October 17, 2019 Edition of the Bay Area Reporter by Bay Area Reporter

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Vol. 49 • No. 42 • October 17-23, 2019

Adults have tepid response to Host Homes by John Ferrannini

acing a tepid response from adults willing to open their homes to a homeless young person, the San Francisco LGBT Community Center will hold a recruiting event this Saturday for its Host Homes program. So far, center officials said, no adults have signed up. The informational session will be for people to learn how to host a youth in need of housing as part of the program. As the Bay Area Reporter noted in an August article, unsheltered transitional age youth from 18-24 can apply at the community center for the program, which includes wraparound services – housing, casework, mental health services, and ultimately a plan toward a more permanent housing solution. The program accepts all TAY homeless youth, but the center’s language highlights the fact that nearly half of that demographic is LGBTQ, and have specific housing needs that the program can help with. Karessa Irvin, the program manager of Host Homes for the LGBT center, said that “about 10 young people” facing housing instability are interested in being hosted.

Jane Philomen Cleland

Governor Gavin Newsom.

Newsom signs LGBT teacher training bill by John Ferrannini

Courtesy Wikipedia

The San Francisco LGBT Community Center is having trouble recruiting adults to host homeless young people in their homes.

“That’s without us recruiting them,” Irvin said. “They’ve been getting word and reaching out to us.” The center said that it did not have any people awaiting services who were available to speak to the media. The center said that hosts have to be in San Francisco. Christine Keeves, a queer woman who is

the director of communications for the center, said that the program is intended to help the young people get on their feet. “In addition to their housing placement, youth in the program will work with case managers to develop educational, vocational, and housing plans to help them secure housing post-Host Homes,” Keeves wrote in an email to the B.A.R. See page 15 >>

2 SF district attorney candidates spar over appointment

overnor Gavin Newsom signed two bills into law on Saturday that will provide teacher and school staff training to combat bullying and have hospitals disclose how many of their contracts are awarded to LGBT-owned businesses and those operated by other minority groups. Assembly Bill 493, the Safe and Supportive Schools Act of 2019, will require annual training for teachers and certificated staff, such as guidance counselors and librarians, with the goal of creating a safer and more supportive school environment. See page 14 >>

B.A.R. MUNICIPAL ELECTION

ENDORSEMENTS

by John Ferrannini

SAN FRANCISCO

Mayor

debate among the four candidates for San Francisco district attorney was civil for the most part, but near the end the two leading contenders squabbled over the mayor’s recent action appointing candidate Suzy Loftus interim DA. Loftus will replace George Gascón later this week. He resigned two weeks ago to move to Southern California reportedly to explore a run for DA there. The October 14 forum was held at CPMC Davies Hospital conference center in the Castro and was sponsored by the Duboce Triangle Neighborhood Association. “The mayor tried to throw her weight into this race,” progressive candidate Chesa Boudin said. “She said something really telling when she appointed Suzy. She said ‘I need a district attorney I can work with.’ The voters want and deserve a district attorney that they trust, that works for them.” Loftus shot back that she has the confidence of more than just the mayor. “I’m proud that so many people across San Francisco have selected me as their choice to be the next district attorney because I’m someone that they trust. I started running against the status quo over a year ago,” Loftus said. “It has been that approach that has earned me the support of eight members of the Board of Supervisors.”

London Breed Dist. 5 Supervisor

Vallie Brown District Attorney

Suzy Loftus Public Defender

Manohar “Mano” Raju City Attorney

Dennis Herrera Sheriff

No Endorsement Treasurer Rick Gerharter

San Francisco district attorney candidates Leif Dautch, left, Suzy Loftus, Chesa Boudin, and Nancy Tung met for a candidate forum Monday.

Loftus announced she was running for DA before Gascón said he would not seek re-election. Boudin said that voters should take advantage of a time when the law and order approach to crime is being replaced by more rehabilitative strategies. “It’s the first time in our lifetimes that a lot of people are thinking that the status quo in criminal justice isn’t working,” Boudin said. “We need to seize this moment.”

Loftus, currently counsel for the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department, is the preferred candidate of many in the city’s Democratic political establishment, including Democratic presidential candidate Senator Kamala Harris, herself a former San Francisco DA and whom Loftus worked for when she was state attorney general. Boudin, a deputy public defender, has racked up endorsements See page 6 >>

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<< Community News

2 • Bay Area Reporter • October 17-23, 2019

SF homeless advocates kick off All In campaign

by Sari Staver

omeless advocates this month kicked off a citywide campaign to encourage residents to get involved in solving the epidemic of homelessness in San Francisco. At an October 1 neighborhood meeting held at the San Francisco LGBT Community Center, members of the All In coalition told some 60 people that the group hopes to find homes for 1,100 currently homeless people within the next year. The All In coalition is part of Tipping Point, a 15-year-old nonprofit that has raised more than $260 million to educate, employ, house, and support people in need in the Bay Area. All In launched in July at a meeting in Duboce Park where it announced “a new, first-of-its-kind coalition and campaign calling for greater urgency in solving homelessness.” The recent meeting was hosted by gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman and partners Brilliant Corners, a statewide organization focusing on housing; the Lavender Youth Recreation Center, a queer youth agency; Openhouse, which provides services and housing focused on LGBT seniors; and the Castro Country Club, a clean and sober gathering place. District 8 includes the Castro, Noe Valley, Glen Park, and Diamond Heights. Meetings in the city’s 10 other supervisorial districts will follow. All In includes more than 90 organizations, representing people from all walks of life who support solutions to homelessness across the city.

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Jodi Schwartz, left, executive director of LYRIC, and Stephany Ashley of Brilliant Colors talk about the All In homeless campaign at an October 1 meeting.

At the meeting, Stephany Ashley, the housing services director for Brilliant Corners in Northern California, said the solution to homelessness “is not easy, but is quite simple.” “People need housing with services,” she said. “The longer I work (in this field) the simpler I believe the solution is. At the point someone has a stable place to stay, their entire life” can begin to change. Ashley said that according to the 2019 Point-In-Time Count there are some 370 homeless people in District 8. “In a city as progressive and wealthy as San Francisco,” it should be possible to solve homelessness, she said. There are misconceptions about the demographics of San Francisco’s LGBT community, said Rebecca Rolfe, executive director of the LGBT center. Many people seem to have the

false notion that the gay community is populated by “gay white men with a lot of income who take fabulous vacations,” she said. “It’s not true,” Rolfe, a lesbian, added. “We’re diverse.” The center offers a number of programs for homeless youth, she said, including an economic development program, education on financial literacy, and a small housing program. “The building welcomes the community,” she said, and people have free use of computers, bathrooms, and access to information on other local resources. Rolfe also plugged the center’s new Host Homes program, which is recruiting people willing to house local homeless transitional age youth for a period of three months to one year. See page 14 >>

Horizons meets legacy gift goal ahead of 40th birthday by John Ferrannini

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orizons Foundation, an organization that supports LGBT nonprofits and organizations with LGBTfocused programs, announced that it has achieved its goal of getting $100 million in legacy gift commitments ahead of its 2020 goal. “The opportunity for legacy donations in our community is truly staggering,” Roger Doughty, a gay man

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who is the president of Horizons Foundation, said in a phone interview with the Bay Area Reporter. Doughty said that after some research Horizons decided to go with legacy and estate gifts as the centerpiece of a project to raise money for LGBT nonprofits because of the large monetary potential those gifts have in these communities. Horizons kicked off its Now and Forever campaign to secure the commitments three years ago. The organization wanted to achieve the $100 million goal by 2020, its 40th anniversary. Doughty was careful to point out that Horizons isn’t “sitting on $100 million.” “These gifts will come to Horizons in the form of cash, real property, insurance policies, securities, IRAs and other retirement assets, and occasionally other types of assets,” Doughty wrote in an email to the B.A.R. “All are typically left through donors’ wills or trusts. The $103 million number announced includes future legacy (i.e. after-death) gifts.”

Horizons was able to secure these gifts through its outreach in the financial services community, according to Deb Stallings, a lesbian who is the vice president of development for the foundation. “A big part was getting out the word that Horizons offers this,” Stallings said in a phone interview with the B.A.R., adding that estate planners who are in-the-know would tell clients who wanted to be charitable that “If you check with the folks at Horizons, they can help you with that plan.” Some of the legacy commitments were to specific LGBT nonprofits to be distributed through Horizons, and others are for Horizons itself to figure out how to distribute. Stallings said that the latter makes more sense because estate plans are often written decades in advance of someone’s death. “People in a relationship with Horizons can trust that Horizons will know what the needs are in the community at that time,” she said. See page 14 >>

Courtesy Horizons Foundation

Horizons Foundation President Roger Doughty announced at its recent gala that the organization met its legacy gift goal several months early.

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<< Open Forum

4 • Bay Area Reporter • October 17-23, 2019

Volume 49, Number 42 October 17-23, 2019 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 • John Ferrannini CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Ray Aguilera • Tavo Amador • Race Bannon Roger Brigham • Brian Bromberger Victoria A. Brownworth • Philip Campbell Heather Cassell • Belo Cipriani • Dan Renzi Michael Flanagan • Jim Gladstone David Guarino • Liz Highleyman Brandon Judell • John F. Karr • Lisa Keen Matthew Kennedy • Joshua Klipp David Lamble • Max Leger David-Elijah Nahmod • Paul Parish Lois Pearlman • Tim Pfaff • Jim Piechota Bob Roehr • Gregg Shapiro • Gwendolyn Smith Sari Staver • Tony Taylor • 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 • Fred Rowe Steven Underhil • 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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B.A.R. election endorsements T

he Bay Area Reporter recommends these people for various city offices on next month’s ballot, with one exception.

Herrera for city attorney

San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera is running unopposed for a sixth term and we endorse him once again. Under Herrera’s stellar leadership, Ashley Thompson the office has done its part to check the outraCity Attorney geous excesses of PresiDennis Herrera dent Donald Trump and has garnered a national reputation for leading on issues such as marriage equality, gun control, and climate change. This summer, he forced the Trump administration to delay until November the implementation of a rule that would allow health care staff to refuse to provide medical treatment to anyone, even in emergencies, if it conflicted with their religious beliefs. The federal Department of Health and Human Services issued the rule that Herrera said would reduce access to health care, particularly for women, LGBT people, and other medically and socially vulnerable populations. According to Herrera’s office, the new rule would require cities like San Francisco – in all circumstances – to prioritize a staff person’s religious beliefs over the health and lives of patients. The rule is so broad that it applies not just to doctors and nurses, but anyone even tangentially related to health care, like receptionists. Schedulers, for example, could refuse to schedule appointments for LGBTQ patients or a woman seeking information about an abortion. This is just one of the Trump administration’s efforts to satisfy religious conservatives at the expense of civil rights and equality for all. Of course, Herrera, and the attorneys he recruited, are best known in the LGBTQ community for their work on marriage equality. It was his office’s defense of then-mayor Gavin Newsom’s 2004 order empowering city officials to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples that pushed marriage equality into the spotlight and set the stage for eventual national legalization of same-sex marriage in 2015. We will always be grateful for his crucial role in making that dream a reality. When City College of San Francisco was facing its accreditation crisis, it was Herrera’s office that assisted the school, leading to a reprieve for the community college that is a vital lifeline for advancement for so many students. Herrera has been steadfast in fighting for San Franciscans, whether it be at the federal, state, or local level. He is a protector of the vulnerable and voters should keep him in office.

Raju for public defender

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.

Manohar “Mano” Raju is running unopposed for San Francisco public defender. Mayor London Breed appointed him to the position earlier this year following the unexpected death of Jeff Adachi Manohar “Mano” and it was a wise choice. Raju Raju joined the public defender’s office in 2008 after a stint in Contra Costa County and most recently served as comanager of its felony unit. Raju told us during his editorial board interview that he shares many of Adachi’s values, which bodes well for criminal defendants. The public defender’s office is one of the best in the country, with top attorneys who vigorously defend their clients. Raju is committed to ensuring that juries reflect the community of the accused and to keeping police and prosecutors accountable. That includes having his attorneys keep an eye out – file objections if needed – for possible implicit or explicit bias, such as prosecutors trying to keep LGBTs off juries. He wants to establish an integrity unit to investigate convictions to ensure that sentences are fair. He will work with the office’s immigration unit to guarantee the right to counsel to clients at risk of deportation. Adequate resources are important and Raju told us he will advocate for increased funding for support staff. The office had a reputation for its “macho”

atmosphere and Raju told us that it was unfortunate. He said that he recently moved two LGBT staffers into management positions. “I am interested in lifting up diversity as much as possible,” he said. A few years ago, after we called out his office when one of his attorneys misgendered a trans woman in court, Adachi committed to sensitivity training, which Raju told us is ongoing. “It’s really important that we understand pronouns people prefer and we honor that,” he said. “What’s important for me to do is to be clientcentered, and to really know [and] represent our clients and connecting out to the families as well as we can and understanding why we do that.” Raju pledged to work with whoever is elected district attorney, and we believe a better relationship between the two offices would strengthen our criminal justice system. That doesn’t mean the public defender’s office should soften its stance against police wrongdoing (Adachi uncovered homophobic and racist texts among officers during his tenure), but as Raju said, his loyalty is to the clients that are represented by his office. We endorse him in this race.

No endorsement for SF sheriff

We tried to schedule an editorial board interview with Paul Miyamoto, the only candidate for San Francisco sheriff. Through several emails dating back to July, we communicated with his campaign but it canceled Paul Miyamoto every meeting we scheduled. In late August we sent a proposed meeting date and did not receive a response. We have no endorsement in this race because we were not able to ask Miyamoto questions about his law enforcement philosophy, vision for the department, and whether he is committed to continuing the department’s trans policy, which was initiated by former sheriff Ross Mirkarimi and implemented in 2018 by current Sheriff Vicki Hennessy, who is not seeking reelection. The trans policy is important. The guidelines, which have been gradually introduced in recent years and are among the first of their kind in the country, were finally implemented in February 2018. They cover everything from where inmates are housed to which pronouns deputies should use when referring to inmates and for which gender staff should perform searches. The policy took years to develop and fund. It was initially met with stiff resistance from the San Francisco Deputy Sheriffs’ Association, which at the time had a gay man, Eugene Cerbone, as its president. A couple of years ago, Cerbone expressed concerns about changes to the way trans inmates are housed. In 2015, he told the Bay Area Reporter that he didn’t consider trans people who had not had surgery to be transgender. While Cerbone no longer leads the union, we wanted to ask Miyamoto about the morale of the department since the trans policy was formalized, how deputies are reacting to its implementation, and how trans inmates are faring under it. Without any contenders, Miyamoto will be elected San Francisco’s next sheriff. We hope to meet with him after he is sworn in to discuss these issues. But we couldn’t endorse a candidate who apparently did not find it important enough to meet on the record with the city’s leading LGBT publication to discuss issues and policies of his department that affect our community.

Re-elect Cisneros for treasurer

José Cisneros is the only LGBT citywide municipal officeholder. We’re endorsing him for a fourth four-year term as treasurer-tax collector primarily because of his acumen and proven success as the Cynthia Laird city’s banker and chief Treasurer José investment officer. His Cisneros. main responsibility is collecting taxes and revenues. In that capacity, he publicly sparred with home-rental sites like Airbnb over its initial refusal to collect and pay the same occupancy tax San Francisco imposes on city hotels. When we met with him earlier this year, he declined to talk

specifically about Airbnb, citing taxpayer confidentiality laws, but he did note that not only did his office work on the issue, but the city’s supervisors and former mayor helped by creating an office to police short-term rental websites, which has made it easier for such businesses and their hosts to follow the rules. Cisneros has also been creative in aiding all city residents. His Bank on San Francisco program, which works with banks to provide accounts for those who are unbanked, became a national model. His office has helped upward of 75,000 people open bank accounts, thus avoiding a reliance on check-cashing outlets and their exorbitant fees. More recently, his office has been involved in talks to explore forming a city-run public bank that could expand banking services to underserved clients. Due to federal laws regarding marijuana, a public bank isn’t ideal for cannabisfocused businesses, which is the type of business that could benefit most. Cisneros supports efforts by state lawmakers to change the federal rules. Cisneros is running unopposed – he last faced a challenger in 2005 – and he can be counted on to continue his leadership of this critical city department. San Francisco cannot provide the myriad services it does without resources that are derived from an efficiently and competently managed treasurer’s office.

Lam for school board

San Francisco Unified School District Commissioner Jenny Lam was appointed in January by Mayor London Breed to fill a vacancy on the board and now must run to Jenny Lam complete the unexpired term. She has two minor challengers and we support her election. During her editorial board meeting with the Bay Area Reporter, Lam, who works as Breed’s education adviser, said serving on the school board represents a culmination of the education work she’s done over the last 20 years empowering young women, fighting for the civil rights of immigrants, and improving technology access in the classroom. She’s the parent of two children who are enrolled in the SFUSD and has served on several education committees. The district faces a complex task of overhauling its unpopular school assignment policy. Lam agreed that the board had failed to achieve its goal: “We know that our student assignment, and the outcomes of it, so far, is completely opposite the original intent of why the board created the policy.” The policy resulted from a consent decree and a commitment to address racial inequalities by improving integration. Yet, as Lam pointed out, “the outcome now is our schools are actually more racially isolated and segregated than they have been before. I think this board is ready to tackle really looking holistically at that policy.” We encourage that examination and believe Lam is capable of facing the difficult decisions that lay ahead. Lam acknowledged that nonbinary and LGBTQ students continue to face unique problems that can impede their education and she wants “to dive deeper” and understand from students and their families what those experiences are. She suggested seeking the guidance of community-based organizations to equip school social workers and counselors with the skills to support their LGBT students. Site leadership, working directly with principals and other administrators, and educational development are also parts of her solution. “They’re the ones who are going to build out that school climate, with their staff and with their families and students,” she said. “I am excited about the work that’s happening at the middle school level, particularly how we’re supporting our LGBTQ students, so that for example, I know at Denman Middle School, there’s growing support there [and] more additional funding [for] partners like LYRIC.” The fate of a mural at Washington High School has been a long-running controversy that came to a head this year with rowdy public hearings and equivocal decisions by the board. “Life of Washington,” by Victor Arnautoff, has been criticized by students and their supporters as racist and degrading for its depiction of black and Native American people; equally vocal preservationists maintain that the subversive artist had intended to send the opposite message and that altering the mural would amount to censorship and erasing history. See page 15 >>

Politics >>

October 17-23, 2019 • Bay Area Reporter • 5

44 years ago, gay employment bill died in CA

by Matthew S. Bajko

aving heard oral arguments last week in three federal cases seeking workplace protections based on sexual orientation and transgender status, the U.S. Supreme Court has the LGBT community on tenterhooks awaiting its decision. It could either set precedent by adopting new rights for LGBT employees or deal a significant blow to the fight for equality. A decision may not come until next June. Forty-four years ago LGBT advocates in California found themselves in a similar state of suspense as Golden State lawmakers debated whether to protect gay employees. In an unexpected move thenAssemblyman John Foran, a Democrat from San Francisco who died in 2014, had introduced Assembly Bill 633 that called for the state’s Fair Employment Practices Commission to add sexual orientation to its purview. Foran’s aim was to make it illegal for an employer to fire someone because they were gay or lesbian. Marking one of the first times a state legislative committee voted for an LGBT rights bill, the Assembly’s Labor Committee passed Foran’s bill by a 6-2 vote on April 7, 1975 along party lines, with Democrats all voting for it. As the Advocate would report a month later, the bill only survived due to then-Assembly Speaker Leo McCarthy “dramatically” rushing committee member Louis Papan (D-Daly City) “to the hearing from another meeting for his affirmative vote.” (McCarthy and Papan both died in 2007.) Foran had introduced the bill January 30 to the consternation of George Raya, who in 1974 had become the Golden State’s first full-time openly gay legislative advocate. He had moved back to his hometown from San Francisco in order to work pro bono as a lobbyist for the Society for Individual Rights, a San Franciscobased gay rights group. “Our strategy was not to have a San Francisco person introduce the bill,” recalled Raya, 70, in a recent phone interview with the Bay Area Reporter from his home in the state capital. “It was why we went to Larry Kapiloff of San Diego. He was willing to carry the bill because he was in a safe Democratic district. So when Foran introduced the bill, it came as a surprise.” Nonetheless, Raya worked with Foran to drum up support for the bill within the LGBT community across the state. Their strategy was to counter arguments that liberal San Francisco leaders were attempting to “push their morality on the whole state,” recalled Raya. “By bus, by plane, by car, I went everywhere to organize political action committees in the districts of the state lawmakers,” said Raya. “So people would get letters in support from their districts and people would visit their legislators in their districts.” The bill survived a number of committee votes before heading to the full floor of the Assembly for a final vote that summer. If passed, it would be sent to the state Senate and taken up in 1976 during the second year of the legislative session. In his August 21, 1975 “Milk Forum” column in the B.A.R., gay leader

Courtesy George Raya

George Raya, right, and former California Assemblyman Gary Hart

Harvey Milk asked readers to jam Assembly members’ phone lines and demand they support the bill or face the LGBT community’s wrath when they sought re-election. “At this time there is some doubt whether there are enough votes to get the bill passed. If it does not get through it may be two years before the next try,” warned Milk, two years before he would make history by becoming the first out person to win elective office in the state. “The ramifications that would come out of its passage spread into every avenue of gay freedom – from allowing more gays to step out of their closets to the hiring of gays as teachers and police. The list is endless,” added Milk, who was assassinated in 1978 – 11 months into his first term as a San Francisco supervisor. Despite the efforts by LGBT advocates and their legislative allies, Foran was unable to secure passage of AB 633 by the full Assembly. The bill was voted down 22-48 the last day lawmakers had to vote on legislation. Writing for the Advocate, reporter George Mendenhall wrote, “the vote was taken in the final two hours of the 1975 legislative session by an exhausted body that appeared to rebel against the controversial measure.” The outcome was “disappointing of course,” said Raya, but hardly a shock as anti-gay religious groups had swung into action to defeat the bill and lawmakers had begun to fret about their ability to get re-elected if they supported it. The bill’s demise was offset by the passage that year of then-Assemblyman Willie Brown’s AB 489, which ended the state’s sodomy laws and legalized sex between consenting adults of the same sex. For six years Brown, a powerhouse politician from San Francisco, had tried to pass it. The legislative fight over the sodomy bill had also inflamed the religious right and likely helped sink Foran’s bill. As Mendenhall noted, lawmakers “who had supported the Brown measure welcomed the Foran bill as an opportunity to now vote ‘no’ on a gay issue – to ease the pressure” they were facing from anti-gay groups. In 1976 Raya left the Statehouse to return to San Francisco for a job with the county welfare department. State lawmakers would again try to pass workplace protections for gay

people in 1979, while that April thenGovernor Jerry Brown (D) issued an executive order banning state agencies from discriminating against employees based on sexual orientation. AB 1, by then-Assemblyman Art Agnos (D-San Francisco), would be introduced during multiple legislative sessions throughout the 1980s. It passed out of the Legislature in 1984 only to be vetoed by then-Governor George Deukmejian (R). In an oral history he did for the California State Archives, Agnos explained why he used his privilege to introduce the first bill of the session, which was due to lawmakers being called alphabetically, to use the number 1 for the gay rights bill. “I wanted people to know that this was a significant issue to me, and it ought to be a significant issue to the people of our state because gay people are part of us, and therefore deserve the same rights as all of us,” said Agnos. “By having it as the first bill in the Legislature, it made a symbolic statement that this was an important issue, and it always got publicity because it was the first bill.” Agnos left the Legislature in 1987 when he was elected mayor of San Francisco. Other lawmakers then took up the gay employment rights bill, leading to then-Governor Pete Wilson (R) vetoing the legislation in 1991. The following year Wilson reversed course and signed into law a similar bill, sponsored by then-Assemblyman Terry B. Friedman (D-Los Angeles), making California the seventh state to bar job discrimination based on sexual orientation. Wilson, however, did veto a second bill that would have provided stronger protections from discrimination for gay employees. In 1999 then-Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa (D-Los Angeles) was able to pass his AB 1001, which put the gay employee protections under the auspices of the Fair Employment and Housing Act, thus codifying existing case law that prohibited housing discrimination based on sexual orientation. And in subsequent years California lawmakers added gender identity protections for transgender employees. As for Raya, he had created the Human Rights Fund in order to raise money to pay for his lobbying activities. In 1978, the National Gay Rights Lobby, the first such LGBT group of its kind, adopted the name of Raya’s fund to become the Human Rights Campaign Fund – now simply known as the Human Rights Campaign. At a recent luncheon Raya ran into former Assemblyman Gary Hart (DSanta Barbara), who would go on to be the state superintendent of education, and they reminisced about their time in the Capitol building. Raya said that Hart told him his “proudest vote ever in the Legislature” was the one he cast for AB 633. t

