Report details needs of LGBTQ families
by Matthew S. Bajko
Aneeds assessment of LGBTQ families conducted by a San Francisco-based nonprofit found that many are struggling with mental health issues and feel socially isolated. It also spotlighted that addressing the needs of LGBTQ students and parents in school environments is an ongoing concern, even in the Bay Area.
Our Family Coalition, which provides services to local LGBTQ parents and their children, partnered with Kali-Ahset Amen, Ph.D., a sociologist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, on the family needs assessment. It included a formal survey people could fill out as well as holding focus groups with a total of 10 parents.
Survey responses were collected between October 2020 and April 2021 during several surges of the COVID pandemic and when many school districts conducted classes virtually. While the report was completed last May, it was only widely distributed by the coalition in late October. The document will guide the nonprofit’s work in the coming years.
One interesting finding of the survey was how the terminology used for families often doesn’t properly reflect the makeup of LGBTQ households, which in addition to looking like the more traditional nuclear family of two parents with children can also be made up of single parents or families with three or more child-rearing adults in them.
“Participants expressed that OFC’s programming was overwhelmingly, and possibly unintentionally, geared toward the nuclear family with two parents. As a result, some respondents felt uncomfortable or unable to find support for their own families within OFC,” noted the report.
It was one of the findings that stood out for Mimi Demissew, OFC’s executive director, who has a 4-year-old son with her wife. In an interview with the Bay Area Reporter, she said it brought to her and her staff’s attention that they “were acting heteronormatively” when describing LGBTQ families.
“We keep speaking about two-parent households, while the research found parents who said, ‘I am a single parent,’ or ‘we are a poly household.’ We weren’t thinking how our own different personal biases may come in to play,” said Demissew. “Even around disability or centering different abled bodies and neurodiversity in our programming, these things need to be brought to the forefront.”
In response to the report findings, OFC launched this year a non-bio, non-gestational parent support group for those parents who have adoptive children or are not the birthparent of their kids.
“If one parent is biologically connected to the child and one is not, it creates unique stress in the household,” noted Demissew.
Even though Demissew is Black, and most of the nonprofit’s other seven staff people are also people of color, the report found that most people were unaware of the agency’s diverse leadership. Many parents of color also reported concerns about being welcomed in the nonprofit’s programs and support groups.
Santa Skivvies run delights Castro
There was a break in the rain Sunday, December 11, and people took advantage of it for the annual Santa Skivvies run through the Castro LGBTQ neighborhood.
The holiday fun underwear event was a benefit for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and saw plenty of people enjoy the festive atmosphere.
For more photos, see the Bay Area Reporter’s BARtab Facebook page. (https://www.facebook. com/lgbtsf.nightlife)
Biden signs marriage bill
by Cynthia Laird
“Today
Technical Grinch hits Castro area lights
by Matthew S. BajkoWith the flip of a switch by a city worker Friday, December 9, new uplighting bathed the palm trees in the median of upper Market Street in a red and green glow for the all-important holiday shopping season for merchants in San Francisco’s LGBTQ Castro district. But there is an unseen hitch behind the yuletide luminosity.
The 88 LED lights installed near the base of the palm trees will remain on 24/7 throughout the rest of the month. A weak Wi-Fi signal is impeding the technology that can automatically turn the uplighting on and off, the Bay Area Reporter has learned.
“The uplighting in the median uses five control cabinets placed along Market Street. Two cabinets are linking up via Wi-Fi, however, three cabinets are encountering a weak signal and are not linking up as expected,” explained Alex M. Murillo, the manager of public affairs and communications for construction at San Francisco Public Works. “The Wi-Fi allows us to sync the timers and the on/ off dates and times. We’re currently in discussions with our colleagues at the Department of Technology to ‘boost’ their Wi-Fi signal in order to sync the remaining three cabinets.”
Not all of the uplights are on, as Tuesday night the palm trees on the 2100 block of Market Street were not lit. Meanwhile, the uplights on the 1900 block were set to white.
Murillo told the B.A.R. that all five cabinets should be connected via Wi-Fi at some point.
“Given that this is a new system, it is not unusual to troubleshoot at this stage, prior to project completion,” he wrote in an emailed reply.
Mayor London Breed was initially scheduled to turn on the new lighting the evening of December 8 as part of a celebration to mark the (near) completion of the Upper Market Safety Project. But last week’s rainstorm led city officials to postpone the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the pedestrian improvements along Market Street between Octavia Boulevard and Castro Street to sometime in early 2023.
The Castro Community Benefit District,
which agreed to pay the electricity bill for the uplighting, had inquired if the lights could still be turned on for the holiday season. After learning about the technological glitch, the CBD agreed to cover the expense of leaving the lights on for the rest of the month so that neither one of its staffers nor a city employee had to manually turn them on and off on a daily basis.
Andrea Aiello, the CBD’s executive director, told the B.A.R. she isn’t sure when the uplights would be turned off, nor how much it will cost to run them nonstop through the new year.
The neighborhood group has so far raised roughly $1,800 toward its fundraising goal of at least $12,500 to pay for five years worth of the new uplighting.
From her office at the intersection of Market and 14th streets Aiello has a clear view of the new uplighting on the 2000 block of Market Street. A photo of the palm trees there aglow in the Christmas colors that she posted to the CBD’s Facebook page Decem-
ber 10 generated an overwhelmingly positive response.
“I really am very impressed,” Aiello told the B.A.R. Monday. “I didn’t think they were going to look so good.”
People driving by the palm trees at night will barely notice the colored lighting as they approach those blocks of Market Street. The uplighting appears subdued to vehicle passengers.
But for pedestrians, they pop, said Aiello.
“It is better when you are walking,” she said. “When I first saw them, I thought, ‘Oh, you can hardly see them.’ But when I took a walk down Market Street, I thought, ‘Oh, this looks cool!’ You can tell they are there. They are very noticeable when you are walking. The pedestrian experience is more important.”
Once the connectivity problem is fixed, for most of next year the LED lights will be white when they turn on at dusk. But, as the CBD noted in its appeal for donations, the lighting
Holstege concedes Assembly race, won’t seek recount
by Matthew S. BajkoPalm Springs City Councilmember
Christy Holstege conceded Monday in her race for an Assembly seat after deciding against seeking a recount of her election results. She lost to her Republican opponent, Greg Wallis, by 85 votes.
Holstege, a Democrat, was vying to become the 13th member of the Legislative LGBTQ Caucus in Sacramento and its first bisexual female member. She would also have been the first out legislator elected from the Palm Springs region.
Last week, shortly after the San Bernardino County registrar of voters certified its vote count for the November 8 elections, Wallis had declared victory in the contest for the open Assembly District 47 seat, which also includes parts of Riverside County. Wallis, who lives in Bermuda Dunes
with his wife, won with 84,752 votes, according to the unofficial districtwide returns.
Holstege, meanwhile, said she would spend the weekend discussing with her campaign team if it made sense to seek a recount. She had until
Tuesday, December 13, to do so. But Monday morning she announced her decision to concede the race. She called Wallis to congratulate him on his win.
“The votes have all been counted, and it is clear that by the very thinnest of margins, we have fallen just short of victory, coming the closest this district has ever come to electing a Democrat to State Assembly,” stated Holstege in an email she sent to her supporters announcing her decision. “With slightly better turnout, we would have flipped this district blue. I called Greg Wallis this morning to congratulate him, and expressed to him that I hope we can work together these next two years to deliver measurable results for our communities.”
Since December 2014 Wallis has served as district director for former Assemblymember Chad Mayes (IRancho Mirage), whose term ended
last week. Mayes opted not to seek reelection this year, so Wallis’ win is a pickup seat for the GOP caucus in Sacramento, and under term limits, he could potentially serve in it for the next 12 years.
“I’m honored that the people have elected me to serve our community,” stated Wallis in a December 8 tweet.
“Now, it’s time to roll up our sleeve and get right to work. The Governor has initiated a special session, and the legislature has already convened and started organizing. I’m excited to get to Sacramento right away and represent all constituents of our district.”
Secretary of State Shirley M. Weber must certify the final statewide results for the November 8 election by December 16. The Legislature had already convened December 5 to swear in the winners of last month’s races. Neither Wallis nor Holstege was present due to their race still yet to
be decided. The outcome of their race was one of the closest winning margins seen in an Assembly contest in more than four decades. (According to Alex Vassar with the California State Library, a 1980 Assembly race was decided by 35 votes.)
“The final margin was 85 votes out of 170,000 cast – the closest State Assembly race in over 40 years, and the closest that this district has ever been. The election was so close that the seat remained vacant on December 5th when all 79 other Assembly districts had their new members sworn in,” noted Holstege in her emailed announcement. “I’m proud of the nearly 85,000 votes we earned in this race and I’m grateful to voters for responding to our message, caring deeply about the issues we highlighted, and participating in our democracy.”
Zbur pens LGBTQ teacher training bill
by Matthew S. BajkoNewly sworn-in gay Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur (DWest Hollywood) is making LGBTQ school issues a priority during his freshman year in the California Legislature. It was a top concern of his when he led the statewide LGBTQ advocacy organization Equality California.
Now representing Assembly District 51 in the Los Angeles area, Zbur introduced this month his Assembly Bill 5, the Safe and Supportive Schools Act.
One of two bills he made a point of filing after taking his oath of office December 5, AB 5 mandates that teachers and credentialed staff at the state’s public schools take an online LGBTQ cultural competency training course.
“I wanted to sort of signal some of my priorities as a new member of the Assembly,” said Zbur, whose other bill, AB 3, focuses on offshore wind energy. “One is to obviously continue expanding the civil rights of the LGBTQ community and all vulnerable communities.”
While executive director of EQCA, Zbur worked on passing legislation to create training sessions for educators in the state on how to support LGBTQ students in grades seven through 12 and address issues they face in school like bullying and harassment. Former governor Jerry Brown had vetoed such a bill due to its cost in 2018.
A year later Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law reintroduced legislation – AB 493 – instructing the
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California Department of Education to create the training program without any funding, though, to pay for it.
In his 2021 budget proposal Newsom included the $3 million needed to build out the online course.
But there remains no mandate for school staff to take the training. Thus, Zbur is pushing his AB 5 to ensure the previous bill “is not sitting on the shelf,” he explained in a phone interview this week with the Bay Area Reporter.
“We want to make sure every school teacher, even those at school districts not LGBTQ supportive, have the benefit of this training,” said Zbur, who is co-parent of a 17-year-old daughter and 13-year-old twins, who attend public schools. “The cost should be minimal because the program already is being developed and paid for under the prior budget allocation. It is just the administrative cost of implementing this program.”
With the state education department expected to soon complete the
training program, Zbur said his bill is needed to make sure that school administrators make use of it.
“It will basically mandate the training for all teachers and certificated staff in the state,” he said. “Unless it is actually implemented and used, it won’t have much impact.”
LGBTQ students whose parents or families are not supportive of them due to their sexual orientation or gender identity often turn to their teachers or school guidance counselors for assistance and support, noted Zbur. Thus, it is imperative those school staff have the training they need in order to properly address the needs of their LGBTQ students, he added.
B.A.R. recognized with press club awards
compiled by Cynthia LairdThe Bay Area Reporter won several honors at the recent 45th annual San Francisco Press Club Awards, including first place in overall general excellence in the newspapers nondaily category for 2021.
Certificates were issued to publisher Michael Yamashita, news editor Cynthia Laird, arts editor Jim Provenzano, and assistant editors Matthew S. Bajko and John Ferrannini. (Ferrannini left the paper earlier this year, but was assistant editor at the time of the entries.)
Yamashita said he is proud of the staff.
“It’s gratifying to be recognized by our peers at the San Francisco Press Club as the leader for overall excellence among non-daily newspapers,” Yamashita stated. “Matthew Bajko deserves kudos for winning the most
awards this year for his reporting.”
Bajko received first place for his 2021 business news story, “Chick-filA opens near SF city line, His 2021 Political Notebook column also took first place.
Bajko also received third place for his 2021 LGBTQ History Month feature, “Until legal ruling, Disneyland banned same-sex dancers.”
And Bajko won second place in the non-daily news category for “California not tracking COVID vaccinations in LGBTQ residents,” published March 3, 2021.
Provenzano won second place in the feature story category for “Smahtguy” – Eric Orner’s new book about Barney Frank that was published in June.
MCC-SF to have virtual Christmas Eve service
Metropolitan Community Church-San Francisco will hold a virtual service on Christmas Eve, Saturday, December 24, at 7 p.m.
The musical celebration will end in candlelight, according to an email an nouncement.
The Zoom link for the service is https://bit.ly/3FOmxv2
SF Sheriff’s office releases recruitment video
The San Francisco Sheriff’s Office has released a new recruitment video in an effort to hire about 200 sworn professionals for work in the jails, hospitals, and courts. Sheriff Paul Miyamoto stated in a news release that the video features 75 sheriff’s office employees. Staffing in the department has dipped to a historic low over the past two years, he noted.
“We need qualified candidates who are passionate about serving the people of San Francisco,” the sheriff stated. “We have positions open for 192 deputies, 27 professional staff, and 23 cadets.”
The five and a half minute vid -
SF DPH drops mpox vaccine criteria
by Cynthia LairdThe San Francisco Department of Public Health on Friday dropped eligibility criteria for the mpox vaccine and now says that anyone at risk should be able to get the shot.
Cases of mpox, which the health department is now using for what was previously MPX and monkeypox, have fallen substantially, a December 9 health update stated. Additionally, supplies of the Jynneos vaccine continue to be plentiful. According to DPH’s seven-day rolling average, there is now 0.1 new case per day. That’s down from 20.7 cases per day in August.
There has not been a new mpox case in San Francisco since November
28, according to the DPH figures. Before that, there was one case each on November 21 and 17.
“Vaccine providers can offer mpox vaccine to any patients who may be at risk, and people who request vaccination should receive it without having to attest to specific risk factors,” DPH stated in its update, as long as the Jynneos supply is available. The new vaccine guidelines align with the California Department of Public Health.
As the Bay Area Reporter previously reported, the health department had been determining eligibility criteria for the vaccine since the outbreak emerged this spring.
On October 31, DPH stopped renewing the public health emergency for mpox.
Initially, when the MPX outbreak hit San Francisco, it was primarily affecting men who have sex with men. At that time, there was a scramble for
vaccines, which were in short supply from the federal government. The B.A.R. and other outlets reported on long lines at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, as men waited hours for the first of two shots of the Jynneos vaccine. (Two shots are required, given about a month apart.)
