate the city to provide attorneys at public expense for tenants served with eviction notices.

Justice for Mario Woods

At 3 p.m. Saturday December 2, at Martin Luther King Jr. Park on Third Street between Armstrong and Carroll avenues, Wealth and Disparities in the Black Community–Justice 4 Mario Woods will conduct a march and vigil to honor Woods, who was killed by San Francisco police in the Bayview exactly two years ago. San Francisco Police Department officers shot Woods 20 times after he reportedly refused to drop a knife that was later tied to a stabbing, which took place earlier that day. While the case led to changes in the SFPD’s use-of-force policy, San Francisco District Attorney George

Gascón has yet to decide whether to bring criminal charges against the officers who caused Woods’ death.

Fighting back fascists in the Bay Area

At 7 p.m. Friday, December 8, at 747 Polk Street, Communities United Against Racism and Fascism will hold an organizational meeting to set up a “democratic, direct-action united front to counter the ultra-right.”

Women’s March Oakland returns

The organizers of Women’s March Oakland are teaming up with March for our Future to put together Oakland’s second Women’s March on Jan. 20, 2018. The inaugural march in January drew over 100,000 people and was such a massive success that the Oakland Police Department was forced to clear additional streets for marchers to accommodate the unexpectedly large crowds. Since March for Our Future focuses on youth activism and mobilization, organizers of the Women’s March are trying to build on that success while strengthening the intergenerational nature of the event. For more information, visit https:// womensmarchoakland.org/. t Got a tip? Email me at christina@ diedoardolaw.com.

Gay Native boxer learned the ropes by Roger Brigham

eing a jock is just one aspect of identity intersection in the lives of most athletes and coaches. I, for example, am a gay white cisgender short male wrestling coach. Having a bunch of labels to carry around

can make one vulnerable to a tendency to see one’s self as a victim of multiple prejudices. Happily, it can also be a source of survivor instincts and mentality – multiple backgrounds to provide balance, perspective, and strength. Count San Franciscan James

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Eagle in that latter, happier group. Eagle is a gay Native American cisgender male, a recovering alcoholic, an orphan, and a boxing coach. It is an intersectionality that enables him to test his strength almost every hour – and pass his strength and wisdom on to others every day. “Being Native, gay, and a boxer is something that I’m proud of as each one of those things have helped me become a better person,” Eagle, 51, said. “Anyone could certainly exist as simply one of those things and be fine, but I like to think that I got to experience each one of them separately at different points in my life.” Eagle said he tried martial arts in his early 20s, but was struggling with alcoholism and also wanted more contact than the sport offered. “I didn’t get too far with it,” he said. “I recall in martial arts training not liking the lack of contact, which made it seem choreographed. I respected that art but it wasn’t for me at that time.” He also found that he gained a lot of weight when he went into recovery. “I made a determination to lose the weight and started eating better, working out, and running more,” Eagle said. “I was successful and lost 40 pounds on my own. But I wanted more strength and training and decided to take up boxing because I heard it was a great workout and I thought it looked easy. I was really wrong on the latter part – but was happy with the former.” He found a coach at the old Gold’s Gym in the Castro (now Fitness SF) and told him he wanted to spar. “Still thinking it was easy, I went into the ring and got my ass handed to me by a more experienced boxer,” Eagle said. “But that taught me two really important things: I needed to learn defense, not just how to punch; and I could really take a punch and keep going. He didn’t knock me down or knock me out. Yes, I experienced fear in that first sparring session, but it taught me to keep going anyway. Most boxers

Boxing coach James Eagle

are comfortable in the ring and that develops later on with experience.” With time, the power of the sport captured him, elevating it beyond mere exercise. “The more I learned the more I liked it,” Eagle said. “I really started to see the art in boxing. Movement, defense, and punching. The way the body weight is precisely thrown into a punch. How effortless defense can be but at the same time can be psychologically crushing to an opponent. My movement is never what you would classify as a dancer/boxer, but more of a brawler who can dance around the ring when it’s necessary. My years of running five miles or more twice a week really gave me an advantage regarding endurance in the ring. I’d see younger guys wither in the third round and I’d be breathing and moving easily.” Adversity and opportunity came in 2010 when he lost his office job. “My coach responded by asking if I wanted to work for him in his gym,” Eagle said. “I thought he was joking. Several weeks later, he asked me again – and I realized he was serious. I said, ‘yes.’ Started there with group classes, and then private clients came around asking if I would train them. In the meantime I also managed to get a USA Boxing Coach license.”

A primary role of a coach is to break a sport down into its fundamental elements, then help his athletes master those building blocks so they can reassemble them and make the sport their own thing of excellence and beauty. “When I train clients and athletes, I emphasize technique,” Eagle said, who trains boxers at Flex Circuit Gym, Hit Fit SF, and through www. jimeagleboxing.com. “I explain the physics of punching. How to throw their body weight into each punch and stay centered,” he said. “For athletes who have the technique down, I slowly add in movement and defense. For those athletes who want to move onto sparring, we start with stationary drills and then proceed to moving around the ring with drills that are tightly controlled. Safety is very important. Having the correct equipment and technique is essential. Boxers also start to develop instincts on their own by learning to study their opponents’ movements, eye and hand coordination, breathing correctly, how to conserve energy and knowing exactly where each body part is and will be. All this develops confidence in them.” Eagle said he began to embrace his sexual orientation his freshman year in college when he came out three days after turning 18. “In the winter session I decided to take a tropical marine biology course that sent us down to Jamaica for two weeks,” he recalled. “In the classroom before we all flew down, we had to pair up with another student to do research. My research partner became my first boyfriend. We both went to college on Long Island but he lived in Queens. Coming out in New York City was fantastic. He was a great first boyfriend and he taught me a lot. We ended up being together for three years. I’ve been with my current partner for 27 years now and that first boyfriend is still a good friend of mine.” (His partner, Joseph, asked that his last name not be used.) It was a difficult time to come out. “Coming out in the 1980s was See page 25 >>

t <<

Community News>>

Ghost Ship

From page 1

with as a community: the impact of the housing affordability crisis, the importance of maintaining a vibrant arts community in Oakland, and the need to ensure that our housing and public spaces are safe and habitable.” Among other steps, the city has investigated 32 properties “where unpermitted residential occupancies were suspected,” the report says. Officials are working with owners of 20 properties to bring them into compliance while 11 have been closed or resolved. The city has worked to assist people who’ve been evicted from their buildings as a result of the closures, according to the report. Shortly after the fire, news emerged that the fire department indicated that it had not inspected the building, at 1305 31st Avenue, in several years. Since then, Chief Darin White has taken over the agency, replacing Teresa Deloach Reed. The city also plans to hire 12 new fire code inspectors by the end of 2018. Work’s being done in other areas, as well. The police department now has a policy requiring officers to provide detailed reports of unpermitted parties or events that they witness to

Along with changes in the city’s inspections system, the fire has also resulted in criminal charges. In June, Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley charged Derick Ion Almena, 47, and Max Cardin Harris, 27, with 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter. According to court records, Almena was the leaseholder on the warehouse and Harris acted as the “creative director,” collected rent from tenants, and performed other duties. Both men lived in the building. Despite the fact that Almena had

Yosemite

News Briefs

From page 23

clinic run by and for sex workers, is seeking new and gently used coats for its holiday drive. Organizers said that coats will go to community members who are low-income and/ or homeless. All sizes (XS to 4X) are desired. Coats can be brought to St. James’ office at 234 Eddy Street in San Francisco. For more information on how to donate coats or sponsoring coats, visit www.stjamesinfirmary.org.

Criminal charges

lived for years with his family at the warehouse, which reportedly didn’t have fire sprinklers and was visited numerous times by police, building inspectors, and others, attorney J. Tony Serra has said that Almena didn’t know the building was unsafe. Families of some of the victims filed civil lawsuits in connection with the incident earlier this year. Almena wouldn’t have allowed his family to live in the building if he’d known it was a “fire trap,” Serra said. “He didn’t ever envisage this.” Almena and his family weren’t at the warehouse the night of the fire. Micah Allison, Almena’s wife, said in June, “We all have been devastated by the loss of life December 2. We would never have lived in a place we thought was unsafe.” Teresa Drenick, a spokeswoman for O’Malley, said in June that Almena and Harris had “deceived” police and other officials, allowing people to live at the site and holding unpermitted events there. They blocked one exit, leaving only one way to get out of the building, which had “no fire suppression or lighted pathways,” she said. Additionally, O’Malley said, they “very purposefully” crammed the site with “highly flammable” materials. The building reportedly was filled with pianos, rugs, artwork, and other objects.

From page 11

track it releases water and ash in a screeching gasp. Prone to bark at loud noises, Enzo mostly ignored the ear-splitting sound. (Tickets cost $24 per adult and $12 per child, while dogs ride free. For the schedule of departures, which changes throughout the year, call (559) 683-7273 or check online at http://www.ymsprr.com.) As for lodging, the nearby Tenaya Lodge was our “base camp” for the weekend as it welcomes canine guests. The hotel, which was unharmed by the Railroad Fire, is about a five-minute drive from Yosemite’s South Entrance. The staff of the 302-room hotel makes staying there with a dog an enjoyable experience. Guests can dine with their pets on an outdoor patio, which features a fire pit and has heat lamps for colder months, or order takeout to bring back to their room from one of the resort’s three restaurants at the coffee shop

the agency’s Special Events Unit so that information can be shared with other city departments. Earlier this year, officials revealed documents related to the fire that show police and others were familiar with what the warehouse was being used for long before the fatal fire. All of the city’s inspection data is being converted to a database system already in use by the Planning and Inspection Department. “The expanded database will allow departments to more efficiently and effectively share information,” the report says. The new system is expected to cost $500,000. The process is expected to be completed by the end of December and launch in the first quarter of 2018.

November 30-December 6, 2017 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 25

Jock Talk

From page 24

interesting,” Eagle said. “Gay subject matter was just starting to be approached on TV and movies in a positive way. Coming out during the AIDS epidemic was tough but it was all we knew at that time, so it seemed like something that just had to be dealt with regarding sex and dating. For the slightly older gay guys that I met at that time, it was different. They were losing all their friends and family. As a community we all felt that loss.” Eagle said he was born in South Dakota, lived in Rhode Island until he was 17, then lived in New York and Los Angeles before moving to San Francisco 30 years ago.

James LaCroce, Ph.D.

Deer walked in fall foliage on the trail near Yosemite Falls.

adjacent to the hostess stand. The lodge’s Deluxe Pampered Pet Package includes one night in a premium or cottage room, a pet fee for up to two dogs (normally $100), a dog toy and treats, and bowls and a dog bed for use during the stay. Rates per night vary from $295 in late fall and winter to $515 in the

summer. (The cottages are not available during the winter.) The package also includes two hours of pet sitting so dog owners can slip away to enjoy a meal or pamper themselves at the onsite Ascent Spa. A less expensive option is the hotel’s Fido Friendly Pet Package, with rates per night ranging from

Youth Radio open house

Zoolights returns in Oakland

Youth Radio will hold an open house Friday, December 1, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at its headquarters located at 1701 Broadway in downtown Oakland. Officials said that the station will open its doors to the community and people can stop by and learn about Youth Radio and take a tour. The event will also celebrate the work produced by Youth Radio’s young storytellers, media-makers, and creatives. The open house is free. To RSVP, visit http://bit.ly/2zbRnZv. “I’ve always known growing up that I was Native American and that I was born on a reservation,” he said. “I didn’t actually reconnect to the Native community until around 2000. Being in recovery had a lot to do with that. I had to hire a tribal attorney to open the adoption records for my twin brother and myself. We were adopted together. Reconnecting with family members was exciting and when I finally flew back to South Dakota to meet them, it was surreal. It feels like we all just picked up where we left off even though many years in between the contact was lost. “Sometimes I get asked why I carry around my tribal ID in my wallet,” Eagle said. “I tell people because I earned it and I want to

The Oakland Zoo’s popular Zoolights returns Friday, December 1, and runs through January 1. This year people can ride in the zoo’s festively-lit gondolas and see the Bay Area like never before. Officials have also added laser light shows and more to the thousands of holiday lights and decorated structures. There’s a candy cane lanethemed “adventure landing” with rides for kids, the Oakland Express train, and much more. Santa will be

remember that I was born into the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate of the Dakota people and Sioux Nation. I don’t regret it, but being adopted did take away all of my cultural identity. Relearning it is difficult but it gives me a slightly different perspective from everyone else. Not quite what a reservation-born Native would perceive and certainly not what a European descendant would perceive.” Eagle said he has worked to reestablish his cultural connection with other Native Americans through volunteer work. “I do that through a group called BAAITS: Bay Area American Indian Two-Spirits,” he said. “I sit on their board. This is a group that offers urban LGBTQ Native people in

O’Malley said that there was a “nearly impossible labyrinth of the defendants’ making to get out of that building.” The Alameda County Coroner’s Bureau has determined that all 36 people who were killed in the fire died from smoke inhalation. Although electrical wiring in the building has reportedly been suspected as what started the blaze, Drenick has said, “The evidence was largely consumed in the fire itself. The cause of the fire will remain undetermined.” Almena and Harris, who have pleaded not guilty, are set to have a preliminary hearing Monday, December 4, when a judge will decide whether there’s enough evidence to hold them for trial. Both men, who face 39 years in prison if convicted of the charges, are being held in Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, California on $750,000 bail. Gehno Aviance, a gay man who often works as a DJ and knew many of the people who died in the fire, said in a November Facebook exchange with the Bay Area Reporter, “Those of us that were close to the victims, including spouses and significant others, have had a very challenging year. Coming to terms with this tragedy and how it relates to us as a community and individually has

brought out a lot of emotions in a lot of people that I am close to, including myself. I also feel that many of us have made sure to express our love for each other and to be kinder to each other.” Additionally, many have “doubled down” on their work, said Aviance. For example, he said, “Roche and Blake Anderson continue the event that they were producing with [fire victim] Chelsea Faith a.k.a Cherushii at Underground SF called ‘Run The Length of Your Wildness’ on Monday nights. It’s an intimate gathering of DJs, artist and electronic music enthusiasts. Sometimes I can still feel her energy at the venue.” He also said that Vital Arts (http://cast-sf.org/st r ateg ies/ vital-arts/) and other groups have been working to honor victims of the fire “by ensuring access to affordable, safe housing, work, and performance spaces for Bay Area artists.” Several nightclubs in San Francisco have been asked to have a moment of silence at 11:24 p.m. Saturday in memory of the Ghost Ship victims. For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/ events/917830935031583/. To view the city administrator’s report, go to https://goo.gl/3tzGvF. t

$259 to $479 based on the season, as it only includes the room and pet fee. You can now book a massage for your pet, as the hotel just launched a dog massage service that costs $70 for an hour session. Unsure at first of what to make of the masseuse when she first arrived, Enzo eventually settled down and enjoyed being pampered on the morning of our departure. Outdoors, guests and their leashed dogs are welcome to explore the resort’s Summerdale area and its hiking paths that lead to the Big Creek that flows around the property. “We love dogs at Tenaya Lodge,” said Brooke Smith, the hotel’s marketing coordinator. In 2019 the hotel plans to open dog-friendly “glamping” luxury cabins it is building on 30 acres of adjacent forestland. There will also be a new dog play area for its canine guests. Visiting the Yosemite area with your dog is manageable any time of year, but more enjoyable in the fall, winter, and spring months when you and your pet don’t have to deal with the hordes of summer tourists.

