October 25, 2018 edition of the Bay Area Reporter

10

B.A.R. endorsements

DC is more than Trump

17

ARTS

02

25

Sasha Waltz

Nightlife Events

The

www.ebar.com

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

Vol. 48 • No. 43 • October 25-31, 2018

Rudy K. Lawidjaja

William Lee

Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, speaks at a rally outside the White House Monday.

A volunteer helps decorate the World Tree of Hope in 2013.

New home for Tree of Hope

SF mayor issues transgender directive

by Cynthia Laird

by Matthew S. Bajko and Cynthia Laird

S

an Francisco Mayor London Breed Thursday morning ordered all city agencies and departments that collect demographic data to update their forms, both paper and electronic, so that they include the option of nonbinary in addition to male and female when asking about gender identity.

The mayoral directive, which took effect immediately, also ordered that the forms expand on title options beyond Mr. and Ms. and include additional choices for pronouns other than just she/ See page 14 >>

Soccer league considers trans policy

Halloween fright in Castro

C

astro resident Scott Liapis spends all year planning and making his elaborate Halloween window displays for his home a few blocks up from Pink Triangle Park at 17th and Eureka streets. This year’s edition is a spooky take on beauty pageants, with “Rose” finally getting to play “Queen for a Day” thanks to horrific

by Matthew S. Bajko

A

T

See page 13 >>

acts she committed. You’ll have to stop by to read details about the grisly tale. Liapis and his husband moved to their home on Halloween eight years ago, and he’s been doing the displays ever since.

An artist and writer, he said he enjoys the shocked comments from passersby. The display is lit from 7 p.m. to midnight through October 31.

A

SF LGBT history museum project enjoys broad political backing

by Roger Brigham

fter reported incidents of some athletes hassling or disrespecting transgender players, the Golden Gate Women’s Soccer League is considering the Courtesy GGWSL development and adoption of a league policy to The Golden govern participation of Gate Women’s transgender athletes.

Soccer League League representa- is considering a tives discussed the issue policy to govern Monday, October 23, at a transgender two-hour closed meeting players. in the Mission district, utilizing two facilitators to assist the discussion.

The topic was addressed after two teams, the Pirates of San Francisco and the East Bay United Underdawgs, filed complaints about alleged unsportsmanlike and transphobic behavior during a September 22 match in Golden Gate Park.

The Underdawgs reportedly asked the board to develop a policy restricting the participation of transgender players.

Danielle Thoe, a board member of the San Francisco Spikes who plays for the Pirates, wrote

Scott Liapis

new mayor means new holiday traditions at City Hall.

At least, that’s what the Rainbow World Fund learned when its executive director was told that its World Tree of Hope would not be in San Francisco City Hall – this year or, apparently, in future years.

Jeff Cotter, a gay man who leads the LGBT humanitarian nonprofit, told the Bay Area Reporter that RWF was informed in August that it needed to pick up its artificial tree, which has been stored at city expense since 2014.

“We have decided to approach the 2018 holiday season differently,” an August 17 email from See page 14 >>

he effort to construct the country’s first major museum devoted to LGBT history enjoys broad political support among San Francisco elected leaders and political candidates, as most believe the city should help fund the construction of the cultural institution.

In editorial board meetings this year with the Bay Area Reporter and candidate questionnaire responses, no one argued against seeing the city allocate taxpayer funds toward the LGBT museum. Rather, considering San Francisco’s central role in the advancement of LGBT rights, the political leaders argued it is as worthy of city support as the numerous mainstream museums that already receive taxpayer funds.

“For 10 years, I ran the African-American Art and Culture Complex, so I know that supporting a community also means supporting its history and its art,” Mayor London Breed, who was elected in June, told the B.A.R. “We can inspire the next generation of artists, leaders, and organizers by celebrating the lives of the leaders who changed our understanding of the LGBTQ community.”

The GLBT Historical Society aims to build a large facility somewhere in the city, either in the gay Castro district or South of Market neighborhood, in order to tell the story of the local fight for LGBT rights and display its vast collection of artifacts and ephemera in its archives. The archival

Rick Gerharter

District 6 supervisor candidate Matt Haney, shown at a campaign event with District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman and former state senator Mark Leno, would push for an LGBT history museum in his district if elected.

group’s lease for its small museum space on 18th Street in the Castro is set to expire in 2021.

As the B.A.R. reported in May, the nonprofit had the architectural firm Gensler’s Oakland office do an assessment on the museum project. It concluded it would require at least 35,000 square feet.

Terry Beswick, executive director of the GLBT

Historical Society, recently told the B.A.R. that he hopes to launch a feasibility study of the museum project in early 2019. A key focus of the study will be to identify possible locations to site the building.

“I hope to have it in the Castro,” said Beswick, See page 15 >>

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<< Election 2018

2 • Bay Area Reporter • October 25-31, 2018

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hatever happens November 6, the new District 4 Santa Clara County supervisor will be a straight person.

The current District 4 Supervisor Ken Yeager, the board’s only LGBT member, is termed out after 12 years in office.

Yeager was the county’s first openly gay elected official, and before that was elected to the San Jose City Council and community college board. After nearly 30 years of public service, his vacancy and legacy leave a vacuum in LGBTQ elected public service, observers said.

That’s apparent in the District 4 supervisors’ race, where Donald Rocha and Susan Ellenberg will face each other November 6 after advancing from the June primary. Neither candidate is LGBT, but they both said that they understand the queer experience – as county officials and as members of a family with LGBTQ members.

Yeager has endorsed both in the race.

Since 2014, Ellenberg has been serving as president of the San Jose Unified School District board. She is a graduate of the Columbia University Law School.

In the past she was a practicing attorney.

Ellenberg, 51, said she’s proud of her endorsement from the Stonewall Democrats of Silicon Valley. The group is officially recognized as a caucus within the state Democratic Party. It advocates on issues of importance to LGBTs. Ellenberg is also proud of the fact that she has a niece who identifies as queer and a nephew who is a gay man.

She is aware that the Santa Clara County Office of LGBTQ Affairs, which Yeager spearheaded, is a unique governmental organization. Moreover, she is familiar with the LGBTQ affairs office because she sits on the Santa Clara County Commission on the Status of Women. As previously reported in the Bay Area Reporter, the county Office of Women’s Policy, which the commission advises, will soon become part of a new Division of Equality and Social Justice, along with the LGBTQ affairs office and a couple of departments.

Ellenberg said that although the day-to-day operations are autonomous, there is concern that these separate offices have distinct mandates, and therein lies the rub.

“It’s potentially challenging for each one to fully champion the population they were [established] to advocate for,” she said.

The prevalence of violence against LGBTQs, including intimate partner abuse, is alarming to Ellenberg. In her interactions with youth, she has seen the collateral damage of targeted violence.

“We’re seeing increases in rates of suicide, suicidal ideation, and extreme anxiety,” she said. “And other symptoms of mental health disorders among youth in our schools. And a disproportionate number of the kids that are reporting these symptoms are identifying with the LGBTQ community.”

Ellenberg offers two main approaches. The first is that the organizations like San Jose LGBTQ Youth Space and Stand Up for Kids are in need of funding, she said.

However, Ellenberg considers adequate and comprehensive health care to be the highest priority facing the LGBTQ community in Santa Clara County.

Health care encompasses not only physical health, but also mental health, behavioral health, and substance abuse issues, she said.

“Focusing on integrated wholehuman health care for the LGBTQ population is the most significant contribution that we can really make to help that community thrive,” she said.

Candidate Susan Ellenberg

Candidate Donald Rocha

Rocha, 49, represents District 9 on the San Jose City Council and previously served on the school board. In the past Rocha has served on joint citycounty task forces for public safety, housing, and ambulance services.

Rocha also has a close family member who is just coming out and is navigating their path as a member of the LGBTQ community.

Rocha is no stranger to the rigors of bureaucracy. He said he is aware of the concerns of some people about the Offices of LGBTQ Affairs joining the Offices of Cultural Competency, Immigrant Relations, and Women’s Policy in the Division of Equity and Social Justice.

Yet, he said he’s not worried that the focus, vision, or impact of any of the departments will be lost in the reorganization. Rocha said he hasn’t studied the reasoning for the readjustment, but surmised that it was done because of budget savings, reporting, and management-related issues.

“Its mission or its scope or its work will not be compromised. ... Its scope is clear enough that I don’t see it having any conflicts with other missions or mission statements from other divisions or departments,” he said, referring to the LGBTQ affairs office.

Rocha said, “Under the leadership of Ken Yeager and the other supervisors, the county has continued to do the right thing by promoting policies that help support vulnerable communities, but there is always more to do.”

He said that youth programs should be expanded and “fully-funded well into the future.”

“Additionally, the county serves thousands of residents each and every day, and making sure county employees are properly educated and trained to work with these communities is vital to ensure that important county

services are available and easy to use for all residents,” he added.

Rocha wants to ensure that the mandates are being fulfilled, and that the funding is allocated correctly. His vision is to have impact reports and studies filed to a committee either quarterly, annually, or biannually. That way, he said, the Office of LGBTQ Affairs and others “are ensured that they don’t get lost in the shuffle or become distanced or in the background.”

This may seem like the dispassionate grinding wheels of bureaucracy, but Rocha said he’s been doing this work for a long time: “two or three decades working around City Hall and the school board.”

“I have learned to trust and depend on professionals in our staff,” he said.

“So, I lean a lot on professional staff to give me a good recommendation ... I’m looking for an impartial, independent analysis from them as to what they think the needs are.”

Rocha clarified, “I am not that politician who stands at the dais and says I know what’s best for everybody. I don’t know what’s best for this particular community [LGBTQ] ... I’m going to lean on the professionals.”

He did say that the gap in mental health care is a problem for many in the county.

“In so many issues, whether it’s our homelessness population, whether it’s our LGBTQ [community], whether it’s rehabilitation-diversion programs for jails and juvenile hall.

Those kind of services, mental health services and psychiatric services, and counseling services, is where our biggest need is.” t

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GENERAL ELECTION

State Offices

Martin Rawlings-Fein Mia Satya Faauuga Moliga

Governor: Gavin Newsom Lt. Governor: Eleni Kounalakis Attorney Gen: Xavier Becerra Secretary of State: Alex Padilla Treasurer: Fiona Ma Controller: Betty Yee Insurance Commissioner: Ricardo Lara Superintendent of Public Instruction: Tony Thurmond Board of Equalization (District 2): Malia Cohen

SF City College Board

Congress (Bay Area)

SF Supervisor Offices

Dist 2: Catherine Stefani Dist 4: Gordon Mar Dist 6: Matt Haney Dist 8: Rafael Mandelman Dist 10: Shamann Walton

SF Board of Education

Thea Selby, John Rizzo, Victor Olivieri

Public Defender Jeff Adachi

Assessor-Recorder Carmen Chu

BART Board, Dist. 8 Janice Li

East Bay Assembly

Dist. 15: Jovanka Beckles

State Assembly (SF) Dist. 17: David Chiu Dist. 19: Phil Ting

State Assembly (Bay Area) Dist. 18: Rob Bonta Dist. 28: Evan Low

US Senate

Alameda City Council Jim Oddie

Dublin City Council Shawn Kumagai

El Cerrito City Council Gabriel Quinto

Martinez City Council John Stevens

Dist. 2: Jared Huffman Dist. 3: John Garamendi Dist. 5: Mike Thompson Dist. 10: Josh Harder Dist. 11: Mark DeSaulnier Dist. 12: Nancy Pelosi Dist. 13: Barbara Lee Dist. 14: Jackie Speier Dist. 15: Eric Swalwell Dist. 17: Ro Khanna Dist. 18: Anna Eshoo Dist. 19: Zoe Lofgren

Redwood City, City Council

OTHER RACES

Dist. 4: Jimmy Dutra

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf

Oakland City Council

District 2: Abel Guillen District 4: Pam Harris District 6: Marlo Rodriquez

Berkeley City Council District 8: Lori Droste

Dianne Feinstein

Remember to vote on November 6!

Jason Galisatus

Richmond City Council Cesar Zepeda

San Carlos City Council Laura Parmer-Lohan

Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors

San Francisco Props Yes on: A, C, E No on: B, D

California Propositions

Yes on: 1, 2, 4, 10 No on: 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12

International News>>

t Zurich mayor celebrates 15 years as SF sister city

October 25-31, 2018 • Bay Area Reporter • 3

by Alex Madison

she noted, and that creating an inclusive society is a priority.

She also spoke about her excitement for being in San Francisco.

The last time she was here was for the 10th anniversary of the Zurich Meets San Francisco festival.

“It’s a fantastic city,” she said. “I look forward to continue learning from one another.”

T

he lesbian mayor of Zurich, Switzerland is in town this week to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the sister city relationship between her city and San Francisco. Corine Mauch had a lot to say when she sat down with the Bay Area Reporter on Monday, October 22, including her thoughts on President Donald Trump, her legislative priorities, and how being a lesbian informs her work.

Her trip coincides with the Zurich Meets San Francisco festival that continues through October 26. The event commemorates the initiative between the two cities launched in 2003 that focuses on sharing knowledge and supporting the development of partnerships between the two like-minded governments.

Mauch, 58, was elected in 2009, becoming the first out lesbian mayor of any major European city after serving on the City Council for 10 years. The member of the Social Democratic Party, who was re-elected in March for another four-year term, is also Zurich’s first female mayor.

The B.A.R. spoke with Mauch at the Proper Hotel. She talked about meeting San Francisco Mayor London Breed a few hours earlier, with whom she said she was impressed.

They spoke about the similar issues the sister cities have faced, including drug addiction and a lack of affordable housing.

“We have very similar challenges,” Mauch said. “I think we can learn from each other and learn from our best practices. Cities are laboratories for solutions for challenges of the future.”

Switzerland implemented a fourpillar concept in 2008 to deal with its societal drug problem, which included safe injection sites, something she talked about with Breed.

“You have to find solutions in place,” she said. “You can’t have just one solution to a very complex problem.”

Last month, California Governor Jerry Brown vetoed a bill that would have allowed San Francisco to implement a safe injection site pilot program. Breed, who strongly supported the bill, mentioned her meeting with Mauch at a reception Monday night for LGBT community leaders.

“Today they’re doing very well as a city,” Breed said, referring to the safe injection sites in Zurich.

Mauch is expected to meet with other city officials throughout the week to discuss topics of climate change, waste disposal, and other environmental issues.

The creation of affordable housing was a large accomplishment during her first term and will continue to be a priority, she said. More than 16,000 apartments were built during her time in office. Providing opportunities and housing to people of all socioeconomic levels is something she wants for Zurich.

“Affordable housing is a very important issue in Zurich,” she explained. “We want to deliver possibility to people who are not rich, to poor people as well. We want this diversity in this city.”

Zurich, with a population of 402,762, is home to people from over 170 nations, she noted, and that is considered a valuable asset.

Being a country open to migrants is something to be proud of, she emphasized. Mauch was born in Iowa.

She renounced her U.S. citizenship in 2013, according to Wikipedia.

“In Zurich we have benefited a lot from people coming here with their ideas, potentials, talents and I think for every city it is important to have this openness and to integrate and include,” she explained.

This is a perspective that differs

Zurich Meets SF

Rick Gerharter

Zurich Mayor Corine Mauch visited San Francisco this week.

vastly from the current White House administration’s anti-immigration laws and rhetoric. When asked about the U.S. president, Mauch said she feels the same way about Trump that many San Franciscans feel, alluding to her disapproval of him.

She called the recent news that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has reportedly created a proposal to limit the

identification of a person’s gender to include only “male” or “female” that is listed at birth, a significant setback for the LGBT community.

Being informed of the news moments before the interview, she did not want to comment further, but emphasized her own goals of “having real and complete equality for everyone” in her city.

Although she is an out lesbian

and has been throughout her political career, she feels her sexual orientation did not influence her political success.

“I was not elected for being a lesbian,” she said. “I am happy that I am elected and it’s not important if I am lesbian or not because it is a part of our population, LGBTQ people.”

Being a lesbian has given her a certain sensibility toward minorities,

Remaining events for the festival include screenings of LGBT films directed by Marcel Gisler, including “Electroboy,” Thursday, October 25, at 8 p.m. at the New People Cinema, 1746 Post Street. “Rosie” will play Friday, October 26, same time and location On Friday, October 26, there will be an artist workshop with Baltensperger and Siepert, who mint their own coins. The participative workshop is from 2:30 to 6 p.m. at Pier 17.

Food events bringing together Swiss and San Francisco chefs will be held October 25 and 26 at restaurants Rich Table and Nopa.

For tickets or more information about festival events, and to register, visit https://www.zurichmeetssanfrancisco.org/events. t

I’ll do whatever it takes to protect the California dream for all – regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, or immigration status.”

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<< Community news

4 • Bay Area Reporter • October 25-31, 2018

t

SF mayor spikes Alabama trip due to anti-LGBT law

by Matthew S. Bajko

S

StevenUnderhill PHOTOGRAPHY

Untitled-3 1

10/15/18

an Francisco Mayor London Breed has declined an invite to travel to Alabama due to the state being on the city’s banned travel list for having antiLGBT laws on its books.

Stephen Benjamin, the mayor of Columbia, South Carolina, and president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, had invited Breed to Montgomery November 13-14 for the launch of the Mayors and Business Leaders Center for Inclusive Compassionate Cities.

The U.S. Conference of Mayors had announced the creation of the center at its meeting in June in Boston.

It is meant to foster stronger ties between mayors and business leaders in advancing equality, diversity, and inclusion. The center is funded by a grant from Walmart.

But in a letter dated October 16, Breed informed Benjamin she had to decline his invitation.

“As you may well be aware, LGBTQ rights in Alabama are under threat, and San Francisco city policy precludes any official travel to states who discrimi4:21 PM nate against our LGBTQ friends and family members,” wrote Breed, who was elected mayor in June and voted for the travel ban as the former president of the Board of Supervisors. “I am proud of that policy and given the hostility of Washington, D.C., there is no better time than now to stand up for LGBTQ rights.”

In October 2016, San Francisco leaders banned using taxpayer funds to pay for non-essential travel by city

Cynthia Laird

San Francisco Mayor London Breed, shown standing on a small table speaking to LGBT community leaders Monday, October 22, has declined to attend a trip to Montgomery, Alabama for a U.S. Conference of Mayors event.

employees to states that have enacted anti-LGBT laws since June 26, 2015.

The ban, which also precludes city agencies from entering into new contracts with businesses headquartered in those states, took effect on Valentine’s Day in 2017.

Alabama is one of eight states on the list; it was added on June 30, 2017 for adopting an anti-LGBT adoption law.

Oklahoma will become the ninth state on the list November 1 when its own anti-LGBT adoption law takes effect.

The city's list mirrors those states banned under California's travel ban policy for states that adopt anti-LGBT legislation.

As for Montgomery, it received a score of 17 out of 100 on the 2018 Human Rights Campaign's Municipal Equality Index that scores cities and municipalities on how LGBTfriendly their policies are. The city earned points for banning anti-LGBT discrimination in city hiring and contracting, as well for its leaders promoting LGBT policies.

San Francisco has a score of 100 on the MEI. While Breed noted that the national mayors’ group “has taken great efforts to oppose racism and discrimination of all kinds,” she nonetheless could not participate in the planned event next month in “The Heart of Dixie” state.

“Unfortunately, I do not agree with hosting any event in a state that does not prioritize the basic principles of justice and equality which defines so many of our great cities, especially San Francisco,” wrote Breed.

She added that she looks “forward to working with the U.S. Conference of Mayors in the future to challenge injustice everywhere and advocate for those communities that are in the greatest of need.”

Gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman praised Breed's action.

"I think it was the right decision," he told the Bay Area Reporter Monday night while attending a reception for Breed and LGBT community leaders.

"Good for her."

U.S. Conference of Mayors spokeswoman Sara Durr did not respond to the B.A.R.’s request for comment by press time Wednesday. t

Jury convicts Phillips on all charges in murder of friend

by Alex Madison

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ay man Michael Phillips was found guilty of first-degree murder and every offense he was charged with by a San Francisco Superior Court jury Thursday, October 18.

Phillips cried loudly as the guilty verdict for killing his friend of many years, 75-year-old James Sheahan, was read.

Sheahan’s body was found in his bloodstained Nob Hill apartment August 14, 2017, and Phillips was arrested that November in connection with the death. Phillips, 65, pleaded not guilty in April to murder, robbery, and other charges related to the death of Sheahan, who was also gay.

The jury deliberated for about two days before the verdict was read to Superior Court Judge Loretta Giorgi.

Phillips was also found guilty of aggravated mayhem, first-degree burglary and robbery, first-degree residential burglary, theft or forgery or fraud of an elder, and theft of an access card.

Additionally, he was convicted of fraud for financial documents.

During the trial, Assistant District Attorney O’Bryan Kenney argued Phillips brutally killed Sheahan with a cordless phone then cut his wrist to make it look like a suicide before stealing thousands of dollars from him, including paintings, forged checks, and attempted cash withdrawals with Sheahan’s ATM card. Sheahan had Stage 4 lung cancer in the months leading up to his death. Witnesses testified that Sheahan died from multiple traumatic injuries to the head caused by blunt force trauma.

“This man will be held accountable due to the thoughtful and thorough investigation of the San Francisco Police Department, led by Sergeant Domenico Discenza,” said Kenney in a news release. “Mr. Sheahan and his family will have justice because of their tireless efforts.”

Convicted murderer Michael Phillips

Kenney told the jury that the motive for the killing was Phillips’ desperate love for a Filipino man, Archie Arcaya Fuscablo, and Phillips’ need to funnel money to Fuscablo to get him to the United States. As previously reported by the Bay Area Reporter, the two met online and married at City Hall October 30, 2017, just weeks after Fuscablo arrived in the U.S. and two months after Sheahan’s death.

“He killed a man he knew for years and he did it for one motive,” Kenney said during his closing argument last week. “He had a desperate need to get money to bring a man here he wanted to be with and would stop at nothing to do that.”

Deputy Public Defender Kwixuan Maloof focused on the lack of forensic evidence connecting Phillips to the murder throughout the trial and contended that someone else committed the killing and other charges against Phillips.

Phillips’ DNA was not found in the apartment or on Sheahan’s belongings. There were instances of DNA from an undetermined source found on particular items in question, including yellow rubber gloves and a lighter, a medical examiner testified during the trial.

“I am quite surprised at the verdict given the enormous scientific evidence

in this case that someone else was involved,” Maloof told the B.A.R. “It wasn’t just one or two items that were questionable. Every single item tested pretty much pointed to someone else’s involvement and Mike’s innocence.”

Maloof also argued during the trial that Sheahan died after Phillips was last seen exiting the apartment, as one medical examiner testified that the body was warm to the touch on August 14, when Sheahan was found.

Maloof said he felt the prosecution’s evidence was weak and circumstantial. He plans to file a motion for a new trial.

As reported online last week, a member of the jury also spoke with the B.A.R. moments after the verdict was read. Paul Smith, 55, said, “the evidence was overwhelming for the prosecution.” When asked what the most incriminating evidence was he replied, “The video of the blood stains on [Phillips’] pants.”

Other members of the jury declined to comment.

Kenney showed surveillance video during the trial that showed the defendant entering and exiting Sheahan’s Bush Street apartment multiple times the weekend before authorities found his body. Two separate blood stains appeared on Phillips’ pants after he entered the apartment. Sheahan’s blood was also found on the inside of a black and red Trader Joe’s bag that he was carrying with him going in and out of the apartment.

Smith also said he was heavily swayed by the evidence that described how the defendant stole thousands of dollars and other belongings from Sheahan. The jury also saw surveillance video from a Wells Fargo ATM that showed Phillips went to two ATMs and attempted to withdraw cash with Sheahan’s ATM Friday, August 11.

A sentencing date for Phillips has not been announced. t

Election 2018>>

t SF measures deal with arts funding, cannabis tax

October 25-31, 2018 • Bay Area Reporter • 5

by Alex Madison

A

lthough there are just a handful of local ballot propositions to vote on come November 6, San Franciscans will be deciding on big issues about arts funding, cannabis, and privacy rights. The Bay Area Reporter had an article last week about Proposition C, the homeless funding measure. This week looks at Props B-E.

Arts funding

Proposition D would implement an additional tax on recreational marijuana retailers in San Francisco.

Authored by Board of Supervisors President Malia Cohen, the measure was put on the ballot by the board in an 8-3 vote in July. Gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman voted against it, as did Supervisors Jane Kim and Hillary Ronen.

If passed, the city could impose a

Volunteers contact voters in support of Proposition E at Z Space.

tax rate between 1 and 5 percent on marijuana businesses with gross receipts over $500,000, depending on the type of cannabis business activity and amount of a businesses’ gross receipts. As well, the supervisors could decrease or increase the tax rate, up to a maximum rate of 7 percent. The additional tax does not apply to revenues from the retail sales of medical marijuana.

Revenues from the tax are allocated to the general fund. The city controller predicts it will generate $2 to $4

million in its first year, and $7-16 million in 2021.

David Goldman, president of Brownie Mary Democratic Club and organizer of the Vote No on Prop D campaign, said in a B.A.R. editorial board meeting that the tax is predicted to increase medical marijuana retail prices by 7 percent. He said although the tax does not apply to revenue from medical cannabis, it does not exempt medical cannabis dispensaries that manufacture edibles.

“Medical cannabis patients are

Seawall bond

The only safety bond on the ballot is Proposition A, the Embarcadero Seawall Earthquake Safety Bond. It would allow the city to borrow up to $425 million in general obligation bonds over 30 years to repair and upgrade the See page 14 >>

Join Mark Leno, David Campos, Rafael Mandelman and Bevan Dufty to elect Faauuga Moliga to the School Board.

Faauuga is a native of San Francisco who grew up in public housing and graduated from Balboa High School.