DPH steadily expanded eligibility criteria as more vaccine became available. That included sex workers, people who received notice from a venue or event of a potential exposure within the past 14 days; laboratory workers who routinely perform mpox virus testing; and clinicians who have had a high-risk occupational exposure (i.e., examined mpox lesions or collected mpox specimens without
eo, which features Miyamoto and the other staff, explains what the job of a deputy entails, from providing security at county jails to serving as court bailiffs to working side by side with community members, the release stated. It shows deputies and staff in various settings, including at the Golden State Warriors championship parade in June and a San Francisco Pride parade.
The starting salary for a sheriff’s deputy ranges from $84,448$171,224, depending on experience and training, according to the department. Benefits include complete medical coverage and a generous pension upon retirement, the release stated.
To view the video, complete with funny bloopers at the end, go to https://www.sfsheriff. com/. t
using recommended personal protective equipment).
In its latest update, DPH stated that while specific eligibility criteria have been removed, vaccination providers should still prioritize vaccination efforts for people living with HIV, people who are using or are eligible to use PrEP, sex workers, and people who have been diagnosed with a bacterial sexually transmitted infection in the past three months.
DPH stated that mpox case incidences have fallen “thanks in part to the vigorous public health and medical provider response and the robust willingness of the affected community to seek and receive vaccinations.”
For more information, people can go to sf.gov/information/mpox. t
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Web designer’s court case could gut LGBTQ rights
analysis by Lisa KeenThere were times during the U.S. Supreme Court’s oral argument in this session’s highly significant LGBTQ case when some listeners might have thought they were hearing a modern day dramatic interpretation of the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party. Consider one exchange between Justice Neil Gorsuch and U.S. Deputy Solicitor General Brian Fletcher during the December 5 oral arguments. Keep in mind that Gorsuch, just two years ago, led a majority to say that the federal civil rights act protects employees from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
He was drinking a different tea December 5, when discussing whether a business could discriminate based on sexual orientation. The case, 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, challenges Colorado’s public accommodations law by seeking to allow web designer Lorie Smith to refuse to create wedding sites for same-sex couples. Here’s how the discussion went:
Gorsuch: We also have stipulations from Colorado that the [web designer] is willing to work with all people, regardless of classifications such as race, creed, sexual orientation, and gender, right? [“Stipulations” are facts that both sides have agreed to be true.]
Fletcher: In some respects, yes but not –
Gorsuch: No, that is the [stipulation] – I just read it. Do you disagree with that? It’s a stipulated fact in this case.
Fletcher: That is stipulated, but it’s also clear that [the web designer] will not provide any wedding website for a same-sex couple.
Gorsuch: Well, for a same-sex wedding –
Fletcher: For a same-sex wedding, yes.
Gorsuch: And she wouldn’t provide it to a heterosexual couple either, right?
The contorted supposition – that a heterosexual couple might want to buy a same-sex marriage wedding website – was probably concocted by Gorsuch to illustrate his position. That is, he thinks the discrimination in this controversy is based on message (Smith’s religious beliefs) versus status (the sexual orientation of the couples whom the web designer excludes). He later stated, “What would be impermissible is
discrimination on the basis of status, but what would be permissible is refusing service because of a disagreement about views.”
Setting aside for the moment that there has never been a clamor by heterosexual couples to buy same-sex wedding websites, one has to wonder: What happened to the Gorsuch who wrote, in the 2020 Title VII case Bostock v. Clayton County: “Judges are not free to overlook plain statutory commands on the strength of nothing more than suppositions about intentions or guesswork about expectations”?
Gorsuch was not the only guest at the tea party.
Consider the claims made by Alliance Defending Freedom attorney Kristen Waggoner, representing Smith: Waggoner claimed that the U.S. Supreme Court has already “held” that views opposing samesex marriages are “honorable and decent” (it has not said that as a matter of law) and that the court made “promises” in Obergefell v. Hodges “to protect those who would believe marriage is between a man and a woman from having to express a view that violates their conscience.”
Waggoner, the head of ADF, which organized Smith’s initial lawsuit, was referring to the 2015 landmark Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges. Written by then-Justice Anthony Kennedy, Obergefell struck down state bans on same-sex marriage. In his majority opinion, Kennedy included a sentence that said he thought there could be “decent and honorable religious or philosophical” reasons for opposing same-sex marriage. When Waggoner and others quote Kennedy to support discrimination against same-sex couples, they omit significant context and characterize the nonbinding observation as a “promise.” It is worth revisiting what Kennedy actually wrote:
“Many who deem same-sex marriage to be wrong reach that conclusion based on decent and honorable religious or philosophical premises, and neither they nor their beliefs are disparaged here. But when that sincere, personal opposition becomes enacted law and public policy, the necessary consequence is to put the imprimatur of the State itself on an exclusion that soon demeans or stigmatizes those whose own liberty is then denied. Under the Constitution, same-sex couples seek in marriage the same legal treatment as
opposite-sex couples, and it would disparage their choices and diminish their personhood to deny them this right.”
Taken in full, Kennedy’s statement does not seem to support the idea that a web designer in the public marketplace can treat same-sex couples differently than male-female couples. In fact, the text of the recently passed federal Respect for Marriage Act, which says no state may deny recognition of a same-sex or interracial marriage licensed in another state, echoes Kennedy’s “decent and honorable” statement, too. It states that diverse beliefs about marriage are held by “sincere people based on decent and honorable religious or philosophical premises” and that “Congress affirms that such people and their diverse beliefs are due proper respect.”
But right-wing groups have clipped out Kennedy’s “decent and honorable” quote to imply that the majority in Obergefell was suggesting there was a legal basis on which to discriminate against LGBTQ people. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito gave prominence to the clip in 2020 when they issued a dissent to the court’s declining to take up an appeal from a Kentucky county clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. In their dissent, Thomas and Alito misquoted the majority in Obergefell, saying it “briefly acknowledged that those with sincerely held religious objections to same-sex marriage are often ‘decent and honorable.’” [The Obergefell majority said that people who oppose same-sex marriage often due so “based on decent and honorable religious or philosophical premises.”]
<< Castro lights
From page 1
can be changed to pink during Pride Month in June or the special holiday colors between Thanksgiving and New Year’s.
Path of Gold lights
The CBD has been trying to address a different lighting issue along upper Market Street this year. In this case, it is an electrical Grinch dimming the historic Path of Gold light standards along the roadway.
The distinctive structures sport three lighted glass globes in a trident formation at the end of a slender pole painted blue with minor gold accents. Architect Willis Polk designed their look, with the first ones initially installed in 1916.
All 327 Path of Gold light standards on Market Street from the Embarcadero to just beyond Castro Street are designated as historic resources due to being made city landmarks in 1991. Yet many in the upper Market Street corridor do not work properly.
Many have either one or two of
In her remarks before the Supreme Court during the 303 Creative oral arguments, ADF leader Waggoner repeatedly asserted that web designer Smith “believes that same-sex weddings contradict scripture” and that creating a wedding website for a same-sex couple would be “announcing a concept of marriage that she believes to be false.” The assertion reflected the fact that the court was not considering whether the web designer could refuse same-sex wedding sites on religious grounds but on any free speech grounds.
“I think what’s important is that the [web designer’s] objection is to the message she’s being asked to create,” said Waggoner. “And so, if she believes she’s being asked to create a message that violates her convictions, whether those convictions are based on a moral reason or a religious reason, it would be protected.”
If Waggoner’s reasoning were accepted by the Supreme Court, then most public accommodations laws would be gutted: A business could simply claim that it “believes” it is being asked to violate its “convictions” in order to refuse service to a customer for any reason.
Because public accommodations laws typically prohibit discrimination based on race, religion, national origin, sex, disability, and other categories, it seems unlikely all six conservatives on this court are ready to eviscerate all such laws that dramatically. But the dialogue and Supreme Court math do not look good for LGBTQ citizens who rely on public accommodations laws.
Comments, questions, and the records of the six conservative justices suggest they are not looking for a way
to strengthen public accommodations laws to protect LGBTQ people.
Chief Justice John Roberts indicated he saw this case as “not simply just restricting speech but actually compelling an individual to engage in speech contrary to her beliefs.” Justice Brett Kavanaugh suggested that if the Colorado law prevails, states could expand the reach of such laws to force speech writers to produce messages with which they disagree.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett posed a hypothetical, asking Waggoner whether the web designer would refuse a wedding website to a malefemale couple who were getting married after divorcing their previous spouses. Waggoner said no.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor warned during oral argument, “This would be the first time in the court’s history that it would say that ... a commercial business open to the public, serving the public, that it could refuse to serve a customer based on race, sex, religion, or sexual orientation. ...”
Elections case
Despite the enormity of the case’s eventual outcome, news reports on 303 Creative were fewer than usual for an LGBTQ-related argument. That may be because the court heard arguments two days later in what has been described as “the most important case for American democracy” in U.S. history. That case, Moore v. Harper, was argued December 7 and is set to determine whether state legislatures can create district maps and organize federal elections in each state in a way that gives a lopsided advantage to the political party in the majority – and do so without review by state courts to determine whether the maps and rules violate the state constitution. The outcome of the Moore case out of North Carolina could have profound impact on the outcomes of presidential and congressional elections. It could determine whether a legislature could choose a state’s presidential electors, and it could undermine the U.S. democratic system of checks and balances on the wielding of power in government. Most reporting and analysis on the Moore argument said the court seemed split into three groups: one against, one for, and one seeking a moderate compromise. As with the 303 Creative decision, the ruling in Moore is not likely to be released until June. t
for the light structures, said Aiello.
“I don’t know what the problem has been with the bulbs,” she told the B.A.R. last month. “We have been reporting and working with the supervisor’s office to fix them. There have been issues for a couple of months with the Path of Gold lights.”
After the B.A.R. inquired with the SFPUC last week about the issues with the historic light fixtures, spokesperson Joseph Sweiss said December 13 that the repairs and troubleshooting for them was scheduled to take place this week. He added that he was awaiting more specific information about what repairs were needed and the timeline for completing the work.
their bulbs out, while a handful are totally dark. For stretches of time this year, the light posts went dark on certain blocks of upper Market Street.
The CBD has notified gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman’s office of the problems with the lights, as he represents the Castro. It has also contacted the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, as it is responsible
“The reason for the top middle bulbs remaining on has to do with the streetlights being on an older system on time clock, and more useful than being entirely off,” texted Sweiss. t
To donate toward the CBD’s fundraising drive for the uplighting bill, visit the donation page on its website at https://castrocbd.org/donate/
Castro Theatre hearing delay angers supporters
by Eric BurkettMuch to the dismay of many who attended the December 7 San Francisco Historic Preservation Commission meeting, the sevenmember body voted to continue the hearing on the landmark status of the Castro Theatre until February 1.
The postponement was not unexpected, as it had been requested by gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, as the Bay Area Reporter previously reported. The new timeline is for the Historic Preservation Commission to hold the hearing in early February, with a subsequent hearing for a conditional use authorization on March 15. The San Francisco Planning Commission is scheduled to take up the matter March 16.
Crowds showed up in the City Hall hearing room to voice their opposition to the proposed postponement of hearings about granting the interior of the 100-year-old Castro Theatre landmark status. The change would bring the indoors into line with the already established landmark status of the theater’s facade. In 1976, the exterior of the building, designed by prominent San Francisco architect Timothy Pflueger, was designated San Francisco Historic Landmark #100.
Mandelman asked for the delay on behalf of the Nasser family, which built and has owned the theater throughout its century-long history. The Nasser family has not commented on the matter.
If approved by the historic preservation commission, the landmark ordinance would go back to the Board of Supervisors for final approval. The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously in May to start the process to enhance the landmark status, as the B.A.R. previously reported.
Nearly two-dozen people addressed the commission during the meeting’s general public comment period at the beginning, despite pleas from the commission clerk to hold their remarks about the matter until it actually came up on the agenda. Many wore buttons bearing the now familiar battle cry, “Save the Seats.”
That’s in reference to the most contentious part of proposed renovations by Another Planet Entertainment, which took over management of the theater in January.
Another Planet wants to remove the movie house’s banked seating in favor of level platforms that could hold both removable seats for film screenings and standing audiences for live music performances.
Few meeting attendees adhered to the clerk’s request and went ahead and shared their concerns with the
Help Wanted Freelance Reporters
The Bay Area Reporter is seeking freelance reporters to write about the diversity of the LGBTQ community –in news, arts, and sports.
For News, this includes local government, LGBTQ and HIV/AIDS nonprofits, LGBTQ community newsmakers, and other matters of interest.
For Arts, we are looking to increase coverage of local arts events and local nightlife, each with an LGBTQ focus.
The B.A.R. also has an opening for a twice-monthly freelance sports columnist. The ideal candidate would focus in part on news leading up to the 2023 Gay Games in Hong Kong. Other issues include the ongoing fights over trans inclusion in sports nationally, and other topics of interest.
Women and people of color and others are strongly encouraged to apply. The B.A.R. is an equal opportunity employer.
For News and the sports columnist freelancers, send a resume and links to previously published articles to Cynthia Laird, News Editor, at c.laird@ebar.com.
For Arts freelancers, send a resume and online links to previously published articles to Jim Provenzano, Arts and Nightlife Editor, at jim@ebar.com
commission. People talked about everything from their memories of the classic, old movie house to complaints about what some said was a lack of transparency on the part of Another Planet Entertainment to their displeasure with Mandelman for even putting the continuance request through.
Star power at hearing Theater supporters also turned out some star power. Eddie Muller, host of Turner Classic Movies’ “Noir Alley,” was the first person to address the commission. While he encouraged the commission to support preserving the cinema’s seats, he also added that he resented the Nassers’ and Another Planet’s characterization of those who are deeply passionate about the fate of the theater as “kooks.”
Author Rebecca Solnit, who wrote “Infinite City: A San Francisco Atlas,” spoke up as well. Holding up a map of San Francisco, she noted there used to be dozens and dozens of movie theaters in the city but now, she said, there are only a few.
“We need the seats as part of what the theater is, and can be, going forward,” she said.
Others urged the commission not to delay.
“Stop punting the issue,” said film producer and San Francisco International Film Festival Director of Programming Jessie Fairbanks. When the first group had finally
finished, the commission completed some of its routine business before heading back to the topic of postponing the hearings when it came up on the agenda. Nearly two-dozen more people took to the podium to address the commissioners.