The smaller crowds make it easier for your dog and yourself to enjoy what Muir long ago described as “a heaving, swelling sea of green as regular and continuous as that produced by the heaths of Scotland.” To learn more about Tenaya Lodge and to book a stay, visit https://www.tenayalodge.com/. Another option for travelers with dogs is to rent one of the dog-friendly vacation homes at The Redwoods In Yosemite, a private development inside the park in Wawona. The accommodations range from small cabins to larger houses with rates varying depending on the size of the rental and time of year. To learn more, visit https://www.redwoodsinyosemite.com/pet-friendly/. For updated information about where dogs are allowed in Yosemite National Park, visit the Park Service’s pet page at https://www.nps. gov/yose/planyourvisit/pets.htm. Another good site for information about traveling with your dog in the Yosemite region is https:// dogtrekker.com/. t

appearing on select dates. Entrance fees are $10 for adults and $9 for children and seniors. Parking is free. Zoolights is closed December 24-25. For more information, visit www.oaklandzoo.org or call (510) 632-9525.

Steuart streets in downtown San Francisco. The event is a benefit for Larkin Street Youth Services, which works to end youth homelessness. Organizers said that they would have snacks and beer, with wine or cocktails available for purchase. The event is for those age 21 and older. Tickets are $35-$55. To register, visit http://bit.ly/2x5zYAC. t

Ice skating party to benefit Larkin Street

Friends of Larkin Street will hold its eighth annual holiday ice skating party Wednesday, December 6, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the ice rink at Justin Herman Plaza at Market and

the Bay Area a way of keeping connection to their culture by offering drumming, crafting, and dancing classes. BAAITS also originated this country’s first Two-Spirit Powwow.” Now going into its seventh year, the next one will be held February 3 at Fort Mason in San Francisco. As is the case with many LGBT athletes, Eagle said he has connected with a chosen family through boxing. “I am not a team player in the traditional sense,” he said. “This was always reiterated to me during my office work days on annual reviews. There have been very specific moments in my life when this was a disadvantage. I don’t do well in team sports. However, there are different types of teams, even in one-on-one

sports such as boxing. Creating those relationships are favorite moments of mine. I got to experience what team players experienced even if it’s only a few words with another boxer when comparing routines or when you touch gloves before sparring, or when you see an athlete that you trained throw their first good left hook.” t For information on BAAITS and next year’s Two-Spirit Powwow, visit http://www.baaits.org.

<< Community News

26 • BAY AREA REPORTER • November 30-December 6, 2017

Musical

From page 1

time’s a charm, let’s see what happens in year three. We had the same strength in ticket sales and extended it from five weeks to seven weeks. It kept surprising us.”

Repeat customers, new patrons

In talking to ticketholders, the theater learned many were repeat buyers. “Avenue Q” had turned into its holiday tradition, similar to other seasonal offerings like the “Nutcracker” ballet or the play “A Christmas Carol.” “I am a fan of theater in general, but this is one of my favorite shows. I love that it’s got such good comedy writing and songs in it,” said Livermore resident Lea Blevins, who bought tickets to see “Avenue Q” with friends in January for a fourth time at New Conservatory. “Also, it’s got a lot of heart to it as well. I almost cry from laughing and cry from being touched at the same time.” Blevins, who is straight, has seen one other production at New Conservatory over the years. The last two years she has brought along friends who had never seen “Avenue Q” with her to the show. “It is kind of funny this has become a holiday show because the show itself doesn’t have any holiday themes in it, except one of the characters is named Christmas Eve, if that counts,” said Blevins. For returning cast member Brendon North, a gay man who lives in San Francisco and plays several roles in the show, its appeal for many audience members is the fact that it’s counterprogramming from the other routine holiday productions people have seen countless times. “I think people love it because it is a breath of fresh air,” said North, whose day job is handling operations for a

HIV diagnosis

From page 10

people living with HIV do not know their status. In San Francisco, the Department of Public Health estimates that 7 percent have not been diagnosed. More than 40 percent of new infections are attributable to people who are unaware that they have HIV, according to the CDC. The new Vital Signs report says that half of the nearly 40,000 Americans diagnosed with HIV in 2015 had been living with the virus for at least three years, a quarter had been infected for

Political Notebook

From page 7

San Franciscan, as Katie was also born in the city but grew up in Berkeley. As Sarah Thompson-Peer notes on her campaign site, she “is trying to be an informed parent” as the couple prepares for the 20182019 school enrollment process as they will send their son off to kindergarten in the fall. Raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico, she attended the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and then taught elementary school in the Baltimore City Public School System through the Teach for America program. She then earned her law degree from the Northeastern

HIV clients

From page 17

man who has been Westside’s director of HIV services since January 2016. “We see clients more often than their primary care physician. We advocate for their social work needs and medical care needs as well.” It currently works with 175 clients with HIV or AIDS. For those with less acute needs, Westside had planned to transition them to the Shanti Project

Lois Tema

Kate (Audrey Baker) is one lovable monster living on Avenue Q with other furry characters.

Ticket sales from “Avenue Q” is expected to generate about 39 percent of New Conservatory’s ticket income goal for this season. According to its 2016 tax filings, the theater, with a total budget of more than $1 million, reported box office revenue of $420,092 in 2015. The success of the “Avenue Q” productions in years past have helped to fund the more LGBTspecific plays New Conservatory mounts each season that may not attract as strong of an audience. “We love ‘Avenue Q’ for itself, but because it is a popular show it does prime the pump,” said Hodgen. “Last year we did three world premieres and this year we are doing two world premieres. They are all good shows but not as briskly selling of a show. ‘Avenue Q’ in many ways does drive that engine.” It also helps draw in newcomers to the theater, located in a belowground space at 25 Van Ness near San Francisco’s Civic Center, and provides an opportunity to promote the other works in the season. “It is a good entry point for people not familiar with our work,” noted Hodgen. “We are a small theater in a basement; if this gets people in and saying, ‘I saw a good show and had a good time,’ then that is always helpful.” No decision has been made on if New Conservatory will bring “Avenue Q” back for a sixth year in 2018. But if this year’s production proves to be as popular as previous ones, it is likely the tradition will continue. “I can’t make any guarantees one way or another,” said Hodgen, “but I wouldn’t be surprised to see it come back next year.”t

local technology company. “I love the ‘Nutcracker’ and ‘A Christmas Carol’ as much as the next person, but at a certain point you are looking for something different in your Christmas season. People are looking for a change. You feel that every night in the response you get back from the audience. It is a good party.” The show’s focus on struggling to make it as an adult, from making ends meet, maintaining a home, falling in love, or coming out as gay, are universal themes, noted North. While the show is well known for its raunchier material, North said the heart at its center surprises many people seeing it for the first time. “If people are looking for something different, absolutely they will find it with us,” he said. “While it is definitely a good, fun party, it is also a show that makes you think, makes you feel, and leaves you humming a tune. And at the holidays isn’t that what we are looking for, a good time with our friends?” Blevins, who tells those seeing “Avenue Q” for the first time that it is an “R-rated Sesame Street,” believes the potty-mouthed puppets do share a

message that translates to the Christmas season. “If you want to relate it to being a good holiday show, it does have this warm friendship overarching theme. They are all there for each other and come together,” said Blevins. “I am not sure there is a specific song that jumps out at me as being a future Christmas carol or anything.” It also strikes a chord for those who may struggle at being alone or away from family during the holidays, she surmised, by providing a fun, uplifting distraction. “The holidays aren’t so great for a lot of people, to be honest,” said Blevins. “This is a show about people who go through some challenges too.” Last year, the theater double cast the show and added Tuesday night performances, bringing the total number of shows per week to six. Demand for tickets remained strong, leading to another two-week extension of the run. The theater is using the same schedule this year and expects to announce on opening night, this Friday, December 1, if the run will again be extended. It is currently set to close January 7.

To purchase tickets, visit the theater’s website at nctcsf.org/.

seven years or more, and 20 percent already had AIDS, or advanced HIV disease, at the time of diagnosis. As is typical of the HIV epidemic, the amount of time spent undiagnosed varied across demographic groups. Heterosexual men lived longer with undiagnosed HIV than women who inject drugs or gay and bisexual men (a median of about five years, two years, and three years, respectively), and people of color were diagnosed later than whites. Asian-Americans went undiagnosed for about four years, AfricanAmericans and Latinos for about three years, and whites for about two years,

according to the report. Among the groups most likely to acquire HIV, 29 percent of gay and bi men, 42 percent of people who inject drugs, and 59 percent of at-risk heterosexuals in a multistate study said that they had not been tested in the past year. Of these, 70 percent reported that they had seen a health care provider during that time, “signaling missed opportunities” for testing, Mermin told reporters. “Now more than ever, we have the prevention and treatment tools to stop HIV. Prompt diagnosis of HIV is prevention,” Mermin and Dr. Eugene

McCray, director of the CDC’s Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, wrote in a letter to health care colleagues. “For people living with HIV, getting a test is the first step to starting antiretroviral therapy, which can preserve their health and prevent HIV transmission to partners,” they continued. “We are closer than ever to achieving a future free of HIV in the United States, and we have the prevention and treatment options to get there. But more HIV testing is needed to make sure those powerful tools are available to people who can benefit from them.”t

University School of Law in Boston and worked as an attorney focused on family law matters until relocating to the Bay Area. Her wife is a post-doctoral fellow at UCSF. On the board of the LGBTfocused Our Family Coalition, Thompson-Peer this June was named to the Department of Children, Youth, and their Families Oversight and Advisory Committee. Desegregating the city’s schools will be a top priority for her if elected to the school board. “I am one of those people who was horrified by Donald Trump’s election. I had thought about running for office for a long time,” said Thompson-Peer, who works two jobs providing caregiving and walking dogs. “I had been a teacher before and

have a law background, it seemed like a good fit to run for school board and a place I could do a lot of good.” Making sure the district is educating all of it students will be another top concern for her if elected. “In a city with the resources San Francisco has access to, there is no excuse to have ‘failing schools.’ I want to make sure all students are being educated,” she said. “And if they are not being educated equally, then we need to be listening to those communities to address the discrepancies.” Kim did not respond to an interview request. He is manager of K-12 Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maker (STEM) Education and the project manager of Research, Evaluation, and Partnerships for

Personalized Learning Initiatives at KIPP Bay Area Schools, the operator of a number of charter schools. He began with the company as a seventh grade life science teacher. On his campaign website Kim states that his having a teaching credential sets him apart from the other candidates in the race. “I am not a seasoned ‘politician’ – and, quite frankly, I am fine with that,” wrote Kim. “I started my run for school board because I felt compelled to bring a teacher’s voice and a fresh perspective to our district. Though I am new to local politics, I can say that my personal and professional experience in public education uniquely qualifies me for this position.”t

or the Asian and Pacific Islander Wellness Center had it shuttered its programs. As for the 75 percent with more acute needs, it had not found another agency able to take on those clients, Hutchinson said. The only option would have been for another county to provide the services to those clients, Jones said. Now, due to the reimbursement increase, Westside is planning to increase its capacity to see HIV and AIDS clients. The agency is currently hiring two

more social workers so it can see 80 more patients next year. Each social worker sees up to 40 patients. It has a waiting list of 10 people that it expects to clear once the new staffers are in place. It already employs five nurses and four social workers for the AIDS programs, as well as three home care workers and two certified nursing assistants. It provides home care, from light cleaning and food shopping to escorting clients to see their doctor or visit a park for some fresh air, to those patients who are

disabled or socially isolated. “The services are top-notch,” said Christiansen, “and the personnel is top-notch.” In order to receive Westside’s HIV services, clients must live in San Francisco and meet the eligibility criteria for the Medi-Cal Waiver program. To learn more about the agency, or to inquire about receiving its services, visit its website at http://www. westside-health.org.t

Legal Notices>>

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-17-553442

In the matter of the application of: ANXO MAXXUM FLYNN, 451 KANSAS ST #505, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107, for change of name having been ﬁled in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner ANXO MAXXUM FLYNN, is requesting that the name ANXO MAXXUM FLYNN, be changed to JEFFREY STEPHEN MARCUSJOHN. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 514, ROOM 514 on the 28th of December 2017 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

NOV 09, 16, 23, 30, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037826800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SHELLEY SKIN CARE, 81 LANSING ST #202, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed SHELLEY CONSTANTINI. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 11/02/17. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/02/17.

NOV 09, 16, 23, 30, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037817300 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SHOPPER LOYALTY REWARDS, 1863 19TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed RAFAEL ROMERO. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 10/01/17. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/25/17.

NOV 09, 16, 23, 30, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037804000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PASTRY ROOM, 2778 24TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ADRIANA BEATRIZ PONCE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 10/17/17. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/17/17.

NOV 09, 16, 23, 30, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A037827300

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: HANDY HANDS, 529 NATOMA ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed CASEY LOGAN JINKS. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 11/02/17. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/02/17.

NOV 09, 16, 23, 30, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037823900 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BREWSTER HISTORIC PRESERVATION, 141 PIERCE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed WILLIAM B. BREWSTER, JR. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 01/31/17. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/31/17.

NOV 09, 16, 23, 30, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037820700 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CYBER MAX WAREHOUSE, 420 BERRY ST #439, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94158. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ZHAO WEI HUANG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 10/18/17. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/27/17.

NOV 09, 16, 23, 30, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037824200 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: 9 VESSELS, 1063 MARKET ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ALFRED WU. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/31/17.

NOV 09, 16, 23, 30, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037800000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: GVBRIEL HANDPOKES, 530 STOCKTON ST #208, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94108. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed GABRIEL MAY. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 10/13/17. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/13/17.

NOV 09, 16, 23, 30, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037827100 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CIW AND SONS PLUMBING CO, INC., 1501 PALOU AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed CIW AND SONS PLUMBING CO., INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 10/21/16. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/02/17.

NOV 09, 16, 23, 30, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037827900 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: EMPIRE REALTY ASSOCIATES; EMPIRE EMERITUS, 1699 VAN NESS AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a corporation and is signed PACIFIC UNION INTERNATIONAL, INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on NA. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/03/17.

NOV 09, 16, 23, 30, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037828400 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: WORKFORCE HEALTH SOLUTIONS, 7434 GEARY BLVD. SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed OHANESSIAN PHYSICAL THERAPY, INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 11/01/17. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/03/17.

NOV 09, 16, 23, 30, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037831400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PAGE & PIERCE LAUNDRY, 800 PAGE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed HUANHUA CHEN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/08/12. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/07/17.

NOV 16, 23, 30, DEC 07, 2017

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November 30-December 6, 2017 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 27

Legal Notices>> FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037837100

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037833500

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037852700

NOV 16, 23, 30, DEC 07, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037841000

NOV 16, 23, 30, DEC 07, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037824400

NOV 23, 30, DEC 07, 14, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037845400

NOV 16, 23, 30, DEC 07, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037841800

NOV 16, 23, 30, DEC 07, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037841300

NOV 23, 30, DEC 07, 14, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037851000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: NIMBLEWITS DOLL COMPANY, 179 TEDDY AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94134. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed PATRICIA HEWETT. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/24/07. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/09/17.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BRILLIANT KIDS + CHILDCARE & PRESCHOOL, 445 AMAZON AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed SHIU KUEN NG TSANG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 11/13/17. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/13/17.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: WINNIESBABYHOUSE, 1901 44TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed WEN JIAN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 11/13/17. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/13/17.

