April 20th, 2023 edition of the Bay Area Reporter

San Francisco Police Department command staff were able to march in uniform during last year’s Pride parade, while other officers wore casual wear.

SF Pride keeps police policy for ’23

by John Ferrannini

The organization that puts on the San Francisco Pride parade and celebration will allow some uniformed police to march at the event this year, under the same conditions as last year, the Bay Area Reporter has learned.

“The SFPD contingent will be allowed to march in this year’s parade as long as they meet the guidelines set forth by the agreement we made with them last year,” said Suzanne Ford, a trans woman who is the executive director of the San Francisco Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Pride Celebration Committee. “Our board has formed a committee that is meeting with SFPD Pride Alliance this month to continue discussing the relationship between SFPD and the local queer community.”

A ban on uniformed officers from the San Francisco Police Department marching in the parade was enacted in 2020 after officers detained protesters who blocked the 2019 parade, leading to allegations of excessive force, as the B.A.R. reported (https:// www.ebar.com/story.php?289063). One of the protesters, Taryn Saldivar, alleging violations of their constitutional rights, battery, and false arrest and imprisonment, later sued the city and the police department, receiving a settlement of $190,000 in September 2021.

Due to COVID-19, the Pride parade did not take place for two years. As a result, the ban didn’t become an issue until 2022, when it prompted outrage from many quarters including Mayor London Breed and gay District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey, who said they themselves wouldn’t participate if the restriction on police uniforms was enforced.

Breed and Dorsey reversed course when a compromise was reached (https://www. ebar.com/story.php?id=316123) whereby the police chief and command staff were allowed to march in full uniform while others would be allowed to march out of uniform.

(As it turned out, Breed had COVID in late June and was forced to miss the parade and

See page 10 >>

SF supes’ panel backs fixed seating at Castro Theatre

by John Ferrannini

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors’ Land Use and Transportation Committee voted 2-1 April 17 in favor of an amendment to landmark the fixed orchestra seating in the Castro Theatre.

The amendment, offered by District 5 Supervisor and committee vice chair Dean Preston, adds “fixed theatrical seating configured in movie palace style” at the Castro Theatre. The committee – which consists of Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin, Preston, and chair District 7 Supervisor Myrna Melgar – has to vote on the expanded interior landmarking and the amendment once more, next Monday.

The matter of interior landmarking for the Castro Theatre will then go to the full Board of Supervisors, which makes the final decision.

It is largely what opponents of Another Planet have wanted since the Historic Preservation Commission in February recommended interior landmarking of the movie palace but only with the “presence of seating.”

Many supporters of Another Planet and the Castro Theatre Conservancy, which lob-

bied for the fixed seating amendment, spoke during public comment.

The vote came two weeks after Peskin issued an ultimatum to theater operator Another Planet Entertainment to come to an agreement with the community. As gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman explained at the meeting’s outset, no agree-

ment has materialized.

“I am, unfortunately, sad to report we have not had luck in those negotiations,” Mandelman stated. “Although there were moments in the last several weeks, both sides in my view have done things and taken positions that ensure there would not be one at least not for now.”

See page 10 >>

SF City Hall to be lit up for Lesbian Visibility Week

by Heather Cassell

San Francisco City Hall will join a handful of cities around the world lighting up select buildings for Lesbian Visibility Week from April 24-30.

For the first time, according to Victor RuizCornejo in Mayor London Breed’s office, City Hall will be awash in red, orange, white, and shades of pink (the colors of the lesbian flag) Friday, April 28.

San Francisco joins London’s OVO Arena Wembley and Glasgow’s OVO Hydro Arena, which will also be lit up in the flag’s colors for the week recognizing lesbians.

The Bay Area Reporter reached out to Linda Riley, publisher of the U.K.-based lesbian magazine, Diva, and initiator of the modern Lesbian Visibility Week campaign, for comment and a list of other cities.

Riley did not respond by press time.

Lesbian Visibility Day is formally observed Wednesday, April 26.

“I think it’s ironic that a lot of people don’t know the colors of the lesbian flag,” said Frances “Franco” Stevens, a lesbian who is co-founder of The Curve Foundation. Stevens was the subject of the documentary, “Ahead of the Curve” ,” about the groundbreaking lesbian magazine she founded in San Francisco in 1990. The magazine is now a quarterly project of the foundation.

Steven’s wife, Jen Rainin, co-produced and co-

AdobeStock/Maxim

The colors of the lesbian flag will light up San Francisco City Hall Friday, April 28, to mark a global event raising visibility about lesbians.

directed the film with Rivkah Beth Medow.

Stevens noted the prevalence of the rainbow flag and similar banners like the Progress flag, but not the lesbian flag or the visibility week. Additionally, she said lesbian visibility is getting lost as the world becomes more inclusive and the ways queer people identify become more diverse.

Throughout the film she asked, “Is the term ‘lesbian’ still relevant?” she told the B.A.R.

“Overwhelmingly, the response was, ‘Yes,’” Stevens said, adding that she will be out in front of San Francisco City Hall when it is lit up in the colors of the lesbian flag. “We are still here, and we need recognition.”

“We need to be recognized for our contributions to the community, to our culture, [and] to our city,” she said.

Lesbian Visibility Week was launched in 1990 by a group of Los Angeles lesbians to champion better representation for queer women within the LGBTQ community, reported Pink News. That same year, Curve hit newsstands across the country. Three years later, New York City lesbians launched the activist group the Lesbian Avengers , which started at the Dyke March at the 1993 LGBTQ March on Washington.

See page 2 >>

A Board of Supervisors committee voted 2-1 Monday for an amendment that would preserve fixed orchestra seating at the Castro Theatre.

Scott Wazlowski

Rick Gerharter

Pornographer David Hurles dies

Defense attorney says defendant didn’t know Marsh

by John Ferrannini

The attorney defending the UC Berkeley employee charged in the killing a gay Black man in Oakland last month said that as far as he knows, the two did not know each other.

Attorney David J. Briggs and his client, Sweven Waterman, were in Alameda County Superior Court Thursday for a hearing. Waterman, 38, of Oakland, has been charged with homicide in the March 4 stabbing death of Curtis Marsh, 53, also of Oakland. Waterman has pleaded not guilty.

“I don’t have any indication they knew each other, but I’m still in the early stages of involvement here,” Briggs told the Bay Area Reporter.

As the B.A.R. previously reported, Waterman is in custody without bail at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin.

Waterman appeared in court April 13 in Department 11 at the René C. Davidson Courthouse near Lake Merritt, so that the DA’s office could provide any witness statements, DNA evidence, and video it’s planning to use.

Briggs told the B.A.R. before the hearing that his plan was to “enter a time waiver” because since last week – when he complained the DA’s office hadn’t “given me anything to explain why my

client is being charged here” – he had received much of what he had asked for.

When asked if it’s enough information, Briggs said it is, “for now.” Briggs clarified that he received witness statements and video.

Briggs demurred when asked about his client’s sexual orientation.

“I can’t comment on that,” he said.

During the hearing before Judge Kimberly Colwell, Waterman waived his right to a speedy preliminary hearing and all parties agreed to return to the same courtroom at 9 a.m. Wednesday, May 17.

The B.A.R., visiting the 200 block of Vernon Street where the alleged homicide took place, spoke with four individuals there; one recalled hearing about the crime but had no direct memory of it. Two others had not heard anything about it; a language barrier impeded the last conversation. All declined to give their names.

The B.A.R. left behind a reporter’s information at several residences, seeking comment from anyone with recollection of that morning.

Marsh, who was also known as drag artist Touri Monroe, was a hair stylist and a Miss Gay Oakland emeritus who used to sing with the Oakland Gay Men’s Chorus. Originally from Iowa, friends described him as fun, helpful, and active in his church.

Police responded to the Vernon Street location in the Adams Point neighborhood just before 8 a.m. March 4 after a report of a disturbance, Oakland Police Officer Darryl Rodgers stated in an email to the B.A.R.

The “disturbance” consisted of “reports of an individual screaming,” stated Paul Chambers, the strategic communication manager for the Oakland Police Department. When officers arrived, Oakland firefighters were on the scene extinguishing a fire.

“Upon arrival, officers located an Oakland resident with multiple lacerations,” Oakland Police Officer Darryl Rodgers stated. “The victim succumbed to their injuries and medical units pronounced the victim deceased on scene.

Investigators from the OPD Homicide Section responded to the scene to begin the follow-up investigation into the cir-

cumstances surrounding the homicide.” Neighbors told KTVU-TV that the perpetrator set the fire and left the front door and gate open when running away. No motive has been given, nor the circumstances of if – or how – the two men knew one another. (The DA’s office did not respond to a request for comment on that matter April 5.)

Waterman is on administrative leave from his job as a senior custodian with UC Berkeley, the school told the B.A.R. on March 13. He has six prior convictions dating back to 2002, including felony evasion, forgery, robbery, and vehicle theft, according to Berkeley Scanner.  A memorial for Marsh was held March 11 at the Oakland LGBTQ Community Center where friends remembered him. Marsh is one of two gay Black men who were killed in Oakland last month. But, so far, no suspect has been found in the March 12 shooting death of Devonte Davis, police told the B.A.R. last month. A police spokesperson did not immediately return an April 13 message seeking an update on the Davis case. The two incidents are unrelated. t

SF a step closer to ending its travel ban

by Matthew S. Bajko

San Francisco is a step closer to lifting its ban on city-funded travel to states with anti-LGBTQ bills now that a supervisors’ committee has voted in support of doing away with the policy.

Known as Chapter 12X, the policy also restricts using taxpayer dollars to cover the cost of city employee trips to states with restrictions on abortion access and voting.

The policy, first enacted in 2016, has also banned city agencies and departments from doing business with companies headquartered in the 30 states now on San Francisco’s “no-fly list.” Mayor London Breed, however, late last month signed into law a change to 12X that allowed for construction firms in those states to once again bid on public contracts in the city.

Now city leaders are moving to scrap the policy in its entirety. At its April 17 meeting, the supervisors’ Rules Committee voted 2-1 in support of an ordinance to repeal 12X.

Gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman is the lead author of it, with Supervisors Ahsha Safaí of District 11, Hillary Ronen of District 9, Catherine Stefani of District 2, and Board President Aaron Peskin of District 3 signed on as co-sponsors. Gay District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey, committee chair, signed on as a co-sponsor at the meeting. Safaí had authored the ordinance that ended the prohibition related to construction contracts.

As a rules committee member Safaí

joined with Dorsey, to vote in support of Mandelman’s 12X repeal ordinance. Voting against it was District 10 Supervisor Shamann Walton, who was among the four supervisors who had voted against Safaí’s limited 12X repeal ordinance in March.

Walton said at the meeting that repealing 12X will lead to unintended consequences, particularly among minority-owned and small businesses. He said the board should have a plan in place before repealing 12X.

A majority of the Board of Supervisors is now expected to vote in support of repealing all of 12X at its April 25 meeting. It would need to be voted on a second time before being sent to Breed, who has said she will sign it into law.

During his presentation at the meeting, Mandelman reiterated how 12X has not worked as intended. He pledged to continue working with the local business enterprise community to ensure that minority-owned and small businesses can be competitive in the city contracting process.

He rejected another argument against repealing 12X: that it sends a message San Francisco is giving up on its commitment to diversity and the LGBTQ community.

Mandelman acknowledged the “terrible, terrible things” some states are doing in terms of proposing and passing laws prohibiting drag performances, restricting gender-affirming care for trans youth, as well as restricting reproductive rights after last year’s U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. (12X

was amended to include states that restricted reproductive and voting rights.)

“Some feel it’s waving a white flag – I don’t,” he said, adding that the best thing a progressive city like San Francisco can do is govern itself well and do things for vulnerable populations here, such as the trans community.

With lawmakers in other states continuing to pass anti-LGBTQ laws this year, and a major LGBTQ rights group in Florida issuing a travel warning last week for the Sunshine State due to lawmakers there repealing the rights of LGBTQ people, San Francisco LGBTQ advocates have called for city leaders to rethink their push to repeal 12X. In an interview with the Bay Area Reporter last week, and an April 11 post on his Facebook page, longtime LGBTQ advocate Brian Basinger had called for a pause in voting on Mandelman’s ordinance so that more discussions about it could be held with community members.

“What we do not need is to throw in the towel right now without a meaningful plan to achieve the goal of countering these anti-gay, anti-women, and anti-people of color attacks,” contended Basinger, a gay man who has long lobbied city officials regarding fiscal matters and other issues.

There was one person who spoke during public comment. David Pilpel said he agreed with Mandelman and Safaí in repealing 12X.

First enacted in 2016 to cover those states that passed discriminatory LGBTQ laws, the 12X policy was expanded

in 2019 to include states that restricted abortion, and again in 2021 to include those with voter suppression laws. But with nearly two-thirds of the country now on San Francisco’s banned list, critics have argued it has done nothing to promote liberal causes in other states.

Instead, they contend it has merely hit the city’s bottom line by driving up the costs for various contracts because companies that could do the work less expensively are not bidding on them in the first place if they are located in a banned state. Repeal proponents have also complained it is hampering city officials’ ability to promote the city’s values because they can’t travel to various conferences and other events in the 30 states.

<< Lesbian visibility

From page 1

However, celebrating lesbian visibility beyond the annual Dyke March waned over the years. In 2008, Lesbian Visibility Day was launched to revive recognition of the contributions of lesbians to the LGBTQ community. Riley wasn’t satisfied with a single day. She started campaigning with Stonewall U.K. for a week in 2020. In 2021, the lesbian flag was first flown above London’s City Hall.

Stevens then joined Riley in her quest to light up buildings to recognize lesbians for the visibility week. She approached gay San Francisco District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman to light up San Francisco City Hall.

Mandelman expressed he was honored to work with Stevens to make the lighting up of the “gay mecca’s” city hall in orange, red, white, and pink for lesbians happen.

California also has a law banning most taxpayer-funded travel to states that have enacted anti-LGBTQ laws over the last eight years but does not ban contracts with companies in those states. Last month, lesbian state Senate President pro Tempore Toni Atkins (DSan Diego) introduced a bill to repeal the state travel ban with the support of several LGBTQ leaders, though the author of the bill that created the “no-fly list,” gay Assemblymember Evan Low (D-Cupertino), has spoken out against doing so. t

Cynthia Laird contributed reporting.

“San Francisco’s gay and lesbian communities have a long history of supporting each other’s fights for human rights in the face of rampant hate,” Mandelman stated to the B.A.R. “The lights will serve as a visual reminder of our commitment to supporting lesbians here and across the country.”

“I’m so glad that the supervisor took steps to make sure that happens,” Stevens said. “Honestly, I hope next year they can get it in the calendar so that city hall is illuminated for the entire week.