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<< LGBTQ History Month

t Leather vests tell a larger tale of the subculture 6 • Bay Area Reporter • October 17-23, 2019

by Matthew S. Bajko Editor’s note: This is the third in a five-part series for LGBTQ History Month featuring objects that one day could be exhibited in a new, fullscale LGBTQ Museum and Research Center in San Francisco.

he cute, furry faces of teddy bears provide a whimsical detail to the back of two leather vests worn by leathermen in a daddy and son relationship. One sports red fabric encircling the plush toy and was owned by Mr. Red S.F. The one worn by Mr. Red’s Son is denoted with a blue background. On the front of both vests are pins featuring mini handcuffs and the flag adopted by the leather community. The son’s vest is affixed with a pin declaring him “Daddy’s Boy,” while Mr. Red’s includes a teddy bear waving the rainbow flag. The pair of leather vests stitches together a larger tale of the LGBT community’s kink subculture. They visually represent a story woven in artistic talent, unique personal relationships, and of course sexual practices. The adornments are stunning pieces not only for their craftsmanship but also for showcasing how talented of a leather artisan Mr. Red was. His name was Michael “Red” Bentzinger and he died due to AIDS complications May 12, 1995, two days after turning 51. “These are exemplary of the leather community,” said GLBT Historical Society Executive Director Terry Beswick. As the archival group eyes one day opening a permanent museum in San Francisco, the Bay Area Reporter asked the historical society to select items from its collection to demonstrate the possibilities that would come from having its own building in which to show off its vast holdings documenting LGBT culture and history. The historical society has yet to mount an exhibit that included the leather vests at its jewel box of a museum it operates out of a leased storefront in the heart of the Castro, San Francisco’s LGBT neighborhood. In

Rick Gerharter

Two leather vests crafted by Michael “Red” Bentzinger of San Francisco are part of the collections at the GLBT Historical Society.

the recently mounted special installation “The Mayor of Folsom Street: The Life and Legacy of Alan Selby, aka Mr. S,” there wasn’t enough room to display the garments made by Bentzinger. He had worked as a manager at Mr. S Leather, which Selby opened in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood in June 1979. “In our temporary exhibit now on display we didn’t have the space for these items, as precious as they are,” explained Beswick during an interview in August, a month before the show closed. “They could some day be part of an exhibit exploring the fun and kink frivolity of the leather community. I really wish we had them on permanent display.” The historical society doesn’t have much documentation about the vests or Bentzinger. Nor does it know who his son was, information it hopes someone who knew the men could provide it with. “We would like to hear from people who patronized his services and know more about his background and biography,” said Kelsi Evans, director of the historical society’s Dr. John P. De

Cecco Archives & Special Collections. “We rely so much on the community for their feedback on items.” Bentzinger advertised in the Bay Area Reporter his custom leather, repairs, and alterations he provided out of a location on 18th Avenue on the edge of the city’s West Portal neighborhood. His obituary in the B.A.R. noted that prior to moving to San Francisco he had owned and operated a successful antique and clock business in Scotland. A letter in the March 24, 1983 issue of the B.A.R. from George Clements, membership committee chair of BWMT, or Black White Men Together, commended Bentzinger and Eric Penigar, an employee and conceptual artist of Mr. S Leather, for their “Fourth Annual January Black Sale” advertisement that ran in the paper’s January 20 issue that year. It featured a black man wearing a leather cap, jacket, and pants leaning against a brick wall. Clements noted that the members of the BWMT San Francisco chapter felt “the ad was a major step forward in fighting racism by (1) projecting a pos-

itive image of Black-Gay-Maleness to the community and (2) demonstrating that non-White images can, in fact, be valuable assets in advertising.”

Line of teddy bears

Bentzinger gained notoriety for creating a line of leather teddy bears, which his obit said were first produced in the early 1980s. In his leather column in the April 17, 1997 B.A.R., the late “Mister Marcus” Hernandez explained, “In his capacity as the manager of the original Mister S Leather store and a leather tailor par excellence, Red created a big stir in leather circles when he launched his teddy bears at $125 a pop.” As for how Bentzinger’s vest and that of his son ended up in the possession of the archival group, Hernandez wrote that the staff of the now-closed Worn Out West clothing store in the Castro had donated the vests to the historical society after someone came in trying to sell them through the consignment shop. The vests are the only ones that have teddy bears on them in the historical society’s archive, which does

include a stuffed teddy bear. The archival group’s collection also includes leather whips, paddles, and myriad versions of motorcycle caps. There are also leather slings – one owned by Selby was hung from the ceiling in the recent show – that people have donated and one day could be integrated into a gallery in the new museum devoted to leather culture. Displaying such items and materials for the public, however, presents challenges for museum curators. As the historical society officials noted, they need to be handled with extra care as touching them with one’s hands can leave oils on the fabrics. The design of any future museum exhibit, noted Evans, would need to take into consideration how to properly display such objects so they were not damaged. “We would need to talk to specialized leather conservators on how they could display it and how to preserve it,” she said. Using Selby’s sling as one example, Beswick contemplated, “We could do a reproduction of it so people could sit in it,” so the original wouldn’t be destroyed. Bentzinger’s vests would hold particular visual interest for visitors, said Evans, should they one day be exhibited in the historical society’s future museum. She envisioned mounting them on mannequins so museumgoers could see how Bentzinger and his son would have worn them. “They are amazingly beautiful, these leather vests,” said Evans, adding that the garments could also illustrate more than just how leathermen dress. “We can get into what the relationship is between a dad and son.” Such a partnering goes deeper than mere sexual interest. As Bentzinger told the B.A.R. in the January 1 issue of 1984, when asked for his New Year’s wish, he hoped that men continued to “realize that the real beauty and worth of a man lies within. The beautiful package is very appealing, but the real treasure is what’s inside – worthy of time and energies spent to cultivate stronger friendship and brotherhood.” t

Beckles won’t seek East Bay Assembly seat by Cynthia Laird

who defeated Beckles in 2018. here won’t be a re“After a tremendous match in next year’s amount of thought and race for an East Bay Asconsultation with my sembly seat. family, politically astute On Monday, lesbian supporters and allies, I Jovanka Beckles, a former have made the difficult Richmond City Council decision not to run in the member, announced she 15th Assembly District Rick Gerharter would not seek the 15th Jovanka Beckles race in 2020,” Beckles Assembly District seat wrote in an email. currently held by Buffy Wicks (D), She said that a “critical lesson” she

DA candidates

From page 1

from more left-wing individuals and groups like the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club and national activists for criminal justice reform such as Shaun King and progressive supervisors Matt Haney and Hillary Ronen. This is the first open race for DA in a century, but Breed’s appointment of Loftus to the position of interim DA led to much criticism from the Milk club, the American Civil Liberties Union, and others. Critics said the mayor should have waited until after the election or appointed someone who was not a candidate in the race.

Low morale

At Monday’s forum, all four candidates agreed that the DA’s office has languished under the leadership of Gascón with low morale and experienced prosecutors leaving.

Candidate Nancy Tung lives in San Francisco but works as a deputy district attorney in Alameda County. She used to work at the San Francisco DA’s office. “The district attorney’s office is a place that is poorly managed. It has no leadership and that is why I left,” Tung said. “Seeing the opportunity we have to rebuild a world-class district attorney’s office that will keep people safe in San Francisco and also be fair-minded and independent is why I’m running. “What we see in our streets we know is not working,” she added. When the forum opened for questions from attendees, Duboce Triangle resident Yvonne Mere asked the thoughts of the candidates on Proposition 47, a measure that was passed in 2014 that reduced penalties for some offenses, such as for drug possession. “If you talk to the police department their position is that they have lost a lot of tools that they had pre-Prop 47 to address some of the crimes that make us

learned from her 2018 campaign “is that a candidate needs to be able to campaign full-time for many months in order to counter the large amounts of money the opposition has.” She said that she is not in a position to quit her job right now. “I ran for office in 2018 because I am fully committed to radical political transformation that results in equitable and just government,” Beckles wrote. “I will be able to consider running again in the future. It

is possible that in a year or so I may be in a position to do just that.” In the meantime, she said, she remains committed to “building our progressive political movement as an activist.” “I plan to campaign actively for Bernie (Sanders) and progressive local candidates and to support local issues like the campaign to remove the corporate loopholes from Prop 13,” she wrote, referring to the Democratic presidential candidate

and California’s property tax law. “The system will not change without our truly progressive voices at the table.” She added, “I have confidence in several candidates and other political leaders who are fostering the conversation that we need to have. They have my full support.” Wicks did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. t

very nervous,” Mere said. “I live in this neighborhood. I am scared to go out at nighttime by myself. I lived in New York for many years. My parents live upstairs. This has gotten very bad, very quickly. “I appreciate all of your comments but I’m looking for something a little more specific,” she added. Loftus said she can relate, being “grounded in San Francisco” herself and having her kids taking public transportation. “I have so many families telling me ‘depending on the outcome of this race and whether we have a leader who takes this seriously, I may not stay in San Francisco,’” she said. But Loftus didn’t go so far as to say that Prop 47 needed to be repealed. “In other counties where law enforcement worked with the community, property crime went down,” Loftus said. “When you took that stick away there wasn’t another strategy (in San Francisco).”

Boudin said that many of the street crimes that people worry about are related to mental health or drug addiction, and that police are often unfairly called upon to deal with these even though they have not been specifically trained to do so. “We ask them so often to be the front line in mental health crises,” Boudin said. “We are treating the jail as a revolving door. No wonder the police are frustrated.” Loftus said that the DA’s office often doesn’t prosecute cases that need addressing, such as property crime, because of “a downward spiral of learned helplessness from the system.” All of the candidates said that they would try to find ways to enforce laws protecting the environment after an audience questioner brought up a Board of Supervisors resolution sponsored by gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman declaring that San Francisco is in a

climate emergency. “We are relying on Trump’s EPA to do right by the citizens of the southeast corner of our city,” Dautch said, referring to the botched cleanup of toxic materials in the Bayview and Hunters Point neighborhoods. “It’s good to talk about environmental protection generally, but let’s talk about environmental justice.” Prior to the forum, Dautch told the Bay Area Reporter that he’s campaigning to reach all voters. “I’m very interested in what the community cares about because every neighborhood has different concerns,” Dautch said. He said that the focus of his campaign just happened to coincide with the three top concerns he heard from Duboce Triangle residents – vehicle break-ins, homelessness, and mental health. Election Day is Tuesday, November 5. t

Community News>>

October 17-23, 2019 • Bay Area Reporter • 7

Gov signs Wiener’s cannabis bill by Sari Staver

annabis activists were elated after Governor Gavin Newsom on Saturday signed Senate Bill 34, the Dennis Peron and Brownie Mary Act, which exempts compassionate cannabis programs from state cannabis taxes when they provide free medical marijuana to people living with serious health conditions. The bill was introduced by gay state Senator Scott Wiener (DSan Francisco), a longtime cannabis advocate. Former Governor Jerry Brown vetoed a similar bill last year. Wiener said he was pleased that Newsom signed the legislation. “For decades, compassion programs have played a critical role in helping low-income people with serious medical conditions access their medicine,” he said in a statement. “Access to medical cannabis has allowed so many people living with HIV, cancer, PTSD, and other health conditions to survive and thrive.”

Sari Staver

State Senator Scott Wiener, left, and medical cannabis advocate John Entwistle spoke at a recent news conference urging Governor Gavin Newsom to sign SB 34.

He added, “Taxing programs that give away free medical cannabis, and thus have no revenue, makes no sense and has caused far too many of these programs

to close. SB 34 will allow compassionate care programs to survive and serve those in need. Many people will be healthier as a result of today’s action by the governor.” Joe Airone, founder and director of San Francisco’s Sweetleaf Collective, which has provided low-income patients free cannabis for the past 20 years, wrote in an email message to supporters, “Today is an incredible day ... and begins a new era.” Airone, an ally, said that after two years of lobbying, compassionate cannabis is now recognized by the state. According to Airone, thousands of disabled Californians will regain access to this life saving medicine. “The people who have died during this time are gone but not forgotten. They passed because they did not have access to cannabis but this tragedy has ended. The biggest travesty caused by Proposition 64 has been rectified,” he wrote, referring to the state ballot measure that voters passed in 2016.

ACT to hold open auditions for ‘Rocky Horror’ show compiled by Cynthia Laird

including one that will let legal businesses take advantage of more tax deductions. He vetoed another measure that would have allowed some patients to use medical cannabis in health care facilities. In 2016, Newsom campaigned for Prop 64. It went into effect in January 2018, providing for the sale of adult use, or recreational, cannabis by licensed dispensaries. t

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public. For more information, visit the United Democratic Club’s Facebook page.

et your Halloween off to a spooky start by auditioning for the American Conservatory Theater’s local production of “The Rocky Horror Show.” ACT recently announced that it will hold open auditions for the cult classic Thursday, October 31, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission Street in San Francisco. The production will be performed at ACT’s Geary Theater April 23-May 17. Artistic director Pam McKinnon and director-choreographer Sam Pinkleton encouraged interested people to try out. “’The Rocky Horror Show’ is a haven for people of all stripes to be their most brilliant, strange, honest, fabulous, and terrifying selves,” Pinkleton said in a news release. “It’s been blowing minds and opening hearts in San Francisco and around the world for 40 years and I am – yes – shivering with antici ... pation to assemble a community of Bay Area performers who will take over the Geary in 2020 to collaborate on a musical blowout that could only happen in, and for, San Francisco.” He added that people can come as they are. “If you’re nervous about singing, lip synch. If you want to wear a wig, wear three,” he said. Each auditionee will be asked to sign up for an hourlong slot, which will start with a group warm-up and brief Q&A, followed by private individual auditions with the “Rocky Horror Show” team. People should plan on arriving 15 minutes prior to their audition slot. Some auditionees may be asked to attend callbacks November 1 at ACT’s studios. All ethnicities, body types, gender identifications, and ability levels are encouraged to audition. Performers must be local and living in the Bay Area to be considered for casting. No professional experience or union affiliation is required to audition. Auditionees should prepare a song – any style of music – of their choice that they love to sing (under two minutes in length) and bring sheet music. Halloween costumes are encouraged but not mandatory. Other music options are also available. For more details and to sign up, visit https://bit.ly/2oJj7Vn.

SaraMitra Payan, a queer cannabis activist who runs the compassion program for the Apothecarium, wrote on Facebook, “So proud SB 34 has been signed and our patients will again have access to their medicine through compassion programs. Now let’s create programs that inspire the rest of the country to do the same ... Can’t wait to let my patients know we finally got a win.” The governor also signed several other cannabis-related bills,

Meeting on Armstrong Redwoods state reserve

Courtesy ACT

Sam Pinkleton is directing ACT’s production of ‘The Rocky Horror Show.’

Panel looks at Supreme Court

A group called Take Back the Courts believes that conservative appointments to the U.S. Supreme Court have damaged it beyond repair and the only answer is to expand the number of seats on the nation’s highest court. Interested people are invited to a panel discussion to learn how the group’s founders believe it can be done. The United Democratic Club’s Team Q will hold an event Monday, October 21, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at Ecosystem, 540 Howard Street in San Francisco. Take Back the Court founders Kate Kendell and Aaron Belkin will be joined in conversation by moderator Joel Engardio, Team Q chair. Kendell is the former longtime executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights. Belkin ran a research institute that helped overturn the ban on gay and lesbian service members in the military. Now, the two have joined forces in their latest project. “The Supreme Court has broken democracy by dismantling the Voting Rights Act, allowing dark money to flood our politics, and approving partisan gerrymandering,” Belkin said in a news release. “To restore the right to vote, ensure reproductive freedom, protect workers, halt our climate emergency, and save democracy, Congress must add seats to the U.S. Supreme Court.” The event is free and open to the

California State Parks and the Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods invite interested people to learn about the future of Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve and Austin Creek State Recreation Area at a public meeting Thursday, October 24, from 4 to 6 p.m. at the volunteer center, 17000 Armstrong Woods Road in Guerneville. Representatives from California State Parks and the Stewards group will be on hand. The Stewards group operates both Armstrong Redwoods SNR and Austin Creek SRA. In addition to an annual report the Stewards will be providing a general organization report. According to a news release from California State Parks, the closure of Austin Creek SRA in 2011 was avoided via an operating agreement authorized by Assembly Bill 42, in which nonprofit organizations stepped in to keep the state park lands and facilities in Sonoma, Mendocino, and Marin counties open to visitors. The annual meeting is a required component of the operating agreement, as specified in the legislation. Annual reports since 2013 are on Stewards’ website at www.stewardscr.org/austin-creek-annualreports.html.

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<< Community News

10 • Bay Area Reporter • October 17-23, 2019

City OKs third cannabis store in Castro by Sari Staver

he Castro will have a third cannabis dispensary thanks to a 4-0 vote last week by the city’s planning commission allowing the Flore Store to open at 258 Noe Street. The site is currently occupied by Gloss ’n Glam nail salon and is across the street from Flore, the funky cafe where the late Dennis Peron, a gay man, and the late Mary Jane Rathbun, aka Brownie Mary, met regularly two decades ago to plan the legalization of pot. The planning commission voted October 10 to allow Terrance Alan Sari Staver and his business partners to begin renovations on the 798 square foot Luke Bruner, left, and Terrance Alan hold a rendering of the prostorefront that will become a canposed Flore Store. nabis retail store next year. It will be the third place residents can legally sary. Commissioner Kathrin Moore City Hall. “I want to thank all our buy cannabis in the neighborhood, was not present. The vote could still supporters, including the neighborin addition to the Apothecarium’s be overturned if neighbors appeal hood residents and businesses who flagship store at 2029 Market Street to the Board of Supervisors, which agreed that the business would be a and Eureka Sky at 3989 17th Street, happened with a cannabis dispenpositive addition to the Castro.” adjacent to Jane Warner Plaza. That sary in the Sunset, when neighbors Alan, a gay man, is a former city location is still undergoing interior organized to convince the city to entertainment commissioner and renovations, following planning veto its application. chaired the city’s Cannabis State Lecommission approval in June. “We are thrilled with the unanigalization Task Force. The Flore Store vote was 4-0 with mous vote of approval,” Terrance The dispensary will be the Flore gay Commissioner Dennis Richards Alan told the Bay Area Reporter owners’ second foray into the canrecusing himself because he lives OTSF.expo-BAR-halfpagead- 2019.qxp_Layout 1 10/5/19 10:38meeting AM Page outside the commission at 1 nabis business. In 2017, the cafe within 500 feet of the new dispen-

launched a menu of non-psychoactive CBD-laced beverages, but was shut down by the city, which ruled it was in violation of Proposition 64 regulations for the sale of cannabis. While the overwhelming majority of testimony was in favor of the new dispensary, it wasn’t without detractors. Speaking on behalf of the Duboce Triangle Neighborhood Association, David Troup, a gay man who heads the group’s land use committee, outlined its objections. Following 16 months of negotiations and meetings with the sponsors of the proposed Flore Store, DTNA supports the proposal but only if the dispensary agreed to a list of 12 conditions, most of which were approved by the planning commission. Troup noted that some members of the land use committee have “great distrust” that the owners of the new dispensary would stick to their written plans for the space. According to Troup, “past behavior” of the sponsors of Flore Store has made DTNA members “suspicious” that the owners would keep their promises. Among DTNA’s gripes was the dispensary owners’ attempt to oper-

ate the apartment above the dispensary as a short-term rental, despite verbal promises that they would not. Alan said the apartment is now a long-term rental, a condition memorialized in the planning commission’s approval. Other conditions demanded by DTNA and agreed upon by Flore include a promise not to ever apply for a permit to have consumption on the premises. The planning commission balked at a few of the DTNA demands, including one that would prohibit signage to have any mention or picture of cannabis. A commission staffer explained that such a condition would exceed the authority of the planning commission’s signage policy for other businesses. DTNA member Cathy Lew noted that there have been “years of trouble” around the community garden adjacent to the new dispensary, which she said had become a regular location for “drug deals.” “I doubt if a pot shop will be an improvement over a nail salon,” she said. Dispensary sponsors have promised that a camera surveillance system would be installed but “my neighbors are skeptical” that they would follow through, she added.

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Eureka Valley Recreaction Center 100 Collingwood at 18th St.

A program of the Richmond/Ermet Aid Foundation

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The DTNA committee noted that the dispensary would displace the nail salon from its existing location and asked that Flore Store promise to help it find space to relocate. The owners of Flore Store and the DTNA committee have disagreed about whether the nail salon had decided not to sign a lease or the dispensary was given priority by the landlord. The owner of the salon would not comment on the dispute. “It was really important to us” that the dispensary promise to help this existing business to stay in the neighborhood, said Troup. Last month, the tenant at 258 Noe would not comment on the situation. In a phone interview with the B.A.R., tenant Daniel Nguyen, whose mother, Mary Ann, operates Gloss ’n Glam, said the family preferred not to discuss the neighborhood dispute over the property they have been leasing. Nguyen did say, however, that the salon is looking for space elsewhere in the neighborhood. Dr. Robert A. Bush Jr., a gay man and DTNA board member, said, “most neighbors would’ve preferred the new dispensary to be located on Market Street” because the Noe Street location is the “doorstep of our residential neighborhood.” More than a dozen people spoke on behalf of Flore Store, including Castro Merchants President Masood Samereie, who noted that the group’s membership voted to back the new dispensary. Activist “Chicken” John Rinaldi, who is involved with the arts and Burning Man communities, backed the proposal. Rinaldi said he lives a block from the planned dispensary and has children who walk by the location “four times a day.” Rinaldi said he did not understand neighborhood concerns that a dispensary would exacerbate the problems of drug use and homelessness in the area. The dispensary will “neither increase nor solve those problems,” he said. Following the commission’s vote, Alan emailed the dispensary’s supporters, announcing that it would be raising money to pay for buildout of the new business. “We are creating small investor ownership opportunities,” Alan wrote. Investors – who would become part owners – would enjoy discounts and priority access to invest in new locations. Details about investment opportunities will be announced soon, said Alan. t

National News >>

October 17-23, 2019 • Bay Area Reporter • 11

Justices grapple with ‘sex’ in Title VII cases analysis by Lisa Keen

sex? Yes, you did.” Minter said Kagan was “very active and eloquent – and did a tremendous job of poking holes in the arguments of the government and the employer.” Kagan’s voting record on LGBT cases has been pro-LGBT six out of nine times (67%). She surprised many in the LGBT community last year when she voted with the majority that said a Colorado commission showed hostility to a baker’s religious beliefs against same-sex couples marrying.

