September 12, 2019 Edition of the Bay Area Reporter by Bay Area Reporter

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Vol. 49 • No. 37 • September 12-18, 2019

SFAF releases new strategic plan by Liz Highleyman

he San Francisco AIDS Foundation has released a five-year strategic plan that includes a new mission statement for the long-lived organization, reflecting its focus on the population groups most heavily impacted by the HIV epidemic today. The new plan outlines four strategic priorities including prevention and treatment of HIV, hepatitis C, and other sexually transmitted infections, especially among people of color; harm reduction for people who use drugs; services for HIV-positive people over 50; and a commitment to racial justice. “Progress over the last 37 years has been substantial but our work is far from complete,” SFAF CEO Joe Hollendoner told the Bay Area Reporter. “During the process of building this strategic plan, we heard from community members what we know to be true about the public health system: There are health disparities that persist, inequities that have not been addressed, and trauma that has been ignored. That has to change if we want to ensure everyone can have a highquality, healthy life regardless of their race, gender, HIV status, or economic situation.” SFAF was founded in 1982 as the Kaposi’s Sarcoma Research and Education Founda-

Liz Highleyman

San Francisco Mayor London Breed announces the city had fewer than 200 new HIV diagnoses last year.

New SF HIV cases fall below 200 by Liz Highleyman

Bill Wilson

San Francisco AIDS Foundation board chair Mary Cha-Caswell, center, is flanked by Cleve Jones, who helped found the AIDS service organization, and honoree Sister Roma at SFAF’s Tribute Celebration held September 7, just before the release of its new strategic plan.

tion, the year after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a report about an outbreak of rare pneumonia among gay men in Los Angeles. It was the first report about a disease that would go on to claim the lives of more than 21,000 people in San Fran-

cisco, nearly 700,000 in the United States and an estimated 32 million worldwide. The agency’s new mission statement reads, “San Francisco AIDS Foundation promotes health, wellness, and social justice for communities most impacted by HIV through See page 12 >>

Dem prez hopefuls court LGBTs by Lisa Keen

GBT voters: Mark your calendars. Over the next month, there will be four Democratic presidential candidate forums – two of them devoted exclusively to LGBT issues. And one of those LGBT forums will be the first-ever to be broadcast by a major cable network. The Human Rights Campaign Foundation is partnering with CNN to host a nationally televised LGBT presidential town hall, October 10, similar to the climate change town hall CNN held September 3. As with the climate change event, the LGBT forum will have each candidate on stage with a CNN moderator for a set period of time to answer questions from the moderator and members of the audience. Lucas Acosta, HRC’s national press secretary, said some details are still being worked out but any candidate who meets the Democratic Party’s threshold criteria for participating in the party’s debates will be invited to participate in the LGBT forum. Acosta said HRC has already received indications from many of the top polling candidates that they will participate: former vice president Joseph R. Biden Jr.; Senators Elizabeth Warren (Massachusetts), Kamala Harris (California), and Amy Klobuchar (Minnesota); former housing secretary Julian Castro; and gay South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg. This will not be the first HRC presidential

Jane Philomen Cleland

Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren will participate in two town halls geared toward LGBT issues.

candidate forum. The group staged similar forums during the 2004 and 2008 presidential campaigns. The 2008 HRC presidential forum (held in August 2007) was broadcast live on MTV’s newly launched LGBT cable channel Logo. Six of the eight major Democratic candidates at

the time participated, but then-senator Biden declined, citing a scheduling conflict. Republicans were invited in 2007, but none agreed to participate. Acosta said HRC has decided not to invite Republicans this year. See page 12 >>

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he San Francisco Department of Public Health released its latest HIV epidemiology report Tuesday, showing that new HIV diagnoses have fallen below 200 a year for the first time, putting San Francisco on track to achieve its goal of becoming the first city in the United States to get to zero new infections. Most indicators of HIV care have improved as well, and more than 90% of newly diagnosed people are now being linked to care within a month and starting antiretroviral treatment promptly, which reduces disease progression and lowers the risk of transmitting the virus. But some notable disparities remain, including rising HIV rates among African American and Latino men and a high rate of new infections and low rate of viral suppression among homeless people. Mayor London Breed and DPH Health Director Dr. Grant Colfax unveiled the report September 10 during a news conference at the Ward 86 HIV clinic at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. The report will be presented to the city’s Health Commission September 17. Colfax, a gay man, was the city’s former HIV prevention director. “We in San Francisco have been at the forefront of pushing for innovative new policies, new science, and new technologies to get us to this milestone,” Breed said. “We’re showing real progress that we should all be so proud of, but we know that disparities still exist.” There were 197 new HIV diagnoses in 2018, a 13% decrease from 227 in 2017 and the lowest number ever reported. “Dropping under 200 new infections reminds me of 20 years ago when the Bay Area Reporter had its ‘No obits’ issue. Now we’re trying to get to the next step of no [HIV/ AIDS] deaths and no new infections,” said gay District 8 supervisor Rafael Mandelman. “We will not get to zero until we really get a handle on getting care to people who are out on the streets and who are living with so many challenges.” As has historically been the case in San Francisco, most newly diagnosed people are men (88%) and nearly two-thirds are gay or bisexual. See page 6 >>

9/5/19 2:47 PM

<< Pride 2019

2 • Bay Area Reporter • September 12-18, 2019

East Bay Stonewall Dems honor Lee by Cynthia Laird

ongresswoman Barbara Lee got a standing ovation at Sunday’s East Bay Stonewall Democratic Club’s Pride breakfast, as she said she would continue to fight for equality for all. Lee (D-Oakland) received the club’s LGBTQIA Ally Award during the September 8 event in the Rotunda building near Oakland City Hall. A vice chair and a founding member of the LGBT Equality Caucus in Congress, she told attendees that years ago, the old East Bay Lesbian/Gay Democratic Club’s endorsement of her campaign for a state Assembly seat was one of two she valued the most. (The club later changed its name to the East Bay Stonewall Democratic Club.) She pledged to continue fighting roadblocks from the Trump administration. “We need to move forward on our Equality Act,” she added, referring to legislation that passed the House of Representatives earlier this year but has not been scheduled for a vote in the Senate. The Equality Act would amend the

Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing, public accommodations, public education, federal funding, credit, and the jury system. In a brief interview with the Bay Area Reporter as she was taking selfies with attendees, Lee said she is in support of congressional investigations against President Donald Trump that could lead to an impeachment inquiry. It was reported this week that Congress intends to broaden its impeachment inquiry. On Monday, House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-New York) issued a news release that the panel will consider procedures for future hearings on Thursday. Lee stated in May that impeachment should not be taken off the table. “I’m fighting to make sure we move forward,” Lee told the B.A.R. “No one is above the law.” Rebecca Kaplan, a lesbian who is president of the Oakland City Council, told the crowd that when she was first elected as the at-large representative on the body, there

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Congresswoman Barbara Lee holds the LGBTQIA Ally Award she received at the East Bay Stonewall Democratic Club’s Pride breakfast Sunday in Oakland.

was no Oakland Pride event and no LGBTQ community center. Today, there are both. “Now, we’ve achieved a level of support,” she said, even as the city must address issues like homelessness, including LGBTQs who are unhoused, immigration, “and everyone being targeted by this right-wing administration.” James Aguilar, the gay 19-yearold San Leandro school board member, received the club’s Emerging Leader Award. “One of my role models, Barbara Lee, is in front of me,” he said during his remarks. He asked audience members to “think of the amazing impact school board members have” on students’ lives. As the B.A.R. recently reported, Aguilar would like his school district to follow Berkeley’s lead in doing away with gender-specific terminology. At its August 6 meeting the school board asked the staff to include the idea in its deliberations over a new strategic plan it will be adopting. Gay business and life partners Sean Sullivan and Richard Fuentes received the club’s Business Building Community Award. As owners of the Port Bar in downtown Oakland, Sullivan and Fuentes have held various events for politicians and community causes. The bar celebrated its third anniversary this year. Gay Dublin City Councilman Shawn Kumagai received the Trail-

Cynthia Laird

Port Bar owners Sean Sullivan, left, and Richard Fuentes received the Business Building Community Award from the East Bay Stonewall Democratic Club.

blazer Award. The East Bay town made national news in May when the council at first declined to fly the rainbow flag during Pride Month after being met with homophobic comments from members of the public. At a subsequent meeting in early June, the council voted unanimously to raise the Pride flag through July 3. Many other Bay Area cities also flew the rainbow flag in June this year. Kumagai said that he learned from the experience that “there is still a lot of work to do.” Tracy Nguyen, Sal Tran, and Vivian Liang, from Sunkissed Productions, received the club’s Artist

for Change Award. The multi-media independent film collective is based in the Bay Area and is led by queer and nonbinary Asian American artists. Tiffany Woods, a trans woman who is the Northern California cochair of the California Democratic Party’s LGBT Caucus, attended the breakfast before marching in the Oakland Pride parade. “I think it’s well-done and empowering,” she said of the event, “and the right time to recognize everyone, from Barbara Lee to the school board. As Democrats and LGBTs, we need to run for every office, and every office helps move that work forward.” t

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<< Open Forum

4 • Bay Area Reporter • September 12-18, 2019

Volume 49, Number 37 September 12-18, 2019 www.ebar.com PUBLISHER Michael M. Yamashita Thomas E. Horn, Publisher Emeritus (2013) Publisher (2003 – 2013) Bob Ross, Founder (1971 – 2003) NEWS EDITOR Cynthia Laird ARTS EDITOR Roberto Friedman BARTAB EDITOR & EVENTS LISTINGS EDITOR Jim Provenzano ASSISTANT EDITORS Matthew S. Bajko CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Ray Aguilera • Tavo Amador • Race Bannon Roger Brigham • Brian Bromberger Victoria A. Brownworth • Philip Campbell Heather Cassell • Belo Cipriani • Dan Renzi Michael Flanagan • Jim Gladstone David Guarino • Liz Highleyman Brandon Judell • John F. Karr • Lisa Keen Matthew Kennedy • Joshua Klipp David Lamble • Max Leger David-Elijah Nahmod • Paul Parish Lois Pearlman • Tim Pfaff • Jim Piechota Bob Roehr • Gregg Shapiro • Gwendolyn Smith Sari Staver • Tony Taylor • Charlie Wagner Ed Walsh • Cornelius Washington • Sura Wood ART DIRECTION Max Leger PRODUCTION/DESIGN Ernesto Sopprani PHOTOGRAPHERS Jane Philomen Cleland • FBFE Rick Gerharter • Gareth Gooch Jose Guzman-Colon • Rudy K. Lawidjaja Georg Lester • Dan Lloyd • Jo-Lynn Otto Rich Stadtmiller • Kelly Sullivan • Fred Rowe Steven Underhil • Bill Wilson ILLUSTRATORS & CARTOONISTS Paul Berge • Christine Smith ADVERTISING/ADMINISTRATION Colleen Small Bogitini VICE PRESIDENT OF ADVERTISING Scott Wazlowski – 415.829.8937 NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE Rivendell Media – 212.242.6863

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Milestone marked, but more to do

he news Tuesday that San Francisco had fewer than 200 new HIV infections in 2018 was greeted with the praise it deserves. As an epicenter of the epidemic since its beginnings in the 1980s, San Francisco has shown the world how to fight HIV/AIDS through a combination of public and private support that became the “San Francisco model.” There were 197 new HIV diagnoses in 2018, a 13% decrease from 2017’s figure of 227 and the lowest number ever reported. “The results of the annual HIV report are encouraging and show that we are on our way to Getting to Zero,” Mayor London Breed said in a news release. “That said, we know that some San Franciscans need additional care and outreach in order to receive the treatment they need. Our health care professionals and community partners will continue working to reduce disparities among populations and improve HIV care for everyone in our city.” Dr. Grant Colfax, a gay man who became San Francisco’s health director earlier this year, deserves credit for his past work in the city that contributed to this week’s news. As the city’s HIV prevention director years ago, he instigated sweeping changes to the city’s response to the epidemic. He was an early advocate for a number of policies once viewed as controversial, such as rapid HIV testing and treatment on demand in order to lower patients’ HIV viral loads, making them less likely to transmit the virus. As we reported earlier this year, those prevention approaches are now pillars of San Francisco’s Getting to Zero strategy, which aims to reduce the number of new HIV cases by 90 percent by 2020. Colfax was also an early supporter of another component of the strategy, providing PrEP, the once-a-day pill that has proved effective at keeping people HIV-negative when taken as prescribed. He did so at a time when many questioned its merits as an HIV prevention tool.

Liz Highleyman

San Francisco Health Director Dr. Grant Colfax talks about the lower HIV rates at a Tuesday news conference.

And yet, the HIV numbers show that stubborn disparities remain, particularly among black and Latino men. Black men had the highest diagnosis rate, at 145 per 100,000 people, even though they make up only 6% of the city’s population. Also, as we report, for the first time, there were more new diagnoses among Latinos, who make up 15% of the city’s population, than among whites, who are around 53% of the population. The most dramatic disparity was the low rate of viral suppression among homeless people: only 33% had an undetectable viral load. People with an undetectable viral load don’t transmit the virus, so this figure is alarming, though not surprising given that housing stability has long been seen as a major factor in one’s ability to suppress viral load. San Francisco HIV/AIDS service organizations are stepping up to address the racial and economic disparities. On Monday, the day before the city’s announcement, the San Francisco AIDS Foundation released its new five-year strategic plan. It now prominently states that it strives for justice, including diversity, equity, and inclusion of communi-

ties most impacted by HIV, in its programs and across all levels of the organization. “We are committed to recognizing, interrupting, and addressing oppression,” the plan states. One of its four strategic priorities calls for strengthening organizational excellence “with a focus on living our values, including a commitment to racial justice.” SFAF noted it has worked on these issues “to some degree” for many years but will now “deepen this work substantially.” One of the key goals is to create more safe and culturally appropriate spaces for people of color to receive the services they need at any of SFAF’s locations. Another is recruiting more people of color as employees and promoting them to the highest levels of leadership; while also working to retain staff of color by creating a racially just workplace. “It will be an ongoing process and will not be complete in five years,” the plan states. “However, we are confident that substantial progress can be made.” To that end, the agency has a five-year target that people living with HIV will have equal rates of viral suppression regardless of race and ethnicity. SFAF realizes that the face of the epidemic has changed. The new plan states that it prioritizes people living with HIV; gay, bi, and queer men, trans and gender-nonconforming people; and those who inject drugs. Within those communities, SFAF further prioritizes people of color, people experiencing homelessness and unstable housing, people over age 50, people who use substances, and people with mental health care needs. This new plan is a good move for the largest HIV/AIDS agency in the city. By focusing on justice, SFAF, long viewed as an agency for gay white men, will attempt to address the changing realities of the epidemic. The success of SFAF, and other HIV/AIDS service organizations, in combatting disparities among black, Latino, and homeless individuals will reduce the numbers of new HIV cases in San Francisco. There needs to be a commitment – financial and otherwise – among all HIV/AIDS service providers to eliminate these disparities. t

Harris is the best choice for president by Scott Wiener

onald Trump poses an existential threat to our country and the world. We cannot afford four more years of this disaster of a human being, one who viciously attacks LGBT people, aggressively promotes climate change, packs our courts with right-wing ideologues, and threatens world stability. We must get rid of Trump. We must also elect a strong, principled, progressive, and highly competent individual as our next President. That individual is Kamala Harris. I’ve known Harris for almost 20 years, back to when I was a junior trial lawyer in the San Francisco City Attorney’s office and she was my highly experienced colleague. I still remember the day, during the first jury trial I handled on my own, when a judge was hazing me. During the lunch hour I went to Harris’ office, closed the door, and asked her what I should do. She methodically walked me through the things I needed to do. She ended our conversation by looking me in the eye and saying, “Don’t let her bully you. Stand your ground, and do what you think is right.” Those words have guided Harris’ decades of public service, as San Francisco district attorney, California attorney general, and now United States senator. Harris is a staunch ally of the LGBT community. As district attorney, she established the LGBTQ Victim Advocacy Unit, which offers support to LGBTQ crime victims. She took national leadership among prosecutors to fight the “gay panic” defense. People who commit heinous crimes against LGBTQ people sometimes use this defense to blame the victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity to excuse their violence. Kamala successfully pushed for a state law in California banning this heinous courtroom strategy. As attorney general, Harris refused to defend Proposition 8 in court, helping put the nail in the coffin of this clearly unconstitutional measure. As our senator, she has led the charge against Trump’s anti-LGBTQ judicial nominees and sponsored legislation to ensure LGBTQ Americans are properly counted in the census and

Jane Philomen Cleland

Democratic presidential candidate Senator Kamala Harris

legislation to prevent the use of religious beliefs as a justification to discriminate against LGBTQ people. Harris is a co-sponsor of the Equality Act – to ban anti-LGBTQ discrimination under federal law – and recently announced her groundbreaking bill to ensure that the HIV prevention drug PrEP is covered by all health insurance plans. Harris’ leadership goes beyond LGBTQ-specific work. She was ahead of her time in understanding the need for significant criminal justice reform. As district attorney, she created a first-of-its-kind program to direct young people arrested for drug crimes into job training and counseling programs instead of jail. This program, Back-on-Track, became a national model for how prosecutors could bring reforms to county jails. As attorney general, she started a statewide Back-on-Track program to provide counties with a model of how they could provide better re-entry services. In the Senate, she has championed sentencing reform and introduced bipartisan legislation to end our country’s money bail system. She recently released a bold and comprehensive plan to fundamentally reform this broken system. And, Harris is a tenacious fighter to meaningfully and aggressively tackle climate change. As attorney general, she aggressively defended

California’s implementation of its landmark capand-trade legislation and our low-carbon fuel standard. She partnered with the Santa Barbara district attorney to prosecute the company responsible for the devastating May 2015 oil spill off the Santa Barbara Coast. I am confident that Harris, as president, will take these fights to the next level and make us proud. She will lead in getting the Equality Act passed in order to end the continuing discrimination our community faces in so many parts of this country. She will take immediate action to roll back the Trump administration’s anti-LGBTQ policies, including disgusting rules to allow discrimination cloaked in religion and banning transgender service members. She will appoint a fair-minded attorney general and fair-minded judges to ensure that our community and all communities receive the justice and equity we deserve. Harris will take whatever action is necessary to end mass incarceration, place a moratorium on the death penalty, and prioritize treatment and rehabilitation for low-level drug offenses. She will restore our country’s leadership on climate and put an end to Trump’s despicable war on immigrants, including creating a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers. She will fight to pass her Medicare-for-All plan to provide comprehensive health care for every American, including mental health services, substance use disorder treatment, and comprehensive reproductive health care services. On so many critical issues, Harris has been there when it matters, and she will be there for us as president. She has my full support. t Scott Wiener represents San Francisco and northern San Mateo County in the California state Senate. Kamala Harris will be among the 10 Democratic presidential candidates participating in the Democratic National Committee-sponsored debate Thursday, September 12, at 5 p.m. Pacific Time on ABC.

Election 2019>>

September 12-18, 2019 • Bay Area Reporter • 5

Fighting for LGBTQ equality – and safety

by Suzy Loftus

Editor’s note: The Bay Area Reporter asked each of the four candidates for district attorney to write about why LGBTQ voters should choose them in the November election. This week, we feature Suzy Loftus and Nancy Tung. For pieces by Leif Dautch and Chesa Boudin go to http://www.ebar.com.

e San Franciscans are blessed to live in a city that celebrates our rich diversity, where we find sanctuary with one another. Time and again in our modern civic history, our shared values of tolerance, progressive change, and principled resistance have made San Francisco a beacon of hope. And for no cause is that more famously or proudly true than for LGBTQ equality. Yet for too many members of the LGBTQ community today, the struggle for equality goes beyond our decades of work to end discrimination and enlighten public attitudes. What’s at stake for LGBTQ equality today is public safety imperatives for a community that is disproportionately – and increasingly – targeted by violence and other hate crimes. Already in 2019, at least 17 transgender women have been killed in homicides nationwide, according to the Human Rights Campaign. Almost all of the victims have been transgender women of color. While statistics released in July by the California Attorney General’s office showed a small, 3.3% decrease in reported anti-LGBTQ hate crimes statewide, national trends are alarmingly persistent: anti-LGBTQ hate crimes in the U.S. have increased every year since 2014, jumping by 17% most recently.

Rick Gerharter

San Francisco district attorney candidate Suzy Loftus

The troubling national and state numbers are reflected locally: a study by the San Francisco LGBT Community Center reported that 48% of LGBTQ San Franciscans experienced sexual violence in their lifetime. Fully 68% have experienced physical violence, and 81% faced harassment. I believe the San Francisco District Attorney’s office has a vitally important role to play in protecting our communities. As a prosecutor, I know that means working to reduce anti-LGBTQ violence by aggressively and appropriately prosecuting hate crimes. As a police commissioner and longtime community and youth advocate, I know it’s also about leading change – forging community consensus around our shared values and public safety priorities. As district attorney, I’ll work in collaboration with the Board of Su-

pervisors – particularly gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman – to employ sexual orientation and gender identity data to better grasp how local government does and doesn’t serve our LGBTQ community. I’ll create the first-ever Civil Rights Unit in the San Francisco D.A.’s office – and I’ll hold it accountable for eliminating disparities in our criminal justice system among such factors as racial and gender identity, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, or disability. I’ll respond to the unacceptably disproportionate impact of homelessness on LGBTQ youth – which account for 46% of all homeless people under age 25, according to recently released city data. I’ll expand the D.A.’s Victims Services Unit’s role to better serve homeless youth who are too often targeted by violence. I’ll support our city’s firstof-its-kind shelter for transgender youth, and improve coordination with city departments and nonprofits to obtain shelter and services for homeless LGBTQ youth. “Freedom is never really won,” Coretta Scott King once said. “You earn it and win it in every generation.” Today’s struggle for LGBTQ equality endures, and for too many LGBTQ San Franciscans, that’s a fight for freedom from violence and hate crimes. I’ll be a committed ally to earn and win that fight as your district attorney – for a San Francisco that’s safer and more just for all our communities. t

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Suzy Loftus is a candidate for San Francisco district attorney. For more information, visit http:// www.votesuzyloftus.com.

Independence will protect vulnerable communities

by Nancy Tung

e see around us every day that what’s happening on our streets isn’t working. San Francisco leads the nation in property crimes, and despite being one of the most progressive cities in the country, we still experience gun violence, assaults, and hate crimes affecting our most vulnerable communities. As an 18-year prosecutor, with 16 years in San Francisco, I’ve tried misdemeanors, violent felonies, and white collar crimes. I’ve safeguarded domestic violence victims and protected children. I’ve held people accountable for public corruption and police misconduct. I believe our city’s top prosecutor should make it her number one priority to protect victims – and that includes victims of hate crimes. San Francisco has seen a 17% rise in hate crimes and over 25% of all hate crimes are against members of the LGBT community. LGBT youth are more likely to experience sexual and dating violence than their peers, yet we know that these crimes are significantly underreported or unheard. I remember working side-by-side with my friend and colleague, Jessie McGrath, on the hardest case of our careers. She also happened to be transitioning. We met on a joint SF-LA prosecution of Uber for consumer fraud, and I was witness to her resilience and strength on a case that required us to give everything we had professionally and personally.

