Pope changes tone
13
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ARTS
10
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'Oscar' as opera
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Serving the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender communities since 1971
Vol. 43 • No. 31 • August 1-7, 2013
Campos runs for Assembly
Gay man leads DA’s homicide unit in SF
by Matthew S. Bajko
G
by Seth Hemmelgarn
S
an Francisco District Attorney George Gascón has selected an out gay man to head his office’s homicide unit. Assistant District Attorney Scot Clark, 50, who started in the position last month, said he’s “addicted to the feeling you get when you bring people some justice.” That’s what Clark Jane Philomen Cleland is aiming to do as he prosecutes Bernard ADA Scot Clark White Jr., 23, who’s charged with murder and numerous other counts in what’s currently one of the city’s most high profile cases. His arraignment was set for July 31. White’s accused of killing Lina Lim, 51, and Kinh Min, 35, July 12 in a shop at the GiftCenter and JewelryMart, 888 Brannan Street, where they worked. Both women had been shot and stabbed. White, of Antioch, also allegedly shot and stabbed the store’s owner, who was critically injured, and opened fire on responding police during the incident, which shut down traffic for several blocks in the South of Market neighborhood. According to the DA’s office, evidence includes digital images from surveillance systems at the shop and a neighboring taqueria. Asked about the biggest challenge in prosecuting the case, which Clark called “an exceptionally brutal crime,” he said, “Certainly, like all cases, it will have its challenges,” but “I don’t want to try the case in the media.” “It’s not a whodunit,” though, and prosecutors have video of “exceptional quality,” he said. Deputy Public Defender Steven Gayle, who’s representing White, didn’t respond to a request for comment. Gascón indicated Clark, who’s prosecuted 119 jury trials in his career, is up to the task. “Scot is a gifted trial lawyer who has locked up some of the city’s most dangerous killers,” Gascón said in a statement. “His commitment to holding violent offenders accountable has made San Francisco a safer place.” Clark oversees a unit with five other prosecutors, with the possibility of another being assigned soon. The section is handling about 50 cases. Among the homicides, there are at least four cases involving gay victims. See page 12 >>
Rick Gerharter
Bound from a light pole
E
dward and Priscilla (who declined to give their full names) took advantage of an available light pole to hold an an impromptu bondage demonstration at the annual Up Your Alley street fair, held Sunday, July 28 in the city’s South of Market
neighborhood. The fair attracted a mostly local crowd, and is the warm-up for the larger and more extravagant Folsom Street Fair that will hit SOMA Sunday, September 29. For more information, visit http://www.folsomstreetevents.org.
ay District 9 Supervisor David Campos this week became the first person to officially declare his candidacy for San Francisco’s state Assembly District 17 seat. Joined by his partner of 17 years, Phil Hwang, whom he plans to marry this fall, Campos filed his paperwork with the secretary of state’s office in Sacramento Wednesday, July 31. Rick Gerharter He will join with supporters in the Mission David Campos district Thursday, August 1, including youth for whom he helped secure free Muni passes, and ride a bus to City Hall to file with the city’s elections department. Campos’s decision to seek the Assembly See page 16 >>
Russian vodka boycott gains traction by David-Elijah Nahmod
C
oncerned about the new draconian law in Russia that bars “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations,” gay bars in San Francisco have joined their counterparts in other American cities and are dumping Russian vodka in protest. The move comes amid recent reports that some foreign visitors were detained in Russia in apparent violation of the law, and the awareness that next year’s Winter Olympics will take place in Sochi, Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the anti-gay propaganda law last month. The law includes stiff fines and jail time for Russian citizens who “propagate” homosexuality to minors. This could include hand-holding and other public displays of affection, and broadcasting positive news stories about LGBT people. Putin claims that he’s not homophobic, and that he considered it his duty to protect the rights of sexual minorities. Soon after, news reports began to surface of violent gay bashings across Russia, which included incidents in which teen boys were raped with beer bottles.h Some reports claimed that these attacks were taking place in public as police and onlookers nodded approvingly. On July 29, award-winning gay blogger Joe Jervis (Joe. My. God.) linked a story from BBC’s Russian language news service in which it was stated that the government could not
Danny Buskirk
Robbie Sweeny pours Russian vodka down the drain in a nod to a boycott he’s called in protest of the country’s harsh anti-gay law.
selectively enforce the new law. This was in response to a request by the International Olympic Committee that the Russian government guarantee the safety of all athletes and journalists who plan to attend the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014. It was reported last week that the IOC had received verbal assurances from the Russian
{ FIRST OF TWO SECTIONS }
government that foreigners would be exempt from the law. But this week, a Russian lawmaker said that Olympic athletes and tourists could indeed be arrested, according to a report from Gay Star News. While many across the globe expressed outrage at this turn of events, San Francisco See page 15 >>
<< Community News
2 • Bay Area Reporter • August 1-7, 2013
Man pleads not guilty in hate crime case
by Seth Hemmelgarn
A
man recently pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from an alleged attack on a bisexual man in San Mateo. Santos Manuel Marquez-Montiagudo, 36, of San Mateolearned of the man’s sexual orientation when he met up with the victim and the victim’s friend at a taqueria in the Peninsula city, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s office. When the three left the restaurant to drink someplace else, Marquez-Montiagudo told the victim not to walk with him because he didn’t want people to think that he was “gay” too, pros-
Read more on www.ebar.com
ecutors said in a summary of the July 20 incident.
The victim refused to leave, and he and Marquez-Montiagudo began to fight. The “defendant grabbed a U-lock from his bike and beat the victim, fracturing his skull, jaw, orbital, and rib,” according to the DA’s office. Marquez-Montiagudo pleaded not guilty Friday, July 26 to two assault-based charges, as well as battery. The charges carry a hate crime enhancement. MarquezMontiagudo is in custody on $1 million bail. A preliminary hearing is set for August 8. The county’s private defender program has been appointed to represent Marquez-Montiagudo. A call to that agency wasn’t returned Monday, July 29. t
Bay Area blacks cite issues at town hall
by James Patterson
I
CASTRO/ UPPER MARKET COMMUNITY BENEFIT DISTRICT Presents:
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Welcome To Castro Weekends On weekends the Castro will be “occupied” by successive community organizations. WORLD RAINBOW FUND August 24th & 25th rainbowfund.org
Schedule is growing! CHECK FOR UPDATED SCHEDULE:
*
Courtesy San Mateo Sheriff’s Department
Santos Manuel MarquezMontiagudo
t
www.castrocbd.org castrocbd visitthecastro The
ARTS &CULTURE The
n the aftermath of the Trayvon Martin slaying in Florida and shooter George Zimmerman’s recent acquittal on all charges, the biggest event at the Commonwealth Club this year drew more than 300 people who listened to nearly a dozen speakers from the Bay Area discuss the harsh realities of being black today, including racial profiling, violence, and fewer educational opportunities. The Commonwealth Club hosted the free town hall Monday, July 29 on the “Politics of Being Black in the Bay Area,” which Inforum director Caroline Morearity Sacks said was “one part of a larger conversation on race relations in the Bay Area and in our country.” Inforum is a division of the club geared to people in their 20s and 30s with a mission to inspire debate around civic issues. “All of us are still reeling from Florida and Trayvon Martin,” said Joseph Marshall, Ph.D., co-founder of Alive and Free consortium and emcee for the event. Marshall is also the executive director of the Omega Boys Club and vice president of the San Francisco Police Commission. Oakland civil rights attorney John Burris said the Zimmerman case was “rooted in racial profiling.” He said the case was “not tried well” and the “issues were not resolved.” Burris said racial profiling was an issue in the Bay Area. In Oakland, he said, police stop more African Americans than whites. He said laws and the criminal justice system were race-based and mentioned drug policy and the three-strikes law as they are used to incarcerate more blacks. The all-woman, mostly white jury in the Zimmerman trial “did not understand African Americans,” Burris said. He encouraged those in the audience to get to know one another and better race relations will result. Filmmaker Kevin Epps screened a brief clip from his Straight Outta Hunters Point, which examines educational and health issues in the community. He called problems in the community “deeper than Atlantis.” The Reverend Michael McBride, pastor at the Way Christian Center in Berkeley, began his remarks by reading from the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “Two Americas” speech from 1968. McBride called on the audience to heal, humanize, and organize around issues facing the African American community. He urged the
Jane Philomen Cleland
Berkeley pastor Michael McBride was one of several speakers at a town hall held by the Commonwealth Club’s Inforum division to talk about issues facing blacks in the Bay Area.
audience to see Fruitvale Station, the film based on the 2009 killing of Oscar Grant, an unarmed African American man, by a BART police officer. The audience applauded its approval. Marshall led a discussion with two San Francisco students, Demandre Harrison and Kanaja Hann, on their school experiences. They both described their experience as “tough and hard.” Harrison said he took AP classes as a senior in a classroom of sophomore Asians and whites, who laughed at him when he incorrectly answered class questions. He also said school officials “assumed” African American students used weed and carried guns while Asian students “had drugs” and seldom got in trouble. When Marshall asked the students why so many kids were “turned off to education” Harrison said education was not a priority in African American families. Openly gay Paul Henderson, deputy chief of staff for public safety in Mayor Ed Lee’s office, and Angela Glover Blackwell, CEO of PolicyLink, discussed race and public policy. They encouraged African American involvement in policies that affect them and to work with politicians and community leaders to make policies race neutral. Henderson urged people to reg-
ister to vote and to report for jury duty. Blackwell called the Zimmerman trial “an atrocity.” During questions, an African American man took the microphone and charged Lee with “running black people out of San Francisco.” He said, “Asians don’t like blacks.” In response, Blackwell said that gentrification and affordable housing were problems in the city. “The city is not maintaining affordability,” she said, “it should be on the policy agenda.” When an audience member questioned the city’s commitment to social justice for African Americans, McBride said, “The problems of San Francisco are not a result of the tea party, but a lack of commitment from progressives.” Cedric Jackson, of the San Francisco Black Leadership Forum, asked the speakers to address social injustice caused by economics and suggested several speakers work together to achieve social justice. Blackwell said San Francisco was a wealthy city and the community should “demand public dollars be spent to put people to work.” After the program ended, Jackson said he was not satisfied with Blackwell’s response to his question. He said he wants a better share of government resources directed to the African American community. t
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<<Community News
4 • Bay Area Reporter • August 1-7, 2013
t
Courtesy Joey Cain
Manning acquitted of most serious charge
G
ay Army private Bradley Manning was acquitted Tuesday of the most serious charge he faced, aiding the enemy, when a military judge read her verdicts in the weeks-long court-martial. Above, a group of Manning supporters held an action along First
Street in downtown San Francisco Friday, July 26 as closing arguments in Manning’s court-martial concluded. The judge, Army Colonel Denise Lind, did find Manning guilty of most of the other charges he faced for leaking classified government documents to WikiLeaks.