A parent of three, Faauuga went on to earn a Master’s Degree in Social Work and if elected, would be the first Pacific Islander ever elected to public office in San Francisco.

Faauuga has drawn upon his experience and history to –

• Create a pathway for hundreds of young women to attend college • Educate male youth about the meaning of consent to help curb sexual assault • Develop programs that decrease truancy and increase enrollment in our public schools • Provide counseling to students who suffer from trauma.

En d ors e

Bay

REP

A

ORrea B.A TER .

By

Cannabis tax

Autumn Schoch

on education about the effects of cannabis, compassion programs for low-income patients, and equity programs for business owners harmed by over-policing. Money in the general fund can be allocated to any public purpose.

Local LGBT organizations, the Alice B. Toklas Democratic Club and the Compton’s Trans Cultural District support the measure. “No one should be surprised that businesses are against being taxed, but this affects only recreational cannabis businesses making more than $500,000, so we’re really talking about asking the biggest businesses to contribute a small amount,” said Eric Lukoff and Gina Simi, co-chairs of the Alice club, wrote in an email to the B.A.R. “This is a reasonable measure.”

Other supporters include Supervisors Norman Yee, Catherine Stefanie, and Tang. It requires 50 percent plus one to pass.

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Faauuga endeavors to bring a holistic approach to our public schools to create a safe and supportive environment for students and staff by –

• Prioritizing the well-being of all students, teachers, and families through mental health services • Creating a community-based approach to schools to increase student academic achievement • Supporting our educators with competitive salaries, affordable housing, and retirement packages.

Endorsed by SF Democratic Party En

A measure many San Francisco performers and artists support is Proposition E, the Partial Allocation of Hotel Tax for Arts and Cultural Purposes. It would allow up to 1.5 percent of the money from the 8 percent base hotel tax that the city already enforces to be dedicated to arts and cultural purposes. The current hotel tax, which includes a 6 percent tax surcharge for hotel rooms that is not part of the ballot measure, is currently available for any public purpose.

The measure is not a tax increase, but a reallocation of funds for various arts and cultural functions. When the hotel tax was first implemented in 1961, a portion of the funds were dedicated to the arts, but over time the city has diverted it to other purposes, the San Francisco Voter Guide noted.

If Prop E passes, the city would be required to distribute revenue to specific uses at a set dollar amount for nonprofit cultural organizations, programs related to the Cultural Equity Endowment, city-owned community cultural centers, and to address other needs in the arts community.

Currently, the hotel tax generates about $370 million, according to the city controller. If Prop E passes, it would increase the amount of money already spent on arts and cultural purposes by $5 million in fiscal year 2018–19, as estimated by the controller.

The measure is backed by Mayor London Breed, Supervisors Katy Tang and Aaron Peskin, as well as the Hotel Council of San Francisco, San Franciscans for the Arts, and the United Educators of San Francisco.

Kevin Seaman, a queer, genderfluid man and a paid organizer for the Yes on E campaign said, “It’s easy to see the connection between tourism and culture. Investing in a vibrant cultural ecosystem attracts diverse tourists.”

Seaman, who is also a drag performer, said gentrification and the high cost of living are pushing out artists and minority groups, and if the city doesn’t prioritize funding for the arts community, it will lose a large portion of the diverse culture.

“The city’s budget has grown 152 percent from 1997 to 2017, but the arts funding grew by only 14 percent,” he said. “If we don’t invest in culture like we invest in the police, libraries, and schools we are going to lose that asset.”

The measure would also provide a permanent funding stream for the city’s cultural districts including the newest Compton’s Transgender Cultural District in the Tenderloin. Other organizations that will receive funding if the measure passes include the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Exploratorium, and San Francisco’s ballet, opera, and symphony companies.

The measure needs a two-thirds vote to pass.

being taxed way too much,” Goldman said. “Way more than tobacco and alcohol and both are not medical products.” He added that there are no taxes on prescription drugs.

Additionally, he emphasized that if passed, the cannabis industry would be taxed at a higher rate than any other industry on gross receipts. This, he said, would only “encourage people back to the black market.” Leaders of the campaign believe the industry should be taxed, but at a rate more comparable to other retail businesses.

Gay officials state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and City College Trustee Tom Temprano are opposed to Prop D, as is District 5 Supervisor Vallie Brown.

In the voter guide, proponents, including Cohen, call it a “fair and datadriven tax,” and that the city worked with a broad range of community and industry stakeholders to design the tax structure.

“Prop D is structured to keep medicinal cannabis affordable, incentivize local manufacturing businesses, support startup businesses entering the market, provide data-driven analysis of the industry, and put Equity businesses on equal footing,” the argument states.

Supporters also argue that the money generated would be spent

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www.faauugamoliga.com Paid for by Committee To Elect Faauuga Moliga For School Board 2018 • Financial disclosures available at sfethics.org

<< Open Forum

6 • Bay Area Reporter • October 25-31, 2018

Volume 48, Number 43 October 25-31, 2018 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 • Alex Madison CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Ray Aguilera • Tavo Amador • Race Bannon Erin Blackwell • Roger Brigham Brian Bromberger • Victoria A. Brownworth Brent Calderwood • Philip Campbell Heather Cassell • Belo Cipriani • Dan Renzi Christina DiEdoardo • Richard Dodds Michael Flanagan • Jim Gladstone David Guarino • Liz Highleyman Brandon Judell • John F. Karr • Lisa Keen Matthew Kennedy • Joshua Klipp David Lamble • Max Leger Michael McDonagh • Juanita MORE! David-Elijah Nahmod • Paul Parish Sean Piverger • Lois Pearlman Tim Pfaff • Jim Piechota • Bob Roehr Adam Sandel • Jason Serinus • Gregg Shapiro Gwendolyn Smith • Tony Taylor • Sari Staver Jim Stewart • Sean Timberlake • Andre Torrez Ronn Vigh • Charlie Wagner • Ed Walsh Cornelius Washington • Sura Wood ART DIRECTION Max Leger PRODUCTION/DESIGN Ernesto Sopprani PHOTOGRAPHERS Jane Philomen Cleland • FBFE Rick Gerharter • Gareth Gooch Jose Guzman-Colon • Rudy K. Lawidjaja Georg Lester • Dan Lloyd • Jo-Lynn Otto Rich Stadtmiller • Kelly Sullivan • Fred Rowe Steven Underhil • Dallis Willard • Bill Wilson ILLUSTRATORS & CARTOONISTS Paul Berge • Christine Smith ADVERTISING/ADMINISTRATION Colleen Small Bogitini VICE PRESIDENT OF ADVERTISING Scott Wazlowski – 415.829.8937 NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE Rivendell Media – 212.242.6863

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CA ballot measure endorsements Proposition 1: YES Authorizes bonds to fund specified housing assistance programs.

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here are 11 statewide ballot propositions on the November ballot, on topics ranging from bonds for housing assistance to repealing the gas tax to new standards for the confinement of farm animals. Proposition 9, which advocated for splitting California into three states, was removed from the ballot by the state Supreme Court. Here are our recommendations.

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his legislative statute has broad support.

It authorizes $4 billion of state general obligation bonds to fund existing housing programs to help veterans, working families, the disabled, seniors, and the homeless. It provides housing assistance for buyers, infrastructure financing, and matching grants to expand the affordable housing stock. California has a housing crisis. This is one more way to help alleviate it. Vote Yes on 1.

Proposition 10: YES Proposition 2: YES Authorizes bonds to fund existing housing program for individuals with mental illness.

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his legislative statute also has wide support. It ratifies existing law establishing the No Place Like Home Program, which finances permanent housing for people with mental illness who are homeless or at risk for chronic homelessness, as being consistent with the Mental Health Services Act approved by the electorate. It ratifies issuance of up to $2 billion in previously authorized bonds to finance the program. Proponents state that the measure would build 20,000 permanent supportive housing units under No Place Like Home and allow coordinated care of mental health and substance use services, medical care, case managers, education, and job training to help people get the treatment and housing stability they need.

Like Prop 1, this provides a funding source for housing for people who most need it.

Vote Yes on 2.

Proposition 3: NO Authorizes bonds to fund projects for water supply and quality, watershed, fish, wildlife, water conveyance, and groundwater sustainability and storage.

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his was put on the ballot by a citizens’ initiative and is funded in part by the stakeholders that would benefit from it and receive a share of the grant money. It’s a payto-play initiative that would not get the state more water. Vote No on 3.

Proposition 4: YES Authorizes bonds funding construction at hospitals providing children’s health care.

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his initiative authorizes $1.5 billion in bonds to fund grants for construction, expansion, renovation, and equipping qualifying children’s hospitals. According to proponents, there are eight California nonprofit children’s hospitals, and seriously ill children receive care at these facilities regardless of a family’s income. The bond money would allow these hospitals, which are at five University of California academic medical center campuses, to build more capacity to treat more children. Vote Yes on 4.

Bay Area Reporter

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Proposition 5: NO Changes requirements for certain property owners to transfer their property tax base to replacement property.

Proposition 6 would repeal a gas tax that is being used for road repairs and other transportation needs.

Proposition 6: NO Eliminating certain road repair and transportation funding. Requires certain fuel taxes and vehicle fees be approved by the electorate.

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his initiative constitutional amendment repeals the gas tax passed by the Legislature in 2017. This is a terrible measure.

The state desperately needs funds to pay for repairs and improvements to roads, state highways, and public transportation. Prop 6 eliminates $5 billion in existing transportation funding. Opponents, mostly Republicans, argue that repealing the gas tax would lead to cheaper fuel. But the bottom line is that California has some of the worst roads in the nation, including right here in the Bay Area. If the gas tax is repealed, projects already underway will come to a halt, opponents said. It would also eliminate thousands of jobs. Taxpayers will end up paying more in the long run if this revenue source is repealed. Vote no on 6.

Proposition 7: NO Conforms California Daylight Saving Time to Federal Law. Allows Legislature to change Daylight Saving Time period.

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he Legislature put this on the ballot and it shouldn’t be. And voters shouldn’t be misled. If Prop 7 passes, we will continue to switch between Standard and Daylight Saving Time because a two-thirds vote by the Legislature is required before any final decision is made. Federal law does allow states to opt out of Daylight Saving Time, but there is currently no provision to allow permanent Daylight Saving Time under federal law. Prop 7 is putting the cart before the horse. Opponents pointed out that the state has tried this before. The 1974 energy crisis led President Nixon to declare emergency full-time Daylight Saving Time.

That ended after 10 months because people hated the fact that the sun rose too late in the morning. The proponents’ argument that children’s sleep patterns are disrupted under the current twice-yearly switch is not persuasive; in fact, it could be dangerous for kids heading to school or waiting for the bus in the dark. It’s not worth it. Vote No on 7.

Proposition 8: NO

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his is an initiative constitutional amendment and statute that was developed by the California Association of Realtors. It would expand the special rules that give property tax savings to eligible homeowners when they buy a different home. The nonpartisan California Legislative Analyst says that Prop 5 would cause massive revenue losses at the local level, including schools, public services, and health care. Public school funding comes largely from property taxes, and Prop 5 would mean less revenue for them. It does not build new housing, nor does it help first-time homebuyers. It does not reduce rent.

For the last 30 years, opponents said, older homeowners who move to a smaller and less expensive home experience no changes to their current property tax. This was to encourage leaving larger homes to a younger family. Homeowners are allowed to do this once under Prop 13. Prop 5 changes the equation and allows homeowners to buy more expensive homes anywhere in the state and keep the property tax benefit. This will not do anything to help the state’s housing crisis. Vote No on 5.

Regulates amounts outpatient kidney dialysis clinics charge for dialysis treatment.

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his initiative statute shouldn’t even be on the ballot. The Legislature should be working out this issue regarding the amount dialysis clinics can charge and be reimbursed, as well as other regulations around training, patient education, and tech support. It’s an example of a special interest (labor unions) trying to legislate from the ballot box because of their frustration at being unable to organize clinic workers.

It’s not the voters’ job to determine whether to unionize a sector of the health care field; it’s up to the unions to make their case and have a vote of the workers. Opponents, including the California Medical Association and American Nurses Association/California, pointed out that Prop 8 may force the closure of dialysis clinics to cut services and costs. Vote No on 8.

Expands local governments’ authority to enact rent control on residential property.

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his initiative statute repeals the CostaHawkins Act, which prohibits cities from enacting rent control laws. A yes vote for repeal does not establish statewide rent control, it gives municipalities the ability to enact such protections if they choose to do so. We’ve seen the opponents’ ads that claim repeal will make the housing crisis worse. We don’t buy it. Repeal of Costa-Hawkins is not the whole answer to the state’s housing crisis, but it is important to keep people housed and Prop 10 is one tool for that. With rents rising in communities around the state, something needs to be done, and cities should not be hamstrung. Repeal allows communities struggling with skyrocketing housing costs to put an annual limit on how much rents can be raised. Local governments should decide housing policy, not Sacramento, where special interests led to Costa-Hawkins in the first place. Vote Yes on 10.

Proposition 11: NO Requires private-sector emergency ambulance employees to remain on-call during work breaks.

Eliminates certain employer liability.

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his is another initiative statute placed on the ballot by a special interest (private ambulance companies) when state lawmakers should be tackling issues around regulating break time and compensation for work hours. Private ambulance companies should adhere to state labor laws, and based on a recent court decision, these laws would likely require the companies to provide EMTs and paramedics with off-duty meal and rest breaks that cannot be interrupted by a 911 call. These companies should focus on adequate staffing and coverage so that breaks can be just that – a brief respite for workers.

Vote No on 11.

Courtesy Glaum Egg Ranch

Proposition 12 would establish new standards for confinement of chickens and other farm animals.

Proposition 12: NO Establishes new standards for confinement of specified farm animals; bans sale of noncomplying products.

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itizens who placed this initiative on the ballot may have good intentions, but the fine print is terrible. Back in 2008, voters passed Prop 2 (remember, people voted to give chickens more rights than same-sex couples, as they passed Prop 8, the same-sex marriage ban at the same time) that created standards for housing certain farm animals.

Now, proponents are back, claiming that more regulation is needed. Prop 12 creates new minimum requirements on farmers to provide more space for egg-laying chickens, breeding pigs, and calves raised for veal. The Legislature is the more appropriate body to sort out regulations for agriculture. Vote No on 12.

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Politics>>

October 25-31, 2018 • Bay Area Reporter • 7

LGBT political wave hits Monterey Peninsula area

by Matthew S. Bajko

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he LGBT political wave sweeping across the country this midterm election season is crashing into California’s Monterey Peninsula area.

Out candidates are waging historic campaigns for political office in Seaside, Monterey, and Carmel-by-theSea. And in nearby Watsonville to the north in Santa Cruz County, two gay men are also on the November 6 ballot.

In the spring Salinas City Councilman Scott Davis came out as gay amid his bid to be the state’s first gay county sheriff. But Davis was accused of campaign money laundering, which two different investigations found no corroboration for, and lost the race.

“This is a record year for the LGBT community. We have more candidates running now in the region than in recent memory,” said Paul Escobar, president of the Bay Area Municipal Election Committee, an LGBT political group that is focused on the South Bay and parts of the Central Coast.

“There is a lot of enthusiasm in both Santa Cruz and Monterey counties for what these candidates represent.”

The candidate that has generated probably the most media attention ahead of the November 6 election is queer Seaside City Councilwoman Kayla Jones. She was inspired to run for her council seat in 2016 having worked on Vermont U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders’ unsuccessful presidential bid.

Jones, 25, is now vying for mayor against former councilman Ian Oglesby, whom she defeated two years ago, and businesswoman Lisa Sawhney. In recent weeks Jones has been accused of failing to file financial statements, which she insists she did turn in but were lost by the city clerk, and questioned about her travel and daycare spending while on city business.

The city last year instituted a policy to cover such expenses so that parents could serve on the council, as it is not a full-time job. Jones contends she followed the rules when seeking reimbursement for her costs and is now being attacked for political reasons.

Then, last week, Jones’ husband, Ryan Daniel Gibson, 26, who is also queer, was arrested on accusations of domestic violence. He has a court date later this month. In a Facebook post Jones noted that, “even in minor cases,” the police are obligated under California law to arrest a person who may have injured an intimate partner.

“Ryan and I love each other very much and we are okay,” wrote Jones, who has a 4-year-old daughter with her husband. “My family has been under a lot of stress in the past month due to targeted attacks, mistruths in the media, and the vitriolic behavior from those who want to defeat my campaign.”

In a phone interview October 19 with the Bay Area Reporter, Jones said she and her husband were “doing OK” and that she had no intentions to either quit the mayoral race or step down from the council. Her term does not end until 2020.

“I never imagined it to be this emotionally draining,” said Jones of running for mayor. “People say this is just how politics are. But it is not how it should be or needs to be. We should not accept politics as a dirty game. We should change it.”

It is that philosophy toward governing that Jones suspects has made her a target of those who want to maintain her hometown’s political status quo.

Courtesy Kayla Jones

Seaside mayoral candidate Kayla Jones

Even before the recent spat of negative headlines, Jones has had to contend with questions about her parenting skills, her sexual orientation, and the fact she wears a wig when conducting city and council business.

That issue, at least, should soon be mute, as Jones told the B.A.R. that sometime after the election she is planning a “reveal party” for her real hair, which is currently dyed blue.

“Not everyone has to have salt and pepper hair to be in politics,” said Jones.

A certified EMT, Jones currently works as a make-up artist in addition to her council duties. She helped launch a countywide Pride parade in Seaside last year and also continues to attend the Evangelical Baptist Christian church her family has been a member of for four decades.

“My spirituality has definitely changed as I have come to terms as a queer person,” said Jones.

“I still am a person of faith, even though I have been called a fake Christian.”

It remains to be seen how the string of controversies will impact Jones’ electoral chances. She comes from a well-known family with deep roots in Seaside; her grandfather was the adjutant general of the 7th division at the now decommissioned Fort Ord, her grandmother was an aide for a number of local politicians, and her mom was a police officer.

“I am trying to win by running a positive race,” she said. “If I don’t win, I still have two years on the council, so it is not like my work will stop.”

Aiming to join the list of out council members in Monterey County are gay men Tyller Williamson, who is running for a Monterey City Council seat, and Jeffrey Baron, who is seeking a city council seat in Carmel. It is believed either would be the first LGBT person to serve on their city’s council.

Williamson, 31, has lived in the area since 2010, having moved there for a job with the Naval Postgraduate School. He graduated from Cal State Monterey Bay in 2013 and is close to earning a master’s of business administration from the naval school.

He moved to Monterey in March 2015, and last year bought a home there with his partner of three years, high school history teacher Ivan Quiroz Bautista. He helped launch the Monterey Peninsula Pride event in Seaside and has served on a number of Monterey city commissions.

“I would be the first openly LGBT person and first black person and youngest person ever elected to city council in Monterey,” said Williamson, whose father is also part Native American.

He was inspired to seek public office due to his working on Barack

Obama’s presidential campaigns, both in 2008 when he was living in San Diego, and again in 2012. That year he was given a campaign fellowship and helped organize outreach efforts in Monterey.

It led to his being hired as the deputy regional field director for the Obama campaign in the Bay Area.

Williamson relocated to Oakland then San Francisco for several months for the job, which resulted in his working daily in the Castro and coming out of the closet.

His sexuality is what led him to be dismissed from the U.S. Naval Academy after two years, Williamson now believes.

“It is all good,” he said. “I am at a new place in my life. I am thankful for that experience occurring, it helped me be where I am at now.”

With a devotion to public service his whole life – he is an Eagle Scout and volunteers with various causes – Williamson began to think about running for City Council last year.

Like so many first-time candidates, he was inspired to do so as a counteraction to President Donald Trump. He is one of two people running against two incumbent councilmen.

“I saw it as a great way to give back to the city that accepted me, even after coming out. I live with wonderful folks down here,” Williamson said.

Some had cautioned him not to be so open about being a gay man as he campaigned, but Williamson said he eschewed that advice, as he is proud of helping revive the county Pride event, which drew 1,000 people this year. While his sexual orientation may be an issue for some, he doubts it is a concern with most voters.

“I am not shoving it or forcing it in people’s face but, at the same time, it is a part of my story so I want to make sure it is told,” said Williamson, who would like to see an LGBT community center open in the area.

His main concerns he wants to tackle on the council center around homelessness, affordable housing, and traffic congestion. They are all interrelated, he said.

“Everyone on the current council all say they support affordable housing but don’t do anything more than be a rubber stamp,” he said. “What we really need in Monterey is leadership and someone to work on a strategy inclusive of the voices of the people who live here.”

Wanting to address the needs of local residents is what motivated Baron to run for a council seat against the two incumbents up for re-election this year in Carmel. Baron, 54, and his husband, Kevin D’Angelo, bought a home there in 2005 and moved there in 2011 when they retired following successful careers in Silicon Valley.

Baron served on the city’s Forest and Beach Commission for two years until 2016. Seeing the needs of residents go unaddressed while development pressures began to transform Carmel’s downtown prompted him to seek the council seat.

“Up until recently we had a wellconnected, well-integrated community. Now we just find that that is not happening anymore,” he said. “I don’t think the city really takes care of us.”

He has spent the summer knocking on every door in town and is aiming to finish first among the three candidates. As for his running as an out candidate, it doesn’t come up much with voters.

“I think it would be silly to say it is not an issue in some places,” said Baron. “But we also have a fairly educated community. A lot of people come here to retire like we did.”

His being gay hasn’t hurt Watsonville District 4 City Councilman See page 14 >>

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<< Commentary

8 • Bay Area Reporter • October 25-31, 2018

XX, XY, X-out

by Gwendolyn Ann Smith

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leary-eyed, as the first streams of dawn’s light appeared on the horizon, I checked in on my phone. It’s a sort of daily ritual that I suspect I share with a large part of the world, as I try to get a sense of what’s changed overnight by friendly voices I trust.

It wasn’t that much of a surprise that the news would be bad. After months of headlines about immigrant children being detained in cages, the constant erosion of rights, and so on, that’s almost to be expected, like the relentless dull thud of a jackhammer breaking up concrete.

Sunday, however, the news was aimed squarely at me and my ilk.

The New York Times reported on a memo that the Department of Health and Human Services has been circulating since the spring. HHS has found that a “lack of clarity” over the issue of gender was causing it problems, and had suggested a solution for the entire Trump administration: Simply get rid of transgender people entirely.

According to the Times, HHS wants to define sex in a very narrow way, as “either male or female, unchangeable, and determined by the genitals that a person is born with.”

No, getting rid of us isn’t as much hyperbole as it sounds.

The rule would effectively end any transgender recognition or protections under the administration and, given that there is nothing via Congress that protects transgender people at the federal level, the administration could get away with it.

HHS is calling on this change not only for its own department,

Christine Smith

but within the Departments of Education, Justice, and Labor as well.

Such a move would make it more likely that the courts wouldn’t agree to any challenge to this, a move made more possible by the administration’s persistence in appointing conservative judges at all levels of the judiciary.

Apparently, to determine a person’s genitals, the administration will use one’s birth certificate “as originally issued.” The only authority it is accepting beyond that is “genetic evidence.”

I don’t need to go too deeply into how flawed the notion of using “XX and XY” chromosomes as a final arbiter is, especially in a

world where there are dozens of other sex chromosome variables that come into play, and where issues of sex and gender are not so easily specified.

Such a policy would be nothing short of devastating for transgender people. It would strip away our identities as men, women, or nonbinary; would invalidate the birth certificates of many; and would open the door to barring transgender people at any level of the government. It would also likely fuel further moves against us by private entities, barring us from seeking goods and services with little remedy.

Of course, this goes further than just transgender and

gender-nonconforming people.

Intersex people would also be trapped within the morass of such a policy.

HHS also aims at gay, lesbian, and bisexual people in this memo: while arguing about the definition of sex, it has stipulated that the term was never meant to include gender identity or sexual orientation.

In short, once the administration opens the door by removing transgender people and our rights, it can use this as a template for going after the rights of others.

Why do I believe this?

It’s simple. In arguing about this supposedly overly broad definition of sex and its alleged “lack of clarity,” the Obama administration was able to “wrongfully extend civil rights protections to people who should not have them,” the Times reported.

Read that quote one more time.

Now, to me, civil rights are afforded to everyone. They are there to protect all people from unfair treatment, and to secure a level playing field for all people. In the Declaration of Independence that led to the formation of this country, these were those “certain unalienable rights” mentioned.

Unalienable rights, by the way, are ones that cannot be taken away – which is exactly what HHS under the Trump administration is proposing. This is a core failing of our government to protect its people.

As I said, this is not a shock. In the America of the Trump years, we separate families seeking a new

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life in America. This, in a country that once rallied around a statue dedicated to liberty that greeted immigrants at Ellis Island.

Yet, I don’t find myself slipping into a jaded despair, seeing this continual erosion of all we at least claim to hold dear in this country.

I am simply unwilling to give up.

I’m not going to just tell you to go out and vote on November 6. Yes, you should, and we should do all we can to fight our way to the ballot box this year. I think it’s a given that we need to use that power while many of us still have it.

That said, we need to be ready to go past this.

We need to stand up and protest, and get in good trouble to secure our rights no matter what this government seeks to do.

The rights of transgender people are but one step along the path, much like the travel ban and family separations. This isn’t yet an endgame, and there are still plenty of horrible things the administration may yet be willing to do.

I’ve been warning about steps just like this since before the 2016 election. I feel like I have shouted myself hoarse trying to warn over the last two and a half years that this could – and would – be coming.

Here it is. Here is where the transgender community and its allies must, at last, stand up.t Gwen Smith will not have her existence legislated. You can find her at www.gwensmith. com.