Rick Gerharter

San Francisco district attorney candidate Nancy Tung

McGrath is a phenomenal attorney and a wonderful person who had the courage to tell our team, a year into working together, that we may have noticed some changes, and that she would fully transition to being Jessie the next month. I am proud that McGrath is my friend, and we won that case against Uber, resulting in $25 million for California consumers. Trans rights are human rights. Law enforcement has a critical role to play for the trans community, including vigorously prosecuting crime against transgender individuals, protecting transgender sex workers who have been victims of crime from prosecution, and providing culturally-

sensitive victim services for the trans community. My concept of community-centered justice puts the community at the heart of everything we do. A one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work in a city as diverse as San Francisco, and I will fight for the LGBT community the same way I have as a prosecutor my entire career: • Ensure that LGBT victims feel safe and empowered to come forward and be heard – a criminal justice system that fails any one victim is failing our community. • Prosecute hate crimes to the fullest extent of the law. We must be vigilant and firm in our commitment to equality and personal safety. • Recruit and retain LGBT prosecutors and staff. The D.A.’s office should reflect the diversity of San Francisco, especially when it comes to historically victimized communities. As your district attorney, public safety and victims will be front and center. I am the daughter of immigrants, a wife, a mom, a gun violence prevention advocate, and a career public prosecutor. I am the independent and experienced district attorney San Francisco needs, and I will be a champion for all victims. t Nancy Tung is a candidate for San Francisco district attorney. For more information, visit https:// www.nancytung2019.com/

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<< Politics

t Nonprofit leader enters Central Coast Senate race 6 • Bay Area Reporter • September 12-18, 2019

by Matthew S. Bajko

aria Cadenas, a lesbian single mother and nonprofit leader, has entered the 2020 race to succeed state Senator Bill Monning (D-Carmel), who is termed out of his 17th Senate District seat along the Central Coast. The Santa Cruz resident is the second out Democrat to seek the open seat, as gay former Assemblyman John Laird (D-Santa Cruz) has spent the last eight months campaigning to return to the state Legislature. He has locked up early endorsements from area LGBT political groups and Equality California, the statewide LGBT advocacy organization, as well as scores of elected leaders in the Senate district, which includes Santa Cruz and San Luis Obispo counties, the coastal areas of Monterey County, and southern Santa Clara County. In an interview with the Bay Area Reporter this week, Cadenas said she isn’t running against Laird, per se, but to give voters a choice next year. “John is a candidate just like I am for an open seat. Part of a healthy democracy is for voters to have this discussion about who they want to represent them,” said Cadenas, 41, executive director of Santa Cruz Community Ventures. “It is not a reflection of John as a candidate or me as a candidate. Our visions are similar and different. It is up to the voters to decide who they want to represent them and deal with the issues we are facing now.” Laird, 69, is well known throughout the district, having been elected as the first out city councilman of Santa Cruz in the 1980s and serving several stints as the liberal coastal town’s mayor. After losing a 2010 Senate bid, Laird served as former Governor Jerry Brown’s secretary for natural resources until stepping down this January when Gavin Newsom became governor. “I am feeling very well positioned in the race,” Laird told the B.A.R. this week. “I am feeling confident of my campaign to date but I am taking nothing for granted.” Two Republicans have also pulled papers for the race: Vicki Nohrden, who ran unsuccessfully for an Assem-

SF HIV cases

From page 1

While white and Asian/Pacific Islander men saw a continued decline in new HIV cases, the number of new diagnoses rose slightly among African American and Latino men between 2017 and 2018. HIV incidence rates for these four groups were 27, 11, 145 and 89 per 100,000, respectively. Although black men had the highest diagnosis rate, Latinos make up a larger proportion of the city’s population – approximately 15% (Latino) versus 6% (black) – according to the U.S. census. For the first time, there were more new diagnoses among Latinos than among whites (who make up around 53% of the population). Cisgender (non-trans) women accounted for 9% of new diagnoses in 2018. Although HIV rates are high among transgender women and men, they make up a small proportion of the total population and therefore account for just 3% and 1%, respectively, of new diagnoses. No infants or children under 13 have been diagnosed with HIV in San Francisco since 2005, according to the report. The number and proportion of new HIV diagnoses among people who inject drugs continues to increase, rising to 27 people (14% of all cases) in 2018. The number of new diagnoses among homeless people rose from 29 in 2017 to 40 in 2018, raising their proportion of all new cases from 10% to 20% over this period.

Courtesy Cadenas for Senate campaign

Maria Cadenas is seeking a state Senate seat.

bly seat last year, and Neil G. Kitchens, who also lost an Assembly bid last year and is now facing five felony charges of voter fraud for allegedly lying about living in the district he was seeking to represent. He pleaded not guilty in June. The deadline to qualify for the race is in early December, and the top two vote-getters in the March 3 primary will advance to the general election next November. If Republican voters coalesce around one candidate in the primary, then the GOPer will likely face off in the fall against one of the Democrats, widely expected to be Laird. Yet, they will be given little chance of winning the race in the heavily Democratic district. “It would be my hope it is me against a Republican,” Laird told the B.A.R. this week. Cadenas is hoping her personal story will resonate with voters and give her an edge in the Senate contest. Born in Mexico City, she grew up in Southern California and left for Wisconsin to attend Beloit College. After graduating she went to work for Accenture and shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attack was hired as the associate director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin. She later was named executive director of the Cream City Foundation in Milwaukee where she worked on Thanks to improvements in treatment, HIV-positive people are living longer and the HIV population continues to shift into older age groups. In 2018, 67% of people living with HIV in San Francisco were over age 50, including 30% who were over 60. People over 50 accounted for 13% of new diagnoses, according to the report. In 2018, there were a total of 15,990 people known to be living with HIV in San Francisco. This number has changed little over the past five years. Despite adding around 200 to 250 new cases per year during that period, the number of deaths among HIV-positive people has slightly outpaced new infections since 2016. In addition, people with HIV continue to be displaced from the city due to rising costs and lack of affordable housing. Colfax recalled how the city’s pioneering “San Francisco model” of HIV/AIDS care paved the way for today’s announcement. “I started here as a medical student at Ward 5A in 1992 and have seen the progress we’ve made,” he said. “That legacy teaches us that it takes a collective vision and a collective effort. That’s the homegrown model for what we did with HIV, and it will also be the model for how we address what may seem like intractable health problems today.”

Access to care

San Francisco is a leader among U.S. cities when it comes to providing timely access to HIV care and treatment. In 2018, an esti-

a number of LGBT initiatives and issues. Hired by berry distributer Driscoll’s as its senior community involvement manager brought her back to California in 2011. She settled in Santa Cruz, where she continues to live with her 10-year-old daughter; Cadenas is separated from her daughter’s other mother and the former partners now share custody. In 2015 she was hired by Community Ventures, which focuses on income inequality among women and people of color. This is Cadenas’ first bid for public office. “My commitment is to my community, my neighbors, my co-workers. It is not about confidence, it is about caring,” said Cardenas when asked if she was confident she could win the race. “It is about making sure our families and workers have a strong representative and one with a lived experience of what we are facing here in the Central Coast and in the Senate district.” Having addressed rural issues, particularly those faced by farmworkers, and having worked in both the corporate and nonprofit worlds has given her the experience she needs to serve in the state Legislature, argued Cardenas. “I care tremendously about where we are going as a region, state, and country. My career has centered around service and advocacy,” she said. “At this moment in time I am honored and humbled to offer that experience and care as a future senator.” Top issues she wants to address in Sacramento would be health care, climate change, and housing. It was her daughter’s concerns about the future of the planet, she said, that prompted her to seek elected office. “She asked me if we could limit our use of plastics in order to save the Earth. She is 10 years old,” said Cardenas. “No 10-year-old should have to worry about saving the world.” There are now six out non-incumbents known to be seeking state legislative seats in 2020, one of whom is already serving in the Legislature

and is running to succeed a termed out LGBT caucus member. Another four out incumbents are seeking reelection next year.

mated 94% of people living with HIV had been tested and knew their status. Among newly diagnosed people overall, 91% were linked to care within a month and 78% achieved viral suppression within a year. Looking at all people living with HIV – both diagnosed and undiagnosed – DPH experts estimate that 76% have received care and 70% maintained viral suppression in 2017. Because people with undetectable viral load do not transmit the virus, a higher proportion of individuals with viral suppression contribute to a lower risk of infection on a community level. The median time from HIV diagnosis to the first care visit fell to four days in 2017, and the median time from that first visit to initiation of treatment fell to zero days – that is, antiretroviral therapy is typically started during the first visit. The median time from diagnosis to viral suppression has fallen to 62 days. However, the proportion of people who were diagnosed late – that is, they developed AIDS within three months of diagnosis – saw an uptick to 19% in 2017, after falling to 11% in 2016. These promising findings mask some important disparities. African American and Latino people have lower levels of viral suppression compared with whites (68%, 70%, and 74%, respectively). Cisgender women and trans women had lower rates of viral control (66% and 68%, respectively) than

men. Among people who inject drugs, this rate stood at 65%. The most dramatic disparity was the low rate of viral suppression among homeless people: only 33% had an undetectable viral load. The latest findings show that San Francisco is making progress toward achieving the goals of its Getting to Zero initiative: zero new infections, zero deaths due to HIV/AIDS, and zero stigma against people living with HIV. Speaking on behalf of the Getting to Zero Consortium, co-chair Dr. Diane Havlir, chief of HIV/ AIDS at SFGH, said, “We are pleased, but not satisfied.” “We are pleased that we broke the 200 barrier. In San Francisco over the last five years, new HIV diagnoses have gone down by 50%, while in the United States it’s been completely flat,” she continued. “But we are not satisfied because we had nearly 200 new infections and it’s a preventable disease. We’re not satisfied because of these disparities. We have to double down on these gaps we’re seeing.” Experts said that reaching the remaining underserved groups will require tailored efforts to increase PrEP use, expand harm reduction services such as syringe distribution – and ideally, supervised injection spaces – and develop strategies to enable more people, especially those struggling with mental health issues, substance use, and homelessness, to access care and stay on effective HIV treatment.

Queer woman expected to seek CA Congress seat

San Diego could see two out leaders running for Congress in 2020, as queer City Council President Georgette Gomez is expected to announce her candidacy, perhaps as early as this Saturday, for the 53rd Congressional District seat. Congresswoman Susan Davis (D-San Diego) announced last week that she would not run for reelection next year. Gomez became the first queer Latina to win election to the council in 2016 and had been gearing up to run for re-election next year. She is expected to announce her candidacy this Saturday for the 53rd Congressional District seat. If she does enter the race, Gomez would be the second LGBT congressional candidate in the San Diego area. Last month, Republican gay former San Diego councilman and failed mayoral candidate Carl DeMaio entered the 2020 race for the California House seat held by disgraced Congressman Duncan Hunter (R), who is battling charges he misused campaign cash for affairs with several women. Should DeMaio win, he would be the first openly gay GOPer elected to Congress, while Gomez would be the first LGBTQ woman of color elected to Congress from California. The state’s current two House members, bisexual Congresswoman Katie Hill (D-Agua Dulce) and gay Congressman Mark Takano (D-Riverside), are both running for re-election next year.

SF planning director to retire

Earlier this year, ahead of his being honored by EQCA in May for his leadership of San Francisco’s planning department the last 11 years, John Rahaim had told the B.A.R. that he had no plans to leave his job anytime soon. Now, his time overseeing a massive building boom in the city is coming to an end. Rahaim, a gay man who lives in

the city’s Mission district, and Mayor London Breed announced September 4 that he will retire once his replacement is found. “My time serving as San Francisco’s director of planning has been the greatest honor of my career,” stated Rahaim, 64, the longest serving out mayoral appointee overseeing a city agency. “I am grateful to have led this exceptional department through the growth and change that San Francisco has experienced over the past decade and continues to see today.” Rahaim’s tenure has spanned across four mayoral administrations and coincided with numerous zoning and development battles, largely driven by the influx of tech workers. He also helped push through rezoning plans of large swaths of the city, including in South of Market and the Mission. “John oversaw the department and city through unprecedented times of recession and growth,” stated Breed. “Under his leadership the Planning Department delivered area plans which allowed for new levels of public benefits and much needed housing in transit rich neighborhoods. John will continue to serve the city through this time of transition as we begin the search for new leadership. We thank John for his service to the city of San Francisco and its residents and for being a true public servant.”

Breed swears in gay appointees

Two days after announcing Rahaim’s imminent departure, Breed swore in scores of mayoral appointees to various city oversight panels September 6. Among the 84 people were a handful of gay commissioners. Re-appointed to serve by Breed were Arts Commissioner Paul Woolford, Commission on the Environment member Mike Sullivan, Rent Board alternate Commissioner Reese Aaron Isbell, and War Memorial Board of Trustees member Thomas E. Horn, the emeritus publisher of the B.A.R. Breed also sworn in gay City College of San Francisco board president Alex Randolph as a new commissioner on the Workforce Investment San Francisco Board. t

Breed announced that DPH will allocate $8 million in funding to community organizations primarily serving African Americans, Latinx people, transgender people, and people who inject drugs. These grants will allow organizations to develop new health access points that will help meet people’s basic needs and provide mental health services and testing and treatment for HIV, hepatitis C, and sexually transmitted diseases. “We need to focus on reaching people where they are – there are no hard-to-reach populations, but rather hard-to-deliver services,” said DPH’s Dr. Hyman Scott, a clinician at Ward 86. “We’re excited about new efforts to address these social determinants of health that have been driving these disparities and preventing us from closing the gaps. If any city in the country can do it, we can do it here in San Francisco.” On Monday, as the Bay Area Reporter noted in an online story, the San Francisco AIDS Foundation released its new five-year strategic plan that puts a new focus on some of these issues. The plan outlines four strategic priorities including prevention and treatment of HIV, hepatitis C, and other sexually transmitted infections, especially among people of color; harm reduction for people who use drugs; services for HIVpositive people over 50; and a commitment to racial justice. t

LGBT Aging>>

September 12-18, 2019 • Bay Area Reporter • 7

Company offers help in assisted living search by Matthew S. Bajko

or years now Tom Anderson and his husband, Aaron Lake, have been caring for Anderson’s gay great uncle in Germany. The two became close when Anderson studied in Munich a decade ago, and the couple regularly travels overseas to visit him. “We can fly over there because of my husband’s job,” said Anderson, as Lake is a pilot for United Airlines. “We go there to help him physically and emotionally. We really are the only family members he is in contact with.” Anderson, 29, is a demographer, researcher, and adjunct professor at Colorado University Boulder. He and Lake, 38, live in Denver and this spring launched a company called A Place For Everybody with the aim of matching older LGBT adults with suitable assisted care facilities or supportive senior living communities in their area. “We’ve witnessed first hand the massive challenges older LGBT adults face when looking for senior living communities,” Anderson told the Bay Area Reporter during a phone interview. They partnered with fellow Denver resident Spencer Imel, 34, a straight ally who runs an organic online clothing company, to start the venture, which went live in May with a website and call-in number. Since then they have decided to focus solely on assisted living placements and not independent living, though it created a special page on its website at www.aplaceforeverybody.com/everybody with information for those seniors looking for such accommodations. “We decided to restrict our placement service to assisted living for two reasons: 1) they are a more vulnerable group of people, as they often need medical, social, and physical care; and 2) our team has knowledge and expertise in the assisted living space,”

Jane Philomen Cleland

LGBT seniors often face challenges when looking for assisted living facilities; a new company is trying to change that.

explained Anderson in a recent email. The service is free for LGBT seniors or their caregivers, as A Place For Everybody is funded through commissions it receives when its clients move into one of the assisted living or long-term care communities it recommended. “Referral fees are pretty standard in this space. We are going to be paid no matter what,” said Anderson. “Residents’ interests we place first and ensure we are placing them in a place where they are going to thrive. There is no way we can create a sustainable service long-term if we are not placing residents’ interests first.” Their main objective, said Anderson, is making sure they are recommending places that are LGBT-friendly and not somewhere an LGBT senior will feel they need to return to the closet and can’t be open about their sexual orientation or gender identity. “The core of this is the real need in the LGBTQ community for older adults to find housing where they can be comfortable, can be out and visible and proud,” he said. “There is no service now vetting communities that way.” National advocacy groups SAGE, short for Services & Advocacy for

Lt. gov. supports LGBTs at EQCA event by Cynthia Laird

ledging to fight “shoulder to shoulder” with the LGBT community, California Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis told a group of mostly women that issues such as immigration, climate change, and trade are key to the state’s success as the world’s fifth largest economy. “A lot of California jobs are dependent on trade,” said Kounalakis, who was the featured speaker at Equality California’s first Womxn Brunch that was held Saturday, September 7, at Manny’s in San Francisco’s Mission district. She went on to criticize President Donald Trump’s “chaotic” trade policies as she said how important it is that the U.S. return to the Paris climate agreement that Trump withdrew from in 2017. Kounalakis added that California remains committed to the goals of the Paris agreement. Last year, then-Governor Jerry Brown signed an executive order for statewide carbon neutrality by 2045. On LGBT-specific legislation, Kounalakis discussed gay state Senator Scott Wiener’s (D-San Francisco) Senate Bill 145. Last month, the Assembly Appropriations Committee killed the bill, which aimed to ensure LGBT adolescents are treated the same as their heterosexual peers when faced with the possibility of being listed on the state’s sex offender registry. Kounalakis said the bill is important to the community, and noted that the opponent of a lesbian state Senate candidate has misrepresent-

Devlin Shand/Courtesy Equality California

California Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis, left, highfives EQCA board member Leslie Katz at the womxn brunch as EQCA national policy director Valerie Ploumpis looks on.

ed the proposal. As the Bay Area Reporter previously noted, Democratic Modesto City Councilman Mani Grewal, a straight man who is running against Assemblywoman Susan Talamantes Eggman (D-Stockton) for the 5th Senate District seat, has falsely claimed SB 145 would allow adults who molest children not to register as sex offenders. Grewal suggested that because Eggman supports the bill, she is protecting sex offenders. SB 145 would have granted judges discretion to decide if a person should have to register as a sex offender if that person is within 10 years of age of a consensual sexual partner between the age of 14 and 17 and engages in oral or anal intercourse with the younger person. Under current law, the person See page 12 >>

GLBT Elders, and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, the LGBT political organization’s nonprofit arm, are working on a new Long-Term Care Equality Index that would rate longterm residential providers across the country on their LGBT inclusivity. It is modeled after HRC’s equality indexes on major businesses and state and local governments. The two agencies have been asking long-term care providers to complete a self-assessment that can be found on the project’s website at http://thelei.org/. It lays out how they can update their policies and procedures to ensure they are meeting the needs of LGBT seniors. SAGE also offers the SAGECare program to help train service providers on the needs of the LGBT seniors. It has a specific training for facilities located in California that are required by state law to bi-annually train their staff on LGBT cultural competency. The nonprofit agency also awards SAGE LGBT service credentials to providers that it certifies are LGBTwelcoming. In June, timed to Pride month, Watermark Retirement Communities announced its Lakeside Park property in Oakland had become California’s first exclusively memory care

community to earn the SAGE Platinum credential. The company’s Watermark by the Bay, a 143-residence assisted living and memory care facility in Emeryville, also earned a SAGE Platinum Credential. It is part of a push by Watermark to become the first national senior living and care company to have all of its communities earn top Platinum credentials from SAGE. “SAGE training has increased awareness for all of us, about the unique challenges that LGBT seniors face,” stated Cheryl Martin, executive director of Lakeside Park and the Watermark by the Bay, in announcing the credentials. “We have learned techniques to balance openness with respect for privacy as well as more inclusive language. We can now go beyond being a warm, welcoming environment to communities with deeper cultural understanding of the perspectives of LGBT individuals, their partners, families and friends.” Does a senior living community train its staff on the needs of LGBT seniors is one of the questions A Place For Everybody inquires about when researching potential properties for its clients, said Anderson. Other criteria it uses in vetting properties include if it flies a Pride flag on site; does it have current LGBT residents and, if so, how many; and does it provide LGBT-focused programming. They will also ask what role, if any, does religion play in the facility or community, said Anderson. They also try to speak with both LGBT and straight residents about their experiences, he said, and to staff such as the activities director.

Putting information together

“We put information together to determine whether a community is friendly for a perspective LGBT resident,” said Anderson. “A lot of this is done over the phone. We are a small team and can’t be everywhere.” When an LGBT senior or their relative or care provider contacts A Place For Everybody, they are first asked a series of questions about their situation and what type of senior living facility or community they are looking to move into. That information is then used to determine which facilities to contact in their area. Within two weeks they will be presented with a list of places that A Place For Everybody has determined are likely to be good fits, said Anderson. The person can then contact the facilities directly or A Place For Everybody will schedule site visits for them. “A lot of LGBT older folks are alone and they can be incredibly nervous and anxious calling different communities and asking them questions,” said Anderson. “We serve as that third party and can help them feel comfortable and safe in all of their interactions.” As of now the service is a side project for Anderson and his husband, though the couple hopes to see it grow into a successful entity. “We are providing more personal support for individuals to walk them through the process and find them a community where they can be out and proud and that fits their needs,” said Anderson. To learn more about the company, visit its website at https://www.aplaceforeverybody.com/. t

<< Community News

8 • Bay Area Reporter • September 12-18, 2019

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Kickoff for fall bond measure

upervisors Matt Haney, left, and Sandra Lee Fewer joined Mayor London Breed and Board of Supervisors President Norman Yee as they were surrounded by supporters Saturday, September 7, at the campaign kickoff for Proposition A, a $600 million housing bond for San Francisco that voters will decide November 5. According to LGBT housing advocates, Prop A includes

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language that $150 million go toward senior housing, with LGBTQ-welcoming projects a priority use for the funds. There is also language that prioritizes affordable housing projects in District 8 since few such developments have been built there while the district has lost a number of rent-controlled housing units due to Ellis Act and owner-move-in evictions.