“I really hope that other cities will see this [and] will be inspired to illuminate their city hall,” she added.

Sophia Andary, who is co-founder of the San Francisco Women’s March and who is a commissioner on the city’s Commission on the Status of Women, told the B.A.R. that the city’s lesbian community needs more than a visual or one day of recognition.

The attorney for the man accused of killing Curtis Marsh said that as far as he knew, the two did not know each other.

Courtesy Oakland LGBTQ Community Center

San Francisco Supervisor Rafael Mandelman spoke Monday about his proposed legislation to repeal Chapter 12X of the city’s administrative code.

Screenshot via SFGovTV

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Under the influence

by Gwendolyn Ann Smith

It sounds positively cynical to say this, but we live in an era of spectacle and circus, provided to us hour by hour via social media. So many things exist to elicit an emotion and, by extension, keep you engaged in whatever is being sold.

Social media in particular serves as an ersatz tastemaker, driving not only what we should wear, watch, or listen to, but how we should feel at any given time. Make no mistake this is big business, as companies plan large campaigns around their social media reach.

So, it should come as no surprise that when an aging brand wants to raise its cachet among a younger demographic, it’ll dip its toe into social media, courting influencers and mining younger dollars.

Such was surely the case for Anheuser-Busch and its parent company, AB InBev. Its Bud Light brand had long been a staple for the company –but sales had dropped in recent years.

Meanwhile, social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney was making a name for herself on TikTok. In 2022, she started a series called “Days of Girlhood” on her channel, documenting her gender transition.

It was a hit. She now has over 10 million followers, and her series has had over one billion views.

of thing a brand would want to attach itself to. Indeed, before AnheuserBusch came knocking, Ulta Beauty attached itself to Mulvaney, having her on a podcast with David Lopez, a gender fluid hairstylist.

This appearance, perhaps in a case of foreshadowing, led to a call to boycott Ulta. This didn’t, however, dim Mulvaney’s star, as she found herself interviewing President Joe Biden on trans rights shortly thereafter.

Enter Bud Light, a brand that made its name with “Spuds MacKenzie” commercials featuring the eponymous “party animal” pooch often surrounded by bikini-clad women.

In a sponsorship deal with the brand, Mulvaney did a 45-second video hyping Bud Light, showing offtured a drawing of Mulvaney. It’s a quick and easy prompt to Mulvaney’s audience that presumably delivered some cash to her while helping to raise the awareness of the Bud Light

brand to her audience.

Or so one may have thought.

It did not take long for controversy to brew during this ugly time for trans visibility. Amid a backdrop of transgender people being presented as the seminal ill destroying society, seeing a beer brand promoting a transgender woman was too much for many on the right.

In his own way of social media influencing, has-been performer Kid Rock took to his backyard to use a rifle to attempt to shoot some cases of Bud Light in protest. Country singer Travis Tritt followed this up with a call to boycott Bud Light and other Anheuser-Busch brands. Many, many more such calls followed.

Then things went off the rails:

Budweiser plants have received bomb threats, and appearances of its famous Clydesdales have been canceled over fears of harm to the horses.

There are a couple things I think are worth noting. First, this is far from the first time the Bud Light brand has promoted itself in LGBTQ circles, and LGBTQ-themed cans have been a thing it has done before. Meanwhile, the Mulvaney can, for that matter, wasn’t even introduced to stores, and was presented to her only.

Meanwhile, anyone who has ever attended a Pride event can tell you about the wide number of beer brands that advertise, vend their products, and otherwise join in “rainbow capitalism.” This is truly nothing new, aside from it happening at a time when transgender rights are at the heart of a modern moral panic that’s drummed up by the right-wing as a way to command its base in a time when the leader of the party is indicted for crimes, and no one else under its banner is faring well.

Indeed, this, too, is the way that the right does social media influencing, and it serves the same purpose of it all. They are pushing outrage and have learned well how to turn that into cash.

Bud Light has attempted to diffuse the situation, putting out a tepid statement that it “never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people.” Meanwhile, some on the right are also trying to quell the calls

for boycotts upon discovering that Anheuser-Busch is a large donor to conservative candidates. Bud Light, likewise, has seen a small bump in sales thanks to this all.

What of Mulvaney in all this? For one, she was last seen promoting a Nike sports bra, leading to calls for a boycott of that brand. I suspect she will do OK.

But I want to note one more thing about her. She’s turned her transition into a story that her viewers can participate in, and has done so in a way that can be inspiring. She has accomplished what hundreds of trans autobiographies have done, presenting a “hero journey” story that non-trans people can latch onto, even in an era of so much anti-trans animus, and done so in a – dare I say – joyous fashion that has gained her the popularity she has, and the ire of those who would rather see transgender people bitter and broken.

There’s a lesson to this, and it’s one I think we need to better understand. There is hope in our joy, and I feel that we can succeed if we can keep it alive. We all need to be out there, inspiring people, and providing an alternative to the outrage and anger.  That’s influencing I can get behind.t

Gwen Smith isn’t going to tell you her favorite beer brand. You’ll find her at www.gwensmith.com.

Santa Clara councilmember Becker indicted over leaked 49ers report

by Matthew S. Bajko

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Gay Santa Clara City Councilmember Anthony Becker is facing one felony charge stemming from his role in leaking a report about the dealings between the South Bay city’s leaders and the San Francisco 49ers football team. He appeared in court April 17 but did not enter a plea as he needs more time to find an attorney. He is expected to return to court May 3, according to reports.

The Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury revealed April 14 that it had indicted Becker after he lied to it about his disclosing last October the grand jury’s report “Unsportsmanlike Conduct: Santa Clara City Council” to Rahul Chandhok, who was at the time the professional sports team’s chief communications and public affairs officer. The grand jury had determined that several City Council members, including Becker, had engaged in an unethical relationship with the San Francisco 49ers, which relocated to Santa Clara a decade ago after it built a new stadium there.

According to the five-page indictment released April 14 by the office of Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen, Becker provided a copy of the confidential document to Chandhok several days before it was to be publicly released on October 10. It also said the grand jury had found evidence showing Becker had also leaked the report to the local news website Silicon Valley Voice, which reported (https://www.svvoice.com/grand-juryaccuses-santa-clara-city-council-ofunsportsmanlike-conduct/) on it three days before it was to be published.

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In addition to being charged with

perjury, Becker, 37, is also facing a misdemeanor charge for violating his duty to keep the draft report confidential. His arraignment is scheduled for Monday at 9 a.m. in Dept. 26 at the Hall of Justice in San Jose. If convicted of perjury, Becker faces a maximum sentence of four years in county jail.

“Councilmember Becker violated the public’s trust,” stated Rosen in a news release announcing the indictment. “That an elected official would commit perjury and lie under oath before the grand jury strikes at the very heart of our justice system and requires accountability.”

Becker declined to comment in a texted reply last evening to the Bay Area Reporter. He referred questions to his public defender, attorney Chris Montoya, who could not immediately be reached and, until last November, had been with the San Diego Public Defender’s office.

Becker has long denied accusations that he has taken actions as a council member favorable to the 49ers.

In a statement 49ers spokesperson

Brian Brokaw provided to news outlets, the team said it has “cooperated fully with the District Attorney’s Office in their investigation, and will continue to do so. However, because this is an ongoing legal matter, the organization is not able to make any further comment at this time.”

Team owner Jed York had pumped millions of dollars into the 2020 council races to help elect Becker and several other council candidates that November. Last year, Becker lost his bid to oust from office team critic Mayor Lisa Gillmor, whom he had also lost against in the city’s 2018 mayoral election.

In both races Becker and Gillmor had clashed over the deal the city made more than a decade ago with the NFL team that led to it leaving San Francisco for a bayside new stadium in Santa Clara. The football team has repeatedly fought with city leaders and staff about the facility, from how it is managed to what the city is owed in stadium rent, leading to legal disputes.

“The 49ers have bankrolled Becker’s political career in recent years,” Rosen’s office noted in its release about the councilmember’s indictment. “In total, the 49ers provided over $3.2 million through independent expenditure committees to benefit Becker’s 2020 successful city council campaign and his failed 2022 mayoral bid.”

Ever since joining the council Becker has had an open door for team officials, arguing it is better for city leadership to engage with them in order to address the myriad issues with the stadium. He had denounced the grand jury’s report about the council members’ handling of the matter as a politically motivated hit piece aimed at derailing his mayoral bid last fall.

“This goes back 10 years when we brought the 49ers here. The mayor and City Council got a deal that is not the best for Santa Clara,” Becker had told the B.A.R. last fall.t

Christine Smith

Santa Clara City Councilmember Anthony Becker

Courtesy Anthony Becker

Legendary gay pornographer David Hurles dies

by Cynthia Laird

David Hurles, a gay pornographer whose models were plucked from the obscurity of the gritty streets of San Francisco and onto rolls of film shot for his defunct company Old Reliable, died April 12. He was 78.

Mr. Hurles died in a nursing home in Los Angeles, according to an obituary from the Bob Mizer Foundation. The cause of death was complications from a 2008 stroke. Dian Hanson, a longtime friend of Mr. Hurles’ and manager of his estate, informed the San Franciscobased Mizer foundation that day, according to the obituary.

Mr. Hurles acted as the sole employee of Old Reliable, a pornographic media company that he founded in the 1970s in San Francisco. He had lived in the city for a time, beginning in the late 1960s, and called the Tenderloin home, stated Den Bell, founder, president, and CEO of the Mizer foundation. Prior to starting the company, Mr. Hurles photographed his first professional model in 1968.

As a photographer, Mr. Hurles focused his lens on the unsavory dregs of society – notably tattooed, shaggyhaired, and sneering drug addicts and convicts – a far cry from the cleaner-cut models who had appeared throughout the magazine and film loops until that time, the obituary stated.

“The Bob Mizer Foundation extends its condolences to Dian Hansen, to David Hurles’ friends and family, and to his fans,” stated Bell. “David’s work for Old Reliable exposed gay audiences to a subculture in which we found excitement and thrills, an encounter with the type of man we have always been told to avoid. His pioneering work in the field has revolutionized the art of desire.”

Bell told the Bay Area Reporter that Old Reliable was closed after Mr. Hurles’ stroke. Hanson continues to manage Mr. Hurles’ photo estate, Bell added. Hanson, a longtime friend, stated that Mr. Hurles long knew the type he was attracted to.

“David realized early that he was sexually attracted to straight criminals, and all of his unique creative work, including photos, films, video and audiotapes, derived from this erotic obsession,” she stated. “The power emanating from his photos reflects the power his subjects held over him.”

Born in Ohio in the early 1940s, and after discovering photography as a teen, Mr. Hurles briefly attended the University of Cincinnati and served a short stint in the military; eventually, he moved to California to work as a photographer for Conrad and Lloyd, the obituary stated. Later, he would shoot for Ken Albert, one of the earliest pornographers in the industry. He would move to New York to shoot for Lynn Womack of Directory Services Inc. and later back to Los Angeles following the success of his images being published in many gay magazines, including Drummer, of which his good friend Jack Fritscher was editor.

Fritscher, who was the founding editor of Drummer, recalled his friend.

“Before a model in a scene accidentally kicked David in the head in Los Angeles in 1990 and ruined his focus, David shot thousands of photos and 300 feature videos documenting the culture of street hustlers while living in SOMA and Los Angeles,” he wrote in a statement to the B.A.R. “When the scary models in his silent photos began to talk in his wild solo videos in 1981, he spread his income hiring more than 500 often unhoused drifters, ex-cons, and rentboys

in his preferred casting order of straight, bi, and gay because in his Reality TV esthetic, they were authentic and could talk dominantly directly into the camera.

Arrests

Like many of his contemporaries who dared to depict the male nude on film or on the printed page, Mr. Hurles was arrested more than once; in the introduction to his book “Outcast,” he called the FBI file on him “a great work of legal fiction.”

Hanson shared part of an interview she did with him for “The Big Penis Book.”

“In ‘72 I got arrested for porno,” Mr. Hurles told Hanson. “They hadn’t gotten a search warrant, and I got bailed out the first day. In order to keep me in jail until they got their search warrant they charged me with counts of sodomy and oral copulation, as if I had performed them while I was in jail. In 1979 it was drug charges. The policemen found some pot and so forth when they intruded into my apartment, sent by a disgruntled model. I actually won that case. I certainly was not pleased to be locked up, but I did see lots of people that appealed to me when I was in jail. I made a few acquaintances to see later.”

Hanson stated that she quickly became friends with Mr. Hurles.

“The man could tell a story better than anyone I ever met,” she wrote in an email. “This is why we became instant friends when I sought him out to be in this book, and why, two years later, I agreed to take over power of attorney to care for him after his catastrophic stroke. They told me he’d be dead in six months. He lasted 14 years beyond that deadline.”

Fritscher was a frequent collaborator with Mr. Hurles for 47 years.

“His photos of rough-trade hustlers

from the Tenderloin scared national gay magazine editors until he broke through in San Francisco’s ‘Drummer’ magazine where he found his audience in 1978,”

Fritscher wrote. “As a San Francisco arts pioneer living at 531 Howard Street, he was the first gay filmmaker to be ar-

Former SF Fetish Wear founder Robert Todd Fulton dies

by Cynthia Laird

Robert Todd Fulton, an event promoter and fetish wear website founder also known by his professional name, Scott Morris, died April 14 at his home in Cathedral City, California. He was 68.

According to an obituary from Avrum Goldberg, Mr. Fulton had a nearly yearlong battle with squamous cell cancer of the tongue, head, and neck. Mr. Fulton was a deeply involved community member, activist, and event promoter for the gay community in New York City, Fort Lauderdale, San Francisco, and Palm Springs, the obituary noted.

In 1998, Todd founded San Francisco Fetish Factory, an online fetish wear website that prompted an expansion into a gay male adult video company called Factory Video Productions, in the early 2000s. Factory Video was one of the first professional/amateur adult entertainment companies owned and operated by former models and industry insiders. In 2008, due to police crackdowns on adult public play at San Francisco’s Dore Alley and Folsom Street fairs, Mr. Fulton

Obituaries >>

Darryl Wayne Thompson

September 11, 1959 – April 4, 2023

Darryl Wayne Thompson, 63, a former San Francisco resident, died April 4, 2023 in Wichita, Kansas after a brief illness. He had relocated to Wichita in 2010 to be with the love of his life, Jeff “Mike” Baker. Thompson and Baker were married in 2016.

Thompson was born September 11, 1959 in Oakland, California. He is survived by his husband and by countless friends.

To honor his memory, make certain you sign up to donate your organs and give

created safe spaces for adult men who have sex with men by creating CumUnion Party Events, which has grown into a global play party phenomenon in over 50 cities in seven countries, worldwide, the obituary noted.

Race Bannon, leather activist, author, sex educator, kink aficionado, and a former leather columnist for the Bay Area Reporter, said he knew Mr. Fulton.