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<< Travel

10 • Bay Area Reporter • October 25-31, 2018

t

Forget Trump, DC has plenty to offer visitors

by Ed Walsh

A

s I rode a bicycle by the front entrance to the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue, I felt a little shocked. As a news junkie, I have seen the building on TV or online nearly every day, but was taken aback about how much smaller the White House looks in person and how small the White House lawn was. I had imagined a much larger lawn separating it from the street. After a couple of fence-jumping incidents, the sidewalk in front of the fence is barricaded with 24-hour guards but you can still get a good look at the White House from the street that is open only to pedestrians and cyclists.

Washington, D.C. also feels like a city that should be bigger than it is. Despite having a seemingly endless number of museums, embassies, monuments, and countless nonprofit and for-profit organizations aimed at influencing the government, the city’s center is compact and very walkable.

You can easily walk from the city’s original gayborhood around Dupont Circle to the White House and the National Mall in less than 30 minutes. But the city goes well beyond the tourist areas, covering 68 square miles, larger than San Francisco but smaller than Oakland.

The sights

One of the newest and most popular attractions, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, opened two years ago on the National Mall near the Washington Monument, which, by the way, is still closed for maintenance work. The $540 million museum received about half of its funding from private sources, including $21 million from Oprah Winfrey. A special exhibit chronicling Winfrey’s career and the phenomenal success of her 25 years as

a talk show host opened in June and will run through June 2019. But if you are a Winfrey fan and can’t visit before then, fear not, a Winfrey exhibit is part of the museum’s permanent collection. The museum also includes a theater named after the talk show queen turned media mogul. Check out the museum’s website for information on how to get free tickets for timed entry to the museum. Tickets were sold out for the days I was in the city but I was able to get one of the walkup tickets that are given out at 1 p.m. if the museum has the space. I arrived a half hour early but even people who came well after me were able to get tickets.

Don’t expect a walk-up ticket it you are visiting on a weekend or during a busy time in the city. [See the online story on LGBT-related exhibits in the museum.]

The American History Museum is just off the National Mall and a block from the African American Museum.

Like most of Washington’s museums, entry is free and this is a museum that you can usually get into without much of a line. The museum’s most famous exhibit is the giant flag that flew during the War of 1812 and inspired the “Star-Spangled Banner.”

LGBT rights are touched upon in the museum in exhibits on the struggles for civil rights.

The Holocaust Museum is near the National Mall, just a short walk from the African American and American History museums. The museum opened in 2001 and also has timed entry for its main exhibit space. The museum recounts that gay men, and to a lesser extent, gay women, were targeted by Nazi Germany, and were forced to wear a pink triangle, which, along with the Greek Lambda sign, became an iconic symbol for gay

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rights before the late Gilbert Baker cocreated the first rainbow flag in San Francisco in 1978.

Washington has a museum dedicated to journalism. The Newseum also contains a good dose of history.

While there are a number of exhibits that include LGBT issues as part of news coverage, the Newseum plans a special exhibit next year, the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots. “Rise Up: Stonewall and the LGBTQ Rights Movement” will open March 8 and will run through January 5, 2020. Among the museum’s more famous exhibits are a section of the Berlin Wall and an East Berlin watchtower, a twisted antenna that once stood on the top of a World Trade Center Building, and the Montana cabin where Unabomber Ted Kaczynski lived. Admission to the museum is $24.95 and well worth the cost. Museums that charge admission usually don’t have long lines to get in like the free museums.

In the middle of the Smithsonian museums is the original ornate building known as the Castle. Nearby you will find branches of the Smithsonian dedicated to art, natural sciences, and aviation. A separate museum looks at Native American art and culture.

Closer to downtown, the International Spy Museum is a fascinating and entertaining look at the world of espionage. Washington, D.C. may be the spy capital of the world and the museum showcases some of the old declassified equipment that once played a vital role in the nation’s security. On display are tiny weapons, as well as surveillance equipment that helped keep the country safe through the Cold War. The museum is run by a nonprofit, not a governmental agency, and relies on admission fees ($24.99) and donations for its existence.

The National Archives is just three blocks from the spy museum. The archive is a free history museum with exhibits chronicling the birth of the country through the election of President Donald Trump. But its main attraction is the original copies of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. The documents are faded and barely readable.

The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden is near the Smithsonian Castle. It is a free and must-see museum of modern art. One of its best-known pieces is outside the museum – a 1992 Dodge Spirit crushed under the weight of a nine-ton volcanic boulder. Most people who take a photo of it from the street will see the neon sign “Silence=Death” hanging in the inside of the museum but facing toward the street. The ACT UP logo was made in 1987 and is courtesy of New Museum, New York and the William Olander Memorial Fund.

Olander was an art curator who died of AIDS in 1989 at the age of 38.

A great way to see the highlights of the city without getting lost is on a guided tour. I took the DC Old Time Trolley Tours Monuments by Moonlight tour, which included stops at the monument for President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the adjacent memorial for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The other tour stops include Abraham Lincoln’s memorial on the National Mall as well as the Iwo Jima memorial. During the day, I took the company’s DC Ducks amphibious tour that includes a cruise on the Potomac River and a cool vantage point under the flight path of Reagan International Airport (DCA). Both tours are an excellent option for first-time visitors to the city to get a lay of the land.

Nightlife

The Dupont Circle area still has the largest number of gay bars and nightclubs in Washington. Mainstays include JR’s, which has been going strong for three decades. Showtune Mondays always draws a crowd on what otherwise would be a quiet night. And Showtunes returns on Friday nights from 5 to 9.

Ed Walsh

Tourists pose for photos in front of the White House.

Ed Walsh

A gay rights protest sign is part of an exhibit at the American History Museum.

The nearby 17th Street strip includes Cobalt, with the Level One restaurant on the first floor known for bottomless drag brunches and Sunday burger specials. Cobalt’s top floor is the laid-back lounge bar 30 Degrees.

The U Street corridor includes the popular Nellie’s Sports Bar. Drag bingo Tuesdays is one of its most popular nights. And weekends are always hopping with its drag brunch at 10:30 a.m. on Saturdays and 1 p.m. on Sundays. Tickets are $41.91 and can be purchased in advance online.

The all-you-can-eat feast includes a free drink and drag show. The Dirty Goose is across the street from Nellie’s and is known for its half-priced drinks weekdays from 5 to 9 p.m.

The Green Lantern is a favorite in the downtown area just off Thomas Circle. Shirtless men drink free on Thursday nights from 10 to 11 and if you take off your pants you can drink free until midnight. Fridays are free pizza night from 7 to 9 and you don’t have to take off anything.

Speaking of taking it off, Washington, D.C. has one of the few bars in the country with fully nude strippers. Ziegfeld’s/Secrets is in Southwest D.C., just two blocks from Nationals Park baseball stadium, which helped revitalize the area when it opened in 2012. It also forced the closure of Ziegfeld’s/Secrets and several of other gay businesses in 2009. But the bar was able to relocate nearby. Secrets, which is upstairs, is the stripper bar and open Thursday-Saturday nights.

Ziegfeld’s is downstairs and is the drag bar open Friday and Saturday nights.

The DC Eagle boasts Washington’s largest LGBT dance floor. It’s a little off the beaten path, on the east of the Anacostia River, east of downtown.

Popular nights at the leather/bear bar include Karaoke Wednesdays and Team Spirit Thursdays, where you can drink for free between 9:30 and 10:30 p.m. if you wear a DC team or league shirt, or drink free from 11:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. if you lose the shirt.

Where to stay

There are no exclusively gay hotels in Washington, but some are more gay-popular than others. If you want to rack up your Marriott points the gay-welcoming chain is a good option. On a trip last month, I had the pleasure of staying at the Washington Marriott Georgetown, with newly renovated rooms and a few minutes walking distance to the Dupont Circle area. For variety, I also spent a couple of nights at the Renaissance Washington, D.C. Downtown Hotel. That hotel is right around the corner from the city’s Chinatown that includes the

little-known historic site at the Wok and Roll restaurant, the spot where John Wilkes Booth plotted the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. The hotel is also a short walk away from the Green Lantern bar.

Washington’s official city tourism site has a list of upcoming deals offered by D.C. area hotels including the gay popular Dupont Circle Hotel and a wide variety of Kimpton Hotels. For a complete list, visit https://washington.org/visit-dc/unique-hotel-packages-washington-dc.

Getting there and getting around

If you get tired of walking, Washington also has a good subway system and bike sharing program known as Capital Bikeshare. I bought a threeday pass for $17 that entitled me to an unlimited number of 30-minute bike rides for 72 hours. I had a mixed experience with it, often finding docking stations with no bikes left, and on a couple of occasions being unable to leave the bike because all the docking stations were filled. But when I could get a bike, I found it easy to get around. You can also download an app for the system that will show you whether a docking station has any bikes left or has room left to park a bike. Many of the city streets have dedicated bike lanes D.C.’s subway system is similar to BART. The fare is dependent on your destination. Unlike BART you have to have a plastic card to ride, but you can buy one at any of the stations for $2. The Metro charges a little more to ride during the peak morning and afternoon commute hours.

One of the best-kept secrets in travel to Washington is the Baltimore airport. American Airlines wouldn’t let me use the basic 25,000 frequent flier miles to go to Dulles, D.C.’s largest airport, or Reagan International, on my travel dates. But I was able to redeem those miles to go to Thurgood Marshall/Baltimore Washington International Airport (BWI). The train from BWI to Union Station in the heart of Washington took only 40 minutes with a $7 one-way fare, which is shorter than it takes BART to go from downtown San Francisco to Oakland International. It’s also about $3 cheaper. A free shuttle bus runs between the train station and the terminals. The Baltimore airport is also less crowded, with food concessions that accurately boast that the prices are equal to what you would find at the same restaurant outside the airport.

For more information, visit the city’s official LGBT site: https://washington.org/lgbtq.t

t

Community News>>

October 25-31, 2018 • Bay Area Reporter • 11

Castro bookstore shares in city grant compiled by Cynthia Laird

T

he San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development announced that 11 local bookstores will share a $103,000 grant to preserve and enhance their businesses.

Lesbian-owned Dog Eared Books, which has locations in the Castro and Mission districts, received a portion of the grant for each business.

Others included Comix Experience, Bolerium Books, Mission: Comics and Art, Adobe Books and Arts Cooperative, Alley Cat Books and Gallery, East Wind Bookstore, Just a Touch Christian Bookstore, Green Apple Books, and Stevens Books.

“Neighborhood bookstores are essential components of San Francisco’s character, culture, and history,” Joaquin Torres, director of the Office of Economic and Workforce Development, said in a news release. “This program supports these impactful small businesses that bring charm and vitality to our neighborhoods, foster curiosity, cultivate individual thought, encourage the exchange of ideas, and provide a space where adults and children can curl up with a great book.”

The office pointed out that in addition to pressure from rising rents, bookstores face stiff competition from big box and online retailers. In order to remain competitive, small businesses must innovate to grow their customer base and sales, the release stated.

The Bookstore SF program will fund the revitalizations of bookstores to help them become welcoming spaces where people can attend an event or workshop, hear staff recommendations, or just relax and read.

The grants will also allow the stores to grow their book of the month membership programs and redesign their websites to increase e-commerce revenue streams, according to the release.

As part of the program, bookstores receive a variety of services, including technical assistance on marketing, financial assistance, human resources and management consulting, and real estate and broker services such as longterm lease negotiation.

“Bookstores are more than just retailers,” Green Apple owner Pete Mulvihill said in the release. “The passionate book-lovers and thousands of books help open worlds, create connections, allow discovery, start conversations, and act as a ‘third place’ for members of our community.”

The Bookstore SF Program is part of the Small Business Resiliency Fund, which is led by the economic and workforce development department in partnership with the Small Business Development Center and Working Solutions.

Courtesy Dog Eared Books

Dog Eared Books, with locations in the Castro and Mission, received a share of a city grant to help bookstores.

The gala is Shanti’s biggest fundraiser of the year. District 6 Supervisor Jane Kim, who was to have received an award at the event, instead asked her friends and supporters to make a donation to Shanti, which offers practical support services to people living with HIV/ AIDS and other illnesses. Kim made a $250 donation, she

wrote in a Facebook post.

Kaushik Roy, Shanti’s executive director, wrote in an email announcing the online auction that people can bid until 10 p.m. Sunday, October 28.

Some of the auction items include courtside tickets to a Golden State Warriors game, dining experiences, and Bay Area entertainment.

In addition to the auction, people can make a special Fund-A-Need donation to support Shanti’s programs that provide compassionate care to vulnerable San Franciscans who live with

life-threatening or disabling diseases.

To check out the online auction, visit https://shanti2018.ggo.bid/ bidding/package-browse.

Former B.A.R. reporter needs help due to medical issues

Former Bay Area Reporter Dennis Conkin is facing health challenges and has set up a GoFundMe campaign.

Conkin, 65, now a working artist, wrote in a summary on the site that he has been diagnosed with a rare, genetic eye disease called adult

vitelliform dystrophy. He is legally blind in his right eye and losing the vision in his left eye. He is also hard of hearing and wheelchair bound.

Conkin covered crime and other matters for the paper, where he worked in the 1990s.

He is raising money to pay for a pair of prescription glasses and to purchase canvas, acrylic paints, and other critical supplies, and for living expenses.

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Shanti online auction live after gala cancellation

Shanti leaders were caught offguard by the recent hotel workers strike against several Marriott-owned properties, including the Palace Hotel, where the agency was to have held its gala earlier this month. In solidarity with the workers, Shanti canceled the benefit and is now holding an online auction to help raise money.

See page 15 >>

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<< LGBT History Month

12 • Bay Area Reporter • October 25-31, 2018

t

SF trans cultural district slowly moves forward

by Alex Madison

I

t’s been a little over a year since San Francisco designated the nation’s first transgender cultural district in the city’s Tenderloin neighborhood.

But efforts to establish the historical area have been delayed by a longerthan-expected community planning process.

Organizers and co-founders behind the district say the lag is largely due to financial constraints, the time it takes to collect community feedback, and finding consensus among all parties involved.

“The funding, resources, solidifying collaboration with community members and with developers who want to support the district, getting a community space, all those things have taken a lot longer than anticipated,” said Aria Sa’id, former program manager at St. James Infirmary, one of the initial groups involved in the district’s creation. Sa’id, a trans woman, now works for the city’s Human Rights Commission.

The resolution that created Compton’s Transgender Cultural District, as it’s formally known, was introduced

by District 6 Supervisor Jane Kim and passed in June 2017. Its purpose is to preserve and honor the history of the trans community in the Tenderloin.

The cultural district spans six blocks of the lower Tenderloin, which encompasses parts of the Sixth Street Corridor and Market Street. The city has recognized four other protected cultural districts: Japantown Cultural Heritage District established in 2013, the Calle 24 Latino Cultural and SOMA Pilipinas districts instituted in 2014, and the Leather and LGBTQ Cultural District formally recognized in May. The

Courtesy Cultural District Coalition

Honey Mahogany, head the Cultural District Coalition, leads a community meeting at the city’s Mayor’s Office of Transgender Initiatives for feedback on the Compton’s Transgender Cultural District.

city is working on a sixth, focused on LGBT heritage, in the Castro.

Leaders of various LGBT organizations that helped found the Compton’s district have established the Cultural District Coalition. The group has been gathering ideas from community members and floating ideas of what they’d like to see in terms of implementation. Founding leaders include: Brian Basinger, executive director of the Q Foundation; Janetta Johnson, executive director of TGI Justice Project; and Sa’id and Stephany Ashley, the former executive director of St. James Infirmary.

Honey Mahogany, a black trans woman, has been heading the implementation process of the district for the past year, in consultation with TGI Justice Project. She has held numerous public meetings to collect feedback and ideas for the district, negotiated with housing developers to ensure the transgender district is included in their plans, and is currently

working on securing funding.

“We’ve had a lot of community meetings and talks that center around establishing priorities for the district and working on a strategic plan, getting community input as to what’s important to them – what they’d like to see,” Mahogany, 34, said in a recent interview with the Bay Area Reporter.

She recently submitted a $100,000 grant that the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development dedicated for the implementation of the cultural district. As of Wednesday, the grant had yet to be awarded.

Next on Mahogany’s list is decorating the district with murals, flags, and plaques.

Last year, TGI Justice Project was awarded $125,000, also from the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development, for place making.

The money has not been spent yet, however, because Mahogany wants to ensure the community has full input on the matter and that takes time, she said. The money will rollover for use in the next fiscal year.

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The ideas for the district range from ensuring equal employment opportunities for trans individuals to establishing a community center.

But the biggest concern Mahogany has heard is the need for additional affordable housing.

“Finding affordable housing that feels safe to our community is really important,” Mahogany said. “It’s the number one issue for the community.

The vast turnover of affordable units into luxury condos and market-rate units has resulted in the eradication of housing specifically for the most vulnerable, low-income population.”

She said during the community gatherings, people have expressed a desire for more single-room-occupancy units, rental subsidies, and low-income housing. Sa’id added that those involved in the implementation process, although in its infancy stage, are “working on finding property and rental subsidies. It’s one of their biggest priorities.”

Recently, Mahogany worked with developer Star City, which hopes to receive its final building permit in about a month to begin construction at an existing building at 229 Ellis Street. Mohammed Sakrani, product officer at Star City, said supporting the cultural district is important to the urban development company.

“We know it’s important to

Obituaries >>

Memorial set for John Iversen

Friends of ACT UP/East Bay founder John Iversen, who died October 1 after experiencing a massive stroke, will hold a get-together Sunday, November 11, at 2 p.m. at King Yen Restaurant, 2995 College Avenue in Berkeley.

Mr. Iversen, 69, a gay man, fought with

maintain the diversity of the Tenderloin and have it continue to be a place for the trans community to repair itself and build up a voice,” Sakrani said.

The 55-unit residential space will hire three full-time employees from the trans community who will undergo job training. The positions will be in building operations, resident experience, and maintenance.

Star City will also offer free rent to a trans business owner for the only retail space located on the ground floor of the building. An LGBT-oriented display will also reside in the ground floor lobby to honor and inform the public about the transgender history of the Tenderloin. Sakrani plans to commission a trans artist for any artwork included in it.

Lastly, the developer will donate $80,000 to the coalition for the implementation of the district once building permits are approved. The building will offer group housing with units that have private bathrooms and bedrooms, but shared kitchen and common spaces. Rents are expected to start at $1,700.

The creation of affordable housing is just one of many priorities for the implementation of the district. Johnson, a 54-year-old black trans woman, said TGI Justice Project is currently looking for a new, larger location in the district that would also serve as a community center for trans folks.

The agency is looking for a space with at least 3,500 square feet, half of which would be dedicated to the community center to serve as a safe space for trans people to gather, connect to resources, and hold events. The location would also offer all the programs of TGI Justice Project, a nonprofit that works to end human rights abuses against transgender women of color, in and outside of prison.

The re-emergence of trans nightlife is also something Johnson would like to see for the district.

“My broader vision, overall, for the district is for it to be filled with art, street vendors, see people doing music, create gardens and bring in a lot of positive affirmations and images of the trans community,” Johnson said.

Another top focus among the Compton’s district supporters is developing economic opportunities for trans folks to help prevent the further displacement of the community from the Tenderloin.

“We want to give trans women of color access and opportunity to any job within the district,” said Johnson, adding that the community center would offer job-training programs.

Mahogany wants to see a “diverse economic” environment created to empower trans people, which includes an increase in trans-owned businesses. Sa’id would like to see trans artists commissioned for public art projects in the area.

At the community meetings, people have expressed other ideas, Sa’id said, such as trans-owned hair salons, coffee shops, and cannabis stores.

Birth of the district

The resolution that designated Compton’s Transgender Cultural District describes various historical events that involve the trans community, specifically the Compton’s

health insurance companies over coverage for people living with HIV/AIDS after his own diagnosis in 1986. He started ACT UP/East Bay in 1989 and Berkeley’s needle exchange program a year later. At that time, syringe exchange was illegal.

He advocated for AIDS housing programs in the East Bay and worked as a part-time aide for the late Berkeley City Councilwoman Maudelle Shirek.

Mr. Iversen also organized demonstrations against Bayer Corp. over the bloated price of live-saving medications and against restrictive government and

Cafeteria riots that took place in August 1966, which the district is named after.

The riots happened at Gene Compton’s Cafeteria, a 24-hour eatery that had operated at 101 Taylor Street. It was one of the earliest examples of transgender pushback against police repression. While the exact date is lost to history, the riots took place three years before the more famous Stonewall uprising in New York City, which is considered by many to be the beginning of the modern LGBT civil rights movement.

The resolution also describes the continued discrimination trans people face in San Francisco and the importance of preserving trans culture in the Tenderloin.

“Many TGILGB persons, specifically transgender and gender-variant individuals, faced and continue to face discrimination in accessing housing, and the Tenderloin was and is a refuge,” states the resolution.

It also emphasizes that a large portion of San Francisco’s homeless population resides in the Tenderloin. According to the 2015 San Francisco Homeless Point-In-Time Count Report and Survey, 29 percent of the people found living on the city’s streets that year identified as transgender, gender-variant, intersex, lesbian, gay, or bisexual.

As previously noted by the B.A.R., Kim’s resolution is the result of a deal she helped broker between local developer Group I and LGBT activists who had appealed the planning commission’s decision in late 2016 to allow the developer’s massive in-fill project at 950‐974 Market Street to move forward. The buildings were once home to several gay bars and a shoe store that helped facilitate gay and transgender prostitution and hustling in the area.

The Q Foundation, on behalf of a number of LGBT activists, filed the appeal to call for greater scrutiny of the proposed development’s environmental impacts, including if demolition of the existing structures would hinder forming the transgender historical district in the area.

Group I and the Q Foundation reached an agreement last year in which Group I agreed to support the cultural district in different aspects of its construction. Group I agreed to allow local historians to document the site, which was razed this summer.

The company also agreed to pay $300,000 to the city toward the creation of the transgender historic district. As outlined in the deal, onethird of the money is to be used by the planning department to support the creation of the Compton’s district.

Those involved with the cultural district are glad that it’s becoming a reality, even if not as quickly as they had hoped.

“The creation of the Compton’s Transgender Cultural District has undone some of the damage done to the trans community,” Mahogany said. “It’s a really powerful symbol that is incredibly important in San Francisco, as the city is changing so rapidly.”t

corporate AIDS policies.

Organizers of next month’s memorial said they are ordering family-style food and people are asked to chip in between $25-$30 per person. Those interested in attending should email framework21@att. net by November 1 with how many people are coming and any dietary restrictions.

A formal memorial for Mr. Iversen is being planned for spring.

To read the Bay Area Reporter’s obituary, go to https://www.ebar.com/news/ news/266583.

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Sports >>

October 25-31, 2018 • Bay Area Reporter • 13

Gay Games co-founder Paul Mart dies

by Roger Brigham

G

ay Games co-founder Paul Mart packed about as much talk, action, enthusiasm, passion, and courage as humanly possible into a diminutive frame and an active mind.

My conversations with him never really ended – they just drifted off as life and events separated us for months at a time until the next intersection, conversations ranging from past victories and defeats to future dreams and goals. But now the conversation is stilled forever, as this remarkable soldier, pitchman, athlete, and stuntman has passed away.

Mr. Mart, a gay man, died of natural causes in his sleep Thursday, October 18, in his Palm Springs home at the age of 100.

Mr. Mart was a Hollywood stuntman, rode in rodeos, and was an undercover agent during World War II. During his involvement with the Gay Games, he would pepper his conversations with fellow volunteers with war and travel stories.

Gay and lesbian sports leaders reacted with sadness at Mr. Mart’s passing.

Federation of Gay Games CoPresident Joanie Evans discovered this

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Soccer league

From page 1

to the GGWSL board, saying players from the Underdawgs repeatedly made transphobic remarks toward a nonbinary Pirates player and badgered an official throughout the game. The Underdawgs, who could not be reached by the Bay Area Reporter for this story, denied the claims.

The Underdawgs did not attend this week’s mandatory meeting, which league President Angela Bailey said was intended for all voices to be heard.

“I was disappointed the complaining team did not show,” Thoe said.

“To me, not showing up is a sign that either a) you don’t believe in your stance strongly enough to say anything; or b) you know you should be embarrassed about your stance.

We were not told what the specific request was. In our conversation with the board afterward, the president mentioned that that team had advocated for a much more narrowly defined gender policy than they believed the league was going toward.

We were told tonight that the other team’s statement would be shared with us, and I hope it will be.”

The Underdawgs and Pirates are scheduled to play a rematch this Saturday at the Tom Bates Regional Sports Complex in Berkeley, but it was not certain at press time whether that game will actually be held.

“The league will have two representatives from the board at our game against the Underdawgs this weekend, if that game goes forward,” Thoe said.

“The board let us know that the Underdawgs expressed hesitation in playing in that game and we did express hesitation in playing in that game.

My team decided that we would not

SF Spikes board member and Pirates player Danielle Thoe

Courtesy Gay Games

Paul Mart, shown during his military service.

when she met him at an annual meeting in 2013.

“He told me a story of when he was part of a group of American soldiers stationed in London to learn about our code system and he met Winston Churchill, who told him he was doing a great job,” Evans said. “Wherever you were from, Paul had a story – and you were lucky if it was a short one.”

Indeed. When I spoke with Sara Waddell Lewinstein, a board member

play unless each member of our team feels safe doing so. We are sleeping on it tonight to consider what we want to do and owe the board a response by midnight” October 23.

The league, which plays games in San Francisco, the East Bay and the North Bay, had discussed developing an inclusive transgender policy at its quarterly meeting a year ago in October but no changes in practice or policy developed from that.

“I’m frustrated that it takes so long, but hopefully, an inclusive policy can come out of this,” said gender-fluid West LaCount, who said she uses all pronouns. LaCount had initiated the discussion of an inclusive policy last year. She told the B.A.R., which was not allowed into the Monday meeting, that the league needed to deal with hostile and disrespectful player behavior.