Panel: SF drug programs are ineffective for meth users by Sari Staver

an Francisco’s programs dealing with the city’s epidemic of methamphetamine use are “just not working” effectively, a local nonprofit executive told a packed audience attending a town hall meeting on meth use in the queer community. The meeting, held at the San Francisco LGBT Community Center Mon12:01 PM day, September 9, was co-sponsored by gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, the Castro Country Club, Harm Reduction Coalition, HealthRIGHT 360, and the center. “The status quo is inappropriate,” said Billy Lemon, a gay man who is executive director of the Castro Country Club, a nonprofit that serves as a clean and sober gathering place for all people and a home for the queer recovery community. As the head of the country club for the past three years, Lemon has observed hundreds of people seeking help with their addiction. “The 90-day treatment programs just aren’t working, from what I see at my job,” he said. People often “cycle in and out” and face a “serious” lack of supportive services when they finish their three-month program, he added. “I was fortunate,” said Lemon, who found subsidized housing, which turned out to be a “golden ticket” that allowed him an extra year “to work on myself.” And lucky in other ways, he said. “I could’ve faced time in federal prison for shipping copious amounts of drugs, but fortunately there’s a statute of limitation so I’m OK,” he said, drawing laughs from the audience during an otherwise somber event. Now, in the city, “housing is a nightmare,” he said. The city has got to figure out a way to create sober living environments for people who need a little more time to figure out what they want to do next, he added. After 10 years of drug use, which put him in a “very dark place,” Lemon said, “finding a community of support saved my life.” Lemon, who has been sober for over five years, said that his drug use began while he was dealing with wanting to connect with other gay men, which led to injecting drugs. For Lemon, that community of support came from the people and services at Stonewall Project, a drug and alcohol treatment program providing harm reduction-based counseling

Sari Staver

Panelists at Monday’s meth town hall included, from left, Ana Rivera, Billy Lemon, AJ Wilhelmi, moderator Mike Shriver, Jenna Hayward, host Laura Thomas, and Reina Hernandez.

that integrates substance use, mental health, and HIV prevention and education. It is part of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. “I went there every day for seven months and just cried,” he said. Others on the panel found support from the Castro Country Club. Ana Maria Rivera, a trans woman who works at Project Open Hand, said, “Life is harder for an immigrant trans woman.” When she came to San Francisco at age 19, finding a job “was very difficult.” Instead, she turned to sex work to survive, which led to abuse and rape, she said. To deal with that trauma, Rivera “turned to crystal meth” to numb the pain of the trauma. Now with five years clean following rehab, Rivera said that despite the many social service programs in the city, it is still difficult to find places where she can comfortably connect with other trans women. An exception, she said, is the Castro Country Club, “where I have relied on what I wanted and needed: a community where I felt like I belonged. If not for the country club, I’d feel really alone and probably wouldn’t have maintained my sobriety.” Finding affordable housing continues to be a problem, she said. “I saw a studio where the rent was $3,500,” she noted. “I’m afraid if I can’t find something affordable, I’ll be homeless again.” Reina Hernandez, a benefits manager for the PrEP program at SFAF, offered a different perspective on use of

methamphetamines. Hernandez, who identifies as gender-nonconforming, said they continue to occasionally use meth recreationally. Now 28, Hernandez said they have used meth for 16 years. “I got high last weekend,” they said. “I don’t identify as a drug addict,” Hernandez said.“I like to talk openly and publicly about my drug use but it is still so stigmatizing to admit you do drugs. “I don’t feel bad about my drug use, I go to work and I try to live a full and pleasurable life and part of that is doing meth once in a while,” they added. Hernandez said the sobriety label is puzzling. “That implies that if you’re sober you don’t have any mind-altering chemicals in your body,” which is misleading if people smoke cigarettes or drink coffee, they said. For Hernandez, people who want to continue to use drugs have difficulty finding role models who lead satisfying lives because “so many people just don’t want to talk about their drug use,” they said. See page 12 >>

Correction

The September 5 article, “Jones readies for grand marshal duties,” mistakenly referred to the Service Employees International Union Local 2. It should have been the UNITE HERE Local 2 union. The online version has been corrected.

LGBT Aging>>

September 12-18, 2019 • Bay Area Reporter • 9

Filmmaker spotlights lesbian seniors

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s she drives her beat up jeep with her dog, Bodhi, by her side through the Women’s Land allfemale community in Willits, California, Sally Gearhart reminisces about working side-by-side with the late gay San Francisco supervisor Harvey Milk to defeat a homophobic ballot measure in 1978. “Harvey Milk and I did wonderful things together. We looked like mom and pop,” says Gearhart, referring to their televised debate against the author of what was known as Proposition 6, the late state legislator John Briggs, who wanted to ban LGBT people from working in the state’s public schools. The scene is captured in Deborah Craig and Veronica Deliz’s short documentary “A Great Ride,” which features a number of senior lesbians living in various cities in Northern California. With the camera rolling, the relatively reclusive Gearhart discusses her fears about aging. “I am scared to lose my ability to drive and my independence,” says Gearhart, 88, the first out lesbian to receive a tenure-track position at San Francisco State University in 1973. Another woman featured in the film is well-known Bay Area political leader Brenda Crawford, an African American lesbian and former president of the East Bay Lesbian/Gay Democratic Club (now the East Bay Stonewall Democratic Club) who retired to Vallejo from Oakland. “I grieved over leaving Oakland to move here,” says Crawford, who tells Craig that when she first arrived in Solano County she became less active in the LGBT community. “As lesbians get older, our fear gets greater. It takes my breath away how homophobic folks out here are.” Craig, 60, a lesbian herself who teaches at SF State in the health education department, started work on the 31-minute film in 2014. It stemmed out of a federally funded study about lesbian health she was assisting with at the college, where she had earned a master’s in public health. “All the characters in the film I met working on that study,” said Craig in a recent interview with the Bay Area Reporter. “Through this study I met so many cool women. I just thought they were fun, they are funny, they are encouraging, they are smart, and people will connect with them.” At the suggestion of a friend, Craig submitted a rough cut of the film to Frameline, the international LGBT film festival held annually in San Francisco during Pride Month. To her astonishment, it was selected and premiered in 2018. “My first reaction was, ‘Oh, fuck! Now we have to finish the film.’ It really lit a fire,” recalled Craig, who spliced together three vignettes of how older lesbians had chosen to live out their golden years, with the third focused on a group of lesbian residents of the Oakmont Village for seniors in Santa Rosa. Since then it has screened at various film festivals and will be shown during this year’s Legacy Film Festival on Aging taking place in San Francisco September 22-24. It is the first time it will be featured at a film festival focused on senior issues.

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Sally Gearhart sits by a lake with her dog, Bodhi, in a scene from the film, “A Great Ride.”

“I have gotten so many responses from people who are not queer but connect to it because they are aging or have aging parents. They feel that is me too,” said Craig. “People who are gay really connect to it too.” The film has also received renewed atten-

tion within the local LGBT community, with the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club screening it this month for its members and the organizers of the Howard Grayson LGBT Elder Life Conference, taking place Saturday, September 14, building a panel discussion about senior lesbians around the film. See page 13 >>

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<< Business News

10 • Bay Area Reporter • September 12-18, 2019

LGBT employee groups expand scope by Matthew S. Bajko

GBT employee resource groups have come a long way since their early days – it is believed that the first such ERG was formed in 1978 by workers at Hewlett Packard. By the end of the 1980s employees of numerous large corporate firms had established their own LGBT-focused ERGs. In the beginning they were focused on improving visibility for LGBT people in the workforce, making it easier for them to come out on the job and not be fired for doing so. A key initial goal was securing the same benefits packages for same-sex couples as those provided to employees in heterosexual marriages. Four decades later, LGBT ERGs have succeeded not only in improving workforce conditions for their members and co-workers but are increasingly addressing issues beyond the office walls. Their leaders were instrumental in pushing their companies to support the legislative and legal fights of the last two decades for marriage equality. During the same time they be-

Jane Philomen Cleland

Angelica Matsuno, left, and her son, Rei, rode on the Blue Shield Pride float in the September 8 Oakland Pride parade.

came an increasing presence at annual Pride parades across the country. The public show of support by American corporations for the LGBT community has been hailed by some but bemoaned by others upset at the corporatization of the LGBT events. More recently, LGBT ERGs and their companies have begun to address the needs of transgender and nonbinary employees. They have pushed for policies to improve working conditions, from

designating all-gender restrooms at workplaces and adding trans health benefits to employee’s insurance offerings to taking a stand against transphobic state and federal laws. That in turn has drawn the attention of straight employees whose children are coming out to them about their gender identity and looking for resources and support. They are seeking out the LGBT ERGs not only for assistance but also to become members.

“The first thing is, absolutely, it is something we are seeing. More and more ERGs are increasingly active outside of the office walls,” said Isabel Porras, who is queer and is the director of learning and development at Out and Equal Workplace Advocates, which focuses on LGBT issues in business settings. One such arena LGBT ERGs are straddling between work and home, said Porras, is providing support to parents with transgender, gendernonconforming, or nonbinary children. It can be as simple as having a one-on-one discussion explaining the right terminology and pronoun uses, she said, to more in-depth undertakings such as working with parent ERGs to co-host panels and workshops covering a wide range of issues transgender people face. At its own conferences and events Out and Equal has addressed such topics, said Porras, who joined the nonprofit nearly four years ago.

“Personally, I see this a lot when I facilitate trainings around gender and queer inclusion in the workplace,” she said. “A lot of times people have questions not about their colleagues but their families, their children, or their children’s friends. So they bring that conversation into the workplace as well.” Oakland resident Angelica Matsuno turned to Blue Shield Pride, the company’s LGBT ERG, for support after her son, Rei Matsuno, 17, came out to the family as being transgender. Even though she had an inkling Rei wanted to transition from the gender he was assigned at birth, when he talked to his parents about it last August it still came as a shock, she said. “I wasn’t all the way prepared,” said Angelica Matsuno. “It’s a big change. Everything turns upside down for a second.” Coming out to his family “was pretty difficult,” said Rei Matsuno, See page 11 >>

Breed, Schaaf kick off cleanup challenge compiled by Cynthia Laird

object found by a volunteer. Projects include trash removal, an Francisco Mayor London Breed habitat restoration, tree planting, and and Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf beautification. met on Treasure Island last week to “Battle for the Bay will help protect promote a friendly volunteer our cherished bay and is part of “Battle for the Bay” comour broader efforts to keep evpetition ahead of the Bay ery neighborhood in our city Cleanup Challenge, set clean, green, and beautiful,” for Saturday, September Breed said in a news release. 21, as part of the annual CaliAt the September 5 fornia Coastal Cleanup Day. news conference, Schaaf The challenge is to proand Breed also antect the bay by cleaning and nounced their convivial greening both cities. wager over which city Oakland and San Franwill win the contest: the cisco will compete to make the most mayor who has fewer volunteers will impactful cleanups measured by voltravel to the winning mayor’s city to unteer turnout, amount of debris revolunteer at a nonprofit of the winmoved, geographic area cleaner, beauning mayor’s choosing. tification projects, and most unusual ONO-Hamilton2019-GlossAd.qxp_Layout 1“From 8/25/19 AMtoPage 1 the 8:45 streets the shores,

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this annual cleanup is an opportunity to shine that thousands of Oaklanders make a huge success every year,” Schaaf said in the release. “This year we’re building on that success by bringing new support into our neighborhoods where the community faces illegal dumping everyday.” She said that sidewalk trash is often just a few steps away from contaminating natural waterways. “By cleaning up our neighborhoods we’re also protecting the bay,” Schaaf added. The event has drawn major support from sponsors on both sides of the bay, including Recology and Waste Management of Alameda County, California Waste Solutions, and the Golden State Warriors, who used to play in Oakland but next month begin the season at the new Chase Center in San Francisco. To sign up as a site coordinator, find volunteer locations, register as a group, or for more information, visit www.battleforthebay2019.org.

: Jane Philomen Cleland

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, left, and San Francisco Mayor London Breed, with an assist from San Francisco Giants mascot Lou Seal, announce a friendly volunteer contest between their two cities for the Bay Cleanup Challenge.

Drag brunch in Walnut Creek

Petit Dejeuner, a drag brunch benefitting the Rainbow Community Center of Contra Costa County, will take place Sunday, September 15, from noon to 3 p.m. at Club 1220, 1220 Pine Street in Walnut Creek.

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According to the center, all funds raised will go toward its HIV prevention program. There will be free HIV and hepatitis C testing at the event between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. Tickets are $25 and include brunch and the show. For more information, go to https://bit. ly/2m2XMo9.t

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Oakland holds 1st Trans March

T Tickets & Information: www.reaf.org

ransgender people and their allies held their first Trans March in Oakland Saturday, September 7, the day before Oakland Pride festivities. The groups started near Broadway and 14th Street, with several people holding placards with the names and pictures of

trans women lost to violence. Organizers said the event was held to create visibility for trans women of color and the at least 17 trans women who have been murdered in the U.S. so far this year.

Commentary >>

September 12-18, 2019 • Bay Area Reporter • 11

Rapid onset by Gwendolyn Ann Smith

have always been intrigued by history. I love to look at how things came together over time, and how advances in knowledge, technology, and society – for both good and ill – helped to shape the world we live in today. Being transgender makes me keen on trans history, too. The stories of pharaohs and emperors who may well have been trans, for example, shed light on just how many centuries there has been a transgender presence in this world. In the modern era it’s learning about the great advances in trans lives centered in Magnus Hischfeld’s Institut für Sexualwissenschaft – and the loss of that center at the hands of the Nazis. Hirschfeld’s seminal work, “Die Transvestiten,” paved the way for a greater understanding of transgender people. Dr. Harry Benjamin – who had met Hirschfeld in those heady Weimar days – picked up the torch, penning his own study of transgender people in the 1960s, “The Transsexual Phenomenon.” Benjamin was also known for one of his most famous subjects, Christine Jorgensen. While she was far from the first trans woman to

Business Briefs

From page 10

now a senior in high school. “I was really nervous about what would happen afterward. In the end, my parents and family were super supportive and accepting as well as my community around me. I am so thankful for that because I know other people don’t have that same experience.” Angelica Matsuno, 56, a senior program manager of provider education for close to six years at the insurance company, had taken part in events put on by the LGBT ERG at work over the years. After Rei came out to the family, she became more involved and joined as a member last December. “It has been really incredible, the support from Blue Shield,” she said. “The case manager who handles all members going through transgender medical procedures, he reached out to me personally to talk about anything. I thought that was so amazing, people reaching out to me. I don’t have to take the first step, because it can be hard, especially sharing with people you don’t know your story.” Blue Shield Pride Co-Chair Chris Huber, 51, a gay man who works out of the company’s El Dorado Hills office in Northern California, said the ERG had started a series called Out Talks where any employee at any office site could listen in and hear their LGBT coworkers tell their own stories. “It opened the doors for a lot of people who didn’t have an affiliation or contact with anyone in the LGBT community to put a face or name to a personal, relatable story,” said Huber, a senior manager in the company’s New Enrollment Individual & Family Plans Business Unit. “Then we saw more allies coming out to support us.” He said much of what the Pride group addresses overlaps with employees’ professional and personal lives. “A lot of what we do is very public. We represent Blue Shield in Pride parades,” said Huber, noting the company had a float in last Sunday’s Oakland Pride parade. “We do a lot of outward facing stuff.” The support can run the gamut

Christine Smith

undergo surgery, her appearance in mainstream consciousness in 1952 likely contributed the most to the common understanding of transsexual women. In the decades since, many other trans names have been widely noticed in the media. Wendy Carlos, Renee Richards, Roberta Cowell, Candy Darling, Holly Woodlawn, Carolyn “Tula” Cossey, Kate Bornstein, Lana and Lilly Wachowski, Laverne Cox, Janet Mock, and so on. Another patient of Benjamin’s was Reed Erickson, a trans man who started what was known as from helping someone come out of the closet to their family and friends to connecting them with community resources. Huber has fielded questions from co-workers looking to find a gay doctor to someone newly diagnosed with HIV and looking for additional resources. “The Pride group does not do a lot of programming,” he said. “It does a lot of providing resources.” Through a webinar the Pride group hosted, Angelica Matsuno connected with another woman at Blue Shield who had a transgender daughter who had recently come out. Leaders of the Pride group, which has a budget to work with, had offered to send the women and their families this summer to a camp designed for trans children and their parents. That didn’t work out, so they instead attended a two-day conference hosted by the nonprofit Gender Spectrum at a college in Moraga. Not only did the two families learn about various resources available to them, they also made personal connections. “It was awesome to be in an environment where everyone around me had something in common,” said Rei Matsuno. “It is not something very comfortable to talk about it. I made a lot of amazing connections with other people.” For Angelica Matsuno, the gathering helped put her mind at ease about her son’s day-to-day experiences and focus on other issues he is facing, such as choosing colleges to apply to. “I was able to let go a little bit. All of our conversations don’t have to be about this; let’s talk about college now,” she said. “It helped me get back to a place where all was right and I could take a breath. Things are getting back to normal now in our house.” It also benefited her work life as well, she said, as she could concentrate better knowing that her company was supportive of her and her family’s needs. “I am more productive at work and able to focus on my job,” she said. “I would say treating your employees with respect and giving them a voice is one of the most important things a company can do. An ERG, especially Blue Shield Pride, really does that.”

the Erickson Educational Foundation, where he worked to provide information and resources for two decades. He, too, is part of a legacy of amazing, influential trans men such as Louis G. Sullivan, Loren Cameron, James Green, Jude Patton, Alexander John Goodrum, Stephen Whittle, Ian Harvie, Scott Turner Schofield, Shannon Minter, Sean Dorsey, and Kortney Ziegler, Ph.D. Today, this same work continues into new frontiers, as nonbinary and gender fluid voices enter the discussion, and a new generation of trans people begin to influence the world. In this world exists those who wish to tell you that transgender people are something new, who are undergoing care that is untested, and that many people who are coming out now are subject to a new quack concept labeled “Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria.” The notion is that, given the easy availability of transgender resources, more and more people are coming out as trans as part of some quickly evolving social contagion. I hasten to give this idea too much air for one simple reason. It’s nonsense. Look back on all I just wrote,

the decades of transgender people coming out, the advances in the understanding of transgender people that were taking place over 100 years ago in Berlin, that spread to the United States in the postwar era, and which have blossomed since the 1990s, in part due to the availability of information. For myself, coming up into the community when I did meant that a lot of the resources weren’t at my fingertips. I often had to stumble my way through things. This didn’t make me any less trans than anyone with the power of a smartphone and today’s internet, which has only served to make the information more widely available. Far from being some insidious group pressure than forces people to become transgender, this availability of information has helped allow people who already were trans or nonbinary to finally have a name for their feelings, find others like them, and grow into whole, functioning people. This is no insidious plot brought on by an out of control pharmaceu-

tical cabal like the conspiracy nuts would like you to believe. There is no shadowy trans lobby forcing matters. Indeed, if there was, I don’t think it would be so blasted hard to get transgender care and medications in the world today. What’s more, this notion of people becoming transgender as a result of peer pressure should be laughed at as loudly as possible. When one does come out as trans, we often face anger and hatred from friends and family, ostracization from peer groups, and a whole world that seems willing to tear down our identities at every turn. If we were so swayed by a push toward social conformity, we’d certainly not choose to be transgender or nonbinary in such a hostile world. So, you may ask, if this isn’t about people falling under a delusion they are transgender and rushing into a potentially perilous transition, why is it referred to as “rapid onset?” The answer should be obvious. For many of us who are trans, we See page 12 >>

Not only does she feel very loyal to Blue Shield, Angelica Matsuno said she feels “very fortunate they have my back. I don’t think a lot of people can say that about their workplace.” Rei Matsuno said he has also benefited from knowing his mom’s employer is supportive and accepting of him. “It gives me a lot of support for the future knowing there are people out there who will support people who have specialized situations,” he said.

boost LGBT and other minority owned businesses is now awaiting Newsom’s pen to become law. Assembly Bill 962, co-authored by Assemblywoman Autumn Burke (D-Inglewood) and Assemblyman Rob Bonta (D-Oakland), would require California hospitals to publicly disclose how much they are contracting with LGBT-owned businesses as well as those owned by women, minorities, and other

disadvantaged groups. t

Newsom signs LGBT contracting bill

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

THIS IS THE

Governor Gavin Newsom has signed into law Senate Bill 534, one of two bills sent to him this year aimed at helping LGBT-owned businesses. SB 534, introduced by state Senator Steven Bradford (D-Gardena), requires the state’s $310 billion insurance industry to biennially report how much it is contracting with businesses owned by women, people of color, veterans, and LGBT individuals as well as the demographic makeup of their boards of directors. Gay Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, a former state senator, co-sponsored the legislation. It revives the state agency’s Insurance Diversity Initiative that expired in January and expands its scope to include LGBT- and veteran-owned businesses. Newsom signed the bill last Thursday, September 5, without comment. In a news release issued this week by the Greenlining Institute, which co-sponsored it, Bradford stated the legislation strengthens California’s insurance market and better protects Golden State residents. “It is time for the insurance industry to reflect the great diversity of California and the United States. SB 534 makes that possible,” stated Bradford. Lara added that insurers in the state “should be using their enormous buying power to invest in California’s minority, woman, LGBT, veteran, and disabled veteran owned businesses as well as work towards achieving a governing board that reflects the diverse population in California.” Another bill backed by the Oakland-based nonprofit that would

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<< Community News

12 • Bay Area Reporter • September 12-18, 2019

SFAF

From page 1

sexual health and substance use services, advocacy, and community partnerships.” “San Francisco AIDS Foundation envisions a future where health justice is achieved for all people living with or at risk for HIV,” according to an accompanying vision statement. “Ultimately, we strive for a day when: race is not a barrier to health and wellness; substance use is not stigmatized; HIV status does not determine quality of life; and HIV transmission is eliminated.” SFAF’s efforts have contributed to a steady decline in new HIV infections. The agency runs one of the first needle exchange programs established in the United States and its Magnet sexual health service was among the earliest proponents of PrEP. Each year more than 25,000 people rely on the organization’s programs and services,

Prez hopefuls

EQCA

From page 7

would automatically be added to the state’s sex offender registry. In cases where the consensual sex involved vaginal intercourse between an adolescent heterosexual couple, judges already have the discretion to decide if listing on the sex offender registry is warranted. Kounalakis said the legislation is important because same-sex young people should be treated the same as their heterosexual counterparts.

Transmissions

From page 11

may feel that something isn’t right for years, even decades, of our lives. In that time, we may grow to feel that our trans leanings are shameful, and should be locked away.