Icons and activists honored at Milk dinner
by James Patterson
T
rayvon Martin, Bradley Manning, Edward Snowden, Richard Nixon, Lyndon Johnson, President Barack Obama, Jazzie Collins, and the San Francisco Pride board of directors were mentioned or called out by speakers during the recent 37th annual Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club dinner and gayla. Gay Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco) got some of the biggest reaction of the evening when he demanded to know, “Where is the mayor?” He called on Mayor Ed Lee to “preserve City College.” City College Trustee Rafael Mandelman, one of the school’s two gay board members, called on those in attendance to “fight for City College.” The keynote speaker at the July 24 dinner at Roccapulco was Lieutenant Dan Choi, a gay West Point graduate and Iraq veteran, who called on Milk club officers to make sacrifices, such as being arrested for acts of civil disobedience. An outspoken Manning supporter, Choi denounced the San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration Committee for not honoring the gay Army private, who confessed to releasing 750,000 classified government documents to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks in 2009. The audience gave Choi loud and long applause. (The Pride board had rescinded a grand marshal honor for Manning earlier this year.) To a standing ovation Pentagon Papers leaker Daniel Ellsberg, wearing a pink feather boa gifted by LGBT activist and Manning supporter Joey Cain, accepted the club’s In His Footsteps Award on behalf of Manning, who on Tuesday was acquitted of the most serious charge, aiding the enemy, but convicted on most of the other charges against him. Calling Manning a “patriot” and a “hero,” Ellsberg, 82, said since a Democratic club was honoring Manning, it “almost makes me proud to be a Democrat again.” He said most Democrats practiced “cowardice” and “passivity” regarding Manning. “President Obama, a Democrat, kept Manning in isolation 10 and a half months,” Ellsberg said. Audience members shouted “torture.” “It was cruel and inhumane,” Ellsberg said. “Shame on Democrats.”
James Patterson
Entertainment at the Milk club dinner included the group Daddies Plastik, with, from left, Persia, San Cha, Tyler Holmes, and Vainheim. They performed their Internet sensation, “Google Google Apps Apps.”
Ellsberg also commented on Snowden, a fugitive former intelligence analyst who is holed up in a Moscow airport. He is wanted by the U.S. government for allegedly disclosing broad National Security Agency intelligence-gathering on private citizens. “Snowden is not a fugitive from justice, he is a fugitive from injustice,” Ellsberg said. Manning’s court-martial isn’t justice, Ellsberg said. “It is a mockery of justice.” He reminded the audience that [President] Nixon wanted him imprisoned for life for releasing the Pentagon Papers. His case was thrown out, he said, due to government interference in his trial. “I’d give almost anything if Bradley Manning were here tonight to get this award,” Ellsberg said, ruefully. He said he was unhappy for what Manning likely will face. Ellsberg said society’s idea about masculinity must change and he hoped Manning’s sexuality will help bring about such change. He suggested President Lyndon Johnson escalated the war in Vietnam because he didn’t want to be seen as a “weak” man. “For this, 58,000 Americans and millions of Vietnamese were killed,” Ellsberg said. “The world’s idea about masculinity must change.” “Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden are patriots and humanitarians,” Ellsberg said at the close of his comments. The audience gave him another long standing ovation.
The Bradley Manning Flashmob, a seven-member group including gay veteran John Caldera in black leather pants, took the stage and performed an interpretative movement to music that ended with the message, “Free Bradley Manning.” Among other awards presented, Alicia Garza, executive director of People Organized to Win Employment Rights, received the Hank Wilson Activist Award. Accepting for Garza, POWER member Beatriz Herrera invoked the memory of Martin, the slain Florida teenager, in her remarks. “Black lives matter. Mourn the dead, but fight like hell for the living,” Herrera said. San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi, a Milk club member for whom the annual dinner is a “tradition,” gave a passionate acceptance speech for progressive former Sheriff Mike Hennessey, who was honored but unable to attend. Mirkarimi said Hennessey served San Francisco for 32 years as sheriff and took leadership in providing condoms to inmates in the 1980s and took other progressive steps to fight HIV/AIDS, offer rehabilitation services, and hire LGBT officers. Transgender activists Felicia “Flames” Elizondo, the Bayard Rustin Civil Rights Award winner who described herself as a “diva, icon and survivor”, and Past Milk club president and union activist Gabriel Haaland remembered trans activist Jazzie Collins, who died last month. Haaland said Collins was a “fierce and tenderhearted woman” who “was surrounded by loving friends” as she transitioned. “I was proud she was my sister,” Haaland said. Milk club President Tom Temprano told the Bay Area Reporter that the club held its dinner at the Mission nightclub – rather than a hotel ballroom – in an effort to stand in solidarity with Latino businesses in the neighborhood. “A large number of Latino-owned businesses are being displaced in the Mission,” he noted. The club also used caterers from La Cocina, a kitchen incubator project for low-income women. The changes seemed to have paid off. Temprano said that almost 300 people attended the dinner, making it one of the largest club galas in recent years. The money raised will help the club in its activities during the all-important 2014 elections, he added.t
t
Community News>>
August 1-7, 2013 • Bay Area Reporter • 5
City ponders future of health care by Seth Hemmelgarn
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he coming implementation of national health care reform is sparking some concern about what will happen with the coverage San Francisco already provides for thousands of people. But according to at least one city official, there shouldn’t be a problem. At a recent hearing of the Board of Supervisors Neighborhood Services and Safety Committee, Deputy City Attorney John Givner said the Affordable Care Act “includes some language that says it does not preempt local laws” such as the health care security ordinance, and that the ordinance actually complements the national law. The city’s health care security ordinance, enacted several years ago, has two main components – Healthy San Francisco, the city’s locally designed and funded universal health care program, and the employer spending program. Through the program, any business with 20 or more employees nationwide who work at least eight hours a week has to pay in to health care funds. The national law, which goes into effect October 1, is less stringent. A requirement that’s been delayed would apply to businesses with 50 or more employees who work at least 30 hours a week. The Golden Gate Restaurant Association, which has opposed local health care mandates, and, despite Givner’s assurance, appears to be doubtful that Healthy San Francisco can remain. Asked whether it was his understanding that the Affordable Care Act would not trump Healthy San Francisco, GGRA Executive Director Rob Black said, “The way you’re asking the question is a very vague one,” and he asked, “You don’t think federal law supersedes local law?” Reminded that the city attorney’s staffer indicated it doesn’t, Black said, “I haven’t seen anything in writing from the city attorney’s office,” and Givner “did not say federal law does not pre-empt local law. ... I’m not sure I agree with the characterization you’re making.” Supervisor David Campos, who lead the Thursday, July 25 committee hearing, said in an interview that his support of the local ordinance remains strong. “I think that we want to make it clear that we need the health care safety ordinance, that as San Fran-
Rick Gerharter
Health Director Barbara Garcia will lead the city’s Universal Health Care Council.
ciscans we should be very proud of what the ordinance has meant” to those who are “covered because of it, including members of the LGBT community. And we’re not going to let anyone take it away,” said Campos. Steven Porter, the general manager of Harvey’s, the longtime Castro neighborhood restaurant and bar, also hopes the local ordinance remains in place. It’s Porter’s understanding that the local ordinance can remain in place regardless of what happens with the federal law. “We’re still going to be bound by the laws of the city, which are going to supersede whatever the federal requirements are,” he said. “... The city has been way ahead of the federal government on this entire issue, and I just think it’s fantastic we’re able to offer health care to our employees at virtually no expense to them.” Porter said “most if not all” businesses in the city offer either a Health Maintenance Organization, which involves paying premiums, or Healthy San Francisco. Using the nickname for the federal law, he said, “We already satisfy the Obamacare employer mandate, so, in our discussions, we’ve pretty much foreseen that we’re going to continue to do things the way we’ve been doing them since the health care security ordinance passed in the city” several years ago. “We feel like Healthy San Francisco is a pretty good thing for people that don’t necessarily need portable health care and that don’t have chronic medical conditions,” said Porter. Harvey’s employs 32 people and last year spent $55,000 on health
Alleged Pink Saturday face kicker pleads not guilty by Seth Hemmelgarn The man suspected of kicking a robbery victim in the face just after this year’s Pink Saturday event in the Castro has pleaded not guilty to several charges stemming from the incident. Christopher Porter-Bailey, 23, of Oakland, was taken into custody Friday, July 26, the San Francisco Police Department announced Wednesday, July 31. According to police, a group of suspects robbed the victim, a 28-year-old San Francisco woman, of her purse, which contained her cellphone. At least two of the robbers knocked her to the pavement. “After she was down, one suspect kicked her in the head so violently that she lost consciousness,” police stated. Days after the attack, the released video footage of the incident quickly went viral. Police said the attack took place at 1:50 a.m. June 30. According to testimony that came during a San
Francisco Superior Court preliminary hearing for people who had been with Porter-Bailey, the incident occurred outside the Mint karaoke lounge, 1942 Market Street. Investigators with the SFPD’s Mission Station “quickly initiated an investigation, which led to the identity of the suspect,” and with the Oakland Police Department’s help, “Porter-Bailey was arrested and returned to San Francisco,” police stated. Porter-Bailey, who’s in custody, pleaded not guilty Monday, July 29 to felony charges of second-degree robbery and assault. Both counts carry an allegation of causing great bodily injury. He was also charged with battery with serious bodily injury, according to Alex Bastian, a spokesman for the district attorney’s office. Porter-Bailey’s next court date is August 9. Information on the attorney who’s representing PorterBailey wasn’t immediately made See page 17 >>
care costs. Eighty percent of the workers chose Healthy San Francisco, while 20 percent opted for Kaiser Permanente. Harvey’s is part of the GGRA, and Porter said, “We do not support their view” of the health care security act. He declined to elaborate. Black maintains that his organization supports workers. “The issues we’re talking about are very complex,” he said. “Our first priority is to ensure our workers are able to access the full benefits and subsidies under the Affordable Care Act.” Asked if he thought the health care security ordinance needs to be changed or done away with, Black said, “We’re looking forward to the mayor’s reconstitution of the universal health care council to address where we see there may be some areas where the two laws need to be better coordinated. ... We are concerned that certain aspects of the local ordinance could limit an individual’s ability to get subsidized care on the exchange. We want to make sure that doesn’t happen.” Black was referring to Mayor Ed Lee re-launching the city’s Universal Health Care Council, which is to provide recommendations on implementing the federal law and “ensure access to quality health care for San Francisco’s uninsured residents,” a statement from Lee’s office last week said. Lee appointed Department of Public Health Director Barbara Garcia to lead the council. “Implementing the Affordable Care Act is a top priority for San Francisco,” Lee stated. City officials “need to provide guidance to our local businesses about how the ACA integrates with our local policy – namely the health care security ordinance.” In Lee’s statement, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San
Francisco) said, “San Francisco’s leadership in health care is a model for cities across the country. Our city led the way toward universal access to quality care starting in 2008. Moving forward, San Francisco will again lead the charge to ensure health care remains a right, not a privilege, for all Americans – and to make the Affordable Care Act a clear victory for America’s patients, workers, and middle class.” Campos expects to have another hearing in September. That meeting will focus on enrolling in coverage through the Affordable Care Act. A date hasn’t been set.