“We need to make sure all of our players are safe and welcome,” LaCount said.

from Gay Games I and the widow of Gay Games founder Tom Waddell, I teased her about how much she and Mr. Mart both talked and asked her who talked more.

“It depends on the subject,” she said with a laugh. “If it was something about the past, it was Paul.”

“He will be sorely missed,” she continued. “He was the first ambassador for the Gay Games. He would travel for his work, or on his own dime, all over the globe and talk up the Gay Games – and he was always insistent on getting women involved.

If it weren’t for Paul, the Gay Games wouldn’t be the international event it is today.”

Said close friend and former FGG president Gene Dermody, “He was an inspiration. He could get on people’s nerves sometimes, but that’s how you get things done and create real change.

He was so tough, but I’m glad he died in his sleep and did not suffer.”

Mr. Mart, Waddell, and Mark Brown were the first organizers of the 1982 Gay Games.

“He was a fine man,” Brown said.

“He was in charge of international outreach and he did a great job. He was able to recruit for the games to bring athletes from overseas, and that was not an easy thing to do back then.”

“Paul’s vision and mine was to have the Gay Games reach all parts of the world,” said Derek Liecty, who served as a volunteer soccer official in Gay Games I. “He spread the word far and wide, especially in areas that were underrepresented in the Gay Games. His initial work in outreach ultimately led to the formation of the Gay Games scholarship fund, which has been responsible for bringing so many athletes from around the world to the Gay Games.”

Doug Litwin, marketing officer for the Gay Games, met Mr. Mart when he attended his first FGG meeting in Berlin in 1999.

“Paul was a fixture at those meetings, always sitting in the front row,” Litwin said. “He was very active in these discussions, chiming in on many issues and occasionally getting off-topic. I witnessed many times how people reacted when they first met Paul. I could tell by the

looks on their faces that they were probably thinking, ‘Who is this crazy old man and what the heck is he talking about?’ If those people didn’t do a bit of homework and get to know Paul better, shame on them. They would have discovered that Paul Mart was a true living legend, and that the ‘war stories’ he was constantly talking about were actual war stories. While Paul’s work to help create the Gay Games with Tom Waddell and others was truly heroic, it really pales in comparison to some of the amazing things he achieved during World War II. The good citizens of France, Britain, and USA owe Paul huge amounts of gratitude and he was so honored by those governments.”

Mr. Mart was honored by the FGG with the inaugural Tom Waddell Award, the highest honor the FGG gives to volunteers and activists in the Gay Games mission. He was honored for his military service with two Purple Hearts and the Silver Star.

Me? I was honored just to know the guy, just to talk with him. Or rather, to hear him talk. He may have been a little guy like me, but his legacy loomed larger than life. That’s a debt we repay only by carrying on his work. t

requirements for things such as gender verification and sex-assignment surgery for transgender athletes.

The national trend in sports transgender policies has been to make them proactively more inclusive, rather than exclusionary.

According to the TransAthlete website (http://www.transathlete.com), founded by trans athlete Chris Mosier, the U.S. Soccer Federation specifically addresses inclusive transgender policy for men’s and women’s amateur teams.

“For the purposes of registration on gender-based amateur teams, a

player may register with the gender team with which the player identifies, and confirmation sufficient for guaranteeing access shall be satisfied by documentation or evidence that shows the stated gender is sincerely held, and part of a person’s core identity,” the TransAthlete website states.

SF Spikes urged the women’s league to adopt an inclusive policy.

“The need to create safe soccer spaces for LGBTQ athletes remains an unfortunate necessity as exclusion, discrimination, and hate continue in other leagues and soccer spaces,” SF Spikes President Keith

Thomas wrote in a letter to the women’s league. “We implore you not to become one of those spaces.

We urge the GGWSL to reject any policy that excludes any trans player.

Further, we encourage the league to be proactive in adopting a formal policy of inclusion and protection from verbal abuse of all who find the GGWSL to be the league in which they are most comfortable playing.

To do otherwise would be taking a stand on the wrong side of history, a soccer history which is already being re-written to promote inclusion and respect for trans individuals.”t

Legal consequences

There could be legal consequences to any policy restricting transgender membership. Municipalities such as San Francisco have non-discrimination policies covering gender and gender identity in public accommodations, such as public playing fields. There are also state non-discrimination policies.

“It is complicated,” Flor Bermudez, legal director for the Oaklandbased Transgender Law Center, said when asked if a women’s league can bar transgender players from games on public fields. “The California Fair Employment and Housing Act prohibits discrimination in public accommodations.”

The Women’s Sports Foundation asserts that male-to-female athletes have no inherent physical advantage over non-transgender women.

“Sport governing organizations should provide education to their member institutions and to individual coaches, athletes, administrators, and other stakeholders about transgender athletes and their right to equal sport participation,” the foundation urges on its website. “These educational efforts should be focused on providing participants with an understanding of how transgender athletes will be accommodated in ways that protect the rights of all athletes to participation in a fair and respectful sports environment.”

In late 2015, the International Olympic Committee adopted a scientific paper that dropped old Olympic

D i s c o v e r t h e n e w s ta n f o r d c o u r t reimagined guest rooms

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14 • Bay Area Reporter • October 25-31, 2018

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Transgender directive

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her/hers and he/him/his. The forms must also include a line for a person’s chosen name and use gender-neutral labels such as “parent/guardian” instead of “father” and “mother.”

The order by Breed came in response to media reports earlier this week that the Trump administration is preparing a proposal to limit the identification of a person’s gender to include only “male” or “female” that is listed at birth.

“Identity is complex and personal,” Breed noted at the start of the directive, a copy of which was given to the Bay Area Reporter Wednesday. “Too often, transgender and gender-nonconforming communities are forced to make choices on City and County of San Francisco forms and applications which do not accurately reflect their identity or gender expression.

We know that narrow gender definitions of either male or female are not sufficient to recognize the diverse experiences of our communities.”

As the B.A.R. detailed in a threepart series last summer, six city departments began using forms in 2017 that asked questions about sexual orientation and gender identity, SOGI for short, due to a law implemented by city leaders. LGBT advocates had pressed for the collection of such data to gain better insight into the health needs and other issues confronting

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Political Notebook

From page 7

Jimmy Dutra, who survived the June primary to run against Santa Cruz County Supervisor Greg Caput.

Should Dutra defeat Caput in the race for his 4th District seat, Dutra would become the first openly LGBTQ member on the county board.

He is termed off the City Council this year. Wanting to ensure there remains LGBT leadership in Watsonville, gay retired public school teacher Steve Trujillo entered the race for the open District 7 council seat.

“It is just, I feel with Jimmy leaving

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Courtesy Tyller Williamson

Monterey City Council candidate Tyller Williamson

the council, I think there needs to be representation from the LGBT

SF measures

From page 5

seawall, which supports Muni, BART, power and water utilities, and historic piers and tourist destinations. It was put on the ballot by a unanimous vote of the Board of Supervisors.

The bonds will fund ongoing design and construction improvements to address the most significant earthquake and flood risks to the wall, which runs about three miles from Fisherman’s Wharf to the mouth of Mission Creek, near AT&T Park.

The legal language of the measure emphasizes the future risk to the century-old seawall if it is not repaired stating, “the seawall will likely suffer significant damage during a major earthquake, causing widespread harm to the Embarcadero;

the LGBT community.

The information, they argued, was needed in order to ensure there was adequate funding for programs and services that address the needs of the LGBT community. State lawmakers followed suit by also ordering a number of California departments and agencies focused on health care and social services to begin collecting SOGI data as of this July. Additional state agencies will begin asking the SOGI questions on their forms next year.

In her directive, Breed noted that the San Francisco sheriff ’s office has also “taken the lead in expanding self-identification of gender identity, by allowing individuals to selfidentify, and has instituted gender awareness training as an integral part of its practices.”

As part of her directive, Breed order ed the city’s Department of Human Resources and the Office of Transgender Initiatives to provide gender identity trainings to city employees as part of their required trainings on harassment prevention, implicit bias, and cross-cultural communications.

The city has adopted various policies to promote “inclusionary practices,” noted Breed. “However, to be truly effective, we must strive to practice inclusivity at all times and to assure that everyone can live as their authentic self. Something that may appear to be a single city application or form, but does not account for the full range of

Tree of Hope

From page 1

Marsha Cohen in the mayor’s office to RWF stated.

Cotter told the B.A.R. that was the only communication RWF has had with the mayor’s office. He has made multiple requests to meet with the mayor over the last couple of months, to no avail, he said.

“We are saddened that at a time when we need to be inspired and to reach for possibilities for ways to bring goodness into the world, City Hall has canceled the World Tree of Hope where, for more than a decade, people from all over the world would see and experience the power of hope,” Cotter wrote in an email to the B.A.R. “Rainbow World Fund is passionately dedicated to serving the world, through our humanitarian work we have witnessed the power of hope in

self-identifiers, can trigger an emotionally stressful experience for individuals who do not fall into narrow, pre-set identity categories.”

Breed’s directive is the polar opposite of the proposal being considered by the Trump administration, which was first reported by the New York Times Sunday, October 21. LGBT advocates contend the proposal, if enacted, would erase transgender people from federal recognition.

The Times did not include the full text of the proposal or any indication of what office or person drafted it. But such a proposal would not be out of character in the Trump administration, based on previous maneuvers by officials.

Transgender legal and community leaders and LGBs reacted swiftly and harshly this week to the proposal. A rally was held in Washington, D.C. Monday, where people gathered in front of the Human Rights Campaign’s offices and marched to the White House.

Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, said the proposal would be “effectively abandoning” the right of two million transgender people to “equal access to health care, to housing, to education, or to fair treatment under the law.”

Keisling addressed the crowd at Monday’s march, and held up a list of trans people who said they “wouldn’t be erased.”

In San Francisco, Breed and Clair Farley, director of the city’s transgender office, released a joint statement condemning the president and his administration.

“This is a bigoted and hateful attempt to strip away over two million transgender people’s equal access to health care, housing, education, and fair treatment under the law,” they said. San Francisco will continue to resist draconian attempts to strip away human rights, by joining local and statewide efforts to ensure that our laws, policies, and programs reflect the lived realities of transgender and gender-nonconforming communities.”

Breed, who was sworn in as San Francisco’s 45th mayor in July, told LGBT community leaders at a reception Monday that “just yesterday, that other 45 announced another attack on our transgender community,” referring to President Donald Trump.

Kris Hayashi, executive director of the Oakland-based Transgender Law Center, said in a statement that previous court rulings “have made clear that transgender and gendernonconforming people are protected from discrimination under federal civil rights laws and the U.S. Constitution.”

“To be clear: nothing this administration can do will undermine the scores of federal courts that have recognized our humanity and hundreds of state and local legal protections

community and I think I am the one to do it,” said Trujillo.

Trujillo, 65, has lived in the town for nearly four years. After his partner suffered a stroke and moved to Los Angeles to be near family, Trujillo sold his condo in Capitola and moved to east Watsonville.

In addition to wanting to attract more businesses and entertainment options to town, Trujillo said he wants to improve mobility for pedestrians, especially seniors and bicyclists. He would also focus on addressing the city’s growing homeless population.

“We need to clean up our public parks and our beautiful sloughs that

have been overwhelmed by the homeless,” he said.

Running against two better-known female candidates, Trujillo acknowledged he is facing an uphill climb to being elected.

“I am the least well known of the three candidates,” he said. “One has been here her whole life and the other moved here many years ago, so it is an uphill struggle.”

While BAYMEC declined to endorse Trujillo, it is backing the other out candidates in their races. The national LGBTQ Victory Fund endorsed Dutra and Williamson, while Equality California endorsed Dutra. t

of San Francisco, repairing and improving the wall is expected to cost at least $2 billion.

Many city officials support the measure including Breed, San Francisco Firefighters Union Local 798, and San Francisco Police Chief William Scott.

San Franciscans can approve a statement of policy regarding consumer privacy protections with Proposition B, City Privacy Guidelines. The charter amendment would create guidelines for city officials and agencies to refer to when considering the adoption of privacy-protective laws, regulations, and policies. It is not required that officials implement any of these guidelines but are simply in place for consideration.

“Tangibly, I don’t think it makes any changes at all, it just establishes this as a principle that we should be thinking of going forward and that we should be enacting legislation and trying to make policies protective of privacy,” said Mandelman, who supports the proposition.

Within the legal text of the measure it states when the city is considering the adoption of privacy-protective laws, it should ensure personal information is collected, used, and retained only for lawful and authorized purposes. As well, it aims to mitigate bias in the collection and sharing of personal information.

The amendment also gives elected officials the ability to make changes to San Francisco’s voter-enacted Sunshine Ordinance, which governs city meetings and passed in 1999.

In the voter guide, the Society of Professional Journalists, Northern California Chapter, states that, “[Prop B] would set a vague privacy agenda for our elected officials to implement in the future, without any direct input from you, the voter. There is no telling what the result would be.”

An argument authored by seven of the Board of Supervisors in the city voter guide highlights that the amendment would allow residents to opt-out of having their information collected, regulate the way in which ones’ information is used by a thirdparty advertiser, and allow people to travel within the city and not be tracked in real time. t

communications snafu resulted in it not being at City Hall that year.

“We are grateful that Grace Cathedral has once again opened its doors for the tree and values reflected by the tree – diversity, compassion, love for humanity and the planet,” Cotter wrote.

When RWF had the tree at Grace Cathedral, it had to purchase an artificial one because the cathedral does not have sprinklers, and therefore, live trees are not permitted, Cotter said. In the August email from the city, Cotter was advised to come and collect the tree, which the city had been storing at no cost.

Officials at Grace, as they did four years ago, said they were “honored” to host the tree again.

“The tree, beautifully decorated with paper cranes, a symbol of world peace, will be in the cathedral from December 3, when a public opening event will be held, through the new

year,” Lynn Aylward, director of marketing and communications, wrote in an email.

The unique World Tree of Hope is decorated with thousands of origami cranes and stars that contain messages for peace and the future of the world.

The tree gets its inspiration from the story of Sadako Sasaki, who contracted leukemia 10 years after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. While in the hospital, a friend told her about a Japanese legend that the folder of a thousand paper cranes would be granted one wish. Sasaki started folding, but died 356 cranes short of her goal. Her classmates folded the rest and all 1,000 cranes were buried with her.

Cotter said that now that the tree has a home for this year, he’s asking for volunteers to help decorate it.

“Normally, I have a six-month lead time to recruit enough volunteers

to decorate the tree,” Cotter wrote, adding that timeframe has now been reduced. “We also have to remove the tree from city property, where it is being stored, and find new storage and deal with a number of other expenses and logistics.”

According to Cotter, it takes about 50-60 hours to decorate the tree over five days with a crew of 10-15 people there the whole time.

Cotter said he hopes to begin decorating during Thanksgiving weekend and continue through that week.

He also invited Breed to the lighting ceremony.

“We hope Mayor Breed will join us at the tree lighting for the annual exchange of peace cranes with the Consul General of Japan,” Cotter said.t

City privacy guidelines

Sari Staver

Some cannabis advocates oppose Proposition D, which would add a tax on recreational marijuana retailers.

historic buildings and piers; critical transportation, utility, and emergency response infrastructure.”

According to the city and the Port people’s lives and we are not going to be stopped by any circumstance.”

This is the 13th year for the World Tree of Hope’s public display, Cotter said. It started in 2006 under thenmayor Gavin Newsom. The late mayor Ed Lee continued the tradition.

Bill Barnes with the City Administrator’s office told the B.A.R. Tuesday that there will be a holiday tree in City Hall, but the details of who will decorate it have not been finalized. Other activities are also planned for the building and nearby Civic Center in December.

In a brief interview Monday at a reception for LGBT leaders, Breed told the B.A.R. that “other groups have asked to be part of the holiday.”

Back to Grace

The World Tree of Hope will be displayed this year at Grace Cathedral, Cotter said, which was the site of its 2014 installation after a

t

we’ve already won,” Hayashi added.

Rea Carey, executive director of the National LGBTQ Task Force, was blunt.

“Trump is too late,” she said in a statement. “We are not going back to a time when transgender people were in the closet, were ignored, or excluded. As a society and as a community, we have already moved on. We are here and not going anywhere.”

Equality California Executive Director Rick Zbur said the Trump administration “has launched a fullscale war against millions of transgender and gender-nonconforming people across our nation by proposing sweeping new regulations across our government that would require discrimination.”

As Trump was preparing to board Marine One on the White House lawn Monday afternoon, reporters asked him what happened to his promise to protect transgender Americans.

“We’re looking at it,” said Trump.

“We have a lot of different concepts right now. They have a lot of different things happening with respect to transgender right now. You know that as well as I do. And we’re looking at it very seriously.”

When a reporter pressed again to explain what happened to his campaign promise to “protect the LGBTQ community,” Trump just kept repeating, “I’m protecting everybody.”t

Web Extra: For more queer political news, be sure to check http:// www.ebar.com Monday mornings for Political Notes, the notebook’s online companion. This week’s column reported on calls for EQCA’s board president to resign.

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

Got a tip on LGBT politics? Call Matthew S. Bajko at (415) 829-8836 or e-mail m.bajko@ebar.com.

To read the article on Prop C, go to https://www.ebar.com/news/ news/266908.

To help out, visit http://www. worldtreeofhope.org/.

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Community News>>

News Briefs

From page 11

The glasses, he wrote, will help him see better to navigate and to paint.

“The art supplies will help create a historical record in weekly paintings from inside this truly tragic situation,” he wrote.

To donate, visit https://www.gofundme.com/help-dennis-conkin.

Breed, Wiener mix update with pumpkin carving

Mayor London Breed and gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) will offer a legislative update and pumpkin carving Saturday, October 27, from 1 to 4 p.m. at Noe Valley Courts, 24th and Douglass streets.

A flyer stated that there will be youth activities and pumpkin carving at nontaxpayer expense. The event is free.

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October 25-31, 2018 • Bay Area Reporter • 15

Openhouse Fall Feast coming up

The Friends of the San Francisco Public Library will hold its 54th annual Big Book Sale October 31-November 4, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the

Fort Mason Festival Pavilion.

This year, there is a Halloween twist in that it will be a fun and safe trick-or-treating spot for Bay Area families – Friends’ volunteers will provide treats for costume-clad kids on Wednesday and Thursday.

This year’s sale will feature 500,000 used books and media. Tables featuring 70 of the most popular subject categories will be stocked with everything from art and architecture to photography and children’s books. All items will be priced from $2-$4. On the last day of the sale, Sunday, November 4, everything will be marked down to $1.

All money raised goes toward Friends and its mission to support the public library.

Friends’ members can attend a preview October 30, from 4 to 8 p.m.

For more information, visit www. friendssfpl.org/bigbooksale.

The plan is vague, however, when it comes to funding for the build out

and operation of the LGBT museum.

BART board member Nick Josefowitz, who is running against District 2 Supervisor Catherine Stefani for her board seat, suggested to the B.A.R. that the LGBT museum could be included in the parks bond set to go before voters in November 2019. Or perhaps, he added, the city could adopt a dedicated bond for cultural institutions.

“Museums are the same thing as parks, places where the community comes together and are very inclusive of everybody,” said Josefowitz, adding that, “memorials are important but static.

Museums take it to the next level.”

Stefani, who has a lesbian sister, also told the B.A.R. that the city should financially back the LGBT museum.

“I definitely think, for things like that that are so integral and important to San Francisco and representative of our values here in San Francisco, we should have at least the conversation of how we can support something like that,” she said. “Definitely, it is something I would be willing to discuss.”

District 10 supervisor candidates Theo Ellington and Shamann Walton

also see the museum proposal as an appropriate recipient of city funds. Ellington equated it to how the city financially supports the Bayview Opera House, where he serves as board president.

“It could be like the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts model, with community stakeholders partnering with developers on funding for the arts,” he said.

Walton echoed others in noting how many significant events in LGBT history took place in San Francisco as for why he would support funding for the museum.

“It is only fitting and right to have a museum that highlights that history.

This is a civil rights fight for everyone, and having a museum telling that story will be exciting,” he said.

In the District 6 supervisor race, which includes SOMA where much of the city’s LGBT leather scene has been centered for decades, Sonja Trauss predicted an LGBT museum would be “a tourist draw” for the city and therefore worthy of having taxpayer funds spent on it.

And fellow candidate Matt Haney joked, if elected, he would be fighting

with gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman on seeing the museum be located in his district.

“I want to see it happen. We already have what it takes to make this a large success,” said Haney, who over the summer visited the GLBT Historical Society’s archive space on mid-Market Street, which is in District 6.

Haney envisioned seeing the LGBT museum as being a focal point for the leather-themed LGBT Cultural District the city has designated in western SOMA. “There is a lot more development in SOMA to say the least, especially on Folsom Street within the leather district,” noted Haney, compared to the Castro district. “We could have a conversation to see if it’s possible to have it funded as part of a development deal.

That is a real possibility in District 6.”

Informed of the overwhelming support for the museum project by those running for supervisor seats next month, Beswick told the B.A.R. it is “validating” to hear.

“Sometimes it feels like pushing a boulder up a mountain,” he said of the project. t

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In an email, Wiener said that celebrity drag queens Mercedez Munro and BeBe Sweetbriar will judge a pumpkin carving contest. Gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman is also expected to be on hand.

To RSVP or for more information, go to https://bit.ly/2yxuAZV or call Wiener’s district office at (415) 557-1300.

DIFFA benefit for Ward 86

Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS will hold its San Francisco benefit Thursday, November 1, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the W Hotel, 181 Third Street.

The party will celebrate couture fashion and honor those involved with AIDS care and research. Fashion collections will be presented by Kentaro Kameyama, winner of the 2017 “Project Runway” competition; Nicholas Clements-Lindsey,

LGBT history museum

From page 1

adding that, “our time is running out in the Castro. We have to break ground soon if we are going to stay in the Castro.”

Various locations have been floated as possibilities, from the former Pottery Barn space at the corner of Market and Castro streets to several city-owned parking lots in the neighborhood. Another option mentioned is having the preservation group team up with a developer of a mixed-use building somewhere in SOMA or another area of the city.

“There are a lot of possibilities,” noted Beswick. “We need to be visionaries about it. I am really encouraged.”

Support for the LGBT museum is expected to become official city policy next year when the Board of Supervisors adopts a proposed LGBTQ+ Cultural Heritage Strategy.

A draft version of the document calls for the establishment of a permanent Museum of LGBTQ+ History and Culture. A final version is to be

Legal Notices>> NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF ROSA ISABEL VALLE IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO: FILE PES-17-300714

To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both, of ROSA ISABEL VALLE. A Petition for Probate has been filed by DIANA BONILLA & CESAR BONILLA III in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco.

The Petition for Probate requests that DIANA BONILLA 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: Nov 13, 2018, 9:00 am, Dept. 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: Philip E. Carey; SBN 155185, 555 University Ave, Suite 116, Sacramento, CA 95825; Ph. (916) 564-0706.

OCT 04, 11, 18, 25, 2018 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-18-554274

Rick Gerharter

GLBT Historical Society Executive Director Terry Beswick, right, congratulated Bob Ross Foundation President Thomas E. Horn upon receiving an award at the group’s gala earlier this month. Beswick is working to establish a larger LGBT history museum in San Francisco.

voted on by various city agencies and the supervisors in early 2019.

Supe candidates weigh in

celebrating his 10-year anniversary as a designer; and Dexter Simmons, a competitor on “Project Runway” and Rihanna’s “Styled to Rock.”

Trans woman Honey Mahogany will serve as hostess.

DIFFA will honor Dr. Monica Gandhi, medical director at Ward 86, the UCSF HIV clinic at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. A news release noted that Ward 86 remains the largest single provider of HIV care to some 3,000 uninsured patients.

The DIFFA event is its sole source of purely discretionary funding.

Tickets are $100 and can be purchased at http://www.diffa-sf.org.

SF library’s Big Book Sale

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: THE ROCK LAW FIRM, 101 MONTGOMERY ST #1800, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94104. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JAN A. KOPCZYNSKI. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/19/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/28/18.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: HAIGHT STREET TOBACCO, 1827 HAIGHT ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed HAIGHT & ASHBURY LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/27/18.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BARBEROLOGY, 380 SANCHEZ ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MICHAEL S. MCGINTY. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/03/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/05/18.

OCT 04, 11, 18, 25, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038325100

OCT 04, 11, 18, 25, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038304900

OCT 11, 18, 25, NOV 01, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038342900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MUGUBOKA RESTAURANT, 401 BALBOA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118.

This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed KYE SOON LEE. 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 09/25/18.

OCT 04, 11, 18, 25, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038328900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CLUB PILATES SOMA, 635 8TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed RIVA PILATES LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/11/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/11/18.

OCT 04, 11, 18, 25, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038335200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CHOICE INSIGHTS, 2007 FULTON ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed CHRISTINE NOWICKI. 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 09/27/18.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: FLOWER MARKET, 714 ARGUELLO BLVD, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118.

This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed FLOWER MARKET SHOP LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/18/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/01/18.

OCT 04, 11, 18, 25, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038329000

OCT 04, 11, 18, 25, 2018 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-18-554283

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: DASMAR CO., 508 SAWYER ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94134. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed DINA MACHA & ALESANDRO CASEREZ. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/08/03. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/27/18.

OCT 04, 11, 18, 25, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038320200 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SHRADER CLEANER, 701 SHRADER ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117.

This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed S&Y CLEANERS INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/19/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/24/18.