The organization also commits to maintaining and expanding substance use services for people who use drugs, including syringe access and overdose prevention efforts. A second target calls for 10,000 fewer overdose deaths over the next five years. In collaboration with the Harm Reduction Coalition’s Drug Overdose Prevention Education (DOPE) Project, SFAF has been instrumental in widespread distribution of naloxone, or Narcan, to reverse overdoses. The agency is also part of a citywide collaboration that is attempting to open the first supervised injection site in the U.S., in the face of growing federal opposition. In addition, SFAF aims to create a comprehensive network of health and wellness services for HIV-positive people over age 50, who now account for two-thirds of all people living with HIV in San Francisco. A third target is that 50% fewer long-term survivors

SF drug programs

From page 8

“People should know that there are possibilities” other than abstaining and that “non-problematic drug use” is possible for some people, Hernandez said. Mandelman, who is co-chairing a new meth task force with gay Health

Central to all these targets is health justice, which the agency defines as the attainment of health equity, actualized when structural factors no lon-

ger determine health outcomes. “Health justice is reached when all people possess the economic, social, and political power and resources to make decisions about their bodies and health – regardless of identities and experiences,” according to a SFAF press statement. “The social and economic issues that we face as a community and as a broader country really limit, and in many cases prohibit, access to all the necessary care that we need,” said Mary Cha-Caswell, chair of SFAF’s board of directors. “Health justice is about achieving more than health equity. It is ensuring that everyone has access and the resources – economically, socially, politically – to achieve a high-quality, healthy life regardless of HIV status, race, gender or economic status.” The full SFAF strategic plan is available online at http://www.sfaf.org/ strategic-plan. t According to the Gazette, each candidate will be asked to present a statement regarding LGBT issues and take questions from three moderators: Advocate editor in chief Zach Stafford, Gazette columnist Lyz Lenz, and One Iowa policy director Kennan Crow. Thursday, October 10: CNN and the HRC Foundation are collaborating to stage a live nationally broadcast town hall for Democratic candidates on LGBT issues, beginning at 5 p.m. Pacific Time. The event, scheduled for the eve of National Coming Out Day, will take place in Los Angeles, and HRC said that it has confirmations from Biden, Buttigieg, Castro, Harris, Klobuchar, and Warren. As the first-ever nationally broadcast LGBT presidential town hall, it will provide the general public with an unprecedented glimpse into the Democratic candidates’ positions on LGBT issues. CNN will broadcast and livestream the event live during prime time. Official estimates of CNN’s audience size for the climate change town hall averaged 1.1 million people during the seven-hour event. Viewership was up slightly – to 1.4 million – during the last three hours, between 8 and 11 p.m. Tuesday, October 15: The fourth nationally televised Democratic candidates’ debate will be held in Ohio. Candidates have until October 1 to qualify, using the same criteria used for the September 12 debate. The 10 candidates from the September 12 debate will be onstage, along with at least one new qualifier, billionaire Tom Steyer of California. There is a possibility the candidates will be staged over two nights. t

will experience isolation, poor physical health, or unmet mental health needs. Another target is that fewer than 100 people in San Francisco will acquire HIV in 2024. The number of new infections stood at 221 in 2017 and could dip below 200 in the new 2018 HIV epidemiology report to be released Tuesday. The final target aims to have 90% fewer HIV-positive people living with hepatitis C thanks to increased awareness, testing, and treatment. New antiviral therapies can cure almost all people with hepatitis C virus in two or three months, but experts estimate that a majority of people with HCV are not aware of their status.

Health justice

top tier candidates is gay. Recent national polls have shown support for Buttigieg slipping, but he is still hanging onto fifth place among the 20 remaining viable candidates and he is still garnering well above the party’s 2% polling minimum for qualifying for the debates. But with the top three Democratic candidates in the double-digits, Buttigieg, Senator Kamala Harris (California), and others will be under pressure to perform well in upcoming debates in order to avoid being written off by political pundits. Buttigieg has in recent days dramatically escalated his criticism of Trump and his references to his religious beliefs. During his time onstage at the September 3 CNN climate change town hall, Buttigieg said, “It’s a kind of sin” to ignore the harm being done by cli-

mate change. “Every religious and non-religious moral tradition tells us that we have some responsibility of stewardship” of the planet, he said. On a radio interview show September 6, Buttigieg quoted the Bible as saying “life begins with breath” to argue that, no matter how various people interpret that passage, when it comes to a woman’s right to have an abortion, “The most important thing is the person who should be drawing the line is the woman making the decision.” Every time Buttigieg quotes the Bible on the campaign trail, he unleashes a flurry of retorts from conservative media, and that could increase the likelihood of a question regarding religion being posed to him during the national debates. Here’s a quick guide on where to watch the upcoming forums.

Thursday, September 12: The Democratic Party will host its third national debate. This time, only 10 candidates, including Buttigieg, have met the party’s ever-increasing hurdle to participate: at least 2% of support in four national polls and at least 130,000 donors giving to their campaigns. In addition to Buttigieg, the candidates include Harris, Biden, Warren, Klobuchar, Castro, Senator Cory Booker (New Jersey), Senator Bernie Sanders (Vermont), former Congressman Beto O’Rourke; and tech businessman Andrew Yang. The debate will be nationally broadcast by ABC and Univision from Texas Southern University in Houston from 5 to 8 p.m. Pacific Time. Viewers can also watch a livestream at one of several sites, including ABCNews.com and Facebook Watch. Four journalists will be moderating: George Stephanopoulos, David Muir, Linsey Davis, and Jorge Ramos. Friday, September 20: This is the aforementioned LGBT-focused town hall. It will take place starting at 5 p.m. Pacific Time in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the first state that will register its preference for a Democratic candidate during its caucuses February 3. As of deadline this week, the confirmed participants include Biden, Booker, Buttigieg, Castro, Harris, Klobuchar, Warren, Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (Hawaii), former Congressman Joe Sestak (Pennsylvania), and author Marianne Williamson. A GLAAD news release stated that the organization believes LGBT issues have been “largely absent” from the 2020 presidential campaign so far.

Wiener, who was not at the event, previously told the B.A.R. that he is committed to carrying the legislation next year. Kounalakis said that being an ally to the LGBT community “is something I hold very dear.” She also talked about the importance of electing women to public office. Kounalakis is the first woman elected as the state’s lieutenant governor. (Mona Pasquil served as acting lieutenant governor for five months beginning in November 2009 after then-lieutenant governor John Garamendi

was elected to Congress.) Over 100 people attended the brunch, co-chair and EQCA board member Leslie Katz told the B.A.R. “We more than met our goal,” she said. Katz, a lesbian and former San Francisco supervisor, told the audience that Kounalakis served with her on the San Francisco Port Commission. “As lieutenant governor, she is for equality for all of us,” Katz said in her introduction of Kounalakis, adding that as ambassador to

Hungary under President Barack Obama, she marched in a Pride celebration there, the first in that position to do so. Valerie Ploumpis, EQCA’s national policy director in Washington, D.C., told the B.A.R. that the brunch event was the statewide LGBT organization’s inaugural womxn’s event; more are planned for Palm Springs and Los Angeles. “The goal is to introduce EQCA to a wider audience, to uplift women running for office, and to explain our mission,” Ploumpis said.

Carolyn Wysinger, a member of the Lambda Democratic Club of Contra Costa County, said she enjoyed the event. “It’s always great to be around folks who are engaged and people willing to do that work,” she said. Adetunji Olude, who is on the board of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, found the brunch uplifting. “It’s wonderful to be in a place with so many queer women and allies and focus on the pressing issues of the day,” she said. t

Those outside of us may never know those feelings are there, under the surface all the time. Still others may suspect these feelings, but have learned to avoid any deep realizations about their friends or families out of their own sense of shame.

For us, coming out and bringing our truth to the surface may indeed feel rapid to those who don’t inhabit our bodies, not realizing that we have agonized over this over our lifetime. To them, this decision came in a snap, just like those who never had

heard of transgender people might think this community came into existence the moment Caitlyn Jenner squeezed into lingerie on the cover of Vanity Fair. I assure you, however, just like the trans community has a long history, so do our innate feelings

about our own genders – or the lack thereof. There’s simply nothing “rapid” to it.t

Director Dr. Grant Colfax, attended the two and a half hour town hall and acknowledged that the city faces unprecedented problems with the meth epidemic. Mandelman said half the people receiving emergency psychiatric treatment in San Francisco have methamphetamine in their system. “They should have a place where

people can come down and get services outside of the hospital emergency departments. This is for their benefit as well as the benefit for people who need to be in the emergency room for medical issues,” he said. An earlier meth task force in 2005 “ended but the problem didn’t go away,” said Mandelman. “We needed

further conversations, particularly in the queer community,” to find solutions. After three task force meetings and numerous focus groups, “I think we are going to come up with some good recommendations,” he said. The final meeting of the city’s methamphetamine task force takes

place Thursday, September 12, from 3 to 5 p.m. at City Hall. The task force, formed by Mayor London Breed at the request of Mandelman, will issue its final report in October. The report will contain recommendations on improving city policies and programs to help people seeking help with unhealthy use of drugs. t

From page 1

“We’re dedicated to defeating Donald Trump,” said Acosta. There are three Republican candidates challenging Trump for the 2020 GOP nomination, but polling shows the president garnering between 66% and 85% of support among Republican primary votes. The Republican challengers include former Massachusetts Governor William Weld, former Congressman Joe Walsh of Illinois, and former Congressman and South Carolina governor Mark Sanford. Adding to the challengers’ obstacles, Republican Party organizations in South Carolina, Arizona, Kansas, and Nevada are reportedly considering canceling GOP primaries in those states, according to Politico.com. Acosta said the HRC-CNN forum in Los Angeles will have a different audience from the September 20 LGBT presidential forum being organized by LGBT media organizations and a local newspaper in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The Iowa forum is expected to be livestreamed and is being organized by the national LGBT media group GLAAD, the Iowa statewide LGBT group One Iowa, the Advocate magazine, and the Gazette newspaper. That forum will take place September 20. The two other national Democratic presidential candidate events during the four weeks are both Democratic Party national debates on an as-yet unspecified range of topics. So far, LGBT issues have not gotten much airtime in the Democratic Party debates, even though one of the

not counting the many more who find information and advocacy tools on SFAF’s website. The strategic planning process, which began in 2018, sought input and feedback from people living with HIV, SFAF staff members, funders and other partners, community members and other stakeholders, the agency said. The plan organizes the SFAF’s aims into four broad strategic priorities. The first focuses on maintaining and expanding HIV, hepatitis C, and STI prevention, treatment, and other sexual health services to ensure equitable access for people of color. African American and Latino people have the highest rates of new infections both in San Francisco and nationwide, and are less likely to be receiving effective treatment. One plan target is for people living with HIV to have equal rates of viral suppression regardless of race or ethnicity.

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Senator Amy Klobuchar will be one of several Democratic presidential candidates taking part in two LGBT-focused town halls.

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From page 9

It comes as Craig works to complete a full-length documentary solely about Gearhart, whose admirers have long contended was overshadowed later in life by the legacy of Milk, who made history in 1977 by becoming the first out gay person to be elected to public office in San Francisco and California only to be killed in November 1978, 11 months into his first term as supervisor and just weeks after celebrating the defeat of Prop 6. “Various people and editors told

September 12-18, 2019 • Bay Area Reporter • 13

me I have got to do a film about Sally. Some tried to talk me out of doing ‘A Great Ride’ and just do a film about Sally,” recalled Craig. “She is so unique and charismatic; she is a quirky hero.” For years now Gearhart has declined media interviews, and as the B.A.R. reported in May, her friends had launched a crowdfunding effort to cover the cost to care for her. A colleague from the lesbian health study at SF State who is friends with Gearhart first introduced Craig to the academic and author of lesbian fantasy novels in the 1970s and 1980s.

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“She has this whole arc to her story that is really kind of ... hopefully we can make a great American story of transformation. She was this small town Southern girl and becomes a character and leader and icon,” said Craig. “A lot of people, women especially, felt she hasn’t gotten her due. She was written out of the ‘Milk’ film. I try not to pass judgment, but that is what happened.” Through the website https:// www.documentaries.org/sally, which includes a six-minute teaser for the film “Sally,” Craig is seeking donations to complete the film

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and hire a comics artist to animate segments for it. She expects it will run 70 to 90 minutes and hopes to release it in 2021. “I am trying to give her some of the credit she is due,” said Craig. “She is a hidden figure in a way.”t

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Legal Notices>> ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-19-555122 In the matter of the application of: BETH SUZANNE DOWNEY, 885-1/2 FULTON ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner BETH SUZANNE DOWNEY is requesting that the name BETH SUZANNE DOWNEY aka BETH DOWNEY, be changed to BETH SUZANNE BARTLETT-DOWNEY. 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 8th of October 2019 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

AUG 22, 29, SEPT 05, 12, 2019 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-19-555123 In the matter of the application of: LISA LYNN SMITH, 885-1/2 FULTON ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner LISA LYNN SMITH, is requesting that the name LISA LYNN SMITH aka LISA SMITH, be changed to LISA LYNN DOWNEY-BARTLETT. 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 8th of October 2019 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

AUG 22, 29, SEPT 05, 12, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038764000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ECOGREEN CARPET CLEANERS, 615 BRUNSWICK ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed HANG LY. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/01/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/19/19.

AUG 22, 29, SEPT 05, 12, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038747600 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MIRALOMA CLUB, 749 PORTOLA DR, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94127. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed HOSSEIN KAJOUEE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/13/08. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/08/19.

AUG 22, 29, SEPT 05, 12, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038747700

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: HYDE OUT, 1068 HYDE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed HOSSEIN KAJOUEE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/13/08. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/08/19.

AUG 22, 29, SEPT 05, 12, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038763700 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CRYSTAL’S PRECIOUS COLLECTIONS, 1657 CLEMENT ST #4, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed BARON LEE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/19/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/19/19.

AUG 22, 29, SEPT 05, 12, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038752800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: FC PARTNERS, 2517 MISSION ST #5, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed KA LAI CHOW. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/05/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/12/19.

AUG 22, 29, SEPT 05, 12, 2019

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038743500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: TOTALLY CLEAN, 1772 DOLORES ST #3, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed TODD V. GRAHAM. 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 08/06/19.

AUG 22, 29, SEPT 05, 12, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038759200 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: THAI COTTAGE RESTAURANT, 4041 JUDAH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed HILDA SAHESALAEH. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/23/10. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/14/19.

AUG 22, 29, SEPT 05, 12, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038758500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: OOZIE LIGUS, 875 VERMONT ST #101, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed SLAWOMIR LIGUS. 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 08/14/19.

AUG 22, 29, SEPT 05, 12, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038740900 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: FENIX CONSTRUCTION, 321 TURK ST #5, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed FRANCISCO ESPARZA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/05/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/02/19.

AUG 22, 29, SEPT 05, 12, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038756100

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038762700 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BOOMERS MEDICAL TRANSPORTATION, INC., 626 22ND AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed BOOMERS MEDICAL TRANSPORTATION, INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/01/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/16/19.

AUG 22, 29, SEPT 05, 12, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038753300 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PACIFIC EDGE REAL ESTATE GROUP, 4040 24TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed ALEC MIRONOV INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/15/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/12/19.

AUG 22, 29, SEPT 05, 12, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038755900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: M/ OPPENHEIM EXECUTIVE SEARCH, 253 CERVANTES BLVD, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94123. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed MCAM 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 08/13/19.

AUG 22, 29, SEPT 05, 12, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038763300

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MONKEY BRAINS, 286 12TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed ANOTHER CORPORATION ISP, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/18/06. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/16/19.

AUG 22, 29, SEPT 05, 12, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038762800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: LET’S ABACUS, 2125 EL MANTO DR #4, RANCHO CORDOVA, CA 95670. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed SOUFIANE SAOUAF. 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 08/13/19.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PAWLYPAL, 350 ARBALLO DR #M-L, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94132. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed JUMU LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/15/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/16/19.

AUG 22, 29, SEPT 05, 12, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038748600

AUG 22, 29, SEPT 05, 12, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038754300

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BF TAX SERVICES, 2423 27TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed BORIS FUDYM. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 04/15/02. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/08/19.

AUG 22, 29, SEPT 05, 12, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038739700 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: POLO’S DENTAL LABORATORY, 1484 MISSION ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed LEOPOLDO A. LOPEZ. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/02/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/02/19.

AUG 22, 29, SEPT 05, 12, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038754600 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ROCK JAPANESE CUISINE, 614 PINE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94108. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed ROCK ENTERPRISE (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/08/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/13/19.

AUG 22, 29, SEPT 05, 12, 2019X

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: LOVE SHACK; LOVE SHACK BY SPARC; 502 14TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed LOPARC, 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 08/13/19.

AUG 22, 29, SEPT 05, 12, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038771000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: FINE LINE BARBERSHOP, 1796A SAN JOSE AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed CARLO L. MATIBAG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/23/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/23/19.

AUG 29, SEPT 05, 12, 19, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038770900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PAGODA, 1704 POST ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed SEUNG KOON YANG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/23/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/23/19.

AUG 29, SEPT 05, 12, 19, 2019

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF BARBARA QUIGLEY IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO: FILE PES-19-303008

To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both, of BARBARA QUIGLEY. A Petition for Probate has been filed by JENNIFER CAVECCHE QUIGLEY in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco. The Petition for Probate requests that JENNIFER CAVECCHE QUIGLEY 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: September 16, 2019, 9:00 am, Rm. 204, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. If you object to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing. Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney. If you are a creditor or contingent creditor of the decedent, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal representative appointed by the court within the latter of either (1) four months from the date of first issuance of letters to a general personal representative, as defined by section 58(b) of the California Probate Code, or (2) 60 days from the date of mailing or personal delivery to you of a notice under section 9052 of the California Probate Code. Other California statutes and legal authority may affect your rights as a creditor. You may want to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law. You may examine the file kept by the court. If you are a person interested in the estate, you may file with the court a Request for Special Notice (form DE-154) of the filing of an inventory and appraisal of estate assets or of any petition or account as provided in Probate Code section 1250. A Request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk. Attorney for petitioner: PETER J. PORTER, ESQ. (SBN #132269), LAW OFFICES OF PETER J. PORTER, 19700 FAIRCHILD RD #200, IRVINE, CA 92612, Ph. (714) 835-2700.

AUG 29, SEPT 05, 12, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038770800 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BIRD & BLOOM, 1 ALDER ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94134. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed JASMINE DIXON & SAVANNAH ROSE CRESPO. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/01/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/23/19.

AUG 29, SEPT 05, 12, 19, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038766500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PETS CORNER 2, 1232 9TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed HONG NGOC NGUYEN & ERNESTO WAII CHIEN CHENK LUO. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/21/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/21/19.

AUG 29, SEPT 05, 12, 19, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038760400 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: DLHA LAW GROUP, 155 SANSOME ST #620, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94104. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed DE LA HOUSAYE & ASSOCIATES, A LAW CORPORATION (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/15/19.

AUG 29, SEPT 05, 12, 19, 2019

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038760500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: DLHA DE LA HOUSAYE & ASSOCIATES LAW GROUP, 155 SANSOME ST #620, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94104. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed DE LA HOUSAYE & ASSOCIATES, A LAW CORPORATION (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/15/19.

AUG 29, SEPT 05, 12, 19, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038765000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: DUMPLING HOUSE, 335 NOE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed DUMPLING HOUSE SF (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/08/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/20/19.

AUG 29, SEPT 05, 12, 19, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038766800 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PARTRIDGE, 101 HENRY ADAMS ST #251, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed CLARA ROSE, INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/21/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/21/19.

AUG 29, SEPT 05, 12, 19, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038766100 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: EATING WITH THE SEASONS, 1925 JERROLD AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed GRUBMARKET, INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/19/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/21/19.

AUG 29, SEPT 05, 12, 19, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038765100 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: DSUDISCOVERY, 155 HARRIET ST #2, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed DOCUMENT SERVICES UNLIMITED (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/20/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/20/19.

AUG 29, SEPT 05, 12, 19, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038770400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: WILDER, 378 SANCHEZ ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed THINK WILDER INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/23/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/23/19.

AUG 29, SEPT 05, 12, 19, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038756800 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: KHAO THAI CATERING LLC, 501 TAYLOR ST #608, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed KHAO THAI CATERING 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 08/13/19.

AUG 29, SEPT 05, 12, 19, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038764500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SCALP SOCIETY, 1512 PINE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed SF SMP LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/31/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/20/19.

AUG 29, SEPT 05, 12, 19, 2019

<< Legals

14 • Bay Area Reporter • September 12-18, 2019

Legal Notices>> FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038773400 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CAMPUS, 2241 CHESTNUT ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94123. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed TELEGRAPH HILL ASSOCIATES, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/12/11. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/26/19.

AUG 29, SEPT 05, 12, 19, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038773600 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: EDDIE’S BAR CAR; EDDIE’S MSU, 425 MISSION ST, SPACE 103A, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed NATOMA PARTNERS, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/26/19.

AUG 29, SEPT 05, 12, 19, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038773500 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: EDDIE RICKENBACKER’S, 425 MISSION ST, SPACE 103, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed NRG PARTNERS, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/26/19.

AUG 29, SEPT 05, 12, 19, 2019 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-036055300

The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: DYNASTY SHOP, 1922 31ST AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116. This business was conducted by an individual and signed by GRACE NONG WU. The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/23/14.

AUG 29, SEPT 05, 12, 19, 2019 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-19-555175 In the matter of the application of: ANTOINETTE THADA PAO, 702 ASHBURY ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner ANTOINETTE THADA PAO, is requesting that the name ANTOINETTE THADA PAO AKA ANTOINETTE PAO, be changed to HAISLEY THYDA PAO. 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 17th of October 2019 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

SEPT 05, 12, 19, 26, 2019 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-19-555173 In the matter of the application of: EMMA FUGLSANG FROEKJAER, 488 ANDERSON ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner EMMA FUGLSANG FROEKJAER, is requesting that the name EMMA FUGLSANG FROEKJAER, be changed to EMMA FUGLSANG HARDING. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 514, on the 17th of October 2019 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

SEPT 05, 12, 19, 26, 2019 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-19-555131 In the matter of the application of: ITIKA DENISE ROBINSON, 37 GROVE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner ITIKA DENISE ROBINSON, is requesting that the name ITIKA DENISE ROBINSON, be changed to ITIKA DENISE ROBINSONCURRINGTON. 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 22nd of October 2019 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

SEPT 05, 12, 19, 26, 2019 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-19-555153 In the matter of the application of: CALEB IKAIKA SIMA, 548 MARKET ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94104, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner CALEB IKAIKA SIMA, is requesting that the name CALEB IKAIKA SIMA, be changed to CALEB FANG SIMA. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 514, on the 22nd of October 2019 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

SEPT 05, 12, 19, 26, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038777700

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: VISO PURO, 1538 PACIFIC AVE #110, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed NADINE STRONG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/27/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/29/19.

SEPT 05, 12, 19, 26, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038750100 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: GNOMAD LABS, 4521 19TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed GEORGE REASONOVER. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/09/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/08/19.

SEPT 05, 12, 19, 26, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038764200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: TT CONSTRUCTION CO., 1418 43RD AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed TIMOTHY TAM. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/19/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/19/19.