retaining an outside contractor” or provider to start offering services for transgender people. Implementation of the program could take 18 months to two years. During that time, the city would look at developing the capability to provide care “in house.” That could mean SF General or another city facility training medical personnel in “current state-of-theart procedures,” cultural aspects, and other areas “to make sure that when transgender people are treated in those facilities, they have the best treatment, the best care available.”
Transgender concerns
Earlier this week, the San Francisco HIV Health Care Reform Task Force released a set of recommendations to ensure the safe transition of residents living with HIV “into a broader system of care as the Affordable Care Act is implemented in 2014 and beyond,” the panel said in a news release. “Health care reform will result in better access to care for many people – including those with HIV. But it also includes major changes to the way HIV-related medical care and support services will be funded and delivered,” stated Mike Smith, executive director of AIDS Emergency Fund and president of the HIV/AIDS Provider Network. “Our recommendations call for a transition plan that minimizes disruption in client care and establishes a comprehensive system of care that meets the needs of all people living with HIV in San Francisco.” The goals of the recommendations include promoting “successful community-based interventions aimed at outreach, testing, and linkage to care” and reducing “barriers to timely engagement in quality, affordable, and patient-centered care,” the group stated.t
Theresa Sparks, executive director of the city’s Human Rights Commission, said she and others have been working with the health department to ensure universal coverage for transgender people “over and above just city employees.” Sparks, a transgender woman, said that she’s been assured that transgender health care “will continue going forward.” Sparks foresees a “transgender center of excellence” at San Francisco General Hospital, UCSF, or another hospital. Such a program would ensure that transgender people could get affordable care, regardless of whether Healthy San Francisco or the Affordable Care Act is in place. The national law doesn’t include transgender care. Planning committees are under way, said Sparks, and UCSF already has “an excellent program that is doing consulting around the country. They’re working with the San Francisco health department to try to come up with a program that works side by side with UCSF.” Sparks and others are hoping part of the new center will be rolled out this year, “possibly in the form of
HIV panel recommendations
<< Open Forum
6 • Bay Area Reporter • August 1-7, 2013
Volume 43, Number 31 August 1-7, 2013 www.ebar.com PUBLISHER Michael M. Yamashita Thomas E. Horn, Publisher Emeritus (2013) Publisher (2003 – 2013) Bob Ross, Founder (1971 – 2003) NEWS EDITOR Cynthia Laird ARTS EDITOR Roberto Friedman ASSISTANT EDITORS Matthew S. Bajko Seth Hemmelgarn Jim Provenzano CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Dan Aiello • Tavo Amador • Erin Blackwell Roger Brigham • Scott Brogan Victoria A. Brownworth • Philip Campbell Heather Cassell • Chuck Colbert Richard Dodds • David Duran Raymond Flournoy • David Guarino Peter Hernandez • Liz Highleyman Brandon Judell • John F. Karr Matthew Kennedy • David Lamble Michael McDonagh • David-Elijah Nahmod Elliot Owen• Paul Parish • James Patterson Lois Pearlman • Tim Pfaff • Jim Piechota Bob Roehr • Philip Ruth • Donna Sachet Adam Sandel • Jason Serinus • Gregg Shapiro Gwendolyn Smith • Ed Walsh • Sura Wood ART DIRECTION T. Scott King ONLINE PRODUCTION Jay Cribas PHOTOGRAPHERS Danny Buskirk • Jane Philomen Cleland Rick Gerharter • Lydia Gonzales Rudy K. Lawidjaja • Steven Underhill Bill Wilson ILLUSTRATORS & CARTOONISTS Paul Berge Christine Smith ADVERTISING/ADMINISTRATION Colleen Small ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Scott Wazlowski – 415.861.5019 NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE Rivendell Media – 212.242.6863
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From Russia, with hate
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everal gay bars in San Francisco and other cities have started tossing Russian vodka to protest the country’s harsh antigay propaganda law. Under the new law it is now illegal, among other things, for LGBT people to display affection publicly; to send positive messages about LGBT people on social media sites; to broadcast positive news stories about LGBTs; to equate gay and straight relationships; and wear or display the rainbow flag or any other symbol of LGBT equality. Russian President Vladimir Putin, facing tough economic times at home, has decided it’s better to unite homophobes in his country over their shared hatred of LGBT folks by using this new national law as an outlet. In the last few weeks, reports have surfaced about foreign LGBT visitors being detained and Russian LGBTs being beaten. Make no mistake, this is a severe law with severe consequences. And it went into effect just months before Russia will take the world stage by hosting the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Needless to say, the law could very well impact LGBT Olympians, foreign LGBTs visiting Russia to watch the games, and of course LGBT Russians themselves. Short of boycotting the games, which would be disastrous and serve no real purpose, the U.S. government and U.S. corporations that sponsor the Olympics can do several things to bring attention to this draconian law and put Putin on notice that the U.S. will protest its enforcement during the Olympics – for everyone, not just the athletes. And while the dump Russian vodka movement may not make much of a dent in the bottom line of liquor companies, in less than a week it has garnered national media attention, which in itself is a victory in that the coverage has made more people aware of the anti-gay propaganda law. The burst of activity last week came on several fronts. First, the SPI Group, which owns the Stolichnaya vodka brand, issued an open letter to the LGBT community July 25 in which CEO Val Mendeleev said that Stoli “firmly opposes” the “dreadful” actions taken by the Russian government and that the company “has always been, and continues to be a fervent supporter and friend to the LGBT community.” Interestingly, had the letter come from Russia rather than Luxembourg, it probably would have violated the anti-gay propaganda law. In fact, Mendeleev noted
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To add to the confusion, there were reports this week that a Russian lawmaker said the new law would be enforced and that gay athletes and visitors could be arrested. Vitaly Milonov, co-sponsor of the non-traditional relationships bill, said the government cannot decide when to selectively enforce the law, Gay Star News reported. The IOC must demand answers from the Russian government now. Broadcast giant NBCUniversal is also being urged to use its considerable clout to make a difference for LGBT people in Russia and visitors to the games. HRC sent a letter to CEO Stephen Burke last week outlining the situation. The company, HRC President Chad Griffin pointed out, “has a unique opportunity – and a responsibility – to expose this inhumane and unjust law to the millions of American viewers who will tune in to watch the games.” If NBC’s past coverage of the Olympics is any guide, there will be plenty of features on (mostly) American athletes. But the company must do more, and highlight the homophobic law that could threaten some of those very athletes. The law should also be mentioned on air during the opening ceremonies, which generally draws heavy viewership. It’s not just the Olympics, however, that people need to be concerned about. LGBTs must be warned of the new law, lest they visit the country and end up in jail for holding hands in Red Square. While homosexuality isn’t illegal in Russia, talking about it is.t
Women’s health research to start soon by Mickey Eliason
Bay Area Reporter
that Stoli’s production process involves both Russia and Latvia, and the Russian government has no ownership interest or control over the brand. While that may be the case, Stoli vodka is probably the best known Russian vodka and one that many bars stock. If SPI Group really likes LGBTs so much, Mendeleev should contact the Russian government and press for the law to be repealed. That might help send a message to Putin. Regarding the upcoming Olympics. There are two players here, the International Olympic Committee and NBCUniversal, which broadcasts the games in the U.S. Last week the IOC reportedly issued a statement saying that it had received verbal assurances from the highest level of the Russian government that the anti-gay propaganda law will not affect those attending or taking part in the games. That’s not good enough. The IOC must obtain an ironclad, written agreement from Putin concerning visitors and participants to the Olympics. And even then, the IOC must educate athletes and visitors about the new law and possible consequences. More importantly, as the Human Rights Campaign pointed out, the IOC must advocate for the safety of all LGBT people in Russia, not just those visiting for the Olympics. Foreigners found in violation of the law could face fines, up to 14 days in jail, and deportation.