OCT 04, 11, 18, 25, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038321200

In the matter of the application of: MARK MATTHEW WOJCIK, 1710 38TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner MARK MATTHEW WOJCIK, is requesting that the name MARK MATTHEW WOJCIK, be changed to ALEXANDER MATTHEW WOJCIK. 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 15th of November 2018 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: IMPACT, 870 MARKET ST #315, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed IMPACT COMMERCIAL 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 09/24/18.

OCT 04, 11, 18, 25, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038333400

OCT 04, 11, 18, 25, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038326900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: JUICE E JUICE, 741 ANDERSON ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ELIZABETH PATRICIA ARIAS. 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 09/28/18.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: GROUPGREETING, 1963 30TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed STERGERON LLC (CA).

The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 02/25/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/26/18.

OCT 04, 11, 18, 25, 2018

OCT 04, 11, 18, 25, 2018

In the matter of the application of: ELISHA-JOHN GANAL MCINTYRE, 1938 POWELL ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner ELISHA-JOHN GANAL MCINTYRE, is requesting that the name ELISHA-JOHN GANAL MCINTYRE, be changed to ELISHA JOHN MCGANAL. 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 20th of November 2018 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

OCT 11, 18, 25, NOV 01, 2018 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-18-554282 In the matter of the application of: PATRICK-JOSEPH GANAL MCINTYRE, 1938 POWELL ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner PATRICK-JOSEPH GANAL MCINTYRE, is requesting that the name PATRICKJOSEPH GANAL MCINTYRE, be changed to PATRICK JOSEPH MCGANAL. 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 20th of November 2018 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

OCT 11, 18, 25, NOV 01, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038341500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: KEVIN FRANCIS RAFFERTY ELECTRIC, 18A HALE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94134. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed KEVIN RAFFERTY. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/04/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/04/18.

OCT 11, 18, 25, NOV 01, 2018

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: KAIA ANDERSON-BUCKLEY; INTERACTIVE HYPNOTHERAPY, 863 24TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed S. HEIDI ANDERSON. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/01/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/04/18.

OCT 11, 18, 25, NOV 01, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038311700

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ANTISTATIC, ANTISTATIC US, 747 WEBSTER ST #B, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed KELLY PENDERGRAST. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/13/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/17/18.

OCT 11, 18, 25, NOV 01, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038309000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as:AQUARIUS VINTAGE SF, 3600 SACRAMENTO ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118.

This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MARA LUNDBERG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/13/18.The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/13/18.

OCT 11, 18, 25, NOV 01, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038339900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: VK SOUND, 1215 DIVISADERO ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed IAN LABELLE VAN KEUREN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/19/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/03/18.

OCT 11, 18, 25, NOV 01, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038335300

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: HONG KONG PRODUCTS COMPANY, 701 DARIEN WAY, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94127. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed PETER P. WONG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/01/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/01/18.

OCT 11, 18, 25, NOV 01, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038331400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ON THE MOVE, 198 ROUSSEAU ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed OLIVER MANNION. 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 09/28/18.

OCT 11, 18, 25, NOV 01, 2018

Openhouse, the San Francisco agency that provides services and housing for LGBT seniors, will hold its annual Fall Feast Thursday, November 8, in the Green Room at the San Francisco War Memorial Building, 410 Van Ness Avenue.

The meal will include an autumnal menu from Mollie Stone’s, including pumpkin pie for dessert.

There are two seatings – from 2 to 3:30 p.m., and from 4:30 to 6.

Interested people should RSVP and indicate which seating they prefer and the number of guests.

The dinner is free but donations are welcome.

For more information and to sign up, email fallfeastrsvp@openhousesf.org or call (415) 347-8509.t

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: AMAPOLA, 632 CAMBRIDGE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94134. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed ARLETTE PEREZ & MARICELA PEREZ. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/01/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/01/18.

OCT 11, 18, 25, NOV 01, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038344200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: KABARI, 1788 19TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed APRIL FINANCIAL, INC (CA). 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 10/05/18.

OCT 11, 18, 25, NOV 01, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038336900 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BAKER PLACES; FERGUSON PLACE, 1249 SCOTT ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115 . This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed BAKER PLACES, INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/14/93. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/02/18.

OCT 11, 18, 25, NOV 01, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038337400 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: FILLMORE LAUNDRY, 1426 B FILLMORE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed PRK VENTURES, 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 10/02/18.

OCT 11, 18, 25, NOV 01, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038341000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SAN FRANCISCO OPERA; SAN FRANCISCO OPERA CENTER; SAN FRANCISCO OPERA BRAVO! CLUB, 301 VAN NESS AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102.

This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed SAN FRANCISCO OPERA ASSOCIATION (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/26/32. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/04/18.

OCT 11, 18, 25, NOV 01, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038338200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: YORKLAND PRODUCTION, 150 HOOPER ST #310, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed YORKLAND CORP (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/31/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/02/18.

OCT 11, 18, 25, NOV 01, 2018

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16 • Bay Area Reporter • October 25-31, 2018

Legal Notices>> FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038311500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: GOLDEN GATE BEVERAGE CATERING, 3139 16TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed DELIRIUM COCKTAILS, INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/14/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/17/18.

OCT 11, 18, 25, NOV 01, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038338000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: FOUR FABULOUS ANIMALS, 124 ELLIS ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed C&L ASSOCIATES, 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 10/02/18.

OCT 11, 18, 25, NOV 01, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038337000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Z TOUCH SALON, 1930 OCEAN AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94127. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed Z UNIVERSE LLC (CA).

The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/01/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/02/18.

OCT 11, 18, 25, NOV 01, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038328500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: UNGRAFTED, 2419 3RD ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107.

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

The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/19/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/27/18.

OCT 11, 18, 25, NOV 01, 2018 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-036105200 The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: KABARI, 1788 19th AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business was conducted by a corporation and signed by CALIFORNIA MEDIA INTERNATIONAL INC (CA). The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/22/14.

OCT 11, 18, 25, NOV 01, 2018 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-18-554325

In the matter of the application of: ELIZABETH GROTON KERSHNER, 3244 TARAVAL ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner ELIZABETH GROTON KERSHNER, is requesting that the name ELIZABETH GROTON KERSHNER, be changed to KERSH BRANZ. 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 4th of December 2018 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

OCT 18, 25, NOV 01, 08, 2018 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-18-554306

In the matter of the application of: MICHAEL LEE GARDNER, 1200 GOUGH ST #12A, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner MICHAEL LEE GARDNER, is requesting that the name MICHAEL LEE GARDNER, be changed to MICHAEL L. BURDENSKI. 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 27th of November 2018 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

OCT 18, 25, NOV 01, 08, 2018

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-18-554319

In the matter of the application of: ELIZABETH CHRISTINE WILLIAM, 1050 N. POINT ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner ELIZABETH CHRISTINE WILLIAM, is requesting that the name ELIZABETH CHRISTINE WILLIAM, be changed to ELIZABETH CHANG WILSON. 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 29th of November 2018 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

OCT 18, 25, NOV 01, 08, 2018 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-18-554326

In the matter of the application of: LEAH ALEXANDRA TSANG, 959 NORTH POINT ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner LEAH ALEXANDRA TSANG, is requesting that the name LEAH ALEXANDRA TSANG, be changed to LEAH ALEXANDRA TSANG PARKIN. 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 4th of December 2018 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

OCT 18, 25, NOV 01, 08, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038354400 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SF COAST SIDE CONSTRUCTION, 1616 11TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ESTEBAN M. CRUZ. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 11/06/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/12/18.

OCT 18, 25, NOV 01, 08, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038355600 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ALEXANDERSON PROPERTIES, 264 FAIR OAKS ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ERIC ALEXANDERSON. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/01/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/12/18.

OCT 18, 25, NOV 01, 08, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038356700

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: HAMILTON LAW, 18 BARTOL ST #1062, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed AMANDA HAMILTON. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/24/17. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/15/18.

OCT 18, 25, NOV 01, 08, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038346400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MOMOSOMO, 1419 KANSAS ST #A, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ASHISH RAJBHANDARI. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/09/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/09/18.

OCT 18, 25, NOV 01, 08, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038341800

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OCT 18, 25, NOV 01, 08, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038347000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: HEALING LIGHT DELIVERY, 1049 MARKET ST #404, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed HSF HOLDINGS INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/30/18.

The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/09/18.

OCT 18, 25, NOV 01, 08, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038347100 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: HFS DISTRIBUTION, 1049 MARKET ST #406, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed HSF HOLDINGS INC. (CA).

The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/30/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/09/18.

OCT 18, 25, NOV 01, 08, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038346900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: HELIBO; HFS PRODUCTION & MANUFACTURING SERVICES, 1049 MARKET ST #403, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed HSF HOLDINGS INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/30/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/09/18.

OCT 18, 25, NOV 01, 08, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038347700 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: WANDS AND HAMMERS, 150 VAN NESS AVE #709, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed WAH TECH LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/09/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/09/18.

OCT 18, 25, NOV 01, 08, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038343400

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The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MT CONSULTING SERVICES INC, 600 ELLIS ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a corporation and is signed MT CONSULTING SERVICES, INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/09/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/09/18.

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OCT 18, 25, NOV 01, 08, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038347400

OCT 18, 25, NOV 01, 08, 2018

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The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BUYER PAIR, 2811 14TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94127. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed BUYER PAIR, INC. (DE). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/28/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/11/18.

OCT 18, 25, NOV 01, 08, 2018

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OCT 18, 25, NOV 01, 08, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038352300

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: LAUREATE, 488 PRESIDIO AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed LAUREL SPE, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/15/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/05/18.

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The following person(s) is/are doing business as: NAAN N CURRY CASTRO, 4236 18TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ROSEMARY LAMOTTA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/09/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/09/18.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: GRIT SF, 1325 DONNER AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124.

This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JAMESON TORRES. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/01/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/04/18.

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FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038346300

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Lien Sale >>

In accordance with the provisions of the California Commercial Code, Section 7201-7210, there being due and unpaid storage for which Closetbox holds the lien as warehouseman on the goods hereinafter described and due notice having been given to parties known to own or claim an interest therein and the time specified in such notice for payment on such charges having expired, notice is hereby given that the goods located in Oakland will be sold at www. storagetreasure.com. The household goods of Yvette Anderson are being sold on monies owed of $1187.65 and include furniture.

STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-034908100

The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: BAZAAR CAFÈ, 5927 CALIFORNIA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121. This business was conducted by an individual and signed by MAKIKO WISNER. The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 02/15/13.

OCT 18, 25, NOV 01, 08, 2018 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-18-554343

In the matter of the application of: KEVIN SCOTT COLEMAN, 1651 MARKET ST #414, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner KEVIN SCOTT COLEMAN, is requesting that the name KEVIN SCOTT COLEMAN, be changed to KEVIN SCOTT DARLING. 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 6th of December 2018 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

OCT 25, NOV 01, 08, 15, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038354700 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: GAIA SPLENDOR, 3601 FOLSOM ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed VALERIA BYKOVA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/12/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/12/18.

OCT 25, NOV 01, 08, 15, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038355300

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: REAL. RAP. RECORDS, 2906 JENNINGS ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MANDON O’NEAL. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/12/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/12/18.

OCT 25, NOV 01, 08, 15, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038363000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: THE RIGHT ONE, 3131 26TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110.

This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MARQUISE DAWAYNE GLOVER. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/18/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/18/18.

OCT 25, NOV 01, 08, 15, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038352700

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: WK STUDIO, 2624 15TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94127.

This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed WYNNE KWEE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/01/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/11/18.

OCT 25, NOV 01, 08, 15, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038355900 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ATTIC BOX PRODUCTIONS, 1450 UNION ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed LUKE WILLIS. 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 10/15/18.

OCT 25, NOV 01, 08, 15, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038358800

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FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038355500 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ALPINE RUG, 2261 MARKET ST #341, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed SAMIULLAH NAZAR. 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 10/12/18.

OCT 25, NOV 01, 08, 15, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038327300 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: EVERYDAY SKATE SHOP, 936 GEARY ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed JUSTIN MARKS & JOHN GRIFFIN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/02/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/26/18.

OCT 25, NOV 01, 08, 15, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038347200 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SAN FRANCISCO CHINATOWN VISITORS INFORMATION CENTER; SF CHINATOWN VISITORS INFORMATION CENTER; SFCVIC, 625 KEARNY ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94108. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed SING TAO NEWSPAPERS (S.F.) LTD (CA).

The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/09/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/09/18.

OCT 25, NOV 01, 08, 15, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038358600 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SENDERGEN, 625 8TH ST #F05, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed OPENSENSE INC. (DE). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/01/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/16/18.

OCT 25, NOV 01, 08, 15, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038358900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PREMIUM REMEDIES, 2443 FILLMORE ST 380-5637, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed MARK VENTURES LLC, (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/16/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/16/18.

OCT 25, NOV 01, 08, 15, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038356000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: 49 SQUARE CATERING, 1760 CESAR CHAVEZ #M, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed SF FOODLAB LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 02/05/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/15/18.

OCT 25, NOV 01, 08, 15, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038359000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: THE LITTLE CHIHUAHUA MEXICAN RESTAURANT, 1431 POLK ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed TLC COCINA LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/16/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/16/18.

OCT 25, NOV 01, 08, 15, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038336700

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ANDY’S BING, 496 INVERNESS DR, PACIFICA, CA 94044. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed WEIXI WEI. 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 10/16/18.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: LEFTY O’DOULS; LEFTY’S BALLPARK BUFFET, 145 JEFFERSON ST #400, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed LOD BALLPARK BUFFET LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/15/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/01/18.

OCT 25, NOV 01, 08, 15, 2018

OCT 25, NOV 01, 08, 15, 2018

SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA RAPID TRANSIT DISTRICT

Lien Sale >> In accordance with the provisions of the California Commercial Code, Section 7201-7210, there being due and unpaid storage for which Closetbox holds the lien as warehouseman on the goods hereinafter described and due notice having been given to parties known to own or claim an interest therein and the time specified in such notice for payment on such charges having expired, notice is hereby given that the goods located in San Francisco will be sold at www.storagetreasure. com. The household goods of Allenda Simpson are being sold on monies owed of $452.61 and include furniture.

RFP NO. 6M4605 DATE CHANGE FOR RECEIPT OF PROPOSALS

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District has changed the date for receipt of Proposals until the hour of 2:00 p.m., Tuesday, November 6, 2018, at the District’s Offices, Attention: District Secretary’s Office, BART, 300 Lakeside Drive, 23rd Floor, Oakland, California 94612 (by Hand Delivery or Special Delivery), for Janitorial Services for BART’s Office Building at 101 8th Street, Oakland, CA 94607 (“MetroCenter”), RFP No. 6M4605, as more fully described in the RFP Documents.

Dated at Oakland, California, this 15th day of October, 2018. /S/ Oji Kanu Oji Kanu, Manager Contract Administration San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District

10/25/18 CNS-3184851# BAY AREA REPORTER

Notices >> NOTICE OF SALE OF ABANDONED PERSONAL PROPERTY Notice is hereby given that under and pursuant to Section 1988 of the California Civil Code the Property listed below believed to be abandoned by DeShawn McDougal whose last address was 2228 Union Street, #111 in San Francisco, Ca 94123, will be sold at public auction at: 2228 Union Street in San Francisco, Ca 94123 on November 1st, 2018 at 2:00pm.

DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY:

• 1 - flat screen TV • 1 – entertainment center • 1 – coffee table • 1 – sectional white leather couch • 1 – tray of sunglasses with roughly 6 or more sunglasses and sunglass cases • 1 – king size bed with white leather bed frame • 2 – night lamps • 10 or more bottles of alcohol • 7 or more sneakers of various brands • 20+ t-shirts, dress shirts, jeans, • 10+ belts and belt buckles ** This us a single-sale of all abandoned property in the apartment. The winner of the auction is responsible for hauling all items in Dated October 15th, 2018**

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Arabella

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Chorus boys

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Pie-eyed

Wild ride

Vol. 48 • No. 43 • October 25-31, 2018

www.ebar.com/arts

Bernd Uhlig

Remember me: Sasha Waltz’s ‘Körper’

by Paul Parish

I

came upon a pile of bones when I was a teenager walking in the woods. It had been a cow, beautiful horns, so cold, so bare. I grew cold as I thought deeper into the whiteness of the bones, how they had maybe settled further since the creature they’d held up had died. It was my first encounter with death, the difference between things that have consciousness and things that don’t.

See page 24 >>

Rick Gerharter

Sasha Waltz & Guests performed “Körper” in Zellerbach Hall.

Wonderful world of Charles & Ray Eames

by Sura Wood

“T

ake your pleasure seriously” was the core philosophy of 20th-century designers extraordinaire Charles and Ray Eames. Just how much rigor and imagination went into realizing that snappy idea is amply evident in a comprehensive, wide-ranging touring exhibition at OMCA that surveys the careers and multidimensional practice of the influential, Southern California-based, husband-and-wife design team, who formed their crucial lifelong partnership in 1941. If you haven’t felt the exquisite pleasure of surrendering to the embrace of a leather Eames lounge chair and resting your feet on the matching ottoman (both produced by Herman Miller), well, my friend, you haven’t really lived.

See page 24 >>

{ SECOND OF THREE SECTIONS }

Molded fiberglass chairs were an innovative design by the Eameses, including one (right) with a drawing by illustrator Saul Steinberg, a friend of the couple.

<< Out There

18 • Bay Area Reporter • October 25-31, 2018

DC museums entice us

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by Roberto Friedman

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s the swallows return to Capistrano, every fall Out There returns to the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area, site of our misspent youth. While there, we tour the wealth of museums and public spaces in D.C., then share our impressions with you.

The knockout museum show of our perambulations was the Rachel Whiteread exhibition, up through Jan. 13, 2019, at the National Gallery of Art. The British sculptor makes artworks from the negative space carved out of objects, so that, for example, the spaces beneath chairs become a group of small Ionic columns created from colored resin.

Whiteread has explored this artistic conceit over years and in varied scale. The interior space of hot-water bottles creates intriguing objects.

The large-scale “Ghost” was cast from the inner space of a London rowhouse. “Untitled (Paperbacks)” is the immediately recognizable reverse space of a bookcase. The sculptor’s most heralded work, the Holocaust memorial she created for Vienna, is represented here in a maquette, incarnating the negative spaces of a library’s walls, filled with books never read or written by the murdered Jews of Europe.

Another amazing show at the NGA, “Sense of Humor” presents printmaking that offers satire, send-up or simply a chuckle, from Leonardo through Hogarth and up through R. Crumb and other contemporary artists.

At the Hirshhorn Museum, “What Absence is Made Of: A New Perspective on the Collection” is a worthy collection of conceptual and other artworks in which the “objectness” of the artwork disappears. But after all that cerebral effort, the sheer visual gorgeousness of “Sean Scully: Landline” is a welcome respite.

Scully’s scrumptious horizontal stripes in oil paint read inevitably as landscape, but their optical buzz transcends category.

Also at the Hirshhorn, Huang Yong Ping’s “Abbottabad,” an installation of terracotta tiles and live

10/12/18 10:40 AM NEW CONSERVATORY THEATRE CENTER IN ASSOCIATION WITH SEASON PRODUCERS: LOWELL KIMBLE, TED TUCKER | EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: LARRY M. VALES PRESENT

DEEPLY MOVING NEW PLAY” —COURIER JOURNAL

Courtesy NGA

Rachel Whiteread’s sculpture “Untitled (Domestic)” (2002) at the National Gallery of Art.

plants, tugs at the memory until you realize it’s a representation (and transformation) of the compound where U.S. commandos finally took out nasty old Osama bin Laden.

Towering artist Mark Bradford’s ravishing abstract mural “Pickett’s Charge” gallops across an interior circular wall.

The Sackler Gallery is the Smithsonian’s repository of Asian art; there we enjoyed “Japan Modern,” a major exhibition of Japanese postwar photography. The modern age arrived all at once in Japan, as the nation recovered from the debacle of its imperial ambitions and shucked off traditional attitudes and architecture all at once.

The National Portrait Gallery is about to unveil “Eye to I: Self-Portraits from 1900 to Today,” an exhibition exploring how artists have approached self-representation and depiction through portraiture since the beginning of the last century.

Pace the NPG, “At a time when countless selfies are posted on social media channels and identity is proving to be more and more fluid, the museum will present a variety of self-portraits that raise important questions about self-perception and self-reflection.”

“Eye to I” will feature more than 75 artworks encompassing tiny caricatures, wall-sized photographs, colorful pastels, watercolors, dramatic paintings and time-based media. The exhibition will include self-portraits by prominent figures in the history of portraiture, including Berenice Abbott, Josef Albers, Richard Avedon, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Thomas Hart Benton, Imogen Cunningham, Elaine de Kooning, Walker Evans, Joan Jonas, Jacob Lawrence, Alice Neel, Faith Ringgold, Diego Rivera, Lucas Samaras, Andy Warhol, Martin Wong and others. (Nov. 2 through Aug. 18, 2019) We also found our old haunt The Green Lantern (shirtless men

drink free, Thursday nights), hidden down a back alley behind Thomas Circle, by sense memory alone!

Hotel California

Back in town, we attended the VIP celebration last week for the Sir Francis Drake Hotel’s 90th birthday bash, which started in the hotel’s lobby and mezzanine, and expanded in all ways to the rooftop Starlight Room. We enjoyed 1920sera costumery, gypsy-style jazz, and live music from The Klipptones.

The blast from the past included “tipsy tea time” and nostalgic bites such as Oysters Rockefeller, tea sandwiches and icebox cake, go-go dancers in flapper attire, and performances by burlesque stars. We ate up the 20s ambience and festivity, but are sure glad party food has evolved since then.

Then we went to the gallery show opening at Berggruen Gallery, “The White Horse,” which showcases the work of acclaimed photographer Mary McCartney, daughter of Sir Paul and Linda McCartney. The show ties in with McCartney’s new book of the same name published by Rizzoli, and will run through Nov. 21.

Sometimes shy about approaching celebrated individuals, Out There was astounded when the artist approached us, introducing herself, “Hi, I’m Mary!”

“He’s a beautiful horse,” OT said, indicating the subject of McCartney’s photos, a majestic white stallion with a long, flowing mane.

“Yes, you can tell I love him, can’t you?” McCartney said. She has her father’s soulful big brown eyes.

Our head was suddenly full of the rare Parlophone record “With the Beatles” (1963), Paul singing “Till There Was You” from “The Music Man,” “Please Mister Postman” and Smokey Robinson’s “You Really Got a Hold on Me.” Mary has achieved her own brand of celebrity, the subject of splashy recent features in The Wall Street Journal and the [UK] Financial Times. But here she was at Berggruen, down to earth and full of light.t

REGIONAL PREMIERE A STORY WITH A RESONANT AND REWARDING RING OF TRUTH” —TWIN CITIES PIONEER PRESS

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On the web

This week read Victoria A. Brownworth’s Lavender Tube column, “’The Conners’ without Roseanne,’ online at www.ebar.com.

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10/18/18 3:06 PM

<< Music

20 • Bay Area Reporter • October 25-31, 2018

Strauss’ comedy of errors

by Philip Campbell

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f you believe in love at first sight or you’re just a pushover for the lyricism of Richard Strauss, San Francisco Opera has a production of his flawed but charming “Arabella” set to seduce you once more.

Director Tim Albery’s new-toSFO staging opened last week and proved we are still willing to suspend disbelief for a pretty tune and bittersweet smile. The party may be ending for the characters in the play, but contemporary reality makes

us long for nostalgic nonsense and more innocent ideals. Last of the six operas in which Strauss partnered with Hugo von Hofmannsthal, this romantic comedy of errors still needs a play doctor, but the farfetched plot is saved by the characteristically rich and textured score.

The famous librettist died before Strauss could receive needed revisions, but the composer went on to set the text, banking on the past success of their “Der Rosenkavalier.”

It was a gamble that has kept “Arabella” on the fringes of the operatic

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repertoire, creaky and short of perfection, but still alluring.

The bourgeois Waldner family lives in genteel poverty in a Viennese hotel, worsened by the Count’s gambling problem and two unmarried daughters. The Countess, with a belief in fortune-tellers and the cash value of feminine beauty, has raised one of their girls as a boy to clear the field for beautiful and promising Arabella. Three virtually indistinguishable young aristocrats are in pursuit, but Arabella wants to hold out for true love, and her sister Zdenka has a troubling yen for a fourth suitor herself (the only one worth his salt). Army officer Matteo is heterosexual (well-l-l really?), and he doesn’t seem to pick up on younger sister’s boy crush, though Zdenka (Zdenko) beds him Both photos: Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera in the last act by impersonating Arabella in the dark. The real meat Left: Ellie Dehn in the title role of Strauss’ “Arabella.” of the drama lies in the immediate Right: Heidi Stober as Zdenka in Strauss’ “Arabella.” attraction the title heroine feels for regular singers, and her endearingly lighting designer David Finn, the rough-edged and honest Croatian complicated Zdenka may be added broad characters take on subtler landowner Mandryka. to her memorable gallery. Suitably depths of meaning.