SEPT 05, 12, 19, 26, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038772500 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: DONBURI YA, 764 HARRISON ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed IRON GRILL ASIAN BBQ, INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/03/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/26/19.

SEPT 05, 12, 19, 26, 2019

SUMMONS SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO NOTICE TO DEFENDANT: MARCO MONROY; YOLANDA MONROY; AND DOES 1 -10 INCLUSIVE, YOU ARE BEING SUED BY PLAINTIFF: JUAN CARLOS GALICIA & PATRICIA GALICIA CASE NO. CGC-19-574309

NOTICE! You have been sued. The court may decide against you without your being heard unless you respond within 30 days. Read the information below. You have 30 CALENDAR DAYS after this summons and legal papers are served on you to file a written response at this court and have a copy served on the plaintiff. A letter or phone call will not protect you. Your written response must be in proper legal form if you want the court to hear your case. There may be a court form that you can use for your response. You can find these court forms and more information at the California Courts Online Self-Help Center (www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp), your county law library, or the courthouse nearest you. If you cannot pay the filing fee, ask the court clerk for a fee waiver form. If you do not file your response on time, you may lose the case by default, and your wages, money, and property may be taken without further warning from the court. There are other legal requirements. You may want to call an attorney right away. If you do not know an attorney, you may want to call an attorney referral service. If you cannot afford an attorney, you may be eligible for free legal services from a nonprofit legal services program. You can locate these nonprofit groups at the California Legal Services Web site (www.lawhelpcalifornia.org), the California Courts Online Self-Help Center (www.courtinfo.ca.gov/se;fhelp) or by contacting your local court or county bar association. NOTE: The court has a statutory lien for waived fees and costs on any settlement or arbitration award of $10,000 or more in a civil case. The court’s lien must be paid before the court will dismiss the case. SAN FRANCISCO SUPERIOR COURT, UNLIMITED JURISDICTION 400 MCALLISTER ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102 The name, address, and telephone number of plaintiff’s attorney is: Law Office of Andrew Westley PC, 870 Market St., Ste. 788, San Francisco, CA 94102 415-362-2817 March 05, 2019 Clerk of the Superior Court by Bowman Liu, Deputy. Statement of Damages To: Defendant: Marco Monroy Plaintiff: Juan Carlos Galicia seeks damages in the aboveentitled action, as follows: 1. General damages A. Pain, suffering and inconvenience …$250,000 B. Emotional distress…$250,000 E. Other – Lost value of tenancy rights…$500,000 3. Punitive damages: Plaintiff reserves the right to seek punitive damages in the amount of (specify) when pursuing a judgment in the suit filed against you. Date: September 3, 2019 Andrew E. Westley, Attorney for Plaintiff’s Statement of Damages To: Defendant: Marco Monroy Plaintiff: Patricia Galicia seeks damages in the aboveentitled action, as follows: 1. General damages A. Pain, suffering and inconvenience …$250,000 B. Emotional distress…$250,000 E. Other – Lost value of tenancy rights…$500,000 3. Punitive damages: Plaintiff reserves the right to seek punitive damages in the amount of (specify) when pursuing a judgment in the suit filed against you. Date: September 3, 2019 Andrew E. Westley, Attorney for Plaintiff’s

SEPT 12, 19, 26, OCT 03, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038777900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: TYCOON KITCHEN & CATERING, 276 5TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed ASIAN BOWLS INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/29/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/29/19.

SEPT 05, 12, 19, 26, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038776300

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: HAULIT, 1075 O’FARRELL ST #11, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed HAULIT (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 08/28/19.

SEPT 05, 12, 19, 26, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038778300 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CAL STREET CO., 1398 CALIFORNIA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed DISPLEASED MARMOT LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/29/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/29/19.

SEPT 05, 12, 19, 26, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038764600 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: DAVID RIO CHAI CART, 1019 MARKET ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a limited liability partnership, and is signed SF CHAI, LLC (DE). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/19/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/20/19.

SEPT 05, 12, 19, 26, 2019 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-038461500

The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: SOMA SUSHI, 764 HARRISON ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business was conducted by a corporation and signed by IRON GRILL ASIAN BBQ, INC (CA). The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/07/19.

SEPT 05, 12, 19, 26, 2019 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-19-555179 In the matter of the application of: LEWAM GIRMAY / BINIAM GHEBRESELASIE BRHANE, 222 TAYLOR ST #511, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner LEWAM GIRMAY / BINIAM GHEBRESELASIE BRHANE, is requesting that the name ABIGAIL BINIAM GIRMAY AKA ABIGAIL GIRMAY, be changed to ABIGAIL BINIAM BRHANE. 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 17th of October 2019 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

SEPT 12, 19, 26, OCT 03, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038762400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: NITESTAR CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, 1939 A 15TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed SAQIB JALIL. 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 08/16/19.

SEPT 12, 19, 26, OCT 03, 2019 SUMMONS (FAMILY LAW)

SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO, CIVIC CENTER COURT, 400 MCALLISTER ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102 NOTICE TO RESPONDENT: SVETLANA CHEPURKO, YOU ARE BEING SUED BY PETITIONER: SEMEN GORSHTEYN CASE NO. FDI-17-788466

You have been sued. Read the information below and on the next page. You have 30 calendar days after this Summons and Petition are served on you to file a Response (form FL-120) at the court and have a copy served on the petitioner. A letter or phone call, or court appearance will not protect you. If you do not file your Response on time, the court may make orders affecting your marriage or domestic partnership, your property, and custody of your children. You may be ordered to pay support and attorney fees and costs. For legal advice, contact a lawyer immediately. Get help finding a lawyer at the California Courts Online Self-Help Center (www.courts.ca.gov/selfhelp), at the California Legal Services website (www.lawhelpca.org) or by contacting your local county bar association. NOTICE – RESTRAINING ORDERS ARE ON PAGE 2: These restraining orders are effective against both spouses or domestic partners until the petition is dismissed, a judgment is entered, or the court makes further orders. They are enforceable anywhere in California by any law enforcement officer who has received or seen a copy of them. FEE WAIVER: If you cannot pay the filing fee, ask the court clerk for a fee waiver form. The court may order you to pay back all or part of the fees and costs that the court waived for you or the other party. The name and address of the court are: Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco, 400 McAllister St. San Francisco, California 94102 The name, address and telephone number of petitioner’s attorney, or petitioner without an attorney is: IRINA AEROV (SBN 209005), 789 CABRILLO ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118 (415) 290-7001, Date: September 14, 2017 Clerk of The Court, Brie Reddick, Deputy. STANDARD FAMILY LAW RESTRAINING ORDERS: Starting immediately, you and your spouse or domestic partner are restrained from: 1. Removing the minor child or children of the parties, if any, from the state without the prior written consent of the other party or an order of the court; 2. Cashing borrowing against, canceling, transferring, disposing of, or changing the beneficiaries of any insurance or other coverage, including life, health, automobile, and disability, held for the benefit of the parties and their minor child or children; 3. Transferring, encumbering, hypothecating, concealing, or in any way disposing of any property, real or personal, whether community, quasi-community, or separate, without the written consent of the other party or an order of the court, except in the usual course of business or for the necessities of life; and 4. Creating a nonprobate transfer or modifying a nonprobate transfer in the manner that affects the disposition of property subject to the transfer, without the written consent of the other party or an order of the court. Before revocation of a nonprobate transfer can take effect or a right of survivorship to property can be eliminated, notice of the change must be filed and served on the other party. You must notify each other of any proposed extraordinary expenditures at least five business days prior to incurring these extraordinary expenditures and account to the court for all extraordinary expenditures made after these restraining orders are effective. However, you may use community property, quasi-community property, or your own separate property to pay an attorney to help you or to pay court costs. NOTICE-ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE HEALTH INSURANCE: Do you or someone in your household need affordable health insurance? If so, you should apply for Covered California. Covered California can help reduce the cost you pay towards high quality affordable health care. For more information, visit www.coveredca.com. Or call Covered California at 1-800-300-1506. WARNING – IMPORTANT INFORMATION California law provides that, for purposes of division of property upon dissolution of a marriage or domestic partnership or upon legal separation, property acquired by the parties during marriage or domestic partnership in joint form is presumed to be community property. If either party to this action should die before the jointly held community property is divided, the language in the deed that characterizes how title is held (i.e. joint tenancy, tenants in common, or community property) will be controlling, and not the community property presumption. You should consult your attorney if you want the community property presumption to be written into the recorded title to the property.

SEPT 12, 19, 26, OCT 03, 2019 SUMMONS - SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO, CIVIL UNLIMITED JURISDICTION NOTICE TO DEFENDANT: MATINA E. MACDANIEL AKA TINA MCDANIEL, YOU ARE BEING SUED BY PLAINTIFF: PLAINTIFF’S NAME IS JANET TAPIA CASE NO. CGC-18-570359

NOTICE! You have been sued. The court may decide against you without your being heard unless you respond within 30 days. Read the information below. You have 30 CALENDAR DAYS after this summons and legal papers are served on you to file a written response at this court and have a copy served on the plaintiff. A letter or phone call will not protect you. Your written response must be in proper legal form if you want the court to hear your case. There may be a court form that you can use for your response. You can find these court forms and more information at the California CourtsOnline Self-Help Center (www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp), your county law library, or the courthouse nearest you. If you cannot pay the filing fee ask the court clerk for a fee waiver form. If you do not file your response on time, you may lose the case by default, and your wages, money, and property may be taken without further warning from the court. There are other legal requirements. You may want to call an attorney right away. If you do not know an attorney, you may want to call an attorney referral service. If you cannot afford an attorney, you may be eligible for free legal services from a nonprofit legal services program. You can locate these nonprofit groups at the California Legal Services Web site (www.lawhelpcalifornia.org), the California Courts Online Self-help Center (www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp), or by contacting your local court or county bar association. NOTE: The court has a statutory lien for waived fees and costs on any settlement or arbitration award of $10,000 or more in a civil case. The courts lien must be paid before the court will dismiss the case. The name and address of the court is: Superior Court of California, Civil Unlimited Jurisdiction, 400 McAllister Street, San Francisco, CA 94102 The name, address, and telephone number of plaintiff’s attorney, or the plaintiff without an attorney, is: JANET TAPIA, 237 KEARNY ST #237, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94108. (510) 823-5373 Date: April 08, 2019. Clerk of the Superior Court, by Vanessa Wu, Deputy NOTICE TO THE PERSON SERVED: You are served as an individual defendant

SEPT 12, 19, 26, OCT 03, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038787500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: WAN CONCEPTS, 786 MARLIN AVE, FOSTER CITY, CA 94405. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MING YING XU. 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 09/05/19.

SEPT 12, 19, 26, OCT 03, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT

FILE A-038772800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: FRINGE ELECTROLYSIS, 1731-B BUCHANAN ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed KATHERINE MARIE CARROLL. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/31/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/26/19.

SEPT 12, 19, 26, OCT 03, 2019 NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF EMMA EDWARDS IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO: FILE PES-19-303152

To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both, of EMMA EDWARDS. A Petition for Probate has been filed by KIM RIDINGER in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco. The Petition for Probate requests that KIM RIDINGER be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent. The petition requests the decedent’s will and codicils, if any, be admitted to probate. The will and any codicils are available for examination in the file kept by the court. The petition requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important actions, however, the personal representative will be required to give notice to interested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action.) The independent administration authority will be granted unless an interested person files an objection to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority. A hearing on the petition will be held in this court as follows: October 02, 2019, 9:00 am, Rm. 204, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. If you object to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing. Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney. If you are a creditor or contingent creditor of the decedent, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal representative appointed by the court within the latter of either (1) four months from the date of first issuance of letters to a general personal representative, as defined by section 58(b) of the California Probate Code, or (2) 60 days from the date of mailing or personal delivery to you of a notice under section 9052 of the California Probate Code. Other California statutes and legal authority may affect your rights as a creditor. You may want to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law. You may examine the file kept by the court. If you are a person interested in the estate, you may file with the court a Request for Special Notice (form DE-154) of the filing of an inventory and appraisal of estate assets or of any petition or account as provided in Probate Code section 1250. A Request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk. Attorney for petitioner: STANLEY R. FRAZIER (1148030) LAW OFFICES OF STANLEY R. FRAZIER, 870 MARKET ST #1128, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102 Ph. (415) 362-3035.

SEPT 12, 19, 26, 2019 NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF CHARLENE D. LOWE IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO: FILE PES-19-303103

To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both, of CHARLENE D. LOWE. A Petition for Probate has been filed by KAREN CLARK in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco. The Petition for Probate requests that KAREN CLARK 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: September 30, 2019, 9:00 am, Rm. 204, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. If you object to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing. Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney. If you are a creditor or contingent creditor of the decedent, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal representative appointed by the court within the latter of either (1) four months from the date of first issuance of letters to a general personal representative, as defined by section 58(b) of the California Probate Code, or (2) 60 days from the date of mailing or personal delivery to you of a notice under section 9052 of the California Probate Code. Other California statutes and legal authority may affect your rights as a creditor. You may want to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law. You may examine the file kept by the court. If you are a person interested in the estate, you may file with the court a Request for Special Notice (form DE-154) of the filing of an inventory and appraisal of estate assets or of any petition or account as provided in Probate Code section 1250. A Request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk. Attorney for petitioner: CORA LEWIS, 5032 WOODMINSTER LANE, OAKLAND, CA 94602; Ph. (510) 530-4078 X 105.

SEPT 12, 19, 26, 2019 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-19-555192 In the matter of the application of: JACKY KHAI DANG, 2211 29TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner JACKY KHAI DANG, is requesting that the name JACKY KHAI DANG AKA KHANH KHAI DANG, be changed to JACKY KHAI DANG. 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 October 2019 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

SEPT 12, 19, 26, OCT 03, 2019 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-19-555193 In the matter of the application of: ANN THI HONG NGUYEN, 2211 29TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner ANN THI HONG NGUYEN, is requesting that the name ANN THI HONG NGUYEN AKA HONG AN THI NGUYEN, be changed to ANN HONG NGUYEN. 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 October 2019 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

SEPT 12, 19, 26, OCT 03, 2019 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE

OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-19-555190 In the matter of the application of: PENG LI, 1010 16TH ST #644, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner PENG LI, is requesting that the name PENG LI AKA TIAOLI LO, be changed to TIAOLI LI. 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 24th of October 2019 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

SEPT 12, 19, 26, OCT 03, 2019 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-19-555184 In the matter of the application of: YONG QIAN FENG, 40 WESTGATE DR, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94127, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner YONG QIAN FENG, is requesting that the name YONG QIAN FENG AKA ADAM YONG QIAN FENG AKA ADAM Q. FENG AKA ADAM FENG, be changed to ADAM YONG QIAN FENG. 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 24th of October 2019 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

SEPT 12, 19, 26, OCT 03, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038780500 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: RAMIREZ TILE DESIGN, 4049 3RD ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JAVIER RAMIREZ. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/30/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/30/19.

SEPT 12, 19, 26, OCT 03, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038785400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SISTERS FASHION, 5243 MISSION ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed JOSE ANTONIO RODRIGUEZ ZAMORA & OLGA MORA OLMOL. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/04/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/04/19.

SEPT 12, 19, 26, OCT 03, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038765800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MATT POLITO ELECTRIC, 912 COLE ST, # 254, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed MATT POLITO ENTERPRISES (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/09/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/20/19.

SEPT 12, 19, 26, OCT 03, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038764100 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: KINDERBLAST PRESCHOOL, 15 ALDER COURT, FAIRFAX, CA 94930. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed PLANETWORK NGO, INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/01/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/19/19.

SEPT 12, 19, 26, OCT 03, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038774600 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: AURA BRANDS; ROUGE; DALE + COMB, 2132 OAKDALE AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed TOP HORTICULTURAL CONCEPTS 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 08/27/19.

SEPT 12, 19, 26, OCT 03, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038775600 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ICHI SANDO, 1581 WEBSTER ST #150, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed THE BOMNAL INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/26/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/28/19.

SEPT 12, 19, 26, OCT 03, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038779800 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MINDFUL LIVING, INC., 200 GREEN ST #200, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94111. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed MINDFUL LIVING, INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/03/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/30/19.

SEPT 12, 19, 26, OCT 03, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038785600 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CLEANERIFIC, 682 26TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed CLEANERIFIC, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/01/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/04/19.

SEPT 12, 19, 26, OCT 03, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038786900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: DA CHANG YUAN, 860 WASHINGTON ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94108. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed DA CHANG YUAN LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/03/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/05/19.

SEPT 12, 19, 26, OCT 03, 2019 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038788000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: OKI SUSHI, 1740 CHURCH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94131. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed KIMANA & CO. LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/01/19. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/06/19.

SEPT 12, 19, 26, OCT 03, 2019 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-037253200

The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: COLETTA GELATO, 685 HARRISON ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business was conducted by a limited liability company and signed by GRUPPO D.O.P. LLC (CA). The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/08/16.

SEPT 12, 19, 26, OCT 03, 2019

Strung men

Castro calling

Gay tunes

Cinema staff

Vol. 49 • No. 37 • September 12-18, 2019

www.ebar.com/arts

Michael Tilson Thomas leads the SFS Opening Gala audience in the National Anthem.

Pene Pati as Romeo and Nadine Sierra as Juliet in Gounod’s “Romeo and Juliet.”

SFS Opens: MTT XXV

Drew Altizer

SFO Opens: ‘R&J’ a hit

by Philip Campbell

Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera

by Philip Campbell

ith a booming announcer citing his achievements, photos and celebrities adding grateful context from high-definition screens, and the orchestra blaring Mouret’s “Rondeau” (theme from “Masterpiece Theatre”), San Francisco Symphony Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas made his final Opening Night walk to the podium at Davies Symphony Hall last week. See page 16 >>

A24 Films

he San Francisco Opera’s 97th season opened last week with a sturdy, often stirring performance of Gounod’s elegant version of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.” See page 19 >>

When women helm feature films by Sura Wood

hat women are more than capable of directing feature films, including blockbuster hits – think Patty Jenkins and “Wonder Woman” – is not in doubt, but they’re offered far fewer opportunities to do so than men, who until very recently made up 93% of hires for the coveted top job. In Amy Adrion’s “Half the Picture,” an illuminating 2018 documentary about the persistent sexist stereotypes and secondary status of women in Hollywood, 40 female directors spoke frankly about the obstacles they faced and their discomfort with being labeled “female directors,” a term some felt marginalized them. We’ve yet to reach the point when women running the show is the rule, not the exception.

Scene from English filmmaker Andrea Arnold’s “American Honey” (2016).

See page 20 >>

{ SECOND OF THREE SECTIONS }

<< Out There

16 • Bay Area Reporter • September 12-18, 2019

Out There does openings by Roberto Friedman

Professional headshots / profile pics Weddings / Events

StevenUnderhill 415 370 7152 • StevenUnderhill.com

Steven-LinkedIn_17160.indd 1

9/6/19

ecurity was unusually tight for the San Francisco Symphony season opening gala this year. We couldn’t understand why we needed a “Press” wristband until we witnessed the concert’s closing ovations, when out on stage came Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, Governor Gavin Newsom, Mayor London Breed, symphony presidents, a host of civic leaders and many Bay Area sportsball team owners, all there to congratulate SFS music director Michael Tilson Thomas on the start of his 25th and final season as head of the class. But the most moving of a full evening of tributes to MTT came from his husband and career partner Joshua Robison, when they gave each other a long and heartfelt embrace onstage. We’re a sucker for man-on-man appreciation. The concert was festive and fun, and you can read all about the substance of both SFS and SFO opening galas in music writer Philip Campbell’s reviews this week. Once the finale had sounded, the ovations had ended, and the confetti had fallen (cobalt blue, MTT’s favorite color), the crowd moved on to the afterparties outside on Grove Street and inside the party tent. There we found champagne, liquor, noshes, live music, dancing and all-around partying in fancy dress. The true endurance test of opening week came two nights later, during the San Francisco Opera season opening gala. Out There did the whole enchilada: the cocktail reception in the Opera House 12:45 PM foyer, the Bravo! Club champagne reception in the outdoor loggia, all five acts of Charles Gounod’s “Romeo & Juliet,” then the glamorous afterparty in the Opera Ball tented pavilion. We found ourselves chatting with an Oxford don who turned out to have been SFO General Director

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SFS Opens

From page 15

Entering from the rear, baton in hand, signature cobalt-blue silk sprouting from the pocket of a perfect tux, and promenading his spotlit way down the aisle, MTT came in more like star of a Vegas residency than conventional maestro, but it somehow felt totally right. More than internationally recognized musician, he is a teacher, composer, committed community leader, and a famously charismatic performer. The historic confluence of events surrounding the Black Tie Gala rather demanded a big fuss. An extraordinary tenure marked by refreshed repertoire, innovative concert presentations, award-winning recordings, extensive touring, and inclusive, community-friendly events warrants a joyous and glitzy affair. The SFS usually tempers the hedonistic spectacle of Opening Night with a cooling mixture of good taste and international chic. If the theatrics marking this year’s celebration tended towards the grandiose, no one complained, and the event, dedicated to MTT and husband and longtime professional partner Joshua Robison, benefited the Symphony’s many artistic, community, and education programs. There will be many opportunities to savor MTT’s legacy during the course of his 25th and final season, but let’s start at the recent “MTT XXV” before looking back. After a full-voiced National Anthem, the

Drew Altizer

MTT and his husband Joshua Robison are honored during ovations at the San Francisco Symphony’s Opening Gala.