Attorney Scott Emblidge probably summed up the crowd’s concerns best when he told commissioners there were three reasons to reject the continuance: they could, that day, set the parameters that would guide further discussions; not making a decision would let “an important cultural resource sit vacant”; and, “The only controversy is whether a 100-yearold seating configuration should be preserved,” he said.
“The only reason not to delay the hearings is because Another Planet Entertainment doesn’t want you to,” Emblidge added. “The Nassers know the [Castro Theatre] Conservancy is ready to run the Castro as a film venue.”
The conservancy is a group of theater supporters that formed in June. It has collected over 7,000 signatures online calling for Another Planet to preserve the seating.
Commissioners were unbowed, however.
“This is a fine kettle of fish we’ve been handed here,” observed Commissioner Richard S.E. Johns, who said he saw “a great deal of uncertainty here.”
Saying he sensed a great deal of conflict between Another Planet, the
Nassers, and the Board of Supervisors, he said he also sensed conflict with some of the community-based groups that had shown up for the hearing. At the bottom of it all, he said, are financial considerations.
“One thing I’ve encountered many times is that what one party is able to do may well depend upon the financial arrangements it has made with the Nassers,” Johns said, adding that he didn’t think anything would be done in the ensuing 60 days if the hearings were continued. Saying she understood how difficult it was not to receive the answers many were hoping for at the meeting, Commissioner Kate Black said the panel had heard only from opponents to the continuance.
“It’s almost ironic that, because this has been shown on the agenda, there will be more people who want to be heard. It’s important for us to try and do our best to uphold the integrity of a process like this,” she said.
Clearly unimpressed, a woman from the audience shouted, “That’s a copout! That’s a total copout!” Moments later, the commissioners voted unanimously for the continuance.
Another Planet Entertainment spokesperson David Perry said his organization was pleased with the results, and that the next 60 days would give them the opportunity to ensure the commissioners had all the information they needed.
“Another Planet is passionate about preserving the Castro Theatre, which is the one thing everyone shares,” he said. “The Castro Theatre needs a lot of physical love. Easily a million dollars have been spent by Another Planet to address seriously deferred maintenance issues.”
Peter Pastreich, executive director of the Castro Theatre Conservancy, was disappointed with the results but thoughtful about the outcome.
“We at the Castro Theatre Conservancy are convinced that the seats and sloping floor have been an essential part, and a defining characteristic, of the Castro for over 100 years,” he told the B.A.R. in an email.
“We would have preferred that the Historic Preservation Commission vote to landmark the theater’s interior, including the seats, at today’s hearing, but we were pleased that the commissioners heard the passion and love that so many friends of the Castro feel for the theater, including, in every case, for the seats and floor.” t
Rapinoe inducted into CA hall
We are transgender
by Gwendolyn Ann SmithI’m going to say this as plain as I can: non-transgender people – whether through malicious, willful ignorance or an innocent lack of understanding – fail to grasp what I consider the most essential fact of trans lives: we do not become transgender, we are transgender.
This fact is at the heart of much of the “groomer” panic, where a term used to describe the creation of an emotional bond with a young adult or child with the express in- terest in sexual exploiting or trafficking said young person is twisted to imply that the mere explanation that transgender people exist in the world is, somehow, grooming people to become transgender.
This is handin-hand with the quack theory that transgender people, usually younger transgender people, are affected by a “social contagion,” leading to “rapid onset gender dysphoria.”
You’ll sometimes see the argument that a child who enjoys activities that might otherwise be ascribed to a gender identity different from the one they were assigned at birth would, in today’s world, lead them to be “transed,” or that kids who might be lesbian or gay are being “converted” to transgender kids.
Of course, many who are making these arguments are making them in a completely disingenuous fashion.
These are not serious people, and not the ones I am writing this column to. No, this is for those who might simply not wholly comprehend the very nature of being transgender.
For many non-transgender people, I can see why they might find understanding, and even comfort, in such notions. They can likely not fathom how it may feel to be transgender, and can only look at it through a nontransgender lens.
For them, they would need to somehow be turned into a transgender person in order to go through all that we undergo, so they assume that this is true for all transgender people.
Again, I note that we do not become transgender, we are transgender.
I can trace moments throughout my own history, dating back to as young as 3 years old, when I first began to grasp that my sense of self was in opposition to how others saw me. I could not understand, even back then, why I was not allowed to dress like my peers, not comprehending the gender role I was expected to be in.
A few years later, I first heard about
transgender people and, at the same time, that being transgender was shameful. Indeed, if I think of any presentation of transgender people in popular media in my formative years, they were framed in terms of scandal and perversion. There were no role models to aspire to, only hints of sad, short, broken lives.
I fought against being transgender for many years, turning my hatred within. I did all I could to try to deny my own nature and instead be what was expected of me by my peers, by my family, and by society.
No one in my youth was grooming me to be transgender. Quite the opposite, given every piece of media I ever found treated us as something to be pitied, or lusted over, or hated –
and, sometimes, all three. Given how taboo the topic was, you would think I would never have wanted to transition.
Yet, as I said before, while we do not become transgender, we are transgender. It wasn’t something I chose, nor was it something I became: it is simply a core part of who I am; the lens with which I have to view the world.
My experience may not be perfectly universal, but it does echo the experience of many, if not most, transgender people. Every transgender child who you read about today, who bigots may claim they are saving from being “turned transgender” by the very knowledge that transgender people exist, should be able to grow up, just like I was, to be a transgender adult.
This is why so many transgender people care about trans youth: we know what it was like for us to grow up a trans child, how isolated many of us felt, and what it was like to feel so different from our peers. To live with shame, fear, and even self-loathing for something in which we never had a choice.
We want to see the next generation of transgender people thrive in ways we never had the opportunity to. We want to see them live in joy.
Then, as now, being out as a trans-
gender person and taking steps to address one’s trans nature – social transition and puberty blockers, as well as hormone treatments, and even surgery for those of adult age – are not always easy to attain. In the course of entering any sort of transition, likewise, we still face misunderstanding, prejudice, and hatred from family and strangers alike.
Indeed, as I’ve talked about plenty before, we live in a dangerous time where right-wing media and politicians, and a great many others, are trying to do all they can to somehow force transgender people out of society – or see us eradicated altogether.
Being transgender is not something I would wish on my own worst enemies, and is not something I think anyone does on a lark. Then, and now, it is a challenging path.
I do hope, however, that any transgender person, young or old, can achieve whatever they need to do to manage their own transition.
You see, we do not become transgender. We are transgender. t
www. gwensmith.com.
“We brought on a Black executive director but it was during COVID so no one was coming into the place and no one saw that,” said Demissew, who started at OFC in September of 2020. “We have BIPOC and trans, gendernonconforming support groups, but it is not enough.”
OFC has begun convening parent groups representing different minority and marginalized communities to seek their advice and input on how to make the agency and its programming inviting and welcoming to all families. It started first with Black parents and will next be holding similar listening sessions with Latinx parents.
“We want to get people into talking about what does affirming services look like,” said Demissew.
Many parents noted they felt “aged out” of OFC’s programming once their children were in elementary school. They would like to see more offerings geared toward the needs of older children.
School issues also were a top-ofmind concern. Parents want OFC to better address bullying at school and finding emotional support for students, according to the report findings. In addition to wanting to see OFC continue to push for curriculum changes in schools “beyond representation alone,” the report also noted that many respondents want to see the nonprofit “focus on the safety of transgender children in schools and children raised by kinship networks other than their birth or adoptive parents.”
Those needs come amid increasing attacks against the rights of trans youth and students by conservative politicians and parents. Demissew acknowledged that those leading the transphobic campaigns have “done an amazing job of branding” their position in the public sphere.
“It is so catchy. You call it ‘parental rights.’ Who doesn’t want to support parental rights?” she asked. “But when you look deeply at it, it is really about further marginalizing LGBTQ students, and Black and Brown students.”
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Marriage is good but equality is better
Don’t
get us wrong. President Joe Biden signing the Respect for Marriage Act Tuesday is a big deal. Especially after Justice Clarence Thomas, in a concurring opinion to the U.S. Supreme Court Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision that overturned the right to abortion allowed in Roe V. Wade, practically begged the court to undo other precedents, including the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges ruling that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. The Dobbs decision, issued in June, gave impetus to Congress to finally push the Respect for Marriage Act over the finish line, as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) said at the signing ceremony held on the South Lawn of the White House.
During his remarks, Biden thanked several congressional leaders, including lesbian Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin), who shepherded the bill through that chamber. Biden also thanked Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California), who first introduced a version of the bill in 2011, as she noted in a statement.
“I’m excited that President Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act, removing the shameful Defense of Marriage Act from the books and guaranteeing federal protections for all legal marriages,” Feinstein stated. Let’s remember that history. In 1996, Feinstein was one of a handful of Democratic senators who voted against DOMA, which passed on a whopping 85-14 vote back in the day, including support from 33 Democratic senators. All of the 14 no votes were by Democrats.
The Respect for Marriage Act is important because it will require all states to recognize marriages performed in other states, as it should be. Tragically, that hasn’t always been the case in our country’s history. Long before same-sex marriage became legal nationwide in 2015, interracial marriages also were once not recognized by some states. It took court action by Richard and Mildred Loving, an interracial couple who were married in Washington, D.C., in 1958 – where it was legal –only to return to their home in Virginia were police burst into their residence and arrested them “for the crime of being married,” as Biden said
Tuesday. It was nine years later, in 1967, that the U.S. Supreme Court finally ruled that banning interracial marriage was unconstitutional.
We know that it wasn’t easy to pass the Respect for Marriage Act in a divided Congress, and we thank those Republicans who voted for it. Yet, much remains to be done in terms of equal rights for LGBTQ people, and that’s where the Equality Act comes in. That bill passed the House last year but has languished in the Senate. It will need to be reintroduced next year when the new Congress begins, and with Republicans set to control the House starting in January, forward movement on the Equality Act is next to nil. The legislation would add sexual orientation and gender identity to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, protecting millions more Americans, including those who aren’t married.
If you doubt that the Equality Act is needed, look no further than the Supreme Court. On December 5, the justices heard oral arguments in a case, 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis. At issue is whether website designer Lorie Smith’s First
Amendment right is violated if she cannot refuse to create wedding sites for same-sex couples because such marriages are against her religious beliefs. Not surprisingly, the conservative supermajority on the court indicated it likely will rule in her favor. If the argument put forth by Smith’s legal team at Alliance Defending Freedom is accepted, all sorts of public accommodations laws could be gutted. Businesses would be free to discriminate not only on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, but race, religion, disability, and so on. A business could simply claim that it “believes” it is being asked to violate its “convictions” in order to refuse service to a customer for any reason, as our national correspondent Lisa Keen wrote in her analysis of the oral arguments.
Congress should definitely reintroduce the Equality Act next year. With such a slim Republican majority in the House, passing it could be possible, as the act had bipartisan support in 2021 when the House approved it. The Senate majority is 50 Democrats plus newly-minted independent Senator Kyrsten Sinema (Arizona), a bisexual woman who used to be a Democrat and likely would vote for it.
We in the LGBTQ community have always known that the Equality Act is important, but now, with the threat of a potentially dreadful Supreme Court decision looming in the 303 Creative case, other minority groups could see their rights eroded as well. It is time that we stand together with other marginalized groups and mobilize. As House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (DSan Francisco) said on Tuesday at the Respect for Marriage Act signing ceremony, “Know your power. None of this would have happened without your mobilization.”
The time for action is now. National LGBTQ groups like the Human Rights Campaign and National LGBTQ Task Force, should get on board, as should statewide LGBTQ organizations like Equality California. They should again enlist the support of business and community leaders. And they should work with Republicans who believe in equality for all. There aren’t many in these polarized times, but they need to be found and engaged with for their support.
For while the Respect for Marriage Act is a huge win, many LGBTQs will be left behind without protections in the Equality Act. t
It’s fitting that Biden signed marriage bill into law
by William F. WilsonOn Tuesday, December 13, President Joe Biden signed into law the Respect for Marriage Act that has passed both the House and Senate. It is a great 19th anniversary present for those of us who were wed in the first wave of marriage equality that started in San Francisco on February 12, 2004. In less than a generation we have gone from the first marriages to the U.S. Supreme Court declaring marriage equality in all states.
The Respect for Marriage Act repeals the discriminatory “Defense of Marriage Act” that was passed in 1996 but had key provisions struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2013 (Section 3, U.S. v. Windsor) and 2015 (Section 2, Obergefell v. Hodges). Not only does it require federal recognition of same-sex and interracial marriages nationwide but also mandates states must recognize such unions performed in other states.
The fact that it is this president who signed the first piece of major LGBTQ rights legislation in a decade makes it have a little bit more personal significance. My first job after graduation from college in 1972 was as a clerical assistant to then-senator Gaylord Nelson (D-Wisconsin). When Biden was elected to the Senate that year, he hired a person from our staff to work for him. His personal secretary became a good friend as she lived in the same apartment building as I did. I jokingly called her my agent because she got me invited to events and hearings to photograph people. Among them was a reception Senator Fritz Hollings (D-South Carolina) and his wife, Rita, hosted for Biden and his new wife, Jill, in 1977. The reception marked the first public appearance of Jill Biden and one of the last public appearances of Senator Hubert Humphrey (D-Minnesota), who died in January 1978.
William F. Wilson
Then-senator Joe Biden (D-Delaware) signed a photo of himself that William F. Wilson took in 1977.
However, this was a difficult time for me because I was very much in the closet. I was out to no one. My denial that I couldn’t possibly be gay was based on the fact that I didn’t want to wear a dress and didn’t have a high voice. Of course, as I came to experience more of the many facets of the gay community, the denial became less but still very real. So when Biden signed a photo I had taken of him calling me a friend, I wondered if he really knew the truth about me and, if so, whether he would still call me a friend. Gradually the denial became more pointless, and I
realized I was gay but I didn’t come out until 1983. However, the answer to the question about calling me a friend didn’t really come until he addressed a Human Rights Campaign event in 2015 when he was vice president. He mentioned going to get his application for a summer job as a lifeguard. As his father dropped him off, he noticed two men kiss each other. He turned to his father with a look of “why?” because it was something he had never seen before, and his father simply said, “They love each other.” But further in his speech he mentioned the first time he met Chad Griffin, who at the time was president of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBTQ rights organization. Biden recounted that Griffin had asked him, “Mr. Vice President, what do you think of me?” Biden continued, “No one ever asked me that question before, and it made me sad to think that anyone – any of you in this audience, any of my acquaintances, my friends, my employees who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender have to go through any part of your life looking at people who don’t know you and wondering, what do they think of me.”