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ederal research funding has virtually ignored sexual minority women since the government got in the business of granting money for research. Most federal dollars for LGBT health have gone to HIV/AIDS research focusing on men who have sex with men, with only a smattering of funding for any other health topic. In 2012, this fact was brought up in a White House conference on LGBT health, and the secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, almost immediately made an appropriation to the Office on Women’s Health to fund a call for proposals to study “healthy weight” in lesbian and bisexual women. Some of us who are longtime health advocates in lesbian/bisexual women’s communities were disappointed about the focus on weight in this first-ever call for projects on lesbian/bisexual women. Nevertheless, we could not pass up the chance to develop health programming for sexual minority women. We have long known that lesbian and bisexual women suffer disproportionately from some types of health problems and have difficulties accessing quality, non-discriminatory health care. Older women also face the challenges of aging as well as the stresses of sexism and homophobia – and often racism, classism, ableism, and a host of other intersecting oppressions on top of that. So we proposed Doing It For Ourselves, a
12-week health education and support program that focuses broadly on physical, mental, and community health and wellness for the target population specified by the Office on Women’s Health: lesbian and bisexual women 40 and over who are at risk for weight-related health problems. Some biomedical research has shown that health problems are a bit more common in women who have a body mass index (BMI) over 27, so the grant targets this population. However, Doing It For Ourselves is about nutrition (not dieting), physical activity, group support, stress reduction, food justice issues, and many other topics, and is based on a “health at every size, shape, and ability level” model. We got a great deal of valuable input from a community advisory board and four focus groups on what the content and format of the program should be. Some key feedback included the importance of a focus on wellness and quality of life rather than weight loss, and the value of being taught by peers and of peer support for achieving health-related goals. Groups will begin to form in September and will be held at the LGBT Community Center in San Francisco, an East Bay location, and Oakmont retirement community in Santa Rosa, which has a large LGBT population. We will be offering the groups for the next year at no cost, and will provide participants with gift cards for filling out several research questionnaires. Doing It For Ourselves is a community-driven, peer-led group. If it proves effective, we hope to distribute it widely
across the country via our website and training materials for others who wish to facilitate or join the group. Doing It For Ourselves is one of five projects funded by the Office on Women’s Health. Lyon-Martin Health Services will also run a group program, Women’s Health and Mindfulness, led by a health care professional and using a more clinic-based approach. Other projects were funded in New York City, Washington, D.C., and St. Louis. Doing It For Ourselves is a collaboration between myself, the Berkeley Policy Associates evaluation firm in Oakland, and the LGBT Community Center. If you are interested in learning more about the program, please contact Deborah Craig (deborah@bpacal.com or 510-717-3382), Mickey Eliason (meliason@sfsu.edu), or view our website http://www.lavenderhealth.org/ difo/. Another way to learn about our program – and to have fun and connect with lesbian and bisexual women aged 40 and older – is to come to our kickoff event at the LGBT Community Center Saturday, August 3, from 2 to 6 p.m. for games, activities, discussion, information, and a dance from 3:30 to 6 – all tailored for 40plus women. We hope for this to be the first of many events for older Bay Area lesbian and bisexual women in the of any size, shape, or ability level, because we believe that good health should be fun and that healthy communities will translate into more healthy individuals.t Mickey Eliason is an associate professor in the Health Education Department of San Francisco State University.
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Politics >>
August 1-7, 2013 • Bay Area Reporter • 7
Ideas vary for housing LGBT homeless in SF by Matthew S. Bajko
W
hile a site or building to provide dedicated housing to LGBT homeless adults in San Francisco remains an elusive goal for city officials and housing advocates, there are a variety of other ideas local leaders are pursuing to address rising rates of homelessness in San Francisco’s LGBT community. At the urging of AIDS Housing Alliance founder Brian Basinger, the city will host its first LGBT-focused Project Homeless Connect sometime in October. Started by former Mayor Gavin Newsom in order to bring services for the homeless into one location on a regular basis, the program is hosting its 50th event this month on August 14. “I expect a lot of our city’s leadership will want to attend to publicly show their support and begin to make up for the historic underinvestment in LGBT housing and homeless issues,” said Basinger, who oversees four LGBT homeless programs grouped under the umbrella of the Q Foundation. Bevan Dufty, a gay man who is director of Housing Opportunity, Partnerships and Engagement for Mayor Ed Lee, told the Bay Area Reporter this week that he and Health Department Director Barbara Garcia, an out lesbian, would bring the city program to a site somewhere in the Mission or Castro neighborhoods in the hope of encouraging LGBT homeless people to attend. “We will of course let anyone come and access services, but I am really excited about this,” said Dufty. “We will really try to draw out this population. We have been seeing LGBT people at Project Homeless Connect, but it is not in the proportions that the homeless count report suggests.” As noted in a B.A.R. story last week, the biennial San Francisco Homeless Point-In-Time Count and Survey released in June found that out of a total of 7,350 homeless people, more than one in four (29 percent) identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual or “other” for a total of 2,132. It was the first time the report included statistics on LGBT people. Based on the report’s findings and estimates that at least 94,234 LGBT people live in San Francisco, LGBT housing activists estimate that 2.3 percent are homeless. Yet Dufty said he does not see those numbers reflected at Project Homeless Connect. “I work the Project Homeless Connect events and I don’t see the numbers there that we see in the homeless count,” said Dufty. Basinger told the B.A.R. that he hopes to see “a substantial outreach campaign” about the event so those in need of services know to attend “so that our leaders have a real sense of the enormity of the issue.” Following on the heels of the homeless count findings and an upcoming vote to open the city’s first LGBT dedicated homeless shelter, 2013 is shaping up to be “the year for LGBT housing and homelessness issues,” said Basinger. Asked about housing advocates’ criticisms, though, that the city has not done enough to address homelessness within the LGBT community, Dufty did not dispute their critiques. “I absolutely agree we should be doing more,” he said. He did point to his involvement in pushing forward the LGBT homeless shelter, which has lagged for several years due to permitting and fiscal issues, as one success he has achieved since becoming the city’s homelessness czar. And he noted the city’s continued
Jane Philomen Cleland
AIDS Housing Alliance founder Brian Basinger
financial support for projects aimed at housing youth, including LGBT youth, overseen by service providers such as Larkin Street Youth Services and Community Housing Partnership. [See related stories on pages 8-9.] City Hall is cognizant of the housing needs LGBT people of all ages face in San Francisco, said Dufty. “A part of the dynamic is we have had successive real estate booms that have displaced people who relied upon rentcontrolled housing and seniors who do not have social safety nets because in coming out they often lost family assets or lost a partner to the (AIDS) epidemic,” said Dufty. “I definitely think the homeless count has given a laser focus to the need to do things differently. We are very committed to that.” One idea that the AIDS Housing Alliance has been piloting this year is a program that has brought together eight organizations that serve LGBT clients with housing needs to make it easier for people to find assistance. For those people who have been accepted for a housing placement but are waiting to move in, the program provides one week of emergency hotel vouchers. “What this does is stabilizes people’s housing situation so they don’t lose out on an opportunity because of a crisis,” explained Basinger. “I don’t want people to be focusing on where I spend the night. Instead, I want them focusing on ensuring that housing opportunity comes through for them.” Within the first three months of the pilot phase for the Q:HPRP Collaborative, which stands for Queer Homeless Prevention Rapid Re-Housing Program, 71 people have found emergency shelter, an average of 10 homeless LGBT people per week. Basinger used $280,000 in city funding to help cover the costs of the program. He is applying for $560,000 from the Mayor’s Office of Housing to continue it and expand the services offered. Dufty said he is looking at the project as something that can be modeled citywide. “People should not have to walk through so many doors to secure permanent housing,” he said. One goal that has remained elusive since Dufty served on the Board of Supervisors has been securing a property in the Castro or upper Market corridor for an affordable housing project aimed at LGBT people. One goal that has remained elusive since Dufty served on the Board of Supervisors has been securing a property in the Castro or upper Market corridor for an affordable housing project aimed at LGBT people. (The proposal is separate from the planned affordable housing for LGBT seniors that Openhouse is building at the 55 Laguna development near the LGBT Community Center.) Housing costs in the area and an
unwillingness of property owners to sell their land to the city have hampered those efforts. “I am still interjecting into dialogues about sites like the old Blockbuster store and other sites” in the area, said Dufty, referring to the Church Street building the video-rental store abandoned a while ago. “We just have to be opportunistic.” Efforts to find an available property in the Mission have also, so far, been unsuccessful, said gay District 9 Supervisor David Campos. “We want to make sure we choose the right property so there isn’t any unforeseen delay as can sometimes occur,” said Campos, pointing to the delays in opening the LGBT shelter in his district. “In terms of finding something available in this hot real estate market, that can also be a challenge.” Asked for ideas on what the city could do to create more housing opportunities for LGBT people, longtime queer housing rights advocate Tommi Avicolli Mecca suggested more LGBTspecific outreach programs are needed as well as the formation of an LGBT land trust that would serve as a bank, so to speak, for properties to prevent tenants from being evicted. He also said that the city’s shelter system needs to become LGBT-friendly, “which it is not right now, and develop a program to transition LGBT folks out of shelters and into permanently affordable housing.” Basinger would like to see City Hall come up with a plan by the end of the year on how to reduce homelessness among LGBT people and people living with HIV and AIDS by 50 percent. “I am still waiting to hear a clear, articulated plan of action from our city officials and department heads that includes outcomes, milestones and accountability,” said Basinger. “Ultimately, the community is responsible for getting it. But this also goes to the mayor. You cannot have such disproportionate rates of homelessness without having the mayor take responsibility and exercise leadership in mobilizing the necessary resources to address the LGBT housing crisis.” Dufty countered that the city has been investing additional dollars to address various issues with its homeless services. He pointed to a $1 million set aside last year to work on improving the city’s shelter system, including making them safer and more inviting to LGBT people, and efforts this year to improve the city’s public housing agency. “We need public housing to be a better tool for ending homelessness, and that is relevant to LGBT individuals,” argued Dufty. One idea he is working on is similar to one proposed by advocates, which would see a Castro-based service center for the homeless or those at-risk of losing their housing open inside a storefront in the neighborhood. City leaders “are exploring different options” to address LGBT homelessness, said Campos, who has been hosting ad hoc meetings over the last year on the issue. “I think the advocates have a point,” he said. “I think we need to have a more focused approach.” He added that he has contemplated forming a specific task force to address the issue but remains unsure if that is the right approach. “Maybe a task force is the way to go,” said Campos. “I would like to have more discussions on that and get a sense of what the community feels. If things can be done right away and we don’t need the work of a task force, I would like to pursue those.” Anyone interested in volunteering their services or having their agency take part in the LGBT-focused Project Homeless Connect in October should email Dufty at bevan.dufty@sfgov. org.t
<< Community News
8 • Bay Area Reporter • August 1-7, 2013
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Rick Gerharter
Sherilyn Adams, executive director of Larkin Street Youth Services, stood in front of 3155 Scott Street, the site for proposed transitional youth housing, two years ago when the project was first proposed. Work on the former tourist hotel is expected to start this fall.