NOV 16, 23, 30, DEC 07, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037828600

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ARCH HOUSE MUSIC, 1232 B WILLARD ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MICHAEL ANGEL PARTIDA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 03/15/17. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/03/17.

NOV 16, 23, 30, DEC 07, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037825400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: LA FARGA MUSIC, 2530 36TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed WILLIAM W. KWOK. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 10/20/17. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/01/17.

NOV 16, 23, 30, DEC 07, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037833300 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: FIRST EAGLE DELIVERY, 87 STONEYFORD AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed ADELCIO PONTES & LEONARDO TORRES. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 11/08/17. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/08/17.

NOV 16, 23, 30, DEC 07, 2017

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: DALY CITY FALCONS BASKETBALL CLUB, 207 SKYLINE BLVD, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94132. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed HIEN TRAN & JUNES AUBE VALDEMORO. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 10/25/17. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/08/17.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: RAVOT, 115 CLEMENT ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed SPARKYS GLOBAL LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on NA. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/31/17.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: 18/8 FINE MEN’S SALON SAN FRANCISCO EMBARCADERO, ONE EMBARCADERO CENTER LL, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94111. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed JB DESTINY PARTNERS LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on NA. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/13/17.

NOV 16, 23, 30, DEC 07, 2017 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-035986600 The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: SUBWAY SANDWICHES #61240, 425-D BATTERY ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94111. This business was conducted by a limited liability company and signed by LETAP SUBS LLC (CA). The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/08/14.

NOV 16, 23, 30, DEC 07, 2017 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-034168600

The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: SUBWAY SANDWICH #53761, 160 BROADWAY ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94111. This business was conducted by a corporation and signed by LETAP ENTERPRISES, INC. (CA). The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 02/29/12.

NOV 16, 23, 30, DEC 07, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037830300 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: WOLFRAM LOGISTICS, 5657 CALIFORNIA ST #3, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed AI LI LIANG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 11/01/17. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/06/17.

NOV 23, 30, DEC 07, 14, 2017

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: WAGO SUSHI, 2365 CHESTNUT ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94123. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed WAN HWA CHOI. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on NA. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/17/17.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: HASETPHARMA, 3428 FULTON ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed DANIEL WONDWASSEN WOLDEMICHEAL. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 11/14/17. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/14/17.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PROSPECT STUDIO, 41 PUTNAM ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed FIONA HOVENDEN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 11/16/17. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/16/17.

NOV 23, 30, DEC 07, 14, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037849900

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The following person(s) is/are doing business as: COPPER & MARUKO, 1058 PLYMOUTH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed GRACE IEONG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 11/15/17. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/16/17.

NOV 23, 30, DEC 07, 14, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037850500

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The following person(s) is/are doing business as: FEMININE WISDOM, 691 POST ST #204, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed LORAE A. LAURITCH. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 08/17/03. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/27/17.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: 501 MANAGEMENT LLC, 501 41ST AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed 501 MANAGEMENT LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 11/21/17. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/21/17.

NOV 23, 30, DEC 07, 14, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037848800

NOV 30, DEC 07, 14, 21, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037864800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SIAM ORCHID THAI MASSAGE, 39 POLK ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed PRASOMSUK LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 11/10/17. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/10/17.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BENDER & COHEN, 849 AVE. D, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94130. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed TREEHOUSE CRAFT DISTILLERY, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on NA. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/27/17.

NOV 30, DEC 07, 14, 21, 2017 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-037656400 The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: SUGAR ETC, 3732 20TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business was conducted by an individual and signed by ULRIKE ZINNKANN. The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/26/17.

NOV 30, DEC 07, 14, 21, 2017

NOV 23, 30, DEC 07, 14, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037845900

NOV 23, 30, DEC 07, 14, 2017

NOV 30, DEC 07, 14, 21, 2017

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The following person(s) is/are doing business as: NORTH BAY AUTO GLASS, 60 - 29TH ST #3, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed LUIS SARAT. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 09/07/17. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/09/17.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PAPERCATS, 626 10TH AVE #2, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed KOOJOE STUDIOS (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 11/10/17. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/10/17.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SHIRLEY SERVICES, 786 28TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed QI SHUANG GUAN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 11/14/17. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/14/17.

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NOV 30, DEC 07, 14, 21, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037860700

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: GRANDE ELECTRIC, 1800 GOUGH ST #1, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed FRANCISCO ANTONIO SIGUENZA GRANDE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 11/16/17. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/16/17.

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NOV 23, 30, DEC 07, 14, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037839600

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: HOUSE OF SUSHI, 2157 POLK ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed MSAB GROUP INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 11/01/12. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/15/17.

NOV 23, 30, DEC 07, 14, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037840000

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NOV 30, DEC 07, 14, 21, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037864900

NOV 23, 30, DEC 07, 14, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037851100

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NOV 23, 30, DEC 07, 14, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037847800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BRIGADEIROSPRINKLES, 1999 BROADWAY #22, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed BREDE WEG PARTNERS LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 11/15/17. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/15/17.

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The following person(s) is/are doing business as: JENNIFER NORMOYLE THERAPY, 1939 DIVISADERO ST #2E, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JENNIFER NORMOYLE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 11/07/17. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, C.A on 11/09/17.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SF GATHERING PLACE, 1300 KEARNY ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed YULIA ISKANDAR. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 11/14/17. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/16/17.

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All renderings, floor plans, and maps are artist’s concepts and are not intended to be an actual depiction of the buildings, fencing, walkways, driveways or landscaping. Walls, windows, porches and decks vary per elevation and lot location. In a continuing effort to meet consumer expectations, City Ventures reserves the right to modify prices, floor plans, specifications, and amenities without notice or obligation. Square footages shown are approximate. Please see your Sales Manager for details. ©2017 City Ventures. All rights reserved. BRE LIC #01877626.

Ryan rules

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Orientation

Vol. 47 • No. 48 • November 30-December 6, 2017

Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera

www.ebar.com/arts

Women of the Golden Empire by Philip Campbell

ike a lightning bolt that starts a fire, the world premiere of composer John Adams’ and Peter Sellars’ latest collaboration, “Girls of the Golden West,” scorched the hallowed walls of the War Memorial Opera House last week in a bold attempt to re-read history by the raging light of the blaze. By turns cruel and violent, lyrical and transcendent, the massive work suffers from long stretches of tedious redundancy and scolding preachiness. The problem is: the brilliant pair is preaching to the choir. See page 36 >>

Cheryl Mann

Julia Bullock as Dame Shirley in John Adams’ “Girls of the Golden West.”

The Joffrey Ballet brings the joy by Paul Parish

he Joffrey Ballet put on a fun evening’s entertainment two weekends ago in Berkeley, helped by the marvelous stage in Zellerbach Hall, which just hands the spectacle to you. Remarkable art direction, congenial dancers, and tight rehearsing made it a riveting motion picture. The Joffrey is not, despite Cal Performances PR, “America’s premier dance company,” but it is a venerable one, having bounced back after troubles to field a big troupe of beautifully trained dancers who manage somehow to make you love them. See page 36 >>

The Joffrey Ballet performed Justin Peck’s “In Creases” in Zellerbach Hall.

{ SECOND OF THREE SECTIONS }

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@eBARnews

<< Out There

30 • Bay Area Reporter • November 30-December 6, 2017

Robert the rule-breaker by Roberto Friedman

Best Wedding Photographer as voted by BAR readers

s we waited for the press conference for the opening of “Robert Rauschenberg: Erasing the Rules” at SFMOMA (through March 25), a bebop jazz version of “Over the Rainbow” played softly over the p.a. system. Was this a good sign that the exhibition would finally address the artist’s gay side? Turned out, it was! When the presser got underway, SFMOMA director Neal Benezra extolled Rauschenberg’s “extraordinary creativity and boundless spirit,” and pointed to the museum’s 50-years-long relationship with the artist. There are over 90 of his works in the museum’s collection. SFMOMA gave him a solo show in 1971; acquired “Collection” (1954-55), one of the artist’s greatest “Combines,” in 1972; gave him his first retrospective in 1976; and explored his early work of the 1950s in a 1992 exhibition. The famous “Erased de Kooning Drawing” (1953) posits the essential Rauschenbergian question: Just how far can you take a work of art? And how do you get around a father figure (as Willem de Kooning and Jackson Pollack were for RR, vying for the honor of “Best Artist” in NYC at the time)? Also, in a way the erased drawing was a collaboration between artists, an area of inquiry that RR went on to explore throughout his fabulous career. The Elise S. Haas Senior Curator of Painting and Sculpture at SFMOMA Gary Garrels called the artist “an omnivore, a manipulator

of images,” and in that way, he was quite before his time, as we are now constantly inundated with digital images in the new century. He always intended to bring the “real world” into his art. Thankfully, the exhibition does take note of the artist’s homosexuality, and wall texts refer to the part that a gay sensibility may have played in his work. To wit: “Although Rauschenberg and [artist Cy] Twombly were not ‘out’ in the post- Stonewall sense, their romantic relationship was recognized by the Black Mountain community.” “The development of the Combines coincided with the beginning of Rauschenberg’s romantic relationship with artist Jasper Johns and the solidification of their friendship with John Cage and his partner, Merce Cunningham. Direct and indirect references to gay culture appear Robert Rauschenberg Foundation throughout the Combines – a Robert Rauschenberg, “Untitled layer of potential meaning woven (Double Rauschenberg),” ca. 1950; in among others. This strategy of offering veiled content acces- exposed blueprint paper. sible only to those in the know may itself have been informed catalog – which he most generously by Rauschenberg’s experience in did, using a black Sharpie marker the 1950s, when homosexuality was to produce a big, looping signature, something that could be revealed before museum personnel swooped in and stopped the proceedings. Too only obliquely and carefully.” late, OT had our prize! And RR had It was at SFMOMA’s “Early his: in the back pocket of his jeans, Works” show in 1992 that Out There at 10 in the morning, he kept a got to meet the artist. Quite boldly small, opened bottle of Jack Daniels. at a presser, we went up to him He was a rule-breaker to the end.t and asked him to autograph our

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of needing education. I grew up not “Aladdin,” currently playing at even knowing that you could have the Orpheum Theater. sex without a condom.” The evening’s bill also inWhile HIV remains an issue, cludes singer Shawn Ryan, an Ryan assures us that being an out openly gay semi-finalist on gay man in the cabaret world is a “America’s Got Talent,” who total non-issue. “It was never a decitold the B.A.R. he was desion I had to make,” he explained. lighted to be supporting the “My parents were insanely supportmission of REAF and “Help Is ive. I feel so fortunate.” On the Way” XVI. Ryan is so out that he was dubbed “The organization does so “the Other Queen of Cabaret” by his much great work for so many close friend, cabaret superstar Andifferent charities,” Ryan said. drea Marcovicci, who’s often been “The audiences are so wondercalled the Queen of Cabaret. “Anful, the demand for funds will drea still calls me the Other Queen never cease. We have the ability of Cabaret,” he said with a laugh. “I to support our fellow man, and take the title graciously and wear the it’s important that we do that.” Courtesy REAF crown.” Ryan is a fan of “Aladdin,” Ryan is still putting his REAF act Cabaret artist Shawn Ryan: “We have and he’s thrilled to be sharing together, but shared that he might the ability to support our fellow man.” the stage with its cast members. be performing “Santa Claus Got “I’m excited to see what they Stuck in My Chimney,” a somewhat bring to the table.” by David-Elijah Nahmod naughty Christmas ditty that has This isn’t the first time Ryan been recorded by jazz legend Ella has worked with Broadway casts at or the 16th year, the Richmond Fitzgerald. “It takes on a whole new REAF shows. “I’ve met some of my Ermet Aid Foundation will be meaning when a gay man sings it,” dearest friends working at REAF,” he staging “Help Is On the Way for he said. said. “I’ve worked with performers the Holidays,” a Christmas extravaRyan hopes that his fans will from ‘Kinky Boots’ and ‘Newsies.’ I ganza followed by an even bigger also come out to see him at his got to be a Newsie for a night, which afterparty, all for the best of causes. solo show on Dec. 17 at the Sound was thrilling.” REAF’s mission is to raise funds for Room in Oakland. “It’s a twisted In doing AIDS fundraisers, Ryan HIV services, hunger programs, holiday show,” he promised. “It’s wants the younger generations to and support for homeless and all the holiday tunes you thought be aware of the fact that HIV is still disenfranchised youth. REAF was you knew. There’s going to be some an issue. “AIDS awareness is crucial, co-founded by bereaved moms pretty out-there material.”t as is STD awareness,” he said. “Prep Barbara Richmond and Peggy does not cure all. Millennials are Ermet, who envisioned a world Ticket info: www.reaf-sf.org. really in a tough situation in terms without AIDS. This year’s holiday show takes place on Mon., Dec. 4, 7:30 p.m. at the Marines Memorial Theater. A silent auction will begin at 6 p.m. prior to the show. This year’s beneficiaries are Larkin Street Youth Services and This week, find Victoria A. Brownworth’s Project Open Hand. Performers Lavender Tube column, “Tis the season for include San Francisco’s very own Gregangelo, along with cast membinge-watching,” online at ebar.com. bers from the hit Disney musical

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Fine Art>>

November 30-December 6, 2017 • Bay Area Reporter • 31

Classical art returned to living color by Sura Wood

hen most of us think of the sculptures of antiquity, images of tarnished classical, white marble statuary of mythological gods and ruins of great temples and necropolises dance in our heads. But after more than three decades of research and detective work by a consortium of scientists, art history scholars and archaeologists utilizing modern techniques such as ultraviolet florescence photography and spectroscopy, it’s now believed that artworks traditionally associated with a monochrome palette were originally painted in brilliant colors. “Gods in Color: Polychromy in the Ancient World,” a stimulating new exhibition at the Legion of Honor, delves into the discoveries with reconstructions of mostly Greek and Roman objects painted in authentic pigments that restore their rightful colorful past, before time, exposure to the elements and millennia of burial underground took their toll. The recreations are displayed along with examples of magnificent carved reliefs and statues from ancient Greece, Rome and the Near East, some of which bear hints of their former glory. A remarkably well-preserved “Season Sarcophagus” (AD 260-280), a high-status Roman marble vessel with an ornate high relief “in the round” depicting Dionysian rituals celebrating the cyclical nature of life, death and rebirth, has ghosts of red, green and Egyptian blue pigments on its surface barely visible to the naked eye. With a grace that transcends time, an exquisitely fluid terracotta figurine of a dancing woman (2nd century BC), whose upper body, arched back in a swoon, is counterbalanced by a lithe arm extended forward, has evidence of polychromy on the folds of her swirling skirt. One’s first encounter, however, is of a ruggedly masculine variety, with reconstructions of a pair of strapping, life-size Greek “Riace” warriors (ca. 440-480 BC) with eyes of inlaid stones. Positioned like sentries on a pedestal at the entrance to the exhibition, the alarmingly life-like, robustly-built bronzed opponents, one darker-skinned than the other, face-off naked and combat-ready with shields and weapons. The originals, which likely came from the Athenian Acropolis, were retrieved from an underwater lair in 1972 off the coast of southern Italy. Chemical processes have since identified preserved aspects of bronze polychromy. Their mouths, for instance, were cast separately in unadulterated red copper, and one figure landed a set of silver teeth. The exhibition is a bit of a jolt, requiring an attitude adjustment and a relinquishing of preconceived notions held since the Renaissance and Neoclassical era. There are more than a few moments when it’s difficult to believe one’s eyes and embrace a radically different theory. That response is not a reflection on the validity of the research and its findings, but on the challenge of conveying the results. The reconstructions, while communicating the panoply of color that existed, are in plaster and other synthetic materials that by their very nature don’t possess the depth, texture and unique visual qualities of marble. Science and technological advances notwithstanding, educated guessing has played a part. The figure of Thalia, the muse of comedy and poetry, for example, is shown in the marble original (second century BC) with surviving traces of Egyptian blue and pink, while a recent construction, entirely based on the remnants of the polychromy, fleshed out and darkened the pigments left behind. An unusual contribution

Rick Gerharter

Two bronze cast reconstructions of Riace warriors, originals dating from ca. 440 BC, found underwater off the coast of southern Italy, are part of “Gods in Color: Polychromy in the Ancient World,” now at the Palace of the Legion of Honor.