Arabella’s parents are right out of awkward as a boy, she revealed Moving the action from 1860 to Jane Austen, and her sibling is ripe herself as a thoroughly sympathetic the period before the First World for Freudian analysis; her ardent female in Act III. War also adds urgency and explains wooers are bores, and Viennese soAndrew Manea, Christian PurHofmannsthal’s clumsy attempts at ciety is shallow. Gruff Mandryka has sell, and especially Scott Quinn as humor. Albery has rescued Arabella potent appeal, and he, too, has fallen Count Elemer managed to contrast from a life of monotonous Viennese hard in an instant. After Arabella’s themselves well as Arabella’s band luxury to provide her with enough fidelity is doubted by her supposed of suitors. As the tacked-on cabaret love to survive the world when it rerendezvous with Matteo, Mandryka singer “The Fiakermilli” in Act II, ally falls apart. rejects her with equally swift action. soprano Hye Jung Lee sang with anOpening night had moments of Zdenka comes clean in time, and noyingly bright coloratura, but the disjointed orchestral playing, and Matteo, without a lot of questionrole is only a pop of color, and she the cast needed another dress reing, suddenly accepts her as his real did stand out in scarlet livery. hearsal, but pluses outweighed the love. In one of opera’s sweetest moSwedish tenor Daniel Johansson minuses, and as one satisfied audiments, Arabella manages to forgive in his Company and role debut as ence member said, “I’m a sucker for Mandryka’s rush to judgment with the feverish Matteo made a delightStrauss, anyway.” the offer of a glass of pure water. ful first impression. His combinaIn the title role, soprano Ellie Director Albery’s rather sobertion of clear lyric line, vocal power Dehn anchored the performance sided vision has traveled from Toand intense commitment would with a pleasing new roundness in her ronto to Minneapolis and Santa Fe tone and gracious presence. There probably shine in Mozart, too. before arriving here as his Company is something a little cool about her Rounding the ensemble as Aradebut. His determination to downacting, but Arabella has cautiousness bella’s parents, mezzo-soprano play the comedic aspects of the plot about her, and the warmth of Dehn’s Michaela Martens was adorably heightens the slightly anxious unsinging was convincing. fussy as the Countess, and baritone dertow of the story and music. ConBaritone Bryan Mulligan was Richard Paul Fink drew some genuductor Marc Albrecht, also making stretched to his limits as Mandryka, ine laughs as the lovable miscreant his SFO debut, pays meticulous atbut he coped admirably, and his actCount. They bolstered the failings tention to the potentially bewildering is strong and believable. He fully of the libretto with jolly sincerity.t ing dialogue. Amidst the handsome conveyed the soul of the man. Inbackground of production designer stances of stress were understandable.

Tobias Hoheisel’s monochromatic “Arabella” continues in Soprano Heidi Stober is another repertory through Nov. 3. unit set (more than 50 shades of www.sfopera.com. trusted member of SFO’s core of gray), effectively illuminated by

SFGMC marks 40 years

by David-Elijah Nahmod

at the National AIDS Memorial Grove to he San Francisco Gay Men’s the singers who died Chorus celebrates its 40th of AIDS on Oct. 27 at anniversary this month with 11 a.m. special events during the week“It’s so special to end of Oct. 26-28. There will be have worked with a concert at St. Ignatius Catholic the SFGMC over the Church, a groundbreaking at the last year in the design National AIDS Memorial Grove and creation of the in Golden Gate Park honoring new Artist’s Portal chorus members lost to AIDS, a entrance to the Na“Fabulous at 40” birthday party, tional AIDS MemoGooch and toasts at a “Sunday’s a Drag” rial,” said AIDS Grove brunch in the Starlight Room of executive director San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus in performance. the Sir Francis Drake Hotel.

John Cunningham.

“The chorus was founded by “In the darkest days When the chorus appears at St. Jon Reed Sims in October 1978,” of the AIDS epidemic Ignatius on Oct. 26 at 8 p.m., they the chorus’ artistic director and the chorus was devastated, lost so will offer a performance of “When conductor Dr. Timothy Seelig recalls. many of its members. The chorus We No Longer Touch.” Composed “The first rehearsal was on Oct. 30 at has never forgotten them, and now in 1991, the piece is the first requiem Everett Middle School. The approxiall those lost will forever have a place dedicated to those lost to AIDS. The mately 100 men attending selected within the memorial.” chorus, backed by an orchestra, will the name San Francisco Gay Men’s That same evening the chorus be accompanied by soprano Ellie Chorus. It was the first of its kind.” hosts its “Fabulous at 40” birthday Dehn. The St. Ignatius performance Four weeks later, after gay Superviparty at the Empire Ballroom. “We is significant because in 1981 the sor Harvey Milk and Mayor George are throwing a fabulous ‘ruby’ lunBishop cancelled a scheduled choMoscone were assassinated at City cheon,” said Seelig. “Yes, there will rus performance at the church.

Hall, the Chorus had its first public be slippers! The party will feature “The chorus filed a lawsuit against performance. “The chorus went to Beach Blanket Babylon’s Curt Brathe Diocese and won a small settlethe candlelight vigil,” Seelig said. nom, and Armistead Maupin, who ment,” Seelig recalled. “Here we are “They sang Mendelssohn’s ‘O Lord wrote about the chorus in the very almost 40 years later, and we’ll be Our Refuge.’ They also joined Holly first ‘Tales of the City.’” performing at their invitation!”

Near in singing a piece she composed For more information on the The chorus will break ground on a napkin in a cab on the way to SFGMC birthday weekend, visit on a permanent memorial tribute the vigil, ‘Singing for Our Lives.’” www.sfgmc.org.t

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Theatre>>

October 25-31, 2018 • Bay Area Reporter • 21

Black mirror

by Jim Gladstone

“F

airview,” the exquisitely constructed drama now at Berkeley Rep, requires concentrated observation. Its subject is a pernicious strain of unconcentrated observation: the casually de facto manner in which most Americans perceive race.

On entering the theater, audience members are immediately alerted to the fact that something unconventional is afoot. There’s a realistic middle-class living room/dining room set, but it’s framed by thick black walls, as if contained within a vitrine.

Sly and the Family Stone’s “Family Affair” fills the auditorium as audience members sway shoulders and bob heads in time to the music.

Then the audio source relocates, and the song is isolated within the enclosed domestic diorama, soon populated by members of the Frasier family, gathering to celebrate a grandmother’s birthday: mother Beverly (Natalie Venetia Belcon), father Dayton (Charles Browning), visiting aunt Jasmine (Chantal Jean-Pierre), and teenage daughter Keisha (Monique Robinson, who brilliantly Caspers her way through the fourth wall in “Fairview”’s scalding final moments).

The Frasiers are African American. The audience knows this not because of anything its members do or say in their slightly sit-commy scenes of minor marital discord, sibling rivalry, adolescent self-absorption, and other elements of suburban status quo. The audience knows the family is African American strictly because of their skin tones.

Well, also because of their musical taste. But wait. Didn’t the white members of the audience share that musical taste just a few minutes prior? Shoulder sway, head bob – perspective shift. Playwright Jackie Sibblies Drury subtly points out how quickly we choose to focus on counterpoint rather than harmony.

There’s a halt in the family scene.

The Frasiers leave the set. As a pair of technicians makes slight rearrangements of props and furniture to return the domestic scene to its starting point, four amplified voices – two male, two female – fill the auditorium. Intended as surrogates for white audience members’ conscious and/or subconscious thoughts, they’ve been watching the fishbowl action, too. Now, in the break, they’re musing about race, discussing what they’d choose to be if they weren’t white.

It’s an ugly conversation, full of reductive, stereotypical assump-

Kevin Berne/Berkeley Rep

Charles Browning (Dayton) and Natalie Venetia Belcon (Beverly) in Berkeley Rep’s production of “Fairview.”

tions about Asian American, Latinx and African American personality traits, some blatantly racist, others self-serving perversions of P.C. Their poisonous thoughts here are nothing that audience members haven’t heard before. But Sibblies Drury provokes us to consider not just the content of these thoughts, but what prompted them. Why is this conversation taking place at all? The Frasier family scenes would have been equally credible on “Growing Pains” or on “The Cosby

Show.” (Credible may not be the right word to describe any sitcom.)

It’s the mere observance of brown skin-tones that triggers our four interlocutors to reflexively summon up an entire nation carved into “us” and “them.”

The Frasiers return to the stage as this conversation continues and – in a stunning collaboration by the actors, choreographer Raja Feather Kelly, and director Sarah Benson – they play through the exact same actions we’ve seen be-

community to accept and trust Travis when he first came out as gay.

Annie, a San Francisco conservation activist who feels more of a connection to her late brother than to her parents, is intended to be the play’s central character. But Martha Brigham plays the character as so stone-cold and self-enclosed that

her doctrinaire speechifying and appalling disrespect for her grieving parents push her out to the margins of the audience’s concern.

We shouldn’t feel more engaged by an offstage dead man than by the leading lady.

Still, “The Resting Place” is wellworth seeing for challenging both its

fore, but mouthing their dialogue in complete silence. Only the white observers’ ongoing conversation is audible now. The black characters’ benign lives are completely muted, and overlaid with amplified white presumption.

Two further movements within the intermissionless 90-minute piece – a detailed description would detract from their initially disconcerting, then luminously clarifying live experience – find the playwright extending her argument about the damage done when people, by dint of pigment alone, are subjected to ceaseless scrutiny, forced to perform in a constant spotlight, and incessantly talked over rather than being allowed to speak for themselves.

The contributions of Mimi Lien’s set, Amith Chandrashaker’s lighting and Mikaal Sulaiman’s sound design to the nuance and impact of this production cannot be overstated. Their blend of artistry and technical precision is revelatory. To appreciate it, though, as with all of “Fairview,” you must sit still, mute your own inner voices and observe keenly. Attention is due.t “Fairview,” through Nov. 4 at Berkeley Rep. Tickets ($45$97): (510) 647-2949, www. berkeleyrep.org.

Domestic unrest

by Jim Gladstone

“E

njoy the rest of the show!” said the concessionaire, handing a matronly audience member her glass of wine during intermission at Magic Theatre’s production of “The Resting Place.”

“Well,” said the woman, pausing for a long moment, “‘enjoy’ isn’t exactly the right word.”

This world-premiere family drama by Ashlin Halfnight, developed through Magic’s own Virgin Play Festival, touches on suicide, homosexuality and pedophilia.

Those three words, spoken in tandem, will strike many in the queer community as inherently repugnant. For too many years of theater, television and film, the first was standard fate for characters inclined to the second, and often by default assumed to engage in the third.

Not to worry. Maybe not quite to “enjoy,” either. But if you find “Law & Order: SVU” compelling, you can handle “The Resting Place,” which, along with delivering a compelling psychological exploration of its characters, eagerly dismantles nasty stereotypes – not just the trope of gay men being pedophiles, but also the one about middle-class, small-town Americans being homophobes.

Halfnight’s sturdy, realistic play is largely set in a middle-class home in suburban Detroit where father Mitch, mother Angela, and their grown daughters Annie and Macy, in from their respective homes in

San Francisco and New York, have gathered to grieve the suicide of their eldest son and sibling, Travis.

We quickly learn that Travis’ torment stemmed from the consuming pedophilic impulses that led him to amass hordes of child pornography. and rape over a dozen boys over the course of many years. Ashamed of himself and unable to openly acknowledge his illness, Travis led his secret life in parallel with a benevolent quotidian existence, in which he served as middle sister Annie’s guide to nature and outdoorsmanship, a dedicated science teacher to his students, and a loving partner to his one-time boyfriend, Liam. How such a man should be – and can be – remembered is the crux of the play.

The unquestionably warm rapport between Travis’ surviving family and tender, bewildered Liam (Wiley Naman Strasser, in a quiet, enormously difficult and utterly believable performance) demonstrates Halfnight’s deeply empathetic approach to his characters. But rest assured, this empathy doesn’t only express itself in comfort and reconciliation.

It also plays out in several ferocious, genuinely frightening tirades from soulful, shattered Mitch (James Carpenter, nailing the play’s most complex array of emotions).

In one, he lashes out at Annie – who wants to focus only on her brother’s positive qualities – explaining how betrayed he feels after all the earnest effort he and Angela (Emilie Talbot) put into urging their small, Catholic

characters and audience to find compassion and connection amidst rage and bewilderment. “Compassion” – that’s exactly the right word.t “The Resting Place,” through Nov. 4. Magic Theatre. Tickets ($25-$75): (415) 441-8882, www. magictheatre.org.

Jennifer Reiley

James Carpenter and the cast of Ashlin Halfnight’s “The Resting Place” at Magic Theatre.

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<< Theatre

22 • Bay Area Reporter • October 25-31, 2018

‘Alice’ in La-La Land

by Jim Gladstone

ters come right out of a sitcom.

A specific sitcom: “Alice.” aitress,” the hit Like “Waitress,” that 1976Broadway musical 85 TV series was built around now playing at the Golden three staffers at a southern Gate Theatre on its first roadside diner: the snappy, national tour, opens with a uninhibited one (Flo on TV, chiming refrain: “Sugar, sugar, Becky here); the ditzy, mousy butter/Sugar, butter, flour.” eccentric (Vera, now Dawn); Cooed by the titular server and the sensible, warmhearted Jenna (Christine Dwyer), and leading lady (Alice, Jena’s proangelically doubled by unseen genitor). Their superficially female ensemble members, gruff teddy bear of a boss has these sweet but eerily sung had his name changed from phrases resurface throughout Mel to Cal. the show.

The central trio of “Alice,” They’re intended to evoke a led by Broadway veteran Linda quasi-spiritual force that flows Lavin, brought highly textured through Jenna, giving her detail to their roles, giving inner strength, resilience, and that show a then-innovative the ability to spread essential lens on independent workinggoodness in the form of the class women. The writing and kick-ass pies she bakes every performances in this producday. While far more accurate, tion of “Waitress” leave the Courtesy SHN “Baker/Waitress” doesn’t cut threesome relatively flat and Jenna (Christine Dwyer), is the title server it as a title. Audience members flavorless. Nelson tries to spice in “Waitress,” the hit Broadway musical now resistant to quasi-spiritual them up with pinches of sass playing the Golden Gate Theatre. forces and insistent, flimsy and sexual empowerment, but cheer will find the burrowing these get lost in blander batter. single killer hook. The bulk of her earworm of this chant, along Jenna, who has a penchant for country-tinged score blurs together with much of “Waitress,” more irkcute confectionary names, might in a gauzy, mid-tempo yawn. some than winsome. describe their collective presence as Bareilles struggles with lyrics, too, “Sugar, sugar, butter/Sugar, butan oversized slice of Exponentially getting pie-eyed on culinary wordter, flour” works fine as an audio Vanilla Pie. play (“What’s Inside,” “It Only Takes signature, like the welcoming hum The 11’o’clock number “She a Taste,” “What Baking Can Do”) of a Mac powering up, or NBC’s Used to Be Mine” finds a pregnant and mixing metaphors like a Kitchthree-note doorbell. It leads you to Jenna planning to leave her husband enAid: “If pies were books/Yours think something more substantive and raise their child on her own. It’s would be Shakespeare’s letters.” will follow. So it’s a problem that written as a crescendo-filled anthem While the music of “Waitress” this sonic trademark proves the of self-reckoning, regret and revival. could use a little more sticky pop most memorable musical element Dwyer’s vocal range and power influence, the show’s book by Jessie in “Waitress.” Ironically, Sara Baimpress, but she brings across very Nelson, closely adhering to Adrienne reilles, a first-time theater composer little sense of Jenna’s inner emotionShelly’s 2007 screenplay, could use a better-known as a pop artist, hangs al conflict or evolution. Her head relot less. Its plot, setting, and characfar too much of “Waitress” on a mains hunched into her shoulders,

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her facial expression static. The performance is notable as singing, but doesn’t take us into the heart of a specific character.

The greatest strength – and hence the biggest problem – in a production ostensibly dedicated to female empowerment is that the featured male performers are far and away its most exciting elements. As Dr. Pomater, Jenna’s gynecologist, confidant and extramarital paramour, Bryan Fenkart exudes irresistible neurotic charm, literally falling over himself to charm her, with a bravura comic physicality that brings Buster Keaton to mind. In one number, Loren Lattaro’s choreography transforms an examination table into Pomater’s pommel horse, bringing a welcome surge of grins and adrenaline to the audience. (Unfortunately, there’s plenty of less successful choreography throughout when Lattaro and director Diane Paulus try to evoke the “Waitress” movie’s occasional moments of magic realism by having ensemble members engage in incongruous Pilobolusstyle wriggling.)

Jeremy Morse, playing Dawn’s kooky beau Ogie, explodes onto the stage with rib-tickling energy and ridiculous tics. With fancy footwork, motormouthed poetry, and loose-hinged limbs, he’s a potent, fizzing human cocktail, equal parts Donald O’Connor and Leslie Jordan, with a splash of Red Skelton.

For the length of his first-act showcase “Never Ever Getting Rid of Me,” Morse doesn’t steal the show, he steals the audience, taking them to a jolly, high-altitude escapist place altogether different from “Waitress”’

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pleasant-enough plateau. It’s a fleeting moment of inverse buzzkill, an incongruous taking of the cake in a pie shop.

Even the smaller male roles, diner manager Cal (Ryan G. Dunkin), Jenna’s abusive husband Earl (Matt DeAngelis, genuinely terrifying yet soulful) and curmudgeonly diner owner Joe (a sparkling Larry Marshall), are rendered with more authentic detail than the female characters intended to be the story’s center.

Toward show’s end, the plot turns into a diner-unworthy hash: After anguishing for years over Earl’s controlling, violent domestic terrorism, Jenna gives him a simple shoo-fly, and he compliantly disappears.

It takes just a minute for her to trim beloved Dr. Pomater out of her life, like a bit of excess pastry on a pie tin. And instead of competing for the life-changing prize money in the county bake-off she’s fixated on for the length of the show, Jenna doesn’t transform her life for herself, she lucks into a ridiculous deep dish pious ex machina.

Like Joe, the show’s twinkle-eyed diner owner, I may strike you as crusty in my opinions. “Waitress” has a woman-centric spirit , doesn’t it? It’s the first Broadway musical with an all-female creative team, yes? It has pop-star pedigree, right?

That’s all very á la mode. And like sugar, butter and flour, these ingredients can be combined to great success. But you need a solid recipe.

And you can’t serve it half-baked.t Through Nov. 11 at the Golden Gate Theatre. Tickets ($55$246): (888) 746-1799.

Emotional breakdown in Montana

by David Lamble

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he subject of the new drama “Wildlife” (opening Friday) is achingly familiar to many LGBTQ filmgoers. The directorial debut of indie film actor Paul Dano, “Wildlife” plants us in a kind of waking nightmare experienced by the film’s emotionally challenged hero, Joe, a 16-year-old only child who finds his whole world imploding as his impetuous dad brings him and his mom to a small Montana town on the edge of a raging forest fire. For a few emotionally fraught days, the kid watches as all the adults in his life seem to lose their bearings.

Each undergoes a kind of emotional breakdown that they attempt to convince the boy is the new normal.

The film, adapted from a 1990 Richard Ford novel by Dano and his life partner Zoe Kazan, unfolds as Joe observes his parents’ marriage implode, and gets an invitation to see his mom stepping out with a much older, wealthy man, Warren Miller (Bill Camp).

The time is 1960, and most of the country is riding the ups and downs of a national election pitting a charismatic change agent (Sen. John F. Kennedy) against the five o’clock shadow of a devious demagogue (VP Richard M. Nixon). In Montana,

that all seems mere sound and fury, transmitted over an AM car radio or a jiggly B&W TV. Joe (a heart-tug of a performance from Australian-raised Ed Oxenbould) watches sadly as his dad and mom quarrel, then separate. The boy neglects his schoolwork as he finds an afterschool job as a photographer’s assistant.

Dano captures the fragile nature of lowermiddle-class life on the edge of the great American dream machine. Joe’s dad (volatile Jake Gyllenhaal) Carey Mulligan and Jake Gyllenhaal in director Paul Dano’s “Wildlife.” is unfairly fired from his job as a country club golf store, and I was like, ‘Oh shit, this with Carey. When we first started instructor. Mom (career high for is beautiful!’” writing, she was probably too young Carey Mulligan) attempts to become to play Jeanette. But it took a few David Lamble: This the first the family breadwinner, finding only years to write. film you’re in involved with that meager work as a part-time swimyou’re not acting in.

How do you Like the five years you waited ming instructor. Dano and his stellar get your cast? Jake [Gyllenhaal] to play Dwayne in “Little Miss cast make clear how soul-destroying you know from “Prisoners,” Sunshine.” these mishaps become for dad and but Carey Mulligan and the Yes, exactly. Carey was excited by mom. Add to this toxic mix the kid [Ed Oxenbould] are really the character immediately! I handed temptation of mom’s affair with the wonderful! her the script on a Friday night, and aging Miller, and you have a nightPaul Dano: That’s one of the legs she called me Saturday morning. mare tale that bursts into flames. up I have as an actor becoming a The fastest read I’ll ever get from an In my conversation with firstfilmmaker. Zoe Kazan and Carey actor! Jake and Carey were friends, time director Paul Dano, he dedid a play on Broadway together, so I sent it to him. I had just seen scribed how he happened upon the about 10 years ago now. They shared “Nightcrawler,” which was so brilRichard Ford novel. “I read the first a dressing room, so I became friends liant, but so – sentence of ‘Wildlife’ in a book-

IFC Films

Dark.

Yes. So I wondered if something so classically American, so simple, could be a nice change of pace.

The film is so reliant on the actors’ inner life. Then casting the kid. We got a call from Australia, and it was the best tape we saw.

Ed could fill the space between the lines, not just say the lines well. It was the first time Zoe and I saw the scenes the way we imagined them. We were really lucky to find him.

In terms of gay content in movies, there isn’t all that much. To what degree have you worked on a movie where there was a gay character?

Certainly “L.I.E.,” which was an important film for that time and a bold film. Well, you’re right, there are obvious milestones. One of my favorite filmmakers is Terence Davies.

His films are such incredible raw representations of what it’s like to feel like you don’t fit. He lives in a very Catholic home, secretly gay. I find those films just gorgeous and crushing. They are certainly favorite films of mine, and I don’t think it matters whether you are straight or gay.t

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Film>>

October 25-31, 2018 • Bay Area Reporter • 23

Melissa McCarthy shines in ‘Forgive’

by David-Elijah Nahmod

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est-known for her appearances in over-the-top comedies such as “Life of the Party,” Melissa McCarthy is given a rare opportunity to play a dramatic role in the new film “Can You Ever Forgive Me?,” which opens Friday at the AMC Kabuki and AMC Metreon. McCarthy plays Lee Israel, a lesbian who, during the 1970s and 80s, became well-known for writing biographies of actress Tallulah Bankhead, cosmetics queen Estee Lauder and journalist Dorothy Kilgallen.

By 1990 Israel’s writing career was in steep decline. Her agent was uninterested in her planned biography of 1920s and 30s Broadway superstar Fannie Brice. This, combined with an abrasive personality and excessive drinking, led Israel to become persona non grata in the literary world. Unable to pay her bills, she turned to forgery.

Israel pulled herself out of debt by forging over 400 letters supposedly written by deceased actors and writers, selling them to dealers and collectors.

As played by McCarthy, Israel comes across as a somewhat lovable villain. She’s not really evil, just a sad, angry woman who needs to pay her rent and the vet bill for Jersey, her cat, who might be the only living creature she loves. McCarthy is

magnificent at conveying Israel’s sadness, her world-weariness, and the desperation that leads her to a life of crime.

Israel is assisted in her criminal enterprise by Jack Hock (Richard E. Grant), a charming gay grifter who appears to have no fixed address.

Jack is a petty thief who gets beaten up after picking up a hustler he cannot pay.

“He was a tall blonde who died of AIDS at 47,” Grant told B.A.R. during a brief interview. “He spent two years in jail for attacking a cab driver with a knife. He grifted around New York and got beaten up by people he slept with. He was a Labrador, she was a porcupine. It’s the most unlikely platonic story of love and friendship, and that’s very attractive to play.”

Grant said what attracted him to the project “was the script, Melissa McCarthy, and director Marielle Heller. The film was produced by women, the majority of the cast were women. There was a detestosteroned atmosphere. And Melissa is incredibly open. What you see is what you get.”

Grant enjoyed the film’s New York City location shoot, which included Julius’, a bar in Greenwich Village that dates back to the 1860s, and that began attracting a gay clientele during the 1950s. “It was nice to go back to a bar where people are actu-

Fox Searchlight

Richard E. Grant and Melissa McCarthy in director Marielle Heller’s “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”

ally talking to each other,” he said.

“Can You Ever Forgive Me?” has a wonderful supporting cast. SNL alum Jane Curtin shines as Marjorie, Israel’s tough-as-nails literary agent who gives Israel some much-needed advice. Dolly Wells is sweet as Anna, a lonely, gullible bookshop owner

who falls for Israel’s scam, and who might be falling for Israel herself.

Anna Deavere Smith is superb in an all-too-brief role as Israel’s exgirlfriend, a no-nonsense woman who has neither time nor patience to deal with her.

Lee Israel and Jack Hock emerge

as two complex characters who commit amoral acts and go to absurd lengths to justify their actions.

But they aren’t completely devoid of decency. They walked to the beat of their own drums and paid the price for it. Their story makes for one of the year’s best films.t

out to expose and shut down war research as if they were a student auxiliary of the Viet Cong. The 70sera interviews reflect the growing generation gap between administrators and radicalized students and faculty.

The film documents the Chicago “police riot” against young people backing peace candidate Sen. Eugene McCarthy. A contemporary observer reflects that the Minnesota Senator wasn’t a possible standard-bearer against Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson, but the best alternative at the time. The filmmakers include footage sharply critical of the eventual Democratic nominee, Sen. Hubert H. Humphrey, and then-darling of the left Sen. Teddy Kennedy, shown making fun of an anti-war spokesman during an early campus rally.

“Life and Nothing More” (2017) Angry words of an innercity African American mother demanding that her adolescent son abide by her rules for living in her

apartment: “Don’t fuck with me, boy. You are disrespectful, you are your father’s son!”

This deliberately paced docudrama from writer-director Antonio Mendez Esparza deftly walks a line between real life and carefully crafted fiction. The mother (tough but nurturing Regina Williams steals her every scene), pregnant with an older boyfriend’s child, is confronting tough choices: an abortion against her boyfriend’s wishes, and criminal charges against her rebellious teenage son for threatening visitors at a public park with a knife. The scenes mirror real life, and the actors deftly underplay their parts. The mother, confronting problems from all directions, has the dilemmas of today’s inner-city communities.