“Scott was a trailblazer,” Bannon wrote in an email. “He was steadfastly dedicated to the notion that we all have a right to exactly the kinds of consen-

the gift of life, something Darryl firmly believed in. “Let them take anything I have, I won’t need it anymore,” he said.

Leslie Jay Schroeder

1953 – 2023

Leslie Jay Schroeder died peacefully at his home in San Francisco on April 13, 2023, surrounded by friends and family. Les’ life was cut short by a rare and aggressive disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob, diagnosed in January 2023.

Les is survived by his husband, Jim Winslow; his sisters Kathy Schroeder (Jody Johnson) and Terry Inselmann;

sual sexualities and sex environments we need and want. Whether through his adult content, parties, or activism within men’s sexual culture, Scott always bravely lived his truth for which I always respected him.”

Mr. Fulton got involved in the LGBTQ community back in the late 1960s.

In 1969, immediately following the Stonewall Riots, at age 14, Mr. Fulton volunteered at the Firehouse Dances in New York City, which were fundraisers organized to support the legal fees for the Stonewall freedom fighters. In 1970, he marched proudly in the Christopher Street Freedom Day Parade, a precursor to the first LGBTQ Pride parades in the United States. Throughout the 1970s, Mr. Fulton became one of the first disco club DJs, a model, and entertainer in the adult male film industry, in which he worked throughout the early 1980s.

The obituary stated that from 1982 to 1989 Mr. Fulton was a DJ in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and won multiple awards for his creative dance sets and mixes while promoting the city’s active gay nightlife. From 1989 to 1996 he became a nightclub manager and was the concept creator for the Stud Fort

in-laws Joe Winslow (Sheila), Ann Winslow, and Rachel Planks (Daryl); mother-in-law Barbara Winslow; aunt-in-law Lois Trostle; five nieces (Lauren, Carly, Katie, Evy, Bella); and three nephews (Ryan, Andre, Caleb). Les is also survived by his biological daughter Harper Tracy and her two moms, Jess and Jill.

Born in Galveston, Texas, and raised in La Marque, Texas, Les earned a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology from Baylor University and a Master of Science degree in social work from the University of Texas at Arlington.

In 1980, Les moved to San Francisco, settling in the Castro district and then Bernal Heights.

Les began his nearly 30-year career in compensation and benefits with Pacific Bell, working in San Francisco then in the East Bay from 1986, during which

Lauderdale, an industrial/leather/Levi dance club. He was also the creator of the Fort Lauderdale Gay Business Association and the Gay Leathermen’s Group.

In 1989, Todd was widowed from his prior partner, Bob Sweeten, who passed away due to AIDS and was diagnosed posthumously during the early days of the global pandemic.

Before being diagnosed with cancer in 2022, Mr. Fulton intended to create and promote a Men’s Adult Safe Spaces Coalition to provide global advocacy and activism for the community. This was a byproduct of a need Mr. Fulton saw as a reaction to the recent COVID and mpox pandemics. In 2021 and 2022, he was an active participant and liaison to the bathhouse business community on the federal Centers for Disease Control Monkeypox Task Force. Mr. Fulton’s advocacy helped to bring treatment options to gay men at the venues where they congregated and to curtail a broader potential impact from this new health crisis.

The obituary stated that Mr. Fulton had always been a fierce fighter for the disenfranchised in the gay community. He created safety and dignity for

time he lived in Orinda for 13 years before returning to San Francisco.

After 17 years with Pacific Bell, Les worked for LifeScan/Johnson & Johnson, Intuit, Genentech, Restoration Hardware, and SRI. In 2012 Les took a position with Fujitsu in Munich, Germany – and Les immersed himself in learning German. Les and Jim would split their time between San Francisco and Munich before moving to Berlin in 2017.

As an early member of San Francisco FrontRunners and the Bay Area Distance Runners, Les completed 34 marathons, numerous triathlons, and competed in several Gay Games around the world. Les equally enjoyed yoga, frequenting classes in San Francisco and Berlin, as well as tending to his garden.

An avid cyclist, Les completed the 545-mile California AIDS Ride and

so many gay men who were estranged by their friends and families simply for living their lives authentically, and he wanted to see a world where love and acceptance were the norm.

Mr. Fulton is survived by his husband, Gordon Fulton, aka Gord Reece.

“Anyone who knew Todd and Gordon knew they were an inseparable and a formidable force – fun, outrageous, and truly devoted to one another,” the obituary stated. “Gordon often retells the story of meeting Todd in 1991 as being ‘picked-up by the hottest guy in the bar’ and from that day on he began living his true and best life.”

The family thanked everyone who has been supportive with their love, generosity, compassion, and kindness toward Mr. Fulton during this past year as they have dealt with his illness.

Mr. Fulton often said, “That through the grief, through the conflict, through the fighting, and all the adversity, I [and] our community kept on dancing.”

Mr. Fulton was born December 28, 1954.

In addition to his husband of 31 years, Mr. Fulton is survived by their loving dog, Truvada (Truvy), and his sister, Jenny, and brother, Bruce. t

AIDS/LifeCycle (from San Francisco to Los Angeles) 15 times, raising thousands of dollars for AIDS charities. Les and Jim twice completed the 462-mile Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa. Incredibly kind, generous, funny, and gentle by nature, Les had many friends around the world – as demonstrated by the outpouring of support during the final months of his life.

Les and Jim’s adventures took them to nearly every country in Europe as well as points in Africa and Asia. Les also volunteered with the Contra Costa County AIDS Task Force.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to Horizons Foundation in his memory. There will be a virtual gathering to celebrate Les’ life in May (email LesSchroeder2023@gmail.com for information).

David Hurles, left, visited with the late Gore Vidal in this undated photo.

Courtesy Bob Mizer Foundation

Event promoter Robert Todd Fulton, aka Scott Morris

Courtesy Avrum Goldberg

David Hurles’ mugshot from his 1972 arrest Courtesy Bib Mizer Foundation

Berkeley City College prez named to Biden panel

compiled by Cynthia Laird

The White House has announced that Angélica Garcia, the president of Berkeley City College, will be appointed to the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities, where she will serve alongside celebrities such as Lady Gaga, George Clooney, and Kerry Washington.

President Joe Biden announced April 13 his intent to appoint the members of the committee, according to a news release from the White House.

Garcia, who identifies as pansexual and is the first Chicana to lead the East Bay community college, has a doctorate in education. She became president of the school in May 2020, as the Bay Area Reporter previously reported. The school is part of the Peralta Community College District.

The President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities was founded in 1982 by executive order to advise the president on cultural policy. In her role as a com mittee member, Garcia will contribute to advis ing Biden and the heads of U.S. cultural agencies on policy, philanthropic and private sector engagement, and other efforts to enhance federal support for the arts, humanities, and museum and library services, according to a news release.

“I am deeply honored to be includ ed among brilliant, global-minded, and champions of the arts, humani ties, museums, and libraries,” Garcia stated. “Community colleges across this country are anchors of democracy that often serve as the cultural centers of diverse communities, in many cases being the only spaces where the arts, humanities, and libraries are acces sible.

“I am humbled by this appointment and am eager to be both learner and teacher on the committee,” she added. A number of luminaries were ap pointed to the committee, including Troy Kotsur, the Oscar-winning Deaf actor who starred in “CODA;” John Batiste, the Grammy- and Oscarwinning musician who served as bandleader for “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert;” and award-winning actress Jennifer Garner. Co-chairs of the committee are Lady Gaga, who is bisexual, and Bruce Cohen, the gay award-winning producer who was nominated for a best picture Oscar for the 2008 “Milk” biopic.

Virtual meeting for Twin Peaks project

The San Francisco Recreation and Park Department will have a virtual meeting on the Twin Peaks Improve ment Project Tuesday, April 25, at 6 p.m. A notice in Rec and Park’s news letter stated that staff will be provid ing people with the latest information about the upcoming project.

The Twin Peaks Access, Roadway, and Pedestrian Walkway Improve ment Project involves improving the trail system via more sustainable realignment, restoration of previ ously disturbed areas, installation of new steps as needed, and wayfinding signage. This is the third phase of the project; other work has been complet ed from 2013-2018.

To join the Zoom meeting, go to https://bit.ly/3L8Fx9S

CA Senate candidate Middleton coming to SF

Lisa Middleton, a trans woman who’s running for a Southern Califor nia state Senate seat next year, will be in San Francisco Friday, April 28, for a campaign fundraiser at the home of gay BART board director Bevan Dufty.

Middleton, an elected member of the Palm Springs City Council, an nounced last month that she was

reviving her campaign for the 19th District Senate seat, which

If elected, Middleton would be the first trans member of the state Legis-

Tickets start at $100. To RSVP and receive the address, email nicole.ward. ca@gmail.com or bevan.dufty@gmail. com.

Movie night returns to Duboce Park

Free outdoor movie night returns to Duboce Park Saturday, April 29, with “Top Gun: Maverick,” starring Tom Cruise. The 2022 Oscarwinning action film is a sequel to the 1986 hit “Top Gun,” with Cruise reprising his starring role as naval aviator Captain Pete “Maverick” Mitchell.

The movie, which was the highest grossing of 2022 and earned $1.487 billion, will screen at the park at around 8 p.m. on the upper lawn.

Friends of Duboce Park will have a refreshment booth with popcorn, healthy snacks, and cocoa, a news

BART seeks member for police panel

The regional Bay Area Rapid Transit system is seeking a member for the position on the BART Police Citizen Review Board. The person will be appointed by District 2 BART board member Mark Foley but applicants do not need to reside in his district, according to a news release. However, they must be a resident of Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, or San Francisco counties, the release noted. Members of the citizen review panel work to increase the public’s confidence in BART’s policing services by: reviewing, recommending, and monitoring the implementation of changes to police policies, procedures, and practices; and receiving citizen allegations of on-duty police misconduct.

The citizen panel also advises the BART board, general manager, in-

Berkeley City College President Angélica Garcia

Courtesy Berkeley City College State Senate candidate Lisa Middleton

Courtesy the candidate

Volume 53, Number 16 April 20-26, 2023

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APE has only itself to blame

It looks like Another Planet Entertainment may be forced to keep the orchestra seating at the Castro Theatre after a Board of Supervisors committee this week agreed to an initial approval for an amendment that will give landmark status to the fixed seating in the movie palace. That’s not what Another Planet wanted, and the fate of its management of the theater is uncertain. The concert promoter’s proposed renovations called for a motorized contraption that would allow altering the movie theater-style seating for more standing room for concerts. That in itself was a last-minute concession that Another Planet made days before a meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission in February to consider the interior landmarking proposal initiated by gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman last year. The preservation panel recommended approval of the interior landmarking, but with the “presence of seating,” which would have allowed Another Planet to more easily go ahead with its plans.

Now, with a second hearing before the supervisors’ Land Use and Transportation Committee next week to give additional consideration to the amendment, which likely will be forwarded on to the full board on the same 2-1 vote that occurred Monday, Another Planet finds itself potentially constrained from making renovations it considers vital to managing a profitable Castro Theatre. While Another Planet has not said it will pack up and leave if it doesn’t get what it wants, that outcome cannot be dismissed.

But the Berkeley-based company has only itself to blame for its current predicament. It has not been a good neighbor since its surprising announcement in January 2022 that it was taking over management of the theater, widely considered the jewel of the Castro LGBTQ neighborhood and beloved for more than 100 years. Another Planet quickly ran into a buzz saw of criticism from neighborhood groups, movie lovers, historians, and others, and never gained its footing. Listening to roughly two hours of public comment during the supervisors’ committee hearing, it became obvious that those supporting Another Planet and those opposed cannot find common ground. Mandelman admitted as much at the outset of the meeting when he said that recent negotiations between Another Planet and the Castro Theatre Conservancy did not result in any agreement.

After Another Planet fumbled its 2022 announcement, which it acknowledged a month later, as the company did not proactively reach out to the groups that it needed to meet with most – those who

had concerns about its plans or were opposed. Tina Aguirre, the manager of the Castro LGBTQ Cultural District, said as much at the committee meeting.

“We remain very disappointed APE has not reached out directly to me as the lead staff member of the organization,” Aguirre said. “This represents erasure of a legislative body, the Castro LGBTQ Cultural District, and myself, as a transgender person of color. I appreciate what you are moving today [the amendment] and urge you to move it forward.”

It was a year ago that we editorialized that Another Planet should be doing more to work with Castro businesses and other groups. At that time, many merchants also had reservations, but Another Planet has apparently assuaged their concerns: over 100 of them now support the company’s plans, as was noted by speakers at the committee meeting. Many of them likely realized the obvious – that without an open Castro Theatre, the commercial corridor’s recovery from the COVID pandemic would be even rockier than it has been. That, along with some high-profile closures like the LGBTQ restaurant and bar Harvey’s in January, probably made many of them reconsider.

The thing to keep in mind, however, is this: Another Planet is a business that needs to make a profit. And it apparently is not above skirting the rules to do so. As Board of Supervisors President and land use committee member Aaron Peskin pointed out Monday, the company isn’t even honoring the terms of its lease with the city for managing the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium 13 years later. It has not made all of the improvements it agreed to, Peskin said.

While Another Planet did make about $500,000 in improvements, there are millions of dollars more in work that is outstanding, Peskin said. Given that, it’s an open question whether Another Planet will spend the $15 million it has indicated it will cost to renovate the Castro Theatre. (In a statement released April 18, APE disputed Peskin’s claims and said it has spent over $10.3 million on the auditorium.)

And therein lies the rub. The theater has been mostly dark since Another Planet took over, and before that it was closed for years because of the pandemic. Even now, however, cinema multiplexes are struggling to draw audiences and the Castro movie house would be no exception. Small business owners in the neighborhood – especially restaurants and bars – want the increased foot traffic that comes with a vibrant theater, which is not likely to be the case for years even if Another Planet remains as the operator. Meanwhile, the LGBTQ neighborhood struggles on, with storefront vacancies due to a number of reasons – greedy landlords, overwhelming city bureaucracy, etc.

The writing was on the wall for Another Planet at the April 3 land use committee meeting when District 5 Supervisor Dean Preston said he would seek the fixed seating amendment, and Peskin basically told the company to negotiate with stakeholders. The committee gave the company two weeks to reach some sort of compromise, and yet that did not happen. At this point, it almost seems too late for Another Planet to reach out and strike a deal that will make most people happy. Its hubris and arrogance have gotten in the way, and Castro residents can count on a mostly dark theater for the foreseeable future until that changes. t

Harvey, the merchants, and the theater

by Terrance Alan

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The Castro Merchants Association was founded by Castro Camera business owner Harvey Milk in 1974 in response to the anti-gay Eureka Valley Merchants Association, the long-standing business group that had shunned gay members and actively worked to prevent new gay businesses from opening in the neighborhood. Then known as the Castro Village Association, the founding members met in the back room of the gay-friendly Sausage Factory and elected Milk as their first president.