.S. Supreme Court observers are more reluctant than usual to try and predict how the court might come down on the always hot-button issue of LGBT rights. There is a newly minted conservative majority on the court since the last LGBT case was heard and, this time, the bench’s reliable swing vote in favor of equal protection – Justice Anthony Kennedy – is in retirement. So it is no surprise that post-argument analysis by many Supreme Court observers sees a toss-up: It is simply too hard to predict how the court will rule on whether sexual orientation and transgender status are variations of sex discrimination and, thus, prohibited in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. But it is possible to narrow down the prospects. This can be done by looking at each individual justice and what they said during the October 8 arguments, how they voted in past LGBT matters, and relevant remarks they have made in past opinions. Combined, the information points to some probabilities. The court must make two rulings: Whether Title VII prohibition of employment discrimination “because of sex” can cover sexual orientation. and whether it can cover transgender status. A no means the justice rules against LGBT people and finds that Title VII does not prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or transgender status. A yes means the justice rules for LGBT people and protecting them from employment discrimination under Title VII.

Chief Justice John Roberts: Strong probable no

During oral argument, Roberts gave voice to the idea that the Title VII challenges were asking the court to “update” the federal law to include sexual orientation. This, he said, seemed more like a responsibility for Congress. He also wondered why it would be sex discrimination to fire a man in a same-sex relationship if the employer would also fire a woman in a same-sex relationship. He said the bathroom issue was a “huge problem.” He worried about how the law would handle employers with religious objections to gay people. And he essentially said that transgender status was a “whole different case” and a “different answer” than discrimination based on biological sex. In the past 11 cases that had significant specific interest to the rights of LGBT people, Roberts voted against such rights 55% of the time (in six cases). A notable exception was 2013’s Hollingsworth v. Perry, where Roberts led the 5-4 majority that dismissed an appeal brought by proponents of California’s Proposition 8 – a ballot measure that had banned same-sex couples from marriage. But as some observers noted, the majority could have struck down such bans in all 50 states; it did not. (That took another two years, until 2015’s Obergefell v. Hodges.) On a technicality, it struck the ban only in California. And in his opinion, Roberts emphasized that he sees as “an essential limit” on the court’s power: “we act as judges, and do not engage in policymaking properly left to elected representatives. National Center for Lesbian Rights legal director Shannon Minter said, at least on the transgender case, Roberts is “plainly not on board.”

Justice Clarence Thomas: Almost certain no

Thomas is famous for almost never speaking or asking questions during oral arguments, so his silence October 8 was simply routine. Plus, he had missed the first day of the session (October 7) due to illness. In the past 15 LGBT-specific cases

Courtesy Washington Post

Justices on the U.S. Supreme Court will decide two LGBT cases this term.

Thomas has voted on, he has opposed equal rights for LGBT people 13 times (87%). Of all the justices on the bench today, his record is the most consistently opposed to the interests of LGBT people.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Almost certain yes

During oral argument, Ginsburg was the fourth most active questioner, and her questions and comments were pointedly helpful to the attorneys arguing in favor of Title VII covering discrimination based on sexual orientation and transgender status. She prompted attorney Pamela Karlan (who was representing two men fired for being gay) to address the chief arguments of those who want to limit the reach of Title VII – including that Congress never intended, when it passed the Civil Rights Act in 1964, to cover sexual orientation. She undercut the opposing side’s claim that firing a male employee for being gay would not be sex discrimination because the employer would fire a female employee for being gay. As Ginsburg pointed out, “There’s nothing in the record as far as I can see that there was a policy on the employer’s part of discharging lesbian women.” And she said, in the transgender case, “the object of Title VII was to get at the entire spectrum of sex stereotypes.” In 15 previous LGBT cases before the court, Ginsburg voted in support of equal rights for LGBT people 13 times (87%). Her voting record is the most consistently pro-LGBT of any justice on the bench today.

Justice Stephen Breyer: Almost certain yes

Breyer was the most vocal of the justices during the October 8 oral arguments, asking questions and commenting 35 times, with the bulk of his questions aimed at challenging the opposition to Title VII covering sexual orientation and transgender status. He constructed a hypothetical for the opposition attorney Jeffrey Harris (representing the employers who fired two men for being gay) that led Harris to agree that firing a Catholic for marrying a Jew was still “religious discrimination” even if the employer claimed he fired the employee because he was against interfaith marriages. Breyer said his hypothetical was “an identical case to this one.” And he dismissed opposing attorneys’ “parade of horribles” (concerning bathrooms, locker rooms, sports teams). Historically, Breyer has voted in support of equal rights for LGBT people in 11 out of 15 cases (73%).

Justice Samuel Alito: Almost certain no

During oral argument, Alito’s position became immediately clear: This issue needs to be resolved by Congress. “What some people will say [if this court rules Title VII covers sexual orientation],” said Alito, “is that whether Title VII should prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is a big policy issue and that it is a different policy issue from the one that Congress thought it was addressing in 1964. ... And if this court takes this up and interprets this 1964 statute

to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, we will be acting exactly like a legislature.” In 11 decisions involving LGBT issues, Alito has voted against the interests of LGBT people seven times (64%). His dissent in U.S. v. Windsor (in which the majority struck down a key provision of the Defense of Marriage Act) focused on there being no “right to enter into same-sex marriage” because there was no explicit statement about same-sex marriage in the Constitution. “Any change on a question so fundamental should be made by the people through their elected officials,” he wrote. That was essentially what he repeated during oral argument regarding sexual orientation and Title VII.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor: Almost certain yes on sexual orientation only

Sotomayor was tied with Justice Neil Gorsuch for second place in terms of the number of questions and comments asked by the justices at the hearing. Perhaps anticipating that some justices would express concern about the “social upheaval” some believe would be caused by recognizing sexual orientation and transgender status in Title VII, Sotomayor put the issue on the table very early in the argument. She said the concern about the bathroom issue was “raging in this country” and asked how the courts should deal with women who are uncomfortable with a transgender person in the bathroom. She also stated emphatically that “we can’t deny that homosexuals are being fired merely for being who they are and not because of religious reasons, not because they are performing their jobs poorly, not because they can’t do whatever is required of a position, but merely because” they are gay. Minter said Sotomayor’s comments were telling. “It was clear that the justices are much less familiar with transgender people than they are with gay people,” said Minter. “And it was also clear that many of them, including even Justice Sotomayor, are still affected by many of the most common misconceptions about transgender people – including, especially, just a fundamental inability to believe that a transgender woman is really a woman or that a transgender man is really a man.” Sotomayor’s voting record has favored equal rights for LGBT people 9 out of 11 times (82%).

Justice Elena Kagan: Almost certain yes

During oral argument, Kagan pointedly emphasized the court’s fixation on looking strictly at the text of a law, rather than other factors. “For many years,” she said, “the lodestar of this court’s statutory interpretation has been the text of a statute, not the legislative history and certainly not the subsequent legislative history. And the text of [Title VII] appears to be pretty firmly in Ms. Karlan’s corner.” Speaking to attorney Harris, who represented the employers who fired gay men, Kagan said, “Did you discriminate against somebody ... because of

Justice Neil Gorsuch: Possible yes on sexual orientation; uncertain on trans

Gorsuch’s performance got the lion’s share of media attention because he made a couple of comments that suggested he is on the fence. For instance, he said that, while sexual orientation discrimination may have been in play when the employers fired the men for being gay, “isn’t sex also in play here? And isn’t that enough?” for a Title VII violation, he asked. “The statute,” he said, “talks about a material causal factor ... not the sole cause, not the proximate cause, but a cause.” Gorsuch said he was “really close” to seeing the argument that Title VII’s text should cover sexual orientation and transgender status, but he also expressed concern about what he said would be the “massive social upheaval” of such a decision. Based just on those comments, said Minter, “it would have been easy to conclude that we may well have his vote.” But the transgender discussion, said Minter, “was much tougher.” Gorsuch joined the bench in April 2017 under a cloud of controversy: Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Kentucky) refused to let then-President Barack Obama’s nominee to replace the recently deceased Justice Antonin Scalia to proceed through the confirmation process. Once President Donald Trump took office, McConnell allowed Trump to nominate Gorsuch. During his confirmation hearing, Gorsuch evaded questions about his positions on LGBT legal issues, but he did say, “if you want to create a revolution in the area and change the law dramatically, that’s for [Congress] to do.” He was also criticized for an article he wrote before becoming a judge that

claimed “liberals” were filing lawsuits on “everything from gay marriage to assisted suicide” to achieve their “social agenda.” In four LGBT-related cases, Gorsuch has voted against the interests of LGBT people twice (50%).

Justice Brett Kavanaugh: Probable no

Kavanaugh is the newest member of the bench, joining in October 2018. His confirmation, too, came under a storm of controversy, after several women went public with allegations that he had sexually assaulted them in high school and college. During the two hours of arguments, Kavanaugh spoke up only once. He asked attorney Harris (representing employers), “Are you drawing a distinction between the literal meaning of ‘because of sex’ and the ordinary meaning of ‘because of sex?’ And, if so, how are we supposed to think about ordinary meaning in this case?” Harris responded that he didn’t see a difference, and Kavanaugh did not offer any explanation or delve further. Title VII does not define sex, but a 1975 decision at the U.S. Supreme Court (Burns v. Alcala) said, “Words used in a statute are to be given their ordinary meaning absent persuasive reasons to the contrary.” In another decision four years later (Perrin v. U.S.), the court said, “A fundamental canon of statutory construction is that, unless otherwise defined, words will be interpreted as taking their ordinary, contemporary, common meaning.” Minter said a “literal” reading of the word “sex” in the statute helps LGBT people, while an “ordinary” reading would help an employer who wants to discriminate. “Justice Kavanaugh was either highlighting a potential weakness in the employer’s argument or – more likely – warning the attorney not to make an argument that would require the court to disregard the literal text ...,” Minter said. Disregarding the literal meaning, Minter said, “would push Justice Gorsuch to support the plaintiffs based on a strict textualist interpretation of the law.” Kavanaugh has yet to vote on an LGBT-specific case before the Supreme Court. Like Gorsuch, he dodged questions about his views on LGBT issues during his confirmation process. t

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<< Obituaries

12 • Bay Area Reporter • October 17-23, 2019

Bay Area dance artist Frank Shawl dies by Cynthia Laird

rank William Shawl, a gay man who was dance artist, educator, and co-founder, along with the late Victor Anderson, of Shawl-Anderson Dance Center in Berkeley, died at his home Friday, October 4. He was 87. Born in New Jersey in December 1931, friends said that Mr. Shawl was a beloved and revered teacher, dancer, and choreographer in the San Francisco Bay Area for more than 55 years. The Shawl-Anderson Dance Company was a renowned dance repertory group in the 1960s and 1970s and spawned many of today’s prominent dance artists. Mr. Shawl was known for his capacity to appreciate life, art, and people in a way that made everyone he encountered feel unique, according to an obituary from the dance center. Mr. Shawl’s family joked that he learned to dance before he learned to walk. By the age of 5, he was enrolled in dance school, and at 17, he landed a job dancing with the Roxyettes at New York’s famed Roxy Theater, a job he referred to as “theater boot camp.” From there, he found work on Broadway and in television, as a featured dancer on the Perry Como and Red Skelton variety shows, dancing opposite everyone from Betty Grable and Myrna Loy to Ginger Rogers, Debbie Reynolds, and Tallulah Bankhead. But it was modern dance that fascinated Mr. Shawl most. Ac-

cording to the obituary, he found his lifelong muse, mentor, and friend in May O’Donnell, the Martha Graham soloist who had become a choreographer and director of her own New York Citybased company. Mr. Shawl studied at her studio for eight years and joined the May O’Donnell Dance Company in 1954. O’Donnell had a less competitive, more inclusive style of teaching than Graham, based on nurturing and collaboration, and Mr. Shawl, along with his friend and fellow company member, Anderson, who was also gay, knew he wanted to spread that ethos beyond New York. In 1958, the two men headed west to settle in the Bay Area, where Anderson had grown up. The Shawl-Anderson Dance Center, a school for children and adults, found its first home above a liquor store in Berkeley. Classes cost $2, and Mr. Shawl and Anderson taught them all for several years. The tiny studio had no right angles, and a pillar that jutted up through its center – until Mr. Shawl’s father, a building contractor, advised that the pillar could be removed. Without telling the landlord, Mr. Shawl and Anderson took a sledgehammer to the pillar and spirited the rubble away for weeks in their dance bags. Anderson died in February 2017. Mr. Shawl appeared in concert with the legendary modern dance pioneer Charles Weidman and returned to New York to assist

Gregory Bartning

Frank William Shawl

O’Donnell. In 1962, he and Anderson founded the Shawl-Anderson Dance Company, which would perform to national and international acclaim for the next 14 years. By 1968, the one-room dance school was at capacity, and the company needed more space to rehearse. Mr. Shawl and Anderson mustered their courage and their life savings and bought a Craftsman house across the street, gutted the interior, and transformed the space into four sunny studios. Today, Shawl-Anderson

Dance Center is Berkeley’s oldest performing arts institution – a vital hub of dance in the East Bay – that continues to transform lives through movement, reaching more than a thousand dancers, aged 2 to 92, each week. Countless artists have come to the center to study, teach, make and show new work, and celebrate dance. “Frank Shawl taught me about good dancing, and showed me what good aging looks like,” New York City-based choreographer Kate Weare, who had her early

training in dance and choreography at Shawl-Anderson Dance Center, said in the obituary. “He never stopped performing brilliantly or taking class. Vibrantly interested in, and ignited by, young artists, he never condescended, he believed in our potential, and he was honest, bracing, loving, and generous of heart.” Added Steve Siegelman, president of the board of the ShawlAnderson Dance Center, “Dance and love were the compasses of Frank’s life. That spirit lives on day after day at Shawl-Anderson and in the hearts and bodies of the thousands of dancers whose lives he gently shaped.” Mr. Shawl is the son of Frank Shawl and Ann Renard. He is survived by his sister Margaret M. Maralla of Wayne, New Jersey; his niece and nephew, Kathy and Ralph Vitaro, of Kinnelon, New Jersey; his nephew and niece, Matthew and Darla Tullo of Wayne, New Jersey; his aunt Margaret Hallar of Greenville, South Carolina; and great nieces and nephews, Michelle Nieves, Leo Nieves, Nick Vitaro, Erica Tullo, and Jenna Tullo. A celebration of Mr. Shawl’s life is planned in Berkeley. Information will be available at http://www. shawl-anderson.org. His family asks that donations be made in his memory to the Frank Shawl Legacy Fund at Shawl-Anderson Dance Center. t

Daphne Dorman, subject of Chappelle routine, dies by John Ferrannini

aphne Dorman, a transgender comedian and activist who gained national prominence after being referenced by Dave Chappelle in his controversial Netflix special died by suicide October 11, according to media outlets and San Francisco officials. Ms. Dorman, 44, was a San Francisco resident who hailed from Philadelphia. Her last Facebook post included an apology, a message of love for her friends, and a picture of her and her young daughter. “How do you say ‘goodbye’ and ‘I’m sorry’ and ‘I love you’ to all the beautiful souls you know? For the last time,” the post read. Within hours, she was dead. The San Francisco Police Department confirmed Tuesday afternoon that it responded to the incident, but that it couldn’t provide further details. “The matter is under investigation by the SF Office of the Chief Medical Examiner,” a police official wrote in an email. Clair Farley, director of the city’s Office of Transgender Initiatives, knew Ms. Dorman. “Rest in Power @DaphneDorman – you humor and giving spirit will be missed in the world,” Farley tweeted. Farley said that Ms. Dorman’s death is “an incredible loss.” “I have known Daphne for years, she was an important part of the Bay Area’s trans community,” Farley said. “Daphne was one of the kindest and funniest person in the world, she never let anything get to her and was always giving back.” Farley said that “suicide is all too common for our community.” “It is so important that trans and all LGBTQ people feel supported by their families and communities,” she added. “With the continued attacks on transgen-

der people from Washington and states across the country it is important we continue to say they are valued and loved. If the trans community is looking for support they can call Trans Lifeline or stop by Trans:Thrive.” Farley said she met Ms. Dorman while the latter spent time volunteering for the San Francisco LGBT Community Center, teaching classes to help transgender people who were interested in getting into the tech industry. In an emailed statement to the Bay Area Reporter, Rebecca Rolfe, a lesbian who is the executive director of the San Francisco LGBT Community Center, said that she remembers Ms. Dorman shared her time and talent “to help uplift the trans community.” “She was especially committed to paving a road to success for all transgender people by removing common workplace barriers through her work with Transcode and the #HireTrans campaign,” Rolfe said. “Daphne’s death is a true loss to our community and an opportunity for us to re-dedicate ourselves to ensuring that all trans people have the tools and resources they need to thrive.” Only weeks ago, Ms. Dorman was catapulted into the spotlight in the controversy over comedian Chappelle’s Netflix special “Sticks & Stones.” The Chappelle special was widely criticized as transphobic and homophobic for the comic’s jokes. In the epilogue of the special, Chappelle tells the story of a trans woman named Daphne who he said laughed the hardest at his jokes in the set where he joked about transgender people and issues while he was doing a show in San Francisco. Chappelle said that after the show, he and Ms. Dorman met up at the bar and she thanked him for “normalizing transgenders.” Ms. Dorman acknowledged she

was the woman who Chappelle referred to in the special, even going so far as to change her Twitter biography to “Yep, I’m the Daphne that Dave Chappelle is talking about in Sticks and Stones.” Ms. Dorman’s sister, Rebecca Kugler, has created a fund on Supportful.com to raise money for memorial expenses. “I need to say goodbye to my sister and am in no way financially capable of having a proper memorial service for her,” Kugler wrote. “Any help is greatly appreciated. Anything not used will go into a fund for her daughter.” As of press time, $5,570 has been raised. Netflix and the San Francisco Medical Examiner’s office have not returned requests for comment as of press time. t To donate to the memorial fund, visit https://bit.ly/2MEQGQw. San Francisco Suicide Prevention’s 24-hour crisis line is (415)

Daphne Dorman 781-0500. Its HIV Nightline is (415) 434-2437 or 1-800-2732437. For the crisis text line, text MYLIFE to 741741. For more information, visit www. sfsuicide.org. For the Trans Lifeline, call 1-877-565-8860 or go to www.translifeline.org. For

Trans:Thrive, go to https://sfcommunityhealth.org/program/ trans-thrive/.

Feldman. Phil and Ed collaborated 29 years restoring Craftsman cottages and designing and building new homes in San Francisco. A member of numerous neighborhood associations, Phil spearheaded planting 300 street trees in San Francisco. Predeceased by parents Charline and Clifford Mathews, brothers J. Clifford and Frederick, Fred’s sons Andrew and Michael; he leaves brother Rick and wife Robyn; nephews Ryan and Stephen and wife Cally; sister-inlaw Nancy and niece Taylor; Cliff ’s daughters Sheryl, Jennifer and son John; sister-in-law Dorie and husband Orland; nephews Jeff and husband David Briggs; niece-in-law Juli and great niece Sarah; and numerous cousins and their families. Interment in Marion, Indiana, and celebrations of Phil’s life in Marion and San Francisco to be announced. Donations may be made to San Francisco LGBT Community Center.

George Edward McLane

Obituaries >> Philip Dwight Mathews May 23, 1945 – September 15, 2019

Philip Dwight Mathews, AIA, 74, of Palm Springs, died peacefully September 15, 2019. With him were loving family members: brother Richard, former husband Edward Graziani, and boyfriend Ron Morgan. Phil found his passion for architecture while docenting at Frank L. Wright’s home/studio in Oak Park, Illinois; graduated University of Wisconsin-Madison 1967, and earned his master’s of architecture from UC Berkeley. His brilliant career covered Spain, the San Francisco Bay Area, Mendocino and Marin counties, and New Jersey. He loved mentoring architects, especially Andy Rodgers and Jonathan

April 23, 1937 – June 2, 2019

George Edward McLane passed away June 2, 2019 peacefully during a brief hospice stay in Pacifica. George was born April 23, 1937. George will be remembered for his biting wit and undying love for his San Francisco Giants! Not much of a talker, when he did have something to say, it was usually a zinger. A celebration and remembrance of our friend, George, will be held at the National AIDS Memorial Grove Saturday, November 9, at noon and after a brief farewell, we will gather at 2 p.m. at his favorite bar, Last Call in the Castro (18th and Noe streets) for drinks and pizza to celebrate his life.