Foster youth housing in SF to soon open by Matthew S. Bajko
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ebar.com
rojects aimed at providing stable housing for youth aging out of the foster care system, many of whom are LGBT, are moving forward in San Francisco. City leaders and Sam Patel, the owner of a property south of Market Street, have reached a deal where the nonprofit Community Housing Partnership will lease the site to develop a housing development for transitional age youth, or TAY for short. The building at 374 5th Street, at the corner of Harrison, will be turned into 44 units of TAY housing,
typically set aside for foster youth age 18 to 24, or those youth at risk of homelessness. District 6 Supervisor Jane Kim and board President David Chiu, who represents District 3, helped secure $700,000 in city funds during the recent budget negotiations to cover the annual costs to operate the housing and provide the youth with supportive services. The agency expects to take possession of the building in September and by late October or early November begin moving in tenants. “It is a small project so renting it up and having it fully occupied should not take a large amount of time. We should be able to have the property fully rented up in four to six weeks,” said Community Housing Partnership Executive Director Gail Gilman. The agency also has plans in early 2014 to convert a 2,800 square foot commercial space at the site into a training and development center for its workforce programs for youth. Next month it will kick off a capital campaign to raise the $150,000 it estimates it will need for the build out. “We envision as part of the campaign possibly selling the naming rights either to the center or a computer lab,” said Gilman, adding that the naming rights for the TAY housing could also be part of the fundraising effort. Bevan Dufty, director of Housing Opportunity, Partnerships and Engagement for Mayor Ed Lee, helped bring the parties together on the project. “The job training center in the building, I think, is going to be a real game changer for young people,” said Dufty. While he applauded the swift speed in which a deal was reached, Dufty acknowledged that “we need much more” TAY housing in the city in order to reach a goal laid out during former Mayor Gavin Newsom’s administration to house 400 homeless youth by 2015. “The mayor is very committed to expanding housing for TAY youth,” Dufty told the Bay Area Reporter in an interview this week. San Francisco Youth Commissioner Mia Tu Mutch hailed the city funding for the 5th and Harrison TAY project in an email CHP sent out in early July. “As a queer and trans young person who has experienced homelessness, I continue to be concerned about where homeless queer youth can be safe when drop-in centers are being defunded and loitering on the sidewalk is being criminalized,”
she stated. “San Francisco has surpassed New York as the most expensive place to live in the U.S, so this investment at 5th and Harrison is incredibly important if we are going to fulfill our commitment to house 400 homeless youth by 2015.”
Other projects
Two other projects that will assist the city in reaching that goal are expected to shortly break ground. In the Marina work on transforming the old Edward II tourist hotel located at 3155 Scott Street and Lombard into TAY housing will begin this fall. The project will house 24 youth, aged 18 to 24, with supportive services provided by Larkin Street Youth Services. It is expected that as many as a third of the residents will be LGBT youth as 10 percent of the young adults who “age out” of the foster care system identify as LGBT. CHP bought the property in 2010 for $3.45 million but faced vocal opposition from nearby residents who were against the project. After a deal was reached, the city signed off on the housing in 2011. But it was only recently that the $9 million needed to pay for the remodel of the hotel was secured. “This one was maybe a little more complex than average ones, but yes, it is typical that it takes years sometimes to pull all the financing sources together,” said David Schnur, director of housing development at CHP. Construction should begin in October, with the first tenants moving in a year later. “We are so thrilled and excited,” said Gilman. “With the Edward II and the 5th and Harrison project, we will now have 68 units of TAY housing in our portfolio. We are really excited to work with that population of youth to rebuild their lives and become self-sufficient. “The youth will have an excellent chance to use this as a stepping stone,” she added. A third project is the remodel of the Booker T. Washington Community Service Center, which will include construction of 50 units of affordable housing meant for lowincome professionals. Twenty-four units will be set aside as TAY housing, and the agency First Place for Youth will provide services for the transition age youth. According to the center’s website, the $35 million project still must raise $2 million. Dufty said this week that the project could break ground later in the year..t
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Community News>>
August 1-7, 2013 • Bay Area Reporter • 9
SF remains a magnet for LGBT youth by Matthew S. Bajko
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t the age of 18 Seth Smith boarded a bus from his hometown of Prescott, Arizona headed for San Francisco in hopes of finding a more welcoming environment. The gay teenager was tired of hearing his mother denigrate homosexuals due to her religious beliefs. Despite having never been to the city, Smith was confident San Francisco was where he needed to be. “I really wanted to find myself,” recalled Smith about his spur-ofthe-moment decision while still in high school to uproot himself from the life he had known. His money for a hotel room ran out within four days and Smith lugged his three suitcases to the gay Castro district. His first night on the street he slept in front of the now vacant restaurant space at the corner of Church and Market streets. “Before that time I had never been homeless,” said Smith, now 23 with his own computer technology consulting business called Desktop Success IT. “I remember wondering why nobody asked me why I was on the street. I picked that spot because I thought it would be safe, and it was.” A few days later, hungry and penniless, Smith tried to steal a sandwich from a Castro grocery store. A security guard caught him, and instead of pressing charges, she let him keep the food and called Larkin Street Youth Services on his behalf. The agency was able to assign him a bed at its Diamond Youth Shelter. Because that program is meant for youth ages 12 to 17, Smith was then transferred to the Lark Inn, a shelter for youth age 18 to 24. He later was assigned a room at the agency’s Routz housing for youth dealing with mental health issues. “Things were going well. Then my mom asked me to live near her,” said Smith, who agreed to relocate and found his own apartment in Phoenix. But a payment glitch that made him late with his rent led him to return to San Francisco and once again be out on the streets. Within four months, however, he was back living at Routz, where he has been since November 2011. Asked where he would be without the services provided by Larkin, Smith said, “Honestly, I would probably be dead. Sadly that is true, or in jail.” He will be required to move out of his current housing this November due to aging out of the program. He hopes to be able to find a place on his own in the city but has thought of moving to Vallejo where rents are cheaper. “My goal is to major in psychology and computer science,” said Smith, either at San Francisco State University or UC Berkeley. He is not alone in looking to San Francisco and the supportive services for LGBT youth that the city and local donors fund to assist him with housing, education, and employment. All of Larkin’s housing programs have wait lists, with the average time to be admitted ranging between a month to six months. Over the years Smith has met youth from all across the country who, despite the high cost of living in San Francisco, move to town because they have heard about programs such as Larkin Street. The agency, said Smith, “has so many programs and opportunities for youth, there isn’t anything Larkin couldn’t do to get them into stable housing or have a job.” According to the biennial San Francisco Homeless Point-In-Time
Rick Gerharter
Seth Smith has received help through Larkin Street Youth Services.
Count and Survey released in June, of the 1,902 unaccompanied children and youth living on the city’s streets roughly 29 percent identified as LGBTQ. The overwhelming majority was over the age of 18, nearly three quarters (72 percent) were male, and one-in-four had been in the foster care system. “The number that shows up in the homeless count is fairly consistent with what we have experienced over the years,” said Larkin Executive Director Sherilyn Adams, whose agency provides services to youth regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. “What I hope is the city, which I think has historically been good about the creation of housing, sees it needs to develop additional housing and supports for youth and LGBTQ youth. I hope the homeless count numbers also helps inform state and federal policy and resource allocation.” San Francisco officials did allocate in the 2013 fiscal year budget roughly $274,000 to expand Larkin’s Castro Youth Housing Initiative. The board also set aside $85,000 for Larkin to increase its outreach services. “It is all subject to negotiation” with the city’s Human Services Agency, said Adams. “We hope to be able to sustain our existing services and outreach and potentially expand to make sure we are able to expand those new units of housing.” For close to a decade the agency has leased rooms at the Perramont Hotel on Market Street near Sanchez specifically to house LGBT youth. It currently has 15 rooms at the site and is in negotiations with owner Peter Patel to lease an additional 10 rooms. “It is great news we get to expand the housing, but it is not nearly enough to meet the need. There is an abundance of need for different types of housing for homeless queer youth,” said Adams, adding that the city has “made strides” in recent years in expanding housing for youth. “I think we still have a significant gap between need and capacity,” she added. “My hope is as the economic recovery continues we are thoughtful in our investments in young people.” One goal is to have Larkin master-lease the Perramont, which has 32 units though four are rented by long-term tenants, and staff the front-desk, which would address management issues at the hotel that the youth tenants have complained about over the years, said Bevan Dufty, a gay man who is director of Housing Opportunity, Partnerships and Engagement for Mayor Ed Lee. “There has been some conflict with the family he has running the hotel and the youth,” said Dufty, who helped launch the housing pro-
gram when he was on the Board of Supervisors. He has been trying to find additional sites in the city that would be designated housing for LGBT youth. A deal to lease a building in the Outer Mission this year fell through, said Dufty, when the owner declined to pursue the needed city permits. But he did assist with locating a building south of Market for additional housing for youth, both LGBT and straight, aging out of the foster care system. Dufty added that he continues to “look at opportunities going forward” for additional housing for youth as it will be an ongoing need. “I think they want to come to San Francisco; that is true for many of us,” said Dufty. “I don’t think they come here out of a sense, ‘Oh, there is a service.’ I don’t think they have any sense of how difficult it is to gain a toehold here.” Rather, said Dufty, “They come with optimism. We need to meet them and reach out a helping hand in a way that doesn’t cause them to fall into an extended cycle of homelessness.” Mannequin, 23, who use one name and identifies as same-gender loving, grew up in Atlanta and moved to San Francisco three years ago. At first housed through the college he was attending, he later found housing through Larkin’s Castro Street Youth Initiative. “Living in San Francisco it is not that hard. Having to deal with such a small living space is pretty hard,” said Mannequin, a nightclub singer who earned an associate degree in broadcast and electronic media. “Given the circumstances and all the resources I have, life is pretty sweet.” Because he doesn’t work a 9-to-5 job, Mannequin said he is able to live comfortably and pursue his music career due to Larkin’s programs. “Nobody wants to work just to pay rent. Larkin helps youth still live comfortably,” said Mannequin, who is looking to move next summer either to New York City, Atlanta or Los Angeles to further pursue a music career. When he does and his room opens up, there will be no shortage of youth ready to move into it. San Francisco will always be a magnet for youth looking for a better life, said Justin Reed Early, 43, who lived on the streets starting in his late teens in both Seattle and San Francisco. “My experience has been that a lot of homeless youth always migrated west. I think for the sunshine aspect and I think typically for safer environments,” said Early, who published a memoir in 2010 called Street Child that he donates copies of to youth service providers and LGBT centers around the country. “Seattle has always been a place homeless youth congregated just like San Francisco. When I was on the streets, I definitely knew San Francisco had more services.” Having spent the last three years speaking to youth groups about his experiences on the street – he ended up getting help at Walden House for his drug addictions and became a DJ at gay clubs and a cofounder of Bay Area Young Positives – Early said he believes that San Francisco is “one of the most advanced cities” in terms of offering services to youth who are homeless. “I think San Francisco is more progressive and advanced when it comes to dealing with the homeless system,” said Early, noting that the majority of homeless youth “are starving to do well in their lives. They are starving to have someone love them and care about them.”t