Along with a young heterosexual woman photographer and co-owner of Cliff’s Variety, who dropped out of the straight association to join the new gay-aligned business group, Milk canvassed the neighborhood to sign up gay- and ally-owned businesses. Soon, the membership topped over 90 businesses, and the Eureka Valley Merchants Association dissolved, many of their members having sold their businesses to new gay owners.

Breathing renewed life and vigor into the gayborhood, the new group under Milk founded the Castro Street Fair that year, and also served as the basis for Milk’s nascent political career. Within a few short years, he partnered with unions on the Coors beer boycott to fight antigay discrimination and anti-labor practices, founded the San Francisco Gay Democratic Club, and helped defeat a statewide initiative that would have banned LGBTQ teachers and workers in schools.

And after four campaigns for public office that centered around his gay identity, Milk was finally elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977, one of the first openly LGBTQ elected officials in the world.

What a whirlwind! And to think what he could have done if not assassinated along with Mayor George Moscone just one year after his election.

In 2023, as the gay president of the group Milk founded almost a half-century ago, I reflect on our history with pride and a profound sense of duty. We’ve been through many changes in the last 49 years. We endured Harvey’s tragic loss and the aftermath. We’ve endured AIDS and COVID. Politicians have come and gone, businesses have opened and closed, and yes, we endure, and our spirit remains strong.

These are hard times for many. In the wake of COVID, our membership has been hurting. Like other neighborhoods, virtually all our storefronts were boarded up not long ago, and too

many closed permanently. As a result, our storefront vacancy rate is among the highest in the city. The reopened businesses continue to struggle, and some continue to close. Some days, it seems like a losing battle. But we are not giving up. We will never give up.

Over the last year, the Castro Merchants board has taken a strong leadership role in an effort to improve conditions in our neighborhood. We’ve advocated strongly for increased city services for our homeless population and increased police support for our merchants, and we’ve begun to see some improvements. We’ve sponsored dozens of events to attract shoppers back to the neighborhood, including monthly queer-positive Castro Art Marts, Art Walks, quarterly family holiday events, and the farmers market. We maintain

A Board of Supervisors’ committee gave initial approval to an interior landmarking amendment that would see the orchestra seating at the Castro Theatre remain fixed.

Rick Gerharter

The Castro Theatre, at left, is an anchor in the LGBTQ neighborhood.

Rick Gerharter

Gay leader launches bid for SF District 9 supervisor

by Matthew S. Bajko

Relatively unknown outside of LGBTQ political circles, and a white candidate running for a seat San Francisco Latino leaders want to reclaim, Trevor Chandler is launching his bid for District 9 supervisor 19 months before voters will cast ballots in the race. By doing so, the gay leader aims to spend this year addressing the various hurdles he will face as a candidate.

“For me, the clear challenge I am dealing with is lack of name recognition. It is why I wanted to get started early,” Chandler, 36, told the Bay Area Reporter in an exclusive interview about his candidacy.

“I am not naïve. I know what my main challenge will be so I want to start heading out there and knocking on doors.”

District 9 covers the heavily Latino Mission district and had more of the Mission Dolores neighborhood added to it as part of last year’s redistricting process at the request of Latino leaders and others due to its historical significance to the Latino community. Doing so also incorporated more of the American Indian Cultural District into the supervisorial district.

The incumbent, Supervisor Hillary Ronen, a straight ally, is term limited from running again next year. She succeeded her boss, gay former supervisor David Campos, after being elected in 2016.

Campos had succeeded gay former supervisor Tom Ammiano, who departed in 2008 after being elected to the state Assembly. First elected citywide, Ammiano was assigned to the District 9 seat in 2000 when the supervisors reverted back to being elected by district.

Thus, while gay men have historically held the seat, the current Board of Supervisors is not lacking in LGBTQ representation. After the elections last year of Supervisors Joel Engardio in District 4 and Matt Dorsey in District 6, there are now three gay white men serving on the board, as District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman easily won reelection to a second term last November. (Chandler had endorsed both Dorsey and Mandelman but said he didn’t actively campaign for any candidate last year.)

The election of a fourth out supervisor would be historic in San Francisco, as the most LGBTQ people to serve on the board at one time has been three. But having none be a person of color blunts any argument supporters of Chandler’s candidacy make for having him help reach that milestone, especially if an out Black, Latino, or other LGBTQ person of color decides to enter the District 9 supervisor race.

“I totally respect those concerns and I look forward to having those conversations,” said Chandler. “The case I am going to be making is based on my views, and not discounting or disparaging anyone who might be skeptical of me being another white gay guy.”

As an associate regional field director for national LGBTQ advocacy organi-

zation the Human Rights Campaign, Chandler spent six years working to elect queer people to public office across the country. He currently sits on the advisory board for statewide LGBTQ advocacy organization Equality California.

“I will be talking to every person, even those skeptical of me. It is a great San Francisco problem to have that we are concerned about having over a third of our Board of Supervisors being queer people,” said Chandler. “I think we can always do better at being more diverse.”

Currently just one Latina serves on the board, District 7 Supervisor Myrna Melgar, who fled El Salvador’s civil war as a child in the 1980s. She is up for reelection next year.

Running as a progressive

As for the city’s political divide between progressive and moderate Democrats, Ronen is aligned with progressives, as were Campos and Ammiano. Chandler will be seen as a moderate, particularly for his support of the recalls last year of three of the city’s progressive school board members and district attorney.

Nonetheless, Chandler told the B.A.R. he is running as a progressive. And he pointed to the fact that the school board recall had majority support in all of District 9’s voting precincts.

“I am not naïve to the camps you are talking about. People will call me whatever they will call me,” said Chandler. “They should compare me to their record of knocking on doors and electing progressive candidates and passing progressive laws.”

A native of Laconia, New Hampshire, and a Plymouth University graduate, Chandler worked for former Democratic congressmember Paul Hodes of his home state after college. He served as campaign director on Hodes’ unsuccessful U.S. Senate bid in 2010.

That year “was a Republican year. We were destroyed,” recalled Chandler.

It also brought to power in the Granite State a conservative GOP Legislature, leading Chandler to pivot to fighting for LGBTQ rights with HRC. He “lived out of a suitcase” throughout the East Coast working in a number of states until being sent out to Minnesota to help defeat efforts to ban same-sex marriage and then to enact it into law in 2015.

From there he relocated to Portland, Oregon, to wage another marriage equality battle. By late 2016, he had moved to San Francisco and took a job with the newly formed group AIPAC, which promotes ties between the U.S. and Israel.

“I have been proud to play a key role in both the fight for the freedom to mar-

ry as well as for the rights of the trans community, with seven marriage equality campaigns and numerous other civil rights efforts,” Chandler told the B.A.R. He switched gears from politics to tech last year and went to work for the public safety app Citizen as its director of government affairs and public policy. But in January he was laid off, leading him to decide to seek elected office years before he ever had contemplated doing so.

“Putting myself on the ballot was never something I ever imagined I would be doing, especially not this early in my life. I had always thought maybe when I was retired,” said Chandler, who is in the process of becoming a substitute teacher for the city’s public school district. “I am without a job and able to take a breath and see a path separate from a career where I could make a difference.”

Chandler and his fiancé, Adrian Chang, have been renters in the Mission for two years and live with their rescue Pitbull Juliet and Milos, a tri-paw Chihuahua terrier. They plan to marry this fall at Mission Street restaurant Foreign Cinema.

During his eight years as a San Francisco resident, Chandler has lived in numerous neighborhoods, including Nob Hill and the Tenderloin. As a gay teenager, he never imagined living in the city.

“It is a wild dream come together,” he said.

Last year, Governor Gavin Newsom named Chandler to the California State Board of Pharmacy, on which he has served since September. Having no professional experience as a pharmacist or in the pharmaceutical industry is why Chandler believes he was chosen for the statewide oversight role.

“Because I am an outsider, someone who knows the game but I work from the outside to fix things,” said Chandler. “I have built a reputation as a fixer and someone who can see big problems. I can untangle big knots, and if they can’t be untangled, I can figure out how to cut through the knots.”

What he does have experience in is addiction, as Chandler is a recovering alcoholic with seven years of sobriety. He told the B.A.R. it provides him with “a unique perspective” into the opiate drug crisis and the role the pharmaceutical industry played in it.

Chandler said he worked with Assemblymember Matt Haney (D-San Francisco) on his Assembly Bill 1286 that, among other requirements, would ensure adequate staffing at pharmacies “to prevent fatigue, distraction, or other conditions that may interfere with a pharmacist’s ability to practice competently and safely.” It is awaiting a committee hearing.

“It is the largest update to pharmacist

Planning Ahead is Simple

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The benefits are immense.

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When you plan your life celebration and lasting remembrance in advance, you can design every detail of your own unique memorial and provide your loved ones with true peace of mind. Planning ahead protects your loved ones from unnecessary stress and financial burden, allowing them to focus on what will matter most at that time—you.

The benefits are immense. When you plan your life celebration and lasting remembrance in advance, you can design every detail of your own unique memorial and provide your loved ones with true peace of mind. Planning ahead protects your loved ones from unnecessary stress and financial burden, allowing them to focus on what will matter most at that time—you.

Trevor Chandler, left, a candidate for District 9 supervisor in San Francisco, visited a park with his fiancé, Adrian Chang, and their dogs, Juliet and Milos.

Courtesy Trevor Chandler

related activities.)

The compromise terms – which SF Pride clarified to the B.A.R. on April 12 would be the same for the 2023 parade set to take place Sunday, June 25 – allowed the city’s police, sheriff, and fire departments to march together, with command staff allowed in uniform but without visible weapons. Some adjacent officers were allowed weapons for security, but the largest group had to be out of uniform, in shirts with department logos.

Ford told the B.A.R. that the meeting regarding this year’s event between the organization and the SFPO Pride Alliance would be “this week.”

When asked what will be discussed and what she hopes will come out of the meeting, Ford said, “I don’t really want to comment on that. Obviously we have the agreement from last year. We want to meet and start the work.”

<< Castro Theatre

From page 1

It isn’t clear if the amendment – made to the larger landmarking recommendation of the theater’s interior that was approved by the Historic Preservation Commission – will have an impact on APE’s ability to radically change the seating configuration.

“Ultimately even if made, it is not clear the amendment would prevent the city approving or APE not moving forward with their plans for the theater,” Mandelman said, adding that the amendment would be a “symbolic” gesture.

Still, that doesn’t make it the gesture the committee should send, Mandelman advised.

“I regret that the [Castro Theatre] conservancy and APE have not been able to make an agreement ensuring the conservancy a role in the continued showing of film at the theater,” Mandelman said. “Such a commitment would dramatically reduce the likelihood of APE’s plans being bogged down in litigation, which is not my desire.”

Still, “I do not believe this board should second guess or alter the work of planning staff,” he added, referring to the planning department’s report prepared for the Historic Preservation Commission.

A year of controversy

The imbroglio over the theater began in January 2022, when Another Planet – which runs the Outside Lands music festival in Golden Gate Park, the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium near San Francisco’s Civic Center, and the Fox Theatre in Oakland – was announced as the new operators of the 101-year-old Castro Theatre.

APE wants to make significant changes to the theater’s interior, including replacing the current fixed orchestra seating with a motorized floor that’d make both raked seating and tiered standing arrangements possible.

Some Castro neighborhood, LGBTQ, and film groups – such as the Castro LGBTQ Cultural District and the Castro Theatre Conservancy – formed the Friends of the Castro Theatre Coalition in opposition to the proposed changes, which would allow the theater to sometimes operate as a concert venue.

At issue at Monday’s hearing was whether the supervisors should change the Historic Preservation Commission’s recommended interior landmarking to give further protection to the current seats – protection that had been argued could effectively halt APE’s plans. Many speakers operated under this assumption, with commenters talking as

<< Lesbian visibility

From page 2

“We need actual representation on the Board of Supervisors and leadership through[out] the city,” Andary, a lesbian, wrote in a text to the B.A.R.

When asked when the decision was made by the board, Ford, who was SF Pride’s interim executive director last year, said, “There was really no decision made, we just kept the agreement in place and started to work on it. We’re just using the agreement from last year.”

When asked if that’d be acceptable to the various stakeholders – considering how contentious the issue was last year – Ford simply responded “yes.”

San Francisco Police Sergeant

Kathryn Winters of the SFPO Pride Alliance stated to the B.A.R. after the initial online publication of this report, “We have not yet met or spoken directly with San Francisco Pride on this matter, and, because we have not yet or spoken, I will not offer comment until after we have met and spoken.”

“We are meeting tomorrow [Thursday] evening, and Pride Alliance is committed to continuing the work of building trust with the community and ensuring that San

though the committee’s decision was on the appropriateness of APE’s plans per se. (The exterior of the theater was designated a city landmark in 1977.)

As is a mainstay of hearings on the theater, a passionate hourslong period of public comment preceded the vote (though this time speakers were limited to one minute). All told, of those who appeared in person, 43 spoke broadly in favor of APE’s plans or against the amendment and 24 spoke broadly opposed to APE’s plans or in favor of the amendment. One person’s comments were directed at the Nasser family, which owns the theater, blaming them for the state of disrepair. Another’s was solely to promote his journalistic work.

Of those who called in, 32 were in favor of APE’s plans or against the amendment and 27 were against or in favor of the amendment.

Those in favor of the changes argued APE may be the only hope for the theater. Jim Abrams, the attorney for the Nasser family, said outright that if the deal between the Nassers and APE can’t work out it would “likely result in the permanent closure of the theater.”

Others agreed.

“Locking this building into a specific use to support a dying movie theater industry is chaos,” said Dave Karraker, a gay man who co-owns MX3 Fitness on Market Street and is a past co-president of the Castro Merchants Association.

“If you do this, and I work blocks away, I can guarantee you the Nasser family will board it up … Let it evolve with the young diverse multicultural community that is the future of the Castro.”

Keith Hall, who said he was LGBTQ, portrayed those opposed to APE as being loud but not representing what most people think.

“It [the amendment] does not have broad support in the community and certainly not among the younger members, the generation who will inherit this glorious building,” Hall said. “I propose we have a broader vision of what this place can be. Los Angeles has many glorious movie palaces that can be used for other events and I propose we dream bigger about that this place can be and be more inclusive.”

David Perry, a gay man who’s a spokesperson for Another Planet Entertainment, told the B.A.R. after the vote that the decision was not representative of what the community wants.