The fact that the answer would have been yes, he would still have called me a friend even if he knew I was gay, was very reaffirming for me. It also makes me proud that he is signing the Respect for Marriage Act. He is deserving of the honor of making history in this way. t
William F. Wilson is a longtime photographer whose images have appeared in the Bay Area Reporter and other publications. He has been photographing President Joe Biden for decades.
Bay Area region’s 1st gay Black mayors prioritize housing
by Matthew S. BajkoF or the first two gay Black mayors in the greater Bay Area region, the need for more housing in their cities is a main issue they intend to tackle during their mayoralties.
Elected directly to the mayoral seat on his city’s governing body in last month’s election, Monterey Mayor Tyller Williamson took his oath of office December 6. The former city councilmember, elected in 2018, will serve a twoyear term leading the coastal tourist mecca.
“It’s official, I’ve been sworn in as the Mayor of the @cityofmonterey. Now the works begins. Make sure your voice is heard ... we want to hear from you!” Williamson, 35, who once lived in San Francisco, wrote on his mayoral Facebook page.
On the same Tuesday in the East Bay city of Pinole, gay City Councilmember Devin Murphy took his oath of office to become his city’s ceremonial mayor. Each December the five members of the City Council elect one of their colleagues to a 12-month term as mayor.
Murphy had been serving the past year as vice mayor. At 29, he is Pinole’s youngest mayor to serve in the city, which will mark its 120th anniversary in 2023. It was incorporated as a city on June 25, 1903.
As it prepares to mark that milestone, Murphy plans to ask his council colleagues to establish a Pinole Pride Day that will not only celebrate the city but also its LGBTQ community. As for holding it on June 25, which happens to be the last Sunday of June next year when San Francisco and other cities hold their LGBTQ Pride parades, Murphy told the Bay Area Reporter he is open to suggestions on when Pinole should host its celebration.
“It would be a Pride celebration but also be celebrating the incorporation of Pinole. We can work the date out together,” said Murphy.
In speaking to the B.A.R. about
what they hope to accomplish as mayor of their cities, both Murphy and Williamson said they are focused on meeting the housing needs of their constituents. Both municipalities have seen home prices skyrocket and are in need of affordable housing options.
“Housing affordability,” responded Williamson when asked what his top mayoral priority will be.
For people who work in the Monterey Peninsula’s tourism industry, finding affordable places to live near their jobs can be a challenge.
The city of Monterey has seen its new housing requirement from the state increase from its previous mandate of 650 units to needing to construct nearly 3,700 units over the next eight years.
It is a target that Williamson, who works in human resources at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, is committed to meeting as mayor.
But he acknowledged to the B.A.R. that his city needs to ramp up its planning process for how it will reach that total.
“The state is requiring every jurisdiction to produce a valid housing element by December of 2023. We haven’t even begun engaging with our larger community around what that looks like,” Williamson said during an interview in mid-November. “I want to really make sure we have a public and transparent process for creating
our housing element and working with our community on that.”
Due to its being one of the East Bay’s smaller cities, Pinole received a Regional Housing Needs Allocation of 500 new units. It is an achievable target, according to Murphy.
“Our council and staff are working diligently to meet our 500-unit RHNA requirement,” he told the B.A.R. “Housing is a huge, important issue here in Pinole.”
Murphy pointed out that his city recently approved a new fivestory residential building with 223 units on a 5.93-acre site that will see the demolition of the existing vacant K-Mart building. Construction is set to begin in mid-2023, he said.
He also noted that his city was able to secure state funding for the Pinole Satellite Affordable Housing Associates development. Ground should also be broken for that project sometime next summer.
“We are very happy about this! This is a 100% affordable housing project, where 33 new low-income housing units will be built,” said Murphy.
Just as climate change and sea level rise are other areas of focus for Williamson in Monterey, the environmental challenges are also top of mind for Murphy, who wants Pinole to foster a green economy within its city limits. Other targets for Murphy are enhancements for Pinole’s city parks and outdoor trails.
SF Pulse memorial unveiled
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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.
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.
Contact us today about the beautiful ways to create a lasting legacy at the San Francisco Columbarium.
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Record number in LGBTQ caucus
Despite Holstege’s defeat, the affinity group for LGBTQ lawmakers in Sacramento now has 12 Democrats as members. It is the largest grouping since its founding in 2002. Accounting for 10% of the Legislature’s 120 members, it also marks the first time an LGBTQ caucus has reached such proportional representation in a state legislature.
Only one of the dozen identifies as bisexual, Assemblymember Alex Lee (D-San Jose), whose election in 2020 marked the first time a bisexual candidate had won a state legislative race. He took his oath of office for a second time last Monday along with nearly all of the other winners of this year’s state
Senate and Assembly races.
Holstege, a civil rights attorney, will continue to serve on the Palm Springs City Council, as her term doesn’t end until 2024. She and her husband, Adam Gilbert, a small business owner and third-generation resident of Palm Springs, have a 2-year-old son, Aden, and two dogs, Ollie and Layla.
“On a personal note, I’d like to thank my family and friends for their support during the campaign. I announced my campaign for State Assembly with a nine month old baby, and I’m proud to have campaigned with a baby and now toddler in tow to show him the meaning of civic engagement and to show the world that moms with young children can run for office and serve, though those barriers are still significant,” stated Holstege. “I’m grateful to my husband
ment or targets of bullying in schools,” said Zbur.
and our parents for their help and I’m looking forward to enjoying some much needed time with my son and our family.”
In her email Monday, Holstege also took note of her “history-making” legislative campaign.
“No openly bisexual woman has ever been elected to the California Legislature, and while we fell short, we came closer than any candidate ever has to breaking that glass ceiling,” she wrote. “And we’ve learned, once again in 2022, we can never take a woman or an LGBTQ candidate winning a race for granted, since the barriers to our success are still very much real.”
She hinted that another Assembly race could be in her future, possibly in two years when Wallis is up for reelection. The district could be even bluer by then, depending on how voter reg-
istration goes in the coming years.
“While I am disappointed by the outcome, I am determined to continue serving my community in every way possible,” wrote Holstege. “Nothing about this election result changes my commitment to advocating for the issues that matter most to our community, and I will do everything in my power to make sure that our assembly district has strong representation that reflects our values, our communities get our fair share of resources, and we advocate collectively on important issues from fair wages, to climate change, to affordable housing, to equitable access to healthcare, to civil rights, and safer communities. I am not done serving and am not done fighting for our community.”
Equality California, the statewide LGBTQ+ advocacy organiza-
tion, had made Holstege’s candidacy one of its top priority campaigns this election cycle. It said it “will be right by her side” in her future endeavors in responding Monday to her concession in the Assembly race.
“We couldn’t be prouder to have supported Christy through this hardfought and historic campaign,” stated EQCA Political Director Tom Temprano. “Though she may have fallen just short of making history again this year, there is no doubt that Christy has inspired countless LGBTQ+ young people, women and new moms –throughout California and across the country – to run for office and fight for change in their communities. The impact of her candidacy should not be underestimated, and we know that she will continue this important legacy in the years to come.” t
“We know schools are the most effective environment for addressing the needs of kids who are either arriving to school from a non-supportive home environ -
<< Marriage bill
The signing ceremony included Vice President Kamala Harris, first lady Jill Biden, and second gentleman Doug Emhoff. Gay Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was in attendance, as were members of Congress.
During her remarks, Harris recalled marrying same-sex couples when she was San Francisco district attorney at City Hall over Valentine’s Day weekend in 2004 during the Winter of Love, after then-mayor and now Governor Gavin Newsom ordered city officials to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. As state attorney general, she returned to City Hall on June 28, 2013, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Proposition 8, the state’s same-sex marriage ban, was unconstitutional, to officiate the marriage of Kris Perry and Sandy Stier. The women, with their four sons, were at the White House Tuesday, Harris said.
“Let us think about today, December 13, 2022,” Harris said. “Democrats and Republicans finally have protected marriage rights under federal law.”
The Respect for Marriage Act was passed by the U.S. Senate on November 29 by a vote of 61-36 and approved on a concurrence vote in the House of Representatives December 8 by a vote of 258-169. Both votes were bipartisan, as the Bay Area Reporter previously reported. The House had its first vote on the bill back in July, where it also passed with bipartisan support.
Specifically, the Respect for Marriage Act will repeal the discriminatory “Defense of Marriage Act” that was passed in 1996 but had key provisions struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2013 (Section 3, U.S. v. Windsor) and 2015 (Section 2, Obergefell v. Hodges). Not only does it require federal recognition of samesex and interracial marriages nationwide but also mandates states must recognize such unions performed in other states. The act includes protections for religious liberty.
During his remarks, Biden recalled when he first spoke out in favor of marriage equality while serving as former President Barack Obama’s vice president. He made the comments on NBC’s “Meet the Press” in May 2012.
“Ten years ago on a certain TV show I got into some trouble,” he said, referencing the fact that at the time, Obama himself had not publicly endorsed same-sex marriage.
Biden also talked about the importance the Respect for Marriage Act has for interracial couples. “Now ... interracial couples and same-sex couples’ marriages are regarded as legal in every state,” he said.
Tiffany Woods, a trans mom
While at EQCA Zbur helped launch a report aimed at surveying how California’s K-12 public school districts are addressing the needs of their LGBTQ students. Yet a majority of the 343 unified
school districts didn’t bother to fill out the inaugural survey in 2019, and even fewer did so this year, as the B.A.R.’s online Political Notes column reported in October. (https://www.ebar.com/story. php?319814)
Asked about authoring a bill to
require school administrators fill out the survey the next time EQCA sends it out, expected to be in late 2023, Zbur told the B.A.R. he had yet to think about mandatory LGBTQ data collection for the state’s schools but planned to do so during his time in Sacramento.
“I think, as you know, data collection is another priority for the LGBTQ community,” said Zbur.
“Gathering data on LGBTQ students and all of that is a priority, I know, not only I but other members of the LGBTQ caucus share.”
t
to live their lives free from discrimination no matter who they are or where they live.”
Pelosi, in one of her final acts before she hands over the gavel to Republicans next month, praised lawmakers during an enrollment ceremony December 8 after the House vote on the marriage bill. She also mentioned the late Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin, the first same-sex couple to be married in San Francisco in 2004, and acknowledged the late gay ambassador Jim Hormel, whose wedding she officiated.
who’s co-chair of the California Democratic Party’s LGBTQ Caucus, attended the ceremony.
“What a historic, heartfelt day of respect, recognition, honoring, progress, tears, joy and jubilation and declaration that Love is Love and marriage equality only moves America more closer to freedom! Honored to be among California leaders!” Woods wrote in a Twitter message to the Bay Area Reporter. “My family and so many like mine represent the best of American values of love, commitment, and family and are just as valid and worthy as straight families under the law. I was honored to be invited to attend alongside so many California leaders to represent our beautiful, diverse families and bear witness to the historic signing that so many of us have fought for far too long and for those who did not live long enough to experience marriage equality.”
Jonathan Cook, a gay man who’s executive director of the Solano Pride Center in Fairfield, also attended the signing ceremony.
“It was inspiring to witness President Biden sign the Respect for Marriage Act at the White House,” Cook wrote in a Twitter message. “It is a historic moment for the LGBTQ community on our journey toward full equality. I first began my community advocacy in 2008 after Prop 8 passed in California. This June I married my husband in San Francisco.”
Cook said the day was personal for him.
“Yesterday was the culmination of years of hard work organizing, tears at set backs, and a stubborn determination to never stop fighting for full equality,” Cook wrote December 14. “While we still need to pass the Equality Act, yesterday was a reason to celebrate. It was an honor to celebrate this victory at the White House at the invitation of the President with so many colleagues and friends from across the country.”
Congressional leaders speak During the ceremony, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) and outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) addressed the crowd.
“For millions of LGBTQ Americans, today is a historic day ... and a relief,” Schumer said.
He recounted the challenges in passing the Respect for Marriage Act. “Nothing about this bill was inevitable,” he said, adding that in September, the bill’s chief authors, including lesbian Senator Tammy Baldwin (DWisconsin), came to him and requested that a Senate vote be delayed until after the November midterm elections. Schumer said he took a risk and agreed.
“Passing the Respect for Marriage Act over the finish line took persistence, but today it paid off,” Schumer said.
For Pelosi, who will remain in Congress next year but will step down from leadership, the day was emotional, she said, recounting that one of the last bills she passed in 2010, at the end of her first stint as speaker, was a repeal of the military’s anti-LGBTQ “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” On Tuesday, as she nears the end of her second time as speaker, it was the Respect for Marriage Act that she sent to Biden last week.
Pelosi credited those activists who kept pushing for the bill.
“Each and every one of you can pat yourself on the shoulder,” she said. “This would not have happened without advocacy and mobilization at the grassroots level.”
However, Pelosi said there is more work to be done. “We won’t rest until the Equality Act is signed into law,” she said. “America is always about expanding freedom.”
The Equality Act would add sexual orientation and gender identity to the
Civil Rights Act of 1964. It passed the House on a bipartisan vote of 224-206 in February 2021. The bill remains stalled in the Senate and will need to be reintroduced in both houses of Congress next year when the new session begins.
It is unlikely to be voted on again by the House, though, when the chamber reverts back to Republican control.
Pelosi commented on how some people might think legislation like the Respect for Marriage Act is easy.
“People say to me ‘it’s easy for you because you’re from San Francisco and people there are tolerant,’” the speaker said. “I say, ‘tolerant, that’s condescending. This is about respect.’”
“Today is a day for great pride,” she added.
The ceremony included performances by LGBTQ ally Cyndi Lauper, gay singer-songwriter Sam Smith, and the Rock Creek Singers of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, D.C.
LGBTQ leaders hailed the president’s action.
“This afternoon, President Biden not only ended the discriminatory so-called Defense of Marriage Act, he also enshrined marriage equality into a federal statute for the first time in the history of the United States,” stated Imani Rupert-Gordon, executive director of the San Francisco-based National Center for Lesbian Rights. “By signing the bipartisan Respect for Marriage Act into law, President Biden once again demonstrated his unwavering commitment to protecting equality for all.”
Rupert-Gordon added that NCLR remains dedicated to working with Congress to pass the Equality Act – a goal the president has confirmed is a major commitment for his administration “to ensure that all LGBTQ individuals are able
“Today, we stand against an urgent threat” to marriage equality, said Pelosi, because of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision in June that overturned the right to abortion. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a concurring opinion that stated other precedents, like the Obergefell v. Hodges decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, should be reconsidered.