Sports >>

October 17-23, 2019 • Bay Area Reporter • 13

30 years ago, quake interrupted World Series by Roger Brigham

y mainstream sports journalism career reached its apex 30 years ago today – October 17, 1989 – when the Loma Prieta earthquake rumbled through Candlestick Park just minutes before the scheduled start of Game 3 of the 1989 World Series between the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland A’s. Lives were lost and lives were shattered that Tuesday evening three decades ago, so in the grand karmic scheme of things, I’ve got nothing to complain about. All of us who were in the Bay Area that day, who watched as neighborhoods blazed away, bodies were pried from beneath collapsed concreteand-rebar highways, and the chaos of desperation snarled crowded surface streets – we all have our personal recollections of the day’s moments of heroism and tragedy. Allow me to share with you some of my memories. I had moved to Los Angeles a little more than three years before, after spending the previous nine years as a journalist in Alaska, to become a features writer in the Los Angeles Herald Examiner sports department. I’d had a great job as a sports editor at the Anchorage Daily News, working with a talented staff and a management team that encouraged boldness and creativity; at the Herald Examiner, I found another staff deep in talent and boldness, but this time was freed from administrative duties, so I could explore writing assignments to my heart’s content. At the time, Los Angeles was close to being the center of America’s major pro sports universe. The city had swiped the Raiders from Oakland and the Rams were just down the road in Anaheim. The LA Kings traded for hockey superstar Wayne Gretzky, Lakers’ Showtime was dominating the NBA behind Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and in 1988 the Dodgers stunned the A’s for the World Series championship behind the irrepressible Orel Hershiser and a single amazing swing from Kirk Gibson. I got to cover all of that and more, from a Pulitzer Prize-nominated series on “Death and Disability in Football” to the Super Bowl to the Summer and Winter Olympics. My front-page story on the Dodgers’ World Series clincher was re-printed on a souvenir beer stein. And that was just the beginning. In 1989, I debuted as a sports columnist during the NBA Finals on a trial basis, and then was selected to take over the

Courtesy Together We’re Giants

People milled about on the field at Candlestick Park after the Loma Prieta earthquake interrupted Game 3 of the World Series between the San Francisco Giants and Oakland A’s on October 17, 1989.

three-dot column “Notes on a Scorecard” on November 1. So, I was riding high heading into the World Series. We’d gotten through the first two games, both Oakland victories, with no problem. Before the start of Game 3, I was in a press bunker deep within the bowels of Candlestick Park, typing pre-game notes into my little laptop, which back then was not much more than a few bits of memory, a keyboard, a three-line LED screen, and a phone modem that would transmit my story back to the office at a snail’s pace. As the room jolted to the side and papers flew off the tables, I reached for a phone while out-of-state reporters began yelling, “What was that?” “What the eff do you think it is?” I yelled back as I dialed my office, praying I could get through before the lines went dead or were jammed. The office picked up and I got operating instructions to pass on to the other writers we had in town. As I hung up with my editor, Rick Arthur, I asked him, “Please call my parents to let them know I’m OK.” I went upstairs to the press box and talked with my colleagues, handing out assignments, grappling with the sense of disbelief that shocked us all. At first, there was virtually no sense of distress, as most fans waited in their seats for the lights to come back on and play to commence. Later that evening I wrote, “The fans cheered, and who could blame them? We have all known that mo-

ment of despair that comes during a major quake – that sudden fear that cuts through the heart when, as the room about us rolls and the floor below us goes mad, we realize that this may be the Big One. We also have shared that nervous moment of laughter afterward when, finding ourselves still upright in the building unscathed, we laugh at fate and our fears and prepare to go on with business as usual.” I prayed, as I always do after a big jolt from a quake, that I was at the worst of it and all was well elsewhere. But then reports began trickling in and I was quickly told to drop my sports stories and return to my first profession – news reporter – to cover the scene in the streets. I spent an hour trying to get out of the parking lot, flipping the radio dial to keep track of the incoming news reports. The estimated magnitude of the quake jumped from 6.9 to 6.5 to 7.0. It was centered in Fremont – no, Hollister – no, Santa Cruz. In flat tones, the radio spoke of homes on fire in the Marina district, a collapsed Bay Bridge, and the crushed doubledecker freeway in Oakland. The dead were estimated to be at least in the hundreds and then in the thousands. Ultimately, of course, “just” 63 died and fewer than 4,000 were injured, but there was no way to know that as I crawled through intersections

where volunteers tried to help move drivers along safely through the darkened streets jammed with commuters desperate to see what damage their homes had suffered. “At some intersections there were flares and I quickly learned what that meant,” I wrote that evening. “Huge gaps had opened up in the seams of the pavement where the earth had chosen to rearrange itself.” With the Bay Bridge knocked out, I knew I could not make it back to my motel in Oakland, so I decided to go to the Noe Valley home of a high school friend and his family. There he crouched with his wife and two daughters, huddled in candlelight around a transistor radio as they listened for alerts on this strangest of nights. The younger daughter was too young to know anything was amiss and thought it would be a good idea if we spent every evening like this; the elder girl was so distraught she decided to go to sleep out of sheer nervousness. I wrote my column with pencil on paper, then slowly dictated it over the phone to my office in Los Angeles. “A lime-green candle colored the room and a portable radio gave a voice to the night,” I told the re-write desk, whose task it was the get my words into print the next day. “As I write this, I don’t know if there will be a game today. I don’t know what this act of nature means to the Giants pitching rotation. I don’t know who will start at shortstop for the A’s. But I do care. It does matter. When the series resumes, it will mean that the process of picking up the pieces will have begun. And life will be getting back to normal.” The next morning, my friend and I went around his block, checking on the elderly and making sure their water heaters were securely braced. The news editors asked me to drive to Oakland to cover the Nimitz Freeway collapse. “I’ll try,” I told them, “but you can probably drive to it from Los Angeles faster than I can from San Francisco.” It took me hours, but I finally got to the Nimitz, where I went on a tour of the collapsed decks, the crushed cars, the twisted rebar sticking out from splintered pillars – rebar so grotesquely mangled it was evident that this earthquake has behaved in a way scientists had not predicted. So that I would never forget the moment, never forget that sports are all fun but this was sterner stuff, I picked up two small pieces of the Nimitz rubble. Stuck one in each of my pants front pockets.

For balance. The baseball decision was made then to continue the series, but having spent so much dreary time looking up at those crushed cars and rescuers searching them one by one, not knowing if people were still alive in them or how many bodies there were, I was not in any mood for it. In the Thursday paper, I commented on the reasons why the series should or should not be played. “The 1989 World Series is dead,” I wrote. “It died a death so monstrous and absolute there is no hope that it has a breath of life in it.” I continued, “The spectacle in the Bay Area now is not baseball. The spectacle is lining up along police barriers to watch concrete slabs lifted in search for the dead. The spectacle is watching ruined buildings smashed to bits in blockby-block recovery demolition. The spectacle is watching mile-long traffic tie-ups as motorists try to make a three-hour commute that used to take 20 minutes.” Eventually, the series resumed after an 11-day hiatus. With all of the rest that allowed the players, the A’s were able to start their top two aces again to complete the sweep. Many sports journalists went home the day after the quake, vowing never to return to San Francisco. I stayed on for a few days, filling in for our beat reporters, but just before the games resumed, I left to go to Mexico for a feature story I had scheduled long before Candlestick got the shakes. At the end of October, I wrote my feature story, to be run that weekend. On the very last day of the month, I sat down to write my first Notes on a Scorecard column. It proved to be my last and only. The paper was sold – just one of the many great metropolitan journalistic dinosaurs to sink into oblivion in the past few decades. I rebounded to become a sports editor in Albany, New York, and then back in the Bay Area as an editor with the Oakland Tribune sports department. In 1995 I parted ways with daily newspapers as they began their long submission to newer technology and I began my journey through medical hell, reemerging on these pages still fighting the good fight. Lordy, lordy, I had a helluva view from the top there for awhile. Thank goodness for those two rocks to keep me centered on reality. Two rocks, for balance. t

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<< Community News

14 • Bay Area Reporter • October 17-23, 2019

Teacher training

From page 1

AB 962 will require hospitals to release information about how much contracting they do with businesses owned by members of historically disadvantaged groups, including women, racial and ethnic minorities, and the LGBT community. The Safe and Supportive Schools Act was introduced by Assemblyman Todd Gloria (D-San Diego), who said in a news release that the legislation was influenced by his own painful past as a gay student in school. “The bullying and name calling I experienced in school as a young gay kid is still a reality for today’s LGBTQ youth. No child should have to experience that,” said Gloria. “Equipping educators with resources to better support LGBTQ students will create a safer and more inclusive environment for these students to be successful.” The law requires that the California Department of Education create a training program by 2021 that focuses on the issues LGBT students have to deal with. It was co-sponsored by Equality California and state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony

SF homeless

From page 2

(See related story.) Rolfe said there is not a lot of data on homelessness in the LGBT community. The city’s most recent Point-In-Time Count found that 27% of homeless people identify as LGBT, double the representation of LGBT people in San Francisco. Among young people, the differences are “more striking,” she said, with close to 50% of homeless youth identifying as LGBT. Conversations with homeless youth indicate that they believe one of the primary reasons they became homeless was homophobia and transphobia, Rolfe added. Further study is needed to understand the disparity, she said. Jodi Schwartz, the executive director of LYRIC, had an optimistic point of view. “Youth homelessness is a solvable issue,” said Schwartz, a lesbian. “We have an amazing, wellcoordinated, and sophisticated network of providers who understand that the barrier to solving homelessness is housing. It’s that simple.” The conversation “must switch” too focusing on how each supervi-

Horizons

From page 2

Doughty said that a third way was to make a gift to Horizons’ LGBTQ Community Endowment Fund, which last fall gave grants to 45 LGBT organizations in the Bay Area to the tune of $409,532.

News Briefs

From page 7

The day is a great opportunity for a free, objective, private consultation with an expert on a wide variety of financial planning issues including budgeting, debt management, retirement planning, investment strategies, income taxes, and insurance. Workshops will be offered on saving and paying for college, student loans, tax planning, investing basics, marriage and financial planning, and more. Spanish and Chinese translation will be available for the one-on-one consultations. There are no strings attached. Financial planners volunteer their time and will not pass out business cards,

tractors with hospitals that have budgets above $25 million, the new law requires California hospitals to publicly disclose how much they are contracting with LGBT-owned businesses as well as those owned by women, minorities, and other disadvantaged groups. As the B.A.R. previously reported, the transparency requirement is aimed at seeing more such companies benefit from the estimated $230 billion the state’s hospital industry spends annually. It mirrors recent efforts to encourage other industries in the state, from public utilities to transportation agencies, to also increase their contracts with minority-owned firms. The law requires hospitals to report their supplier diversity broken down by minority-, women-, LGBT-, and veteran-owned businesses. It is similar to a bill that went into effect in 2015, AB 1678, that required electrical, gas, water, and other public utilities with annual revenues of more than $25 million to include LGBT-owned firms in their contracting diversity outreach efforts. t

Thurmond, who tried to get a similar bill passed last year while he was in the Assembly. Former Governor Jerry Brown vetoed that bill due to its price tag. AB 493 is estimated to cost between $250,000 and $1.3 million for school districts to implement. Supporters said the training will help school employees deal with the verbal and physical abuse that many students – both those who are or will become LGBT, and those who are perceived that way – have to deal with frequently, sometimes on a daily basis. According to a 2015 GLSEN report, nationwide, 85% of LGBT students have faced verbal harassment at school and 27% have faced physical harassment. A total of 58% of the LGBT students surveyed said that they felt unsafe at school because of how people respond to their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. “I’m very excited that AB 493 got signed into law,” Assemblyman Phil Ting (D- San Francisco) said in a phone interview with the Bay Area Reporter. “It sets a good trend to make sure teachers are properly trained and support LGBT people. “Bullying is up, not only or LG-

BTQ people but for everyone,” he added. Also praising the signing in a phone interview with the B.A.R. was gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco). “This is an important step toward full inclusion of LGBT kids in our schools,” said Wiener. “It creates a foundation for working toward ensuring global training of teachers about how to support our LGBT kids.” Assemblyman David Chiu (DSan Francisco) said the new law will help students. “No student should ever have to compromise who they are in order to succeed, and we must ensure all LGBTQ students have the support they need for their future,” he said in a statement. “California is taking the necessary steps to ensure that a student’s sexual orientation or gender identity is never an obstacle in pursuit of an education.” Maggie Riddle, director of K-8 schools for the Berkeley Unified School District, pointed out it implements the Human Rights Campaign’s Welcoming Schools curriculum in K-5 schools. “We actively teach students about

individual and family diversity,” she wrote in an email. “Many of our schools have LGBTQ parent/guardian groups, and some if not all of our middle schools have LGBTQ student clubs or gay-straight alliances.” EQCA officials said that Newsom furthered the state’s commitment to protecting LGBTQ young people. “Today, Governor Newsom sent a loud and clear message to LGBTQ students across California that we have their backs,” EQCA Executive Director Rick Zbur said in an October 12 statement. “The Safe and Supportive Schools Act will not only start a multi-year process to ensure that teachers and school staff have the tools and training they need to support their students, but it will put California on a path to serving as the gold standard for school climate.” Newsom signed the law as part of a package of education bills.

sorial district can create new permanent housing, she said. Currently, the city spends a lot of money housing youth in expensive settings, such as jail or juvenile hall. “This is not what people need,” Schwartz said. Speaking from his personal experience being homeless for 10 years, beginning at age 21, Gary McCoy, 41, a congressional aide in the local office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), said the years living on the street “were the most challenging” time of his life. McCoy, a gay man and housing activist, said he became HIV-positive within six months of living on the street. But, McCoy said, he didn’t keep doctor appointments, worsening his medical problems. Sleeping under bushes or overhangs, McCoy said he got up “before sunrise” because he was “so embarrassed about the way I was living.” Substance abuse with methamphetamines “numbed the pain but didn’t help my mental health,” he said. “If it wasn’t for the services available in the city, I wouldn’t be alive today,” McCoy said. His first step was getting sober,

which led him to “figure out who I was and where I fit in in the city.” Conceding that he was “fortunate” to find subsidized housing, the shortage of such opportunities is now at “crisis” levels. “It’s important to me to try to find housing for people living on the street,” said McCoy. The rapid growth of the city’s tech industry has contributed to housing problems, Mandelman noted. In the past 10 years, some 150,000 new jobs have been created, while only 16,000 housing units have been added, he said. More money is needed for affordable housing, he said, noting that Proposition A, a $600 million housing bond, is slated for the November 5 ballot. In addition to building new units, programs must also focus on using existing stock, he said. Schwartz urged attendees to “get involved” with the city’s budget process and hold elected officials accountable to their priorities. She suggested “standing up” to the city’s public safety budgets, and urge politicians to direct more funds into affordable housing. “Think housing first, not jail cells first,” she said. In an email, Shaun Haines, a gay

black man who attended the meeting, wrote that he thinks it’s vital that the queer community also engage in programming and education regarding anti-blackness. “Our mainstream LGBTQ+ community has its issues with race and often gives itself a passing grade because of the similarities of how we are oppressed,” Haines wrote. “However, anti-blackness and racism within the LGBTQ+ community exists and permeates all areas of leadership and activism. “It is big issue for all of us that keeps us from experiencing true unity within our larger movement for social justice,” he added. “We still receive reports to this day about how black people are treated differently in our bars, in our board rooms, and as we organize to protest our bigger societal issues. Programs like this help us continue to shed a light on this problem, they help us change that trend and narrative.” From the audience, Billy Lemon, a gay man who’s executive director of the Castro Country Club, said that if people were looking for a “tangible thing to do,” he suggested “being nice to the homeless in any way possible.”

For example, he said, if you’re buying something at a cafe, you could buy something extra to give to someone who is living on the street. If you see someone on the street in crisis, try to understand they are experiencing a trauma. By “leading with kindness, your example may inspire others to do the same,” he said. At the October 8 Board of Supervisors meeting, Mandelman introduced a resolution in support of Tipping Point’s All In campaign. In a written statement, Mandelman noted that Tipping Point “has been a strong partner in the city’s efforts to address homelessness, funding the implementation of a new behavioral health bed-tracking tool and committing $3 million to create a new 15-bed behavioral health respite center. The resolution was cosponsored by Supervisors Vallie Brown, Catherine Stefani, Sandra Lee Fewer, Gordon Mar, and board President Norman Yee. t

Organizations that received grants from Horizons last year included St. James Infirmary, the LGBT Asylum Project, the San Francisco Transgender Film Festival and Trans March, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, the San Francisco LGBT Community Center, and the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

Dani Siragusa, the director of development of the LGBT center, said it was “grateful” for the grant that it received from Horizons. “Horizons Foundation provided new resources to improve our fundraising and development work,” said Siragusa. “While many grants go directly to our lifesaving pro-

grams and services, this type of funding helps build longer-term organizational stability, and we’re grateful for the Foundation’s willingness to support this type of critical work.” Doughty said that the organization will announce “a slate of special 40th anniversary events” early

next year to celebrate the foundation’s birthday. “There comes a time in everyone’s life when they think ‘what’s the footprint we’re going to leave here,’” Stallings said. “Legacies of pride honor those who’ve lived them.” t

marketing materials, or sell products or services. They will be stationed at tables to meet with one individual or a couple at a time. Previous events have drawn 300400 Bay Area residents. The event is free and open to the public. Registration is encouraged and can be done at https://bit. ly/31h366g.

Konner, a trans woman and host of the “Under the Golden Gate” variety show. Together they will perform some of their favorite show tunes, movie songs, and rock/pop favorites with plenty of time for attendees to get up on the Eagle’s stage and sing their favorites. “I am excited to come play at the Eagle for the first time,” Hogarth wrote in a Facebook message. “Leather Bar Showtunes Sing-Along is an exciting new part of the community, and it’s gonna be a blast.”

nominations for 2020. The awards recognize up to 15 extraordinary Jewish teens annually with $36,000 each to support their ongoing social impact projects or to further their education. Up to five teens from California and 10 from other communities nationwide will be acknowledged for demonstrating exceptional leadership and impact in repairing the world. The awards were the vision of the late Bay Area philanthropist Helen Diller, who sought to recognize the next generation of socially-committed teens whose dedication to volunteerism exemplifies the spirit of tikkun olam, a Jewish value meaning “to repair the world.”

“Nominating a teen for the Tikkun Olam Awards is a wonderful opportunity for educators, civil leaders, and teen mentors across the country to recognize young Jewish leaders who are creating meaningful change at home and across the globe,” Jackie Safier, Diller’s daughter and president of the foundation, said in a news release. Since 2007, more than $4.5 million has been awarded to 129 teens through the program. Anyone interested in nominating a teen, or any teen interested in applying directly, can visit www. dillerteenawards.org for more information. The deadline to apply is January 8. t

Leather bar show tunes

Interested people can join DJ Dank for another Leather Bar Showtunes Sing-Along Sunday, October 27, from 7 to 11 p.m. at the Eagle, 398 12th Street in San Francisco. The suggested donation is $10. Paul Hogarth, a gay man and talented pianist, who will join Maria

Nominations open for Jewish teen awards

The Helen Diller Family Foundation’s Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards program is now accepting

Contracting

AB 962 was introduced by Assemblywoman Autumn Burke (DInglewood) and Assemblyman Rob Bonta (D-Oakland). In an attempt to promote diversity among con-

For more information, visit https://www.sfallin.org/.

t <<

Community News>>

Host Homes

From page 1

The October 19 session is the center’s “first big recruiting event,” Keeves said. The goal of Host Homes – the first of its kind to be offered in San Francisco, although similar programs have been established in Sacramento, Baltimore, and Minneapolis – is to provide housing for 10-15 youth between the ages of 18 and 24 who are homeless (not just LGBT-identified youth). These youth will be housed from a period of three months to a year. Major funding for this project is coming from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development via the city’s Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing. The HUD funding was awarded to the center through a competitive grant process. The figures included in the 2019-2020 city budget amount to $350,000 a year for two years. According to Roberto Ordeñana, a gay man who is the deputy director of the center, there will be a full-time program manager, three staff members, and two case managers. “This was identified by the commu-

Editorial

From page 4

The mural was commissioned in 1936 as part of a New Deal-era art program. In June, the school board voted to remove it, but in August it reconsidered and voted to cover the mural instead. Lam voted to cover, but that has not satisfied mural supporters and anticensorship advocates who may take the issue to the ballot next year. “I made a decision based upon students and families have been raising this as an issue for several years now,” she told us. She’s “completely supportive” of arts in the schools and co-authored a resolution that would study how art, library books, and other items are selected for use in schools and permitting staff doing the work more freedom to improve implementation. Lam acknowledged that she “learned a lot” during the

October 17-23, 2019 • Bay Area Reporter • 15

Irvin said that there are two challenges the Host Homes program has that are specific to San Francisco. The first is that potential hosts have been leery of signing up because of the city’s strong tenants rights laws. Irvin said that this concern is largely unfounded. “In all of Host Homes history I haven’t heard of a young person claiming tenancy,” Irvin said. A local official with knowledge of these matters said on background that it is conceivable someone could claim tenancy if they provided some payment (not necessarily money) to the host, but that it is more likely that the guest would fall under the legal designation of being a lodger. Lodgers do not have divisible space from the person whose property they are occupying. Further, they can be evicted for no reason. A lodger must be given an eviction notice of 30 to 60 days, according to the California Civil Code. The second issue is that while

hosts in other cities usually get stipends to offset some of the cost of housing additional people, the money from the federal government for the San Francisco project did not include enough for stipends. So the center plans on fundraising for at least a one-time stipend for hosts, and hopefully more down the line, Irvin said. “We want to offset people’s costs,” Irvin said. Keeves said that the upcoming session will include people who have participated in the Host Homes programs in other cities so that they ºcan “answer questions to help potential hosts.” Irvin asked Heather Estes to speak at the event, according to Estes. Estes, who lives in San Francisco, housed a homeless LGBT person who now has a place of her own. “I am grateful to know Val. I have seen her grow, learn, take on challenges, sometimes triumph, sometimes fall back, and keep trying,” Estes wrote in an email to the B.A.R. “She is one of the bravest people I know.” Estes wants to encourage other parents to volunteer for the Host

Homes program. “Just know you will also enriched and changed by the relationship with this young person in your home and your life,” she added. Irvin said that the priority right now is connecting homeless youth with hosts. “We need hosts,” Irvin said. “We need the community to step up and not just throw money, but open up their homes.” The center said that the youth in need of housing are aware that they are not going to be housed right away. “Host Homes is a new program that’s being added to the scope of available services in SF,” the center stated in an email to the B.A.R. “Youth participants are aware that we are launching and still recruiting hosts, and that because we are prioritizing strong, likely-to-succeed pairs, a match may not happen immediately.”t

was Ivy Lee, whom Breed named to the City College of San Francisco Board of Trustees after Rafael Mandelman, a gay man, was sworn in as District 8 supervisor. Lee is an ally to the LGBTQ community and has a solid grasp of the issues facing the college. She has demonstrated a commitment to making City College solvent and efficient so higher education will be accessible to all San Franciscans. She should be elected to serve out the rest of Mandelman’s term. Lee told us in an editorial board interview that she was initially surprised when Breed approached her about the job. A former aide to progressive former District 6 supervisor Jane Kim, Lee said that she told the mayor, “If you’re looking for a political person, and by that I mean you want someone who, you know, you’re going to text and tell me how to vote, I am the

wrong person for that, so I don’t want to waste anyone’s time if that’s where you’re going with this. And she said, ‘You know, that is exactly why I want to appoint you.’ … She just said, ‘You know the reason I want to appoint you is I know that you know who you are and you’re going to vote the way that I think you’re going to, you’re going to put the students first.’” That impressed Lee enough to accept the appointment. Lee is also the only Asian Pacific Islander on the board, after having none for the last couple of years. Lee’s priorities are to the students, faculty, and staff of City College. She supports expanding student and faculty housing programs to the school’s classified staff. While in Kim’s office, Lee was one of the architects of the Free City College program for San Francisco residents who are full-time students – and she wants to make that

permanent. She is proud of the fact that the board just adopted its first balanced budget in a decade. Lee is not afraid to ruffle feathers if that’s what’s needed for improvement. She was somewhat critical of Chancellor Mark Rocha. While she said Rocha “is doing as well as anyone can do,” she added that he needs to “invest time and really hear the community.” That was apparent after our meeting when he proposed large raises for administrators and staff without communicating adequately that they were long overdue and justified. After criticism from students and staff, the raises were reduced and Lee was the lone vote on the board for withholding the increases until an audit could be performed to determine the plan’s suitability. Lee is a strong member on the college board and voters should retain her.t

nity – young people, the (San Francisco Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing) – as a model we wanted to try in San Francisco to address youth homelessness,” Irvin said. In April 2018 center officials had told the B.A.R. that they were aiming to launch a Host Homes program that fall, as HUD had accepted its grant application to pilot the program for two years. At the same time Mayor London Breed, then a candidate, had included it in her housing plan during the campaign and discussed it when meeting with the B.A.R.’s editorial board. A former aide of hers had learned about a Host Homes program in Minneapolis. Keeves said that the center’s goal is to make sure the matches between host and youth are as helpful as possible for both. “We are working diligently to ensure that matches between hosts and guests are made based on aligned values, interests, and lifestyles, so we use youth and host applications to find commonalities among the two, allow the individuals to meet, and then determine if they are the right fit,” Keeves said. “Our aim is to create

pairings that are mutually beneficial both to the host and the guest.”

mural controversy, including managing the public engagement process and fostering a community consensus around an issue. Lam is committed to students and we think she’ll continue to place them first when deciding on policy. Vote for Lam November 5.