“It is perplexing that after public comment of which three-quarters of the speakers supported Another Planet, two members of the Board of Supervisors with no direct experience of the Castro neighborhood overrode fact, majority opinion and the economics of 2023 to

Long drought at City Hall

There hasn’t been a lesbian supervisor in San Francisco since January 2001, when Leslie Katz stepped down after not running for reelection the year prior when the supervisors reverted to being elected by district. Since then the lone

Francisco Pride is a weekend where all members of our community can celebrate together,” Winters added.

Winters followed up with the B.A.R. after the April 13 meeting, saying that it was “very productive” and “we are working on a plan to hold town hall meetings in order to have open and honest conversations with members of the community on issues around policing and the queer community.”

The dates and exact locations of these town halls have not been set.

Breed’s office was pleased with the news.

“The mayor’s office has been meeting with Suzanne and members of the Pride Alliance for months to prepare for this year’s Pride parade, and to continue to foster a positive relationship between all parties,” Breed spokesperson Jeff Cretan stated. “The mayor is happy that uniformed police officers will be allowed to march again like they did last year, and that both the Pride board and the Pride Alliance continue to work together

hobble a private business from investing $15 million into a struggling community,” he stated.

Those who spoke in favor of the amendment argued APE was not negotiating in good faith and that either the theater can still be profitable or that profit shouldn’t be the motivating factor in preserving a place of such rich cultural importance.

Tina Aguirre, executive director of the Castro LGBTQ Cultural District, was upset that APE stopped engaging with the district on the subject.

“We remain very disappointed APE has not reached out directly to me as the lead staff member of the organization,” Aguirre said. “This represents erasure of a legislative body, the Castro LGBTQ Cultural District, and myself, as a transgender person of color. I appreciate what you are moving today [the amendment] and urge you to move it forward.”

William Lewis said that as a young gay person, it’s important the patrimony of the past be handed on to future generations.

“There are young people, young gay people like me to whom it’s very important to have this landmark intact the way it is now,” Lewis said. “If it seems like we’re being inflexible it’s because we’ve seen this movie before, we know where it is going and we don’t want to let something else go.”

After public comment, Peskin revealed that he was personally involved in the negotiations, which had been facilitated by Mandelman. He said that “APE has frankly stonewalled” and bemoaned the lack of a privately-enforceable agreement considering that APE has not finished renovations to the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, owned by the City and County of San Francisco, which it agreed to 13 years ago.

“I think this behavior over the last 13 years is a reasonable indicator of future behavior,” Peskin said, adding that APE did not treat the two weeks as an opportunity for serious engagement with the concerns of those opposed to its plans, taking it as “a PR and marketing exercise rather than an exercise in community engagement over a beloved icon.”

Melgar, a former planning commissioner, argued that be that as it may, “I don’t see putting, making the seats also, adding that to the historic preservation commission’s standing of what is going on in the theater, that that’s the cure for this.

“I think we all wish life before the [COVID] pandemic could continue. One of the things that’ve been affected, besides going to work in an office, has been the moviegoing experience – not just in San Francisco but all over the

out female member of the board has been Christina Olague, who became the city’s first bisexual supervisor after being appointed to a vacancy in 2012 but lost her race for the District 5 seat that fall to now-mayor London Breed.

So far no lesbian is being mentioned as a supervisorial candidate for any of the

to seek and find compromise.”

Gay District 4 Supervisor Joel Engardio, who was not on the board during last year’s imbroglio, also expressed support.

“Today’s SFPD is quite diverse and it is a leader in police reforms. Many residents want more police presence in their neighborhoods and business areas,” Engardio stated. “Allowing out LGBTQ officers to participate in the Pride parade is a good thing. Hopefully, it will help recruit more people to want to be police officers in San Francisco given the extreme shortage we have for a city our size.”

Indeed, Dorsey and straight ally

District 2 Supervisor Catherine Stefani just introduced a charter amendment for the March 2024 primary ballot that would establish minimum police staffing levels. Dorsey, who served as communications director for San Francisco Police Chief William Scott before joining the Board of Supervisors, said that the city is short more than 500 officers and “hasn’t had a fully staffed police de-

partment for decades.”

After the initial online publication of this report, gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman told the B.A.R., “I think this makes sense” and that he’s “glad the Pride Alliance and SF Pride were able to get past this.”

Dorsey told the B.A.R. April 13 that “I’m hoping they can be on the same page, no drama.”

“I haven’t had the chance to check in with Suzanne or the Pride Alliance but I want to be supportive and that we see an inclusive Pride,” he added.

The Transgender District, which pulled out of city-sponsored Pride events last year and asked Breed to apologize for her reticence about participating in the 2022 parade if a police uniform ban was imposed, declined to comment for this story.

SFPD and the San Francisco Police Officers Association did not respond to requests for comment for this report as of press time.  t

world,” Melgar said. “I will not support the amendment of Supervisor Preston because we need to be as flexible as possible so a business enterprise can continue on that commercial corridor. It is time right now to be supporting ways to provide the most flexibility and the widest array of programming.”

Nonetheless, Melgar said to Peskin that “I, like you, would like to see some [memorandum of understanding] or agreement to provide film on a consistent regular basis.”

Preston said that he didn’t see the logic in being in favor of interior landmarking but being against the amendment. The current language only discusses the “presence of seating.”

“I would urge Another Planet and folks organizing around this issue to recognize we have the same goal here and it’s possible to have this amendment, carry out the intent of the HPC and ensure the success of the Castro Theatre,” Preston said, referring to the Historic Preservation Commission.

The vote was then taken with Peskin and Preston voting for the amendment and Melgar voting against, with another vote moving to bring the topic up again next week, since it is substantive enough of an amendment to require a second vote before it goes before the whole board. That passed unanimously.

Terrance Alan, a gay man who is the current president of the Castro Merchants Association – which voted to endorse APE’s plans with conditions – told the B.A.R. he does not have comment on the vote but that he is “excited about the unintended consequence of asking the question, fixed seats or not.”

“It showed the strength of our community,” Alan said. “We may seem divided on the ‘how,’ but unbreakable we stand for the ‘what.’ A love of the Cas-

odd-numbered seats that will be on the city’s 2024 fall ballot. As the B.A.R.’s Political Notebook column reported this week, Trevor Chandler launched his bid for the District 9 seat, and if elected, would be the fourth gay male member of the board.

A host of events celebrating lesbians around the world this year is listed on

tro that will prevail after the division is healed. I can hardly wait to see what it looks like.”

Although the merchants group’s endorsement was reticent, several public commenters read aloud the names of 104 businesses in the area that do support Another Planet’s plans.

Stephen Torres, a queer man who is on the cultural district’s board of directors, spoke on the district’s behalf to the B.A.R. after the vote.

“We appreciate the outpouring of community support on keeping this a community asset and we also appreciate Supervisor Mandelman with having responded to our request to expand the landmarking and to Supervisor[s] Preston and Peskin for adding this important, definitive language,” Torres said. “They’ve [APE] continued not to engage with the Castro cultural district and not make enforceable commitments and it seems they’ve treated the city no differently, regarding the Bill Graham Civic.”

In a statement on the Bill Graham allegations, Perry stated APE has spent over $10.3 million on the auditorium, including $7 million in capital improvements to the facility, and $3.3 million in repairs and maintenance. Past and present agreements, he said, “were fully approved and reviewed by the Board of Supervisors.”

Mandelman thanked Peskin, Preston, and Melgar for listening – but reminded everyone that they don’t have the last say.

“I am grateful that my colleagues on the committee took the time to hear from the public over two meetings and seriously grapple with the competing visions for the future of the theater,” Mandelman stated after the vote. “Plainly the majority reached a different conclusion than I have, and we will continue the conversation at the full board.” t

the Lesbian Visibility Week website. Some events will be livestreamed. The visibility week is supported by the U.K.based Diversity Umbrella Foundation. To find more lesbian communities around the world and virtually, join The Curve Foundation’s Facebook community for free and special events. t

San Francisco Supervisor Aaron Peskin makes a point during the board’s land use committee meeting April 17.

Screengrab viaSFGovTV

t Community News>>

<< David Hurles

From page 6

rested by the SFPD vice squad February 12, 1972, with the headline, ‘Vice Squad’s First Gay Film Bust.’”

Mizer and Womack also saw themselves caught up in the federal government’s war against obscenity. According to the Mizer foundation website, Mizer, who died in 1992, saw his career catapulted into infamy in 1954 when he was convicted of the unlawful distribution of

<< Political Notebook

From page 9

protections in a decade,” said Chandler, that will “both protect pharmacists and hold Big Pharma accountable with increased penalties for breaking the law.”

On another issue aimed at addressing the city’s overdose drug crisis on the streets, Chandler told the B.A.R. he is

Guest Opinion

From page 8

the giant rainbow flag at Harvey Milk Plaza and will soon replace the iconic rainbow banners lining our streets. And this month, we’re launching a new program to help fill vacant storefronts with small incentive grants to new businesses, starting with the LGBTQ-themed Welcome Castro gift shop and neighborhood visitor center opening in the old Levi’s space.

Despite all these efforts, we continue to feel the strain of the drop off in foot traffic resulting from all the business closures – including the majestic Castro Theatre, which has been activated only occasionally since the pandemic shutdown.

Everyone knows that the Castro Theatre has historically been an economic driver for the neighborhood, an anchor that, prior to the pandemic, drew crowds for film, concerts, and events on a daily basis. While filmgoing audiences have declined in recent years, the Castro has adapted and needs to continue to do so. For the last 50-plus years, it has also been a bedrock foundation of LGBTQ culture, which is the main driver of tourism in our internationally renowned neighborhood.

Legals>>

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-23557827

In the matter of the application of WANARSA CHANTARA, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appears from said application that petitioner WANARSA CHANTARA is requesting that the name WANARSA CHANTARA be changed to TANIE WANARSA CHANTARA. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N on the 30th of MAY 2023 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

MAR 30, APR 06, 13, 20, 2023

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-23557828

In the matter of the application of PERNALEY NAVA CRUZ JR, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appears from said application that petitioner PERNALEY NAVA CRUZ JR is requesting that the name PERNALEY NAVA CRUZ JR be changed to PJ NAVA. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N on the 30th of MAY 2023 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

MAR 30, APR 06, 13, 20, 2023

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-23557825

In the matter of the application of ALLISON MICHELLE FINK, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appears from said application that petitioner ALLISON MICHELLE FINK, is requesting that the name ALLISON MICHELLE FINK, be changed to ALLISON MIMIETTA GANS. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N on the 4th of MAY 2023 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

MAR 30, APR 06, 13, 20, 2023

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF

NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-23557840

In the matter of the application of MADELINE BETH BOURGEOIS, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appears from said application that petitioner MADELINE BETH BOURGEOIS is requesting that the name MADELINE BETH BOURGEOIS be changed to MADELINE BOURGEOIS BRESSLER. Now therefore, it is

obscene material through the U.S. mail. The material in question was a series of black and white photographs, taken by Mizer, of young bodybuilders wearing what were known as posing straps – a precursor to the G-string.

Womack, who died in 1985, occupied a central position in 1960s gay publishing, including winning the 1962 U.S. Supreme Court case Manual Enterprises v. Day, which confirmed that published materials directed toward gays and lesbians could not automatically be considered obscene, according to a web-

supportive of seeing San Francisco allow safe injection sites open up as long as they are not in residential areas. (As the San Francisco Chronicle reported last week, while Ronen has been working to see such a facility overseen by a local nonprofit open in her district, City Attorney David Chiu’s legal concerns have blocked the effort.)

But he also believes in treatment-ondemand and ensuring any drug user

And this is why – despite all the controversy amid community concerns about the displacement of film and LGBTQ culture – Castro Merchants has been hopeful that Another Planet Entertainment will bring our treasured theater back to life. Balancing the interests of our members who are as concerned for their businesses as I am, we would love to be able to offer APE our full-throated support. And indeed, while still only promising programming on average every other night once their proposed remodeling is complete in a couple of years, this would certainly be an improvement over the last 15 months.

We’d love to see APE renovate and program our iconic movie palace with diverse film and music, and LGBTQ programming every day and night of the year. Clearly, this would be a badly needed shot in the arm for the neighborhood and the city, and who wouldn’t like to see the 101-year-old theater cleaned up and restored to her former glory, made more accessible, safer, and as beautiful as she deserves?

Nevertheless, we are concerned.

On Monday, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors’ Land Use and Transportation Committee voted to fully landmark the interior of the Castro Theatre, which could prevent the theater from being converted to

site about him.

Mr. Hurles’ obituary noted that like Mizer before him, he befriended his models, even though they often stole money and equipment from him. “Still, Hurles referred to many of them as his friends, including models who would go on to mainstream gay porn, including Peter O’Brien and Scott O’Hara.” (O’Hara died in 1998.)

Mr. Hurles counted filmmaker John Waters and Mizer himself among his friends as well, influencing Mizer’s work later in his career. Mr. Hurles was an

who wants to address their addiction should not end up on a waitlist for admittance to a facility that will assist them in getting sober.

“I support it in nonresidential areas as a tool and not as the only solution,” Chandler said of the facilities. “I believe San Francisco needs to completely renovate and completely redo how we are responding to the opiate crisis. We need to invest significant resources into detox

a multi-purpose concert hall as APE proposes. Specifically, an amendment proposed by District 5 Supervisor Dean Preston would require fixed seating in the orchestra level.

Earlier this month, the Castro Merchants membership voted that we will endorse APE’s plans for the Castro Theatre – but only once it produces an economic report that evaluates the likely impacts of its business plan on the neighborhood. And it must agree to participate in good faith negotiations with community groups that wish to protect the theater, and expand and diversify their planned film and LGBTQ programming.

We wait, with hope, for a response.

Castro Merchants has always been on the side of our small business members, and in the spirit of Harvey Milk, we will continue to work for an inclusive, diverse, and prosperous gayborhood that lifts everyone up to their full potential under that rainbow flag.

“You gotta give ‘em hope!”

– Harvey Milk t

Terrance Alan is president of the Castro Merchants Association and owner of the Flore Dispensary on Noe Street.

hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N on the 9th of MAY 2023 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

MAR 30, APR 06, 13, 20, 2023

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-23557834

In the matter of the application of RUSSELL WAYNE NAGASUGI, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appears from said application that petitioner RUSSELL WAYNE NAGASUGI, is requesting that the name RUSSELL WAYNE NAGASUGI, be changed to RUSSELL WAYNE OBANA. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N on the 9th of MAY 2023 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

MAR 30, APR 06, 13, 20, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0399835

The following person(s) is/are doing business as ANASTASIA SAUVAGE COACHING, 140 9TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ANASTASIA MICHELLE WILLIAMS. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 03/15/2023. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 03/16/2023.