That was the impetus for the Respect for Marriage Act, lawmakers said, as well as to jettison the Defense of Marriage Act.
“Our history has always been about expanding freedom,” Pelosi said, adding that the Respect for Marriage Act “takes DOMA off the books for good.”
Biden also mentioned the Dobbs decision in a December 8 statement and reiterated that at the signing ceremony.
“Justice Thomas went further,” the president said, in his concurring opinion in Dobbs.
“After the uncertainty caused by the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, Congress has restored a measure of security to millions of marriages and families,” the president stated December 8. “They have also provided hope and dignity to millions of young people across this country who can grow up knowing that their government will recognize and respect the families they build.”
Biden also said that his administration would keep fighting for equal rights for LGBTQ people.
“We must stop hate and violence like we saw in Colorado Springs,” the president said, referring to the shooting at the LGBTQ nightlife venue Club Q on November 19 in which five people were killed. “We need to fight laws that target trans children and criminalize doctors.”
Biden also said that the Equality Act needs to be passed. He called out racism, antisemitism, homophobia, and transphobia.
“They are all connected,” Biden said, “but the antidote to hate is love.” t
The city, which fronts San Pablo Bay, is at work on adopting its first-ever Climate Action and Adaptation Plan.
“On January 26, we are hosting a workshop focused on our first Climate Action and Adaptation Plan in the council chambers and online,” noted Murphy. “We also received a $40,000 grant from the California Energy Commission to establish an online, automated permitting platform that verifies code compliance and issues permits in real time for a solar energy system.”
Murphy told the B.A.R. such initiatives will be the focus of his mayoral video updates he will be taping over the course of the next year. He just finished his first one, which he said will be posted to his social media accounts as well as the ones for the city of Pinole, such as its Facebook page.
“I want to demonstrate that a small, suburban town like Pinole can be a regional leader in envi -
ronmental and climate action,” said Murphy.
He will be one of two gay mayors in the nine-county Bay Area in 2023, as Emeryville City Councilmember John A. Bauters was elected December 12 to another one-year term in the ceremonial role for his East Bay city. He has been serving as mayor since last
December and also has made building more housing, especially affordable units, one of his top goals.
Two other out Bay Area city councilmembers are poised to become their cities’ ceremonial mayors next December. Bisexual Corte Madera City Councilmember Eli Beckman is once again
serving as vice mayor of his North Bay town, while Redwood City Councilmember Lissette Espinoza-Garnica , who is a queer, nonbinary Chicanx, was elected Monday night as vice mayor of the San Mateo County city.
As for Williamson’s more immediate plans, he will be visiting the family of his domestic partner, high school history teacher Ivan Quiroz Bautista , in Mexico for the holidays. But the couple will be back home in time for New Year’s and for Monterey’s monthly First Friday event January 6, which will be his first to attend as mayor.
“It is a pretty big event,” said Williamson.
Gay Louisiana candidate makes history
Across the country, another Black LGBTQ community leader has made political history. Davante Lewis won his December 10 runoff race to become the first openly gay candidate elected to a statewide commission in Louisiana.
He defeated Public Service
Commissioner Lambert Boissiere , an 18-year incumbent. As the B.A.R.’s online Political Notes column reported December 5, Lewis was confident of his winning the race due to Boissiere failing to receive more than 50% of the vote on the November 8 ballot in order to secure his reelection.
“We rose up and said Louisiana is ready for a new energy future. One in which every Louisianian can count on clean air and water, a warm house in the winter, a cool house in the summer and utility bills that don’t break the bank,” Lewis told his supporters during his victory party last Saturday night. t
Web Extra: For more queer political news, be sure to check http://www.ebar.com Monday mornings for Political Notes, the notebook’s online companion. This week’s column reported on Bay Area cities welcoming newly elected LGBTQ city leaders following the outcomes of the November 8 races.
OFC has long worked with, and in, school districts all across California. The report cemented how important those initiatives are, said Demissew, and called out the need for OFC is counterbalance the anti-LGBTQ messages parents are hearing.
“We need to do more work with parents,” she said. “Great floods of misinformation are going to the parents. I don’t think these are evil people. They are really wanting to protect their children but are being greatly misinformed.”
SFUSD issues
One ongoing issue for LGBTQ families in San Francisco is the San Francisco Unified School District not launching a parent advisory council focused on their needs and concerns. The school board approved the Queer Transgender PAC in February but has not budgeted the $180,000 needed to hire a person to staff it.
“We met with the San Francisco school board to fund and create an LGBTQ family task force. They had
Legals >>
In the matter of the application of MARGARITA BRICHKOVA, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appears from said application that petitioner MARGARITA BRICHKOVA is requesting that the name MARGARITA BRICHKOVA AKA MARGARITA BRICHKOV be changed to MARGO KONYK. 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 29th of DECEMBER 2022 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted. NOV 24, DEC 01, 08, 15, 2022
ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME
IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-22-557559
In the matter of the application of POP KEM FONG, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appears from said application that petitioner POP KEM FONG is requesting that the name POP KEM FONG be changed to HELEN POY KEM FONG. 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 27th of DECEMBER 2022 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.
NOV 24, DEC 01, 08, 15, 2022
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT
FILE A-0398760
The following person(s) is/are doing business as HORIZONS TRAVEL GROUP, 138 BELVEDERE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed AMANDA PINKHAM. 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 11/15/22.
NOV 24, DEC 01, 08, 15, 2022
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT
FILE A-0398584
The following person(s) is/are doing business as NEIL FINK ASSOCIATES, 3 12TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed NEIL FINK. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/24/22. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/27/22.
NOV 24, DEC 01, 08, 15, 2022
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT
FILE A-0398735
The following person(s) is/are doing business as LOSTART LETTERS, 1639 NORIEGA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed BETH E. GREGORY. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 04/14/22. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/10/22.
NOV 24, DEC 01, 08, 15, 2022
all these other task forces but not one for LGBTQ families,” noted Demissew. “Now they are saying there isn’t the funding for it.”
The school district’s other parental advisory councils continue to be staffed and have been meeting this academic year. Laura Dudnick, a spokesperson for the school district, told the B.A.R. there is no current date for when the QTPAC will officially be convened.
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT
FILE A-0398786
The following person(s) is/are doing business as HEAD N EYES, 1446 HAIGHT ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117.
This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MARWAN ZEIDAN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 11/17/22. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/17/22.
NOV 24, DEC 01, 08, 15, 2022
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT
FILE A-0398744
The following person(s) is/are doing business as ALUMA PLUMBING, 347 DOLORES ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed OSCAR A. GARCIA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 11/12/22. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/14/22.
NOV 24, DEC 01, 08, 15, 2022
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT
FILE A-0398705
The following person(s) is/are doing business as SERENITY DENTAL SPA, 345 CALIFORNIA ST #170, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94104. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed SHEILA SHAHABI D.D.S. INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 11/07/06. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/08/22.
NOV 24, DEC 01, 08, 15, 2022
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT
FILE A-0398563
The following person(s) is/are doing business as THREE POLAR BEARS, 3135 ANZA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121.
This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed NAILBOX, INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/06/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/26/22.
NOV 24, DEC 01, 08, 15, 2022
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0398776
The following person(s) is/are doing business as CURRY LEAF, 943 COLUMBUS AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed ALI ZAINA 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 11/16/22.
NOV 24, DEC 01, 08, 15, 2022
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0398772
The following person(s) is/are doing business as AROMA BUENA CAFÉ, 2155 BAYSHORE BLVD, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94134. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed AROMA BUENA CATERING, INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact
Nonetheless, Dudnick said the needs of LGBTQ students and families are being addressed through other programs and initiatives the school district has in place, such as its LGBTQ Student Services program LINK: https://www.sfusd.edu/ lgbtq-student-services/about-us launched 32 years ago.
“There are a lot of district level programs to support LGBTQ student services,” said Dudnick.
business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/27/22. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/16/22.
NOV 24, DEC 01, 08, 15, 2022
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0398846
The following person(s) is/are doing business as GAIA TRADING CORPORATION, 8 AMBER DR, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94131. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed A5 CULINARY SERVICES (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 11/18/22. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/18/22.
NOV 24, DEC 01, 08, 15, 2022
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0398815
The following person(s) is/are doing business as JOVIE OF SAN FRANCISCO, 870 MARKET ST #405, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed MMKS SOLUTIONS INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/28/22. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/18/22. NOV 24, DEC 01, 08, 15, 2022
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT
FILE A-0398762
The following person(s) is/are doing business as RAVEN PILATES, 1738 POLK ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed RAVEN PILATES, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 11/15/22. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/15/22. NOV 24, DEC 01, 08, 15, 2022
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT
FILE A-0398829
The following person(s) is/are doing business as UPPER NOE APARTMENTS, 1801 CHURCH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94131. This business is conducted by co-partners, and is signed JOSHUA WALDMAN & NOAH WALDMAN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 11/04/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/22/22. NOV 24, DEC 01, 08, 15, 2022
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0398816
The following person(s) is/are doing business as SF BAY SPIRITS, 849 AVE D, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94130. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed TREEHOUSE CRAFT DISTILLERY, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/18/22. NOV 24, DEC 01, 08, 15, 2022
“While this parent advisory council is one of the components of that work, there are many other ways staff and schools are supporting and can support students.”
Gay District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey, who sits on the board’s Youth, Young Adult, and Families Committee, told the B.A.R. he would discuss with its chair, currently District 9 Supervisor Hillary Ronen, about scheduling a hearing to discuss the LGBTQ family assessment report and possibly the fiscal constraints the school district is facing in regards to the QTPAC.
“I have always felt the city should be a full partner with the school district when it comes to funding. Temperamentally, I am disinclined to get too much in the weeds of telling the school district what to do,” said Dorsey, who noted the supervisors have placed various ballot measures funding school needs before voters. “If there is a need that we can help to meet, we should have a talk about it.”
As for the various findings of the LGBTQ family assessment
NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER
OF RAYMOND
ESTATE
LOW SUEN, SR. IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO: FILE PES-22-305844
To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both, of RAYMOND LOW SUEN, SR A Petition for Probate has been filed by RONALD LOW SUEN in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco. The Petition for Probate requests that RONALD LOW SUEN 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: DECEMBER 20, 2022, 9:00 am, Dept. 204, Rm. 204, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. If you object to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing. Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney. If you are a creditor or contingent creditor of the decedent, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal representative appointed by the court within the latter of either (1) four months from the date of first issuance of letters to a general personal representative, as defined by section 58(b) of the California Probate Code, or (2) 60 days from the date of mailing or personal delivery to you of a notice under section 9052 of the California Probate Code. Other California statutes and legal authority may affect your rights as a creditor. You may want to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law. You may examine the file kept by the court. If you are a person interested in the estate, you may file with the court a Request for Special Notice (form DE-154) of the filing of an inventory and appraisal of estate assets or of any petition or account as provided in Probate Code section 1250. A Request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk. Attorney for petitioner: MARK A. WALTHER, ESQ (SBN 194931), WALTHER LAW & FIDUCIARY SERVICES, APC, 540 PACIFIC AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133; Ph. (415) 981-9490. DEC 01, 08, 15, 2022
ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF
NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-22557587
In the matter of the application of ALBERT ALLEN ANDRIST, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appears from said application that petitioner ALBERT ALLEN ANDRIST is requesting that the name ALBERT ALLEN ANDRIST be changed to ALEX ANDRIST. Now
report, Dorsey said they echo a presentation that the city’s Department of Children, Youth and Their Families gave to the supervisor committee last summer.
“The takeaway from that mirrors some of the prime takeaways I found in this report, that mental health and social isolation are particularly acute issues that deserve focus,” he said. “I think much of this, I have to believe, has to do with COVID, that was certainly the case with the citywide data here in San Francisco.”
Dorsey has long had ties to Our Family Coalition from his days working as the top spokesperson at the San Francisco City Attorney’s office. The nonprofit was a co-plaintiff in one of the marriage equality lawsuits that the city filed in state court.
“It wasn’t widely appreciated some of the legal advocacy that Our Family Coalition does, so I am glad that was mentioned in there,” said Dorsey, adding that he “will always have a lot of affection” for the nonprofit’s being “shoulder to shoulder with us on something that made history.” t
therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N on the 10th of JANUARY 2022 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.
DEC 01, 08, 15, 22, 2022
ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-22557567
In the matter of the application of NAKIDA FUSILIER, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appears from said application that petitioner NAKIDA FUSILIER is requesting that the name JOURNEY SIMONE-ROYCE HARRISON be changed to JOURNEY SIMONE-ROYCE WILEY. 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 29th of DECEMBER 2022 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.
DEC 01, 08, 15, 22, 2022
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT
FILE A-0398743
The following person(s) is/are doing business as BRAIDS BY CAYLAMAE, 60 ROBBLEE AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed CAYLA POLLARD. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/29/22. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/14/22.
DEC 01, 08, 15, 22, 2022
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT
FILE A-0398836
The following person(s) is/are doing business as MINH NGUYEN, 1282 48TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MONH THANH NGUYEN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 11/22/22. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/22/22.
DEC 01, 08, 15, 22, 2022
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE
A-0398824
The following person(s) is/are doing business as CUTS BY CHICO, 483 GUERRERO ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JUANCARLOS MANRIQUEZ. 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 11/21/22.
DEC 01, 08, 15, 22, 2022
The strip clubs and topless bars in North Beach were a bawdy and assertive reminder of sexuality (albeit heterosexuality) in an otherwise touristy neighborhood. I often wondered if members of the LGBTQ community worked in these clubs.
The 2021 photography book “Remember Me, Vicki Starr: The Visual History of a Trans Renegade” by Albert Tanquero and Lewis Rawlinson definitively answers this question. As ephemera in the book reveals, Vicki Starr (stage name for Victoria Fernandez) began working in the clubs of North Beach in 1965.
The Renegade
The book evokes the excitement of discovery over a new addition to our history and feelings of loss over what has been forgotten. Photographs in the book were found, much like the photographs of Vivian Maier or the letters in “P.S. Burn This Letter Please.” Albert Tanquero, who compiled the photographs, tells the story in the foreword: “I received a phone call from an antique dealer who had just acquired a suitcase full of photographs and ephemera,” said Tanquero. “He wanted to know if I was interested in it. Little did I know, this suitcase contained the life of a trans Latina renegade. It consisted of hundreds of photos, slides, and newspaper clippings saved over decades by a trans woman that had migrated from Puerto Rico to New York City to San Francisco.”