Matthew Shilvock’s thesis adviser during his schooldays. He asked us to identify the operagoers partying around us in carnival masks; we’re not really a society columnist, but did our best to point out former SF mayor Willie Brown and various identifiable socialites. When Shilvock, SFO Association President Keith B. Geeslin and Chairman of the Board John A. Gunn made welcoming remarks from the Opera House stage, protesters Michael Petrelis and Ben Becker shouted “Impeach Trump now!” from the balcony and dropped flyers. It was a tepid protest and rather ineffectual, as the SF Opera is not Congress, nor is there

any political litmus test involved in loving opera. We’d guess most of the audience agreed with the protesters’ message, but not their means of presenting it. Perhaps all the tightened security was visited upon the wrong opening gala. Anyway, it was over quickly and hardly spoiled anyone’s fun. Incoming SFS music director Esa-Pekka Salonen (2020-21 season) recently told Departures magazine, “A very good orchestra can react in a fraction of a second to an impulse, a beat, an idea of a clarinet player mid-phrase. It has a neural network like a shoal of mackerel.” SFS, SFO: we’ll swim with these schools of fish anytime. Meantime OT can put away the ebony tuxedo, studs and spats for another year, knowing the fall arts season has officially begun.t

orchestra launched into a zippy Overture to “Russlan and Ludmilla” by Glinka. It seemed somewhat tacked on, but these openers have adjusted to a winning formula: feed, drink, and seat them, then get them back to the party ASAP. Performing the Gala concert without intermission also proved a smart new idea. Handsome, rich-voiced bassbaritone Ryan McKinny appeared for the first number in a set of two Aaron Copland “Old American Songs,” “The Dodger” and “The Golden Willow Tree,” which framed the World Premiere of SF philanthropist-composer Gordon Getty’s arrangement of “Shenandoah.” The man behind me said to his partner, “I didn’t know he wrote that!” He did not, but he might have supplied the music paper. Copland is one of the many modern composers MTT knew personally. Benjamin Britten was another. His Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Purcell, or more popularly, “The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra,” followed. We have heard the delightful piece on opening night before, but lighting designer Luke Kritzeck added nightclub-style illumination to each

section this time. Effective and fun, and I have a feeling we will be seeing similar effects in the future. The Finale: Ode “To Joy” from Symphony No. 9 by Beethoven couldn’t have been more startling or appropriate as concert-closer. MTT pointed out Ludwig van B was not a composer he knew, but that didn’t stop him from bringing the SFS and SFS Chorus (Ragnar Bohlin, director) together with soloists soprano Susanna Phillips, mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnson Cano, tenor Jonathan Tetelman, and Ryan McKinny for a predictably thrilling if disjointed rendition. But wait, there was more. The big finish to a really big show included a sweet hug between Michael and Joshua, a chorus line of California political, sports and civic leaders, and the audience. Everyone joined a big-hatted member of the cast of “Beach Blanket Babylon” in a heartfelt sing-along to “San Francisco” by Gus Kahn and composers Walter Jurmann and Bronislaw Kaper (yep, MTT knew him, too). With a confetti-shoot blizzard, the Pied Piper of San Francisco is off and running for his final victory lap around Davies Symphony Hall.t

On the web

This week find Victoria A. Brownworth’s Lavender Tube column, “Saturday night was made for laughing,” online at www.ebar.com.

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<< Music

18 • Bay Area Reporter • September 12-18, 2019

Gay string quartet goes to the movies by David-Elijah Nahmod

ell-Strung, the adorably hot gay string quartet from New York City, returns to Feinstein’s at the Nikko for three shows Sept. 13-15. The group will be celebrating some of the biggest songs from the Silver Screen with their unique sound, which blends classical, pop music, and vocals. The guys are Edmund Bagnell (first violin), Chris Marchant (second violin), Daniel Shevlin (cello) and Trevor Wadleigh (viola). Their talents have gotten them some impressive gigs, including performing for President Obama, presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and with some of musical theater’s biggest names, including Neil Patrick Harris, Kristen Chenoweth, and Audra McDonald. They have also performed at the Vatican, which Shevlin said went without a hitch, even though the Vatican is notoriously anti-gay. “It was a closed event, so it didn’t seem to be an issue,” he said. “We still got a private tour of the Sistine Chapel.” The guys report they got a big kick out of performing for Clinton. “Playing for Hillary was totally unreal,” said Bagnell. “But thankfully we got to meet her backstage before we performed for her, so we had a little time to adjust. She couldn’t have been more gracious, and that will go down as one of my favorite performances of ours.” The bandmates are very casual about being gay, not making a big

Courtesy Feinstein’s at the Nikko

The guys of Well-Strung – Daniel Shevlin (cello), Edmund Bagnell (first violin), Trevor Wadleigh (viola) and Chris Marchant (second violin) – will demonstrate their love of movie music.

deal out of it, but also being open about it. “Always be yourself, right?” said Marchant. “That goes for being gay, too. I wouldn’t want to enter any endeavor, performance or otherwise, that stopped me from being fully myself, regardless of the political climate.” “In our music videos you can see that we never back away from show-

ing who we are,” added Bagnell. “It’s very important to us to show that we are out and proud.” The band’s name, an obvious double entendre, has amused a number of their fans. “We can’t resist a good pun that has to do with string instruments,” said Bagnell. Marchant recalled how the seeds

were planted for the four of them to come together. “Before I met any of the other guys, I did a photo shoot with DNA magazine,” he said. “It was their musician issue, and they were doing a photo spread on me as a violinist. In the interview I talked about wanting to create a string quartet that mixed pop and classi-

cal music together. They titled the spread ‘Well-Strung,’ and I knew that would be our group’s name.” The group is excited to be returning to Feinstein’s. They say that both the audiences and the cocktails at the club are superb. The Movie Show, they promise, will be loads of fun. “Without giving too much away, we made sure to include a moviescore medley by the great film composer John Williams,” said Shevlin. “His scores definitely provided some influence to us budding musicians as we grew up hearing his great melodies in all of the blockbuster films he penned the music for.” Williams has composed the scores for dozens of iconic films, including highly recognizable themes for classics like “Jaws” and “Star Wars.” “We just chose the pieces we had personal connections to as both musicians and avid movie fans,” said Shevlin. “And yes, there will definitely be lots of vocals!” “The Movie Show endeavors not only to celebrate great music from movies we know and love, but also to highlight how important music is in film,” said Wadleigh. “If I can be so bold, perhaps it’s what can make a film the lasting, beloved cultural phenomenon we love and revisit time and time again.”t Well-Strung in The Movie Show, Fri. & Sat., Sept. 13 & 14, 8 p.m. Sun., Sept. 15 at 5 p.m. Feinstein’s at the Nikko, 222 Mason St., SF. Tickets ($50-$90): feinsteinssf.com.

Castro Theatre coming attractions by David Lamble

he Castro Theatre goes mostly British in the final weeks of September as the theatre plays host to the big-screen version of “Downton Abbey.” The theatre also rocks with musical treats Aretha Franklin in “Amazing Grace” and a powerful 1972 soul event, “Wattstax”; queer docs “Paris Is Burning” and “Before Stonewall”; a cooking doc with Bay Area foodie Alice Waters; and that all-time Castro fave, “The Wizard of Oz,” in a special matinee. “Downton Abbey” The famous BBC-TV series gets a big-screen baptism as the members of the Crawley household prepare for a royal visit. Michael Engler directs, with a fine supporting cast including Hugh Bonneville, Jim Carter, Michelle Dockery, Elizabeth McGovern, Maggie Smith, Imelda Staunton & Penelope Wilton. (9/12, 19-23, 26-28, 30, 10/3)

“Grease Sing-A-Long” The camp treasure from 1978 is still packing them in, with special admission prices, hosts and audience goody bags. (9/13) “Amazing Grace” In 1972, at the height of her Top 40 pop-star career, Aretha Franklin returned to her roots and gave a rockthe-church soul concert that would become the basis of her best-selling album. Directed by Sydney Pollack and featuring the soul star Rev. James Cleveland, this is a not-to-be-missed piece of pop-music history. “Wattstax” Held to mark the seventh anniversary of the 1965 Watts riots in 1972, this Stax Records-sponsored event featured stars like Isaac Hayes, the Staple Singers, Rufus Thomas, the Bar-Kays and

standup hosting from thenlittle-known comic Richard Pryor. (both 9/15) “The Wizard of Oz” (1939) With two directors (Victor Fleming credited, King Vidor providing an anonymous assist), the songs of Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg, and the debut of a 12-year-old leading lady with quite a set of pipes, “The Wizard of Oz” never fails to lift spirits with its “There’s no place like home” theme. With Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Frank Morgan, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley and the witch you love to hate, Margaret Hamilton. (9/15, 2 p.m. matinee) “Paris Is Burning” First released at the height of the AIDS crisis in 1990, “Paris Is Burning” is a featurelength documentary where

director Jennie Livingston embeds us with a subversive and nimble community of gay and trans, white, black and brown kids who, in the upper precincts of mid-1980s Manhattan, invented vogueing, a style of dancing so layered, intricate and private that people residing even a few blocks away may have been completely unaware of its existence. The film wows its mainstream audience with a thrilling backstage view of young Latinx and African American dancers staging their own fantastic drag balls. “Before Stonewall” Co-directors Greta Schiller & Robert Rosenberg provide an entertaining backstory to the Gay Pride movement that many think arose straight out of the head of Zeus during the week of riots begun at New York’s Stonewall bar. This doc, narrated by lesbian novelist Rita Mae Brown, flashes back to 1900 to flesh out the extraordinary birth of a people. (both 9/16-17)t

Troubled souls by Jim Piechota

Here Is What You Do by Chris Dennis; Soho Press, $16

ne of the great things about author Chris Dennis’ outstanding debut story collection “Here Is What You Do” is its penchant for expressing the tone of uneasiness in his characters. He does this perfectly. After all, when a book’s epigraph boasts a cryptic Dolly Parton quote (“It’s all wrong, but it’s all right”), there’s got to be something interesting lurking inside. That first bite of brilliance arrives courtesy of Ricky, the opioidaddicted southern Indiana high school history teacher in the opening title story who lands himself in jail for drug trafficking with his

grandmother’s car. Though serving only a year sentence, the days drag on. His innocence is clocked by the other inmates, who are willing to pay money “for the chance to get at you.” His cellmate Donald, a butch, horny, demanding gay on the down-low, is no one to say no to, since he’s on his fourth year of a 15-year sentence for manslaughter. Almost nightly, the two develop a brutal, violently sexual relationship that evolves into encompassing a kind of emotional and physical longing. Scattered throughout the stories are the lost and the determined, trapped in dire circumstances. The teenage son of a gay Turkish immigrant in “This is a Galaxy” becomes suddenly parentless after a heinous robbery, and ends up working in a butcher shop. A rage-driven

Kentucky lesbian academic in “The Book-Eating Ceremony” attempts to mitigate several impending deaths in her orbit while managing a messy life of obsessive feelings and penning a controversial biography. In the suspenseful story “In the Martian Summer,” a widow learns about several bridge-collapsing earthquakes while out at sea off the coast of Mexico. The tsunami they’ve caused puts her and her shipmates into panic mode as they attempt to outrun the lethal waves. One of the most memorable stories, “Nettles,” follows a couple who abandon urban life to purchase a slaughterhouse in the country, where strangers ask a lot of questions that

folks “in the city would never ask.” The sellers are devoutly religious, and once they learn of their buyers’ secularity, harassment boils over into lawless cruelty. Beneficial human kindness wins out in the end, though the couple’s evil behavior at the command of religion is unforgiving. In feeling for the pulse of humanity through his complicated characters’ missteps and imperfections, Dennis presents a parade of the drug-addicted, emotionally rattled, and misguided, all struggling to enact some semblance of self-improvement. He emerges with a sterling, dark and stark collection of tales that burn themselves into readers’ minds.t

Theatre>>

September 12-18, 2019 • Bay Area Reporter • 19

Screen test: Annie Baker’s ‘The Flick’ by Jim Gladstone

very, one of the three movietheater workers at the heart of “The Flick,” has trouble explaining why he so strongly objects to the impending replacement of the decrepit single-screen cinema’s 35mm projector with one of today’s more common digital systems. Rather than a relentless, hermetic stream of pixels, Avery enthuses, traditional film projection presents thousands of discrete images separated by “brief periods of black.” While Avery can’t quite articulate the value of this difference, his stammering effort reveals playwright Annie Baker’s compassionate synechdochical poetry. Those dark interstices between film frames are mimicked by the awkward gaps in Avery’s speech; these are places where the human mind is most vividly at work, striving to make meaning. The action of “The Flick,” on stage at Shotgun Players through Sept. 22, largely takes place in a similar interstitial realm. In the minutes-long breaks between feature films, Avery (Justin Howard) and co-worker Sam (Chris Ginesi) sweep up scattered popcorn and mop spilled pop while projectionist Rose (Ari Rampy) changes reels and keeps Sam reeling in hopeless infatuation. These lonely souls spend the bulk of their waking hours in stifling darkness, able to engage with each other only during these fleeting intervals. In only the tiny titrated doses that their environment allows, the trio awkwardly share family tragedies, simmering resentments around class and race, eclectic enthusiasms, and a faint but hopeful trace of friendship. Quietly, provocatively, Baker challenges us to recognize how difficult it is to forge empathic human connections and have meaningful discussions with colleagues in such a workplace. But for all its slow-played cinema verité surface, “The Flick” offers

SFO Opens

From page 15

Packing five acts and one intermission into a Gala First Night may have diminished the impact, but nothing could hide the exciting back-story of an Adler Fellow who saved the day, or the fast-rising young soprano who found herself perfectly matched to a new role. Samoan-born New Zealand tenor Pene Pati made his SFO debut as Count Lerma in “Don Carlo” in 2015. He added the major part of the lecherous Duke in “Rigoletto” to his repertoire later during his SFO Adler Fellowship (2016, 2017) and won good reviews. He has always shown promise, and the focus of a Merola Opera Program education helped focus his maturing artistry. Membership in the phenomenally successful New Zealand operatic/ pop trio SOL3 MIO, which includes his brother Amitai (Merola 2016), boosts his social-media profile. Dubbed “a young Pavarotti” by an enthusiastic teacher, Pati has been well-positioned for prime time. Originally scheduled to sing Romeo for one performance Oct. 1 with his wife, soprano Amina Edris, Pati has now been recruited to sing all performances as Romeo since tenor Bryan Hymel cancelled at the last minute. Hymel’s “personal reasons” became Pene Pati’s huge Shirley MacLaine moment. Soprano Nadine Sierra (Merola 2010; Adler Fellowship 2011, 2012) made her SFO debut in 2011 in the Company’s World Premiere of “Heart of a Soldier.” Her darling Musetta in “La Boheme” was especially memorable, and I have enjoyed watching her move rapidly to

Ben Krantz Studio

Justin Howard as Avery and Chris Ginesi as Sam in Shotgun Players’ “The Flick.”

more than an ache-evoking depiction of these specific dead-end jobs. Baker’s genius is the way she slyly weaves metaphor and metonym into a play that can easily be mistaken as entirely straightforward. When the characters in “The Flick” begin to feel uncomfortably intimate with each other, they default to playing Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon; they use movies as a way to put distance between themselves. Everyone who buys a ticket to “The Flick” has grown up in a culture where the quirky, messy, unpredictable stories of our humanscaled lives have been demeaningly pushed, flicked away from the center, overpowered by corporate-driven, Hollywood-style mythology. When was the last time your life really felt like a rom-com, an apocalyptic disaster, or an endless hail of gunfire? Baker urges us to keep our minds on the interstices between frames of fantasy, the life squeezing up through cracks in the pavement, the priority of meaning over marvel. larger parts. She proved one of the redeeming features of a misbegotten “Lucia di Lammermoor” in the title role. Her silvery voice, with easy but firmly placed coloratura, is ideal for Juliet, and her unforced freshness and touching acting finish a lovely performance. Now that everyone can exhale at Pati’s successful stepping-in, audiences attending later in the run will better appreciate her finely etched portrayal. The incontestable triumph still belonged to Pati. His confident ownership of the role of Romeo was apparent from his first entrance. Maintaining a steady tone throughout, he was convincing in action scenes (kudos to fight director Dave Maier) and sailed with thrilling clarity over Ian Robertson’s rich Chorus and conductor Yves Abel’s occasionally muddy orchestra. He can also float a beautiful pianissimo. So what were we worrying about? Once the title roles are secure, the rest of the opera should be a cakewalk, but Gounod gave some important moments to smaller parts, and director Jean LouisGrinda (SFO debut) was lucky to have a solid cast at hand. At least, once the dust had settled. His sensible staging offered quick recognition of characters, and made them easy to identify in crowd scenes. In Shakespeare, that is no simple task. As Mercutio, American lyric baritone Lucas Meachem (Merola 2003; Adler Fellowship 2004, 2005) earned a big ovation. Bass James Creswell (Merola 2000) was warmly sympathetic as Friar Lawrence; baritone Timothy Mix was a meanspirited Count Capulet; and tenor Daniel Montenegro (Merola 2010; Adler Fellowship 2011), as Juliet’s

Past productions of “The Flick” have been criticized by some audience members for moving too slowly and feeling too long. The running time is three hours, plus a 15-minute intermission. But this, too, is part of Baker’s design; she coaxes us to contemplate why we find it so much easier to escape reality than to engage with it, or even the simulacrum of it provided by live theater. “The Flick” is two minutes shorter than “Avengers: Endgame.” You can take it, and you should. Frankly, director Jon Tracy and his entire cast ace the pace of the play by literally keeping it real. Howard, Ginesi and Rampy turn in beautifully naturalistic performances; Avery’s stammers, Sam’s fragile self-esteem, and Rose’s faux-naïve manipulations feel lived in, not acted out. The long pauses in their dialogue sometimes feel painfully awkward, but never less than completely honest. Randy Wong-Westbrooke’s scrungily detailed movie-theater set, replete

with stain-smeared seatbacks, wood-veneer paneling and an artfully cluttered upper-tier projection room, furthers the verisimilitude, and Kris Barrera’s sound and video design ingeniously underscore the playwright’s intention, inviting us

testosterone-driven brother Tybalt, made a robust impression. Bass-baritone Philip Skinner (Merola 1985; Adler Fellowship 1986, 1987) offered another strong SFO appearance as the Duke of Verona; and New Zealand baritone Hadleigh Adams (Merola 2012; Adler Fellowship 2013, 2014) was a standout, too. I mention Merola participants and Adler alums in particular to show the inestimable worth of the working education. SFO has created a remarkable reserve of excellent singing actors over the years, and this production offersUntitled-7 heartening proof. Making their SFO debuts, mezzo-sopranos Eve Gigliotti and Stephanie Lauricella were convincing as Juliet’s nurse Gertrude and Romeo’s page Stephano. The audience rewarded Lauricella with warm applause for her brief but pleasing aria in Act III. Three creative artists making SFO debuts comprise the design team. Spare but evocative Italian Renaissance settings by designer Eric Chevalier, illuminated effectively by lighting designer Roberto Venturi, made a fine background for Carola Volles’ sumptuous costumes. If conductor Yves Abel had picked up the tempo more often, the long production would have moved better. Still, at its heart, “Romeo and Juliet” is a big, beautiful love duet, and Pene Pati and Nadine Sierra nailed it.t “Romeo and Juliet” continues in repertory through Oct 1. Amina Edris (Merola 2015; Adler Fellowship 2016, 2017) appears as Juliet at the final performance. sfopera.com

to see beyond the veil of escapism.t The Flick, through Sept. 22. Shotgun Players, 1901 Ashby Ave., Berkeley. Tickets: (510) 841-6500, www.shotgunplayers.org.

Season Opening Concert

Dawn Harms, Music Director & Conductor Tickets & Info: https://BARS-SF.ORG

Save 25% with a 4-concert Season Ticket Subscription Saturday, Sept 14, 8pm SF Conservatory of Music 50 Oak Street (at Van Ness)

Humperdinck Hansel and Gretel Overture Amy Beach Piano Concerto Daniel Glover, piano Shostakovich Symphony No. 10 https://BARS-SF.ORG

9/4/19 1:16 PM

<< Music

20 • Bay Area Reporter • September 12-18, 2019

Playlist for your gay days & nights

by Gregg Shapiro

f you were lucky enough to attend a performance of the first national tour of the Tony-winning musical “Kinky Boots,” you probably saw out actor-singer Kyle Taylor Parker filling the distinctive thighhigh red boots worn by Billy Porter on Broadway. Parker makes his recording debut on “Broadway Soul, Vol. 1” (Broadway Records). If this is the first of a series from Parker, we have much to look forward to. While not all the material works (opener “Anything Goes” is a good example), much of it is exhilarating and worth hearing. “Think of Me” (from “Phantom of the Opera”) is transformed into a retro disco number and could do well with the proper club remix. The pairing of “Ol’ Man River” (from “Showboat”) with Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come” couldn’t have come at a better time. Parker’s take on “No Bad News” (from “The Wiz”) and his transformation of “Do You Hear the People Sing?” (from “Les Miserables”) into a gospel-fueled number are also very timely. Since 2007, when Ezra Furman released his debut album “Banging Down the Doors” with his then-band The Harpoons, he’s established himself as one of the most captivating queer musicians of the 21st century. Furman’s 2018 album “Transangelic Exodus” found him at the peak of his songwriting and performance skills. On “Twelve Nudes” (Bella Union), Furman is joined by

Voices Carry

From page 15

So what to make of “Voices Carry,” a new film series at SFMOMA that highlights relatively recent fiction and nonfiction movies directed by women? In this writer’s view, heightening awareness of the accomplishments of women in the field, even if it means singling them out by gender, is worthwhile, at least until the day when the idea of a woman in the director’s chair is so commonplace that a series like this one isn’t necessary. Meanwhile SFMOMA’s program of over a dozen films provides lots to enjoy over the next two months. English filmmaker Andrea Arnold is a big talent who isn’t as wellknown to audiences as she deserves to be, despite directing several

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Sam Durkes, Jorgen Jorgensen and Ben Joseph for one of his most raucous efforts to date. Opening track “Calm Down, aka I Should Not Be Alone” rocks with the raw energy of a long-lost Rolling Stones song. The rapid-fire “Rated R Crusaders” wouldn’t be out of place on a Nine Inch Nails album. But Furman is very much his own artist, as he proves with the wailing wall of guitars on “Trauma,” the torchy twang of “I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend” and the album’s most accessible track, “In America.” With “Stuck Together” (wearemutts.com), the latest album by Mutts led by out frontman Mike Maimone, the Chicago trio just keeps getting better. Beginning with the sexy, soulful “I’ll Be Around” (complete with a heavenly gospel episodes of “Transparent” and receiving the Jury Prize at Cannes for three exceptional films about young women on the verge of becoming or coming to terms. “Fish Tank,” from 2009, is about a teenager growing up in a grim housing project and dreaming of stardom, whose rebellion against her reckless mother includes sleeping with her lover (Michael Fassbender, excellent in a thankless role), while the quietly devastating, female revenge story “Red Road” (2006) takes an unexpected, seismic turn that leaves one shaken. Both the latter titles, which can and should be tracked down, are characterized by naturalistic acting and Arnold’s fluid, real-time narrative style, as is “American Honey” (2016), shown here. With a near three-hour run-time, it isn’t an easy sell. Those who stick with it will be lulled into its road movie rhythms as it follows Star, a teenage girl who falls in with a group of adrift kids driving across the U.S., selling customers magazine subscriptions to earn their keep. The film witnesses Star’s initiation into adulthood and the risks that come with independence and freedom. But what’s particularly refreshing and sets it apart from standard, male-centric coming-of-age flicks is that Arnold shoots the sexual encounters and the intoxicating rush of the experience from a sensual young woman’s point of view. In Zambian-born writer-director Rungano Nyoni’s stylized feature debut “I Am Not a Witch,” an eight-year-old orphaned Zambian girl is denounced as a witch, exiled from her village and dispatched to a “witch” prison camp holding mostly elderly women. Said to be endowed with magical powers, they’re tied to posts with long white ribbons to prevent them from flying away, and put on public display. In remote parts of Africa, superstitions still surround witchcraft, and such camps actually exist. But, like the bad old days of our own witch trials, accusations of witchcraft are a handy device for resolving disputes, meting out punishment and scapegoating the unconventional

choir), continuing with the kooky “Tin Foil Hat,” the political statement of “Treason,” the atmospherics of “Never Know Now,” and “Stick Together” at the tail end, Mutts are definitely man’s (and everyone else’s) best friend. “Forevher” (Secretly Canadian), the second album by queer Brit diva Shura, aka Aleksandra Denton, is all about being in love. Sultry and snappy, these 11 songs will make even the hardest-hearted listener improvise a dance to honor Cupid. Like a lo-fi Robyn, Shura knows how to get our booties bouncing on “The Stage,” “Religion (U Can Lay Your Hands On Me)” and “Side Effects.” Joe Troop, the out gay frontman of bluegrass act Che Apalache, is fearlessly paving the way for others

in the genre to be their true selves. With features in Billboard and No Depression, the spotlight is on the group’s world-traveling lead vocalist, fiddler and songwriter. Produced by Bela Fleck, “Rearrange My Heart” (Free Dirt) has an international flair, broadening the genre’s horizons. Che Apalache don’t shy away from subjects including immigration and the rise of the meek. Tanya Tucker is straight and has a history of dating high-profile menfolk such as Glen Campbell, Don Johnson and Merle Haggard. She’s not exactly a gay icon. So what’s she doing in this column? “While I’m Livin’” (Fantasy), outlaw diva Tucker’s first album in 10 years, was co-produced by out Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile (with Shooter Jennings), and all