MAR 30, APR 06, 13, 20, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0399766

The following person(s) is/are doing business as MARWAY MEDIA, 1296 HAIGHT ST #21, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed LEANNE MARIE FRANCIS. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 03/09/2023. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 03/09/2023. MAR 30, APR 06, 13, 20, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0399886

The following person(s) is/are doing business CEDAR MAINTENANCE & MORE, 885 SAN ALESO AVE #1, SUNNYVALE, CA 94085. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed STEVEN KHENAISSER. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 03/01/2023. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 03/23/2023.

early adopter of home video recording in the early 1980s, and he encouraged Mizer to film his models using that technology, which Mizer did in the last decade of his work with the Athletic Model Guild, the obituary noted.

Fritscher explained the name of Mr. Hurles’ company: “He named his studio ‘Old Reliable’ because it’s street slang for a penis that always works.”

But Hanson said, “David took it from an ad for The Old Reliable Stove Company. He thought it was funny.”

In the introduction to “Outcast,” Mr.

and abstinence facilities that currently do not have the resources they need.”

It is just one issue that will likely come up in the conversations Chandler plans to engage in with District 9 residents over the coming months as he seeks their vote. It is a campaign nearly everyone in his life, except for Chang, told him he was “insane” for undertaking.

“I am not just someone pointing out the problems and how to fix them, be-

Hurles reflected on his long career, writing, “I am very grateful to those men who shared their male essence with me, and to my patrons who studied my work, enjoyed it, and understood what it was saying.”

An upcoming volume of the Mizer’s Foundation’s flagship publication, “Physique Pictorial,” will focus on Mr. Hurles’ life and legacy. A memorial announcement at the Bob Mizer Foundation is forthcoming.t

cause there are big problems and we can fix them, I am acting as a cheerleader and saying, ‘Don’t give up on San Francisco. We can fix this!’” said Chandler. “I have been surprised that I have been working to convince folks there is hope and that the city is salvageable. So many other people feel otherwise.”

To learn more about his candidacy, visit his campaign website at trevor4SF. com t

Drag rally held in Palm Springs

Members of drag and allied communities in Palm Springs held a “Drag4Drag” rally in the desert city Tuesday, April 18. The event was held in front of the Forever Marilyn statue in downtown Palm Springs, home to many

and County of San Francisco, CA on 03/27/2023. MAR 30, APR 06, 13, 20, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0399904

The following person(s) is/are doing business as PROJECT SOLUTIONS, 3119 GEARY BLVD, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed X ALBERT WANG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/02/2007. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 03/27/2023. MAR 30, APR 06, 13, 20, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0399911

The following person(s) is/are doing business as ANGIES JEWELRY, 2386 MISSION ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed RAMON G. GONZALEZ. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/01/1999.

The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 03/27/2023. MAR 30, APR 06, 13, 20, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0399881

The following person(s) is/are doing business as GALLARDO’S PRINTING & ENGRAVING, 2081 MISSION ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed SERGIO D. GALLARDO. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/10/2010. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 03/23/2023.

MAR 30, APR 06, 13, 20, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0399893

The following person(s) is/are doing business as FRIENDS & NEIGHBORS, 275 6TH AVE #102, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business

CA 94107. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed CHAAT CORNER SAN FRANCISCO INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 03/16/2023. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 03/22/2023. MAR 30, APR 06, 13, 20, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0399650

The following person(s) is/are doing business as RED WRENCH PLUMBING, 624 PRECITA AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed RED WRENCH PLUMBING INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 02/07/2012. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 03/01/2023.

MAR 30, APR 06, 13, 20, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT

FILE A-0399859

The following person(s) is/are doing business as KEYAPP REAL ESTATE, 3595 BALBOA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed SEQUOIA REAL ESTATE-CITY PROPERTIES, INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 03/21/2023.

MAR 30, APR 06, 13, 20, 2023

FICTITIOUS

MAR 30, APR 06, 13, 20, 2023

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF MUI TAI VONG IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO: FILE PES-21-304531

To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both, of MUI TAI VONG. A Petition for Probate has been filed by PHAT VINH CAM & NAM MUOI AU AKA MUOI NAM AU in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco. The Petition for Probate requests that NAM MUOI AU AKA MUOI NAM AU be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent. 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: MAY 01, 2023, 9:00 am, Dept. 204, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. If you object to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing. Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney.

If you are a creditor or contingent creditor of the decedent, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal representative appointed by the court within the latter of either (1) four months from the date of first issuance of letters to a general personal representative, as defined by section 58(b) of the California Probate Code, or (2) 60 days from the date of mailing or personal delivery to you of a notice under section 9052 of the California Probate Code. Other California statutes and legal authority may affect your rights as a creditor. You may want to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law. You may examine the file kept by the court. If you are a person interested in the estate, you may file with the court a Request for Special Notice (form DE-154) of the filing of an inventory and appraisal of estate assets or of any petition or account as provided in Probate Code section 1250. A Request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk. Attorney for petitioner: JOHN CHOW, ESQ. (SBN 225670), CCD LAW GROUP, PC, 301 JUNIPERO SERRA BLVD #204, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94127; Ph. (415) 398-8308. APR

LGBTQ residents. The Desert Stonewall Democrats and the American Civil Liberties Union desert Chapter co-sponsored the rally, which was held to bring attention to the anti-drag and anti-trans legislation around the country.

Darlene/PhotoGraphics

by Michael Flanagan

Doris Fish was everywhere in the 1980s. It seemed if she didn’t exist someone would have had to invent her. Craig Seligman’s “Who Does That Bitch Think She Is? Doris Fish and the Rise of Drag” reminds us that someone did. That someone was Philip Mills, known to all but his best friends as Doris Fish.

Seligman’s biography is fast-paced, informative, funny and thoughtful. It helps that Seligman knew Doris personally through his husband Silvana Nova, who performed with Fish. The book doesn’t just function as a biography of a performer. It’s a history of the growth of two communities and the evolution of a consciousness.

The history of Mills’ native Sydney and its drag culture includes the 1957 Artists Ball where legendary drag artist Karen Chant, wanting to outdo Marie Antoinette’s record for the most fabric in a gown wore an outfit that “incorporated seventeen hundred yards of tulle” which was “so enormous that she had to be carted to the Trocadero in a moving van.”

Doris was part of that history too, as a member of Sylvia and the Synthetics, a genderfuck group influenced by the Cockettes that gave their first performance in October 1972. It was through the Synthetics that Doris met his lifelong friends and fellow performers Miss Abood and Carmel Strelein. Unlike the Cockettes there was an underlying threat in the Synthetics performances. The book quotes a gay paper’s warning:

“If you get too close to the stage, you’re likely to be shoved back by a high-heeled shoe planted firmly on your chest.”

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Doris Fish

Comedy Triple Play

Monica Palacios

Stands up and out

by Laura Moreno

“Just comadres? I don’t think so,” is one of the many brilliant lines Monica Palacios has delivered onstage, commenting on Mexican women singing passionate mariachi songs together. Named one of the most influential Latinx performers ever, Monica Palacios was born to be a comedian. She was one of the first out Chicana lesbian comics to hit the stage in San Francisco in 1982.

Now, the renowned Chicana lesbian presents her solo show “San Francisco, Mi Amor!” about the start of her queer comedy career and activism in San Francisco in the 1980s.

It all started at the hot spot Valencia Rose Cabaret, which opened in 1982, the first gay comedy club in the nation, in the time of AIDS. The supportive, welcoming atmosphere there stood in stark contrast to the competitive, hostile edge at the straight comedy clubs.

In “San Francisco, Mi Amor!” she takes a bleak narrative and makes it triumphant, and reminisces about her first brushes with fame. At the time, she was waitressing at a funky Mexican restaurant at the tourist trap Pier 39 by day, birthing the comedy troupe Culture Clash by night. Throughout the play, projected images will be shown from this time period: funky first hand-made flyers, headshots, business cards, newspaper clippings and more.

Palacios discussed her work and life in a Bay Area Reporter interview.

Laura Moreno: The city of Los Angeles named Oct 12 Monica Palacios Day in 2012, like Selena Day in Texas which was her birthday, Easter 1995. What an incredible

See page 15 >>

Sampson McCormick

by Cornelius Washington

With insight and his unique perspectives on politics, Black life and family, award-winning gay comic Sampson McCormick will have you laughing at truths laid bare. He’ll perform April 29 at the Oakland LGBTQ Community Center with local favorite Dhaya Lakshminarayanan.

One of best and brightest stars on the queer comedy circuit, with a career that spans decades, tastes and trends, along with his standup shows, he’s performed in nine independent films, including “BBoy Blues,” “Love the One You’re With” and the Oscar-nominated short film “I Live Here,” and written several more, including his filmed comedy shows.

And the accolades keep pouring in. During his phone interview with the Bay Area Reporter, he was contacted via email that the website Queerty had just named him one of the eight historymaking LGBTQ comedians who set the stage for modern queer comedy. Despite “getting his flowers,” as the saying goes, McCormick remains modest, shy and smooth, a rarity for such a unique talent.

Cornelius Washington: Let’s start of with the obvious. When did you realize you were funny beyond what one sees from Black queer men?

Sampson McCormick: When I was in Pre-Kindergarten, I would imitate the pastors at church and I would mock the awful lunches at school.

Zach Zimmerman

by David-Elijah Nahmod

Zach Zimmerman pulls no punches. In one of his YouTube videos, the openly queer comic talks about making a mold of his own penis for a boyfriend. After they break up, he takes the mold to his new apartment and, as he puts it, “I made sweet love to myself with myself, and I don’t kiss and tell, but I will say I’m a better top than a bottom.”

This kind of candor can be found throughout Zimmerman’s just published book of essays “Is It Hot in Here? Or Am I Suffering for all Eternity for the Sins I Committed on Earth?” The book chronicles Zimmerman’s journey through life with wit and good humor. Zimmerman opens up about his Christian fundamentalist family, his romantic life, his sex life, and other topics with an openness that lets the reader peak inside his soul and get to know who he is.

On April 26 Zimmerman will be appearing at the Swedish American Hall in San Francisco. The show is being put together in conjunction with Fabulosa Books, who will be selling copies of his book at the event.

In “Matchmaker, Matchmaker,” one of the essays in the book, Zimmerman recalls looking in his parents’ bedroom for a pair of scissors that he needed. What he found was quite a thrill to his young eyes: dozens of condoms and a pamphlet titled “69 Ways to Spice Up Your Sex Life.” He read spice #57, “Shaving Your Pussy.”

“Dan Savage told me when he shared his memoir with his mom, he redacted huge portions of it,” Zimmerman said in an interview with the Bay Area Reporter. “In hindsight, I should have done this.

See page 15 >> See page 15 >>

Craig Seligman’s astonishing ‘Who Does That Bitch Think She Is? Doris Fish and the Rise of Drag’

Doris was a star in the Sydney Gay Mardi Gras, as both a participant and a planner. Many stories from the event (including one about a Falwell-like preacher whose head they patterned a float after) are hilarious.

Doris’ San Francisco star was rising as well. Fish’s career here began at a 1976 Tubes talent show. He and Pearl E. Gates (soon to be New Wave singer Pearl Harbour) won and became fast friends. At the talent show he met Jane Dornacker and her manager Eddie Troia, who would go on to produce the show “Blonde Sin.”

In 1976, Doris also met Tippi and Miss X, and the Sluts A GoGo were born. Doris’ San Francisco career took off. In the 1980s came work on the film “Vegas In Space” and plays like “Naked Brunch.” I haven’t even mentioned Philip’s career as a sex worker or the line of Doris Fish greeting cards from West Graphics. But for those tales, you’re just going to have to read the book.

Seligman’s book is a quick read as it is so compelling: I tore through the

first two hundred pages in two days. The last hundred pages took a bit longer. I just didn’t want to lose Doris again, although you do get to relive the community spirit that accompanied AIDS in that portion of the book. Fish’s enormous talent shines in this book. “Who Does That Bitch Think She Is? Doris Fish and the Rise of Drag” has done an amazing job of preserving both the life of an incred-

ible performer and the transformation of our world to a more accepting place via the horror of an epidemic.

Timed with a new exhibit, “Doris Fish: Ego as Artform,” opening at the GLBT History Museum April 21, Seligman will discuss his book at the museum on April 28 at 6pm. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to speak with Seligman regarding Doris’ world and the book.

Michael Flanagan: Doris moved to San Francisco because it was well known in the 1970s as a gay capital (perhaps the gay capital then). I’m wondering if he also didn’t move here because of hippie counterculture, and the reason I ask is because of his/her love of Grace Slick, affinity for Buddhism and diet.

Craig Seligman: Absolutely! Doris was drawn to both the hippie and the gay countercultures, and San Francisco suited him to a T. (Those were, incidentally, the same reasons I was drawn to San Francisco.) He wasn’t into drugs, though.

How much do you think that Doris was influenced by punk in the ’70s? You do mention that she shopped at Vivenne Westwood’s shop Sex in London.

Doris’s colleagues were influenced by punk and New Wave – or, rather, they influenced these movements themselves – but Doris was very much a child of the sixties, a flower child. He never stopped being a hippie in his outlook. While some of his looks could be punk (there were so many!), he was much more into old-fashioned glamour. And his musical tastes ran to Grace Slick and Joni Mitchell and Joan Baez rather than to Poly Styrene and the Slits. As far as stopping in at Sex, it was on the fashion map; it hardly made you punk to pay the shop a visit. Doris bought fishnets there, not ripped T-shirts.

How long did it take you to research the book?

I started back in 2005, but that’s a little misleading, because I had to earn a living while I was writing it. The people I needed to interview determined where my husband, Silvana Nova, and I vacationed – which wasn’t such a hardship, since those interviews took us to San Francisco, L.A., Phoenix, Paris, Sydney, and Melbourne, among other places. But it was a long process; and of course there was also a lot of library/archival research along the way.

I did my very last interview in 2019. Is there enough recorded performance of Doris/Philip’s work for a documentary?

Is there ever! Doris was one of the first people to own a home video camera, and practically all his shows in San Francisco were recorded. There’s a lot of footage (which he never tired of watching), and in fact a Portland filmmaker named Scott Braucht is currently working on a documentary about him called “Dear Doris” (www. deardorisfilm.com).

Since your earlier book was on Sontag and Kael and you discuss “Notes on Camp” in the book, I’m wondering how you think notions of camp had evolved from the ’60s when Sontag wrote about it to when Doris was performing. Do you think Doris had his own theories regarding camp or was he indifferent to theoretical approaches to his work?