The foreword, the only two pages of text in the book outside of the ephemera and the sources,
reveals the suitcase was found in a storage locker among the possessions of the late Dr. Horacio Roque Ramirez, a scholar of Chicano and Chicana Studies at UC Santa Barbara, who died unexpectedly at 46 in 2015.
Because of the limited text, casual readers might find the photos a bit difficult to understand, particularly since they have no captions. For example, a man appears in several photos from the 1950s and ’60s with Vicki, but there is no way to know their relationship. The site “A Gender Variance Who’s Who” indicates that Victoria had several husbands, and I wondered if this gentleman was one of them.
Sexual pioneer
Starr-gazing
However the book is a visual treasure trove and a starting point for puzzling together information on this intriguing sexual pioneer. The ephemera is particularly helpful in this regard and I suggest that readers use this section to refer back to the photos.
One thing noticeable in the ephemera is that Starr is referred to in ads from the El Cid, Pierre’s and Coke’s as “Mr. Vickie Starr.” This is probably due to the 1898 San Francisco Board of Supervisors Order No. 1587 §20 which made appearing “in a dress not belonging to his or her sex” a misdemeanor punishable by a thousand
by Gregg Shapiro
You know that feeling when you hear a singer’s voice and it enters your soul, becomes a part of your very being. That’s what happens when out singer/songwriter Ruthie Foster sings. Whether she’s belting out a big soulful number or approaching a song from a more intimate perspective, you know that she’s giving it her all and she’s warmly inviting you into her musical world.
A Gause, Texas native who still calls the Lone Star State her home, Foster has just released her latest studio album, the marvelous “Healing Time” (Blue Corn Music), on which she serenades us with songs influenced by folk, vintage soul, and gospel. Ruthie was gracious enough to answer a few questions shortly after the release of “Healing Time,” and ahead of her local concert Dec. 16 at Berkeley’s Freight & Salvage.
Gregg Shapiro: In preparing for this interview, I realized that I have been writing about you and your music for 20 years, beginning with your 2002 album “Runaway Soul.” In that time, what would you say are the most significant changes in your songwriting?
Ruthie Foster: More of it [laughs]. More learning how to budget my time for it. That’s been the biggest change for me. Making it more of a priority down through the years. I guess, as you get older or wiser, I want my own voice. That’s what this album is about. Coming from my own voice, speaking from my own story, telling my own story. I recorded a lot of songs that I like, and songs that I wished I’d written. This was different.
dollar fine or six months in jail – or both (a law in effect until 1974).
That’s the reason José Sarria had people in drag at the Black Cat wear the notification “I am a boy” and performers like Lynne Carter performed at Finocchio’s as “Mr. Lynne Carter.”
P.R. sweetie Starr made the best of a discriminatory era and had an eye for PR. An ad in the June 7, 1968 Bakersfield Californian for Starr at the Rendezvous Club (3933 S. Chester, Bakersfield)
When you say you’ve been budgeting your time for songwriting, are you setting aside writing time in the morning or afternoon, or whenever it is you’re most creative?
Yes. I start out by at least scheduling what I guess you’d call practice time. Going over scales, picking up the guitar or even playing the piano a little bit. That usually extends into maybe 30 minutes to an hour. I do that a few times a week.
I don’t want to regiment myself too much to where it’s unpleasant. I am still touring. I am still a mom, still have to pick my kid up once in a while. I still want to have time to cook, take a walk, do things that make me feel grounded when I am home. I do make time in the afternoon to play, maybe at the end of my workday, do some recording at home to go through a few rudiments and practices. That usually results in at least jotting down an idea or something.
We’ve been told not to judge a book by its cover, and the same holds true of an album. However, the cover of “Healing Time,” to my eyes, suggests a ’70s soul vibe. Was that your intention?
That was exactly the intention. Part of what I was doing during COVID ’20 and ’21 was just going through my album collection. It reminded me, again, how wonderful these covers were. Back in the day when you could read information about the artist that you’re listening to. I wanted that kind of nostalgia. I wanted that feel for this album.
One of the things that I love about “Healing Time” is that there are these big sonic numbers including the title cut and “Don’t Want to Give Up on You,”
Vicki Starr in performance in the 1960s‘Remember Me, Vicki Starr: The Visual History of a Trans Renegade’ uncovers an unknown historyCourtesy Lewis Rawlinson
has the headline “I Want To Change My Sex - Would You Believe I’m A Man?”
There are ads for Starr’s performances in August 1967 at the 3000 Club in Oxnard and from Cisco & Bob’s Hi 14 Club in Oakland (4345 E. 14th Street). Starr’s talent gave her access to places you would not expect to see a transgender performance in the 1960s.
Though Vicki Starr was transgender, some ads from this era incorrectly refer to her as a female impersonator. However Merla Zellerbach’s San Francisco Chronicle column “My Fair City” from March 27, 1967, entitled
“Transsexuals – The Story of Vicki Starr”, allows Vicki to tell her own story:
“‘I’m very much in love with a man,’ says (Mr.) Vicki Starr, topless male dancer at Pierre’s on Broadway.
‘And I’m working for one reason—to earn money to pay for the conversion operation. As soon as it’s finished my fiancé and I will get married, possibly adopt children and settle down quietly in Europe. No one will know my history.’”
The article also reveals why Starr moved from Puerto Rico to New York:
“My father couldn’t stand me. I was too feminine.”
Newspapers being what they were in 1967, the article describes being transgender in an insulting manner:
“It is far more complex – disturbing.
Most transsexuals, according to the current Esquire, “look like the hottest of flaming faggots, “but are “NOT homosexual.”
Topless turn
These attitudes weren’t uncommon. Starr faced it elsewhere in the Chronicle. A Herb Caen column from April 6, 1967 (not in the book) referred to an upcoming performance by Starr: “Mama Gaye Spiegelman talked her estranged husband, Jack, into hiring Vicki Starr, the transsexual topless, for his nightclub in Santa Rosa, the Hacienda. “I think Santa Rosa needs something like this,” says Mama gravely and “something” is indeed the word.” Starr was transgender and visible when it was little understood or supported. She did topless dancing when it was still controversial. Starr was performing in San Francisco strip clubs by September 1965 (a performance in the ephemera is dated 9/24/65). That’s 14 months after Carol Doda first performed topless at the Condor (on June 22, 1964) and introduced the ’60s wave of topless dancing. It’s also five months from the first police raids
on topless clubs in San Francisco (on April 22 1965) and a year before the Compton’s Cafeteria riot.
The photos follow Starr from her early years in Puerto Rico and New York, to her performance career in California and into her later years.
They evoke a lost hidden world, much like Nan Goldin or Diane Arbus photos, and would make a wonderful museum exhibition.
There is one possible connection to Arbus: in a performance lineup from 1965, one of the performers is Peaches Palmer. Arbus photographed a stripper by that name in Atlantic City in 1963. It’s not a stretch to think they are the same performer.
The ephemera and photos continue into the ’70s and ’80s with a poster from Project Artaud’s “Ball of Balls” in 1971, an ad for a performance with Vicki Marlane at Jackie D’s and a ticket from an AIDS benefit for “Boys Will Be Girls” at the Déjà vu in 1984 (the Déjà vu became The Black Rose in 1985). I was delighted to find a photo of Starr taken by Polly Polaroid in 1979 at the Queen Mary Pub (now Aunt Charlie’s).
Hats off
The book prompted me to see what else I could find out about Starr. Among my discoveries was a review of the performance at Jackie D’s in the Empress Connection column of the Bay Area Reporter from May 16, 1973:
“A tremendous show of real talent shown by choreographer Skip Gilman. Talents used were Vicki Marlane, Victoria Star [sic] and Terry Taylor and dancers. Lennie Lynn did a fantastic job in the show. Hats off!”
I discovered a footnote in an article entitled “Introduction: Homoerotic, Lesbian, and Gay Ethnic and Immigrant Histories” from the Journal of American Ethnic History, in which Roque Ramírez recounts an interview with Starr where she reveals she:
“Migrated to New York City in the late 1940s with the support of members of an extended Puerto Rican lesbian softball network; also migrating to New York City from Puerto Rico at the time.”
I asked friends living in San Francisco in the ’70s if they remembered Starr. A few did. Michael C. Anstadt, who was a bartender at the Red Lantern Saloon, told me she performed at the Landmark (45 Turk) in the ’70s and early ’80s. Coy Meza remembered her as performing at Esta Noche on 16th Street.
One intriguing item I found regarding Starr’s performances comes from The Gay Crusader (October 15, 1980) in an obituary for the female impersonator Adrian Ames:
“The Adrian Ames Review appeared at the old Follies Burlesque, where he was featured with others of his review (including Vicki Starr) in the “Battle of the Sexes,” which was when the females and female impersonators danced on stage against one another and most often the men in the audience didn’t know the difference.”
Starr had a vibrant life, and was a true pioneer who deserves to be
remembered. This book is a tribute and a step toward reclaiming her memory. There may be more to come. Roque Ramirez noted in the Journal of American Ethnic History article that he taped interviews with Starr in 2000. The tapes were lost, but perhaps “Queer Latino San Francisco: An Oral History, 1960s-1990s” by Roque Ramizez (coming from Springer Nature in 2025) will provide transcripts of these interviews. Meanwhile this book lets us enjoy fascinating images of a performer in a world previously unimagined.t
‘Remember Me, Vicki Starr: The Visual History of a Trans Renegade’ is available at www.vickistarr.com
Meredith Monk’s ‘The Recordings’
by Tim Pfaff
One of the quiet revelations of “Meredith Monk: The Recordings” (ECM New Series) is that Monk herself confides that it was Janis Joplin who set her –and her voice– free. The 13-CD set chronicles the thrust of her career by re-releasing all of the recordings, remastered as necessary, that she made with Manfred Eichler’s intrepid (and consummately professional) ECM over the 40 years since Monk’s career broke.
No disrespect to Janis, as beloved an artist as rock has ever produced, but Monk took her newly freed voice to heights, depths, and expressive ranges arguably no other vocal artist has attempted or even dared. She has taken her singular work onstage in equally varied settings, underscoring the sheer courage of her artistry.
Extended techniques
Even when her music entailed collaboration with similarly inclined colleagues (including filmmakers along with the best jazz musicians on the planet), there was no overlooking, say nothing of overhearing, the primacy of her work. A voice that whispered and unrepentantly shrieked (she credited Joplin in particular with proving definitively that a vocal sound did not have to be traditionally beautiful to carry, or last, or be beautiful), cooed and struck like lightning, carved out of space itself bodies of sound, and silences that speak.
Describing her technical accomplishment as the creation of extended vocal techniques, accurate as it is, seems an understatement, missing
the point that “extended techniques” is a core value of genuinely questing artists, and that Monk’s “extensions” were early and radical.
When her music is grouped with the work of others, prominent among them are other other-sexual artistic pioneers: Harry Partch, John Cage, and Cage’s lifelong personal and artistic partner, choreographer Merce Cunningham. Singers before Monk pushed limits, including those of sexuality and its liberation, but none has created a more cosmic sense of what counts as femininity.
For Monk, studio work offered the same specific opportunities as they did for pianist Glenn Gould. For musicians of their inclinations and talents, recordings were not tamer, better groomed accounts of what was taken before the live public (though Monk cherished that audience segment far longer than Gould could manage) but performances in themselves. Monk’s singular recordings are collected here with almost equally brilliant annotation.
This is no “big box” released with fanfare but no documentation for holiday commercial consumption.
Artistic evolution
Most such collections document an artist’s development, and these recordings –released in their original form except for the inevitable digitization of the recording of later pieces– certainly do that. But what they also demonstrate is how arresting Monk’s music-making was from the beginning, the development assured from the start.
Her detractors, notably few, may
have dismissed her work as a musical Allen Ginsberg “Howl.” But the two volumes of her earlier piano music offer a kind of history in Monk’s words: “One day in 1965, when I was at the piano vocalizing, I realized within a flash that within the voice there were limitless possibilities of color, texture, character, gender, resonance, ways of producing sound. From that time on, I began working with my own instrument, trying to discover the voices within.”
What makes this collection essential even for listeners who already own some of the individual recordings is Monk’s own, personal, probing essay, “The Soul’s Messenger.” Monk is at the piano –selfaccompanying is either precisely the right or exactly the wrong term for what she does– in the earliest recording in the set, “Gotham Lullaby.”
Today, themed albums have all but displaced the aria and encore collections that were the bread and butter of the classical-vocal recording scene. Monk led the charge into what annotator Frank J. Oteri rightly calls “fixed media documentation of material she originally created for live performance.” Monk wanted each album to be a self-contained listening experience.
It’s an irony specific to this collection that it includes only one CD with piano music, Monk’s beginnings. But it is Ursula Oppens (as important an exponent of “new music” as Monk is as a composer/performer) and Bruce Brubaker who play on “Piano Songs” of 2014, which include most of her annotated music for piano or two pianos.
The recordings
These recordings are examples of the importance of recording to music, to art of most kinds. A force of Monk’s torque would have made her way somehow, but it’s clear that ECM’s participation from the near beginning has supported her in essential ways, only beginning with providing top recording technology. It’s been a real partnership. The documentation included in the set is model.
First-time Monks listeners could do much worse than go directly to “Spider Web Anthem,” solo and layered vocal numbers into which instruments insinuate themselves, all of it unshy about adding what is beauty of sound by any standards.
It’s easier to get on first hearing than the more daring, boundary-breaking “late” pieces (though she’s still working on a new collaboration with ECM).
In all the pieces, you encounter sound with infrastructure, the work of a keen musical intelligence that took the trouble to make its own vocabulary and grammar, color spectrum, and beat, and then work with them tirelessly. Each work creates its own language, as fluid as it is structured. Only later does it occur to most listeners that there is a bare
minimum of verbal text, virtually a Monk creed. It’s jazz and it’s not jazz.
Appreciation of this dense, complex music not only rewards but mostly requires repeated hearings, though its initial impact is indisputable. It’s not music that inclines you to have favorites. That said, I have a new admiration for “Volcano Songs” during our immediate moment in geological history, with major volcanoes erupting around the planet.
It’s remarkable how comparable, if not similar, in reach and execution, her music is to experimental music’s “other Monk,” jazz giant Thelonius Monk, his creations for large ensembles as penetrating as his solo saxophone wail.