Lee for college board

Mayor London Breed has had several opportunities to fill vacancies on Ivy Lee city boards or commissions after members left for other positions. One of those appointments

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The October 19 meeting, which is free, is from 2 to 4 p.m. at the LGBT center, 1800 Market Street. To sign up, go to https://bit. ly/2nWkiR4.

SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA RAPID TRANSIT DISTRICT NOTICE TO PROPOSERS - GENERAL INFORMATION The SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA RAPID TRANSIT DISTRICT (“District”), 300 Lakeside Drive, Oakland, California, is advertising for proposals to provide Design Services During Construction (DSDC) in support of BART’s Train Control Modernization Program, RFP No. 6M8168, on or about October 9, 2019, with proposals due by: 2:00 P.M. local time, Tuesday, February 25, 2020 at the District Secretary’s Office, 23rd Floor, 300 Lakeside Drive, Oakland, California, 94612 (mailing address: P.O. Box 12688, Oakland, California, 94604-2688. Proposers are responsible to ensure their proposals are received at the time and location specified.

DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES TO BE PROVIDED

The District is soliciting for the professional services of consulting firms or joint venture (“CONSULTANTs”) and the selected CONSULTANT’s primary responsibility will be supporting the implementation of the BART Train Control Modernization Program (“TCMP”) which includes various components of the project – i.e. Design Build 49GH-110, Enabling Works, BART Computer Systems Engineering, RS&S 310 D-Cars, Data Warehouse, HVAC Modifications. The CONSULTANT shall report to the BART TCMP Project Manager. The CONSULTANT shall organize and structure a highly specialized cohesive team of experts capable of performing together to deliver a product to BART that meets or exceeds safety requirements, industry standards, technical and performance requirements and best practices. The CONSULTANT shall assign personnel qualified to perform engineering and procurement activities and address related issues associated with the implementation of the Design/Build Contract for the installation of a Communication-Based Automatic Train Control System (“CBTC”) to replace the existing track circuit-based train control system. The CONSULTANT shall have experience in or a broad knowledge about train control systems, including wayside and on-board equipment, hardware and software in both the traditional fixed block technology as well as new moving block technology. The CONSULTANT shall also have experience in or a broad knowledge about the replacement of train control equipment and software on an existing operating transit system as well as experience in or a broad knowledge about the implementation of a moving block type system on an existing operating transit system. The CONSULTANT shall have the ability to oversee the administration of a design-build, system-type contract for a moving block train control system in accordance with state and federal public contracting statutes and regulations. Estimated Cost and Time of Performance: The District intends to make up to two (2) separate standalone awards as a result from this RFP. Each of the two (2) separate agreements shall not exceed forty-five million dollars ($45,000,000) each. The term of each agreement entered pursuant to the RFP will be for ten (10) years. A Pre-Proposal Meeting open to the general public (No SSI clearance required or SSI discussions) will be held on Tuesday, October 29, 2019. The PreProposal Meeting will convene at 1:30 P.M. local time, at the District’s Offices located at: 300 Lakeside Drive, Oakland, CA 94612, the 19th Floor Main Conference Room. At the Pre-Proposal meeting the District’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) and Small Business Entity (SBE) Participation Program and goals will be explained. All questions regarding the DBE and SBE participation should be directed to Mr. Fei Liu, Office of Civil Rights, at: (510) 874-7348, email: fliu@bart.gov; FAX (510) 874-7470. Prospective proposers are requested to make every effort to attend this only scheduled PreProposal Meeting and Networking Session, and to confirm their attendance by contacting the District’s Contract Administrator, Ron Coffey, at telephone: (510) 287-4775, email: rcoffey@bart.gov, FAX (510) 464-7650 prior to the date of the Pre-Proposal Meeting. NETWORKING SESSION: Immediately following the Pre-Proposal Meeting, (roughly 3:00 to 5:00 P.M.) the District’s Office of Civil Rights will be conducting a networking session for subconsultants to meet with the potential prime consultants for DBE and SBE participation opportunities; and Mr. Fei Liu from the Office of Civil Rights is the point of contact for this effort. Proposals must be received by 2:00 P.M., local time, Tuesday, February 25, 2020 at the address listed in the RFP. Submission of a proposal shall constitute a firm offer to the District for one hundred and eighty (180) calendar days from date of proposal submission. Please direct all questions concerning the RFP, other than the District’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) and Small Business Entity (SBE) Participation Program, to Mr. Ron Coffey, at the referenced points of contact.

REQUIRED REGISTRATION ON THE BART PROCUREMENT WEB PORTAL

In order for prospective Proposers to be eligible for award of an Agreement being solicited on the BART Procurement Portal, such Proposers are required to be currently registered to do business with BART on the BART Procurement Portal on line at https://suppliers.bart.gov and have obtained Solicitation Documents, updates, and any Addenda issued on line so as to be added to the On-Line Planholders List for this solicitation. If a prospective Proposer is a joint venture or partnership, such entity may register on the BART Procurement Portal with the entity’s tax identification number (TIN) and download the Solicitation Documents so as to be listed as an on-line planholder under the entity’s name prior to submitting its Proposal. If such entity has not registered on BART Procurement Portal in the name of the joint venture or partnership prior to submitting its Proposal, provided that at least one of the joint venturers or partners registered on line on the BART Procurement Portal and downloaded the Solicitation Documents so as to be added to the On-Line Planholders List for this solicitation, such entity will be required to register with the entity’s TIN as an on-line planholder following the submittal of Proposals, in order for the entity to be eligible for award of this Agreement. PROPOSERS WHO HAVE NOT REGISTERED ON THE BART PROCUREMENT PORTAL PRIOR TO SUBMITTING A PROPOSAL, (OR FOR A JOINT VENTURE OR PARTNERSHIP AS DESCRIBED ABOVE PRIOR TO AWARD) AND DID NOT DOWNLOAD THE SOLICITATION DOCUMENTS FOR THIS SOLICITATION ON LINE SO AS TO BE LISTED AS AN ONLINE PLANHOLDER FOR THIS SOLICITATION, WILL NOT BE ELIGIBLE FOR AWARD OF THIS AGREEMENT.

Dated at Oakland, California this 7th day of October 2019. /S/ Kofo Domingo___________________ Kofo Domingo, Chief Procurement Officer San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District 10/17/19 CNS-3302915# BAY AREA REPORTER

<< Legals

16 • Bay Area Reporter • October 17-23, 2019

Legal Notices>> ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-19-555237 In the matter of the application of: ELIZABETH BOER, 1363 GROVE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner ELIZABETH BOER, is requesting that the name AALIYAH ROXY-KAMORA BERNARD, be changed to AALIYAH ROXY JOY BOER. 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 7th of November, 2019 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

SEPT 26, OCT 03, 10, 17, 2019 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-19-555223 In the matter of the application of: ROE ROY COHEN, 278 30TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94131, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner ROE ROY COHEN, is requesting that the name ROE ROY COHEN, be changed to ROY COHEN. 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 5th of November 2019 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

SEPT 26, OCT 03, 10, 17, 2019 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-19-555232 In the matter of the application of: DENISE RENEE DAYVAULT, 1461 BROADWAY #403, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner DENISE RENEE DAYVAULT, is requesting that the name DENISE RENEE DAYVAULT AKA DENISE TIERNEY KELIIHOOMALU, be changed to DENISE RENEE TIERNEY. 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 5th of November 2019 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

SEPT 26, OCT 03, 10, 17, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038804900 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SANTINO’S VINO, 2101 FILLMORE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed DINO STAVRAKIKIS. 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 09/23/19.

SEPT 26, OCT 03, 10, 17, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038798300 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BAY PACIFIC CONSTRUCTION; BAY PACIFIC INSPECTION SERVICES, 35 ANZAVISTA AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed GARY YEE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/30/86. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/17/19.

SEPT 26, OCT 03, 10, 17, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038798000

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038801700

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: FYSICAL, 1836 BROADWAY ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed GIS OPERATIONS, INC (DE). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/09/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/20/19.

SEPT 26, OCT 03, 10, 17, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038804200 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: A&F SECURITY SERVICE, 2038 CLEMENT ST, UNIT 2, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed A&F SECURITY SERVICE (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/10/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/23/19.

SEPT 26, OCT 03, 10, 17, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038800800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BROWSER BOOKS, 2195 FILLMORE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed GREEN APPLE BOOKS, 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 09/19/19.

SEPT 26, OCT 03, 10, 17, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038795200 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: GREENFORCE GROORGANICS, 2031 UNION ST #6 SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94123. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed GREENFORCE CLEAN TEAM GGGG, YY, PPP LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/12/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/13/19.

SEPT 26, OCT 03, 10, 17, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038783900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BHOGA, 468 CASTRO ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed SAFFRON BREWHOUSE (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 09/03/19.

SEPT 26, OCT 03, 10, 17, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038800900 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BRIO FINANCIAL GROUP, 19 SUTTER ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94104. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed BRIO CONSULTANTS LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/20/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/20/19.

SEPT 26, OCT 03, 10, 17, 2019 NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF PAUL WESTERBERG IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO: FILE PES-19-303204

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ONPODIO, 149 NEW MONTGOMERY ST, 4TH FLR, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed RHYTHMICX INC. (DE). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/22/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/17/19.

SEPT 26, OCT 03, 10, 17, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038799500

OCT 03, 10, 17, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038787200

SEPT 26, OCT 03, 10, 17, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038794400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: COLIBRI CREATIONS, 1638 BRODERICK ST #A, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed DANNHAE HERRERAWILSON. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/10/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/12/19.

SEPT 26, OCT 03, 10, 17, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038799800 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SF LOCAL COLOR, 850 SOUTH VAN NESS AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed WINNING COLORS INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/19/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/19/19.

SEPT 26, OCT 03, 10, 17, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038797800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MINA SPA INC., 2920 DIAMOND ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94131. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed MINA SPA 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 09/19/19.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: EMILY JENKS PHOTOGRAPHY, 1258 12TH AVE #2, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed EMILY JENKS. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/05/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/05/19.

SEPT 26, OCT 03, 10, 17, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038801300

OCT 03, 10, 17, 24, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038787700

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SWELL, 80 DENSLOWE DR, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94132. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed ANECURE INC, (DE). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/20/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/20/19.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BACK TO SPORTS FITNESS & THERAPY, 342 WEST PORTAL AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94127. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed DARRON P. BADONG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 03/03/97. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/05/19.

SEPT 26, OCT 03, 10, 17, 2019

OCT 03, 10, 17, 24, 2019

KEEP UP! EMAIL STRIP.indd 1

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: LOMBARD PSYCHIC, 1628 LOMBARD ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94123. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MARIO ADAMS. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/23/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/23/19.

OCT 3, 10, 17, 24, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038806800

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038817000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: LITTLE HOLLYWOOD CAFE, 2155 BAYSHORE BLVD, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94134. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed MARIBEL CHAVARRI & MICHAEL CHAVARRI. 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 10/04/19.

OCT 10, 17, 24, 31, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038812800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PRECIOUS FUR, 1540 MARKET ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed 8086 SITTING CORP. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 02/01/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/24/19.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: FOLSOM STREET DENTAL, 1130 FOLSOM ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed SETIA DENTAL CORPORATION (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/02/19.

OCT 03, 10, 17, 24, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038807100

OCT 10, 17, 24, 31, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038817100

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: GANT PROPERTIES, 350 RHODE ISLAND ST #240, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed GANT ENTERPRISE INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/24/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/25/19.

OCT 03, 10, 17, 24, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038796300 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: WAX SUITE AND BEAUTY, 4 EMBARCADERO CENTER, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94111. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed WAX SUITE AND BEAUTY (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/15/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/16/19.

OCT 03, 10, 17, 24, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038818700

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: DJI INVESTMENTS, INC., 2230 RIVERA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed DJI INVESTMENTS, INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/08/12. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/04/19.

OCT 10, 17, 24, 31, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038818300 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CASE FOR MAKING, 4037 JUDAH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed CASE FOR MAKING, INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/01/17. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/07/19.

OCT 10, 17, 24, 31, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038792900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: RODGERS + DEITERS, 2211 POST ST #300, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ERIK DEITERS. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/13/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/07/19.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: GATSBYSF, 795 VALENCIA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed GATSBY 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 09/11/19.

OCT 10, 17, 24, 31, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038816800

OCT 10, 17, 24, 31, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038799200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: LOVE THROUGH THE STORM, 742 48TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed SEAN TRAN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/04/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/04/19.

OCT 10, 17, 24, 31, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038812600

To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both, of PAUL WESTERBERG. A Petition for Probate has been filed by MICHAEL WALLACE WATKINS in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco. The Petition for Probate requests that MICHAEL WALLACE WATKINS be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent. The petition requests the decedent’s will and codicils, if any, be admitted to probate. The will and any codicils are available for examination in the file kept by the court. The petition requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important actions, however, the personal representative will be required to give notice to interested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action.) The independent administration authority will be granted unless an interested person files an objection to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority. A hearing on the petition will be held in this court as follows: October 21, 2019, 9:00 am, Rm. 204, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. If you object to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing. Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney. If you are a creditor or contingent creditor of the decedent, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal representative appointed by the court within the latter of either (1) four months from the date of first issuance of letters to a general personal representative, as defined by section 58(b) of the California Probate Code, or (2) 60 days from the date of mailing or personal delivery to you of a notice under section 9052 of the California Probate Code. Other California statutes and legal authority may affect your rights as a creditor. You may want to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law. You may examine the file kept by the court. If you are a person interested in the estate, you may file with the court a Request for Special Notice (form DE-154) of the filing of an inventory and appraisal of estate assets or of any petition or account as provided in Probate Code section 1250. A Request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk. Attorney for petitioner: CLAUDINE SHERRON, SBN: 296499, THE SHERRON LAW FIRM, PC, 1101 STANDIFORD AVE #A1, MODESTO, CA 95350 Ph. (209) 427-2200.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SEVEN HILLS LAW FIRM, 3301 CLAY ST #204, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ANUAR RAMIREZ-MEDINA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/10/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/17/19.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038805100

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: NIPPON GOLDFISH SERVICING, 520 SILLIMAN ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94134. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed KIEN LAM. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/31/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/02/19.

OCT 10, 17, 24, 31, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038813900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: EUGENIA OLVERA ART, 16 PUTNAM ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed EUGENIA O. RAPHAEL. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/02/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/02/19.

OCT 10, 17, 24, 31, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038818000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BICYCLE COMMUTER SERVICES, 38 EL SERENO CT, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94127. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ELBERT C. HILL. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/23/04. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/07/19.

OCT 10, 17, 24, 31, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038816300 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: GREAT ADVENTURES, 2830 A GOLDEN GATE AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed GAIL MATTHEWS. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/04/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/04/19.

OCT 10, 17, 24, 31, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038805500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SL THERAPY, 414 GOUGH ST #6, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed SHEENING LIN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/28/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/23/19.

OCT 10, 17, 24, 31, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038814200 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: INDIGO X, 18 BARTOL ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JIN HAO CHUA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/02/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/02/19.

OCT 10, 17, 24, 31, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038808300

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: LOOP SUPPORT, 1201 TENNESSEE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed PANEL NINJA, INC. (DE). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 04/22/17. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/18/19

OCT 10, 17, 24, 31, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038812900 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BEIT RIMA, 86 CARL ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed BEIT RIMA LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/02/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/02/19.

OCT 10, 17, 24, 31, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038815700

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: YUMMY HOME PLATE, 177 TOWNSEND ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed HOME PLATE LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/03/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/03/19.

OCT 10, 17, 24, 31, 2019 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-19-555285 In the matter of the application of: CHARLES RAMIRO SAENZ, 1336 SOUTH VAN NESS AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner CHARLES RAMIRO SAENZ, is requesting that the name CHARLES RAMIRO SAENZ, be changed to RAMIRO SAENZ TEJADA. 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 3rd of December 2019 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

OCT 17, 24, 31, NOV 07, 2019 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-19-555166

In the matter of the application of: TEREZA LEMOS WILLIS, 201 8TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner TEREZA LEMOS WILLIS, is requesting that the name TEREZA LEMOS WILLIS AKA TEREZA ASSIS LEMOS AKA TEREZA ASSIS WILLIS AKA TEREZA LEMOS, be changed to JULIANA DEMICAEL. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 514, on the 3rd of December 2019 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-19-555282 In the matter of the application of: CURTIS HAPGOOD TONGUE, 2524 FRANKLIN ST #4, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94123, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner CURTIS HAPGOOD TONGUE, is requesting that the name CURTIS HAPGOOD TONGUE, be changed to CURTIS TONGUE HAPGOOD. 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 26th of November 2019 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

OCT 17, 24, 31, NOV 07, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038820400 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: HARD HITTING CLEANING SERVICES, 820 PRESIDIO AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MARCUS GAINES. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/09/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/09/19.

OCT 17, 24, 31, NOV 07, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038820700 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ADVANCED AQUATICS 888, 140 ANZA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JERAD LEONG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/08/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/09/19.

OCT 17, 24, 31, NOV 07, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038799000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: HAPI FEET, 2477 CHESTNUT ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94123. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JANELLE TATE GREEN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/13/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/18/19.

OCT 17, 24, 31, NOV 07, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038808900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BOOGIE DAWG, 1888 GENEVA AVE #1712, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94134. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed SHEILA K. LANG. 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 09/26/19.

OCT 17, 24, 31, NOV 07, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038816900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CLEAN BAY AREA, 3661 18TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed EDUARDO ISAAC DUTSON-GUTIERREZ. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/30/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/04/19.

OCT 17, 24, 31, NOV 07, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038821900 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: EPIC AUTOMOTIVE, 341 10TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed WT MANAGEMENT INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/10/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/10/19.

OCT 17, 24, 31, NOV 07, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038811500 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: WEI GUO HOUSE, 3751 GEARY BLVD, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed GS RIVERSIDE GRILL (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/01/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/01/19.

OCT 17, 24, 31, NOV 07, 2019 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-038449000

The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: ALLEY HOUSE, 3751 GEARY BLVD, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business was conducted by a corporation and signed by GS RIVERSIDE GRILL (CA). The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/28/18.

OCT 17, 24, 31, NOV 07, 2019 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-032194300

The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: PLAIN & SIMPLE, 149 ADDISON ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94131. This business was conducted by an individual and signed by MELVINA M. HILL. The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/13/09.

OCT 17, 24, 31, NOV 07, 2019

OCT 17, 24, 31, NOV 07, 2019 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-19-555281

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PALM FINE JEWELRY, 1410 POLK ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a general partnership and is signed TESSA ORTON & SAMUEL BILLS. 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 09/26/19.

In the matter of the application of: MEGAN E. INTOCCIA, 2524 FRANKLIN ST #4, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94123, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner MEGAN E. INTOCCIA is requesting that the name MEGAN E. INTOCCIA, be changed to MEGAN INTOCCIA HAPGOOD. 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 26th of November 2019 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

OCT 10, 17, 24, 31, 2019

OCT 17, 24, 31, NOV 07, 2019

Stay up-to-date with late breaking news, online extras and our weekly email recap of the most comprehensive Bay Area, state and national LGBTQ news. Sign up today at ebar.com/SUBSCRIBE 6/19/19 11:30 AM

Leading ladies

Spying gents

Black & white

Barbra beat

Vol. 49 • No. 42 • October 17-23, 2019

www.ebar.com/arts

Figaro in Post-Revolutionary America by Philip Campbell

fter more than 200 years, the perpetually hip writing team of Mozart and Da Ponte still has a hit on their hands. “The Marriage of Figaro” opened at the War Memorial Opera House last week, and it’s funnier and timelier than ever.

Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera

See page 22 >>

Peter Terzian

Serena Malfi as Cherubino, Michael Sumuel as Figaro, and Jeanine De Bique as Susanna in Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro.”

Scene from director Matt Tyrnauer’s “Where’s My Roy Cohn?”

Bully boy

“Overthrow” author Caleb Crain.

Telepathic hackers

Sony Pictures Classics

by David Lamble

n his provocative and darkly funny new feature-length biopic “Where’s My Roy Cohn?” director Matt Tyrnauer once again displays a remarkable ability to rummage around in our country’s recent past as if it were an untidy closet, extracting painful mementos like a high school picture in blackface or the robes of a Klansman. This time out, the director of “Studio 54” returns to the dark side of celebrity. See page 22 >>

by Tim Pfaff

ven though the post-publisher-purchase gestation period of most books, LGBTQ fiction not excepted, is longer than the elephant’s 22 months, many seem to be landing at moments when they’re topical, which may say more about our moment than about the books. See page 22 >>

{ SECOND OF THREE SECTIONS }

OCT 25-27 co - p r es e n t e d by z s pac e

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Photographer: David DeSilva Dancers: Lani Dickinson, AJ Guevara & Janpistar

<< Out There

18 • Bay Area Reporter • October 17-23, 2019

Musical thirst quenchers

by Roberto Friedman

ut There has famously thirsty ears, but here are three CDs that have lately quenched them. “Rize Up” (Metaphor Records) is a set of the master musical satirist Roy Zimmerman’s trenchant Trump-era observations set to classics of the American songbook. It’s clever, it’s musical, and all the lyrics scan to the melodies! Example A is “Sweeney Trump.” “Attend the tale of Sweeney Trump,/who made some promises on the stump./To make America great again,/for white, xenophobic, misogynist men./He says the White House is a dump,/says Sweeney Trump,/ the demon barber of Clown Town.” “His tax cuts helped the 1%./ When he said ‘the people,’ well, that’s who he meant.” “Swing your razor high, Sweeney,/shake your tiny fists,/waging your courageous war on journalists/ (and scientists, and feminists, and ethicists.)” “He likes to keep his family near:/Ivanka and Jared, and Vladimir./Attend the tale of Sweeney Trump,/ who takes America for a chump./He’d like to govern, but tee-off awaits.” And so it goes. “Pixie Man” is about erstwhile US Attorney General Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III, who knew enough to recuse. “The Don” is about the orange abomina-

tion who treats the US government as his own personal crime syndicate. “Don’t look at me, I’m squeaky clean,/Just pull the rubles out of the washing machine.” “The Shady Bunch” considers the whole corrupt Cabinet. “Ol’ Man Fibber” brings Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein’s classic “Showboat” tune to bear on that most odious manipulator Mitch McConnell: “He just keeps rollin’ the con./He don’t like workers, he don’t like renters,/he just likes tax cuts for 1%ers./If we should die before we wake, at least we know we’re dying for some billionaire’s sake.” No less a musical-lyrical legend than Joni Mitchell has blurbed, “Roy’s lyrics move beyond poetry

and achieve perfection.” Zimmerman and his wife and co-writer Melanie Harby tour extensively. The new album’s title tune “Rise Up” is dedicated to the student activists from Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL, and he sings it as an uplifting duet with Laura Love. “Songs from the Bardo” (Smithsonian Folkways) is a collaborative composition by avant-garde icon Laurie Anderson, Tibetan multiinstrumentalist Tenzin Choegyal, and composer-activist Jesse Paris Smith. It’s a musical and spokenword adaptation of “The Bardo Thodol” or “Liberation Through Hearing During the Intermediate State.” This sacred text is popularly known in the West as “The Tibetan Book of the Dead,” a name bestowed by its first English translator, Walter Evans-Wentz.