When Sontag wrote her famous essay, camp was still an elite aesthetic shared by a coterie of in-the-know gay men. In the mid-sixties it made its way into popular culture, via vehicles like the TV series “Batman” and the Bond movies. There was nothing elite or elitist about it by the time Doris was performing. That said, Doris did think deeply about his own work, and in the book I quote, for example, his analysis of what makes “Valley of the Dolls” funnier every time you watch it.t

“Doris Fish: Ego as Artform,” opens at the GLBT History Museum April 21 (reception 7pm-9pm ($10/free for members) through fall 2023. Craig Seligman will discuss his book at the museum with curator Ms. Bob Davis on April 28 at 6pm ($5/free for members). 4127 18th St. www.glbthistory.org www.publicaffairsbooks.com

Read the full interview, with video clips, at www.ebar.com.

Left: Doris Fish and Miss X in Philip R. Ford’s film ‘Vegas in Space’

Right: Doris Fish (center) in a photo for Niteclub of the Living Dead at the 181 Club

Author Craig Seligman

Doris Fish

Doris Fish in full red glam

honor. What did you do that day to celebrate?

Monica Palacios: The recognition from the City of Los Angeles was amazing! This honor coincided with my show, “Queer Chicana Soul,” a 30year retrospective of my performing career. I celebrated Monica Palacios Day by doing what I love: performing a show. Some members of my family were in the audience so after, we had a celebratory dinner.

Are comedic geniuses born or made?

I believe comedians are born funny humans. I was born into a family where everyone was funny. We loved laughing together. We actually had a family “gag” drawer where we kept a sample of fake dog poop, whoopie cushion, Dracula fangs, rubber masks, stick-on

From page 13

Who are your heroes in comedy?

Moms Mabley, Redd Foxx, George Carlin, Whoopi Goldberg, Paul Mooney; you know, the legends.

I recently wrote an article on him, which was an honor for me. He is a Black cultural icon.

I actually toured with Paul when he was going into the last years of his career before his Alzheimer’s became too bad. They would have me stretch out my routine when I opened for him. One night, they kept telling me to keep doing another five minutes, then another five, then another until it turned into 30 minutes. I saw his nurse out of the corner of my eye waving me down, then I actually could see Paul glaring at me. He got up out of his wheelchair, walked over to me and said, “I thought I was going to have to yank you offstage with my cane because you are not going to upstage me, you queen!” He talked to me like

From page 13

Mom said she read it, but I think she skimmed. She definitely skipped the threesome chapter. Dad hasn’t read it and I think I’d prefer if he didn’t. He’s more sensitive and spotlight averse.”

Some of the essays are quite insightful. In “Salad,” Zimmerman writes about his first Thanksgiving at home in four years in South Carolina with his conservative Christian family after a breakup with a boyfriend. He beautifully describes how awkward it can be for a gay man to share a table and break bread with people who do not approve of his life.

“Why don’t we all say something we’re thankful for?” suggests Zimmerman’s mom.

“Jesus Christ,” says his youngest niece.

In “French Kiss,” Zimmerman recalls taking a trip to Paris with a boyfriend. During the return flight, the boyfriend informs him that they will be breaking up when they get home.

“I thought about the most significant moments and insights from my life and found that the themes that emerged were religion, family, work and love,” Zimmerman said. “Also, from my stand-up, I know what themes interest me and resonate with people, so that helped me accelerate the writing process. My editor also brought her meat cleaver to tell me which essays, even if I loved them, didn’t quite fit.”

Zimmerman addressed what he was trying to convey when he put the book together.

“I was trying to capture some of

mustaches, eye glasses with metal eyeballs attached to springs allowing the eyeballs to bug out: fun times!

Going to a private Catholic school did help my comedy chops because I had a smaller audience to entertain, and I was the only girl in my class who was an amateur comic. High school was even a better stand-up comedy prep because my parents made me go to Notre Dame, an all-girl Catholic high school in downtown San Jose.

that the whole tour. He was great and I learned so much from one of the best!

Who would you like to open for next?

I would love a Patti LaBelle audience. I would also love to open for Lil Nas X.

Who would you like to have open for you when you headline a comedy tour?

Tevin Campbell, Rahsaan Patterson; Fantasia would be cool too.

Describe your flavor of comedy.

I make an audience feel like I am their best friend, family member or next door neighbor, because I’m able to connect on those levels that appeal to audiences that typically would not think that a queer Black man is able to do that. That is what comedy is; the ability to appeal to the hearts and minds of the masses in an amusing way.

Can you describe your YouTube series?

the tensions in my life, the insights I’ve gleaned, and package them in polished, mostly humorous essays,” he said. “I hope I capture a little of my spirit in it. A friend who read an early draft said it’s ‘very Zach,’ which I think is the ultimate compliment, to have gotten who I am into a book.”

The author promises that those who attend his show at the Swedish American Hall are in for a real treat.

“It’ll be the best damn night of their lives,” he said. “Well, at least the top 1000 night of your life, ‘cause I don’t know what everyone’s lives look like. It will be a fun time; an evening of stand-up, some great local openers, I’ll talk about the book and sign everyone’s copies. I’m going on a San Francisco morning show that day, so expect me at my most caffeineinduced and alert by show time.”

And if you’re hesitant to check his book out, Zimmerman has a special message for you.

“Wow, you look great in that outfit,” he said.

“Truly, you look stunning. And I’m not saying that to get you to read my book. I’m not. I do think you’d enjoy it, this funny and heartfelt collection of essays, and humor pieces, the journey of a straight, meat-eating conservative becoming a queer vegetarian atheist, but mostly I’ve stopped you outside this Dave and Buster’s to let you know you look amazing.”t

Zach Zimmerman: ‘Is it Hot in Here’ tour. April 26, 8pm, Swedish American Hall, 2174 Market Street, $25, 21 and older only.

www.swedishamericanhall.com

www.zach-zimmerman.com

This was the 1970s, a time when stand-up comedy and comedy on television was at an all-time high. I continued to mimic what I saw on TV but I was also creating my own material. As I was doing so, my adoring fans – I mean my classmates – were telling me I should be a comedian. By my senior year, after performing sketches with friends, writing and performing in plays, doing stand-up, making students and teachers laugh on a regular basis, I knew I was going to try stand-up comedy.

Do you love mariachis?

Yes, I absolutely love mariachis. I grew up with a father who taught himself to play the guitar, piano. Actually, he could play any instrument. I referred to him as a pseudo-mariachi guy because he had the guitar but not the outfit. My father, Guadalupe, was always playing his guitar and singing rancheras, contemporary American songs, rock and roll; he was always singing.

I have a series called Profiles on Black Gay Love. It’s biweekly and I speak to Black gay couples and entertainers. We do very well with it. At its height, we’ve gotten up to 30,000 people watching. I also have a very popular series on Black and gay adult entertainment that gets 20,000 views per episode.

I’m very honored to be with you as you got the email about Queerty acknowledging your career. How do you feel in this moment?

To be a Black queer man getting standing ovations in a white, heterosexual, male-dominated field lets me know that I have power. It’s about the work and the craft. I work very hard and I do not complain a lot. I point to the architects like Little Richard. I saw the documentary on him and it was excellent. He opened doors and I want to do the same, but I will get my due credits while I am alive! (laughs) As Black people and as Black queer people, we have to learn to celebrate our victories in the moment of what we did right in-

He and my mom would entertain relatives and compadres at our house. My dad taught me to play the ukulele so I would join my parents and we would all sing and jam the night away in Spanish and English.

For my show, “Greetings From a Queer Señorita,” I dress as a mariachi but of course after five minutes, I have to remove my big ol’ sombrero otherwise I couldn’t do my performance. For my current solo show at Brava Theater, “San Francisco, Mi Amor!,” there will not be mariachis per se but fun mariachi music energy.

Was your family okay with you coming out?

My family was supportive of my coming out as a lesbian. Actually, my older sister came out first, so we have a Double Dyke Familia! I told my mom I was a lesbian too and she said, “You’re a lesbian tambien?! Is this contagious?!”

The most important thing that

my sister and I showed our family was that we were happy about our lives and our queer friends were loving, supportive and respectful. What threw my mom for a loop was when I brought a girlfriend over to meet the family and she was stumped about us being vegetarians. My mom was a cool cat and a great cook. She said, “We can handle you being a lesbian but not eating carne asada tacos. That is a sin! But I can adapt. I will make you Enchiladas Lesbinitas.”t Monica Palacios’ ‘San Francisco, Mi Amor! The ’80s: Queer Comedy, Taquerias, The Castro, The Mission, Mullets & Shoulder Pads So Wide You Can Fly!’ $20. April 28 & 29. 7:30pm, at Brava’s Cabaret, 2773 24th St. www.brava.org www.monicapalacios.com

Read the full interview on www.ebar.com.

stages at Pride events around the country. I’ve hosted the main stage for Oakland Pride a few times and I made it so spicy and risqué, the crowd ate it up.

You served Moms Mabley realness?

You know it! I really love her. She didn’t have any teeth, but with her comedy she would snatch your teeth, your breath, and your wig!

What would you tell your younger self about being Black and queer?

Trust yourself and your instincts, and give yourself everything you know you deserve because you are worth it!t

stead of just focusing on the next goal. We really need to savor the moment.

Before we know it, LGBTQ Pride will be upon us. Do you have any plans?

I want more work hosting the main

Sampson McCormick, with Dhaya Lakshminarayanan, April 29, 6:30pm ($20) at the Oakland LGBTQ Community Center, 3207 Lakeshore Ave. www.sampsoncomedy.com www.oaklandlgbtqcenter.org youtube.com/@sampsonmccormick

Sampson McCormick

Zach Zimmerman

Sampson McCormick

Monica Palacios Patricia Varela

‘Poor Yella Rednecks: Vietgone II’ at the Strand t << Theater

by Jim Gladstone

Qui Nguyen’s “Vietgone” was a huge hit at A.C.T.’s Strand Theater five years ago. Drawing on the playwright’s own family history, it explored the cultural uprooting and U.S. resettlement of Vietnamese refugees during the 1970s through raucous comedy booby-trapped with moments of deep emotion.

“Poor Yella Rednecks: Vietgone II,” now playing on that same stage, is, as its title indicates, a specimen of an extraordinarily rare thing: a theater sequel.

Within a genus marked by very little genius – the most notable English language exception being Eugene O’Neill’s a “Moon for The Misbegotten” – and too many sloppy singing seconds –“Annie Warbucks,” “Bring Back Birdie,” “Love Never Dies” (i.e. “Phantom of the Opera, Part Deux”), “Poor Yella Rednecks” is a resounding success. Considered on a broader scale, it’s still a success, but a qualified one.

The most obvious analog to Nguyen’s planned trio of “Vietgone” plays is Neil Simon’s Eugene Trilogy: “Brighton Beach Memoirs,” “Biloxi Blues,” and “Broadway Bound.”

Both are narrated by aspiring writers who recount their families’ stories with humor, sentiment and an acute awareness of an ethnic minority’s conflicts with and attractions to mainstream American culture.

In “Poor Yella Rednecks,” as in the first “Vietgone,” the proceedings are introduced and overseen by a Playwright character (Jomar Tagatac, who, like all of the cast, plays several small roles in addition to a primary part).

And once again, Vietnamese characters are centered. Even facing sometimes harrowing challenges (far more difficult than those faced by Simon’s Jewish Jerome family), they’re never pitiable, never victims.

While Nguyen’s post-modern, pointedly self-conscious approach to narrative – full of funny stylistic lifts from all manner of popular culture – is an obvious two generations removed from Simon’s more traditional approach, there’s a domestic focus and familiar sit-com rhythm underlying both.

Nguyen’s working class household humor suggests a lemongrass-scented “Roseanne,” and “Poor Yella Rednecks” is studded with Easter egg references to ’70s comedies, most amusingly “Three’s Company.”

Collage over plot

After spending much of the first play in a federal resettlement camp, “Poor Yella Rednecks” finds the Playwright’s family having moved to a cramped apartment in El Dorado, Arkansas.

Young mother Tong (Jenny Nguyen Nelson, convincingly self-sufficient) is the breadwinner, waitressing at

the local diner. Her husband, Quang (matinee handsome Hyunmin Rhee) remains clearly unsettled.

Their American-born son, the future Playwright, nicknamed Little Man, is oblivious to his family’s history, just a kid growing up and teased for being different by schoolyard bullies. (He’s played by Will Dao, deftly and expressively manipulating a large wooden puppet).

Tong’s mother, Tu (Christine Jamlig, with ace comic timing) provides laissez-faire childcare and profanity-laced insults.

When cast members play the occasional white characters (and when their Vietnamese characters speak English), they employ Nguyen’s cleverest innovation, a sort-of pop pidgin language that reflects American culture of the era while making the speakers come off as buffoons:

“Fuck a duck, Starsky and Hutch!” yammer cops as they break up a fight. To “Hulk Hogan” is to beat up. “Cheeseburger” is a national character-defining gestalt.

Like its predecessor, “Poor Yella Rednecks”– also under the sprightly direction of Jaime Castañeda – zips through short, sharply drawn scenes with antic energy.

Unfortunately, in this go round the kaleidoscopic velocity doesn’t give a pair of potentially wrenching plot twists the room they need to fully emotionally register with audiences. Some major substance gets overwhelmed by style.

Throughout the show, the influence of comic books, sit-coms, martial arts movies and hip-hop on Nguyen, born in 1976, comes through loud and clear.

In this context, the wooden Little Man feels oddly forced; while there’s a strong tradition of folkloric puppetry in Vietnam, our narrator would be much more familiar with Ernie, Bert and Cookie Monster.

Hamiltones

And the hip-hop influence is problematically over-amplified. Several times throughout the show, the action’s momentum slows to a near freeze as

characters step forward and deliver rap soliloquies to original music by Shammy Dee. With repetitive lyrics and emotional content redundant of what’s already been delivered in dialogue, these interludes add little but drag to the proceedings.

A prominent lyrical quote from “Hamilton”: “Immigrants: We get the job done!” feels less like a tribute than a grab at the coattails of a show that successfully used rap music – and Black performers – to make a powerful artistic and political statement.

No doubt rap had a significant place in the playlist of Nguyen’s teenage years, but the timeframes of neither the original “Vietgone” nor “Poor Yella Rednecks” have covered that period in the life of his fictional stand-in, Little Man.

Perhaps Nguyen’s planned third installment will get there, but for the moment, the musical numbers make neither aesthetic or intellectual sense.

The still-in-development VGIII also faces a storytelling problem which has already surfaced in this second chapter: the overarching structure of the Playwright narrator sharing tales from his family’s history doesn’t truly overarch those tales.

While the family stories move forward in time between parts one and two, the plays are individually bookended by the narrator introducing himself (while taking some crowdpleasing but egregious pot-shots at white theatergoers) and trying to explain his artistic motivation to a parent (His father in the first, his mother in the second).