<< National News
10 • Bay Area Reporter • August 1-7, 2013
Pope changes tone in remarks on gays by Chuck Colbert
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rancis has not been pontiff that long, but the pope has certainly stirred Catholic waters. For the first time ever – and in purely positive language – the spiritual leader of one billion Roman Catholics worldwide said good things about gay people. He even used the g-word. Speaking with reporters for more than an hour aboard the papal airplane, flying back to Rome from World Youth Day in Brazil, Francis said, “There’s a lot of talk about the gay lobby, but I’ve never seen it on the Vatican ID card.” “When I meet a gay person, I have to distinguish between their being gay and being part of a lobby. If they accept the Lord and have goodwill, who am I to judge them? They shouldn’t be marginalized. The tendency (to homosexuality) is not the problem ... they’re our brothers.” The problem, he continued, is lobbies that work against the interest of the church, according to multiple print and broadcast outlets, including CNN’s Belief blog. The “gay lobby” idea surfaced a year ago, in a series of embarrassing leaks to Italian reporters, and refers to an alleged network of gay clergy operating inside the Vatican. Meanwhile, reactions locally and nationwide to the pope’s kinder words has been measured and balanced – laudatory for his new tone
and tenor, yet realistic in that any major shift in doctrine is not likely anytime soon. “As far as tone goes, he is coming off as positive,” said Ernest L. Camisa, secretary of Dignity San Francisco, during a brief telephone interview. “I do like, ‘Who am I to judge them?’” “But,” Camisa added, “I take exception to the idea there is a gay lobby. I mean there are gay prelates in the Vatican.” That is different, he explained from “openly gay people fighting for gay rights. They are not in the Vatican.” Other Catholic leaders in ministry with LGBT among the faithful offered their assessments. While voicing praise for the improved tone, Marianne DuddyBurke, executive director of Dignity USA, said, “Pope Francis has demonstrated a remarkable willingness to be present with those most marginalized in society. That is where the church should be, and it’s right that he reminds us of this.” “Can he see LGBT people as among the marginalized, and walk alongside us? Will he enter into a dialogue, where he listens to our stories and learns about our lives, our relationships, our struggles to remain part of our church? Over time, could this lead to substantive changes in church teaching or to where and how Catholic leaders become involved in LGBT rights is-
Bill Wilson
Pope Francis
sues?” said Duddy-Burke For his part, Francis DeBernardo, the executive director of New Ways Ministry said, “Pope Francis’s statement on accepting and respecting gay priests is a clear sign that this pope will be taking a more conciliatory approach to LGBT issues than his immediate predecessors have done.” Added DeBernardo in a statement, “Unlike John Paul II and Benedict XVI, who approached LGBT topics through the lens of sexuality and sin, Pope Francis is signaling a new direction which is based on the Catholic principles of human dignity, respect, and social
integration.” “Some will say that Francis’s statement is not enough, that he still refers to sins of homosexuals, but I think the important thing is the question of emphasis,” DeBernardo explained. “Even if he doesn’t drop the sin language, this is still a major step forward, and one that can pave the way for further advancements down the road. Change in the church is evolutionary, not revolutionary.” The pope’s comments prompted San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone to issue a statement late Monday where he said the church must be a place of welcome for people “who experience same-sex attraction.” “The church must be a safe place where they can feel secure and loved in revealing their orientation to others,” Cordileone stated. “No one has ever denied this, but we need to do a better job at making this known and following through on it.” Cordileone has taken a dim view of same-sex marriage, and he alluded to so-called traditional marriage in his statement. “With regard to sexual acts, the church has always faithfully taught, and always will, the teaching she has received from her Lord, namely, that they find their proper order and purpose within the marital union of husband and wife, and outside of the bond of marriage they are sin-
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ful.” In its assessment, Equally Blessed, a coalition group of four LGBTpositive organizations, took aim at U.S. bishops, who have been relentless in their harsh language and opposition to LGBT rights. “Catholic leaders who continue to belittle gays and lesbians can no longer claim that their inflammatory remarks represent the sentiments of the pope,” the group said in a statement. “Bishops who oppose the expansion of basic civil rights – such as an end to discrimination in the workplace – can no longer claim that the pope approves of their discriminatory agenda.” As recently as July 9, however, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops voiced opposition to proposed federal legislation – the Employment Non-Discrimination Act – that would ban sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination in the workplace. “The USCCB continues to oppose ‘unjust discrimination’ against people with a homosexual inclination, but we cannot support a bill, like ENDA, that would legally affirm and specially protect any sexual conduct outside of marriage,” reads a letter addressed to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and the Pensions. One of letter’s three signatories is Cordileone, who serves on the bishops’ Subcommittee for the Promo-
Pop-up to raise awareness of mental health issues compiled by Cynthia Laird
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ith statistics showing that one in four people suffer from mental illness at some point in their lives, an event in the Castro this weekend aims to raise awareness of the issue in a delicious way. The Depressed Cake Shop will have its first pop-up store in the Castro Saturday, August 3 at the Austin Law Group, 799 Castro Street (at 21st) from 1 to 7 p.m. The unique thing about the cake items that will be sold is that they will all be gray on the outside, to symbolize depression. While symptoms of depression can vary widely, as a general rule, someone who is depressed feels
sad, hopeless, and loses interest in things they used to enjoy, organizers said. The professional and hobby bakers contributing to Saturday’s pop-up will be creating cakes that visually represent this. Those with personal experience of depression, using baking as a way of expressing their struggles with, and experiences of, the illness will be making many of the cakes. Organizers said that the Depressed Cake Shop is a unique way of making sure people talk about the issue. The beneficiary of Saturday’s pop-up will be Queer Life Space, an LGBT therapy center based in the Castro. For more information, visit the Depressed Cake Shop SF on Facebook.
cial assistance to clients to help them pay basic living expenses while they are too sick to work. For more information, or if you would like to volunteer, contact Lance Brittain, Every Penny Counts coordinator, at (415) 558-6999, ext. 232 or lance.brittain@aef-sf.org.
Dance event for lesbian, bi women
Courtesy Depressed Cake Shop
Statistics show that one in four people will experience a mental health problem, symbolized here by the gray cake, second from top.
Time to empty drawers for AEF
Empty Your Drawers, an Every Penny Counts campaign, takes place Saturday, August 3 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the top of the Castro Muni station’s main entrance at Castro and Market streets. The campaign, which benefits AIDS Emergency Fund, is all-volunteer and encourages people to empty their drawers and pockets, dig under the sofa cushions, and reach under car seats for that elusive loose change or bill. Or, you can break open that piggy bank. Then, take the money to the drop-off location Saturday, where volunteers from the Stop AIDS Project’s Bridgemen project will happily accept it. There are different facets to the Every Penny Counts campaign, which started in 1987 when a Polk Street bartender, Fred Skau, put an empty glass jar on his bar with a sign asking for donations for people living with AIDS. Other bars soon joined in, and the project was born. Today, it also is active in local schools and other businesses. Over $3.1 million has been raised for AEF clients since the project’s beginning. AEF provides finan-
A dance party for lesbian and bisexual women 40 and over will be held Saturday, August 3 from 2 to 6 p.m. at the San Francisco LGBT Community Center, 1800 Market Street. The party is to help kick off awareness for two local federally funded health and wellness projects for lesbian and bi women 40 and over: Doing It For Ourselves, a peer-led, community-based model at the LGBT center, and Women’s Health and Mindfulness, a professional-led clinic based model at Lyon-Martin Health Services. Both programs are free and provide information about physical activity, nutrition, and general health. At Saturday’s dance party, there will also be games, discussions, an interactive art exhibit, community-building, health information, food and drink, and prizes. The suggested donation is $5, although no one will be turned away for lack of funds. For more information, see the Guest Opinion in this issue, or contact Deborah Craig, Deborah@bpacal. com, (510) 717-3382, or visit www. lavenderhealth.org/difo.
Bay Area peace lantern ceremony
The 12th annual Bay Area Peace Lantern Ceremony to commemorate the 68th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki will take place Saturday, August 3 at the north end of Aquatic Park in Berkeley (cross streets: west end of Addison Street, two blocks west of 6th Street, one block south of University Avenue). The event is wheelchair accessible. People can arrive at 6:30 p.m. to construct their lanterns and socialize. The
program begins at 7 with music and cultural performances, messages from the mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and a report from a survivor of the bombing. Organizers said that the group will begin floating the lanterns at 8. Attendees may stay to contemplate the lights as they float across the water. The event ends at 9. For more information, visit http:// www.progressiveportal.org/lanterns.
Hayward hosts Youth Pride party
Our Space, an East Bay organization, is hosting its inaugural Youth Pride event Saturday, August 3 from 1 to 6 p.m. at Cannery Park, 125 B Street in Hayward. The location is accessible via BART. Themed “Fierce Love,” the afternoon will include music, dancing, entertainment, booths and games, HIV testing, bungee basketball, and more Admission for those aged 14-24 is free; for those 25 and older a $5 donation is requested. Organizers said that the Pride party is an alcohol- and substance-free event. Our Space is a safe place for young people to meet with other LGBTQ youth. For more information, visit http://www.lgbtqyouthpride.com.