10 songs were co-written by Carlile and her longtime twin collaborators Tim and Phil Hanseroth, that’s why! Tucker’s lived-in voice is a good match for these countrified compositions, some of the twangiest tunes in Carlile’s canon. Everyone benefits here, as you can hear on standouts “I Don’t Owe You Anything,” “Mustang Ridge,” “Seminole Wind Calling” and the gorgeous “Bring My Flowers Now.” Combining standards with originals, out vocalist Peter Eldridge teams up with pianist Kenny Werner and “the fantastical string orchestra” on “Somewhere” (Rosebud Music). Eldridge croons his way through the title song (from “West Side Story”), paired up with Johnny Mandel’s “A Time for Love” and the familiar “You Don’t Know Me.”t

Courtesy A24 Films

Scene from director Claire Denis’ “High Life,” an off-planet excursion into outer space.

and outspoken who, more often than not, are women. Mixing African folklore, pointed feminist satire and an implicit critique of misogyny with surrealist touches and her own biography, Nyoni and a cast of nonprofessional actors, led by the radiant Margaret Mulubwa, relate her strange parable. Chantal Akerman’s documentary “No Home Movie,” a series of conversations between the filmmaker and her mother filmed a few months before her mother’s death, sounds a more somber note. “I think if I knew I was going to do this,” she said of the project, “I wouldn’t have dared to do it.” It turned out to be her last film. The influential Belgian avant-garde screenwriter-director, best known for “Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai de Commerce 1080 Bruxelles”

(1975), a quasi-verite masterpiece about a stifled single mother who casually slips into prostitution, committed suicide in 2015. Claire Denis, who can be depended on to go where others fear to tread, does just that in her latest film, “High Life,” an off-planet excursion that inevitably circles back to the worst in human nature. Who says you can’t take it with you? It stars Robert Pattinson, flexing his acting chops, as a father roaming the galaxy with his daughter, tending the ship’s garden as they barrel towards the black hole. They’re the sole survivors of a crew of death-row inmates sent into the abyss as part of a grotesque experiment in outerspace childbirth, conducted by a cruel and zealous scientist played by a ferocious Juliette Binoche.

Just in time for Halloween comes “XX,” a horror anthology that ploughs genre territory traditionally reserved for men. The quartet’s four parts are shot by different directors: Karyn Kusama (“Girlfight” and last year’s terrific, glammed-down Nicole Kidman vehicle “Destroyer”), Roxanne Benjamin, Jovanka Vuckovic and newcomer Annie Clarke. They give a feminist top-spin to familiar horror tropes in chapters revolving around complex female characters wrestling with everything from the fears and anxieties associated with motherhood to friendship and family conflicts, all shadowed by the usual existential dread. Trick or Treat?t Sept. 14-Nov. 21. sfmoma.org

Antoni Poworski

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Shining Stars

Jason Altaan

Vol. 49 • No. 37 • September 12-18, 2019

Charo!

Spanish singer-guitarist finds comfort in music by David-Elijah Nahmod

n Friday September 20 the incomparable legendary Charo returns to San Francisco for an evening of music and ‘cuchi-cuchi’ at the Herbst Theatre. It’s a bittersweet homecoming for the actress and musician, who is still recovering from the loss of Kjell Rasten, her husband of forty years. Rasten committed suicide after developing a rare skin disease, and Charo was devastated by the loss. But, always the trouper, she believes that the show must go on. And so she dried her tears and resumed her touring and performing schedule. See page 22 >>

Nightlife Events

September 12-19, 2019 With any luck, your Friday (13th!) will be full of fun, not fear. Superstitious? Plan nightlifery on other nights.

Tue 17

The Homobiles @ Ivy Room, Albany

Listings begin on page 23 > { THIRD OF THREE SECTIONS }

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<< Cuchi Cuchi

22 • Bay Area Reporter • September 12-18, 2019

Charo featured on a 1970s TV Week.

Charo in triplicate

Playmates and soul mates...

San Francisco:

1-415-692-5774 18+ MegaMates.com

Charo!

From page 21

Charo (68, whose real name is María del Rosario Pilar Martínez Molina Baeza) is a multi-faceted artist, well known as one of the greatest classical Flamenco guitar players in the world. A native of Spain, she was considered a child prodigy and studied with the legendary guitarist Andres Segovia. But musician is just one of the hats that Charo wears. She is also an actress, appearing on iconic TV shows like The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Hollywood Squares, and many others. She is also known for her wild “cuchi-cuchi” stage persona, a campy act in which she madly swivels her hips, presenting herself as both a sex symbol and a parody of a sex symbol at the same time. When she takes to the stage at the Herbst, her cuchi-cuchi character will be on full display, as will her virtuoso guitar playing. “I love San Francisco,” Charo said in a phone interview with the Bay Area Reporter. “I call it Planet San Francisco, and it’s the best audience perhaps in the whole world because it’s a melting pot, muy simpatico, and very friendly.” Charo has been a great friend to the LGBT community. During one of her earlier visits here she was a Grand Marshal in the San Francisco Pride Parade. “I am a person who loves freedom, equality, and believes that everyone is beautiful,” she said. She noted that it felt great to hear people in the parade applauding her. “It’s a great feeling that people love you,” she said. “Perhaps they’re happy that you gave them a great night, and they’re happy to have the opportunity with the applause, to say thank you back.” When she was here before, she judged a Charo look-alike contest, and, as she puts it, “They were better than me! San Francisco is full of artists, free minds, creative people who admire something that is different and original.”

Charo’s guitar-playing has become legendary. She recalls a lesson she learned from her teacher Andrés Segovia. “He told us to hold the guitar close to your heart,” she said. “As close as you can. ‘Follow your heartbeat, and play from your heart, not from the technique that I’m teaching you.’ And that is what I do. When I hold the guitar, I just let my heart beat, and I try to make the guitar talk. And I hope to get a great welcome with my song ‘Besame Mucho,’ which I just recorded for my husband and for everyone that is in love. Because when you know love as I did, it is the greatest gift everyone can have. May you find that love, may everyone find the love that I’m talking about.” Charo admits that things have been rough since she lost her husband. “I’m an entertainer in my heart,” she said. “And I always have in my mind, no matter what happens, you’ve got to entertain, because people have enough problems in their life. They want to have some kind of treat when they are listening to somebody and they forget their own trouble and enjoy it for the time being. So in my conscience, in my DNA, no matter how I feel, the show is going on. I am so hurt, so

traumatized, so down, that when the rainbow fades away and you don’t see that anymore in the sky, that is me. And so I recorded the most romantic, passionate song ‘Besame Mucho,’ which in English means kiss me a lot. Because at the end of the day the only thing that counts is love. It’s priceless.” Charo promises a lot of energy at her San Francisco show. “The first 40-45 minutes will be hot to trot,” she said. “People will want to get up on their seats and dance, like when you’re in a nightclub. And then they’re relaxed, having fun, and tripping with the music and they forget their own problems. And when I play the guitar, with the exception of ‘Besame Mucho,’ which is very soft and sensual and quiet, the rest of the show is uptempo and exciting.” And she promises that her cuchicuchi will be on full display. “Are you kidding me?” she said. “If I don’t do cuchi-cuchi, I go broke! Cuchi-cuchi for me means money! Lots of cuchi-cuchi, it’s lots of fun!”t Charo performs September 20, 8pm at the Herbst Theater, 401 Van Ness Ave. $50-100. www.cityboxoffice.com www.charo.com

Charo with her late husband, Kjell Rasten.

Nightlife Events>>

September 12-18, 2019 • Bay Area Reporter • 23

Fri 13

Boy Division’s farewell @ Cat Club

Well-Strung @ Feinstein’s at the Nikko

Shake It Up @ Port Bar, Oakland

The string and vocals trio return with their classical spin on pop music hits. $50-$90 ($20 food/drinkmin). 8pm. Sept 14, 8pm; Sept 15, 5pm. Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. www.feinsteinssf.com

DJ Lady Char spins dance grooves; gogo studs, and drink specials. ‘Thank U, Marsha’ (4th Sat.) and Tinsel Teese’s ‘Kiki at the Port Bar’ (8pm). 2023 Broadway. (510) 823-2099. www.portbaroakland.com

Stallion @ Midnight Sun

Sat 14

DJ Bill Dupp, intimate dance floor, gogo cuties, all in the heart of the Castro. 8pm-2am. 4067 18th St. www.midnightsunsf.com

Bilal @ Yoshi’s Oakland The Grammy-nominated vocalist/ producer perfroms R&B music with his band at the stylish restaurantnightclub. $40-$74, 7:30pm & 9:30pm. Also Sept 15, 7pm. 510 Embarcadero West. www.yoshis.com

Studio 5’4” @ Lone Star Saloon Five-year anniversary of the special night for shorter guys, with hosts John and Fur Trap, DJs Mark O’Brien Omnibot and Patty Meltdown; Gummy shots. $5. 9pm-2am. 1354 Harrison St. www.lonestarsf.com

Brunch @ Jolene’s

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

Fri 13 Boy Division @ Cat Club

Thu 12 Comedy Night @ Ashkenaz, Berkeley Keith Lowell Jensen, Priyanka Wali, Victor Pacheco, and Lisa Geduldig will make you laugh, guaranteed. $15-$20. 8pm. 1317 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley. www.ashkenaz.com

Dee’s Keys @ Beaux Weekly live piano and open mic night with Dee Spencer. 4pm-8pm. 2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

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

Junk @ Powerhouse MrPam and Dulce de Leche cohost the weekly underwear strip night and contest, with sexy prizes. $5. 10pm-2am. 1347 Folsom St. www.powerhousebar.com

The New Wave queer cool dance night says goodbye. Enjoy a last 80s groove with DJs Xander, guest Bus Station John, gogos and retro visuals. Free/$10. 9:30pm-3am. 1190 Folsom St. http://www.sfcatclub.com/

Brian Wilson, The Zombies @ Fox Theater, Oakland The former Beach Boys genius shares a bill with the classic rock band; Al Jardine and Blondie Chaplin open. $80-$230. 8pm. 1807 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. http://thefoxoakland.com/

Cubcake @ Lone Star Saloon Bears and cubs, treats and chubs, with DJ Paul Goodyear. $5. 9pm-2am. 1354 Harrison St. www.lonestarsf.com

Elton John @ Chase Center The iconic pop star performs his Farewell Yellow Brick Road concert at the new sports/music arena. $200 and up. 8pm. Also Sept 15. 500 Terry A Francois Blvd. www.chasecenter.com

Star Trek Live! @ Oasis The hilarious drag king/queen parody performance of a classic episode of the scifi TV series teleports back to SoMa, starring Leigh Crow (Capt. Kirk) and a crew of queens and kings. $27.50-$50. Thu-Sat 7pm. Thru Sept 21. 298 11th St. www.sfoasis.com

Gaymer Night @ SF Eagle

Neneh Cherry @ August Hall

Hard Fridays @ Qbar DH Haute Toddy’s weekly electro-pop night with hotty gogos. $3. 9pm-2am (happy hour 4pm-9pm). 456 Castro St. www.QbarSF.com

The saxophonist, composer & vocalist performs with his band at the stylish nightclub-restaurant. $30-$75. 8pm & 10pm. 510 Embarcadero West. www.yoshis.com

Cecil Russell’s dance night, with DJs Joe Gauthreaux and Ed Wood. $15-$45. 10pm-4am. 119 Utah St. thegreatnorthernsf.com

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

Lick It @ Powerhouse

Lips and Lashes Brunch @ Lookout

DJ Blackstone plays thumpin’ beats at Lance Holman’s monthly cruisefest. $5. 10pm-1am. 1347 Folsom St. www.powerhousebar.com

Weekly show with soul, funk and Motown grooves hosted by Carnie Asada, with DJs Becky Knox and Pumpkin Spice. The yummy brunch menu starts at 12pm, with the show at 1:30pm. 3600 16th St. www.lookoutsf.com

Mother @ Oasis Heklina’s popular weekly drag show, with special guests and great music themes, and MadDogg 20/20 in the Fez Room. Billie Eilish vs Miley Cyrus night with a bevy of drag acts. $10$15. 10pm-3am (11:30pm show). 298 11th St. www.sfoasis.com

Qtease @ The Stud Buxom burlesque babes and burlies perform. 6pm-8pm. 399 9th St. www.studsf.com

SF Cheese Fest @ Social Hall Fifth annual celebration of cheese, plus pickles, jams cured meats, with workshops, wine, beer, cider and more. $75-$94. 6pm-9pm. Also Sept 15, 9am-9pm, at different locales for workshops. 1270 Sutter St. www.sfcheesefest.com

Beer Bust @ SF Eagle The popular daytime party, where $10-$15 gets you all the beer you can drink, supporting worthy causes. 3pm-6pm. 398 12th St. at Harrison. www.sf-eagle.com

Big Gay Beer Bust @ The Cinch Benefits and plenty of beer at the historic neighborhood bar. 3pm-7pm. 1723 Polk St. www.cinchsf.com

Big Top @ Beaux An extra weekend night at the fun Castro nightclub, plus hot local DJs and sexy gogo guys and gals. $8. 9pm2am. 2344 Market St. beauxsf.com

Blessed @ Port Bar, Oakland Amoura Teese and Ava Lashay cohost a weekly drag show. 2023 Broadway. www.portbaroakland.com

Body & Soul @ SVN West

Dirty Musical Sundays @ The Edge

Rock bands play at the famed leather bar. $8. 398 12th St. at Harrison. www.sf-eagle.com

Chey Bell headlines the new monthly comedy night, produced by Marga Gomez; with Baruch Porras-Hernandez, Dhaya Lakshminarayanan, Emily Van Dyke and Kristee Ono. $10-$15. 8pm. 2773 24th St. www.brava.org

Sun 15

Rooftop party with Danny Krivit, Joaquin ‘Joe’ Claussell & François K. and Mighty Real resident David Harness. $20-$25. 2pm-12am. 10 South Van Ness Ave. svnwest.com

Thursday Night Live @ SF Eagle

Who’s Your Mami Comedy @ Brava Theatre

Katya Smirnoff-Skyy @ Oasis

DJs Patrick and Chuck Gunn spin at Jorge & Blake’s monthly night; new location. $10. 10pm-4am. 399 9th St. www.studsf.com

K-pop and more with DJ Peter Lo; hosts Mile Jai, Cash Monet and drag acts. $10-$15. 10pm-2am. 298 11th St. www.sfoasis.com The popular women’s dance party returns at the new nightclub, now weekly. 10pm-2am. 2700 16th St. at Harrison. www.jolenessf.com

Sun 15

Pound Puppy @ The Stud

The spirited New Orleans band performs at the outdoor ampitheatre; Anderson East opens. $50. 7:30pm. 2001 Gaily Way, UC Berkeley campus. www.apeconcerts.com

Uhaul @ Jolene’s

DJed grooves at the historic East Bay gay bar. 9pm-2am. 6551 Telegraph Ave, (510) 652-3820. www.whitehorsebar.com

Icon @ Great Northern

Latin Explosion @ Club 21

Seoul Train @ Oasis Eric Darius @ Yoshi’s Oakland

Literature and liquor with Featuring Yangsze Choo (The Night Tiger), Evan Ramzipoor ( The Ventriloquists), Fonda Lee ( The Jade War, Exo ) and others; Charlie Jane Anders hosts. $5-$15. 7pm. 3225 22nd St. www.makeoutroom.com

Dance Party @ White Horse Bar, Oakland

Furniture, rugs, lava lamps at Ky and Juan Martinez’ monthly event, with DJ Russ Rich. $5.9pm-2am. 1347 Folsom St. www.powerhousebar.com

The Revivalists @ Greek Theatre, Berkeley

Fri 13

Writers With Drinks @ The Make Out Room

House Party @ Powerhouse

Video games, board games and more. 8pm-2am. 398 12th St. www.sf-eagle.com

The veteran singer-composer performs new and classic songs (“Buffalo Stance”) with davOmakesbeats. $30. 9pm. 420 Mason St. www.augusthallsf.com

Stylish pop from the LA singer, with Castelcomer and Sumif also performing (see article in last week’s issue). $15-$17. 7pm. 155 Fell St. http://morgxn.com

Pop singer performs songs from her debut album, Sucker Punch. $25. 8:30pm. 444 Jessie St. https://mezzaninesf.com/

On Time, with Nicki Jizz, Elijah, Sir Joc; music: Wife of Wrath, Hijo Prodigo, Poptart. 10pm-4am. 399 9th St. www.studsf.com

Neneh Cherry @ August Hall

Morgxn @ Rickshaw Stop

Sigrid @ Mezzanine

Futurehood @ The Stud

Gogo-tastic dance night starts off your weekend. $5. 9pm-2am. 2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

The weekly drag show with themed nights and hilarious fun. $5. 9pm-2am. 4149 18th St. at Collingwood. www.edgesf.com

KJ Dana hosts the weekly singing night; unleash your inner American Idol ; first Thursdays are Costume Karaoke; third is Kinky Karaoke 8pm. 43 6th St. clubomgsf.com

Dance it up at the historic (and still hip) East Bay bar. 9pm-2am. 6551 Telegraph Ave. whitehorsebar.com

Manimal @ Beaux

The Monster Show @ The Edge

Queer Karaoke @ Club OMG

Enjoy DJed grooves, chicken & waffles, veggie scrambles and more, with brunch cocktails, at the new queer bar. 11am-3pm. Also Sundays. 2700 16th St. www.jolenessf.com

Friday Nights at the Ho @ White Horse Bar, Oakland

Sat 14

Studio 5’4” @ Lone Star Saloon

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

Disco Daddy @ SF Eagle DJ Bus Station John’s groovy retro T-dance celebrates Rick James and Teena Marie. $5-$7. 7pm-1am. 398 12th St. www.sf-eagle.com

See page 24 >>

<< Nightlife Events

24 • Bay Area Reporter • September 12-18, 2019

Nightlife Events

From page 23

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

B.P.M. @ Club BnB, Oakland

All-gender night with Bay Area Cub 2019 Shibby Fox, DJ Paul Goodyear, charity raffles and donations go to Trans Lifeline. $5-$15. 4pm-8pm. 1354 Harrison St. www.lonestarsf.com

Olga T and Shugga Shay’s weekly queer women and men’s R&B hip hop and soul night, at the club’s new location. 8pm-2am. 2120 Broadway, Oakland. www.bench-and-bar.com

Cabaret Karaoke @ Feinstein’s at the Nikko

Mon 16 Bea Dazzler, part of the Drag Quing Pageant @ The Stud

Katya Smirnoff-Skyy @ Oasis The exiled Russian royal performs her Back in the USSR concert. $27.50-$50. 7pm. 289 11th St. www.sfoasis.com

Palace of Trash @ The Stud The Plastic Show, a drag tribute to plastic trash drag. 6pm-8pm. 399 9th St. www.studsf.com

Queer Tango @ Finnish Hall, Berkeley Same-sex partner tango dancing, including lessons for newbies, food and drinks. $5-$10. 3:30pm-6:30pm. 1970 Chestnut St, Berkeley. www.finnishhall.org

Renegade @ Atlas The weekly cruisy semi-private party. 6pm-10pm. $5-$20. Now also Truck Tuesdays, and Thursdays, 9pm-2am. 415 10th St. www.atlas-sf.com

Shag @ Powerhouse Nic Candito’s monthly night. $5. 9pm-2am. 1347 Folsom St. www.powerhousebar.com

Midweek drag rave and vocal open mic, with Dulce de Leche, Rahni Nothingmore, Beth Bicoastal, Ginger Snap and guests. 10pm. 3158 Mission St. www.elriosf.com

Watch AHS 1984, the camp/slasher FX Ryan Murphy TV series. 10pm-12am. 398 12th St. www.sf-eagle.com

Genderscope @ Lone Star Saloon

New weekly house, funk, soul T-dance with guest-DJs and no cover. 3pm9pm. 647 Valencia St. www.glamsundays.com

Queeraoke @ El Rio

Weekly creepy drag show and viewing party for the Boulet Brothers’ Dragula, with hosts Nitrixe Oxine and Dakota Pendant. $5-$10. 8pm-12am. 398 12th St. www.sf-eagle.com

American Horror Story Night @ SF Eagle

Queer black and white fetish bar. $7$20. 7pm-2am. 399 9th St. www.studsf.com

Glam Sundays @ Valencia Room

Zodiac @ SF Eagle

Wed 18

Drrrty @ The Stud

Sundance Saloon @ Space 550

Munro’s at Midnight @ Midnight Sun

The popular two-stepping linedancing, not-just-country music night, with free lessons. $5. 5pm-10:30pm. Also Thursdays 6:30pm-10:30pm. 550 Barneveld Ave. www.sundancesaloon.org

Drag night with Mercedez Munro. No cover. 10pm. 4067 18th St. 861-4186. www.midnightsunsf.com

Mon 16 Drag Quing Pageant @ The Stud Trans, fluid, nonconforming, intersex performers night, with hosts Alabama Slamma, Bea Dazzler, Erika Klash, performances by Mocha Fapalatte, Rexy, plus nearly a dozen contestants. $10. 8pm-11pm. 399 9th St. www.studsf.com