The more familiar human voice
In other vocal music; if there is a piece of sure-fire, standard vocal music that’s harrowingly difficult for both the singer and audience –deadly for the first and cathartic for the second– it is Francis Poulenc’s “La Voix humaine” (“The Human Voice”), with a scorching text by surrealist Jean Cocteau. The piece has enjoyed a happy history in San Francisco, staged and otherwise. The latest contender on CD is French soprano Veronique Gens’ with the Orchestre National de Lilles under Alexandre Bloch (Alpha).
Surprisingly few recordings of “La Voix” feature francophone sopranos, but, once heard, singers working in their native languages inevitably prevail. Suffice it to say here that Gens, one of the most highly regarded classical singers today, is in her element, in full command of the text not just aurally but dramatically. It’s tough, gorgeous, wrenching stuff. The recording captures Gens at her vocal and artistic peak, having said which I’ll quiet my own.t
‘Meredith Monk: The Recordings,’ ECM New Series, 13-CD box, $124.98, and digital. www.ecmrecords.com
‘Veronique Gens: Francis Poulenc, La Voix humaine,’ Alpha Classics www.outhere-music.com
and then you have these more personal tunes, such as “4AM” and “For You.” As the writer, and performer, what do you get out of this kind of variety?
I just wanted to keep my songwriter aspect with this album in check. “4AM” was one way to do that and, of course, “Don’t Want To Give Up On You.” Songs that I know speak from my own voice. I wanted to go more soul/blues, but I didn’t want to lose the folk side of my playing, the way I play. The fact that I do play guitar and sing and write. I do a lot of solo shows and those are the songs that I bring out when I’m by myself.
The album is called “Healing Time,” and features the song of the same name, as well as the uplifting “Love Is the Answer,” which leads me to ask if you think healing is possible after all we’ve been through in recent years, especially those of us in the LGBTQ+ community?
Absolutely. We are in such need of not just healing, but attention to more people speaking out, getting up and getting out. We need more support,
not just from our community, as the LGBTQ community, but from everyone. We really need to be lifted up. It’s so important to me. I’m hoping that in a lot of ways I can help in that aspect of my music, too.
You’re embarking on a concert tour that will continue into 2023. How did you deal with performing during the pandemic in 2020 and 2021? Did you do live stream performances, or did you find a way to do outdoor shows?
I did several live streams right here from my studio at home. I have a room dedicated to my music. Along with a lot of musicians, I upgraded my equipment [laughs] so that we can communicate and keep music
going wherever. Keep the lights and the camera set up. I ordered a really nice camera and some really nice microphones. I did a few outdoor shows. I think they call them driveins. Where everybody comes and sits in their car, or they sit out in front of their cars on their lawn chairs and listen to music from the back of a flatbed pickup or a loading dock at a business. We did whatever we could.
What are you most looking forward to about performing live on this current tour?
I look forward to seeing faces. There’s something about being in the same room. The energy there; there’s a vibration. That is what gets me up in the morning. Feeling that, and taking a song setlist, and changing it because I can feel where the energy’s going. Or even taking the energy somewhere. That’s what I’m looking forward to.t
Ruthie Foster performs Dec. 16, 8pm at Freight & Salvage, 2020 Addison St., Berkeley ($32-$36) www.thefreight.org www.ruthiefoster.com
Read the full interview, with several music clips, on www.ebar.com
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Brendan Fraser’s brilliant queer comeback
by Brian Bromberger Brendan Fraser’s Charlie in DarrenAronofsky’s “The Whale” (A24) may not only be the year’s best performance by a male actor, but may later be judged as one of the decade’s top master classes in acting. The film, however, is problematic though some of the criticism has been unduly harsh. This hauntingly sad story, like its main character, in free-fall, invites audiences to have empathy for a flawed man haunted by his failings and regrets, who seeks love and a reason for his existence in his final days
At times difficult to watch because of its gut-wrenching honesty, though there are humorous interludes, “The Whale” finally breaks your heart, not out of pity, but because we glimpse a soul’s light flickering underneath mounds of pain. Charlie is desperate to do something worthwhile with his life, as he seeks grace and reconciliation with his tortured past.
Morbidly obese 600-pound Charlie (Fraser) is a gay English teacher in Idaho, who teaches by Zoom with his webcam shut off, claiming technical difficulties, so his students can’t see him, but urges them to “write something honest.” He lives alone in a cluttered one-bedroom apartment as a depressed shut-in, though throughout the two-hour film he will receive a steady stream of visitors.
His best friend and devoted caretaker Liz (Hong Chau, “The Menu”), is a nurse and brother of Charlie’s late partner Alan, who committed suicide. She informs him that his dangerously high blood pressure –coupled with congestive heart failure– gives him at most a week to live. She urges him to go to a hospital. He refuses. She acts as an enabler by giving him a meatball sub to eat right after her dire diagnosis.
Desperate deliveries
A young man (Ty Simpkins) from a local evangelical Church, New Life (that
apparently made life hell for both Alan and Liz) knocks on the door and tries to save Charlie’s soul before he dies.
Charlie promises money to his estranged, bitterly angry (almost to the point of bullying) 17-year-old daughter Ellie (Sadie Sink, “Stranger Things”) because he urgently wants to be reconciled with her before he dies. Then his furious ex-wife Mary (Samantha Morton) appears, whom he abandoned for his great love Alan, one of his graduate students. Despite his betrayal she still has a residue of affection towards Charlie.
Finally, a delivery man nightly brings him two large pizzas, which Charlie devours along with buckets of KFC chicken like a heroin addict injecting his drug. His guilt about Alan’s death and deserting eightyear-old Ellie, as well as sorrow for what might have been, has led to his prolonged suicide through compulsive binge-eating.
Based on his own semiautobiographical stage drama, gay scriptwriter Samuel Hunter –as evidenced from the above brief plot description in this overwrought screenplay– is dealing with a myriad of
ponderous topics such as grief, death, suicide, abandonment, religious abuse and intolerance, trauma, addiction, alcoholism, and remorse. This all creates a mass of contradictions that are never really tied together or given any resolution, with lots of blame-shifting.
There’s a kind of perverse voyeurism as we watch Charlie’s almost masochistic self-destruction while he asks several times in a hopeful rhetorical flourish, “Do you ever get the feeling that people are incapable of not caring?”
Race against time
Director Darren Aronofsky is trying to balance a sense of claustrophobia that doesn’t intimidate the audience but still conveys that Charlie is trapped, even imprisoned in his apartment. Amazingly, he manages to make that single room and a character marooned on a couch cinematic, by creating suspense as we experience Charlie’s race against time in his quest for salvation.
Charlie can barely walk. Everything he does requires monumental effort, conveyed by the one hundred pounds of latex material. It never looks like he’s wearing a suit (Aronofsky objects to the fat suit phrase, calling it makeup and prosthetics, all done digitally), but it rather becomes an extension of Fraser’s portrayal of the physical and emotional weight oppressing Charlie.
Even if a more heavyset actor had been chosen for Fraser’s role, they’d still have needed some prosthetics to reach the 600-pound threshold, so the critique about a fat suit seems picayune.
However, because Fraser hasn’t been a bankable star for almost two decades, it’s a fair question to ask why a lesser-known LGBTQ
actor couldn’t have been cast as Charlie, despite Fraser’s tour de force performance.
Some critics accuse the film of fatphobia, especially since some of the characters, especially Ellie in her rage, make nasty comments about Charlie’s corpulence. While the movie is brutal in showing the health challenges of being so obese, it constantly points to Charlie’s humanity, as a beautiful soul trapped in a failing body. Thus, it never fat-shames Charlie and its aim is to establish a sympathetic rapport with the audience.
The title refers not to Charlie’s weight, but an essay (the author identified later as part of a surprise ending) on the white whale in Melville’s novel “Moby-Dick,” which provides comfort to Charlie when he’s undergoing some emotional or medical crisis. But Charlie conveys a tender heart, sly wit, vulnerability, an ethereal graciousness despite his size, and a belief in the goodness of other people, especially Ellie, even when she screams, “Look at what an awful person I’ve become because of you.”
Aronofsky, who has developed a flair for resurrecting moribund careers, such as Ellen Burstyn in “Requiem for a Dream,” and Mickey O’Rourke in “The Wrestler,” has done it once again for Fraser, the frontrunner for the Best Actor Oscar and the recipient of a six-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival.
One wishes the film was as great as Fraser’s fearless raw emotional performance, but we can forgive many of its deficiencies because “The Whale” manages to drive home poignantly the human search to love the unlovable and “to remind us that all the promise of compassion and redemption is there in every human existence.” Charlie’s quest for transcendence echoes every queer person’s struggle for dignity and respect.t www.a24films.com
Spielberg’s intimate family tale
by Gregg ShapiroAs personal and intimate as a Steven Spielberg movie gets, “The Fabelmans” (Universal/Amblin), co-scripted by Spielberg and gay writer Tony Kushner, arrived in theaters shortly after James Gray’s “Armageddon Time.” Both movies are about boys coming to terms with their artistic natures in families where such
creative exploration isn’t necessarily encouraged. Additionally, “The Fabelmans” and “Armageddon Time” also address social issues, such as late 20th-century anti-semitism.
Surprisingly, “The Fabelmans” and “Armageddon Time” have even more in common. The lead actresses in both movies, Michelle Williams (who gives an Oscar-worthy performance as matriarch Mitzi in “The Fabelmans”)
and Anne Hathaway (whose performance in “Armageddon Time” isn’t as strong as Williams’) are both what they refer to in the old country as shiksas who happen to be married to Jewish men offscreen. Fortunately, someone was able to locate at least two Jewish actresses to play the bubbes: Jeannie Berlin as Hadassah in “The Fabelmans” and Tovah Feldshuh as Mickey in “Armageddon Time.”
“The Fabelmans” opens in January 1952 when anxious boy Sammy (Mateo Zoryon Francis-DeFord) is taken to see his first movie, “The Greatest Show on Earth,” by his parents Mitzi (Michelle Williams, assured an Oscar nomination) and Burt (a miscast Paul Dano). Mitzi, a talented pianist who lost her chance at the concert stage, and Burt, a repairman whose technical skills are greater than his job permits, assure Sammy that they will keep him safe. Of course, his fears were for naught, and he becomes obsessed with movies and filmmaking.
As young Sammy begins developing his skills behind the camera, often with the help of his kid sisters Reggie and Natalie, it’s a fascinating depiction of the way a person can become consumed by becoming a craftsperson.
But the happiness is short-lived when, with the birth of a fourth child, Burt needs to find better-paying work and accepts a job in Arizona. Close family friend Benny (a subdued Seth Rogen), who also works with Burt, follows the Fabelmans to the southwest.
Over time, it becomes obvious that Benny and Mitzi share a mutual attraction which, unbeknownst to
them, adolescent Sammy (Gabriel LaBelle), has witnessed.
Another series of events, including the death of Mitzi’s mother Tina (Robin Bartlett), a brief visit from Mitzi’s Uncle Boris (Judd Hirsch, destined for an Oscar nomination, despite chomping on every available piece of scenery), Mitzi’s psychological decline, and the family’s relocation to Northern California, all contribute to making Sammy into the person he is, in both good and bad ways.
On top of that, for the first time in his life, Sammy is faced with aggressive anti-semitism at the hands of school bully Chad (Oakes Fegley) and golden-boy jock Logan (Sam Rechner). Romantic interest from devout Christian classmate Monica (Chloe East) only serves to complicate matters. Nevertheless, the reception to the movies that Sammy creates with his scout troop gives him the kind of encouragement that he needs.
At least 30 minutes longer than it should be, and more than a little self-indulgent, “The Fabelmans” takes some unexpected turns, including a scene in which Sammy comes faceto-face with legendary director John Ford (David Lynch), his personal hero. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, and other times it’s an incredible and offensive annoyance in a scene that goes on at great length.
When all is said and done, “The Fabelmans” is worth seeing, but in terms of Spielberg’s canon, it’s no “Schindler’s List.” Rating: B-
‘White Lotus,’ white lies
by Victoria A. Brownworth“T he White Lotus” is everyone’s favorite guilty and super gay pleasure. The HBO comedy-drama anthology series follows guests and employees of the fictional White Lotus resort chain, where stuff happens. Season one is set in Hawaii, season two, is set in Sicily (Don’t worry, no spoilers!).
The series was supposed to be a limited six-partsand-done show but it was so massively popular that a second season was ordered and now it has just renewed as a continuing series, much to the delight of ourselves and an impressively gay audience. Oh, and it won ten Emmys, too.
As star Jennifer Coolidge tweeted, “Portia, these are some high-end gays!” accompanied by a photo of her character, Tanya McQuoid-Hunt, in full evening dress with four of the male cast members in the midst of the villa. (Portia is Tanya’s assistant, played by Haley Lu Richardson.)
“The White Lotus” likes putting Coolidge in the midst of a bunch of wealthy or pseudo-wealthy gay people as she dresses to the nines and tries to find her way to inner peace.
Did we mention that there are gay sex scenes? Yes. That, too. Plus there are so many perfect Tanya bon mots in this series. A fave? Coolidge saying, “Seppuku… I can relate.” It’s one of the best TV moments all year. You will find yourself saying it, too.
The cast includes Tom Hollander (yes!), Lukas Gage, F. Murray Abraham, Michael Imperioli, Theo James, Aubrey Plaza, Molly Shannon, Connie Britton, Murray Bartlett and more.
Can’t get together with family for the holidays? Don’t want to? Binge “The White Lotus.” We can’t wait for more seasons. In each of them, Coolidge should show up at the latest resort like a soignee Jessica Fletcher and let the murders begin.
‘Kindred’ spirits
FX’s “Kindred” is adapted from Octavia E. Butler’s critically acclaimed novel of the same name. It’s the latest TV series to focus on enslavement and Black trauma. But “Kindred” is not exploitative nor intent on achieving white guilt (although if you are white and the violent panoply of images of slavery doesn’t make you want to throw yourself into antiracist work, ponder that). Rather “Kindred” is a horror story about something acutely horrific.
Dana (Mallori Johnson), a young Black aspiring writer, discovers secrets about her family’s past when she finds herself mysteriously being pulled back and forth in time to a 19th-century plantation where she is a slave.
Dana is struggling to become a writer and to deal with the loss of her mother. She is adrift and unmoored when she meets Kevin (Michah Stock) who soon becomes her travel companion through time, which complicates things, as in the 19th
century Kevin is not Dana’s lover, but her owner.