Vinzenz Brinkmann from the Liebieghaus Sculpture Collection in Frankfurt, Germany, shows an infrared image that helped conservators determine the colors of the shield in this reconstruction of the battle between Greeks and Persians from the Alexander Sarcophagus, as part of “Gods in Color: Polychromy in the Ancient World,” now at the Legion of Honor.

that helps illustrate the contradiction between current knowledge and received assumptions is a white plaster cast of a Greek frieze from the Parthenon, depicting a horseman and a servant boy, taking part in a procession honoring the goddess Athena. Through the magic of 3-D modeling and projection-mapping, the relief morphs from white to vivid color and back again. One of the show’s delights is its

thought to have inspired the likes of Picasso, Matisse, Giacometti and Brancusi. Though damaged, “Torso of a God” (Egypt, New Kingdom, 1359-1349 BC) is a stunner. The nearly life-size divine statue, commissioned for the royal jubilee of the aging Pharaoh Amenhotep III, was carved from polished, mahogany brown-black granodiorite, a stone signifying fertility and rejuvenation. Miraculously looking much

Rick Gerharter

final section featuring objects from Mesopotamia and the ancient Mediterranean world. 5,000-year-old, small-scale, white abstract marble figures from the Cycladic Islands in the Aegean, devoid of color when first discovered in the early 20th century, were, at one time, heightened with blue that outlined the eyes and hair – one even has a blue ponytail – and red dots on the cheeks. The stark, simple forms are

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the way it did in 660 BC thanks to Egypt’s dry climate, a pristine relief fragment retrieved from a subterranean chamber of a lavish tomb belonging to the prominent official Mentuemhat retains most of its original reddish-brown and yellow paint, providing a living color window onto Thebes’ elaborate funerary cult, which thrived eons ago.t Through Jan. 7. famsf.org.

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32 • Bay Area Reporter • November 30-December 6, 2017

Volatile issues in the Middle East by Richard Dodds

t’s not Donald Trump, as you might expect, but the persisting shadows of 9/11 that darken many of the landscapes in “ReOrient 2017.” The current biennial festival of short plays devoted to Middle Eastern issues produced by Golden Thread Productions takes place mainly in the U.S., where having a name or a look that suggests Muslim and/or Arab connections remains a challenge of assimilation, everyday annoyances, and big-picture harassment. The name of our current president is invoked only a couple of times, and whatever exacerbations he has added to these challenges are seen as no more than manipulations of what’s already in place. That basic theme gets off to a clumsy start in the opening short play, a burlesque of sorts of airport security as a crotchety old woman (Bella Warda) in traditional Arab garb meets a slapstick-zealous TSA agent (Jessica Lea Risco) in “War on Terror.” Playwright E.H. Benedict does produce intermittent chuckles with a situation ripe for easy laughs

but undermined by chardicted to searching the Web. acters drawn from wildly Risco is even more impresdifferently realities. Directed sive at the start of the second by Sara Razavi, it sputters to act in Betty Shamieh’s “Make an end with the lack of a satNo Mistake.” In parallel isfying button, which can be monologues to the audience, a recurring problem among a Monica Lewinsky-like misthe subsequent plays. tress to a president and the Another of the weaker youngest wife of Osama Bin entries comes next, with Laden take turns explaining Sevan K. Greene’s “A Is for their devotion to relationAli,” a debate between an David Allen Studio ships that are ultimately American couple of Middle Atosa Babaoff and Jessica Lea Risco play a unsustainable. With Risco as Eastern descent (played terrorist’s wife and a president’s mistress in the American courtesan and by an awkward Mohamed “Make No Mistake,” one of the pieces in Golden Babaoff as the young Yemini Chakmakchi and a comi- Theatre Productions’ “ReOrient 2017 Festival of bride, the piece is sharp both cally astute Atosa Babaoff) Short Plays.” in words and in Susannah arguing what to name their Martin’s direction. coming child to either honor Hannah Khalil’s “The his school who provides a healing its heritage or smooth its Rehearsal” is another trip connection as we come to underway in mainstream society. Matters into confusing realities as a trio of stand the overlapping scenarios. do begin to pick up with the next actors secretly works on one play Despite some convoluted entrances following entries. while officially rehearsing another. and exits on Kate Boyd’s set made Melis Aker’s “Manar” is a It’s both funny and unsettling as up of multiple doors, director Erin purposefully confusing tale of a scenes about physical torture of Gilley draws passionate performother grieving the loss of her son, political prisoners give way to mances from Lawrence Radecker as convinced that she sees him among an inane sex farce whenever the the father, Stephen Kanaski the son, jihadi terrorists in online postings. unseen director shouts out a cue. Naseem Etemad the school friend, Different time frames co-exist in Director Evren Odcikin craftily and in a much better turn than her the same space, and we see her son mines the playwright’s intriguing TSA agent, Risco as the mother adwith a young Muslim woman from set-up with Warda, Radecker, and

Etemad as actors in the headspinning scenarios. After a “soundscape” built around Junichi P. Semitsu’s poetry, the most accessible piece in the program brings it to an end. “Thanksgiving at the Khodabakhshian’s” has the set-up of a sitcom as a middle-aged Iranian-American woman (Warda) invites her boss and her Trumpsupporting wife (Radecker and Risco) to her house for a holiday dinner. In Torange Yeghiazarian’s play, the characters are careful to tiptoe around cultural and political divides until the host’s feisty daughter (Babaoff) takes things from a simmer to a boil. Rapprochement is a bit too easily achieved in the otherwise entertaining play directed by Susannah Martin, providing a happy ending to a surprisingly tame evening ostensibly delving into perhaps the most volatile territory in the world today.t “ReOrient 2017” will run through Dec. 10 at Potrero Stage. Tickets are $15-$36, available at goldenthread.org.

Card shark by David Lamble

“D

ealt” is a hard-to-classify bio-documentary that tells the story of a man who turned a disability into a successful parlor act and a most unusual career. Born with a severe eye affliction that eventually rendered him totally blind, Richard Turner taught himself slight-of-hand card tricks, the secret to which has baffled and entertained many a fully sighted professional magician. Turner, who prefers the classy handle “magician” to the cruder “card cheat,” takes us into his bedroom, where he keeps 5,000 packs of playing cards, each

of which he transforms into a tricky accessory. Even people who might usually frown on Turner’s tricks, like gambling-industry security expert Steve Forte, sing his praises. “Richard stands out. He’s not your classic close-up magician. He’s demonstrating methods used by cheaters, the most difficult thing you can do with a pack of cards.” “Dealt” becomes a family affair as Turner’s sighted son Asa explains what it’s like to be a kind of human seeing-eye dog to a famous father. One of the film’s highlights comes when Asa hits 18 and heads off to college, leaving Richard to learn

how to get along with a guide dog, a practice he had disdained. Richard describes how blindness affected him as a kid. “The kids would call me Mr. Magoo. I wanted to beat them up. I went out to the garage and took the magnifying glass I was given to help me read things, and pointed it into the sun. I literally wanted to burn the eyes out of my head.” Richard’s sister Lori, also blind since age three, provides an alternative blind survival-guide narrative as she takes advantage of all the coping devices, including braille, that her brother avoided until his 60s. “I am independent in a different way than

Rick. He doesn’t use a cane, hardly, and he doesn’t use a dog. He doesn’t want people to know that he doesn’t see because he thinks it’s embarrassing. I just don’t care what people think, it’s important for me to have as much freedom as possible. It’s so liberating. Once I couldn’t cross a very simple street. I thought people were nuts to cross a street. Now [with a guide dog] I can get my groceries and can walk to the mall. I didn’t want to be a burden on people.” “Dealt” is both a moving account of a family overcoming disability as well as a kind of advocacy piece for the nationwide legalization of gambling. (Opens Friday.)t

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Magician Richard Turner in the bio-documentary “Dealt.”

Creepy peep-show motel

by Erin Blackwell

he concept of a voyeur being methodical enough to purchase a motel for the purpose of getting off on his guests’ sex lives is the sort of tawdry revelation that fuels tabloids, pulp novels, porn, and “Psycho.” How could such a story fail to galvanize the reading and viewing public? Well, it turns out there’s more to sex than quantitative analysis, more to literature than a litany of physical actions, more even to movies than

a series of exposed body parts. That something more is the “je ne sais quoi” utterly lacking in the latest iteration of said motel owner’s sadsack perv saga. “Voyeur” streams on Netflix starting Friday. The several versions of this narrative kick off in 1969 with the accounts Gerald Foos made of his illicit nightly sightings. The man was a visionary, a kindred spirit to hunters who wait and watch in a duck-blind for unsuspecting prey to fly in for a well-earned rest. Foos

took his time transforming black hair and goatee, oversome of the 21 rooms in his sized tinted glasses. The perv newly purchased motel into in the flesh, bloated and hobhuman-blinds, with louvered bling, and they couldn’t trick a peepholes gazing down single insight out of him. through ceilings from a carThis isn’t the first docupeted crawl space under its mentary made by people peaked roof. Clever little mawithout the journalist gene, niac. His first wife is said to but their lack of initiative is have helped him, but no one appalling. There are only four interviewed her, and she left other snatches of interview, no notes, whereas he penned with the second wife and “The Voyeur’s Journal.” Talese’s editors. Is this selfNext comes Foos’ January censorship or laziness? Why Courtesy the filmmakers 1980 letter to Gay Talese, a didn’t Kane and Koury chase Scene from Myles Kane and New York nonfiction author Josh Koury’s “Voyeur.” down the fact-checkers, Paul turned sex chronicler for “Thy Farhi of The Washington Post, Neighbor’s Wife” (1980), ofbetter still a chambermaid, or fering a peek at his original the guests whose unguarded tion of glossy color photos, this research. Oh yeah. Foos wasn’t a private moments were some moodd little book is 40% Foos’ carnal Peeping Tom in his own estimation, ron’s private peepshow? A doctor, a scribblings, 60% Talese’s workaday but a researcher like Kinsey, with his lawyer, some fellow voyeurs? There contextualization, moderation, and own attic laboratory overlooking are so many angles to this story, yet occasional disclaimer. Talese, no the rats in the traps below. Talese, half the 95-minute runtime of “Voydummy, knew Foos wasn’t all there, eur” is filler. The book at least has intrigued, visited Foos, joined him but not until those fact-checkers Foos’ grubby literary musings, thus: in his lab, and observed some of his tipped The Washington Post was “Then after about five minrats. Raising no objections moral, the DIY sexologist downgraded to utes, he eased his penis out of her legal, or professional, he began unreliable narrator. and rolled over on his side of the compiling his own research on the Myles Kane and Josh Koury got bed. Later he got a towel from the rat Foos. He couldn’t publish back themselves attached to Talese as he bathroom and they cleaned their then because Foos feared prosecuwas writing the book, and started sexual organs. The Voyeur’s nostrils tion and persecution by the good filming the trim octogenarian. Shots twitched, smelling the arousing people of Denver. of him in his Manhattan brownodor of completed sex. But then Talese’s decades-in-the-waiting stone, in his basement office with its the male subject fumbled with his book “The Voyeur’s Motel” (2016) well-tended archives, a living literary clothes until he found a pack of accords Foos a prestige only the legend at work, are of great interest. cigarettes. He lit two, passing one on most grandiose sociopath could Too bad the filmmakers didn’t have to her. She sucked the smoke into have imagined possible. Excerpted a nose for this story, no obsessions to her lungs, then sighed heavily as if first in The New Yorker, slaved over grind, no questions to ask, remainto say, ‘Sex is over for now, and now by its legendary fact-checkers, it ing inert behind their camera. Same we’re back to reality and have to deal was published by the equally venerthing when they filmed Foos, pushwith the futility of living.’”t able Grove Press. With a midsecing 80, a huge guy with creepy dyed

DVD>>

November 30-December 6, 2017 • Bay Area Reporter • 33

Eye on the Prize by Brian Bromberger

or almost any writer, winning the Pulitzer Prize is the height of a career, often the beginning line in an obituary. The Pulitzers are the “gold standard of excellence” for what is best in journalism and the arts. To celebrate the centenary of these awards, a new documentary, “The Pulitzer at 100,” has just been released on DVD by FirstRun Features, directed by Oscar- and Emmy-winning director Kirk Simon. A wonderful idea unremarkably executed, the film shows both the virtues and flaws of the prize, as well as the reasons why we wait in excited anticipation every April to hear the list of the winners. The documentary interweaves three story strands: how the Prize originated, short interviews with recipients of the awards and “experts” on them, and brief excerpts from Pulitzer-winning works read by Hollywood actors. The film shifts maddeningly between these sections. You move from hearing about Pulitzer’s newspaper success to the tragedy of the Vietnam War to listening to a performance of an amusing poem, all in less than five minutes. Breadth in scope comes at

the price of depth of analysis. Joseph Pulitzer, a Hungarian immigrant, came to New York wanting to create an inexpensive newspaper that people could read quickly on mass transportation, using storytelling, not staid reporting of events, as the defining characteristic of journalism. He became involved in a circulation war with William Randolph Hearst. Together they became the prime drivers of yellow journalism, promoting scandals and sensationalism on the front page. Wanting to restore his reputation and bring professionalism to journalism, he set up a school for journalism at Columbia University to improve its craft and execution. He funded the Pulitzer Prizes in journalism and arts in 1917, combining them in the hope that journalists would be considered in the same league as great writers. Pulitzer couldn’t have anticipated how successful his prizes would be. In first-person accounts, winners tell how they fashioned their works. Nick Ut explains how his famous photo of a naked nine-year-old girl running in Vietnam, as her body burned from Napalm, helped end the war. John Adams tells how he composed his “Transmigration of

Souls” classical choral music piece to commemorate the first anniversary of 9/11. Nick Kristof, a columnist for The New York Times, comments that often the Prize is given for an event rather than the people who cover it. The poignant coverage of Hurricane Katrina, a great example of how a huge event can bring out tour de force local journalism, became a defining moment for New Orleans’ Times-Picayune. LGBTQ writers are well-represented: Michael Cunningham discusses his novel “The Hours,” Paula Vogel examines her play “How I Learned to Drive,” and Tony Kushner describes the evolution of his “Angels in America.” They figure into the documentary’s emphasis that in the last 30 years the Prizes have moved away from the white male heterosexual perspective. A number of winners, including Cunningham and Vogel, reflect on how arbitrary the awards are, with Cunningham observing how a different five-person jury probably wouldn’t have picked his novel to win. He notes how if you drew up a list of the actual winners with the books that lost (such as “The Great

Gatsby”) you probably couldn’t tell the difference. But Dominican Republican-born novelist Juno Diaz (“Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao”), who served on a committee to pick the winners, is amazed how often the juries got it right. The documentary covers too much material, trying to report on every major category in 90 minutes. Consequently you just get a small

sampling. There is an overemphasis on the artists and their work rather than the Prizes themselves. For example, Vogel comments on how one of the great gaffes was the denial of a Pulitzer to Edward Albee for his masterpiece “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf,” yet there is no discussion on how the Prizes are chosen, or who gets nominated and serves on juries. The film becomes an exercise in selfcongratulation. The readings, by Helen Mirren, John Lithgow, Natalie Portman and Liev Schreiber among others, become distractions. With the exception of poems, they are often out of context and so brief as to be inconsequential. Still, it is obvious that in most cases, the Prize has transformed careers, has emboldened artists to take risks, and also, for some, has become a “curse,” as anything written later is inevitably compared to their winning work. But the Prizes are a record of 20th-century American history at its best and worst. While by no means a home run, “The Pulitzer at 100” scores a decent double. Viewers can dream of what it might be like to win this most covetous honor.t

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<< Film

34 • Bay Area Reporter • November 30-December 6, 2017

The Castro Theatre does December

“The Adventures of Prince Achmed” is part of San Francisco Silent Film Festival’s “A Day of Silents.”

by David Lamble

he Castro Theatre provides holiday treats throughout December, kicking off with a day of rarely seen silent features, several of which are gay-themed. It’s followed by a program that is literally out of this world. “Beauty and the Beast” Disney’s 1991 animated film, an adaptation of Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont’s 18th-century fairy tale. (12/1, 3) San Francisco Silent Film Festival presents “A Day of Silents” (12/2), live music by Philip Carli and others (next 6 films):

“The Adventures of Prince Achmed” Lotte Reigniger directed this first full-length (72 minutes) animated feature, loosely based on tales from “The Arabian Nights.” It uses cut-paper silhouettes against tinted backdrops. “The Last Man on Earth” Director J.G. Blystone’s gender-bending 1924 comedy is set in 1954, when an outbreak of “masculitus” has wiped out the male population, except for one sad sack, Elmer Smith (Earle Foxe). Gertie the Gangster (Grace Cunard) finds the hermit Elmer and sells him to the state, where his fate will be decided in a boxing match on the floor of the US Senate.