KQ League Night @ Detour Game tournament at the renovated former Brewcade bar/restaurant. 7:30pm-11pm. 2200 Market St. www.detoursf.com

One Night Only @ Marines’ Memorial Theatre Protest! Revel with Some Rebels ; cast members from Hamilton, plus guest-MCs Judd Winick and Pam Ling from The Real World San Francisco perform at the benefit concert for the Richmond/Ermet Aid Foundation; silent & live auctions, drinks & food at the VIP reception. $75-$150. 7:30pm. 609 Sutter St. www.reaf-sf.org

OurTownSF Nonprofit Expo Launch Party @ Blackbird Meet & Greet for reps from nonprofits interested & participating in the October 19 Expo. 6pm-8pm. 2124 Market St. www.ourtownsf.org/ nonprofit-expo.html

Dick Bright MCs the new karaoke night at the elegant nightclub. $12$15. ($20 food/drink min.). Thru Sept. Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. www.feinsteinssf.com

GAYmes @ Port Bar, Oakland Board games night; Baila Conmigo, queer Latinx fundraiser (2nd Wed.), Wet & Wild drag shows (1st & 4th Wed.). 2023 Broadway. www.portbaroakland.com

Eight-time Grammy-nominated pop star performs; Jagwar Twin opens. $60-$80. 8pm. 1807 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. www.thefoxoakland.com

Weekly underwear party at the intimate mid-Market nightclub. $1 well drinks for anyone in underwear from 9pm-10pm. 43 6th St. www.clubomgsf.com

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

Weekly fun night of games and cocktails. 8pm-12am. 4067 18th St. www.midnightsunsf.com

The Homobiles, Fast Execution, Taleen Kali, Copyslut @ Ivy Room, Albany Queer rock and roll night, also DJ Mariana Timony. $7-$10. 9pm-12am. 860 San Pablo Ave. Albany. www.ivyroom.com

Love Fame Tragedy @ Rickshaw Stop UK musician Matthew Murphy’s (The Wombats) new music project of poptasty songs. $18. 8pm. 155 Fell St. www.rickshawstop.com

Trivia Night @ Hi Tops

Truck Tuesdays @ Atlas Super-cruisy night at the new semiprivate club. $10-$20. 9pm-2am. 415 10th St. www.atlas-sf.com

Johnny Rockitt hosts a weekly night of trivia and other games. 8pm-10pm. 1666 Market St. yieldandpause.com

Gym Class @ Hi Tops Enjoy whiskey shots from jockstrapped hotties and sexy sports videos at the popular sports bar. 10pm-2am. 2247 Market St. 551-2500. www.HiTopsSF.com

Lez Groove @ The Stud Retro disco vibes and wimmin’s night, with DJs e’Lish, Siobhan Aluvalot, live set with Khalibud. $5-$8. 9pm-2am. 399 9th St. www.studsf.com

Musical Wednesdays @ The Edge

Gaymer Night @ Midnight Sun

Play the trivia game at the popular sports bar. $5. 9pm. 2247 Market St. 551-2500. www.HiTopsSF.com

Game Night @ Pause Wine Bar

The weekly fun night at the Bernal Heights bar includes prizes, hosted by Kitty Tapata. No cover. 7pm10pm. 424 Cortland St. 647-3099. www.wildsidewest.com

NSA @ Club OMG

Avril Lavigne @ Fox Theater, Oakland

Weekly DJed sex party with Latin videos/music, free salsa bar, half-price lockers, at the famed South Bay bath house. 4pm-12am. 1010 The Alameda, San Jose. thewatergarden.com

Miss Kitty’s Trivia Night @ Wild Side West

Underwear Night @ 440

Tue 17

Fuego @ The Watergarden, San Jose

International pop star singer performs; Kiesza opens. $45. 8pm. 1805 Geary St at Fillmore. thefillmore.com

Cabaret concert of local talents performing Broadway hits with the genders reversed. $25-$55 ($20 food/ drink min.) 7pm. Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. www.feinsteinssf.com Strip down to your skivvies at the popular men’s night. 9pm-2am. 440 Castro St. 621-8732. the440.com

Thu 19

Mika @ The Fillmore

Sing along to shows tunes on video, lip-synched and live, at the Castro bar, with host Brian Kent; trivia contest, and prizes. 7pm-12am. 4149 18th St. at Collingwood. www.edgesf.com

Pronoun Showdown @ Feinstein’s at the Nikko

Wed 18

Pan Dulce @ Beaux

Wed 18

Mika @ The Fillmore

Thump @ White Horse, Oakland Weekly electro music night with DJ Matthew Baker and guests. 9pm-2am. 6551 Telegraph Ave, (510) 652-3820. www.whitehorsebar.com

Thursday Night Live @ SF Eagle Rock bands play at the famed leather bar. $8. 398 12th St. at Harrison. www.sf-eagle.com t

Celebrity>>

September 12-18, 2019 • Bay Area Reporter • 25

Antoni Porowski Queer Eye guy on his combo-plate career

Antoni Porowski

by Jim Gladstone

“I

never imagined life would bring me to a point where I’d be sitting here staring at my cookbook,” says Antoni Porowski, the Queer Eye star who will be promoting that book, Antoni In The Kitchen, at a panel discussion and recipe demo at the Castro Theatre next Wednesday. For years, Porowski, 34, worked in New York restaurants to eke out an income while pursuing work as an actor. “At one point I wasn’t getting many parts and my roommate kept saying, ‘Why don’t you pursue something in the food world instead. You’re so passionate about it and you know so much.’ Since I was a kid, I’ve loved to cook. When I was 14, I would make dinner parties for my friends, but it was something personal, not anything I considered being involved with as a career. Having people think of me as a ‘Food Guy’ is something I actually fought against. I wanted to act.” In a linguine-tangle of ironies, Porowski’s breakout role as a performer has been his gig as Food Guy on Queer Eye…for which he’s been nastily criticized as insufficiently foodie. When the Netflix reboot’s first season of episodes was released in February 2018, Porowski was served up as red meat at an online trolls’ banquet. As his Fab Five colleagues executed stunning makeovers of wardrobes, homes and hairstyles, Porowski taught the show’s stuck-in-a-rut subjects to make hot dogs, grilled cheese and guacamole (The sacrilegious inclusion of Greek yogurt in the latter had the web’s gastro-assholes and bitter queens hissing for weeks). But as Porowski unflappedly explains, “Queer Eye isn’t really a cooking program. On the show, I use food to connect with the people we’re helping. It’s a show about them and their journeys. When we first started, I got frustrated when they edited out the squeeze of lime I added at the end of a dish—it really adds brightness. Now I understand that that’s not really the point.” Porowski recognizes that his role is at least as much about pop psychology as pots and pans. Almost two years down the road, Porowski says the not-quite-acting, short-of-gourmet gig is “more fulfilling than anything I’ve done in my life.” “I feel like I’m really doing a service for the people we have on the show and people who watch it, too. I still think about plays I might want to do and I do table reads sometimes, but it would be hard to find a job that provides the same sense of meaning as this does.” The trilingual, Montreal-born son of Polish immigrants, Porowski

also says he’s grown comfortable with the hybrid, shapeshifting nature of his booming career. “You can be passionate about multiple things,” he’s realized. “Its actually good for me, because I’m very ADD anyway.” Given the opportunities leverage his Queer Eye success to partner in

a casual Manhattan restaurant, The Village Den; or show off his sexy gecko physique in Hanes underwear ads, or to write a cookbook, Porowski has gone all in. (He also maintains a passionate interest in vintage furniture). “To be honest with you,” he says about Antoni in the Kitchen, “I

struggled at first when they asked me to do a book. I love to cook, but how do I come up with 100 recipes that fit together? Would it be about my Polish heritage? Would it be about easy, affordable recipes that I made as a student? My editor said yes, it should be both of those and more. Every recipe in the book has

a story from my life connected to it. It’s an autobiography in recipes. And I’m not one thing.”t Antoni in the Kitchen, Wednesday, September 18, 8pm at the Castro Theatre, 429 Castro St. $45. www.antoniporowski.com www.castrotheatre.com

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<< Arts Events

26 • Bay Area Reporter • September 12-18, 2019

Arts Events

September 12-19, 2019

New shows, exhibits, operas, concerts and more are ready and open for your patronage.

No Regrets: A Celebration of Marlon Riggs @ BAM/PFA

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

Thu 12 Aunt Charlie’s @ Tenderloin Museum Multimedia exhibit about the historic Tenderloin drag bar. Also, Hot Boxx Girls, photos by Darwin Bell. Exhibit thru Dec 1. 398 Eddy St. http://www.tenderloinmuseum.org/

Ben Folds @ SF Jewish Community Center The musican discusses/signs copies of his memoir, A Dream About Lightning Bugs.Music performance, also $35-$65 (includes book). 7pm. 3200 California St. www.jccsf.org

Classic and New Films @ Castro Theatre Sept 12: Downton Abbey sneak preview (7pm) and also Sept 19-26. Sept 13: Grease sing-along (7:30) and Back to School (9:45). Sept 14: The Landlord (1:15) and The Last Black Man in San Francisco (3:30, 6pm, 8:30)Sept 15: The Wizard of Oz (2pm). Sept 15: Amazing Grace (Aretha Franklin documentary, 4:30, 8pm) and Wattstax (6:10). Sept 16 & 17: Paris is Burning (7:15) and Before Stonewall (5:30, 8:50). Sept 18: Antoni Porowski (Queer Eye) with Alice Waters and Davia Nelson ($45, 8pm). $8-$16. 429 Castro St. http://www.castrotheatre.com/

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Sept 12, 7pm: Matthew Zapruder ( Father’s Day) and Dobby Gibson ( Little Glass Planet ). Sept 15, 5pm: Ann Merlan ( Republic of Lies). Sept 17, 7pm: Janaka Stucky (Ascend Ascend ). 261 Columbus Ave. www.citylights.com

The Great Wave @ Berkeley Repertory

Fri 13

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

Mugwumpin, Mabel Valdiviezo with Travis Bennett @ CounterPulse The Looking Glass Self and Metamorphosis: Phase 1 are performed by the two energetic performance ensembles. Free/$30. Thu-Sat 8pm, thru Sept 21. 80 Turk St. www.counterpulse.org

Porchlight Storytelling @ Vogue Theater ‘Pacific Heights and Lows’ with Brooke Wentz, Michael Wharton Kevin Hunsanger Cate Nelson, Peggy Knickerbocker, and music by Allyson Baker, Kelley Stoltz and of course Marc Capelle. $20. 7:30pm. 3290 Sacramento St. www.porchlightsf.com

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Readings @ City Lights Bookstore

Sept 12, 5pm: Presidential Debate Watch. Sept 13, 8pm: screening of The Cockettes. 14, 6:30pm: Women on Top, the Comedy Show. 16, 6:30pm: Congresswoman Sharice Davids and Xochiti Torres Small. 17, 6pm: Elizabeth Warren’s spocial media director. Free/$10 and up (donations). 3092 16th St. www.welcometomannys.com

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Romeo & Juliet @ War Memorial Opera House

The Flick @ Ashby Stage, Berkeley

San Francisco Opera performs Charles Gounod’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic romantic tragedy. $31-$306. 8pm. Also Sept 18, 21, 24, 29 & Oct 1. 301 Van Ness Ave. www.sfopera.com

Shotgun Players performs Annie Baker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 2014 drama/comedy about three people working in a cinema. $7-$40. Thru Sept 22. 1901 Ashby Ave., Berkeley. www.shotgunplayers.org

SevanKelee Boult, Arielle Cole @ SafeHouse

Mike Henderson @ SFAI

A night of women’s dance works: Boult’s DemiSlave: The 2nd Coming of Moses, a solo work-in-progress, and Cole’s ArcTangent Dance in Phone, Keys, Wallet. $15. 8pm. Also Sept 14. 145 Eddy St. www.safehousearts.org

Honest to Goodness, an exhibit of vibrant colorful paintings by the local artist and musician. Artist reception Sept 20, 6pm-8pm. Thru Nov. 800 Chestnut St. www.sfai.edu

Solidarity Struggle Victory @ Southern Exposure

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Cabaret @ SF Playhouse New local production of Kander & Ebb and Masteroff’s classic musical based on the John Van Druten play and stories by Christopher Isherwood, set in Weimar Germany. $35-$125. Tue-Thu & Sun 7pm. Fri & Sat 8pm. Also Sat 3pm, Sun 2pm. Thru Sept. 14. 450 Post St. www.sfplayhouse.org

Caroline, or Change @ Victoria Theatre Ray of Light theatre Company’s production of Jeanine Tesori and Tony Kushner’s musical drama about a Southern Jewish family and their Black maid. $35-$40. Thru Oct. 5. 2961 16th St. www.rayoflighttheatre.com

Concept Series 26 @ Green Room RAWdance’s latest salon of contemporary dance works, in the beautiful space. Pay what you can. 8pm. Also Sept 14, 3pm & 7pm. 401 Van Ness Ave. www.rawdance.org

Exit Strategy @ Aurora Theatre, Berkeley

Opening reception for a group exhibit of works that commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the country’s first ever College of Ethnic Studies, established at San Francisco State College in 1969, ushering in a national movement for the transformation of higher education. 7pm-9pm. thru Nov 9. 3030 20th St. www.soex.org

Sunset Dances II @ Outer Sunset Lizz Roman & Dancers’ second annual site-specific dance and live music (composed by Jerome Lindner) concerts in a private Ocean Beach home. $30. Fri-Sun 8:30pm thru Sept 22. www.eventbrite. com/e/sunset-dances

Titus Andronicus @ La Val’s Subterranean Theater, Berkeley Shakespeare’s violent bloody tragedy gets an intimate local production. $15-$25. Thu 7:30pm. Fri & Sat 8pm. Sun 7pm thru Sept 29. 1834 Euclid Ave., Berkeley. www.tituslunatico.bpt.me

Sat 14 Brian Dettmer @ Nancy Toomey Fine Art Exhibit of Elegies, the artist’s amazing carved book sculptures. Reg hours Tue-Fri 11am-5:30pm. Sat 11am-5pm; artist reception Oct 5, 5pm-7pm; thru Oct. 12. 1275 Minnesota St. www.nancytoomeyfineart.com

Cirque de la Symphonie @ Marin Center, San Rafael Marin Symphony’s concert includes aerial acrobats and circus entertainments set to works by Dvorak, Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, Wagner and other composers. $20$85. 7pm. Sept 15, 3pm. 3501 Civice Center Drive, San Rafael. www.marincenter.org

Queer Bound Showcase @ Alley Cat Books One-year anniversary celebration of the LGBTQ open mic and art collective, with readings, performances and more. 6pm-9pm. 3036 24th St. 3036 24th St. www.alleycatbookshop.com

Sara Lisch, Elizabeth Sher, Julianne Wallace Sterling @ Mercury20, Oakland Three solo exhibitions of diverse works. ArtIsts reception Sept 21, 4pm-6pm. Thru Oct 19. 475 25th St., Oakland. mercurytwenty.com

SF Hiking Club @ Redwood Regional Park Join GLBT hikers of the SF Hiking Club for a five-mile hike in Redwood Regional Park in the Oakland hills. Carpool meets at 9am at Safeway sign, Market & Dolores. (510) 9269220. www.sfhiking.com

Still Here San Francisco Contributors @ Mission Branch Public Library Co-Editors Natalia M. Vigil and Mason J. Smith will discuss the Queer and Latinx anthology and moderate a Q&A after readings from contributors. 2:30pm. 300 Bartlett St. www.sfpl.org

Walk in Beauty @ Marin Center Group art exhibit of local landscapes and wildlife paintings; thru Oct. 10. Also, Tricia George wildlife paintings (thru Oct. 10). 10 Ave. of the Flags, san rafael. www.marincenter.org

Sun 15 Broadway Flipped @ Gateway Theatre 42nd Street Moon’s two-night fundraising cabaret concerts and parties, with rousing performances of Broadway classic songs with roles gender-reversed. $35-$75. 7:30pm. Also Sept 16. 215 Jackson St.. http://42ndstmoon.org/flipped/

Performances of Ike Holter’s play about teachers and students who fight the demolition of a beloved school building. $40-$70. Thru Sept. 29. 2081 Addison St., Berkeley. www.auroratheatre.org

Horror Art Show @ Feathered Outlaw Paintings and sculptures with a spooky edge by Halloween Queen Ashli Ghoul, at the vintage clothing store; tricks and treats provided; all ages. 7pm-10pm. 1506 Webster St., Alameda. featheredoutlaw.com

Lucy Jane Bledsoe @ Mrs. Dalloway’s Bookstore, Berkeley The award-winning local author’s book launch for Running Wild, a new children’s book set in Alaska. 7pm. 2904 College Ave., Berkeley. www.mrsdalloways.com

Pour the Line @ Abacus Row Reriddle presents a conceptual art interactive pop-up exhibit that recalls 1960s art ‘happenings.’ Opening reception 6:30-8:30pm. Wed-Sun 12pm-7pm, thru Oct 4. 1256 Mason St. www.reriddle.com

Fri 13 Ashli Ghoul, part of Horror Art Show @ Feathered Outlaw, Alameda

Arts Events>>

Various Exhibits @ Asian Art Museum Contemporary works by Tanabe Chikuunsai IV, Kim Heecheon and Liu Jianhua; and exhibits of historic sculptures, prints and antiquities. Sunday café specialties from $7-$16. Free-$20. Tue-Sun 10am-5pm. 200 Larkin St. www.asianart.org

Mon 16 Flash Fiction Collective @ The Bindery Big night of tiny tales by Nancy Au, Kim Magowan, Pamela Painter, & Peg Alford Pursell, alongside FFC organizers Kirstin Chen, Jane Ciabattari, and Grant Faulkner; with a bar! 7:30pm. 1727 Haight St. www.booksmith.com

Justin Hall @ Strut The local comic artist and editor’s Greetings From Dadville, his new collection of illustrations from a new comic book. 470 Castro St. www.strutsf.org

One Night Only @ Marines’ Memorial Theatre Protest! Revel with Some Rebels; cast members from the local touring production of Hamilton, plus guestMCs Judd Winick and Pam Ling from The Real World San Francisco perform at the benefit concert for the Richmond/Ermet Aid Foundation; silent and live auctions, drinks and food, at the VIP reception. $ 7:30pm. 609 Sutter St. www.reaf-sf.org

Queer as German Folk @ SF Public Library Exhibit of ephemera and memorabilia about Stonewall rebellion commemorations in Germany and worldwide; additional

September 12-18, 2019 • Bay Area Reporter • 27

(Soprano) and Keisuke Nakagoshi (Piano). $35-$150. 7:30pm. 50 Oak St. www.operaparallele.org

exhibit also at Eureka Valley Branch, 1 Jose Sarria Court at 16th; both thru Sept 26. 100 Larkin St. sfpl.org

Fragments + Resistence @ Creativity Explored

We Are More @ California Humanities, Oakland

Dual exhibition of works by Joseph “JD” Green and John Iwaszewicz. Artists’ reception 7pm-9pm. Exhibit thru Nov. 7. 3245 16th St. www.creativityexplored.org

Exhibit of art by four queer comic artists; Ajuan Mance, Breena Nuñez, Lawrence Lindell, and Trinidad Escobar. Thru Sept. 538 9th St. Suite 210. Oakland. calhum.org

In Search of Stonewall @ GLBT History Museum

Tue 17 Lino Tagliapietra @ Montague Gallery Radiance, the glass sculptor’s exhibit of beautiful new works. Thru Sept 28. 445A Sutter St. www.montaguegallery.com

Off the Wall @ Mission Cultural Center Exhibit and sale of historic Mission Grafica Printmaking Studio’s decades of posters and prints; main Gallery, thru Sept. 20. 2868 Mission St. www.missionculturalcenter.org

Wed 18 Africa State of Mind @ MOAD Traveling exhibit curated by Ekow Eshun includes works focusing on the idea of ‘Africanness.’ Also, The Sacred Star of Isis and Other Stories, photos by Adama Delphine Fawundo; also Rashaad Newsome’s Stop Playing in My Face!. Free/$10. Both thru Nov. 15. 685 Mission St. www.moadsf.org

Sun 15

Dog Netsuko, part of Various Exhibits @ Asian Art Museum

Interior/Exterior @ Museum of Craft & Design Group exhibit of works curated by Ariel Zaccheo; also, Dead Nuts: a search for the ultimate machined object , curated by David Cole; both thru Dec. 1. Cocktails and artist chats, plus hands-on workshops (Aug 15, 6pm-9pm). 2569 3rd St. www.sfmcd.org

Thu 19 All of Me: Stories of Love, Anger, and the Female Body @ The Green Arcade Editor Dani Burlison discusses the new PM Press anthology with Tomas Moniz. 7pm. 1680 Market St. www.thegreenarcade.com

Richard Caldwell Brewer @ Lost Art Salon

Bill and Flicka: Generous Spirits @ SF Conservatory of Music

Exhibit of works by the late gay artist (1923-2014). Mon-Sat 10am5:30pm. 245 South Van Ness Ave., #303. https://lostartsalon.com/

Opera Paralléle presents a concert with William Burden (Tenor), Frederica von Stade (MezzoSoprano), Guest Christabel Nunoo

Jewelle Gomez, Steven Dansky, Will Roscoe and Eve Goldberg discuss their contributions to the Gay & Lesbian Review’s anthology. Also, Queering Familias: Building Latinx Resilience & Hope, a panel discussion, 7pm, in conjuntion with the exhibit Chosen Familias: Bay Area LGBTQ Latinx Stories. Also, The Mayor of Folsom Street: Alan Selby’s Legacy, an exhibit of the leather culture pioneer. 4127 18th St. www.glbthistory.org

No Regrets: A Celebration of Marlon Riggs @ BAM/PFA Screenings of films by the late African American gay artist and UC Berkeley professor, including Tongues Untied and Black Is…Black Ain’t. Thru Nov 25. Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive, 2155 Center St., Berkeley. bampfa.org

Top Girls @ Geary Theater American Conservatory Theatre’s new season kicks off with Caryl Churchill’s modern classic drama about the cost of progress in a world divided by class, cruelty, and capitalism. $15-$110. Thru Oct. 13. 415 Geary St. www.act-sf.org t

Shining Stars Steven Underhill Photos by

MAX @ Eclipse Bar M

AX held a First Friday cocktail meet & greet at Eclipse Bar in the Hyatt Regency San Francisco on Sept. 6. The social group for gay men and their friends goes back to 1988, and continues to welcome new members at frequent social events.Their next event is Wednesday, September 11, from 5pm to 7pm at Sky Bar atop the Loews Regency San Francisco. https://maxsf.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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For headshots, portraits or to arrange your wedding photos

call (415) 370-7152 or visit www.StevenUnderhill.com or email stevenunderhillphotos@gmail.com

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