The series’ focal point is Dana, and Johnson gives an astonishingly nuanced performance for a newbie actor. What we see in her and through her is how generational trauma is transmitted. And that’s a takeaway you won’t be able to leave behind.
“Kindred” is not easy viewing, but it’s compelling, well acted and carefully directed through the lens of a Black woman, Janicza Bravo (“Zola”). It’s also a supernatural suspense and mystery, but it’s also deeply provocative and well worth your time, and is streaming on FX and Hulu.
Fabulist, Grifter, Monster
I’m still reeling from the sudden death of my beloved wife, Maddy Gold from cardiac arrest related to her treatment for a rare, extremely aggressive cancer.
So when lesbian TV writer Elisabeth Finch came back into the news a few days ago, I really got in my feelings about cancer, about Finch and about that whole art-imitates-life trope.
A long-time devotée of “Grey’s Anatomy,” I had read Evgenia Peretz’s extraordinary two-part series in “Vanity Fair” on Finch, one of the show’s key writers. Finch had spent a decade writing for some top-tier shows, like “True Blood,” “The Vampire Diaries” and then “Grey’s Anatomy,” where she wrote 13 episodes and produced a phenomenal number; 172. Finch was moving toward being a major lesbian name in TV writing and producing.
Peretz detailed how Finch had spent a dozen years in television writing as a cancer patient with multiple other disabilities. The spoiler alert/plot twist is that all of those illnesses appeared to have been invented. Finch had also apparently lied about having a kidney transplant, part of a leg removed, about her brother committing suicide and about having been allowed by the FBI to scoop up body parts in the horrific Tree of Life Synagogue mass shooting.
In March, Finch was put on leave from ABC’s longest-running prime-
time series when her estranged wife, Jennifer Beyer, informed the show’s creator, Shonda Rhimes, that Finch was a pathological liar who had used some of Beyer’s own experiences as Finch’s own for her writing on the beloved series.
In fact, the rare bone cancer Finch claimed to have, chondrosarcoma, had been part of a major story arc on “Grey’s Anatomy,” written into a main plot line starring Debbie Allen by Finch herself, who was often deferred to as an expert on cancer because of all her experiences with the disease.
An investigation was launched into Finch. She refused to turn over her medical records or be examined by independent doctors. She decided to resign and the show ended its investigation. There have been no charges to date.
Then on December 8, in her first interview since this all went down, the former “Grey’s Anatomy” writer admitted she lied about having cancer and confirmed that she’s “never had any form of cancer.”
This is after a decade of talking about, writing about and documenting the disease she claimed to have. In a sorry-not-sorry explainer that sums up more than four hours of interviews, Finch said, “I know it’s absolutely wrong what I did … I lied and there’s no excuse for it. But there’s context for it. The best way I can explain it is when you experience a level of trauma a lot of people adopt a maladaptive coping mechanism.”
Finch was addicted to inventing tragic stories in which she starred.
By all reports, Finch led a seemingly charmed life growing up in the Philadelphia suburb of Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Her brother –very much alive– is a doctor who Vanity Fair reports wanted to talk to Finch’s doctors to try and ascertain what could be done to improve her chances.
Her mother wanted to fly out to Los Angeles to care for her. Staff and co-workers on “Grey’s” gave her perks and lots of support. All while Finch had shaved her head, taped a fake catheter to her arm, worn make-up that gave her skin a grey-green tinge and just lied and lied and lied, even inventing a pregnancy she had to “abort or die.”
Finch said, “What I did was wrong. Not okay. F***ed up. All the words.”
Now, Finch says not that she is sorry for how she abused the trust of everyone in her life, humiliated Rhimes and made Disney look bad for supporting her, but instead Finch said of the “Grey’s” writer’s room: “I really miss it. I miss my fellow writers. It’s like a family and … one of the things that makes it so hard is that they did rally around a false narrative that I gave.”
Yes, they did what people do around people with cancer; they tried to make Finch’s life easier. What does Finch want to do now? She wants to write for “The Handmaid’s Tale” which she says “would be a dream.”
Finch said, “I love what they’re doing in the world of redemption and what redemption looks like.”
I’m speechless; utterly, totally, gobsmackingly speechless.
Freed Brittney Brittney Griner is back in the United States and it’s a stupendous holiday gift to see her out of Russian captivity and home where she belongs. In my other role as news reporter, I have covered Griner’s story since her wrongful detention was first made public by Russia on March 5.
At times mine were the only stories in the news about her. I talked to the State Department every week, to her attorneys, to White House sources. I was interviewed by other media about her, and kept BG’s story alive when others had moved on.
My last story about her was a week before her release, in which I detailed the conditions in the notorious Mordovia penal colony where she was being held.
Watching President Biden and BG’s wife Cherelle speak from the White House –a scene shown on every network as breaking news– about the prisoner exchange that made it possible for Griner to come home was truly amazing. This was a Black lesbian who was the focal point of the nation. That was its own history.
It also signaled again that Biden is committed to LGBTQ people and our families, and to us being family. The State Department was always responsive to me over the 10 months I reported this story, as was the office of the White House press secretary. Maybe having out LGBTQ people in your administration really does matter.
And to Rep. Vicky Hartzler (RMO), whose tearful assertion that “real” marriage is only between a man and a woman, a rant she gave during the House debate over the Respect for Marriage Act: Cherelle Griner fought like mad for her wife to come home. Cherelle pushed Biden to meet with her. And she helped get her wife home. Hartzler may not approve, but the Griners marriage is as “real” as it gets.
Nice Noah’n you
Finally, if you missed Trevor Noah saying goodbye as he signed off “The Daily Show,” his tearjerking paean to Black women is included in this column’s online version. Amen.
So, for the surprising everyday villains, the joy of the season and anything that gets you through to New Year’s that doesn’t hurt anyone, including yourself, you really must stay tuned.t
Help Wanted Freelance Reporters
The Bay Area Reporter is seeking freelance reporters to write about the diversity of the LGBTQ community –in news, arts, and sports.
For News, this includes local government, LGBTQ and HIV/AIDS nonprofits, LGBTQ community newsmakers, and other matters of interest.
For Arts, we are looking to increase coverage of local arts events and local nightlife, each with an LGBTQ focus.
The B.A.R. also has an opening for a twice-monthly freelance sports columnist. The ideal candidate would focus in part on news leading up to the 2023 Gay Games in Hong Kong. Other issues include the ongoing fights over trans inclusion in sports nationally, and other topics of interest.
Women and people of color and others are strongly encouraged to apply. The B.A.R. is an equal opportunity employer.
For News and the sports columnist freelancers, send a resume and links to previously published articles to Cynthia Laird, News Editor, at c.laird@ebar.com.
For Arts freelancers, send a resume and online links to previously published articles to Jim Provenzano, Arts and Nightlife Editor, at jim@ebar.com
Kung Pao Kosher Comedy
by David-Elijah NahmodIt’s been 30 years since Lisa Geduldig presented the first Kung Pao Kosher Comedy, now an annual Bay Area tradition. The shows are inspired by the fact that Jews often choose to go to a Chinese restaurant on Christmas.
Geduldig, who also produces a monthly comedy show, came up with the idea of presenting comedy shows in a Chinese restaurant on Christmas.
Over the years the shows have grown in popularity as a bevy of legendary comics have graced the Kung Pao stages. People like Judy Gold, Elayne Boosler, David Brenner, Shelley Berman and Henny Youngman have kept Kung Pao audiences in stitches.
“I seriously thought when I came up with the idea and created the show in 1993 that it was going to be a one-off,” Geduldig said in an interview with the Bay Area Reporter. “But I knew the first night when we had a full house and turned away 200 people that I was on to something.”
For many years Kung Pao took place at New Asia Restaurant in Chinatown. But since that venue closed down during the pandemic, Geduldig had to find another place to stage the shows. This year Kung Pao happens in the Kung Pao Room at Congregation Sherith Israel, the progressive reform synagogue at 2266 California Street. Food will be provided by Angela Chou of Green Chow Down, who will offer their signature dish, Kung Pao chicken, or a vegetarian option, Kung Pao tofu, among other dishes.
Bay Area people who attend the shows virtually will be able to order from the menu for delivery.
Geduldig offered a little insight as to why the shows have been so successful.
“I think the secret is that I tapped into a need and gave Jews and others looking for something to do on Christmas a sense of belonging and community,” she said. “The show is always funny with a diverse line-up, and people feel like it’s their event. It’s given them a sense of community and belonging at a time when we often feel left out.”
This year’s line up will feature Mark Schiff, who tours with Jerry Seinfeld, Orion Levine, Geduldig herself, and Cathy Ladman, who has forged a career for herself appearing on sitcoms in addition to her stand-up career. Ladman told the B.A.R. that she enjoys both aspects of her career.
“I think I’m yearning more for acting right now because I haven’t done much of that lately,” she said.
“But I have to say that it comes down to the project, be it stand-up or acting. And then I’m doing my solo show too, ‘Does This Show Make Me Look Fat?’ which is about my recovery from anorexia. And yes, it’s funny, but it’s also pretty dark.”
Ladman also spoke of what inspires her comedy.
“Life, family, absurdity,” she said.
“Anything that I’m experiencing, what I’m going through at the moment. My next area is likely to be about my divorce. I’m in the middle of that now, after a 25-year marriage.”
Ladman’s comedy has been described as a “self-probing, anxiety venting vehicle for exposing personal neurosis.”
“I mostly talk about what I’m going through as opposed to what’s going on out there,” she said. “I’m a main character in my comedy.”
Mother’s Day
Geduldig’s 91-year-old mother Arline will also be appearing at Kung
Pao, albeit virtually from Florida. The elder Geduldig has become a popular staple of Lockdown Comedy, Geduldig’s monthly online shows.
Arline first got involved in her daughter’s shows during the pandemic when Lisa, who had gone to Florida for a two-week visit, ended up staying for 17 months due to the pandemic. Lisa wanted to keep her comedy act alive at a time when people could not gather, so she
Annual holiday tradition celebrates 30 years
since I largely talk about her. I never knew how funny she was, and living with her during the pandemic has been such a gift.”
Each year’s partial proceeds from the shows go to organizations that are near and dear to Geduldig’s heart. This year the beneficiaries are the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank and the Center For Reproductive Rights.
“Food insecurity is a dire issue,” Geduldig said. “So many people go without, even in a city like San Francisco where there is so much wealth. And reproductive rights are on the line.”
created the online shows from her mother’s guest bedroom. Noticing how funny her mother could be, Lisa asked Arline if she wanted to be part of the show. Arline was an immediate hit and became a staple of the shows, including Kung Pao. This year she’ll be appearing via pre-recorded video.
“It’s been a treat to have her on the shows,” said the younger Geduldig. “Having her sitting next to me while I am performing has been interesting,
Santa Skivvies 2022
The sun shone brightly in between weekend downpours, proving that the cloud gods shined on the annual holiday underwear fun run fundraiser for the SF AIDS Foundation, held December 11 in the Castro district. Noe Street at Market served as the gathering spot for an undies runway show, awards for the top fundraising participants, a drag show that sleighed. www.santaskivvies. donordrive.com
Enjoy more photos at facebook.com/lgbtsf.nightlife
And see more of Steven’s work at www.stevenunderhill.com
“I love doing ‘Kung Pao’ added Ladman. “I love the audiences and the time of year. It’s one of my favorite gigs, and I so love San Francisco. I’m really looking forward to it.”t
Kung Pao Kosher Comedy, December 23, 24, 25. Dinner 5pm, show 6pm. Congregation Sherith Israel, 2266 California St. Also on YouTube Live at 6pm. $30-$100. www.CityBoxOffice.com/KungPao www.koshercomedy.com/
“Flyover country. When you grow up knowing you’re from a place no one visits, your dreams settle for staying put, for doing the act you’ve been trained to do: make your money by destroying the world. Though you don’t see it that way, you’ve become a pawn in someone else’s story, a story of That’s the way it is, this is the way it has to be. The illogical violence wrought upon the prairie is propelled by powerful men destroying lives to line their own pocketbooks.”
Thus begins Taylor Brorby’s beautifully written new memoir, “Boys & Oil: Growing Up Gay in a Fractured Land.”
Taylor Brorby grew up in Center, North Dakota. The tiny town has a population of just 500 people, even today. Not so much as a traffic light was needed when he was growing up.
Nonetheless, there were plenty of outdoor activities to keep him busy. In vivid, cinematic descriptions, he recalls his active childhood and his love of hunting and flyfishing on the prairie.
Readers of “Boys & Oil” will relish his lyrical prose and brilliant descriptions of the land that to my knowledge have never been published to date. The book contains many astute observations about life on the grassy prairie, oceans of grasslands where early settlers sometime died if they lost their way with no landmarks to guide them, that may be completely new to most readers.
One such observation tells of the harshness of living on land that leaves all wildlife and humans completely vulnerable and exposed. Furthermore, he delves into the type of closed masculinity that develops in such extreme topography where the only acceptable expression of emotion is physical violence.
Beautiful depictions of nature, America the beautiful –even in the most remote places– allow the reader to behold this ancient land perhaps for the first time. Swamplands transformed by volcanic ash pressing into sedimentary rock, limestone,
and shale reshaped by glaciers over millions of years, this priceless land is our inheritance.
Primarily, though, this book is not about the fossil-fuel industry or the destruction it wreaks upon the land, although the landscape informs his story in this “gin-infused world.”
Instead, this is a memoir about the pain of growing up gay in small town America.
From a young age, Brorby was taunted due to his interest (and enormous talent) in art and music, considered girlish pursuits.
Brorby’s ticket out was education and the professional opportunities it opened up for him. He could now escape his “fossil-fuel heritage” and would not be confined to working in the coal industry. Truly, the chances are very slim he ever would have become an author had he not been gay. If not for his hometown’s rejection of sexuality, he may never have been compelled to discover his own literary talent.
He also writes about Medora, the popular resort town and home of the Cowboy Hall of Fame in the heart of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. With folk singers and beautiful horseback riding trails, ironically, it also happens to be “the gayest town in the West.”
There are occasional unexpected outbursts of violence in the memoir, and viciousness, even from family, such as from the aunt who cruelly outed him, destroying his relationship with his parents. In stark contrast, it was easy to come out to his beloved grandfathers, men from the greatest generation, a farmer and a coal miner who had forged their own way on the prairie.
Unconditionally, instinctually, these were men who knew how to discern what is important from what is irrelevant, and no matter what, they made it clear they would always love him.t