Pre-Pride party in San Jose
The Gay Pride Celebration Committee of San Jose will have a pre-Pride pool party Sunday, August 4 from noon to 7 p.m. at the Silicon Valley Athletic Club, located in the historic Scottish Rite Temple, 196 N. Third Street in downtown San Jose. “We are excited about bringing back a poolside pre-Pride event and to be partnering with SVAC is spectacular because it promotes good health and fun under the sun,” San Jose Pride President Nathan Svoboda said in a statement. People aged 18 and older are invited to make a splash, sunbathe, and compete in a limbo or rubber duck contest. People can groove to beats played by DJs Sean B, Rockaway, Jeff Morena, and Shawn P.t
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Same-Sex Marriage>>
August 1-7, 2013 • Bay Area Reporter • 11
Lawsuits spring up in DOMA aftermath by Lisa Keen
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n the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court’s historic decision striking down a central provision of the Defense of Marriage Act, lawsuits are being filed in a number of jurisdictions as same-sex couples pursue equal rights. “The lay of the land is getting a bit complicated,” said James Esseks, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s National LGBT and AIDS Project. Esseks, who was one of the attorneys involved in pressing the case of Edith Windsor – the case which ultimately struck down the core provision of DOMA June 26 – was assessing the deluge of litigation that has ensued in the one month since the U.S. Supreme Court issued that ruling and the ruling that let stand a federal district court ruling that California’s Proposition 8 was unconstitutional. “It’s hard to keep count,” he said. In the past month, at least a dozen new lawsuits have been launched all over the country as a result of the Supreme Court decisions. Some seek to end same-sex marriage bans like Prop 8 in other states. Others seek to secure for specific couples in specific circumstances the benefits of marriage that DOMA once barred. Rulings in other lawsuits – those filed before the DOMA decision – have advanced the reach of marriage equality in numerous places in the past month. And, with relatively little publicity, the lawyers hired by House Republican leaders to defend DOMA indicated that, because of the Supreme Court’s ruling in U.S. v. Windsor, “the House has determined ... that it will no longer defend that statute.” These are all important developments, coloring in the lines that the Supreme Court has drawn with its rulings, and many are happening in states where civil rights for LGBT people almost never advance in a positive direction. The ACLU and its affiliates have active cases under way in Pennsylvania and North Carolina. They also have a case with the National Center for Lesbian Rights filed in New Mexico. Jon Davidson, legal director for Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, has litigation pending in New Jersey and Nevada, the latter of which is already at the federal appeals level. Lambda also has a case in Arizona seeking to preserve health coverage for the same-sex domestic partners of state employees. And Lambda and the ACLU each have separate cases pending (and now consolidated) in Illinois, lawsuits filed before DOMA was struck down. They have announced a joint lawsuit to be filed soon in Virginia. In addition to these, Davidson said that he knows of lawsuits filed by attorneys working alone in Arkansas, Hawaii, Louisiana, Michigan, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah. And news reports have identified an additional private lawsuit in Kentucky.
Ohio, Pennsylvania
Two of the big newsmakers during the past month have involved cases in two of the bigger states – Ohio and Pennsylvania. In Cincinnati, U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Black ruled July 19 that Ohio, which has a state constitutional amendment banning recognition of marriages between same-sex partners, must recognize the valid marriage license an Ohio gay couple obtained last month in Maryland. In Obergefell v. Kasich, Black, an appointee of President Barack Obama, said there was “insufficient evidence of a legitimate state interest
Lambda Legal’s Jon Davidson
The ACLU’s James Esseks
to justify this singling out of samesex married couples given the severe and irreparable harm it imposes.” The case of John Arthur and James Obergefell garnered considerable attention from the national media, in part because the couple had to charter an airplane to transport the men to Maryland because Arthur is in the late stages of a terminal illness. According to the Freedom to Marry group, the men, who have been together for 20 years, were married on July 11 on the tarmac at a Baltimore airport and then flew back to Ohio. They filed their lawsuit July 19 and Black granted their motion for a temporary restraining order against Ohio July 22. “Throughout Ohio’s history,” wrote Black, “Ohio law has been clear: a marriage solemnized outside of Ohio is valid in Ohio if it is valid where solemnized. ... How then can Ohio, especially given the historical status of Ohio law, single out samesex marriages as ones it will not recognize? The short answer is that Ohio cannot ... at least not under the circumstances here.” Some judicial and political figures came to a similar conclusion in Pennsylvania. There, in Montgomery County, the register of wills, Bruce Hanes, said he and other county officials had studied the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Windsor DOMA case and determined it required them to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The county began issuing licenses to same-sex couples July 24 and, as of this week, a local news blog reports the county has issued 26 such licenses thus far. On The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC July 24, Hanes said his conclusion was prompted when two women contacted his office following the DOMA ruling to ask whether they might be able to obtain a license. In studying the matter, he said, the county officials felt that the state constitution’s guarantees of equality and non-discrimination trumped the state Definition of Marriage Act. “I swore to uphold the constitution of the commonwealth,” said Hanes. Even before this happened, the ACLU had filed a lawsuit in the federal district court of the state capital July 9, seeking to overturn the state ban on allowing same-sex couples to marry. And Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane startled some when she responded by saying, “I cannot ethically defend the constitutionality of Pennsylvania’s version of DOMA where I believe it to be wholly unconstitutional.” And just this week, a federal judge in a Pennsylvania district court ruled that the Supreme Court’s Windsor decision requires a private employer of the late Sarah Ellyn Farley to pay death benefits to her spouse, Jennifer Tobits, under the federal ERISA plan. NCLR represented Tobits in the lawsuit filed in March 2012, two years after Farley died of cancer and four years after the women married
in Canada.
California
Another important case resolved this month by the Windsor DOMA decision was Golinski v. U.S. A 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel issued a four-page order July 23, stating that the parties to the case agree that the Supreme Court’s decision in the DOMA case, striking the law as unconstitutional, means DOMA no longer stands in the way of allowing an employee of the federal circuit, Karen Golinski, to obtain health coverage for her same-sex spouse. Golinski had been represented by Lambda Legal.
Other cases
Not every DOMA-related marriage lawsuit has Lambda, the ACLU, or any of the other big LGBT advocacy groups behind it. And not every one is meeting with success. Domenico Nuckols of Galveston, Texas filed his own lawsuit in federal court July 2, seeking to overturn that state’s ban on marriage for same-sex couples. But two weeks later, a federal
judge dismissed the lawsuit at Nuckols’s request. Nuckols, who is an engineer, was attempting to represent himself in court. He told the Dallas Voice that he hasn’t tried to marry in Texas and has no plans to do so. He said LGBT legal activists had persuaded him to drop his litigation. But legal challenges are under way in other southern states. With the consent this month of the North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper, the ACLU has amended an existing lawsuit, Fisher-Borne v. Smith – one that seeks the right for co-parent adoption – to now seek the right for same-sex couples to marry. And the ACLU and Lambda announced this month they would file a joint lawsuit in Virginia. Meanwhile, a gay couple in Norfolk, Virginia, filed their own lawsuit in federal district court July 18, challenging the state’s ban on issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. In Bostic v. McDonnell, Timothy Bostic and Tony London, who have been together for 23 years, say the state ban violates their rights to equal protection. And three gay couples filed a lawsuit in an Arkansas federal court July 15 seeking to overturn that state’s ban on allowing same-sex couples to marry. The lawsuit is Jernigan v. Crane and the judge initially assigned the case, Leon Holmes, recused himself, saying he has close, long-standing personal and professional relationships with the leaders who campaigned for the ban. In Kentucky, a gay male couple that has been together for 31 years and was married in 2004 filed a lawsuit July 26 in the federal district court for Louisville. In Bourke v. Beshear, Gregory Bourke and Michael Deleon and their two children are suing Democratic Governor Steve Beshear, seeking to require the state to recognize marriage licenses issued
to same-sex couples in other jurisdictions. The lawsuit, filed with private counsel, is a narrow one. It does not seek to strike down Kentucky’s constitutional ban on allowing samesex couples to marry. It only seeks to require the state recognize marriage licenses same-sex couples obtain in other states or jurisdictions. Attorney Dawn Elliott, who, along with attorney Shannon Fauver, is representing the couple, said the legal team feels “it would be easier for the court to rule on this specific issue and we feel that we would get a more favorable ruling if the suit was specific couples, rather than trying to challenge the Kentucky amendment.” “We are planning on filing another lawsuit to address the as yet-to-beperformed same-sex marriages,” said Elliott. In a web video interview with Louisville’s Courier-Journal, Bourke explained that the couple, who married in Canada, decided to file the lawsuit because both men are Kentucky natives who love “where we live.” “So, when the Supreme Court rulings came out,” said Deleon, “that was probably the most hopeful day we’ve had in our 31 years that some day we might actually achieve marriage equality.” During the interview, the CourierJournal reporter noted that they were facing “obviously a tough legal road here in Kentucky” and asked why they would put their family, including their two adopted teen children, through such tough “scrutiny.” “Well, we would gladly not do it if someone else was doing it instead,” said Deleon. But, he added, “we felt like this is just something we needed to do” and “... the fact that we do have children, we can actually cite how we have been harmed and disadvantaged ...”t
<< National News
12 • Bay Area Reporter • August 1-7, 2013
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by Chuck Colbert
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n LGBT advocacy organization within one of the nation’s foremost Christian denominations announced its new executive director, Alex McNeill, who, in making history, becomes the first openly transgender leader of a mainline Protestant group. “I’m honored to join More Light Presbyterians, which has always been on the forefront of the Christian tradition of fostering acceptance for the most vulnerable among us,” said McNeil, 30, in a press statement announcing his appointment, which takes effect later this month. “Following the risen Christ, and seeking to make the church a true community of hospitality,” the mission of More Light Presbyterians, based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, is “to work for the full participation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people in the life, ministry and witness of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and in society.” “Our search committee unanimously chose Alex because he has a proven track record of leading and growing organizations,” said Nathan Sobers, co-moderator of MLP. “We believe that he is uniquely qualified to lead More Light during this important moment in the church.” In the secular arena, McNeill has campaigned for ballot measures and legislation to promote LGBTQ rights. For example, he served as communications and development director and field director for Equality Maryland and was active last fall in the successful ballot measure that secured same-sex civil marriage in that state. Within his denomination, more-
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Courtesy Alex McNeill
Alex McNeill is the new leader of More Light Presbyterians.