The film begins and ends with the young man paying a visit to his convict birth dad, a sorrowful tribute to the effect that dads, absent or present, have on young minority men. (Both open Friday.)t

Home fires burning Directed by Glenn Silber, “The War at Home” captures how a generation of students at the University of Wisconsin/Madison was radicalized by school authorities complicit in the American war machine. We’re shown how once-peaceful demonstrators were brutally beaten by campus, city and state police. The film traces a kind of timeline of political Courtesy IndieCollect engagement expeDocumentary footage from “The War at Home,” directed by Glenn Silber. rienced by middleclass students who were far from radical how one’s work will age. Will it

by David Lamble or even politically engaged when survive as a first draft of history? they first stepped on campus. he War at Home” (1979) Will it be rendered for its historical Archival footage of UW officials One of the hardest things footage for latter-day docs by filmand security officers finds them for a filmmaker, especially a pomakers who lack knowledge of the treating the fresh-faced protesters litically committed one, is to judge sacrifices made to get it?

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Channeling Beyonce

by Jim Piechota

I Can’t Date Jesus: Love, Sex, Family, Race, and Other Reasons I’ve Put My Faith in Beyonce by Michael Arceneaux; Atria Books, $17

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ouston native Michael Arceneaux’s debut memoir “I Can’t Date Jesus” is bold, brassy, and unapologetically frank. Nothing related to the self-admitted “recovering Catholic,” blogger, and media columnist’s life is sugarcoated here.

Instead, it’s open and honest, hilarious and bitingly real. It’s the kind of memoir that can be read speedily, but packs in the memorable life lessons and the laughs.

A collection of 17 personal essays, the book opens with the author’s conservative religious upbringing and the torturous years dealing with

his burgeoning homosexual feelings.

When his drug-addled uncle died of AIDS in 1990, which revealed his father’s staunchly homophobia attitude, it also instilled fear in Arceneaux as he tried to understand his own same-sex attractions in the face of a Catholic-Southern childhood and fiercely religious yet understanding mother. This fear kept him from openly expressing his feelings with other young men, and brought him face-to-face with a recruiting priest’s “sales pitch on why I ought to consider making a white collar a permanent staple of my wardrobe.”

As he grew up, idolizing and lusting after screen actors like Ryan Phillippe (his “ass played a pivotal, defining role in my development”), the author experimented with other boys at Howard University, but never officially came out as gay all at once. Instead, Arceneaux dipped his

feet into the boy pond in stages including trips to gay clubs, awkwardly fumbling sexual encounters, and interning at MTV. In his relocations from Houston to Los Angeles and then New York City, he finally grew into his own identity, accepted himself, and found the courage to live freely, without regrets. From this point on, Arceneaux’s knack for humor and witty prose begins to color the narrative. Sections on sex, “learning how to ho and date,” why “men are fucking awful,” and trips to “wildly unwelcoming” black barbershops hilariously fall into step with pop culture’s effect on his selfacceptance, tolerance, and personal pride. Finally, in Chapter 15, Arceneaux explains his personal obsession with Beyonce,

and why she has become his ultimate muse as well as his selfprofessed “lord and gyrator.”

Sharing his “gay black man” perspectives on diversity, gay marriage, black homophobia, and sexual racism for media outlets may have held little excitement for the budding journalist, but these introspective articles began a career which remains prominent to this day.

By committing his history, loves, and disappointments to the page, Arceneaux wants readers to discover their true selves, and to allow that identity to shine.

Collectively, his essays are about “unlearning every damaging thing I’ve seen and heard about my identity, and allowing myself the space to figure out who I am and what that means on my terms.”t

<< Dance

24 • Bay Area Reporter • October 25-31, 2018

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Sasha Waltz

From page 17

All these feelings came to life again in seeing “Körper” last weekend in Berkeley, where Cal Performances presented Sasha Waltz’s masterpiece in Zellerbach Hall for the first time.

“Körper” is generally recognized as the first great contemporary dance work of the Third Millennium. It premiered in Berlin on January 22, 2000.

Waltz was born in the 60s in Karlsruhe, on the border with France, and has gradually risen to stature as the greatest expressionist dancemaker since Pina Bausch.

Her early works were brilliant, often funny. “Körper,” which mean “Bodies,” is “heavy” in the 60s sense of the word, “important.” Waltz faced up to de-Nazification, which was imposed on Germany by the Allies in 1945, and accepted it. It’s urgent that we learn from how she has made art out of this complex acceptance of guilt.

Waltz made the dance in 1999.

She got to work in the monumental Jewish Museum of Berlin when it was still unfinished, She and her dancers went straight to the heart of the building, the chamber known as “the Void.” Architect Daniel Libeskind’s other great work is the reconstruction of the space formerly known as the World Trade Center.

Since 1977

These are the sites against which one measures one’s own imagination, depth of character, capacity to feel.

Waltz’s meditations on this subject, as worked out with her dancers and their responses to the bare walls and terrifying proportions of that echoing emptiness, deserve to live forever.

Your reporter saw “Körper” twice, alone and cold in the balcony for the dress rehearsal, and opening night amid a warm, excited, clued-in crowd. From a distance, it was like spending the night in your own coffin. Opening night, the crowd seemed to include every experimental dancer for 50 miles in any direction. Keith Hennessy was standing tip-toe in the ticket-line, Brenda Way of ODC stood proud in the lobby. You get the picture. It was a BFD. Bursts of sound came at us from unexpected corners as we took our seats (sound by Hans Peter Kuhn).

Like the opening of “Hamlet” or “King Lear,” things are already out of control before it starts. With an entrance from behind a towering black wedge of a wall, two dancers in black pop out, twist and turn each other through rapid-fire geometrical figures. A new pose pushed into another startling configuration, with sudden falls to the floor in the lotus position or the swastika. A perfect freeze in that position, a logroll into another. We’re set up, “Alles ist in Ordnung.” The technique is first-class, the geometry clear, mechanically exact, and the tone is commanding. The house lights dim, and the show begins.

Awkward acrobatics from a duet, then a trio, then a group, were clear-

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Charles & Ray Eames

From page 17

Those who’ve missed out on the experience will get a chance to lounge as much as they desire at this capacious show. It includes a bevy of those classic chairs that Charles hoped would have the “warm, receptive look of a well-used first baseman’s mitt” in which they can relax while watching the Eameses’ “Glimpses of the U.S.A,” a newly restored, multi-screen presentation incorporating 2,000 images of a day in the life of America. The project was commissioned in 1959 by the U.S. Information Agency.

The exhibition features a narrow, leather-upholstered chaise lounge originally created to cater to the nap-taking needs of their friend and sometime collaborator, director Billy Wilder; a prototype of an austere three-legged chair; another

Bernd Uhlig

Sasha Waltz & Guests performed “Körper” in Zellerbach Hall.

ly made and emotionally blinkered.

The dancers fell to the floor, and you heard the bones hit. The dance emphasized the raw-boned angle as dancers hit the floor loud, a pavement of black squares, some wired for sound to amplify the impacts, a la Elizabeth Streb.

Our attention was pulled to a window in the wall, which displayed a slow-motion montage of dancers’ bodies, entering like swimmer-dancers in the aquarium wall of a nightclub. You realized these people were naked, not nude. They looked like the bare, forked animals in Hieronymus

Bosch’s visions of hell. Poignant, vulnerable, bruisable, unprotected, the “unaccommodated man” that Lear prays for: “Ye poor naked wretches, wheresoe’er ye be, that bidest the pelting of this pitiless storm, how shall your houseless heads and unfed sides, your loop’d and window’d raggedness, defend you?”

Without being in any way referential, Waltz has evoked the heaps of bodies found in the camps when the war was over. The whole show is about this: bodies, sometimes barely alive, sometimes corpses, lying down atop one another as if thrown there,

chair graced with a sly drawing by Saul Steinberg; and examples of the curved, molded plywood techniques that the Eames pioneered, integrated into their furniture production, and led to revolutionary leg splints and an adorable elephant sculpture displayed here. The show goes well beyond their iconic furniture designs, in some cases recreating their ventures into multimedia exhibition installations for corporate and government clients like the futuristic environment they conceived for the carnival-like IBM Pavilion at the 1964 World’s Fair in New York, where a ringmaster rose up on a mobile podium above the crowd. Among the cache of materials are numerous photographs and a selection of short, investigatory films – they made over 100 – such as “Powers of Ten,” addressing no less than “the relative size of things in the universe,” and “Kaleidoscope Shop” (1959), a cavalcade of kaleidoscopic visuals of the Eames workshop accompanied by calliope music from the merry-go-round at Santa Monica pier. “Tops” (1969), an exploration of primitive children’s toys in motion, can be viewed sitting or whirling in colorful, amusement park-inspired, Herman

Miller Magis Spun chairs. One of these items could set you back a cool $800, but can be taken for a ride free of charge at the museum. Bring the Dramamine.

This is foremost an admirably detailed, somewhat esoteric show about ideas and process and what’s entailed in thinking out of the box, while never losing the sense of play integral to their ethos. Their “House of Cards” picture deck, which could be used to build towering if impermanent structures, remains one of their most popular products. “Toys and games are not as innocent as they look, [they’re] a prelude to serious ideas,” theorized Charles, who studied architecture, and in his early days in California, was employed by the art department at MGM. 1951 saw the arrival of The Toy, a sophisticated erector set consisting of large, geometric, boldly colored plastic panels, coated paper, dowels and wire connectors, components that reinforced the value of play for both teenagers and adults, who could construct fantasy kingdoms or theatre sets.

Asked by the toy manufacturer Revell Company to develop a model house, Ray and her office devised a 3/4-inch-scale prototype kit of

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stretched out in trains, some of them beautiful, sometimes totemic, laid end-to-end in chains, laid head-tofoot in a trench stage-left. But there are interludes of dark comedy that make the horrors bearable. As we know from prison narratives, some times are not so bad as others.

The funniest shtick is a pair of bare-chested men in skirts whose knees work backwards. The skirt hides a second person, whose legs we see; the imagery comes from medieval maps, which showed, in the terra incognita, malformed people “whose heads do grow beneath their shoulders,” or having two backs.

Eventually they somersault to reveal how the trick was done. But before they get to that, there was much invention in sustaining the illusion, and plenty of time to think about the Nazis’ monstrous genetic experimenting.

The overall effect is bleak, though there are moments of incredible beauty: a misty scene with a dark figure like a priestess standing at the edge of the wall that has just collapsed and now lies like a rocky outcropping on a forest floor. A priestess with divining rods, hair streaming out to the end, is an embodiment of the romantic longing for connection, sympathy, deep understanding.

When “Körper” was added to Berkeley’s schedule, it was to the “Works by Women” series, and it is certainly a credit to that initiative.

But the great thing that “Körper” has done is to put a new foundation under Liberal Humanism, the values of universal sympathy and hope that universities were established a thousand years ago to foster.t injection-molded plastic parts. The structural grids and panels could be configured into several levels and outfitted with miniature Eames furnishings and accessories. The kit’s flexible modular system was, in fact, modeled on the Eameses’ home in Pacific Palisades, which was part of the Case Study House program, an experiment in modern living commissioned in 1945 by Arts & Architecture magazine. Designed and built with found objects by the Eames in 1949, the project became a laboratory adjunct to their studio offices in Venice Beach; gathering from an array of group photos of staff, it looks like home and work were sites for serious fun.

Throughout their lives, the chemistry between the Eames was key to their success. “Anything I can do, Ray can do better,” Charles once said of his wife and collaborator, an acknowledgment that two great innovative minds are better than one.

After Charles died on August 21, 1978, Ray dutifully noted the day in her Hermes diary with his initials and inscriptions each year, until she passed away on the same day a decade later.t Through Feb. 17. museumca.org

Rick Gerharter

Perhaps the most recognizable design by Charles and Ray Eames is their Lounge Chair and Ottoman (left) from 1956. Other furniture designs are also included in the exhibit at OMCA.

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Arts Events

30

Troy Sivan

Tech your kink Vol. 48 • No. 43 • October 25-31, 2018

www.ebar.com V www.bartabsf.com

Nightlife Events

October 25-November 1

Dress up or dress down.

Don’t dream it, be it for Halloween weekend fun.

While the Castro district will not be closed off, expect costumed revelers to fill bars and nightclubs , and in SoMa, too.

Oct 27-31

Halloween revelers in the Castro.

BARtab

Listings on page 27 >

Both photos: cour

tesy Mel Doming

o

When Polk Street Exploded Tear gas, murder and the tradition of the Halloween buses

by Michael Flanagan

M

ention Halloween violence in the LGBT community, and most people think of events of the last decade, which ended the closing of Castro Street for the holiday. There is, however, a historical precedent that reminds us that history does often seem to repeat itself. That precedent is the explosion of violence that occurred on Polk Street in the late 1970s.

See page 26 >>

Left: A Halloween bus stops at Club Dori, in the late 1960s. Mel Domingo is third from left in the orange gown, Right: and with flowers in photo at right.

{ THIRD OF THREE SECTIONS }

You’re Invited...

Join us to enjoy food, drink, and BOOs with a live DJ and dancing!

Enter to win raffle prizes including an iPad, concert and sports tickets!

There will be FREE valet parking, Halloween candy and, of course, BMW eye-candy! Limited to 500 attendees. RSVP required for entry.

Prize for best costume, so dress to impress (costume not required to attend)!

BMW of San Francisco

All attendees will have a chance to win a 2018 BMW X2 sDrive 28i FWD!

Thursday, October 25th, 6pm-8pm

RSVP at BMWSF. Com/BooFest

Meet Fernando & Greg from 99.7 NOW!

<< BARchive

26 • Bay Area Reporter • October 25-31, 2018

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Blaine Dixon

Police presence on Polk Street at Halloween 1980.

Blaine Dixon

Men in makeshift bath towel loincloths at Polk Street Halloween 1980.

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Polk Street

From page 25

To understand what happened on Polk Street (and later Castro Street), it helps to look further back at Halloween traditions in our community. Back in the ‘50s, when people were arrested for cross-dressing, Halloween was considered a safe night when you could dress up and not face the threat of arrest. At the stroke of midnight, however, men in drag could be arrested for dressing in women’s clothing “with the intent to deceive,” as the law stated.

In The Empress Is A Man, the biography of José Sarria, author Michael Gorman wrote that Sarria consulted with lawyer Melvin Belli while working at the Black Cat and came up with the idea of making tags which men in drag would pin to their Halloween outfits which said, “I am a boy.” As Gorman says, “That was the beginning of the end of the Halloween raids.”

There was another problem related to drag and Halloween. How do you get to the bar and keep your outfit intact while having fun

and staying safe? In Death Makes a Holiday: The Cultural History of Halloween, David J. Skal relates that drag queens would rent limousines and travel from bar to bar with their escorts. Eventually the tradition became so popular that people began to rent buses to travel in groups.

The first record of the Halloween buses that I was able to find was from 1961. Michelle, a popular entertainer, put an ad in the LCE News thanking the bars the Jumping Frog, the Hideaway, Talk of the Town and Jack’s Waterfront for the hospitality shown to the theme bus “Michelle and the Hollywood Starlets.”

By 1961, Grey Line tour buses were rented. The Jumping Frog was one of the first Polk Street bars, so gays on Polk celebrated Halloween since 1961.

By the late Sixties and early Seventies, the concept of the buses had taken off. The Missouri Mule bar had a “Sentimental Journey” bus in 1973. The gay newspaper Kalendar sponsored a bus as well (and it usually won awards). Groups of friends would get together for themed buses.

“Bette and Friends” was a bus with a Bette Davis impersonator as its tour leader and in ’76 they did a “Bette Davis on Canvas” theme where participants portrayed famous paintings.

Mel Domingo was part of a group called the “Universe Girls” which included Empress Willis V and Emperor Bob Cramer. Domingo remembered these events as part of his “best and happiest years in San Francisco.”

The buses ran on a schedule, visited the bars (many, like the *PS, on Polk Street) and each entourage competed in costume contests.

Author Mark Abramson recalled, “I remember Zelda and the Pink Palace girls. Zelda carried a fly sprayer like farmers use to spray cows, but she filled it with amyl nitrate. She sprayed it over the heads of the judges.”

These contests drew a large audience and contributed to the carnival-like atmosphere on Polk Street.

Perhaps the peak year for joyful festivities on Polk Street was 1975, when 50,000 revelers crowded the streets. The B.A.R. noted that the police escorted the buses to the bars for the judging to occur and that “everyone seemed to behave in an orderly manner.” It was the last year this could be said.

In 1976 there were minor disturbances with 19 people being arrested, including 16 for public drunkenness. But word had gotten out that Polk Street was a good place to harass revelers.

In 1977 the Board of Supervisors first decided against closing the street and then reversed itself. Much of the concern of the Board seemed to center around public displays of sexuality as opposed to public safety.

The Chronicle quoted Alice B. Toklas Democratic Club president Frank Fitch as saying, “The only trouble we’ve had is from straights – usually teenagers – who think it’s smart to come downtown to bully and bait people.”

1977 was a peak year for trouble on Polk Street. In a Novem-

ber 1 article, under the headline “Thousands Frolic on Polk Street,” the Chronicle reported, “At one point a celebrant tossed a tear gas cannister into the crowd, creating a brief panic as people struggled to flee the stinging cloud.”

The article went on to say that a local television newsman forced his way through the crowd using his camera as a ram. The article quoted a gay reveler as saying, “I’m upset about all these straights here.

There’s no point to come here. All of the straights are just here to gawk at us.”

The same day the paper ran an article on the murder of Robert Kerns, a 32-year-old waiter at The Grubstake, who had been stabbed to death in his apartment after coming home with someone from

1.

Polk Street. He was still wearing the ball gown he had worn to the event.

Although there were no murders attributed to events in 1978, it was not a peaceful gathering. 80,000 people had gathered on Polk and six store windows had been smashed.

The Golden Knight clothing store at 1234 Polk was looted. The store owner was quoted in the Chronicle as saying, “I’ve been here 30 years and this is the first time something like this has happened.”

By 1979, the community asked the Board of Supervisors to keep the street open. Cleve Jones, who was then a delinquency prevention commissioner, was quoted by the Chronicle as saying, “Polk Street had become a harsh and violent scene.

People in costume stayed away and some people were beaten and stabbed. With Polk Street closed, everyone will be coming to Castro Street.”

Jones prediction proved true. From 1979 on, the focus of Halloween festivities moved from Polk to Castro Street. And for a while at least it seemed as if the party would continue unabated – until history repeated itself. It was all very far from the parties on the Halloween buses which maintained a safe and happy atmosphere for well over a decade, until they ended in the late 1970s.t The author would like to thank Gerard Koskovich of the GLBT Historical Society and Mel Domingo.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Various ads for Halloween events in Kalendar: 1. Big Town - Halloween 73 hosted by Harvey Milk (Oct. 23, 1973) 2. N’Touch - Best Bus $150; Oct. 30, 1975. 3. Cabaret - All Busses Welcome; Oct. 18, 1974. 4.

Endup - All Busses Welcome; Oct. 23, 1974. 5. Golden Rivet - See all the big busses; Oct. 17, 1975.

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Nightlife Events>>

October 25-31, 2018 • Bay Area Reporter • 27

Arlon

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

Thu 25 After Dark @ Exploratorium Cocktails and science exhibits; Oct. 25 takes on Science Fiction vs Facts, author Maggie Shen King, Alex’s SciFi VR World and more. $15-$20. 6pm10pm. Pier 13, Embarcadero at Green St. www.exploratorium.edu

Creatures of the Nightlife @ Cal Academy of Sciences Enjoy a spooky good time with great ‘Dark Carnival’ visuals at the science museum’s Halloween party, with The Boulet Brothers, DJ Omar Perez, drag acts and cocktails. $18-$22.

6pm-10pm. 55 Music Concourse Drive, Golden Gate Park. calacademy.org

Halloween Party/Bi Night @ Center for Sex & Culture Bisexuals and their pals’ costume party. $10. 7:30pm-9:30pm. 1349 Mission St. www.sexandculture.org

LGBTQ for Haney @ MORE/Jones Fundraiser for Matt Haney’s District 6 Supervisor campaign, with Juanita MORE!, Cleve Jones, Honey Mahogany, Race Bannon, Bevan Dufty, Tom Ammiano and many others. 6:30pm. 620 Jones. http://620-jones.com/morejones/

Sat 27

Glow in the Streets @ Noe Street at Market

Sat 27

Sun 28

Bearracuda @ SF Eagle

Coach @ Powerhouse

It’s an underwear party for the bears, cubs and their pals, at the historic leather bar; DJ Robert Jeffrey, photos

by Dusti Cunningham; clothes check availoable. $10-$15. 9pm-2am. 398 12th St. at Harrison. sf-eagle.com

Sporty kink night; bring your jocks, singlets, football pads, etc. $5. 10pm2am. 1347 Folsom St. www.powerhousebar.com

Glow in the Streets @ Noe Street at Market Comfort & Joy, the glowy Burning Man party crew, returns to throw a second fun block party, with DJs Black, Power Top Ramen, Justime and Hil Huerta; dance and revel outdoors with colorful décor and drag; costumes recommended (contest, too!). $10$20. 4pm-9:30pm. Noe St. btwn Market & Beaver. www.playajoy.org

Horror Story: Original Sin @ Space 550

Literary Speakeasy @ Martuni’s The monthly authors & cocktails night hosted by James J. Siegel takes on a ‘Ghosts & Spirits” theme, with Laura Blackwell, Christopher Calix, Elizabeth Creely, Nick Mamatas, and Cliff Winnig. 7pm-8:30pm. 4 Valencia St.

Polyglamorous & Mystopia’s Halloween dance event, with DJs Heather, Jim Hopkins, Paul Goodyear, James Cerne, CarrieOnDisco and residents. $15-$50. 10pm-4:30am.

550 Barneveld Ave. eventbrite.com

Jason Brock @ Martuni’s The powerhouse vocalist performs his annual Halloween concert at the intimate martini bar. $25-$45. 7pm. 4 Valencia St. jasonbrockvocals.com

Mother @ Oasis

Porn @ The Stud Sex worker/client Halloween dance party with DJs Bored lord, Jiggles, with DIY porn screenings. 9pm-4am.

399 9th St. www.studsf.com

Fri 26 HustlaBall SF @ Danzhaus Brian Kent Production’s second annual cruisy sexy “Animal Farm”-themed Halloween dance party, with DJs Eddie Martinez and Sala Zar, and live porn stud performances. $40-$90.

10pm-4am. 1275 Connecticut St. www.eventbrite.com

Stereo Argento @ The Stud Drag, horror, disco, creepy art, and a costume contest. 9pm-4am. 399 9th St. www.studsf.com

Taboo @ Oasis The fun dance party takes on an “Apocalypse” theme (American Horror Story drag, perhaps?), with dragsters Anna Rexie, Lady Camden.

Cloaca Munro and others; optional VIP lap dances with gogo studs. $10.

10pm-4am. 298 11th St. sfoasis.com

Miguel Infante, Melissa Cruz, Ricardo Diaz, Senen Sentio, and LoCura perform flamenco music and dance, with an audience costume contest. $20-$25. 8:30pm. 1317 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley. www.ashkenaz.com

Hocus Tokus @ Lone Star Saloon

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Live! @ Oasis The popular drag parody of the vampire-hunting TV show returns, starring Michael Phillis and a cast of comic locals, including Kim Burly, Melanie Marshall, Flynn DeMarco and others. $27-$50. 8pm. Fri & Sat 7pm.

Thru Nov 3. 298 11th St. sfoasis.com

Halloween Flamenco Fiesta @ Ashkenaz, Berkeley

Heklina’s popular drag show, with special guests and great music themes. DJ Omar plays grooves. Oct, 27 is a major Halloween party, with cohost Peaches Christ, drag acts Taco Zamora, Raya Light, Piranha, Hollow Eve and others; costume contest, too. $20-$30. 10pm-3am (11:30pm show).

298 11th St. www.sfoasis.com

Onyx, Pretty in Ink @ Powerhouse DJ Blackstone, gogos, raffle, leathermen of color (5pm-9pm), followed by the tattoo night with DJ Franko. $5. 10pm-2am. 1347 Folsom St. www.powerhousebar.com

Screamworks @ The Stud The Pound Puppy crew brings DJ Masha, canine carnality and gogo cuties. 9pm-4am. 399 9th St. www.studsf.com

Stripped @ Atlas Truck Events’ Halloween sexy dance party; costumes, masks strongly recommended; DJ Trever Pearson. $20. 10pm-3am. 415 19th St. www.eventbrite.com

Curvy Cabaret @ Oasis All-women cabaret show (which sold out in San Jose) with Juanita Harris and Karyn Rondeau, Jessica Coker, Elizabeth Curtis, and Glenna Murillo celebrating body-positivity and jazz, R&B and classic songs. $20. 7pm. 298 11th St. www.sfoasis.com

Monster Mash @ SF Eagle Costume party and contest. 7pm-1am.

398 12th St. www.sf-eagle.com

Terror Vault @ The Old Mint Peaches Christ’s new haunted house event’s set in the classic old building, with multiple rooms and floors of creepy interactive fun; 45-minute tours of groups of 12. $60. 6:30pm10pm. Cash bar. Thru Nov. 3. 88 5th St. www.intothedarksf.com

Mon 29 Cast members from Waitress @ Feinstein’s at the Nikko Actor-singers from the touring production of Waitress perform a benefit concert for Broadway Cares/ Equity Fights AIDS. $19-$40. 7pm.

Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. https:// www.feinsteinsatthenikko.com Strip down to your skivvies at the popular men’s night. 9pm-2am. 440 Castro St. 621-8732. the440.com

Tue 30 Rocky Horror Bear Show @ SF Eagle Celebration of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, with the Boys of Bearlesque performing, Matt Welch (Mr. SF Leather 2018), an intermission costume contest, campy fun, callbacks and bears! $5. 7pm-10pm. 398 12th St. at Harrison. www.sf-eagle.com

Sing Out @ Encore Karaoke Lounge Home of drag shows, and hilaraoke karaoke. 9pm-1am. 1550 California St. #2. 775-0442.

Trivia Night @ Port Bar, Oakland

Wed 31 The B-52s @ The Fillmore The fun pop band returns for a night of favorite tunes, with Frankie & The Studs; themed costumes encouraged. $80. 8pm. Also Nov 1. 1805 Geary St. http://thefillmore.com/

Rocky Horror Bear Show @ SF Eagle

Sundance Stompede @ Various Venues The annual country-western linedancing, two-stepping weekend draws folks from around the world for lessons & workshops, a kickoff dance, a welcome dance, Hoedown and Stompede Ball with line-dancing troupes performing. $12-$60. Thru Nov. 4. Holiday Inn, 1500 Van Ness Ave, Regency Ballroom, 1300 Van Ness ave and Space 550, 550 Barneveld Ave. www.stompede.com

Pan Dulce @ Beaux RuPaul’s Drag Race’s Kimora Blac hosts a Halloween night with cash prize costume contest; drag divas, gogo studs, DJed Latin grooves and drinks. 9pm-2am (free before 10:30pm). 2344 Market St. www.clubpapi.com

Want your nightlife event listed?

Email events@ebar.com, at least two weeks before your event.

Event photos welcome.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show @ UC Theatre, Berkeley Enjoy a holiday participatory screening fo the Richard O’Brien camp rock musical classic, with the Barely Legal shadow cast. $16.50-$26.50. 8pm. 2036 University Ave. www.theuctheatre.org/

Thu 1 Devil’s Ball @ The Stud Roxy Cotton Candy and Mama Celeste host an All Soul’s Eve party. 9pm-2am. 399 9th St. www.studsf.com

Goapele @ Yoshi’s Oakland The local R&B singer performs

Sun 29

Terror Vault @ The Old Mint

Playmates and soul mates...

San Francisco:

1-415-692-5774

Underwear Night @ 440

Cranny hosts a big gay trivia night at the new East Bay bar; drinks specials and prizes. 7:30pm. 2023 Broadway. www.portbaroakland.com

Tue 30

Furr20’s Halloween party with Barrette and Mommie Dearest, DJs Wyatt and Sammich, a costume contest, cocktail specials and midnight munchies. $5. 7pm-12am.

1354 Harrison St. www.lonestarsf.com

at the stylish nightclub-restaurant for a four-night residency; two shows nightly thru Nov 4. $39. 510 Embaracdero West, Oakland. https://goapele.com/

Club Shevil @ Powerhouse Midweek drag show takes on Halloween themes. $5. 10pm-2am.

1347 Folsom St. powerhousebar.com

18+ MegaMates.com

<< Arts Events

28 • Bay Area Reporter • October 25-31, 2018

Arts Events

October 25-November 1

Men on Boats @ Strand Theater

Graveyard Shift @ Creativity Theater, YBCA

ACT’s new production of Jaclyn Backhaus’s subversive retelling of 19th-century explorer John Wesley Powell’s journey through Wyoming’s waterways, with an all-women cast. $25-$55. Thru Dec 16. 1127 Market St. www.act-sf.org

Korde Arrington Tuttle’s new drama about a couple facing racism in Texas. $30. Thru Nov. 3. 221 4th St. www.sfplayhouse.org

The Resting Place @ Magic Theatre

Thu 25

Autumnal events in the arts combine the frightful, fantastic, and fabulous .

The Rocky Horror Show @ Victoria Theatre

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

Thu 25 Beyond Gravity @ CounterPulse Queer and universal themes are explored by several artists (jose e. abad, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Gabriel Christian, Abby Crain, Rachael Dichter, and Mira Kautto) at the unusual performance event. $15$30. 8pm. Thru Oct. 27. 80 Turk St. www.counterpulse.org

Bravo 25 @ The Marsh Bravo 25: You’re A.I. Therapist Will See You Now, Eliza Gibson’s solo show about her work as a social worker and therapist. $20-$100. Thu 8pm, Sat 5pm, thru Oct. 27. 1062 Valencia St. www.themarsh.org

Classic and New Films @ Castro Theatre Oct 25: The Last Movie (7:20) and Easy Rider (5:30, 9:20). Oct 26 & 27: The Fog (5:30, 7:30) and the original Halloween (9:15).Oct. 27 & 28: Disney’s Frozen sing-along (12pm, 2:30). Oct. 28: Dracula (original, 3pm, 7:30), The Wolf Man (4:30, 9pm) and The Mummy (6pm). Oct 29: Hereditary (7pm) and The Sixth Sense (9:20). Oct 30: Donnie Darko (7pm) and The Hollywood Knights (9:05). Nov. 1: SF Film Festival premieres They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead, a documentary about Orson Welles last unfinished film. $11-$16.

429 Castro St. castrotheatre.com

Dracula @ La Val’s Subterranean Theater, Berkeley Theatre Lunatico’s production of Steven Dietz’s adaptation of Bram Stoker’s classic vampire tale. $15$25. Thu 7:30pm, Fri & Sat 8pm, Sun 7pm, thru Nov 18. 1834 Euclid Ave., Berkeley. theatrelunatico.org

The Happy Prince @ Landmark Theatres

World premiere of Ashlin Halfnight’s drama about a family in crisis. $15$75. Tue 7pm, Wed-Sat 8pm. Sun 2:30pm. Thru Nov 4. Fort Mason, 2 Marina Blvd, 3rd floor. www.MagicTheatre.org

The Rocky Horror Show @ Victoria Theatre D’Arcy Drollinger returns as Frank N. Furter in Ray of Light’s glamorously hilarious production of the Richard O’Brien camp horror holiday classic. $30-$40. Most nights 8pm (Oct 27 at 7pm & 11pm). Thru Nov. 3. 2961 16th St. www.rayoflighttheatre.com

Fri 26 Acid Test @ The Marsh

Henry Rollins @ Herbst Theatre

Cardboard Piano @ NCTC

The outspoken storyteller and former Black Flag singer shares a multimedia presentation of favorite photos from his world travels. $40.

8pm. 401 Van Ness Ave. https://www.henryrollins.com/

Hansol Jung’s moving drama about hope amid unrest and repression in Uganda; pre-show live Nigerian music Thursday nights. $25-$45.

Wed-Sat 8pm Sun 2pm. Thru Dec. 2. 25 Van Ness Ave., lower level. www.nctcsf.org

Love and Pride @ LGBT Center

Extravaganza @ Safehouse for the Performing Arts

The prolific local author reads from and discusses Lava Falls, her collection of fascinating short stories about families, partners and nature. 7pm. 1491 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. www.booksinc.net

San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus @ Various Venues The Chorus celebrates its 40th anniversary with a performance of the AIDS-themed When we No Longer Touch, with soprano Ellie Dehn. $35-$60. 8pm. St. Ignatius Catholic Church, 650 Parker Ave. Oct. 27: groundbreaking ceremony at the National AIDS Memorial Grove (11am, Golden Gate Park); Oct 27 at 1pm, Fabulous at 40, a festive birthday party at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel Empire Ballroom; $60. Oct, 28: Sunday’s a Drag brunch, 11am, also at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel ($50). https://www.sfgmc.org/

Showcase performances in support of Proposition E (arts funding), including the Compton Cafeteria Riots cast, plus dance and music acts. Free/donations. 8pm. 1 Grove St. www.artsforeveryonesf.com

You Mean To Do Me Harm @ SF Playhouse Award-winning playwright Christopher Chen’s drama about two interracial couples, and an insult that starts an escalation of anger and paranoia. $35-$100. Thru Nov. 3. 420 Post St. www.sfplayhouse.org

Sat 27 Body, Taboo, Defiance @ Shelton Theatre Queer variety-burlesque show with performers (Vixen Noir, Uphoria, Pink Flamingo and many more) who explore queer-focused human issues. $20-$100. 11pm doors, 12am show.

533 Sutter St. SheltonTheater.org

Fun Home @ Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts Lisa Kron and Jeanine Resori’s Tony-winning adaptation of Alison Bechdel’s acclaimed graphic novel about her family tragedies is performed by TheatreWorks Silicon Valley. $40-$100. Tue/Wed 7:30pm,.

Thu-Sat 8pm. Sun 2pm & 7pm. Thru Oct. 28. 500 Castro St., Mountain View. www.theatreworks.org

Photo by Dot

Marga Gomez @ The Marsh, Berkeley

Mr. International Freedom @ Oasis T

he sold-out third annual Mr. International Freedom contest, held at Oasis on Octover 17, raised funds for the LGBT Asylum Project, which provides pro-bono legal help for LGBTs seeking asylum in the USA. The winner for the night was Mitch Aaron Ballin (Mr South Africa). Entertainers Igor Chudak, Mitch Galli, The Homophonics (of SF Gay Men’s Chorus) and host Donna Sachet kept things fun in between beefcake displays. Live auctions included seven dinners with the handsome contestants at the Castro restaurant Finn Town Tavern.t

Senator Scott Weiner hosts a fun pumpkin-carving contest with Mayor London Breed, Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, Mercedez Munro and BeBe Sweetbriar. Free/ register. 1pm-4pm. 4320 24th St. www.eventbrite.com

Sun 28 Curvy Cabaret @ Oasis All-women cabaret show (which sold out in San Jose) with Juanita Harris and Karyn Rondeau, Jessica Coker, Elizabeth Curtis, and Glenna Murillo celebrating body-positivity and jazz, R&B and classic songs. $20. 7pm.

298 11th St. www.sfoasis.com

The Life and Times of Jo Mora @ Cartoon Art Museum New exhibit of drawing, maps, paintings and ephemera by the prolific illustrator of American culture (1876-1947). Thru April 28, 2019.

781 Beach St. www.cartoonart.org

Love and Pride @ LGBT Center

Fairview @ Berkeley Rep World premiere of Jackie Sibblies Drury’s eccentric funny play about a family gathering, race and voyeuristic neighbors. $27-$80. Thru Nov. 4. 2025 Addison St., Berkeley. https://www.berkeleyrep.org

Pumpkin Carving with Drag Queens @ Noe Valley Courts

Thu 25

The Boy From Oz @ Gateway Theatre Theatre Rhino’s new production of Martin Sherman and Nick Enright’s musical about the life of Australian gay singer-pianist-composer Peter Allen. Thru Nov. 17. 215 Jackson St. www.therhino.org

Lucy Jane Bledsoe @ Books Inc., Berkeley

Local gay activist and storyteller Ed Wolf reprises his solo show. $20$30. 8pm. Also Oct. 27. 156 Eddy St. http://www.theexit.org/its-hard/

Lynne Kaufman’s spiritual exploration solo show, returns. $20-$100. Fri 8pm, Sat 8:30pm. Thru Nov. 4. 1062 Valencia St. themarsh.org

Rupert Everett stars in his selfproduced, written and directed biographical film about Oscar Wilde.

Oct 21 Q&A with the star at 4:40pm & 7:25pm. Thru Oct. 25. www.landmarktheatres.com

Theater on the Cusp’s staged reading of Syren’s LGBTQ musical about lived queer experiences. $18-$25. 7pm.

Also Nov 1 & 8. 1800 Market St. www.loveandpridethemusical.com

It’s Hard to Explain @ Exit Theatre

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Return engagement of the comic’s hit show, Latin Standards. $25$100. Fri 8pm, Sat 8:30pm. Thru Nov. 17. 2120 Allston Way, Berkeley. www.margagomez.com

Na Lei Hulu I Ka Wekiu @ Palace of Fine Arts The award-winning Bay Area hula company performs I Mua: Hula in Unusual Places, a new concert of live dance and music, contemporary hula styles, with multimedia projections. $35-$90. Oct 27 at 8pm ($200 tickets include a Lu’au party) & 28 at 12pm (kid-focused show) & 3pm.

3301 Lyon St. www.naleihulu.org

Mitsuye Yamada, Nellie Wong @ New Valencia Hall Screening of the documentary about the two Asian American feminist poets, with post-screening dicussion (Wong in attendance). $2-$7.

2:30pm. 747 Polk St. socialism.org

Queer Tango @ Finnish Hall, Berkeley Same-sex partner tango dancing, including lessons for newbies, food and drinks. $5-$10. 3:30pm6:30pm. 1970 Chestnut St, Berkeley. www.finnishhall.org

Second Look, Twice @ MOAD Exhibition of the work of 15 critically-acclaimed contemporary artists of African descent, including Glenn Ligon, Martin Puryear, and Kara Walker, who have used the medium of printmaking to create vivid and abstracted works. Thru Dec. 16. Free/$15. 685 Mission St. www.moadsf.org

Mon 29 Connecting Threads @ JCCSF Quilts From the Social Justice Sewing Academy, an exhibit of textile art by local youth, with political themes. Mon-Fri 8am10pm, Sun 8am-8pm, thru Nov. SF Jewish Community Center, 3200 California St. www.jccsf.org

Lea Michele & Darren Criss @ The Masonic The two Glee stars perform together on their U.S. tour. $45-$125. 8pm.

1111 California St. sfmasonic.com

Odd Mondays @ Folio Books Authors Mary Jo McConahay, Susanne Jonas and Trebor Healey discuss ‘Central America: Why the Surge in Asylum Seekers?’ 7pm.

3957 24th St. http://foliosf.com/

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Music>>

October 25-31, 2018 • Bay Area Reporter • 29

Troye Story Pop singer Troye Sivan’s gay context examined

Troy Sivan

by Jim Gladstone

I

’ll be in the audience next Thursday night when openly gay pop star Troye Sivan plays The Masonic.

While I’m watching the South African-born, Aussie-bred 23-yearold doing his trademark slink-strut dance moves and singing his anal sex anthem, “Bloom,” I suspect that

some of his millennial and post-millennial fans will be casting their own suspicious sidelong glances at me.

“What is this balding guy our fathers’ age doing here,” they may ask each other. “Is he some kind of perv?”

Not any more.

But my thoughts were certainly perverted when I was the age of Sivan’s core fan base. They were

twisted away from their natural state by parents, teachers, and all of school-kid culture, which led me to be ashamed of my interest in pretty boy pop stars.

I was ashamed over –to name a few– Leif Garrett, Christopher Atkins, Robi Rosa, New Kid Jonathan Knight (dated Tiffany; came out in 2011), and the Polynesian-American Wolfgramm brothers who sang and danced in the Jets. If you’d asked me then, I’d have told you that I hated them (while silently feeling similarly about myself).

When I was 16, my friends and I tormented a kid named Carl because he had a photo of Glenn Scarpelli taped inside his locker door.

We tore the image down.

Scarpelli –now semi-retired in Sedona, Arizona– played cutie Alex Harris on “One Day At A Time,” an LGBT-free sit-com that Troye Sivan’s contemporaries likely know only through its recent Netflix reboot –which features both a teenage lesbian and nonbinary character in its regular cast.

Like Sivan, who started out as a non-singing YouTube personality, Scarpelli (a Tiger Beat staple) parlayed his video fame into pop music. His big single was “Get A Love On.” (https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=nuGBff9HJ1U ).

Scary Story Open Mic @ Dog Eared Books

Fri 26

Tony Vaguely hosts a reading night for Halloween-themed stories, with featured readers Kathy Queer and Connie Champagne (sign up 6:45, 5-minute limit). 7pm. 489 Castro St. www.dogearedbooks.com

Cardboard Piano @ NCTC

Thu 1

As it turns out, Scarpelli (like Carl, like me) was gay. He quit the entertainment world in the mid80s: “When I turned 18,” he said to me in an interview a few years ago, “I left the business. I wanted to come out of the closet and I didn’t believe I could do both.”

I’ll be at the Troye Sivan concert to revel in the fact that society’s prevailing attitudes, and my own responses to them, are far less perverted than they were in my teens and twenties.

I’ll be there to celebrate the fact that gay performers can be success-

ful without hiding.

I’ll be there to gratefully acknowledge how easily today’s queer kids can reach out online to sharing their crushes on cute celebrities and their support for each other.

I’ll be there to help exorcise the worst sort of nostalgia. And let my younger self celebrate that it got better, in a big way.t Troye Sivan performs Thurs.

Nov. 1 and Fri. Nov. 2., 7:30 p.m. at The Masonic, 1111 California St. Tickets from $46. www.sfmasonic.com

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Megan Hilty @ Marines’ Memorial Theatre The Broadway star performs a special concert celebrating the 15th anniversary of the musical Wicked, plus some Smash songs as well. $85-$115. 8pm. 609 Sutter St. www.feinsteinsatthenikko.com

Lois Tema

The Posters of Rex Ray @ GLBT History Museum

Tue 30

Wed 31

Peter Hujar: Speed of Life @ BAM/PFA, Berkeley

Deirdre Weinberg: Living Memory in the TL @ Tenderloin Museum

Exhibit of photos by the New York 1970s-’80s art/celebrity scene gay photographer who died of AIDS in 1987; thru Nov. 18. Cecelia Vicuna: About to Happen, thru Nov. 18. Ongoing film series at the Pacific Film Archive. Berkeley Art Museum, Pacific Film Archive, 2155 Center St. Berkeley. www.bampfa.org

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

Will Durst @ The Marsh The erudite political comic returns with yet another updated version of his show, Durst Case Scenario: Midterm Madness. $20-$100.

Tuesdays, 8pm Thru Oct. 30. 1062 Valencia St. www.themarsh.org

Exhibit of mini-portraits showing “beauty where it might be overlooked.” 398 Eddy St. tenderloinmuseum.org

New exhibit, A Picture Is a Word: The Posters of Rex Ray, survey of the graphic works of internationally renowned San Francisco queer artist and designer (1956 - 2015). $5. 4127 18th St. www.glbthistory.org

Scott Fraser @ Jenkins Johnson Gallery Earthly Delights, the painter’s new exhibit of realist/surreal works.

Thru Dec. 22. 464 Sutter St. www.jenkinsjohnsongallery.com

Halloween Flamenco Fiesta @ Ashkenaz, Berkeley Miguel Infante, Melissa Cruz, Ricardo Diaz, Senen Sentio, and LoCura perform flamenco music and dance, with an audience costume contest. $20-$25. 8:30pm. 1317 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley. www.ashkenaz.com

The Rocky Horror Picture Show @ UC Theatre, Berkeley Enjoy a holiday participatory screening fo the Richard O’Brien camp rock musical classic, with the Barely Legal shadow cast. $16.50-$26.50. 8pm.

2036 University Ave. www.theuctheatre.org

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<< Leather

30 • Bay Area Reporter • October 25-31, 2018

Tech your kink ing. Pieces like chastity cages and restraints can be more precisely customized to a person without the same high cost for production.

While such things are still in early stages, Bolt points out there are some bright, kinky folks out there likely to produce some quite cool stuff in the future we might not even imagine today.

While my column often focuses on the LGBTQ leather, kink and sexual communities of the Bay Area, I know many of my readers don’t live in places with a dense collection of kinksters. When I asked Bolt if he had any favorite uses of tech in his own sex life, his answer made me realize that advances in sexual and kink tech can be a gateway to helping people everywhere explore their sexualities more fully.

“Well, I don’t have many local play buddies where I live, so I’ll often use tech to connect with and chat (and sometimes remote play) with more distant people. I haven’t yet invested in all the things I hope to build into my ultimate playroom.”

Over time, these uses of tech for the entire range of our sexual explorations are going to grow and mature. When they do, learn how to use them properly and safely, and have a rocking good time with them.

Bryan Patrick Photography

Brian “Bolt” Donner, renowned Alpha pup and leatherman.

by Race Bannon

A

merican writer David Wong once said, “New technology is not good or evil in and of itself. It’s all about how people use it.” I agree with that sentiment. (Read his book John Dies at the End by the way. It’s awesome.)

I’ve worked in and out of the tech industry since the early 1980s. I’ve seen tech evolve over decades into something that’s now pervasive in all aspects of our lives. So, it’s no surprise that developments in tech have crept into our sexual and kink lives as well. I think it’s for the better generally, but ultimately each person can be the judge of that.

Because I think technology will continue to have a rather sweeping impact on our sexualities, I was glad to see the San Francisco Leathermen’s Discussion Group (LDG) hosting a presentation by nationally renowned Alpha pup and leatherman Brian “Bolt” Donner on the topic titled “Flagging Bluetooth - Kinky Tech.” I figured I would take this opportunity to pick Bolt’s brain a bit. I’ve known Bolt for many years and always respect his take on current trends and happenings among kinksters.

Bolt makes his home in Cincinnati, Ohio. He placed second runner up at IML 2015 as Mr. Tri-State Leather, is current producer of Mr. Cincinnati Leather, President for Titans of the Midwest, a founding member of the CNKY Ruff Pups and the Cincinnati Sisters. By his own definition he is a bondage switch, alpha pup, graphic designer and illustrator, enthusiastic educator, dad joke enthusiast, giant comic book nerd and aggressive hugger.

Bolt has always enjoyed exploring tech and gadgets. More specifically, one of the pups in his pack (named Cage) lives far enough away that they started exploring how they could do Dominant/submissive play remotely. The LDG class was Cage’s original idea and he’s helped Bolt with most of the necessary research.

One of Bolt’s big fetishes involves

a type of automated setup (think the Saw movies, but with sex instead of murder) and he likes exploring devices that help with that fantasy scenario.

Lately I’ve been personally focused on the idea of building community, especially the various sub-communities that when put together create a bigger tent of adventurous sexuality we can all share. When I asked Bolt if he had any specific advice on how to best use technology for kink connections and organizing, he offered some insight.

“My sense of things in the world is that we’re going to be approaching tech more as an augmentation and assistant rather than a machine doing all the work,” he said. “Many I know find using only tech to connect (like through the hookup apps) to be pretty empty. But using tech to help with connecting and organizing, disseminating information, recording and broadcasting happenings alongside real-time interactions, seems to be adding a new dimension of connection.”

This is a message I try to drive home to people. Tech of any kind, be it social media, apps, remote play devices, or other technologies, are wonderful connection, organizing and play mechanisms, but their true power is fostering the opportunity for eventual in-person interactions. Ultimately our sexualities are about people. Even solo sex usually involves mental fantasies involving others. Tech can help us in many ways to achieve more in the flesh meet-ups, gatherings and play.

There are likely some interesting uses of tech for kink and erotic play yet to come. Bolt said that when his LDG class was first conceived two years ago, they focused on Bluetooth and app-based devices for play. And while there are some really cool things you can do with such tech, he thinks we’re also starting to see some of its limitations. Kinky tech’s certainly been advancing, but not at what he’d call breakneck speed.

However, with that, Bolt said he’s seen some interesting developments such as things made using 3D print-

ningly sexy man named Mike won, but truthfully all of those who entered did Tom proud.

The contest was just a part of a Litquake fundraiser, Beefcake: 50 Years of Tom of Finland. Litquake is a wonderful endeavor that sparks critical conversations and inspires writers and readers to celebrate the written word with d ​ iverse literary programming, interactive workshops, and a ten-day festival. www. litquake.org Litquake wanted to celebrate 50 years of Tom of Finland’s revolutionary Kake comics that was first published in the U.S. in 1968. The always-stunning Honey Mahogany emceed the evening. Jon Ginoli of Pansy Division performed. Wonderful music was provided by DJ Bus Station John. Sexy dancers Justin Hall and Mark Rooke kept our erotic juices flowing. Terry Beswick of the GLBT Historical Society read a hot original poem honoring Tom.

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Dian Hanson, known as one of the most cerebral pornographers in America, and who also served as Editor for Tom of Finland: The Complete Kake Comics, beautifully reflected on her involvement with Tom’s works. It was a truly fun evening that came together through the great organizing efforts of Marke Bieschke of 48 Hills. www.48hills.org The Litquake event is a prime example of how various aspects of our local culture, literature, music, silly fun, sexy people, and leather and kink, can all blend to produce something unique and fun for a wide variety of attendees. More of this please!t

For Leather Events listings, visit www.ebar.com/events Race Bannon is a local author, blogger and activist. www.bannon.com

Litquake Honors Tom of Finland

I was honored to judge a Ton of Finland Look-alike contest at the San Francisco Eagle on October 17 and it was so much fun. So many hot and sexy men displayed a wide range of portrayals of the look Tom of Finland made famous in his art.

Ultimately, I struggled to pick three finalists from the more than 10 competitors who had to come on stage and strike an iconic Tom of Finland pose.

So, I decided to let the audience help me by registering their favorites with applause for each. A stun-

BARtab

Mike (winner, left) and runners-up Justin and Chico at the Tom of Finland look-alike contest portion of the Litquake event Beefcake: 50 Years of Tom of Finland, held Oct. 17 at the SF Eagle.

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Shining Stars>>

October 25-31, 2018 • Bay Area Reporter • 31

Shining Stars Steven Underhill Photos by

Our Town SF Expo @ Eureka Valley Rec. Center

D

ozens of local nonproft business, arts, health, political, service and spiritual organizations shared their wares at the third annual Our Town SF Nonprofit Expo, held October 20 at Eureka Valley Recreation Center (100 Collingwood St.). Entertainers included SF Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band, Bebe Sweetbriar, Sundance Saloon, Cheer SF Leanna Borghesi and Emjay Mercury. https://www.ourtownsf.org/ See plenty more photos on BARtab’s Facebook page, facebook.com/lgbtsf.nightlife. See more of Steven Underhill’s photos at StevenUnderhill.com.

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