The holy book, found in all traditional Tibetan homes, gives literal instructions of what to do during the transitional state of existence between death and rebirth. “The Bardo” refers to the 49-day period leading to enlightenment (for the karmically pure) or to the next life (for the rest of us). Although the text follows Buddhist precepts, it concerns universal themes. Anderson’s expressive voice, her electronic violin, and her grounding in Buddhist practice make her an ideal interpreter of this material. Choegyal chants and plays Tibetan singing bowls, a gong, the lingbu (a Tibetan bamboo flute) and dranyen (a Tibetan stringed instrument). Smith plays piano, crystal bowls and gong. They are also accompanied by cello and percussion. The entire piece, 77 minutes, is essentially a guided meditation through the

Bardo. It’s material Anderson has approached before, in “Heart of a Dog,” but never with such complete dedication and collaboration. Finally, we just can’t get this Calypso riff, “Money Is King,” written by “The Growling Tiger” (Neville Marcano), out of our head. It’s found on “Songs Cycled” (Bella Union) by maverick recording artist Van Dyke Parks. “If a man has money today,/ people do not care if he has cocobe [leprosy]./He can commit murder and get off free/and live in the governor’s company./But if you are poor/ the people tell you shoo!/and a dog is better than you.” “If it’s a good breed and not too wild,/people will take it and mind as a child./But when a hungry man goes out to beg,/they will set a bulldog behind his leg./Twenty policemen will arrest him, too./You see! Dog is better than me.” Arf! says OT.t

There is nothing like a Hollywood Dame

by Tavo Amador

uring most of the Hollywood studio era (1925-60), women made up the majority of movie audiences. “Women’s pictures” were a popular and profitable genre, even if the male moguls who ran MGM, Warners, Paramount, Columbia, Universal, and RKO were condescending about it. Expert comediennes and compelling dramatic actresses thrived. Their legacy was potent, and as Sloan De Forest shows in TCM’s “Dynamic Dames: 50 Leading Ladies Who Made History” (Running Press, $23), today’s gifted actresses continue to make

noteworthy films, even if males are now the target audience for commercial pictures. De Forest’s “Dames” begins with silent-screen star Clara Bow, and ends with Gal Gadot’s “Wonder Woman” (2017). Her choices include those most readers would expect: Joan Crawford, Marlene Dietrich, Mae West, Barbara Stanwyck, Katharine Hepburn, Bette Davis, Greta Garbo, Vivien Leigh, Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn, Jane Fonda, Julia Roberts, Carrie Fisher, Uma Thurman, Emma Watson, and Jennifer Lawrence among them. But she has a few unexpected selections: Josephine Baker, Bonita

Granville, Ida Lupino, Dorothy Dandridge, Keira Knightly, Zhang Ziyi. More surprising are the omissions, which include Olivia de Havilland, Judy Garland, Rita Hayworth, Lauren Bacall, and Marilyn Monroe. De Forest has organized the book according to broad categories such as “Pre-Code Bad Girls,” “Ladies Who Laugh” and “Superheroines.” The categories are of interest, but the choices of actress/ role within them don’t always work. Thus, “Women of Mystery” includes Ingrid Bergman in 1944’s “Gaslight,” during which Charles Boyer tries to convince her she’s insane. A better selection would have been Bergman as “Anastasia” (1956), in which viewers wonder if she really is the Romanov Grand Duchess who miraculously survived being murdered by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Revolution. Still, this category does include the intriguing choice of Joan Fontaine as 1943’s “Jane Eyre.” Taylor’s “Cleopatra” (1963) is among the “Reel Role Models,” but a more inventive selection would have been her Martha in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” (1966) as one of the “Big Bad Mamas.” Predictably, that category is headed by Crawford’s “Mildred Pierce” (1945), but why not have listed her in “Possessed” (1931) among “PreCode Bad Girls?” (She is cited in that role/category in the appendix.) On the other hand, Anne Bancroft’s Mrs. Robinson in “The Graduate” (1968) is a refreshing choice for this category. In “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” (1952), Monroe established herself as an expert comedienne, so her omission from “Ladies Who Laugh” is hard to fathom. As Lorelei Lee, she proved that beautiful girls could have brains, be powerful, and find love and wealth in the same man. Fortunately, the category does

include Katharine Hepburn in “Adam’s Rib” (1949) and Melanie Griffith in 1988’s “Working Girl.” Nonetheless, in addition to Monroe, readers may wonder why Bette Midler, Diane Keaton, and Goldie Hawn were not collectively named for “First Wives Club” (1996). Many selections, however, are excellent. Norma Shearer’s “The Divorcee” (1930), Stanwyck’s “Baby Face” (1933), and West warning “I’m No Angel” (1933) are perfect for “Pre-Code Bad Girls.” It’s hard to fault Carrie Fisher’s Princess Leia in the “Star Wars” films (beginning in 1976) as the first entry under “Superheroines,” or Roberts’ “Ellen Brokovich” (2000) under “Reel Role Models,” which also includes Audrey Hepburn in 1959’s “The Nun’s Story.” Angela Bassett as Tina Turner in 1993’s “What’s Love Got To Do with It” is an inspired choice under “Strong Survivors.” “Fatal Femmes” begins with Hedy Lamarr in the forgettable “Dishonored Lady” (1947) rather than her “Samson and Delilah” (1949). Better choices would have been Bacall in “The Big Sleep” (1946), Hayworth as “Gilda” (1946), or Kathleen Turner generating “Body Heat” (1981). But De Forest redeems herself by including Lupino in “Road House” (1948). Naming the sexy Dandridge’s “Carmen Jones” (1954) in this category does credit to a film landmark. She was the first black woman nominated for a Best Actress Oscar. Dietrich in “Witness for the Prosecution” (1957) is another terrific selection. Each entry is accompanied by an informative essay about the actress’

career, how she landed the role, and interesting gossip. For example, Rosalind Russell, the first name under ”Ladies Who Laugh,” was cast in 1940’s “His Girl Friday” only after Ginger Rogers, Irene Dunne, Claudette Colbert, Jean Arthur, and Carole Lombard turned the part down. A thoughtful appendix lists other actresses/roles that fall into De Forest’s categories, although with the exception of Crawford, no star is listed more than once. Julie Newmar’s Foreword is a revealing, witty account of the women who were her heroes, and why she was influenced by them. Her examples are excellent, and she herself continues to hear from fans who admired her as TV’s strong “Catwoman.” De Forrest’s Introduction provides a compelling rationale for the book’s importance. “Powerful women have been part of the movies since the very beginning, both on camera and behind the lens.” Among the early examples she mentions are France’s prolific Alice Guy Blache, who began directing in 1896, and Hollywood’s Mary Pickford, not only the most popular star of the Silent Era, but one of the founders of United Artists and the head of her own production company. She explains some omissions, de Havilland and Rogers among them, because she was limited to 50 stars. As with all TCM/Running Press publications, “Dynamic Dames” is lavishly illustrated and printed on top-quality paper. De Forest has succeeded in stimulating the general reader and provoking intense discussions among film buffs.t

On the web This week, find David Lamble’s Castro Theatre coverage, “Ghoulish delights on the big screen,” online at www.ebar.com.

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<< Books

20 • Bay Area Reporter • October 17-23, 2019

Five gay authors who played the intelligence game

Kings of England

Wikipedia

National Portrait Gallery, UK

Amazon

British Library

Left to Right: King James: wildman king; Christopher Marlowe: a mighty reckoning; Somerset Maugham: gentlemanly spy; James Pope-Hennessy: remembered for his gaiety; and Alan Turing: posthumously pardoned. All five of them had their hand in espionage work of some kind during their careers.

by Peter Garland

“T

he necessity of procuring good intelligence is apparent and need not be further urged.” – George Washington, 1777. Here are five homosexual authors through history who dabbled in espionage. King James is a fun one to start with, pretty much a Mick Jagger wildman sort of king, poet and intellectual who sent many “witches” to their death. He was a husband and father, with three famous male lovers, who encouraged the severest penalties for sodomy. This Scotsman, James I, headed a spy ring throughout Europe. In his “A Counterblast to Tobacco,” King James decried smoking as “a custome lothsome to the eye, hatefull to the Nose, harmefull to the braine, dangerous to the Lungs, and in the blacke stinking fume thereof, neerest resembling the horrible Stigian smoke of the pit that is bottomelesse.” As Americans do now, to control the scourge, James levied a heavy tax on the import of tobacco, but in true Jacobean style given the lucrative nature of the crop, made its import a royal monopoly. “Daemonologie: By the High and Mighty Prince, James” appeared in 1597. It educated people on the history of sorcery and the Christian reasons for persecuting a person accused of being a witch. At the North Berwick witch trials of 1590, King James appeared to ensure a woman, who might otherwise have received

a lighter sentence, was horribly tortured and burned. This merry monarch married Anne of Denmark despite, he claimed, witches who tried to have her ship sunk at sea. These “witches,” under torture, “confessed” and were burned. James fathered eight children with Anne. From his 14th year, he had passionate male love affairs. Nevertheless, using English law, James adopted a severe stance towards sodomy. His book on kingship listed sodomy among those “horrible crimes which ye are bound in conscience never to forgive.” He ordered judges not to issue any pardons. This, from a king who raised the commoner George Villiers to be Earl of Buckingham, and answered critics thus: “Christ had John, and I have George.” Christopher Marlowe (156493): Kit Marlowe was the son of a shoemaker in Canterbury, England, born the same year as Shakespeare. He later created the more flexible blank verse that Shakespeare used to such advantage in his 37 plays. While attending Cambridge University, Marlowe was sent to France as a secret agent of the queen. He went on to become a famous playwright in London, writing such plays as “Tamburlaine,” “The Jew of Malta,” and “Dr. Faustus.” Marlowe liked to hang out with both aristocrats and gangsters, and with three of the latter, all connected to the secret service, he lunched in a tavern one day in 1593. After the meal he was stabbed to death, supposedly over an argument about the

bill or “reckoning.” He was 29 years old. Shakespeare later refered to this in “As You Like It” as “a mighty reckoning in a little room.” See Marlowe’s plays and biography by Tucker Brooke. Somerset Maugham (18741965): An Englishman born in the British embassy in Paris, Maugham trained to be a doctor, but his first novel was a hit, and he went on to become a successful author for 65 years. Driving an ambulance in World War I, he was recruited into the British secret service. He was sent to St. Petersburg in 1917 to try to keep the Bolsheviks from coming into power and removing Russia from the fight against the Germans. From this experience he wrote a short story, “Mr. Harrington’s Washing,” and a prototypical spy novel, “Ashenden, or the British Agent,” about a gentlemanly, sophisticated spy. This work is considered the precursor of the works of his younger friend, Ian Fleming. James Pope-Hennessy (191674): The son of an Army general, Pope-Hennessy was educated at Oxford until he decided to become a writer and left, beginning his career as an editorial assistant at a publishing house. He left the publisher in 1938 when his mother found him a job as private secretary to the Governor of Trinidad and Tobago. Disliking both the West Indies and the atmosphere of Government House, the outbreak of World War II gave him an excuse to return to Britain, where he enlisted as a pri-

vate in an anti-aircraft battery. He was transferred to military intelligence, given a commission, and spent the latter part of the war as a member of the British army staff at Washington. Pope-Hennessy enjoyed his time in the U.S., making many friends here. After the end of the war he wrote an account of his experiences in “America Is an Atmosphere.” On his return to London in 1945, he shared a flat with the British intelligence officer Guy Burgess, who later defected to the Soviet Union. He had a brief spell as the literary editor of The Spectator between 1947-49, before traveling to France and writing “Aspects of Provence,” published in 1952. His best-known work is the official biography of Queen Elizabeth I’s grandmother Queen Mary. In 1970 he took out Irish citizenship and went to live in County Offaly. He was asked to adjudicate at a local beauty pageant and the horse fair, the oldest in Ireland. James tried marijuana, the use of which was then becoming widespread, but decided against its use on the grounds that it is not a social lubricant but breeds confusion and slowness. He suffered a series of financial crises and often relied on the goodwill of friends to get by. A heavy drinker, he frequented backstreet bars and mixed with a rough crowd. In 1974, he died of a knife attack at his London flat, during a robbery-motivated crime by three young men. Buried at Kensal Green

Cemetery in London, 57 years old, James is remembered for his “vitality, gaiety and imaginative insight.” Alan Turing (1912-54): The late Alan Turing received belated widespread recognition in 2004 when “The Imitation Game” won an Academy Award, paying investors a huge return on their money. At 16, Turing encountered Albert Einstein’s work and grasped it. At the time, being gay in England was dangerous. During WWII, Alan devised techniques for speeding the breaking of German ciphers; his work shortened the conflict, perhaps by as much as two years, and saved millions of lives. He was a long-distance runner, occasionally running 40 miles to London to attend a meeting. In 1946, Turing was honored by King George VI for his wartime services. At 39, he was prosecuted for homosexual acts. He accepted chemical castration treatment as an alternative to prison. Turing died two years later from cyanide poisoning. An inquest determined his death was a suicide, but it may have resulted from an experiment with toxic chemicals. In 2009, British prime minister Gordon Brown made an apology on behalf of the British government for “the appalling way” Turing had been treated. The Queen granted Alan a posthumous pardon. The Alan Turing law now retroactively pardons men cautioned or convicted under historical legislation that outlawed homosexual acts.t

for the long-lined part, but what in tarnation is a “bosomy” song? His use of obscure words where plainer English might do. In this book, some of these are “chalumeau,” “carmagnole,” and a real

goodie, “farouche,” which means unsociable in a fierce or surly way. It comes from the Old French word “forasche,” meaning ill-tamed. Any of that sound like Our Lady Babs? What with Streisand’s father issues, as well as issues of sexual abuse and the #MeToo movement, Mordden thinks her least glamorous movie, “Nuts,” is due for re-appraisal. “On Streisand” offers a whole bunch of photographs (each with an essay-length caption), an index, plus a bibliography that’s not a mere listing of Mordden’s sources but a dishy eisegesis revealing their oftencurious backstories and intrinsic worth. When have you come across a bibliography that’s a bundle of fun? Mordden ends his book with this realization from composer Jule Styne’s wife, Margaret Styne: “The world is split into those who love Barbra and those who don’t.” The lovers will find their relationship to Ms. S significantly deepened by “On Streisand.”t

Dishing Barbra by John F. Karr

was initially dismayed to see Ethan Mordden’s latest book, “On Streisand” (Oxford Press, hardcover, $21.95). It was published last May, but disappeared from the news cycle zippity-doo-dah. Did you know about it? It certainly lacked heft with only 140 pages, and was, without covers, a mere half-inch thick. But I’d judged too quickly, and found upon reading that “On Streisand” expanded far beyond my shortsighted initial appraisal. It offered so much new information and opinion to digest, so much de-

lectable dirt, that I pored over each page, and read the whole thing twice in succession, savoring its many pleasures. Mordden sees his authorial chore as “discerning the cultural substructure that contextualizes events.” He does that for each project of his subject’s life: stage, recordings, television, film. Throughout Mordden’s many books, his modus operandi has been to synthesize a thesis, then use every sample he can find in a product or an artist, to validate his claim. The thesis here is that Ms. B is an Original. Mordden says an Original (Picasso was one, as was Gertrude

Stein) can make their own rules. Most of the time for Barbra (the first thing allowable an Original is to choose their own name), that works out successfully, which Mordden loves. When it doesn’t, well, Mordden loves that, too, for the chances it gives him to rationalize, bend his rules, probe the reasons for the mishap. Although the book charts Streisand’s life, it isn’t a biography. It’s more particularly a biography of her art, an appreciation of her intent, and an assessment of its success or failure. Here are some traits shown by Mordden and his book: His erudition. Did you ever expect a study of La Streisand to call out Alvah Bessie and Eva Le Gallienne? His usual wit. Surviving a stultifying art event, he questions, “What could be worse? A ‘This is Your Life’ segment devoted to Ethelbert Nevin?” His usual oddities. He says the song “Lazy Afternoon” has a “bosomy, long-lined melody.” I’ll go

Theatre>>

October 17-23, 2019 • Bay Area Reporter • 21

Lucid dreaming of black & white lives by Jim Gladstone

uring quick breaks between scenes in the thrilling Berkeley Rep production of Suzan-Lori Parks’ audacious new drama “White Noise,” the play’s titular sleepinducing sound is accompanied by projections of its traditional visual counterpart: the field of agitated black-and-white pixels we oddly refer to as “static.” Agitation and stasis. Black and white. These tension-wracked dualities are at the fibrillating heart of “White Noise,” a provocative look at culturally ingrained racism among the would-be Woke. The Bay Area has recently seen a near-numbing glut of plays that wrestle with race, but none of the others have crackled with the keen mix of intellect and emotion that’s featured here. “White Noise” is neither a moral scold nor a rallying cry, it’s an invitation to self-examination delivered with welcome complexity and unnerving wit. The plot revolves around two 30ish couples, Leo and Dawn, and Ralph and Misha, best of friends since meeting in college. Back then, their romantic configuration was Leo and Misha (who are both black) and Ralph and Dawn (both white). Today, they’re all consummate urban liberals, proud – and earnest – in considering themselves postracial and post-possessive. Director Jaki Bradley has her superb cast perform with the shiny, slightly amped affect of a sitcom. Their expressions and postures are a tad exaggerated, their quips nearperfectly pointed. Similarly, Adam Rigg’s set, which comprises the two couples’ bland-chic apartments and the upscale Lucky Strike-style bowling alley where they socialize, conveys the sense of an integrated “Friends.” The show’s surface is stable, a benign dream. In short order, Leo (Chris Herbie Holland), a struggling, sleep-deprived painter with a tenuous hold on his mental health, is roughed up by New York cops for “walking while black,” and independently wealthy

Alessandra Mello/Berkeley Repertory Theatre

Chris Herbie Holland (Leo) in Berkeley Rep’s production of “White Noise” written by Pulitzer Prize winner Suzan-Lori Parks and directed by Jaki Bradley.

Ralph (Nick Dillenburg), a struggling writer and college instructor, is passed over for a tenure-track position, which goes to a Southeast Asian colleague. The pump is thus primed for these two old pals to make an out-

landish deal: Shell-shocked after his literal beating – and lifelong slowmotion degradation – Leo asks Ralph to purchase him as a slave. In theory, this will allow Leo to buy into the protective halo of white privilege. Contemporary American

society, his argument goes, is less likely to mess with the property of a white man than with a self-possessed black man. Ralph’s professional failure has teed him up to accept this immodest proposal, not only because he’s been bested by a

him more – Leo wants something better. The film doesn’t have much of a plot. It meanders from one episode to the next, painting a portrait of a hedonistic lifestyle that offers momentary satisfaction but rarely substance. After Hunter says his goodnights, Leo and Donnie go to an underwear party at a house in the hills, then hook up with two other guys, who throw them out when Leo declines their offer of meth. In some scenes Donnie and Leo talk to each other in Portuguese. These scenes are accompanied by subtitles that flash across the screen so quickly they’re difficult to follow, making small portions of the film unintelligible. The acting is good. Correa effectively conveys Leo’s frustration that he’s not as important as he thought to his Grindr guy. Mansky, who unfortunately is MIA from the second half of the film, offers a scenestealing performance as Hunter, the “straight” guy who loves to hang out in gay clubs and seems to be a bit more “queeny” than most straight guys. San Francisco viewers will enjoy the location shooting around the Castro. The actors walk by iconic locations such as the Castro Theatre and Cliff ’s Variety. The Market Street historic streetcar is seen in a number of shots. There’s a lengthy sequence set in Beaux, the popular

Castro nightspot. The film is a lovely travelogue of the gayborhood. This is an impressive first feature, with Correa showing undeniable talent. According to his IMDB page,

person of color, but also because, in a commerce-driven culture, paying off Leo’s student loans (the price of the deal) gives him back a sense of value, usefulness and – most chillingly – altruism. Disaster ensues. Alongside this central storyline, related themes reverberate through two subplots. Dawn (Therese Barbato), a self-described “do-gooder” lawyer, defends a black teenager, secretly aware that he is guilty. Misha, played with spectacular, vitriolic humor by Aimé Donna Kelly, hosts a live call-in web series called “Ask a Black,” for which she adapts a thick “ebonic” accent. She seems more invested in baiting racist trolls than providing any information of value. As Leo and Ralph assume the roles of master and slave, their partners also indulge in perverse race-based performances. Over the course of the play, each member of the quartet delivers a monologue that probes their family history and helps explain the development of their perspectives on race and privilege. These soliloquys are beautifully written and deeply insightful about the ways in which prejudices insinuate themselves into even the best-intentioned minds, but their fine-grained, realistic detail feels a bit at odds with the rest of the show. In “White Noise,” Parks is primarily trafficking in truth, not realism. The bulk of the play is a hot poker of the Swiftian surreal. In his opening monologue, Leo ushers the audience into the drama. From the outset, he lets us know that he moves through the world in an insomniac’s dangerous trance: part aware and awake, part lost in reverie, and never sure which is which. Much of what comes next may look literal enough, but it follows a nightmare illogic. Subconscious understandings of how the world works rise to the surface in metaphorical horror.t White Noise, through Nov. 10. Berkeley Rep, 2025 Addison St., Berkeley. Tickets ($15-$97): (510) 647-2949, www.berkeleyrep.org.