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“Tol’able David” Richard Barthelmess is the sensitive young David forced to confront brutal Goliaths in Henry King’s American coming-of-age tale. David’s serene Appalachian childhood comes to an end when a trio of outlaws terrorizes his town, crippling his brother and causing the death of his father. “The Rat” Set in the criminal underworld of Paris, this 1925 English box-office hit stars Ivor Novello as the apache Pierre Boucheron, aka The Rat. “Lady Windermere’s Fan” Billy Wilder’s mentor, Ernst Lubitsch, translates the wit of Oscar Wilde in purely visual terms. May McAvoy is

Lady Windermere, Ronald Colman is Lord Darlington, and Irene Rich is the notorious Mrs. Erlynne. “Sex in Chains” A film about the human cost of imprisonment argues for prison reform. Its depiction of prison homosexuality that could even lead to love was far ahead of its time. “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” (1977) Steven Spielberg directs Richard Dreyfuss as a telephone lineman who detects a ship from outer space. Highlight is Dreyfuss’ playful noodling with a plate of mash potatoes as he imagines how the aliens might behave. “Uforia” (1986) John Binder directs Cindy Williams as a grocery clerk who thinks she’s getting signals from beyond our planet. With help from Harry Dean Stanton, Fred Ward, and Beverly Hope Atlinson. (both 12/3) “Clue” (1985) Director Jonathan Lynn offers a playful whodunit based on the board game. A terrific 80s ensemble gathers in a creepy Victorian mansion, including Eileen Brennan, Tim Curry, Madeline Kahn, Christopher Lloyd, Michael McKean, Martin Mull, Lesley Ann Warren, and Howard Hesseman. “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” (1975) Jim Sharman is the very unknown director of this classic Midnight movie fare that virtually defined 70s cinema camp. Tim Curry steals the madcap proceedings, hosting a pair of stranded motorists: a very young Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostick. Richard O’Brien provides music and lyrics. (both 12/8) “The Wizard of Oz” (1939) Child star Judy Garland was never better than in this fantasy opus that was a virtual origin-myth story for a preStonewall gay community. Directed by Victor Fleming, music & lyrics by Harold Arlen & E.Y. Harburg. The unforgettable Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley, Billie Burke, and Margaret Hamilton as the Wicked Witch. “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory” (1971) Gene Wilder steals this kids’ holiday treat as the candymaker who gives youngsters tours along his assembly line. Based on Roald Dahl’s book, with Jack Albertson and Roy Kinnear. (both 12/10) “Harold and Maude” (1971) Hal Ashby’s offers timeless intergenerational love story between 20-yearold Harold (Bud Cort) and feisty, 79-year-old Maude (Ruth Gordon). Perhaps the definitive early-70s cult movie, with a memorable score from Cat Stevens. “Being There” (1979) One of Peter Sellers’ last great comic turns, as a mysterious seer who catches the ear of presidents with homilies. With Shirley MacLaine, an Oscar for Melvyn Douglas, Richard Dreyfuss, Jack Warden and Richard Basehart. (both 12/14) “Bullitt” (1968) Steve McQueen’s definitive role, as fiercely independent SF police detective Frank Bullitt, who drives a cool car, dresses like a hipster and butts heads with Robert Vaughn’s power-hungry Senate crime-fighter. Sensational car chases up and down the streets of San Fran work brilliantly despite obvious violations of geography. Climaxes at a still-recognizable 60s-

era SFO airport. With Jacqueline Bisset, Norman Fell and a sprightly cameo by a taxi-driving, pre- “Godfather” Robert Duvall. “48 Hours” (1982) Walter Hill directs this buddy adventure with Nick Nolte as a veteran cop who releases felon Eddie Murphy in order to apprehend his dangerous partner-in-crime. (both 12/15) “The Shining” (1980) Stanley Kubrick provides Jack Nicholson the opportunity to give his most overthe-top performance as a writer who loses his mind as a caretaker for a remote mountain hotel. “Misery” (1990) Director Rob Reiner displayed his dark side with this adaptation of a Stephen King novel that has a demented, Oscarwinning) Kathy Bates torturing a mild-mannered romance writer (James Caan). (both 12/16) “Casablanca” (1942) Humphrey Bogart’s best-loved role is the North African club owner Rick, torn between an old flame (Ingrid Bergman) and thwarting Nazi rule in WWII-era Morocco. With an astonishing ensemble: Claude Rains (“Round up the usual suspects,”) Conrad Veidt, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet. “Dark Passage” (1947) Delmer Daves directs this post-war melodrama with Bogart and his real-life lover, Lauren Bacall. Bogey is an escaped convict recovering from plastic surgery at Bacall’s city flat. (both 12/17) “Singin’ in the Rain” (1952) Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen co-direct this rhapsody of showstoppers, the misadventures of two refugees from silent movies who fight their way into the new talking-pictures era with songs in their hearts and a banana peel under each foot. Kelly, Donald O’Connor, Debbie Reynolds and Jean Hagen give careertopping performances. (12/21) “It’s a Wonderful Life” (1946) Yes, this Frank Capra tree-trimming classic is on TV, but the Castro’s 40-foot screen can restore the glitter to almost any overviewed holiday story. Jimmy Stewart, married to Donna Reed, works for the Scroogelike Lionel Barrymore. His suicide attempt is thwarted by his guardian angel. (12/22) Christmas Eve concerts by the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus. (12/24) Sing-Along version “Sound of Music” (1965) The hills are still alive in one of the most popular Broadway-to-Hollywood adaptations. Based on true-life story of the Von Trapp family, forced to flee their Austrian homeland after the Nazi invasion. With Julie Andrews, a youthful Christopher Plummer, Eleanor Parker and Marni Nixon. (12/26-1/1)t

Books>>

November 30-December 6, 2017 • Bay Area Reporter • 35

Mapping murder by Steve Masover

Murder Under the Fig Tree by Kate Raphael; She Writes Press, $16.95

ania, the Palestinian detective at the beating heart of Kate Raphael’s “Murder Under the Fig Tree,” is languishing in prison as the novel opens. She hasn’t been charged. She hasn’t had a hearing. But secrets she unearthed in the first book of Raphael’s series threaten a war hero’s reputation, and Israelis in high places want her silenced. Raphael, already an influential activist in San Francisco’s queer community when she joined ACT UP in the late 1980s, is well-practiced at disrupting the tranquility of the highly-placed. It seems natural, almost inevitable, that her protagonist declines to let sleeping injustice lie. The author’s 18 months volunteering with the International Women’s Peace Service in the West Bank equipped her to leaven the Palestine Mysteries with rich experience, and in this aspect her latest novel is opulent. It’s worth mentioning that Raphael’s work with IWPS also led to her election as Grand Marshal of 2004’s SF Pride Parade. Weeks after Rania’s arrest, the detective is suddenly released. Was she let go because Chloe, her JewishAmerican peace-activist ally, pulled the right strings? Or was she was freed because an Israeli policeman aims to turn her into a collaborator? Rania’s return home is tainted by uncertainty, and complicated by recent electoral gains of Hamas, her own Fatah party’s bitter rival. Her community now doubts the detective’s loyalties. Captain Mustafa, her old boss, can’t or won’t allow her to return to her job. Meanwhile, Chloe meets Daoud, a young man wearing “a long, heavily embroidered scarf draped around his throat like a feather boa,” presiding over a coterie of gay Palestinians in a Jerusalem restaurant. Daoud asks Chloe to marry him the moment he learns she’s from San Francisco, a city whose mere mention causes the young men to swoon. But when Chloe and her Palestinian girlfriend visit a queer club in Jerusalem several days later, she discovers that Daoud, a star drag performer there, has been killed in the West Bank village where he lives.

• • •••• • ••• • •• • •

His neighbors believe Daoud was shot by Israeli soldiers, but Rania isn’t sure their accounts add up. Blunt and often impulsive, Rania won’t be turned from her pursuit of truth by social expectation and cultural constraint. Yes, she resists the notion that Daoud might have been targeted because he was gay: “But we don’t have people like that in Palestine,” she protests to Chloe, not knowing yet that her American friend is a lesbian. A lesbian with a Palestinian girlfriend, no less. But Rania is exactly the type to wrestle free of her own blinders once they are called to her attention. And so the investigation begins, hobbled by Rania’s unofficial status and obscured by the secrecy blanketing queer life in Palestine. Raphael gives readers an intricate plot, well-suited to the signature spice she adds to her mysteries. By immersing readers in the quotidian complexities of life in the occupied West Bank – subtleties rarely discernable in English-language newspaper accounts – the author maps a world as she unravels a murder. In portrayals of rank-and-file contention between Fatah loyalists and recently-empowered members of Hamas in 2006, when the novel is set, Raphael’s fiction gives a human feel and street-level insight to readers tracking the parties’ recently signed unity agreement. Depiction of Palestinian life in “Murder Under the Bridge” can be simple and amusing. How does a policewoman brought up on Arabic coffee experience her first cappuccino? What happens when a hungry Palestinian, acculturated to ritually refuse a proffered meal before tucking in, politely declines – only to be taken at face value by her Israeli hosts? The novel unfolds in a culturescape that can also be complicated, even sobering. How do Palestinian queers manage aspects of identity they are forced to conceal from family, friends, and even lovers? Not only sexuality, which must be hidden from countrymen who refuse to accept that Palestine includes “people like that.” But when they cross into Israel to safely meet in support groups, or to visit queer bars, it becomes necessary to suppress natural, inescapable resentment of Palestine’s occupation. There’s no room to express fury at their people’s humiliation and privation when Israeli club kids -- including armed and uniformed soldiers -- are cheering for Palestinian performers who have managed to smuggle themselves past the border. A reader is unlikely to finger Daoud’s murderer before Rania cracks the case, but Raphael manages to raise the stakes even after the mystery is solved: justice is served in a manner that will strike most western readers as strange, even baffling. This complexity, too, is worth savoring. The author paves a nuanced path through her characters’ lives and milieu, leading readers toward understanding, and perhaps even acceptance, of her mystery’s u n co nve n t i o n a l denouement.t

VENETIAN ROOM

FAIRMONT SAN FRANCISCO

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Emmy winner Jane Lynch (Glee, Best in Show, Hollywood Game Night), Kate Flannery (The Office) and Tim Davis (Glee) in a fun-filled evening of songs from their Top 20 Billboard album!

••••••••• ••• • •••••• •••••

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Stacey Kent 2/24 Info:

2/11 Will Roland (Dear Evan Hansen)

3/11 Liz Callaway (Anastasia)

CARLA BRUNI

2/23

The Puppini Sisters 4/29

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-OR- (415) 392-4400

<< Books

36 • Bay Area Reporter • November 30-December 6, 2017

Women on the verge of catastrophe by Jim Piechota

Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado; Graywolf Press, $16

esbian author Carmen Maria Machado’s debut story collection “Her Body and Other Parties” is one of those masterpieces that come preloaded with their own stockpile of accolades. Shortlisted for the National Book Award for fiction and a $50,000 Kirkus Prize nominee, the collection’s eight original tales feature women on the verge of the catastrophic, the bizarre, and the truly terrifying.