Both plays conclude with earnest, sentimental and fundamentally similar expressions of the Playwright’s debt and devotion to family. As comforting as that device may be, even this second iteration feels redundant. As clever as Nguyen is at both mimicking and exploding sit-com conventions, the last thing one wants from him is a rerun.t

‘Poor Yella Rednecks: Vietgone II,’ through May 7. $30-$65. ACT’s Strand Theater, 1127 Market St. (415)-749-2228 www.act-sf.org

(L-R): Will Dao, Christine Jamlig, Jenny Nguyen Nelson, Hyunmin Rhee, and Jomar Tagatac in Qui Nguyen’s ‘Poor Yella Rednecks’

Kevin Berne

Hyunmin Rhee and Jenny Nguyen Nelson in ‘Poor Yella Rednecks’

Kevin Berne

Take in our vibrant California Coast exhibit and help us restore biodiversity for a thriving California—and planet. Because every visit supports our mission to regenerate the natural world.

Make a reservation at calacademy.org

AQUARIUM + PLANETARIUM + RAINFOREST + LIVING MUSEUM

Spring Festival

March 24-April 23

Splash, create, and explore.

Celebrate the arrival of spring with fun festivities for the whole family.

Fenton Bailey’s ‘ScreenAge’

by Brian Bromberger

In his introduction to Fenton Bailey’s “ScreenAge,” gay British talk show host Graham Norton, calls Bailey “the Forrest Gump of popular and tabloid culture,” remarking that if an event or personality created headlines, he was there. With his romantic (once boyfriends but no longer, “now we’re like an old married couple”) and professional partner Randy Barbato, Bailey created their World of Wonder production company “to uplift and promote the voices of marginalized queer communities.”

His new essential book consists of three interweaving sections: personal memoir, the role of television in our lives, and the impact of queer pop culture. If Norton depicts Bailey as Forrest Gump, Bailey sees himself more as the Andy Warhol of his time.

Pop camp visibility

Bailey grew up in Southampton England, knew he was gay from an early age, but wanting to follow in Warhol’s footsteps, moved to New York in 1982 to attend film school at New York University. On the first day he met New Jersey native Randy Barbato. They bonded instantly as pop culture enthusiasts. For a few years they formed a singing electro/synthesizer group The Fabulous Pop Tarts, which never quite caught fire.

Couples

by Victoria A. Brownworth

It was a pleasure to randomly catch

bisexual comedian and San Francisco-raised Margaret Cho on “The

Instead, they wanted to celebrate pop culture by creating a new audience for it on television. Bailey observes that most of our waking hours are spent in front of some sort of screen whether it be our phone, our computer, or television, hence the book’s title.

Bailey grew up watching television and as a young gay boy got to see other LGBTQ people. He quotes drag queen RuPaul: “Everything I learned, I learned through television and thanks to television I saw who I was and I found my tribe.”

For Bailey, popular culture is queer culture, because it is the queer person’s makeshift solution for being judged invisible, pretending LGBTQ people don’t exist. TV gave visibility to gay people. “Being seen in the ScreenAge means you exist. If you aren’t seen, you don’t exist.”

Bailey views queer culture as universal because it’s promoting the idea

we should live in a world where no one is ignored or pushed aside and told they are wrong, thus relatable to all people.

“It’s the queer community’s compassion and empathy as well as its inclusivity that makes it such a good purveyor of culture.”

For Bailey, America is a queer society because so many people dream of becoming something they are not, by (re)inventing themselves.

Bailey feels television has gotten a bad rap, responsible for dumbing down our culture and portending the end of our civilization. It’s a revelatory medium whose goal is to make everything visible. Through TV, Bailey found a world free from judgment and provided creative inspiration. TV goes behind the scenes. It’s real life in that it shows what is.

Sashay, you stay

Bailey is best known for co-producing the “RuPaul’s Drag Race” series since 2009 and its dozen+ international spin-offs. Drag is essential for Bailey. He again quotes RuPaul: “You’re born naked and the rest is drag.”

Bailey views drag as a mashup of

pop culture. “It makes fun of all the celebrities, pretentions, and excess, but at the same time celebrates and loves it.”

Drag is the art of pretending but exhibiting an inventiveness enabling us to imagine ourselves as who/whatever we want to be. It subverts the concept that there’s a right or wrong way to be, in a sense leveling everyone equally, revealing who we are, as all good.

So it’s not surprising Bailey was a big fan of evangelist/talk show host Tammy Faye Baker, making a documentary (“The Eyes of Tammy Faye”) on her, which inspired the narrative film that won two Oscars, including Best Actress for Jessica Chastain. Bailey felt it was a win for Tammy.

“Tammy always said she was a drag queen and she was in on the joke,” says Bailey in his book. “She basically said being gay was okay and we weren’t bad, which was huge in her evangelical/Pentecostal circles.”

Wondrous world

Bailey’s artistic mission is to “turn the common, the maligned, and the misunderstood” into art especially those characters who get no respect, are looked down, are obscure, or underappreciated in our culture. He now reimagines them as heroes.

World of Wonders’ success comes from their ability to use a queer lens and offer a different perspective on

a subject so you understand it in a whole new light, such as explaining the importance of the Statue of Liberty through its gift shop and then divulging that it’s hollow inside, an illusion, so in its own way America’s top symbol is a drag queen.

In interviews, both Bailey and Barbato have railed against the anti-drag/ trans legislation sweeping the country, calling it “un-American” because drag extols individuality and self-expression, very American traits. This threat, particularly the idea drag queens are predators, “is an attempt to turn the clock back to some imaginary time when drag queens did not exist, which is never and therefore render invisible certain people. It will fail because any attempt to turn the clock back has always failed.”

One can only hope with this book’s publication, both Bailey and Barbato will garner the praise they deserve for being pioneers and prescient about gay cultural trends long before they became popular. “ScreenAge” is an apologetic whimsical celebration of reality television and how World of Wonder boosted queer representation on all types of small screens.t

‘ScreenAge: How TV Shaped Our Reality From Tammy Faye to RuPaul’s Drag Race,’ by Fenton Bailey. Ebury Press/Penguin Random House $24.95 www.worldofwonder.com

View” April 12 and then have her turn up again that night playing a psychic on our fave new sit-com, “Not Dead Yet.” That episode also broadened the gay subplot with Dennis (Josh Ban-

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day) and his husband Jeremy (Rory O’Malley) who are doing surrogacy to expand their family. It’s quite charming the way this gay subplot is just part of the complexity-of- relationships thread that runs through the series.

On “The View,” host Whoopi Goldberg asked Cho what she was livid about and Cho launched into a passionate defense of trans kids. Cho said, “We have to protect trans kids’ lives. We have to protect trans children and the trans community, the nonbinary community, the gender nonconforming community.”

Cho also said succinctly, “When you outlaw a bathroom for someone, you outlaw their humanity.”

Take that in, embroider it on a pillow, silk-screen it on a T-shirt and have that be your answer to everyone who makes this their issue. (By the way, this also goes for homeless people.)

Cho then took on the new anti-drag bills, saying, “If it’s Christians [standing against drag], Christ himself is wearing a long dress and a duster from Chico’s.” Cho continued the joke. “In the Bible, him and the Apostles all went to Chico’s and got the same Bea Arthur sets. It’s a ‘Golden Girls’ special. They’re all wearing the duster.”

Here’s the ‘Beef’

Speaking of San Francisco comedians I love, Ali Wong is the star of “Beef,” the new A24 series that’s currently the most watched series on Netflix. “Beef” is fabulous. The ten-episode series is an Asian-American comedy/drama created by Lee Sung Jin. It stars Steven Yeun and Wong as Danny Cho and Amy Lau, two people whose involvement in a road rage incident pits them against each other in a wild series of events that peel away the layers of who they are, the lives they are leading and what they want and can’t have. Hilarity – and pathos, a surprising amount of pathos – ensue.

For more information: Call: 628.217.6314

Email: curb.2@sfdph.org

Website: www.curb2.org

Eye Spy “A Spy Among Friends” just dropped on MGM+, formerly known as Epix. It’s good period drama, with gorgeous sets, superb acting and an

incredible true crime/spy/traitor story – perfect for our current milieu. Based on the New York Times bestselling book of the same name by Ben Macintyre, this series dramatizes the true story of Nicholas Elliott (Damien Lewis) and Kim Philby (Guy Pearce), two British spies and lifelong friends. Philby was the most notorious defector and Soviet double agent in British history. The series takes place in England in 1963. Nicholas Elliott is working for SIS as an intelligence officer and is left in turmoil when he learns his close friend and colleague Kim Philby has been secretly working as a double agent for the KGB and has defected to the Soviet Union.

The two men were incredibly close throughout their lives, since school days, and Philby’s betrayal of Elliott is astonishing for its breadth and longevity.

“A Spy Among Friends” is so good. Guy Pearce is just extraordinary as Philby. The series was adapted by Alex Cary and directed by Nick Murphy. It’s also available on Amazon Prime. Shark shop

A San Diego lesbian couple, Vicky and Charisse Pasche, the co-founders of a gender-neutral clothing line, Dapper Boi, appeared on the April 14 episode of ABC’s “Shark Tank.”

The out proud couple were coolly in full butch-femme representation and they were fabulous. Vicky explained it was “my own personal struggle” that led her to co-found the company.

“Shopping in the men’s department –not made to fit the curves of a woman’s body or really anybody you know for that reason – it was also just a super awkward experience socially, going over to the men’s department. What fitting room would I go into?” said Pasche.

Sadly, Dapper Boi didn’t get a deal, but they got to talk their talk, highlight their clothing for all genders and represent real life queerness on network TV in prime time.

But the couple didn’t leave emptyhanded. Shark and clothing mogul Daymond John gave the women his number and an offer of mentorship. “This is not the end of Dapper Boi, and we walked out of here with a mentorship,” Charisse said. Brava!

“Shark Tank” has previously highlighted other LGBTQ businesses and you love to see it.t

Read the full column, with clips and trailers, on www.ebar.com.

therapy The Lavender Tube on Margaret Cho, ‘Not Dead Yet,’ ‘Shark Tank’ & more

World of Wonder producer and author Fenton Bailey

Josh Banday and Rory O’Malley in ‘Not Dead Yet’ Margaret Cho on ‘The View’

Ali Wong in ‘Beef’

To hell and back t Music

Adès is far to great a re-creator to follow Dante’s “Divine Comedy” slavishly, but the work does divide into the sections “Inferno,” “Purgatorio,” and “Paradiso,” all newly drawn into the central concerns of our century without sacrificing the themes and elements that make it one of the great poems of all time.

by Tim Pfaff

Thomas Adès thinks big. Devotees of the composer, conductor, and pianist can hardly complain about his busy public profile. Still, for fans of his large-scale works, hell is the relative rarity of hearing and seeing them fully staged.

Virtually everything he has composed has been recorded, and god knows the DVD has done its part to correct the imbalance in the stage spectacles. But as we wait for the video of Adès’s full-length ballet “Dante” (you know somebody’s got it), we have, as a major compensation, the new live recording of the 90-minute piece by the Los Angeles Philharmonic under its departing music director, Gustavo Dudamel (Nonesuch).

All the world’s stages

Because Adès’s operas have been staged by the world’s major companies, he’s often called an opera composer, a somehow reductive designation for a composer who doesn’t seem to have skipped a single genre for his work. But then, he’s also called the most important gay composer since Benjamin Britten.

I depart from that all-but-unanimous opinion only because it overlooks George Benjamin, a far less prolific out Brit who nonetheless also works as an all-around musician and whose eagerly awaited new opera, “Picture a Day Like This,” takes center stage at this summer’s Aix Festival.

Benjamin is Emily Dickenson to Adès’s Walt Whitman.

Adès’s first opera, “Powder Her Face,” has gained traction throughout the musical world (including at the Bay Area’s enterprising West Bay Opera), partly because it calls for smaller forces, but perhaps more famously because it features opera’s first onstage blowjob.

“The Tempest” is arguably the first reworking of the story in all of operatic history not to be skunked by that most musical of Shakespeare’s plays. For all its brilliance, “The Exterminating Angel” left a classic film, hailed by the music press and professionals as the magnificent composition it is, largely in the dark while simultaneously keeping the larger section of the audience not steeped in the ways of new music scrambling just to keep up.

Did he or Dante?

One of the many offspring of the 2021 eight-millenia Dante Year, Adès’s new ballet gathered steam under the auspices of The Dante Project by the Royal Ballet Covent Garden, where it was fully staged in October 2021. It is now slated for the Paris Opera, where, not incidentally, Dudamel has been announced as music director-designate and has been conducting for years. But from its conception it’s been considered a work that can hold its own in a symphonyonly performance. The brilliant new recording is all the proof needed.

Satan himself doesn’t make his splashy onstage entrance until the last movement of “Inferno,” but as in John Milton’s English epic poem, “Paradise Lost,” he’s the center of attention and gets all the best lines. If, as some have alleged, Milton’s “Paradise Regained” is a paler sequel, so, too, Adès’s “Purgatorio” and “Paradiso” are shorter, if in Adès’s case no less compelling. Fans of the requiem as a musical form pretty much agree that it is the “Dies Irae” (“Days of Wrath”) that’s the most exciting.

Foot-tapping in the audience

While there’s nothing “easy” about Adès’s characteristically dense score, it’s one of the composer’s most transparent, in the sense that its music tells a story through dance tropes that audiences, too, can readily follow by the colorful movement titles. Nearly the full panoply of the kinds of music in “Dante” is audible in its promo track, “The Thieves– devoured by reptiles.”

Adès is renowned for testing –more, challenging – the limits of instruments, very much including the piano and voices. While that might hint at a surfeit of forbidding shrieks, what is remarkable about the “Dante” score is the combination of kaleidoscopic sonorities from across the aural range but in effects that have audible causes. A lesser composer could have gotten away with relentless noise, which could not be farther from the rich variety of these musical ideas.

You’re never unaware that this is music for the stage, specifically for dance, the most amazing aspect of which is that it imposes no simplifications on the score. And it’s not past imagining that land-lubber audience members might be caught doing some toe-tapping of their own.

There’s no overstating the astonishing richness and variety in the music of “Dante.” It does not play itself out by the advent of “Paradiso,” the single, continuous 26-minute final movement. Adès has called it “dazzling, strange, almost pure geometry.”

It could be expected that the music of “Paradiso” marks an ascent from “hell” to “heaven.” Adès capitalizes on the idea with some of the score’s most captivating music. Of course there are limits to the reach of physical sound, but somehow Adès manages to make the otherwise comparatively repetitive music of the spheres seem to ascend continuously, a transfixing, inviting stairway to heaven.

The Dude and his Angelenos earn the highest accolade purveyors of theatrical music can receive, one all the more commendable in an audio-only version. You almost forget they’re there.t

Thomas Adès, “Dante,” Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Gustavo Dudamel, conductor, Nonesuch, two CDs, $24.98 www.nonesuch.com

Photo Credit: Thanks to Lookout

Composer Thomas Adès

Marco Borggreve