Empty flings

by David-Elijah Nahmod

“B

athroom Stalls & Parking Lots” is the latest film from auteur Thales Correa, now available on DVD. Los Angeles resident Brazilian emigre Leo (Correa) comes to San Francisco, where he and his friend Donnie (Izzy Palazzini) spend a wild night looking for Leo’s Grindr hook-up in the Castro. The evening takes them on a wild ride through various clubs, where the often-

shallow world of gay dating and hook-ups causes them to question what they want from their lives. For the first half of their journey, they’re joined by Donnie’s American friend Hunter (Oscar Mansky), who may not be as straight as he claims to be. Leo, Donnie and Hunter couldn’t be more different. Leo is a hopeless romantic who believes his Grindr hookup could be “the one,” while Donnie is determined to continue pursuing a life of sex, drugs and rock-nroll. Hunter, first seen having sex with his girlfriend, keeps reminding the other two guys how “straight” he is, even as he parties with them in gay clubs and joins them on their search for Leo’s dream guy. It’s quickly made clear that Hunter and Donnie’s friendship isn’t all that platonic. The guys’ night, roaming from one gay club to the next, becomes the director’s commentary on the shallowness of the gay dating scene. Though it’s the kind of life that Donnie has chosen – he rebuffs a cute young fuck-buddy who offers

he has another film in the works. It will be interesting to see what he does next. Also available at YouTube, Amazon Prime, Google Play and Vudu.t

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<< Music

22 • Bay Area Reporter • October 17-23, 2019

Marriage/Figaro

itative for Barbarina, appealingly sung by current Adler Fellow Natalie Image, really helps clear things up. The new San Francisco Redoubtable SFO veteran Opera production from Camezzo-soprano Catherine nadian director Michael CaCook owns the part of old vanagh kicks off the first in a biddy Marcellina. Her quick multi-year trilogy, staging the turn from wannabe bride to W.A. Mozart & Lorenzo Da doting mother is always hilariPonte operas in an American ous, and even if Cavanagh has Manor house during different cut her aria in Act IV, Cook eras. The fascinating concept still manages to rivet attenpromises new insights into tion and provide some solid works that already possess endlaughs. As lawyer Bartolo less layers of meaning. and Marcellina’s crony, bass “Figaro,” “Cosi fan tutte” and James Cresswell also makes “Don Giovanni” are all standthe switch from adversary alone masterpieces, but the to proud papa with amusing idea of placing “Le Nozze di conviction. Figaro” in post-Revolutionary Another singer making her America adds bold new texture SFO debut portrays horn-dog to an already radical work. adolescent page Cherubino. Casting the central roles of Italian mezzo-soprano Serservants Figaro and his intendena Malfi is maybe not too ed bride Susanna with black convincing as a boy, but the singers added the possibility of pants role still suits her fine, even more subtle and disturbphysically and vocally. Rarely ing subtext. The late replacehas the rather annoying youth ment of Irish soprano Jennifer sounded so alluring, and MalDavis, who is white, with SFO fi’s convincing acting makes debutante Nicole Heaston, the reckless fever of sexual who is African American, as Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera awakening far more endearing the Countess changed the and understandable. potentially racially charged dy- Nicole Heaston as the Countess and Serena Malfi as Cherubino in Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro,” now at SFO. Ian Robertson’s SFO Chonamic. Instead, it proved again rus makes a predictably enthe artistic rewards of colorjoyable contribution, looking blind casting and allowed some Hoffman and other visual vignettes, nasi moved it closer to No. 1. Heaston (both making SFO debuts) great in their beautiful costumes, fortuitous humor. When Figaro’s such as a sophisticated reference to In the title role, Texan bassfill out the opera’s central quartet and the continuo accompaniment parents are revealed (and both are “The Spirit of 76” from the director, baritone Michael Sumuel is adept of characters. Both sing splenby Bryndon Hassman (harpsiwhite) in Act III, the house rocked help remind us. with good acting, rich voice and didly, Heaston with cool grace and chord) and Thalia Moore (cello) with appreciative laughter. Without solid musical perforcomplexity of interpretation, showgenuine emotion, and Molnar with deserves special praise, too. Their Cavanagh’s balletic direction mance, of course, no production ing the right mix of anger and amusing, sometimes over-the-top perfect timing matches flavorfully spins through Erhard Rom’s reof Mozart’s enduring hit parade amusement. He is the perfect foil comic abandon. with director Cavanagh and conmarkably handsome and functional will succeed. Hungarian conducfor charming Trinidadian soprano Any complaint I have with Da ductor Nanasi’s tight entertainset design, brilliantly lit by Jane Cox tor Henrik Nanasi, in an awesome Jeanine De Bique (SFO debut) as Ponte’s clever reworking of Beaument. It proves that even at some (SFO debut), with zip and agility. display of range, returns after his resourceful Susanna. Her sparkling marchais might be the sometimesthree hours of performing length, The comic disguises, quick entranctriumph in SFO’s magnificent “Elevoice and feisty good humor are confusing plethora of secondary time flies when you’re having es and exits, and well-timed jokes ktra” in 2017 to lead a crisp, nicely magnetic. roles. Cavanagh and his nimble fun.t all land perfectly. It is French farce plumped reading. His taming of As lascivious master of the house cast have that covered, even to the in an American setting, with little of the quirky acoustics of the pit and Count Almaviva and his longpoint where the gardener’s daughter “The Marriage of Figaro” the more serious-minded original a wonderful horn section brought suffering lady Rosina, the Countess, Barbarina and music teacher Basilio continues in repertory through concept on display. The gorgeously fresh charm and delight to the score. Hungarian baritone Levente Mol(tenor Greg Fedderly) don’t seem Nov. 1. www.sfopera.com detailed costumes by Constance “Figaro” is already in my Top 5; Nanar and American soprano Nicole tacked on. Restoring often-cut rec

From page 17

Roy Cohn

From page 17

Myths about the late Roy Cohn (1927-86) often begin and end with the image of a sewer rat-like creature whispering into the ear of a balding bully with mean eyes and threatening five o’clock shadow. Wisconsin US Senator Joseph McCarthy’s anticommunist witch-hunt kicked off a political reign of terror that lasted until a TV white knight (CBS News’ Ed Murrow) tricked McCarthy into

overplaying his hand, leading to his censure by the Senate and premature death, a disgraced alcoholic demagogue mourned by few. Enlisting compelling new witnesses like famed New York magazine investigative reporter Ken Auletta, Tyrnauer paints a picture of paranoid, post-WWII America, where ambitious, unscrupulous politicians built careers and empires providing suitable scapegoats – Jews, commies, and of course, homosexuals – for tabloid headlines and television inquisitions.

Since 1977

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Overthrow

From page 17

The ruckus surrounding the publications of Edward Snowden’s “Permanent Record,” about which the words “sell out” are best avoided, and the fevered reception of Jia Tolentino’s “Trick Mirror” conveniently coincide with the release of Caleb Crain’s second novel, “Overthrow” (Viking). It would be easy to miss the core seriousness of Crain’s novel – internet “security” and its warriors – in the brilliant, relentless comedy of its execution. From its very title, which I hope was Crain’s, “Overthrow” is comedy of the highest order. The story, which can be hard to track, if at no loss of readability, is about the brief rise and precipitous fall of a group of Occupy-era government-server hackers who call themselves the Working Group for the Refinement of the Perception of Feelings (hereinafter “Group”), making “security theater” through telepathy, most of which owes to the intuitive powers of young, handsome, gay Leif Saunderson. Post-arrest, the internet of friends spawns a Committee to Save the Telepathy Four. The plot, which feeds on the preposterous and sometimes seems

Cohn, the only child of a Bronx Jewish couple, was his mother’s pet, with a sense of entitlement. He grew up in the shadow of wealthy elitists like brothers John and Robert Kennedy. Cohn’s career flew into high gear when he became counsel to McCarthy as the senator prowled the airwaves for witnesses who could be painted pink, if not red. The Senator overplayed his hand in the 36-day televised circus known as the Army-McCarthy Hearings, leading to the moment when the

Army’s lawyer Joseph Welch asked McCarthy, “Have you no sense of decency?” But Welch’s own image as a liberal hero is tainted by his alliance with another set of rightwing forces equally bent on their own brand of witch-hunt. The filmmakers paint an unflattering portrait of Cohn’s postMcCarthy years, working as the personal attorney for Mafia dons, as well as a financier who sought the ruin of fabled companies – 5th Ave. Bus Lines, Lionel Toy Trains –

for his own personal enrichment. Cohn’s final days were grim. He died of AIDS at 59, all the while denying he was gay, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. In “Where’s My Roy Cohn?” gay history gains a comic-book-worthy villain who stuck to his own unique set of values to the bitter end. In the end, Cohn’s most lasting legacy will probably be the Trump presidency. Cohn spent years grooming Trump into mastering his special dark arts. Opens Friday.t

encrypted, is dispatched to the far edges of the novel, where it functions less as support pillars than the springs of a trampoline, tossing both the characters and the reader back into it the middle of it when the writing comes neck-snappingly close to sabotaging itself. Crain is a true craftsman, but the writing mostly doesn’t care what you think of it and shows off shamelessly. Exotic vocabulary and, I suspect, more than a couple neologisms make “synecdoche” a pedestrian word (though, uncharacteristically, Crain rushes to define it the minute it appears). Quotable lines, and lines meant to be quoted that, Proust-like, enshrine Crain’s thoughts about his characters and pretty much everything, abound, so convincingly you don’t pause to reflect any more than you do to look up unusual words. There’s this by Raleigh, a straight but handsome character on whom I developed an undeniable crush, about his surprise affair with the class-superior Julia: “That was how it happened: gradually and then all at once.” There are groaners, e.g., “‘I’ll miss you too,’ he lied,” to Raleigh’s new ex, Elspeth. Even so, the unflagging originality of the writing proves sustaining. Simple, elegant sentences

refresh the page: “Rain seemed to make the world gentle and indirect.” “His phone trembled.” Don’t be thrown by the novel’s opening scene, the now nearly de rigueur account of thwarted gay cruising. Matthew, later to become a memorable cruisee despite what a past flame calls his “seven-daya-week” relationship with Leif, has the cartoonish qualities of his fellow protagonists, yet you fall for him, and eventually, for all of them. They step off the page, and in no time you want to catch them as they do. The book is slyly nostalgic about writing of the old-fashioned kind. A kind of subplot weaves in Henry James’ “The Princess Casamassima.” A character is nicknamed Hyacinth, after James’ protagonist. Sans Tarot deck, Leif is a poet whose verbal flights might also relate to steroids for a persistent cough. He can riff on the poetry of Andrew Marvell in the presence of the pestilent press. This yields Raleigh’s sub voce observation about “how it was that Leif always managed to put himself in the wrong with every group that he was a part of and yet remained liked by it. It was his version of negative capability, maybe,” that suspended “maybe” rhythmically perfect.

The 31-year-old Matthew, a graduate student in English and arguably the principal narrator among a gang of unreliables, is the stereotype of the dissertation procrastinator, but then his topic is poetic kingship in 16th-century literature, so reader sympathy is all but reflexive. Gay men of the living variety will understand every twist in Matthew and Leif ’s push-and-pull relationship or partnership or whatever. Still, traditional forms of writing all collide with the monumentality of the web. “The internet was still a force that hadn’t been understood,” Crain teases. “The only thing one knew for certain about it was that it was always on the side that didn’t lose.” Elspeth, another aspiring writer and an influencer before her time, is, like Leif, an all-but-indescribable beauty Raleigh regrets dumping when in her presence. She is Group mother with a formidable mother of her own. More than perhaps any other character, she develops, even though on the surface it seems she just melts down while on bail. The lawyers are at once parodies and vividly etched individuals. The novel is a prose millennial “Howl,” capturing its ethos with soul. If you insist on living in our time, “Overthrow” could only help.t

Caissie Levy

Arts Events

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Nightlife Events Vol. 49 • No. 42 • October 17-23, 2019

Marc Almond SexCells pop night at the Castro Theatre by Jim Gladstone

ethal Amounts, Danny Fuentes’ edgy art space and showroom in downtown Los Angeles, has exhibited the paintings of serial killer John Wayne Gacy, documentary photos of the early 1980s hardcore punk scene, and work by filmmaker Bruce LaBruce and the late Satanist Anton LaVey. But Fuentes, openly gay and a former punk himself, isn’t just an art gallerist, he’s an ad hoc curator of fellow humans who connect with his edgy aesthetic: queers, POCs, goths, and all manner of outliers. See page 24 >>

Scare-larious Terror Vault at The Mint is frightfully fun

Peaches Christ photo: Jose A. Guzman-Colon

by Jim Provenzano

s a young teenager in suburban Maryland, Joshua Grannell created a makeshift horror house, enlisting his supportive parents as box office and performer volunteers. Decades later, as Peaches Christ, the gay horror super-fan directs the second annual Into the Dark: Terror Vault at the historic San Francisco Mint. See page 25 >>

Background: Terror Vault banners outside The San Francisco Mint. Foreground: Terror Vault director Peaches Christ.

{ THIRD OF THREE SECTIONS }

<< Cabaret

24 • Bay Area Reporter • October 17-23, 2019

Caissie Levy ‘Frozen,’ family and Feinstein’s by Jim Gladstone

n the depths of the New York winter, Caissie Levy will be defrosted. On February 16, the actress who originated the role of Elsa in the theatrical adaptation of Disney’s Frozen during its 2017 trial run in Denver –and has continued to play the princess of Arundel over the first two years of the show’s blockbuster Broadway engagement– will leave the production. Patti Murin, who has played her sister, Anna, since the beginning, will step down simultaneously. Bay Area audiences can preview the thaw as Levy, now on a working vacation, brings a mix of backstage stories and folk-pop arrangements of theater songs to Feinstein’s at the Nikko on October 25 and 26. “It’s been the most fulfilling job of my career in many ways,” the Ontario-born actress says of playing Elsa. “But I do crave counterbalance. It will be nice to get away from the eight-shows-a-week grind for at least a little while.” Prior to Frozen, Levy, 39, has been on Broadway, London and national tour productions of shows including Hairspray, Hair and Ghost. And in a classic showbizas-small-world coincidence, she’s played both Maureen in Rent and verdant-visaged Elphaba in Wicked,

Marc Almond

From page 23

Fuentes plies this side of his trade as the producer and creative director of SexCells, a roving dance party-cum-concert that has popped up in spaces throughout LA over the past few years and next weekend begins its first ever out-of-town tour in Dallas, Texas before rolling into San Francisco for its local debut at the Castro Theater on Saturday, October 26, with an eclectic roster of DJs and musicians topped off with

Caissie Levy

both roles originated by Idina Menzel, who voiced Elsa in the original animated Frozen. And, like Menzel, who is essentially obligated by social contract to sing “Let It Go” at every concert she gives for the rest of her life, Levy recognizes that once frost-bitten, you can never shy away from Elsa. “This is going to sound really

a rare stateside live set by Marc Almond. “I haven’t done a proper tour in the U.S. since 1999,” said Almond on a recent phone call with Bay Area Reporter. Almond came to fame in the 1980s as half of Soft Cell (“Tainted Love,” “Where Did Our Love Go”), but his later, prolific work has met with much less mainstream stateside success and has been written for much larger ensembles. “I tour Europe all the time with eight to 15 musicians,” Almond ex-

Caissie Levy performs “Let It Go,” from Frozen at the 2018 Tony Awards.

corporate and cliché,” she acknowledges, “But you become an ambassador for Disney. It’s a great company to work for and I’m in the Disney family now. It’s something you hope becomes a long-term relationship.” Contrary to what some might expect, Levy says that she was given

plains. “Its very expensive to bring a show like that to the U.S.” Fuentes is a hardcore Almond fan and brought him in for a small-scale one-off set at a SexCells party last year. The hugely positive response led to this mini-tour, on which Almond is bringing two bandmates and two backup singers. “I have a new album called Chaos and the Dancing Star coming out next year, so this is a good opportunity for me to get out and touch base with old fans who haven’t seen me in a long time and hopefully make some new ones.” “I’ve put together a set that’s about an hour and a half that includes the Soft Cell hits but lots of later stuff, too,” Almond continued. “I’ve learned to live with and love the fact that fans want to hear Soft Cell when I play in the States. I’ve been constantly making new music, so I don’t have to prove anything to myself by not playing what people come to hear. I mean, the so-called ‘80s revival never seems to die. I’m going to be playing ‘80s revivals when I’m 80.” At the Castro edition of SexCells, the music will be a mix based on mood, not era. “I don’t want it to be a retro night,” Fuentes insists, “It should feel timeless.”

significant latitude in developing Elsa for the stage rather than being asked to closely match the animated character. “Fortunately, there’s a lot of new material that isn’t in the movie worked into the show, including big songs that give Elsa more of a backstory. The movie is really Anna’s story, so there was freedom for me to develop this character.” During the development process, new songs, which Levy will include in her Feinstein’s sets, were specifically crafted to showcase her vocal strengths by composers Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Bobby Lopez. “To be honest,” says Levy, “there was much more freedom in creating this character, which started as a more limited role in an animated film, than in playing my part in Ghost, which people automatically compared to Demi Moore.” Levy says that she and Murin, her sister princess and closest Disney relative, will end up collaborating further in the future, perhaps in performances reminiscent of the shows mounted by Alice Ripley and Emily Skinner after being co-nominated as best actress for playing Siamese twin sisters in 1997’s Tonynominated Sideshow. “It made sense for Patti and I to leave Frozen together,” says Levy. “We created these roles together

SexCells producer Danny Fuentes

Improvising the sort of playlist to expect, he rattles off both progressive electronic acts—Cold Cave, Crystal Castles—and niche-legendary veterans—Skinny Pupp, Nitzer Ebb, Siouxsie. “The parties are just the right amount of overwhelming,” says Fuentes of his L.A. events, hoping the same aura will manifest on this experimental road trip. “Half of what makes the night great is the people who come. I like to describe

and built a real friendship and chemistry. It’s sort of a package deal.” The most intriguing familial relationship that’s developed over the course of Levy’s run in Frozen is the one between herself, her character and her son Izaiah (with husband David Reiser), who will be four when his mother’s Broadway run ends. Izaiah lived most of his conscious life with little clear border between mama and Elsa. “I think about this all the time,” Levy acknowledges. “We don’t give him much access to screens, and I don’t know if he really has any sense of what it means that I’m an actor. I’ve just been his mom and Elsa for his whole life, those are the only two roles he’s known me in and I’m not entirely sure he knows that we’re different, or that I will be playing other parts.” Levy offers up one particularly fascinating detail of this conundrum that feels like the seedling for a musical (or Halloween-season movie) of its own: “Izaiah sleeps with an Elsa doll.” And that brings the article full circle, so we’ll ‘Let it go.' t Caissie Levy at Feinstein’s at the Nikko, 222 Mason St. October 25 and 26, 8pm. $60-$95 ($20 food/drink min.) www.feinsteinsatthenikko.com

it as very flamboyant, but not at all condescending. “In L.A., the crowd includes everyone from a 60-year-old dominatrix to barely legal kids. I refuse to market it as gay or straight and I think about how do we help an older crowd not feel alienated, but the younger kids don’t feel like they’re not surrounded by old farts.” Fuentes estimates that more than 70% of the party’s L.A. revelers dressed especially for the evening, making the pre-Halloween weekend perfect timing for this SF spinoff. “People come decked the fuck out,” says Fuentes of the leather, drag, and anything-eclectic lewks that SexCells has become famous for. “For me,” he says, “There’s a bit of a flashback to the whole Club Kids scene twenty years ago. Its something that’s been dormant for a while, but now we’re living in the Trump era and part of the vibe is a kind of ‘We don’t feel like we have much of a say in the world, so we’re going to take control of our own space.’” t SexCells with Marc Almond, TR/ ST, Hercules & Love Affair (DJ set), Romy and more. Saturday, October 26; 6:30 to 11:30pm. $50, 429 Castro St. www.folkyeah.com

Left: Marc Almond at a recent UK performance Right: Marc Almond back in the day.

Spooky Fun>>

October 17-23, 2019 • Bay Area Reporter • 25

Jose A. Guzman-Colon

Terror Vault performers.

Terror Vault

From page 23

The multitalented film director, event producer and drag show favorite sat down with the designer David Flower and event co-producers of Terror Vault on one of many sets to discuss the popular interactive show. “As a kid who put on little haunted houses, over the years I got more ambitious,” said Peaches, whose obsession with haunted houses, including Ocean City’s ‘Morbid Manor,’ continued into his early creativity. “At 13, I wanted to do a haunted trail because the basement was too small. So we got permission to use the property, we got insurance, and press coverage. As a young kid, I was so much the way I am that my parents accepted me. They had time to ease into it. My mother dressed in a ridiculous costume and took tickets. My father took the chain off his chainsaw and became the finale of our show! I look back and realize that I have the coolest parents in the world.” Those proud parents unleashed the eventual producer of the popular Midnight Mass horror film tribute screenings, dozens of live musical drag parodies, hundreds of drag nights, and the director-writer of the feature film All About Evil.

Ultra fun

The blend of wild creativity and producing acumen is what makes Into the Dark unique, said Jordan Langer, President of Non Plus Ultra. The event company holds a temporary lease at The Mint and produces other large-scale events, from dance concerts to weddings and corporate parties. “We try and open up the doors to let people see this amazing space,” said Langer. “We take the proceeds from corporate events and pour them back into community events like this one, which is a bit of a hybrid.” Langer cited Into the Dark as one

A few of the event café menu items

of the most popular events at The Mint, whose promotional banners were drawing attention on the sidewalk outside the building. Peaches hailed Non Plus Ultra for supporting independent creative shows like Terror Vault. “In San Francisco, it’s getting harder for people like myself to make creative stuff. In the ‘90s, I was lucky to make shows and make a living. That’s not easy anymore. It’s really important that we engage the local artistic community and bring in performers.” Along with more than a dozen actors, Flower’s set designs, expanded from last year’s, brought many technicians and scenic artists to create the maze of rooms and creepy settings. The original Terror Vault was what Peaches called, “a perfect mix,” with the production company, and he lavished praise on Flower as “the real genius of the show. He’s been working on this since June.” Many of the set pieces were bought at a recent large-scale prop and furniture estate sale in Alameda. “Scouring junk shops, scavenging yard sales,” Peaches said, was fun. “I love it all, but enjoy the shows the most. There is nothing better than when you start the night and hear the first screams.” Peaches’ passion for creating such shows has a deeper intent than a wacky night of scares. “As we become more disconnected in our daily lives, people are looking for ways to connect. Here, you experience something together, enjoying it, laughing and screaming with each other, and in pure joy. As cheesy as it sounds, I love it.” Truly, as a few friends and I traversed the multiple walkways and sets on the later preview night, we temporarily bonded with others in our group, hiding behind each other or defending our more frightened pals. Patrons who are more willing to be touched, scared up close –and even fed an odd nibble– were given

glowing necklaces to wear. In the additional fast-paced zombie Apocalypse escape room/maze, friends and strangers hastily worked together to find clues to ‘solve’ a zombie invasion. The group activity was unlike any passive entertainment. And although most of the events’ spaces are dark and small, wheelchair-using and/or deaf patrons can request their own accessible variation of the tour. One of the cast members is a wheelchair user as well. “An ADA-compliant accessible haunt experience is available, which is really awesome,” said Langer, who added that the tour involves many senses; sight, sound, even smell. A group of deaf patrons from last year brought their own interpreter, but attendees commented that the show was so absorbing they couldn’t read the interpreter. Peaches invited them back and sent the script for them to read in advance. “They were very happy because they knew the story,” said Peaches. “With our show, there is a plot and a script.” Part of that story ties the more unusual history of The Mint with a more horrific fictional version, from imprisoned murderers’ ghosts to a cannibalistic family. Look for Matthew Simmons as Granny, Trixxie Carr, Steven Satyricon and other local favorite nightlife and theatre actors in some ‘scare-larious’ performances, which, Peaches noted, include, “as a warning to B.A.R. readers, in one scene; Full. Frontal. Male. Nudity!”

Set and setting up

The expansive production goes by in a whirl of screams and giggles, but it took months of planning and building. “We built this from the ground up, since a lot of the rooms are empty,” designer David Flower noted, adding that 80% of the space is used for the tour and zombie game. Having an on-site scene shop is “a saving grace for us,” said Flower. “It’s kind of a luxury to have them together.” Asked about any new surprises, Flower noted that there are many “little Easter eggs on every set.” Non Plus Ultra’s Marketing Director Ryan Melchiano goes back years to a childhood friendship with Peaches/Grannell, who was friends with his brother in college. Years later, Melchiano and Grannell met up and discussed the project proposal. “We mapped it out and put together this really cool story, what their vision was,” said Melchiano. “Everyone on board knew it was not only the right thing to do, but that it could be amazing. It’s been a dream in terms of production. I’m happy it worked out so well. To see people you know and care about grow something very grassroots in the performing arts that make San Francisco what it is, makes me very proud.” Grannell discussed how his longtime friendship bridges the sometimes frustrating relationship between artists and corporate events producers. “It can be very frustrating, but with Ryan, we go to haunt conventions, and it’s a pleasure working with people who are truly creative.” For Peaches Christ, collaboration is what creates the magic. “I deal more with the performance side, and in fairness, it’s a true partnership. That marriage between set, music, design and performance is where the magic kicks in.”t ‘Into the Dark: Terror Vault’ runs through Nov. 10. $62. Group rates available. Events also include the Apocalypse Zombie Survival Game ($35) and/or the Morbid Midway ($10) with lounges, a cash bar, café, pinball machines and a gift shop. Behind the Scenes tour with Peaches Christ and David Flower ($50). Coat check available. 88 5th Street at Mission. www.peacheschrist.com www.intothedarksf.com

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<< Arts Events

26 • Bay Area Reporter • October 17-23, 2019

Puppets & Poe @ Theatre of Yugen

Nā Lei Hulu I Ka Wēkiu @ Palace of Fine Arts Theatre

Devised Defiance, a macabre theatre work inspired by the writings of Edgar Allan Poe. $20. Thu-Sat 8pm. Thru Nov 3. 2840 Mariposa St. www.theatreofyugen.org

The award-winning Bay Area hula company performs with Keauhou, new dances and music with a Swing-influenced style. $35-$90. 7:30pm. Oct 20, 2pm; 26, 7:30pm. 27, 1pm & 5pm.