Golden West

From page 29

The production is as huge as the subject matter, the dark side of the California Gold Rush. Sellars’ libretto is too fragmentary and flat-out long to keep the audience from feeling a little more punished than enlightened at the conclusion. Culled from speeches, poetry, songs and memoirs of the day, most centrally and intriguingly from “The Shirley Letters” by Louise Clappe, writing under the name Dame Shirley, the libretto takes little artistic license. Setting prose to music often slows things down. When the text is poetic, Adams’ melodies breathe energy into the words. Multiple episodes depict the early excitement and rough life in the mining camps, as well as the ugly racial strife. Tempting as it must have been to leave everything in from his copious research, the brilliant showman and director should have edited material that only repeats dramatic points. Moments of echt-Adams reflection are welcome and lovely, even as they grind the whole Brechtian pageant to a stop, but there is an increasing sense of diminishing returns. I felt impatient when the final rhapsodic and deeply felt aria of redemption in nature appeared. It was beautiful and allowed spiritual closure. If only it had arrived sooner. The opera’s parallels to contem-

Joffrey Ballet

From page 29

Under Ashley Wheater’s smart direction, they gave us an echt Joffrey program from the recognizable formula that made them the country’s most popular troupe 50 years ago. They opened with a classical piece with strict geometry, two pianos abutting each other (Philip Glass music) at the back of the stage, and charming dancers cutting their regulation figures like ice-skaters in silvery white tights with black socks. This was followed by a well-made Romantic (almost soft-core porn) pas de deux in which the boy, in sliver hot-pants and T-shirt, is sexier than the girl (gold unitard, pointe shoes) so that sissies in the audience can identify with her and imagine they’re put into ecstasies by him (to John Adams’ Saxophone Concerto, with jazzy moves and flourishes that echo Nijinsky’s “Afternoon of a Faun”). Then a whimsical, anarchic “contemporary” piece, with the dancers cutting up and taking off their clothes in the name of “Joy,” which it would be impossible not to enjoy; and a whiz-bang finale by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, like one of Mr. Arpino’s, where you don’t have to take the premise seriously, but the dancers are forces of nature and display truly staggering feats of speed, accuracy, control. They open and close their thighs, which are on display while the rest of the body is

Grotesqueries abound, along with plenty of literary food for thought. Each allegory is an adult fairy tale starring wild women who fall somewhere on the spectrum of the bold and the brazen, and most are unapologetically queer and gorgeously feminine, even in the face of the plague found in the story “Inventory.” It’s a catastrophic virus that promises to engulf the Earth and destroy every living thing on it, thinks the narrator, one of the last survivors fleeing for a safe haven that cannot be found, since “the world will continue to turn, even with no people on it.” The opening story, “The Hus-

band Stitch,” is a stunner in the form of a curious, unnerving narrative told from the perspective of a secretive woman who has spent her life with a mysterious green ribbon tied around her neck. Her doting husband finally insists she remove it, and she does. The decorative choker ends up hiding a monstrous secret. Elsewhere in the collection, women attempt to soothe the psychological scars of sexual abuse through the viewing of porn. In “Difficult at Parties,” the main character can somehow hear the thoughts of the actors performing in those films. The girls populating “Real Women Have Bodies” become

West” will mature into a stunning “Women of the Golden West.” The title is an ironic aside to Puccini’s similarly named opera, and the comparisons end there, according to Sellars. But does the music register in Adams’ gargantuan new score? There is “sound enhancement” in the orchestra, and all principal cast members and eight chorus members wear body mics, per Adams’ wishes. The results are occasionally noticeable but never less than realistic. They help Adams’ trademark orchestration glitter and his rhythmic vocal lines stay audible. Crowd noises, gunshots, etc., from a library assembled by Adams and sound Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera designer Mark Grey, are risibly phony by contrast. Davóne Tines as Ned Peters and Julia Conductor Grant GerBullock as Dame Shirley in John Adams’ shon, making his SFO “Girls of the Golden West.” debut, is a passionate advocate of the score, and he porary society are readily apparent labored throughout the and need little emphasis. If Sellars’ marathon, keeping the 67-piece oroverwrought direction did not try chestra vibrantly cohesive throughto invest every gesture with meanout. Touches of accordion and guiing, dropped some bewildering and tar added idiomatic flavoring. fussy stage business, and simply Males from Ian Robertson’s tightened the narrative arc, the SFO Chorus looked and sounded message of his historical cavalcade authentic (though remarkably wellmight prove more effective. Throw laundered) in Rita Ryack’s (SFO some excess baggage off the stagedebut) colorful costumes. They coach, and “Girls of the Golden acted convincingly within the delibencased in black, in every way imaginable. The music, “Weather One” by Michael Gordon, stirs up quite a storm, and the dancers realized it like a Merrie Melodie – nothing memorable, but all of it apt music visualization and requiring virtuosity of the highest order, so you go home dazzled, exhilarated and nearly skipping down the street. For many people, the Joffrey were the spokesmen for the 60s; it’s long been an open secret it was a gay dance company. The co-founders Robert Joffrey and Gerald Arpino were brilliant dancers and a gay couple who made sexy ballets. It’s hard in our globalized and transparent world to grasp how everyone in New York could know they were gay and their work was gay, while in Peoria the secret was being kept so fiercely that when Joffrey died of AIDS, the company put it out that it was from his asthma meds – which caused a national crisis when Americans stopped taking their asthma meds. The whole country was like my mother, pretending I wasn’t gay – we all kept the secret, preserved appearances, and muddled through. Joffrey’s vision for his company was as distinctive as Balanchine’s, but muddled. Both wanted companies that were “all-star and no-star,” but at opposite ends of the spectrum. The Joffrey’s style is undifferentiated, the dancers are like suburban teenagers, while Bal-

liquefied and merge into the seams of prom dresses like silly putty, while the gastric bypass surgery that promises to metamorphosize the woman in “Eight Bites” only distorts and demonizes. The novella-length “Especially Heinous” is an ingenious reimagining of 12 seasons of Law & Order: SVU into a multilayered story all on its own. Absorbing and addictive, spooky and sensually Sapphic, this treasure chest of stories will delight readers of any gender or persuasion.t

erately anachronistic, often striking sets by designer Reid Thompson (SFO debut). The most thrilling and positively memorable impressions of the premiere performance were achieved by the cast. A remarkable ensemble proved there is an encouraging casting pool of young, attractive, ethnically diverse and talented artists ready to revitalize America’s musical institutions. Soprano Julia Bullock (SFO debut) enlivened every scene as Dame Shirley with dignified beauty and rich vocal tone. She was given much to sing, and her voice is a perfect match for Adams’ distinctive line. Bass-baritone Davóne Tines, making his first local appearance in a fully staged opera as the brave and endearing Ned Peters, a black cowboy and fugitive slave, triumphed in his standing-ovation-worthy singing of “What to a Slave is the Fourth of July?,” based on a text by Frederick Douglass. Tenor Paul Appleby navigated the role of Joe Cannon with great vocal stamina. His character starts as a sympathetic loudmouth who degenerates into a drunken lunatic. He was scarily believable. Korean soprano Hye Jung Lee was Ah Sing, the Chinese prostitute who has decided he is her ticket out. She previously appeared at SFO in Adams’ “Nixon in China” as Madame Mao Tse-Tung, proving she can conquer his stratospheric

anchine’s required each dancer to be Balanchine had put Martha Gradistinctive. ham’s dancers and his on the stage The biggest difference is that together. But dance is local, and Balanchine arrived in the USA in what was avant-garde in New York the 30s fully formed, trained in St. was unheard of in the provinces till Petersburg and Paris, while Joffrey the Joffrey came through on tour. was born in Seattle in 1930, son of a Young man from the provinces, Muslim Afghan immigrant (a PashI saw them at Ole Miss in 1967; it tun Khan at that) and a Romanwas an eye-opener for me. With the Catholic mother, who defied both rise of government support, new his parents’ traditions and wanted “to be an American.” Joffrey wanted to make work that was communal, from the melting pot. So when the State Department was sending the Joffrey Ballet all over the world as goodwill ambassadors to demonstrate American values of high energy, youth, possibility, and optimism, the cryptogay subtext translated as brotherly love, as did Rock Hudson’s or Tab Hunter’s. Audiences could spin loose fantasies around them without being pricked by any jarring uh-ohs. These dancers looked like us, the cool, sexy US we’d like to be. Cheryl Mann The Joffrey was central to the dance boom. They The Joffrey Ballet performed weren’t the first to put Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s “Mammatus” modern dance and ballet in Zellerbach Hall. onstage at the same time;

requirements without resorting to screeching. Mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges portrayed Mexican entertainer Josefa Segovia, whom Joe Cannon attempts to rape. Her character kills him, and she is swiftly tried by a kangaroo court and lynched. Bridges displayed breathtaking composure and inner strength in the part. She is lovely to behold, and her melting voice only adds to the impact of her terrifying story. The lynching is not enacted onstage, but the gut-wrenching beating of her romantic interest Ramon (a bartender at the hotel where she works) is staged realistically. Baritone Elliot Madore played him, and he was ardent, dashingly handsome and tenderly believable. San Francisco Ballet principal dancer Lorena Feijóo appeared as the legendary Lola Montez, and she made the most of her “Spider Dance” in the second act. It pleased the audience; some diversion or comic relief was needed, but Adams’ music was hardly seductive. Bass-baritone Ryan McKinny, recently heard at Davies Hall in Bernstein’s “Arias and Barcarolles,” made his SFO debut as Clarence, a hard-luck miner who shifts from good guy to bad guy, and back again. Ruggedly handsome with a fine ringing tone, McKinny fit a more romanticized image of a 49er. His character is rather confusing amidst all of Sellars’ hoopla, but McKinny made him distinctive.t companies mushroomed; here in the Bay Area, the flowering was so great we became the biggest center for dance outside New York. It was a beautiful show, with marvelous art direction, and exquisite, silvery lighting by Bay Area lighting wizard Alexander V. Nichols. The color palette was rigorously restricted: silver and gold, with the silver shading all the way from white to black. This focused things brilliantly but almost imperceptibly. Indeed, in “Joy,” though the dancers stripped down to almost nothing, they only color they wore was “nude.” The takeaway from the evening would have to be the dancers’ thighs. Even the women in this ballet company have juicy, cushy thighs, which the costumes kept emphasizing. The hilarious, Wonder Woman “shoe-drop” section of “Joy” disarmed us completely. In one night, unfamiliar dancers in a new style don’t have much chance to impress you, and this style plays down the individual, aside from Alberto Velazquez in the “Faun” duet. It was a pleasure to recognize former members of San Francisco Ballet Rory Hohenstein, Aaron Renterria, and Nicole Ciapponi. The fog pouring off the stage as the last piece opened and closed, in that heavenly silvery light, none of us will ever forget that.t

On the Tab

Arts Events

Shining Stars

Vol. 47 • No. 48 • November 30-December 6, 2017

www.ebar.com V www.bartabsf.com

Norm Lewis Broadway and TV star’s at Feinstein’s

by Jim Gladstone

N Norm Lewis performing in a recent Live at Lincoln Center telecast concert.

Gangway for history

orm Lewis wasn’t a theater kid. “We’d watch The Wizard of Oz every year,” he recalls of his childhood in western Florida. “But I didn’t know much about Broadway musicals. I did love watching the TV variety shows: Sonny & Cher, Carol Burnett, and Dean Martin, whom I wanted to be, he was so cool.” See page 38 >>

The bar that gave us Lithuanian Independence Day parties, Burt Lancaster and the birth of Aunt Charlie’s

Bartender Matt Wruble (right) at the Gangway Bar toasts the community with a group of patrons in January 2016.

he history of the Gangway is relatively easy to trace back half a century. Listings for the bar in city directories and phone books date from 1960 forward. Along with its nautical theme, like a grounded pirate ship, the bar holds a treasure chest of historical tales. See page 40

{ THIRD OF THREE SECTIONS }

Rick Gerharter

by Michael Flanagan

<< Feature

38 • Bay Area Reporter • November 30-December 6, 2017

Norm Lewis

From page 37

Bringing that cool dream to fruition, the Tony-nominated actorsinger brings his new cabaret show, Norm Lewis Wishes You a Swingin’ Christmas, to Feinstein’s at the Nikko December 8 – 10. Lewis shared more about his upbringing in a phone interview with the Bay Area Reporter. “My dad was a deacon and my grandfather was a preacher. So I sang in church,” explained Lewis. “We definitely grew up with the Christmas spirit. But becoming a professional singer was the furthest thing from my mind. “When I was 17, I was assigned to take Home Ec as an elective in high school. And I knew that wasn’t for me, so I went out for the school choir. That’s where I really fell in love with music—classical, jazz, theater songs. But music was a hobby to me,” said Lewis. “I went to college for a business degree.” In his early twenties, Lewis, now 54, was settling into a career in newspaper publishing. “I had a job The Orlando Sentinel. I started out in the production department and eventually moved into marketing and advertising. “Star Search was popular on TV at that time, and a few bars around town had karaoke contests that would emulate it. Every week you sang and weren’t eliminated, you moved on to the next round, for week after week. So I was doing that and eventually I was Grand Champion. I think I won $200 or $500 bucks.” And while a few hundred bucks may not be life-changing, there turned out to be a much bigger prize for Lewis. “One of the judges worked for a cruise line,” he recalls. “There was a four-month opening in a three-guy, threegirl vocal group on a ship, and he offered me the job. “That was kind of a crash course for me,” Lewis said. “It made me realize I could pursue performing as a career. I was planning to apply to Carnegie Mellon or Julliard, but one of the guys I was working with on the ship encouraged me to just go to New York and start auditioning. So that’s what I did. I was 27 and I was out there auditioning for everything. I set a goal for myself of making it to Broadway by the time I was 30.” But Lewis’ seemingly charmed life took a dark turn shortly after he began blitzing the Manhattan casting calls. “My dad was stricken with brain cancer. I went home to Florida to help my mom take care of him for the next seven months until he died. And then I stayed for another nine months to help her take care of things.” After deferring his dream for a year and a half, Lewis returned to New York to see them come true: In 1993, at age 30, he was cast in The Who’s Tommy on Broadway. The ensemble, he explains, turned out to be an illustrious lot, including Alice Ripley (later of Sideshow and Next to Normal), Sherie Renee Scott (Aida, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown) and a fellow Broadway debutante, Michael Cerveris (a twotime Tony winner for Assassins and Fun Home). Lewis and Scott shared a Broadway stage again 15 years later, originating the roles of King Triton and Ursula the Sea Witch in The Little Mermaid. And Lewis’ other parts have included Javert in Les Miserables, Billy Flynn in Chicago, and Porgy to Audra McDonald’s Bess. But the stage role that Lewis may always be best known for is the title character in The Phantom of the Opera. Heralded as the first African-

Norm Lewis

American actor to play the Phantom on Broadway (Robert Guillaume had previously played the role in Los Angeles). Said Lewis, “You know, the whole African-American actor thing wasn’t as important to me as the fact that it’s just a great leading role, and I wanted a chance to play it.” Among the other plum parts he’d still like to get a crack at, Lewis singles out Harold Hill in The Music Man as a particular favorite. While Lewis confesses to accompanying his personal housecleaning chores with a soundtrack of beatheavy electronic dance music, he’s brushed aside suggestions that he

record an R&B or pop album. “I’ve thought about it,” he says, “But that’s just not what my heart is into. I think of myself as an actor now as much as a singer, and I get real satisfaction from acting out a song, something with words you can follow through a beginning, a middle and an end.” Ironically, Lewis is now probably best known for his non-musical role as Edison Davis on the television series, Scandal, which has led to further film and TV offers. “Yeah,” Lewis notes, “I’ve had people see me perform in musicals or concerts and say ‘I didn’t know you could sing!’ But you know people also came to see Audra in Porgy and Bess knowing her only as Naomi Bennet from Private Practice. “If I had to make a choice and work only in one area, it would be live musical theater.” So sings the late bloomer.t ‘Norm Lewis Wishes You a Swingin’ Christmas’ at Feinstein’s at the Nikko, December 8-10. $45-$85 ($20 food/drink min.). Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. feinsteinsatthenikko.com

Above: Norm Lewis’ pop CD, This is the Life. Below: Norm Lewis in The Little Mermaid.

November 30-December 6, 2017 • Bay Area Reporter • 39

Kingdom of Sodom @ Danzhaus The dance party sex-play event closes out seven years of bacchanalian fun with its final event. $10-$20. 10pm3am. 1275 Connecticut St. KingdomOfSodom.com

Mother @ Oasis

On the Tab

Heklina's popular drag show, with special guests and great music themes. Dec. 2 features guest Alaska Thunderfuck. $20. 10pm-3am (11:30pm show). 298 11th St. sfoasis.com

Mr. SF Eagle Contest @ SF Eagle Who will represent the famed leather bar? Find out at the contest. 5pm-7pm. 398 12th St. at Harrison. sf-eagle.com

Nov. 30Dec. 7

Thu 7

Drag Queens on Ice

s we enter the year’s last month, s look for celebration of all kinds. Button or up, button-down, aits. unbuttoned; fun aw

photo by Dot

A Edited for space. For full listings, visit www.ebar.com/bartab

Club Papi @ Club 21, Oakland

Thu 30

Hip Hop and Latin grooves event, with 3 dance floors, gogo studs (including porn cutie Armond Rizzo), drag acts. $10-$20. 9pm-4am. 2111 Franklin St., Oakland. club21oakland.com

Hush Hush @ The Stud

Desperate Living @ The Stud

Monthly queer and trans genredefying performance night, with Fyne Artist, BBY Shamu, Nicki Jizz, VivvyAnne ForeverMORE and others. $5. 10pm-3am. 399 9th St. studsf.com

Light in the Grove @ Nat’l AIDS Memorial Grove The annual elegant fundraiser for the Grove includes cocktails, hors d'eouvres, a buffet dinner, entertainment and beautiful art installations. $250 and up. 6pm9:30pm. Nancy Pelosi Drive at Bowling Green, Golden Gate Park. aidsmemorial.org

Literary Speakeasy @ Martuni's The monthly authors and cocktails event this time features multipleaward-winning author Michael Nava, singer-songwriter Lisa Assolino, poet Natasha Dennerstein, journalist/ podcaster/writer Philip Harris, and poet/host James J. Siegel. No cover. 7pm. 4 Valencia St. facebook.com/ Martunis-994554857261865/

Naked Men Sketched @ Lone Star Saloon Yes, a nude male drawing event. 6pm9pm. 1354 Harrison St. lonestarsf.com

Planet Booty @ The Independent The groovy sexy Oakland soul band performs at the cool nightclub. Get ready to shake it! Sun Hop Fat opens; DJ Jah Yzer plays between sets. $15-$18. 8pm. 628 Divisadero St. planetbooty.org

Thursday Night Live @ SF Eagle Rock bands play at the famed leather bar. $5-$10. Nov. 30: Daisy World, SPF and 398 12th St. at Harrison. sf-eagle.com

Tubesteak Connection @ Aunt Charlie's Lounge Disco guru DJ Bus Station John spins grooves at the intimate retro music night. $5. 10pm-2am. 133 Turk St. at Taylor. www.auntcharlieslounge.com

Fri 1 Ain't Mama's Drag @ Balancoire Weekly drag queen and drag king show hosted by Cruzin d'Loo. 8pm10pm. No cover. 2565 Mission St. balancoiresf.com

Sue Casa's Xmas-themed night with drag, gogos, DJs Lower Self, Jimmy Swear. $5-$10. 10pm-3am. 399 9th St. www.studsf.com

Friday Night Live @ El Rio Enjoy the weekly queer and LGBTfriendly live acoustic concerts. $5pm. 3158 Mission St. www.elriosf.com

Hella Gay Comedy @ Club OMG Queer joke night, with host Nasty Ass Bitch. $15. 7pm. 43 6th St. www.clubomgsf.com

Matt Yee @ Oasis Direct from Honolulu, or a nearby docked cruise ship, the wacky host returns with his saucy sing-along show, "Oh Come All Yee Faithful." (Get it; Yee!). You'll bust a gut laughing and/or belting out tunes. $25-$35. 7pm. Also Dec 2. 298 11th St. sfoasis.com mattyee.com

Taboo @ Oasis Buns Out is the theme for the sexy cruisy grooves night, assless chaps, dropped drawers, etc. $5-$10. 10pm2am. 298 11th St. sfoasis.com

Underwear Night @ SF Eagle

Powerblouse @ Powerhouse Juanita MORE! and Glamamore's monthly event, where manly men get a complete drag makeover! $5. 10pm-2am. 1347 Folsom St. www.powerhousebar.com

Queens Calendar @ Midnight Sun Celebrate 2018 with the purchase of calendars featuring a dozen notable local drag queens, with proceeds beenftting Shanti Project. 4pm-7pm. 4067 18th St. calendarqueens.com

Woof @ SF Eagle

The resident photographer and Alex Ray cohost a closing party for their kink photography exhibit. Get your own kinky, leather or nude photos taken! 2pm-5pm. 1229 Folsom St. markichester.com

Lip Service @ The Stud A Very Cockette Christmas, an acid-freak drag revue tribute to the legendary theatre-drag troupe, with Raton Rose, Ariel Rose, Fauve Schoen, Trangela Lansbury, Talon Storm and others. $5-$10. 10pm-3am. 399 9th St. www.studsf.com

Mon 4 Epic Karaoke @ White Horse, Oakland Mondays and Tuesdays popular weekly sing-along night. No cover. 8:30pm-1am. 6551 Telegraph Ave, (510) 652-3820.whitehorsebar.com

The Gourmand's Way @ Chez Panisse, Berkeley Book party for author Justin Spring's ( Secret Historian ) new food-themed book. $100 includes dinner and a copy of the book. 1517 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 548-5525. thegourmandsway.com

Strip down with the strippers at the clothing-optional night. $20. 9pm. 729 Bush St. at Powell. 397-6758. www.thenobhilltheatre.com

Wed 6 Castro Karaoke @ Midnight Sun Sing out with host Bebe Sweetbriar; 2 for 1 well drinks. 8pm-2am. 4067 18th St. 861-4186. midnightsunsf.com

Juicy @ Club OMG Weekly women's event at the intimate Mid-market nightclub. DJ Micah Tron. 9pm-2am. 43 6th St. clubomgsf.com

Kosmetik @ The Stud Music, lasers, fog, drinks. DJs Matthew, Jordee. $5. 9pm-2am. 399 9th St. www.studsf.com

Nudies Nubies @ Oasis Women's burlesque competition for new performers, with Ophilia Coeur de Noir, Miss Savvy and Rasa Vitalia. $10-$15. 298 11th St. sfoasis.com

Fundraiser for the nonprofit, with soul, funk, African drum-dance and reggae bands Wonway, Walt Digz, King I-Vier, and Jaranony Bochinche. $10-$100. 3pm-8pm. 3158 Mission St. communitywellsf.com

Dandy @ Oasis The drag kings and pals variety show returns, with cohosts Leigh Crow and Ruby Vixen, El Sevan, Emjay Mercury, Chester Vanderbox, Guacho Domingo, Meat Flap and Pussy Diet. $10-$20. 6pm. 298 11th St. www.sfoasis.com

Dark Meat @ Powerhouse Dance and performance with a dark twist. $5. 9pm-2am. 1347 Folsom St. www.powerhousebar.com

Dirty Musical Sundays @ The Edge Sing along at the popular musical theatre night, with a bawdy edge; also Mondays and Wednesdays (but not dirty). 7pm-2am. 2 for 1 cocktail, 5pm-closing. 4149 18th St. at Collingwood. www.edgesf.com

Sun 4

Leigh Crow and Ruby Vixen cohost Dandy @ Oasis

Mister Sister @ Midnight Sun Drag night with Honey Mahogany, Dulce de Leche and Carnie Asada. No cover. 10pm. 4067 18th St. 861-4186. www.midnightsunsf.com

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

Domingo De Escandal @ Club OMG

Tue 5

Weekly Latin night with drag shows hosted by Vicky Jimenez and DJ Carlitos. (Comedy Open Mic 5:30pm). 7pm-2am. 43 6th St. clubomgsf.com

Alaska Thunderfuck @ Oasis The RuPaul's Drag Race star performs her new holiday show. $30-$75. 7pm & 9:30pm. 298 11th St. sfoasis.com

Dragula @ Oasis New weekly screenings of LA's Boulet Brothers dragtastic TV show of ghoulish glamour. No cover. 7pm. 298 11th St. sfoasis.com

Herb Alpert, Lani Hall @ Yoshi's Oakland

Frolic @ SF Eagle Fursuit animal funk and fun with DJs Scissorz, NeonBunny and others. $8-$12. 8pm-2am. 398 12th St. at Harrison. frolicparty.com

High Fantasy @ Aunt Charlie's Lounge

Sergio Fedasz & Steve Fabus' popular disco retro-new dance night celebrates nine years; guest DJs Elaine Denham, Robin Simmons and Stanley Frank. $5$10. 9pm-3am. 399 9th St. studsf.com

Naked Night @ Nob Hill Theatre

Community Well @ El Rio

The classic jazz trumpeter performs music from his new Christmas-themed album. $49. Also Dec 6 & 7, 8pm. 510 West Embarcadero St., Oakland. yoshis.com

Go Bang! The Stud

Open mic for women and queer comics, with host Irene Tu. 6pm-8pm. 4 Valencia St.

Sun 3

Winter Dragon of Chinatown Ball @ Chinese Cultural Center

Sat 2

Hysteria Comedy @ Martuni's

Daytime canine fetish event. 2pm5pm. 398 12th St. at Harrison. www.sf-eagle.com

Strip down to your skivvies at the famed leather bar, with host Dulce de Leche and DJ Marcos Moreno. 398 12th St. at Harrison.sf-eagle.com

Year-end celebration with an LGBTQ vogue ball with cash prizes, a runway show and dancing, with performances by Sandy Guo, Portsmouth Square Dance Club, and LionDanceMe. 6pm9pm. 750 Kearny St. facebook.com/ events/1971691296191453

Folsom Exhibition Closing Party @ Mark I Chester Studio

Sat 02

Matt Yee @ Oasis

Weekly drag and variety show, with live acts and lip-synching divas, plus DJed grooves. $5. Shows at 10:30pm & 12am. 133 Turk St. at Taylor. auntcharlieslounge.com

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Thu 7 Drag Queens on Ice @ Safeway Holiday Ice Rink The annual fabulous night of local drag stars performing on and off the ice, with Mutha Chucka, Paju Munro, Kylie-Pop, Mahlae Balenciaga, Sister Roma, Queen Dilly Dally and MC Donna Sachet. $20-$25. 8pm9:30pm. Union Square. www.unionsquareicerink.com

Drunk Drag Broadway @ Oasis The comic drag ensemble performs Mannie, a parody of Annie. $20. 8pm. Dec 6 & 10 at 8pm. Dec. 8 &9 at 7pm. 298 11th St. www.sfoasis.com

Nap's Karaoke @ Virgil's Sea Room Sing out loud at the weekly least judgmental karaoke in town. No cover. 9pm. 3152 Mission St. 8292233. www.virgilssf.com

Puff/Love @ The Stud The monthly pot-friendly event, with Under the Golden Gate's DJ Dank and Maria Konner, hosts a holiday toy drive, with DJ Sergio Fedasz, and Kitten on the Keys. Bring new unwrapped toys for kids. $5-$10. 7pm-10pm. Then, enjoy Love, with The Pristine Condition, Mama Dora and Ultra. 10pm-3am. 399 9th St. studsf.com

Sundance Saloon @ Space 550 The Country-Western line-dancing two-stepping dance night. $5. lessons at 5:30pm, dancing til 10:30pm. Also Sundays. 550 Barneveld Ave. www.sundancesaloon.org Want your nightlife event listed? Email events@ebar.com, at least two weeks before your event.

<< BARchive

40 • Bay Area Reporter • November 30-December 6, 2017

Both photos: Rick Gerharter

Left: Godiva (left) entices Gangway Bar patrons Fawn Lagnefors and Louie Lopez to pluck a chance from the turkey during a fundraiser in November 2008. Right: Nautically attired staff prepares to serve a buffet to celebrate the 25th anniversary of The Gangway on May 17, 1992.

Gangway

From page 37

Coy Meza, who has been going to the bar since the 1970s, said that both the first meeting of the Tavern Guild (in 1962) and the last meeting (in 1995) took place there. The first owners of the bar were a relatively private group (I have not been able to find their names), but they were involved enough in homophile politics to give donations to the Council on Religion and the Homosexual in 1965. Records of this exist online. The bar really started cooking in 1967. That’s when the first ads for the bar appeared in Vector. Not coincidentally, that’s when the second owners, Daddy Joe Roland and Roger Hall, took over the bar. This anniversary was marked annually with a party in mid-May. As Roland was Lithuanian, he began having a Lithuanian Independence Day party there on February 16. The event was a wild affair with marching bands (sometimes leaving the bar and marching around the block), catered food and the crowning of Mr. and Miss Lithuania. By the early ‘70s “Lithuanian” had become a synonym for “gay” in the bar, with Bay Area Reporter columnist Sweet Lips using it in this item

from 1971, two months after the paper started: “Seems as if the Gangway is attracting the stars – Burt Lancaster was there last Thursday – I didn’t know he was Lithuanian!!” Meza, who was Lips’ caregiver and ghostwriter through his later years, informed me that Lancaster (who was bisexual) was particularly fond of the longtime Gangway bartenders John Wise and Darrell Warren. In the 1970s, the Polk Street neighborhood spilled over onto Larkin. During that decade there were several gay-oriented businesses in the neighborhood including Totie’s (743 Larkin), Bo Jangles (709 Larkin, later Oil Can Harry’s), the Vagabond (800 Larkin) and the Hook and Ladder (1035 Post, it was also Partners). These businesses were a bridge between the Polk street area and Tenderloin bars like Kokpit (301 Turk) where Sweet Lips was “on the planks” (bartending) for years. Roland and Hall were directly responsible for building the bridge between the Polk neighborhood and the Tenderloin as well. In 1979 they opened the Queen Mary Pub (133 Turk), which stayed in business for eight years. The bar subsequently reopened as Aunt Charlie’s in 1987,

which remains open to this day. The Gangway was also a community center and fundraiser beginning in the ‘70s. Bars often cooperated in events. Totie’s and the Gangway put on an old-fashioned Fourth of July celebration together in 1971. In the early ‘70s, the bar hosted Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s parties, complete with food. Ring exchanges between partners were celebrated in the days before same-sex marriage was legal. In 1977 Roland hosted a fundraiser, donating cash and turkeys to seniors for Thanksgiving which Harvey Milk acknowledged with a plaque presented in the bar. Roland held events for both the Imperial and Ducal courts and was the Grand Duke I, the Lithuanian Steed. Community activism at the bar continued into the ‘80s. The bar held auctions for Coming Home Hospice, which raised thousands of dollars. They also participated in the late Mark Friese’s ‘Bar Wars,’ a pub crawl where a donation allowed participants a drink at several bars (Wooden Horse, Rendezvous, the Motherlode, Polk Gulch, Kimo’s, the Sanctuary and other bars participated as well as the Gangway). Funds raised went to buy VCRs for Ralph K. Davies hospital one year and to the Godfather Fund other years. Roland and Hall owned the bar into the mid-90s, when it was taken over by a lesbian couple Uli and Trada, according to Meza. The Lees, who currently own the bar, took over ownership in 1998. Both subsequent owners maintained the tradition of holding benefits for the community, particularly Tenderloin Tessie’s, which provides holiday meals for the community. Tracing the history of the bar before 1960 proved difficult. From 1949 through 1959 the Polk directo-

ries list 841 Larkin as being a General Electric Self Service Laundry. In the ‘30s, it was Camille’s Tavern and the Oyster Loaf Café. The National Trust for Historic Preservation has an article which says the bar opened in 1910, but then refers to the legacy bar and restaurant map from San Francisco Heritage which says, “The Gangway opened its doors under a different, unknown name in the Tenderloin in 1910.” Meza says that the San Francisco Art Deco Society has an advertisement for the bar from the 1915 World’s Fair, and further suggests that a raid on the bar in 1911 is

documented in the city’s Health Department records. Hopefully, further research on this earlier history can be done in the future. In researching this article, comments on review sites lamenting the impending loss of the bar prove arguable. “We don’t need them (gay bars) anymore,” wrote one person. Some would disagree. Besides being a place where people had a good time, The Gangway raised money for the poor and the sick, and provided a place for people to celebrate the important events in their lives. Given the state of national and world affairs, we need bars like The Gangway more than ever.t

Top: Lithuanian Independence day ad in the Bay Area Reporter Jan 15, 1976. Bottom Left: Gangway/Kokpit ad in Vector, Aug. 1970 Bottom Right: The Gangway’s fourth Anniversary Party ad in the B.A.R. May 1, 1972.