Show Us Your Spines @ Strut Litquake, Radar Productions and SF Public Library reading events with Danny Thanh Nguyen, Roberto F. Santiago and Jon Jon Moore. 7pm. 470 Castro St. www.strutsf.org

Fri 18

The Daughters @ Creativity Theater

Arts Events Oct. 17-24, 2019

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

Thu 17 Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson @ Custom Made Theatre Alex Timbers & Michael Friedman’s rock muscial about the violent 7th president. $30-$55. Thru Oct. 27. 533 Sutter St. custommade.org

The Chinese Lady @ Magic Theatre

Dance Nation @ SF Playhouse Clare Barron’s dark comedy about competitive dancers in Florida, with teenagers played by adults. $35-$125. Thru Nov 9. 450 Post St. www.sfplayhouse.org

Events @ Manny’s Oct 17, 6:30pm: author Andrew Marantz. 18, 6pm: Civic Trivia Night. 19, 5pm: Lit Crawl reading, 7:30pm, Funny Immigrants Comedy. Political events thru Oct. 24. Free/$10 and up (donations). 3092 16th St. http://welcometomannys.com/

Bay Area premiere of Lloyd Suh’s play inspired by the true story of the first Chinese woman to arrive on American soil. $15-$75. Tue 7pm, Thu-Sat 8pm, Sun 2:30pm thru Nov. 3. Fort Mason, 2 Marina Blvd. www.MagicTheatre.org

The Great Wave @ Berkeley Repertory

Classic and New Films @ Castro Theatre

Jerome Caja Celebration @ SF MOMA

Oct 15-17: Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood (5pm, 8pm). Oct 18: Halloween (7:30) and Rock n Roll High School (9:15). Oct 19: Rick Wakeman live concert. $40$95. 8pm. Oct 20: SF Greek Film Festival opening night, screening of Olympia, a documentary about Olympia Dukakis; actress in-person. (5:30pm). Oct 21: Night Tide (7pm) and Carnival of Souls (8:35). Oct 22: Moth SF Grand Slam, 8pm. Oct 23: North by Northwest (7pm) and Torn Curtain (4:30, 9:25). Oct 24 & 25: Reel Rock (7pm). $8-$16. 429 Castro St. www.castrotheatre.com

Justin Vivian Bond, Cligg Hengst, Anthony Cianciolo, Esther McGowan and Kyle Croft discuss the unique art of the late SF artist, with a presentation of Jerome video clips and ephemera. Free 7pm. 151 3rd St. thejeromeproject.com

U.S. premiere of Francis Turnly’s drama about Asian family members separated by an ocean. $30-$81. Thru Oct 27. 2015 Addison St., Berkeley. www.berkeleyrep.org

Litquake @ Multiple Venues The 21st annual literary festival of readings, panel talks and workshops takes place at libraries, bookstores, lecture halls and even laundromats. Thru Oct 19, with Lit Crawl, Book Fair/closing party. litquake.org

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Fri 18 Alvin Orloff @ Dog Eared Books The local author reads from and discusses Disasterama!, his new memoir about ‘70s to ‘90s gay San Francisco nightlife. 7pm. 489 Castro st. www.dogearedbooks.com

Career Fair @ LGBT Center Recruiters from dozens of SF businesses accept resumes and conduct short interviews. Dress business attire/RSVP in advance: 11am-5pm. 1800 Market St. www.sfcenter.org

The Daughters @ Creativity Theater World premiere of Patricia Cotter’s drama about the origins of the lesbian group The Daughters of Bilitis. $30-$40. Wed-Sat thru Nov 2. 221 4th St. www.sfplayhouse.org

Death and the Artist @ Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts

OurTownSF Nonprofit Expo @ Eureka Valley Rec. Center 4th annual resource fair with 150 Bay Area nonprofits sharing their information, including health, legal, arts, political and recovery groups, plus authors Cleve Jones, Toni Newman, Jim Provenzano and Anand Vedawala, door prizes, entertainment and a new gaming room. 12:30pm-4:30pm. 100 Collingwood St. www.ourtownsf.org

Pumpkin Carving @ Noe Valley Courts

Opening reception and fundraiser for the annual Day of the Dead exhibit of reverential artworks; with live music, silent auctions, drinks and food. $302 for $50. 6pm-9:30pm. Day of the dead celebration Nov. 2, 6pm-11pm. Exhibit thru Nov 16, closing Mole Contest 6pm-9pm. 2868 Mission St. missionculturalcenter.org

This Side of Crazy @ New Conservatory Theatre Center Del Shore’s new Southern dramedy about four very unusual women brought together for a family reunion. $22-$44. Wed-Sat 8pm. Sun 2pm. Thru Oct. 20. 25 Van Ness Ave., lower level. www.nctcsf.org

Sat 19 Batman: The Definitive History @ Cartoon Art Museum Launch party for Batman: The Definitive History of The Dark Knight in Comics, Film, and Beyond, with Batman comic book writer Devin K. Grayson, DC Comics artists Brent Anderson, Al Gordon, Mick Gray, and Steve Leialoha, Sam Hamm, screenwriter of the 1989 Batman motion picture; Batman props and costumes on display. $10. 6pm. 781 Beach St. www.cartoonart.org

Ronan Farrow @ Calvary Presbyterian Church The Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter discusses his daring work exposing Hollywood sexual abuse and more. $40 includes a copy of his book Catch and Kill. 7pm. 2515 Fillmore St. www.sfcurran.com

Tue 22 Gallery of Illustrious Queers @ SF Main Library

Jesus Christ Superstar @ San Jose Center for the Performing Arts

Podcast interviews and readings at the bookstore, with Richard May, Nona Caspers and Avery Garland Cassell; part of Liquake events. 6:30pm. 1680 Market St. www.thegreenarcade.com

SF Hiking Club @ Sunol Regional Park

SF Open Studios @ Multiple Galleries

Ofrenda @ Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts

The acclaimed ensemble performs works by Haydn, Shaw and Beethoven. $45-$70. 7:30pm. 401 Van Ness Ave. sfperformances.org

Queer Words @ Green Arcade

GLBT Historical Society Gala @ Salesforce Tower

Author of the new adult queer fantasy novel Crier’s War, reads from/discusses her book. 7pm. 601 Van Ness Ave. ninavarela.com

Calidore String Quartet @ Herbst Theatre

Photographer Jordan Reznick discusses his photo exhibit, with Curator Margaret Tedesco, and a reading by Max Crandall. 6pm. Hormel Center, 3rd floor, 100 Larkin St. www.sfpl.org

Mercedes Rein & Jorge Curi’s musical folktale farce about life, death, and art. $25-$40. Thru Nov. 3. 2686 Mission St. sfbatco.org

Nina Varela @ Books Inc Opera Plaza

Mon 21

Sen. Scott Weiner hosts a kidfriendly pumpkin-carving contest judged by local drag queens, with legislative agenda talk, food, drinks. Free. 1pm-4pm. 4320 24th St. bit.ly/wienerpumpkins

Join GLBT hikers of the SF Hiking Club for a nine-mile hike in Sunol Regional Park near Pleasanton. Carpool meets at Rockridge BART station at 8:30am. (510) 5994056. www.sfhiking.com

Gala fundraiser for the queer history museum/archives, on top of the city with a breathtaking view; with Juanita MORE, food, drinks, auctions. $100 and up. 6pm-9pm. 415 Mission St. www.glbthistory.org

ArtSpan’s annual citywide showcase of 100s of artists, in their studios, at galleries and special venues. 11am-6pm; free. Weekend showings thru Nov. 3. www.artspan.org

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

Andrew Lloyd Webber & Tim Rice’s classic rock musical about the last days of Jesus is performed by the 50th Anniversary touring company, with Aaron LaVigne and James Delisco Beeks. $43-$153. Thru Oct. 27. 255 S. Almaden Blvd., San Jose. www.broadwaysanjose.com

The Kinsey Sicks @ Oasis The long-running dragapella quartet performs their new show, Naked Drag Queens Singing. $30-$50. 7pm. Also Oct 23. 298 11th St. www.sfoasis.com

Knife + Heart @ Roxie Frameline presents a screening of the new gay thriller. $9-$13. 6:30pm. 3117 16th St. roxie.com

Wed 23 Harry Potter and the Cursed Child @ Curran Theater The acclaimed two-part musical based on the J.K. Rowling bestseller begins previews. $59-$300. Open-ended run. 445 Geary St. www.harrypottertheplay.com

The Rocky Horror Show @ Victoria Theatre Ray of Light Theatre’s final production of Richard O’Brien’s cult classic rock-horror-transvestite aliens musical stars D’Arcy Drollinger as Frank N. Furter. $30$40. Thru Nov. 2. 2961 16th St. https://rayoflighttheatre.com/

Hillary Rodham Clinton & Chelsea Clinton @ Temple Emanuel

Thu 24

The former First Lady and Secretary of State and her daughter discuss their collaboration, The Book of Gutsy Women: Favorite Stories of Courage and Resilience. $45 includes a book. 1:30pm. 2 Lake St. www.sfcurran.com

The gay former Olympic figure skater reads from and discusses his witty memoir, Pretty on the Outside. $28 includes a book. 7pm. 1644 Haight St. www.booksmith.com

Nicolas King @ Orinda Theatre The award-winning jazz crooner performs classic songs with jazz legend Mike Renzi. $40-$65. 5pm. 2 Orinda Theater Square, Orinda. www.OrindaMovies.com

SF Bach Choir @ Calvary Presbyterian Church Guest vocalists Rita Lilly, Justin Montigne, Daniel Hutchings and Nikolas Nackley join the chorus and Jubilate Orchestra in performing works by Bach, Purcell, Rossi and others. $10-$30. 4pm. 2515 Fillmore St. www.sfbach.org

Adam Rippon @ Booksmith

Cabargay @ National LGBTQ Center for the Arts The SF Gay Men’s Chorus performs and new cabaret show with classic broadway, pop and American songbook hits; comp. beer, wine and soft drinks. $40-$50. 7:30pm. 21+. 170 Valencia St. www.sfgmc.org

Michael Nava @ SF Main Library The award-winning prolific author (Henry Rios mystery series) reads from and discusses his new book, Carved in Bone. 6pm. Hormel Center, 3rd floor, 100 Larkin St. www.sfpl.org t

Nightlife Events>>

October 17-23, 2019 • Bay Area Reporter • 27

Art & Pumpkin Festival @ Half Moon Bay

Oct. 17-24, 2019

Nightlife Events

Picture

Celebrate the great gourd at the festive annual celebrations, with 1000s of pumpkins, food and beer with a pumpkin flair, kids games, arts & crafts sales, live music, contests, giant pumpkin photos ops and more. 9am-5pm. Also Oct. 20. Main Street between Miramontes and Spruce Streets, Half Moon Bay. pumpkinfest.miramarevents.com

Beatpig @ Powerhouse Juanita MORE and cre’s eclectice groovy night. $5. 9pm-2am. 1347 Folsom St. www.powerhousebar.com

Nibble on some pumpkin spice nightlife.

Tue 22

The Kinsey Sicks @ Oasis

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

Thu 17 After Dark @ Exploratorium Enjoy cocktails and science demos at the hands-on museum. Oct. 17: Earthquakes. Oct 24: It’s Alive! Living things in tiny places. $20. Pier 15, Embarcadero at Green St. www.exploratorium.edu

Body Snatchers @ The Stud Throwback queer spooks theme, with DJs La Frida, Siobhan Aluvalot. 9pm2am. 299 9th St. at Harrison www.studsf.com

Choir! Choir! Choir! @ Freight & Salvage, Berkeley The Canadian duo performs & conducts with you, the audience singing along. $20-$24. 7pm. 2020 Addison St., Berkeley. thefreight.org

Events @ Steamworks, Berkeley The stylish bathhouse’s DJed events take place Thursdays-Sundays. $7$62, plus annual memberships $160. Open 24/7, every day. 2107 4th St., Berkeley. (510) 845-8992. www.steamworksbaths.com

Nightlife @ California Academy of Sciences Parties at the museum with fascinating spacious nature and science exhibits. $12-$15. 6pm-10pm. 55 Music Concourse Drive, Golden Gate Park. www.calacademy.org

Queeraoke @ Tamarack, Oakland Dana Morrigan hosts the 1st & 3rd Thursdays queer karaoke night, 7:30pm-1am. No cover. 1501 Harrison St., Oakland. tamarackoakland.com

Rice Rockettes @ Lookout Local and visiting Asian drag queens’ weekly show with DJ Philip Grasso. $5. 10:30pm show. 3600 16th St. www.lookoutsf.com

Stereolab @ The Fillmore The English-French avante-pop band performs three nights with different opening bands: Oct 17: Wand. 18, Bronze and 19 with Mia Doi Todd. $37.50. 9pm. 1805 Geary St. stereolab.co.uk thefillmore.com

Fri 18 Blackout Party @ The Stud Celebration of Black artists, musicians. 9pm-3am. 299 9th St. at Harrison www.studsf.com

Chunk @ Lone Star Saloon The bear bar’s 30th anniversary party, with free BBQ, DJs Cakes and Nick Moss, jock strap wrestling, all sorts of fun. $7. 9pm-3am. 1354 Harrison St. www.lonestarsf.com

Comedy Returns @ El Rio Bob McIntyre, Emily van Dyke, Alexandria Love, host Lisa Geduldig and others bring on the giggles. $10$20. 7pm. 3158 Mission St. www.brownpapertickets.com

Deniece Williams @ Yoshi’s Oakland R&B-pop singer (“Let’s Hear It for the Boy”) performs with her band at the stylish restaurant-nightclub. $44-$80. 8pm & 10pm. 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland. www.yoshis.com

GLBT Historical Society Gala @ Salesforce Tower

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Live @ Oasis Michael Phillis and a talented crew of drag queens/kings perform a wacky version of a script from the TV vampire show. $27-$50. Thu-Sat 7pm. Thru Nov 9. 298 11th St. sfoasis.com

Mother @ Oasis Heklina’s popular weekly drag show, with wild acts and music tribute themes. Oct 19 is an Ariana Grande tribute. $10-$15. 10pm-2am. 298 11th St. www.sfoasis.com

Sun 20 Disco Daddy @ SF Eagle DJ Bus Station John’s retro mix this time pays homage to Patrick Cowley and Divine. $5-$7. 7pm-1am. 398 12th St. www.sf-eagle.com

Domingo De Escandal @ Club OMG 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

Gala fundraiser for the queer history museum/archives takes place at the top of the city with a breathtaking view; with Juanita MORE, food, drinks, auctions. $100 and up. 6pm-9pm. 415 Mission St. www.glbthistory.org

Hoodslam @ Oasis

Latin Explosion @ Club 21

Steve Hackett @ Fox Theater, Oakland

The popular Latin club with gogo guys galore and Latin music. $10-$20. 9pm-3am. 2111 Franklin St., Oakland. www.club21oakland.com

Queer Happy Hour @ Forage Kitchen, Oakland Drinks for LGBTQs and pals, plus vegan and chicken snacks. Weekly 4pm-9pm. 478 25th St., Oakland. www.foragekitchen.com

Rachel Bay Jones @ Feinstein’s at the Nikko The Tony, Grammy, and Emmy Awardwinner performs Have You Met, American songbook hits, with Randy Redd. $55-$85. 8pm. ($20 food/drink min.). Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. www.feinsteinssf.com

Uhaul @ Jolene’s The popular women’s dance party returns at the new nightclub, now weekly. 10pm-2am. 2700 16th St. at Harrison. http://jolenessf.com/

You Betta Work Comedy Fiesta @ San Mateo County Pride Center Jesus U. BettaWork hosts the monthly gigglefest (celebrating one year!), with comics Sampson McCormick, Bernadette Luckett, Tut, Nicole Tran. $5. 7pm. 1021 S. El Camino Real, San Mateo. www.jesusubettawork.com

Wuhfff @ Powerhouse Pedal Pups’ monthly AIDS LifeCycle fundraiser, with canine gogos and more. $5. 9pm-2am. 1347 Folsom St. www.powerhousebar.com

Sat 19 Afropolitan Ball @ City View, Metreon Museum of the African Diaspora’s annual gala fundraiser, with a dinner, awards, and Rashaad Newsome. $500 and up. 6pm-10pm. 135 4th St. www.moadsf.org

The East Bay comic pro wrestling torupe returns with a special preHalloween horror show. “Don’t bring yer F-in’ kids, thanks.” $20. 2:30pm6pm. 298 11th St. www.sfoasis.com

The guitarist-singer and his band perform the Genesis album Selling England by the Pound and other faves, and selections from his solo LP Spectral Mornings. $35-$85. 8pm. 1807 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. www.apeconcerts.com

Mon 21 Munro’s at Midnight @ Midnight Sun Drag night with Mercedez Munro. No cover. 10pm. 4067 18th St. www.midnightsunsf.com

Music Mondays @ Pause Wine Bar Marcus Rivers plays live music at the stylish wine bar; weekly 8pm-10pm. 1666 Market St. yieldandpause.com

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

Tue 22 Andrew Bird @ Fox Theater, Oakland The folk-pop singer performs; Meshell Ndegeocello opens. $48-$70. 8pm. 1807 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. www.apeconcerts.com

Hozier @ Greek Theatre, Berkeley The folk-pop star performs; Freya Ridings opens. $50. 7pm. 2001 Gayley Drive, UC Berkeley campus. www.thegreekberkeley.com

The Kinsey Sicks @ Oasis The long-running dragapella quartet performs their new show, Naked Drag Queens Singing. $30-$50. 7pm. Also Oct 23. 298 11th St. www.sfoasis.com

Tricks & Treats @ The Edge Halloween costume party and fundraiser for the Richmond/Ermet Aid Foundation, with raffle prizes, shots, gogo studs and costumed fun. 7pm-10pm. 4149 18th St. edgesf.com

Zodiac @ SF Eagle New weekly creepy-goth drag show and viewing party for the Boulet Brothers’ Dragula, with hosts Nitrix Oxide and Dakota Pendant. Ghoulish drag/attire appreciated. $5-$10. 8pm12am. 398 12th St. www.sf-eagle.com

Wed 23 American Horror Story Night @ SF Eagle Watch AHS 1984, the camp/slasher FX Ryan Murphy TV series. 10pm-12am. 398 12th St. www.sf-eagle.com

Harvest Feast @ Green Room Castro Country Club’s 10th annual gala 3-course dinner fundraiser takes on a Roaring ‘20s Prohibition theme (retro attire suggested), with delicious food, soft drinks, silent auction, vocals by Kyle Jones. $200 and up. 6pm9:30pm. 401 Van Ness Ave. www.castrocountryclub.org

Miss Kitty’s Trivia Night @ Wild Side West The weekly fun night at the Bernal Heights bar includes prizes, hosted by Kitty Tapata. No cover. 7pm-10pm. 424 Cortland St. wildsidewest.com

Pan Dulce @ Beaux Drag divas, gogo studs, DJed Latin grooves and drinks at the Hump Day fiesta 9pm-2am (free before 10:30pm). 2344 Market St. www.clubpapi.com

Poetry Brothel @ Great Northern Fifth annual Masquerade, an interactive poetry event with bordellostyle (mostly) women performers, with aerials, burlesque, vaudeville, magic and other acts. Costumes encouraged. $40-$75. 8pm-2am. 119 Utah St. www.thepoetrybrothel.com www.thegreatnorthernsf.com

Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band @ Bottom of the Hill Enjoy country-blues at the cool Potrero Hill club; Sweetwater Black and Tyler Jakes open. $17-$20. 9pm. 1233 17th St. www.bigdamnband.com www.bottomofthehill.com

Todrick Hall @ UC Theatre, Berkeley The super-fab gay singer, choreographer & composer performs his Haus Party Tour part one, with a full ensemble. $30-$123. 8pm. 2036 University Ave., Berkeley. www.theuctheatre.org

Thu 24 Agnostic Front @ Rickshaw Stop The godfathers of hardcore punk perform. Pring and Urban Sprawl open. $20. 8pm. 155 Fell St. www.rickshawstop.com

Bay Guardian’s Best of the Bay @ The Stud Celebrate with winners of the weekly’s annual readers’ poll. 6pm-8pm. 299 9th St. at Harrison studsf.com

Chris Baron, Blake Morgan @ Neck of the Woods The front man for Spin Doctors and the passionate singer-songwriter stop through on their mini-tour. $12-$15. 9pm. 406 Clement St. www.neckofthewoodssf.com

Game Night @ Pause Wine Bar Johnny Rockitt hosts a weekly night of trivia and other games. 8pm-10pm. 1666 Market St. yieldandpause.com

Literary Speakeasy @ Martuni’s Monthly author/music night, with Chaz Brencley, Laura Blackwell, Meg Elison, Vernon Keeve III, Ginger Murray, Loren Rhodes, and Jean Znidarsic. 7pm. 4 Valencia St.

Thump @ White Horse, Oakland Weekly electro night. 9pm-2am. 6551 Telegraph Ave. whitehorsebar.com

Thursday Night Live @ SF Eagle Rock bands play at the famed leather bar. Oct 24: Crimson Ghostbusters, C’est Dommage, & Stank Voor Dank with a Halloween costume party. $8. 398 12th St. www.sf-eagle.com t

b R

THE BOB ROSS FOUNDATION

PRESENTS

Paul Eulalia

The 2019

GLBT HISTORICAL SOCIETY Gala

REUNION CHOSEN FAMILY October 18th | Friday | 6-9PM Ohana Room | Salesforce Tower | San Francisco

October 18th Friday | 6-9PM

Salesforce Tower

Ohana Floor | 415 Mission St. | San Francisco

Entertainment by Juanita MORE! Reservations & silent auction with advanced bidding, featuring Leviâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s denim gown designed by Mr. David, are live. Visit glbthistory.org/gala to register now.

2019 SPONSORS

b R

All photos courtesy of GLBT Historical Society. Gay American Indians parade contingent, Gay Freedom Day 1978. Photograph by Elaine Gay Jarvis. Elain Gay Jarvis Papers (#2018-90). Gay Freedom Day 1977. Photograph by Joffre Clarke. Jofre Clarke Photographs (#2003-17). Dykes on Bikes participant, Gay Freedom Day 1978. Photograph by Elaine Gay Jarvis. Elaine Gay Jarvis Papers (#2018-90). Party 1977. Photographer unknown. Collection of Black Gay Event Slides (#1997-39).

THE BOB ROSS FOUNDATION

GLBT-GALA-2019_FP4C.indd 1

8/28/19 11:48 AM