November 30-December 6, 2017 • Bay Area Reporter • 41

Arts Events

Gooch

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November 30-December 7

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Thu 30 Beach Blanket Babylon @ Club Fugazi The musical comedy revue celebrates its 43th year with an ever-changing lineup of political and pop culture icons, all in gigantic wigs. Book now for holiday special shows. $25-$160. Beer/wine served; cash only; 21+, except where noted. Wed-Fri 8pm. Sat 6pm & 9pm. Sun 2pm & 5pm. 678 Beach Blanket Babylon Blvd. (Green St.). 421-4222. beachblanketbabylon.com

A Christmas Story @ SF Playhouse Local production of Benj Pasek, Justin Paul & Joseph Robinette’s Tony-nominated musical adaptation of the classic movie. $20-$125. Tue-Thu 7:30pm, Fri & Sat 8pm. Sat & Sun 2pm. Thru Jan. 13. 450 Post St. sfplayhouse.org

Classic & New Films @ Castro Theatre InForum’ presents Tim Ferriuss, author of Tribe of Mentors (6:30). Dec. 1: Disney’s Beauty and the Beast animated sing-along, hosted by Sara Moore and Laurie Bushman (7pm. Dec. 3, 2:30pm). Dec. 2: A Day of Silents (silent films 11am-10pm). Dec 3: Close Encounters of the Third Kind (7pm) and UFOria (9:30). Dec. 6 & 7: Tom of Finland (4:30, 7pm, 9:15). $11-$16. 429 Castro St. www.castrotheatre.com

Finishing Touches @ GLBT History Museum Benefit for the Louise Lawrence Transgender Archive, with Shawna Virago, Birdie Bob Wyatt, J. Raoul Brody, MC Carol Queen, and archive talk with Ms. Bobbie Davis. $donations. 7pm-9pm. 4127 18th St. lltransarchive.org glbthistory.org

The Golden Girls @ Victoria Theatre The hugely popular drag performances of Christmas episodes from the classic elder women sitcom return, with Heklina, Matthew Martin, D’Arcy Drollinger, Holotta Tymes and special guest stars. $25-$40. Thu-Sat 8pm. Sun 7pm. (Sun Dec. 10 & 17, 2pm). Thru Dec. 23. 2961 16th St. goldengirlssf.com

Sat 2

The Golden Girls @ Victoria Theatre

Michael Feinstein @ Feinstein’s at the Nikko

Detour Dance @ Mission District

The acclaimed singer-pianist returns to his West Coast nightclub to perform a new concert, Home for the Holidays. $64-$105. Nov 30-Dec 2, 8pm. Dec 3, 5pm. Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. feinsteinsatthenikko.com

The innovative local company performs site-specific histories of LGBT, POC and longtime residents in various locations. $15-$30. Fri, Sat & Sun thru Dec. 10. Start at Holy Innocents Episcopal Church, 455 Fair Oaks St. detourdance.com

Seal, SF Symphony @ Davies Symphony Hall

Disney’s Aladdin @ Orpheum Theatre

The acclaimed soul-pop singer, with the Symphony, performs jazz & swing classics from his new album, Standards. $45-$250. 7:30pm. 201 Van Ness Ave. sfsymphony.org

Touring production of the colorful hit musical based on the Disney film. $55-$162. Tue-Sat 8pm. Wed, Sat & Sun 2pm. Sun 1pm. Thru Jan. 7. 1192 Market St. shnsf.com

Small Mouth Sounds @ Strand Theatre American Conservatory Theatre presents Bess Wohl’s acclaimed Off-Broadway comedy about the wellness industry and spiritual gurus, set in a woodsy retreat center. $14-$90. Tue-Sat 7:30pm. Wed & Sat 2pm. Thru Dec. 10. 1127 Market St. www.act-sf.org

World AIDS Day Mask Exhibition @ Terra Gallery Clínica Esperanza at Mission Neighborhood Health Center hosts a mask-making party for patients, staff and friends, with appetizers and drinks, and a performance by Mazzy Star. 6pm-9pm. 511 Harrison St. http://www.mnhc.org/medicalservices-categories/hiv-services

Fri 1 Bright Star @ Curran Theatre Steve Martin and Edie Brickell’s new bluegrass musical about an unlikely love story in the 1920s American South. $49-$175. TueSun various times thru Dec. 17. 445 Greary St. sfcurran.com

A Christmas Carol @ Geary Theatre American Conservatory Theatre’s 41st annual production of Carey Perloff and Paul Walsh’s acclaimed stage adaptation of the Charles Dickens story, with a cast of dozens and a lavish design. $20-$135. Thru Dec. 24. 415 Geary St. act-sf.org

Deal With the Dragon @ NCTC Kevin Rolston’s acclaimed solo show explores his unique life experience. $25-$50. Wed-Sat 8pm. Sun 2pm. Thru Dec. 3. 25 Van Ness Ave., lower level. nctcsf.org

The Evolution of AIDS Activism, 1981-1990 @ GLBT History Museum Opening reception for a new section of the museum’s permanent exhibition, curated by Mike Shriver. $5. 7pm. Dec. 7: Truth and Love: Finding the Soul of the Sixties, a discussion with author Caorl Blackman. $5, 7pm. 4127 18th St. glbthistory.org

Just Another Zombie Holiday Show @ Exit Theatre Theatrical comic cabaret where the cast shows up late and hungry for brains. $15. 8pm/8:30pm. Thru Dec. 16. 156 Eddy St. theexit.org

Noh Christmas Carol @ Noh Space Theatre of Yugen’s theatrical Japanese reinterpretation of the Charles Dickens short story. $30$70. Fri & Sat 7pm. Sun 4pm. Thru Dec. 24. 2840 Mariposa St. www.theatreofyugen.org

Older and Out @ North Berkeley Senior Center Weekly group discussion about problems for elders in the LGBT community. 3:15pm. 1901 Hearst Ave., Berkeley. pacificcenter.org

The Royale @ Aurora Theatre, Berkeley Ringside drama about boxing and race by award-winning TV writer and producer Marco Ramirez. $33-$65. Tue-Wed 7pm. Thu-Sat 8pm. Sun 2pm & 7pm. Thru Dec. 10. 2081 Addison St., Berkeley. auroratheatre.org

San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus @ Various Venues The acclaimed chorus performs holiday concerts throughout the Bay Area. $17-$99. Dec. 1: Freight & Salvage, 2020 Addison St., Berkeley. Dec. 2 & 3: Bankhead Theatre, Livermore. Dec. 8 & 9: Nourse Theatre, 275 Hayes St., SF. Dec 24: Castro Theatre, 429 Castro St., SF. www.sfgmc.org

Shakespeare in Love @ Marin Theatre Company

Fri 1

San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus @ Various Venues

Lee Hall’s stage adaptation of Tom Stoppard and Marc Norman’s screenplay about William Shakespeare’s fictional romance with a female aspiring actor. TueSun 7:30pm. Some matinees. Thru Dec. 17. 397 Miller Ave., Mill Valley. marintheatre.org

See page 42 >>

<< Arts Events

42 • Bay Area Reporter • November 30-December 6, 2017

Sun 3 Jorge Rodolfo De Hoyos Jr.’s Rite of Spring: Conduit @ Safehouse Arts

Help is on the Way for the Holidays @ Marines Memorial Theatre The Richmond/Ermet Aid Foundation’s annual holiday benefit concert features cast members from the touring production of Disney’s Aladdin, Kimberley Locke, Jake Simpson, Shawn Ryan, Jason Brock, Kim Nalley, Jessica Coker, and Gregangelo. Proceeds benefit Project Open Hand and Larkin Street Youth Services. $60, $125 and up. Silent auction 6:30, performance 7:30pm. VIP after-party with drinks and desserts. 609 Sutter St. reaf-sf.org

Justin Spring @ Various Venues

Arts Events

From page 41

Smuin Ballet @ Various Venues The SF company performs Michael Smuin’s popular Christmas Ballet. Dec 1, Sunset Center, Carmel. Dec. 6: Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts. Dec 14 at YBCA, SF. www.smuinballet.org

Le Switch @ NCTC Philips Dawkins (The Homosexuals)’ witty new play about a gay librarian who’s swept into a romance at a Montreal wedding. $25-$50. Wed-Sat 8pm. Sun 2pm. Thru Dec. 10. 25 Van Ness Ave, lower level. nctcsf.org

Winter Dragon of Chinatown Ball @ Chinese Cultural Center Year-end celebration with an LGBTQ vogue ball with cash prizes, a runway show and dancing, with performances by Sandy Guo, Portsmouth Square Dance Club, and LionDanceMe. 6pm-9pm. 750 Kearny St. facebook.com/ events/1971691296191453

World AIDS Day @ Nat’l AIDS Memorial Grove President Bill Clinton is the keynote speaker at the annual commemoration of those lost in the AIDS pandemic. Free/ticketed. 11:30am-2pm. Nancy Pelosi Drive at Bowling Green, Golden Gate Park. aidsmemorial.org

Sat 2 42nd Street @ Alcazar Theatre Bay Area Musicals’ new production of the classic Broadway musical. $20-$75. Thu-Sun various times thru Dec. 10. 650 Geary St. bamsf.org

Avenue Q @ NCTC The puppets return! The Tonywinning musical about a New York neighborhood of puppets and people is restaged. $35-$60. Previews; opens Dec. 9. Wed-Sat 8pm. Sun 2pm. Thru Jan. 7. 25 Van Ness Ave., lower level. nctcsf.org

Interspace/ology @ ODC Dance Commons 69th Pilot Program of new dance works, by Carly Lave, Carmen Roman,. Dana Genshaft, Alexandre Munz, Katelyn Hanes and Arina Hunter. $15. 8pm Also Dec. 3, 4pm & 7pm. Studio B, 351 Shotwell St. www.odc.dance/pilot

Journey to Worlds Unknown @ Contemporary Jewish Museum Family gala with entertainers, storytellers, exhibits and refreshments. $25 and up. 5:30pm8:30pm. Also, Sabbath,The Dorothy Saxe Invitational group exhibit, thru Feb 25. Also, Jewish Folktales Retold: Artist as Maggid (thru Jan 28). Free (members)-$12. Fri-Tue 11am-5pm, Thu 11am-8pm (closed Wed). 736 Mission St. 655-7800. thecjm.org

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

Reading and events with the author of The Gourmands’ Way ; Dec 4 at Chez Panisse, 1517 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley ($100). Dec. 5, 6:30 at Omnivore Books, 3885 Cesar Chavez St. Dec. 6, 7pm at Diesel Bookstore, 2419 Larkspur Landing. Dec. 7, 7pm at Rakestraw Books, 522 Hartz Ave., Danville. thegourmandsway.com

Tue 5

Sun 3

Dysfuntional Holiday Revue @ Berkeley Rep

Deck the Hall @ Davies Symphony Hall

The Second City’s comic sketch series focuses on seasonal satire and sacreligious songs. $40-$60 (includes one drink!). Tue, Thu-Sat 8pm. Wed & Sun 7pm, Sat & Sun 2pm. Thru Dec. 31. 2025 Addison St., Berkeley. berkeleyrep.org

SF Boys Chorus, Young Women’s Choral Project, SF Ballet School and SF Children’s Musical Theatre performs holiday songs and dances, including excerpts from The Nutcracker. $44-$64. 11am & 3pm. 201 Van Ness Ave. sfsymphony.org

Folsom Exhibition Closing Party @ Mark I Chester Studio The resident photographer and Alex Ray cohost a closing party for their kink photography exhibit. Get your own kinky, leather or nude photos taken! 2pm-5pm. 1229 Folsom St. markichester.com

Wed 6 Cirque de la Symphonie @ Davies Symphony Hall A concert of holiday songs with traditional and contemporary film music. $35-$89. 7:30pm. Also Dec. 7. (Dec. 8: Holiday Gaiety, with the Symphony, Armistead Maupin, Cheyenne Jackson, Peaches Christ, Bob the Drag Queen, Edwin Outwater and Melissa King; $15-$79). 201 Van Ness Ave. sfsymphony.org

Rabih Alameddine @ SF Public Library The multiple award-winning gay author discusses his books, including his latest AIDS and gay-themed novel, The Angel of History. 6pm. Latino/Hispanic Room, lower level. 100 Larkin St. rabihalameddine.com

Thu 7 5 on 25 @ Safehouse Dance premieres by Alma Esperanza Cunningham, Nina Haft, Joe Landini and Ronja Ver for the 25th anniversary of the indie dance space. $15-$30. Thu-Sat 8pm. Thru Dec. 16. 145 Eddy St. safehousearts.org

Tender Life @ Tenderloin Museum Opening reception for Tender Life: Graphic and Ceramic Memories of Tenderloin Living, 1999-2004, a group exhibit of contemporary ceramic and other works by Holly Coley and others. 6pm-9pm. 398 Eddy St. tenderloinmuseum.org

Kitka @ Various Venues The amazing women’s folk vocal ensemble performs their Wintersongs concert series. Dec. 7, Holy Cross Church, Santa Cruz. Dec. 9, Osher Marin JCC, San Rafael. Dec. 10, Arts at St Bedes, Menlo Park. Dec. 15, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Oakland. Dec. 16, Old First Church, SF. Dec. 17, Nile Hill, Oakland. Dec 21 Filoli Gardens, Woodside. Thru Dec 21. www.kitka.org

The Rose That Grew From Concrete @ LGBT Center Opening reception for an exhibit of multimedia art by members of the Center’s Youth Program. 6pm-8pm. 1800 Market St. www.sfcenter.org To submit event listings, email events@ebar.com. Deadline is each Thursday, a week before publication.

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

Wed 6

Rabih Alameddine @ SF Public Library

Holiday Brass @ Davies Symphony Hall Members of the SF Symphony’s brass section perform works by Bach, Vivaldi, Gabrieli, Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky and others. $15$75. 8pm. 201 Van Ness Ave. sfsymphony.org

Rite of Spring: Conduit @ Safehouse Arts Jorge Rodolfo De Hoyos Jr.’s solo dance performance set to Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring. $15. 7pm. 1 Grove St. safehousearts.org

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We’re All Queens @ Verdi Club Radar Productions’ hosts a kids’ drag ball, hosted by Honey Mahogany, with treats, a costume and makeup booth, and performances by Honey, Persia and Yves St. Croissant with paired kid performers. Proceeds benefit Drag Queen Story Hour. $25$50. 10am-3pm. 2424 Mariposa St. radarproductions.org

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Mon 4 Celebration of Hope @ City Hall Rainbow World Fund’s annual tree-lighting ceremony with the beautiful tree decorated with 1000s of origami cranes; performers and speakers include SF Boys Chorus, Armistead Maupin, Sister of Perpetual Indulgence, Mayor Ed Lee, and co-MCs Cheryl Jennings and Donna Sachet. Free. 6pm-8pm. City Hall. worldtreeofhope.org

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November 30-December 6, 2017 • Bay Area Reporter • 43

Shining Stars

Photos by

Steven Underhill

Domingo de Escandalo @ Club OMG

osted by Vicky Jimenez, Domingo de Escandalo, the Latin drag show at Club OMG (43 6th St.) attracted some devoted fans over the holiday weekend on November 26. Check out the other nights at the intimate nightclub, including comedy, dance and underwear nights. www.clubomgsf.com See plenty more photos on BARtab’s Facebook page, facebook.com/lgbtsf.nightlife. See more of Steven Underhill’s photos at StevenUnderhill.com.