over, McNeill worked to secure ordination equality for Presbyterians and celebrated that success by becoming the first openly transgender ministry candidate from his home presbytery in western North Carolina. He holds a bachelor’s degree in religious studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a master of divinity from the Harvard Divinity School. McNeill came out as a lesbian at the age of 18 and to family and friends as transgender six years ago. At 22, he entered the ordination process and came out transgender to his ordination committee last year. The feature-length documentary film Out of Order chronicles the lives of three queer Presbyterians, including McNeill, seeking to be ordained ministers in the church. It was in July 2010 when Presbyterian activists succeeded in dismantling a gay ordination ban – dating back to 1978 – during a meeting of the 2.1 million-member’s general assembly, a gathering held in Minneapolis. There, the denomination’s highest governing body voted to approve Amendment 10-A, which deleted language in the denomination’s Book of Order that in effect barred the ordination of non-celibate gay candidates by requiring them “to live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and woman or chastity in singleness.” New language required that “the governing body responsible for ordination and/or installation shall examine each candidate’s calling, gifts, preparation, and suitability.” But before the official change in church policy could be implemented, however, a majority of the 173 regional presbyteries were also required to approve the measure. That happened just over two years ago when formal approval of Amendment 10-A came with a favorable vote for it by the Twin Cities presbytery, a regional governing district. The new policy took effect in July 2011. During a recent telephone conversation, McNeill spoke about his
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Gay DA
From page 1
David Munoz Diaz, 24, has been charged with strangling Freddy Canul-Arguello, 23, to death during a sexual encounter in Buena Vista Park in June 2011. Canul-Arguello’s burned, mostly naked body was found with a partially melted recycling bin. Deputy Public Defender Alex Lilien has called the death “a terrible accident.” Clark said the case is “so close to coming up for trial, I don’t think it’s
appointment and plans for future advocacy within the Presbyterian Church (USA). “Changing our standards around same-sex marriage, allowing ministers to marry same-sex couples is a big priority,” he said. McNeill was referring to a 2012 Pittsburgh gathering, or general assembly, which failed to reformulate church understanding of marriage to include gay and lesbian couples. Beyond securing marriage equality, he said, “More Light wants to deepen its welcome to LGBT people in our churches. We know a lot of education needs to be done, for example, to help people feel better equipped to welcome transgender people. We also want to help folks who are believers in More Light to take their welcome out of the their congregations and into their communities and advocate for good causes and practices that affirms LGBT people as full citizens in the communities where they live.” More Light Presbyterian’s operating budget is approximately $300,000, and McNeill’s salary is $78,000. A North Carolina native and raised “deeply Presbyterian,” McNeill said, in addition to the denomination’s social justice ethic, “what my tradition has taught me and reinforced is a belief that everyone has the ability to be a minister or a change agent.” “Ministers are people who are called out a community but not above a community,” explained McNeill. “The ability of people to be called, use their voices, and really make a difference,” he added, “is one of my uniquely Presbyterian values.” McNeill sees opportunities with congregations and communities for more conversations and fuller discussions about “what transgender means” and “how we all have our identities and what can happen when we commonly acknowledge” that reality, he said. “I like to encourage people to tell their gender stories and how they learned about their gender identity,” said McNeill. “There are a lot of commonalities across the transgender and non-transgender spectrum.”t
wise” to discuss challenges or strategy. However, he said, “it’s an important case to the community” and it will be pursued “with great vigor.” Clark also declined to comment on the three other cases. Friends and family members of murder victims often wonder why cases take so long to make it through the court process. Trials haven’t gotten under way in any of the cases involving gay victims. The oldest incident is from February 2011. Clark said the first thing he tells See page 13 >>
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Community News>>
August 1-7, 2013 • Bay Area Reporter • 13
Wedding announcements compiled by Cynthia Laird
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his week’s announcements include Patrick Carney and Hossein Sepas Carney; and Gary Damaschino and David Slack.
Patrick Carney and Hossein Sepas Carney
Patrick Jay Carney and Hossein Sepas Carney (the former Hossein E. Sepas) were married Tuesday, July 23, 2013 at 2:30 p.m. in the Mayor’s Office at San Francisco City Hall with Mayor Edwin M. Lee officiating. The reception took place at the St. Francis Hotel in the 32nd floor ballroom overlooking Union Square and downtown. There was a pink triangle wedding cake. The couple has been together 15 and a half years. Mr. Sepas Carney is originally from Iran, where it is difficult and dangerous for gay persons to be open, and where several gay men have been hanged in public squares. By coincidence a mutual friend introduced him to Mr. Carney, who has a passion for reminding others of organized governmental discrimination/genocide against minorities. Mr. Carney is the yearly organizer and co-founder of the huge pink triangle installation on Twin Peaks, which is displayed each Pride weekend to remind people of the consequences of what can happen when hatred and bigotry become law as they did under the Nazis during World War II when the pink triangle was devised as an identifying colored badge to distinguish the homosexual “undesirables” from the other “undesirables”
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Gay DA
From page 12
families is “There’s a lot I can do to shape the outcome” of the case, but there’s “very little I can do to control the timing.” People “sometimes feel victimized by a system that’s supposed to bring them justice,” and he warns families that “they’re never going to be made whole again,” he said. Sometimes, said Clark, the best outcome they may get is “the grim satisfaction” that the person “isn’t going to be able to do that to someone else’s loved one.”
Long career
Clark, who grew up in Oregon, realized he was gay in 1984, after he’d just taken the law school admission test. “I didn’t think I’d be able to be any of the things that I wanted to be,” he said. But Clark was mistaken. He moved to San Francisco in 1993 and started at the DA’s office in January 1996. Clark left the office in 1997 and worked for the Riverside County District Attorney’s office and then as a criminal defense attorney. He returned to the San Francisco DA’s office in 2003, then left again in 2011. He went back to Riverside County, where he prosecuted six
the Nazis wanted to eliminate from society. Mr. Sepas Carney, 47, has a Master of Accountancy degree from Golden Gate University and a Bachelor of Science in business administration-accounting from Tehran University in Iran and he studied German language and English literature at HB University of Germany in Berlin. He is a practicing senior accountant in the treasury department of a large agency and is also currently working on his Ph.D. Mr. Carney, 57, has a Master of Architecture degree from UC Berkeley and worked on major multi-family residential projects as well as restoration projects including the San Francisco Columbarium; the art deco Shell Building and Hamilton Building, for which he won a National AIA (American Institute of Architects) Award and an Art Deco Society of California Preservation Award; and the Beach Chalet at the west end of Golden Gate Park. He also proudly worked on the restoration of San Francisco City Hall for four years, where he was project designer for the lead firm of the jointventure of 26 architectural and engineering firms and was the J-V team’s liaison to then-Mayor Willie Brown. Mr. Carney made the design presentations to the mayor along with the city architect at the time and he accompanied the mayor on hard-hat progress tours during the construction of the nearly $330 million restoration of City Hall. That is why it was so important to both grooms that the wedding take place in San Francisco City Hall and in the Mayor’s Office since that suite was one of the many areas of the building Mr. Carney worked on at the time he initially met Mr. Sepas Carney. The couple was honored to be married by Mayor Lee and stated it was generous of him to not only marry them but to also allow all of their guests to attend the ceremony in his private office. The mayor presented them with a mayoral booklet with their printed ceremony inside as well as a signed photograph of City Hall illuminated in rainbow colors, with the inscription, “Congratulations – Equality for All.” The couple resides in central San Francisco.
murders and a rape in just under 18 months. Last year, Clark came back to San Francisco. He said he’d made “lifelong friends” in the DA’s office and “I missed the city too much.” Clark joined the homicide unit in 2008. His new post was announced July 3. His salary is $187,538. In January, Clark and his husband will mark the 28th anniversary of when they committed to each other. “We were babies when we met,” he said of his husband, whose name he declined to share. The two married in 2004 during the Winter of Love, when thenMayor Gavin Newsom ordered city officials to allow same-sex marriages, and on Halloween of 2008 at the Castro neighborhood bar Moby Dick. The 2008 marriage is legally recognized. Clark’s office at the Hall of Justice, 850 Bryant Street, is decorated with posters of the band Kiss and the Al Pacino gangster film Scarface, among other items. The room also includes mementos of Cricket, his 10-year-old Irish setter. Clark said the first thing he does when he gets home is hug the dog, and during a recent interview, the veteran prosecutor jumped out of his chair to show off framed photos of the reddish-brown haired caSee page 17 >>
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Gary Damaschino and David Slack
Gary Damaschino and David Slack were married Sunday, July 21, 2013 at 2 p.m. in San Francisco. Mr. Damaschino, 67, and Mr. Slack, 50, met online in 2007, and soon found they both enjoyed traveling, shows, trips to Reno and Las Vegas, and volunteering for causes in which they believe. In 2010, Mr. Slack won the title of Mr. Gay San Francisco, and together the couple spent many hours volunteering and fundraising for local charities. Mr. Damaschino is a retired San Ramon grammar school teacher. Mr. Slack has worked for local nonprofits for the past 20-plus years. He is currently the accounting manager of the California State Parks Foundation. A small gathering of friends and family joined Mr. Damaschino and Mr. Slack for their ceremony on the back deck of their home in the Castro, which was officiated by Mr. Damaschino’s brother, Robert Damaschino, a minister.t
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14 â&#x20AC;˘ Bay Area Reporter â&#x20AC;˘ August 1-7, 2013
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After 23 years, more work remains for ADA by James Patterson
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s America recently celebrated the 23rd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, local LGBT community members with disabilities enjoy San Franciscoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gay life even as they experience continued accessibility issues and false assumptions about their sexuality. The landmark civil rights law known as the ADA, which became law July 26, 1990, prohibits discrimination
ings,â&#x20AC;? she noted. As a medical cannabis user, Ingram did actively advocate for accessibility to San Franciscoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dispensaries. She also played an active role in passage of Proposition 215, which legalized medical cannabis in California in 1996. Ingram said she is not very active in San Franciscoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gay life right now as she doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have â&#x20AC;&#x153;much energy anymore.â&#x20AC;? She is not in a relationship, but she said San Francisco has a large population of disabled lesbians. Ingram pointed to http://www. fabledasp.com, a local website that aims to empower disabled lesbians, as a source for information and netRick Gerharter working. The group uses storytelling San Francisco resident Ken and filmmaking to â&#x20AC;&#x153;document and Smith has long been involved in continue the revolution in queer disdisability rights issues. ability arts,â&#x20AC;? its website states. Still, Ingram said, she has experirecent legal settlements on discrimienced anti-disability episodes. In one nation cases. recent incident, Ingram said that she California, historically rich in diswas traveling on Market Street when ability civil rights and home to legshe passed a man she described as a endary advocate Ed Roberts, has a â&#x20AC;&#x153;construction workerâ&#x20AC;? who called strong legal infrastructure for the her a â&#x20AC;&#x153;wheelchair retard.â&#x20AC;? Though disabled and their families, according scared, she said she did not fear for to Andrew Mudryk, deputy director her safety. of Disability Rights California, based â&#x20AC;&#x153;Afterward it really upset me,â&#x20AC;? Inin Sacramento. gram said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The independent living moveFor entertainment, Ingram enjoys ment began in Berkeley with Ed the music of disabled hip-hop artist Roy Moore of Berkeley and the San Francisco disabled arts troupe Sins Invalid. Ken Smith, also a Tenderloin resident, is a 36-year-old gay man with multiple sclerosis. He uses a wheelchair and encounters some accessibility issues with door widths and steps, especially to barber shops, he said. As a youth, Smith was involved in the struggle for the ADA. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I made coffee for people at ADA rallies,â&#x20AC;? he said. He also recalled seeing disabled activists chain themselves to buses on local TV news. A volunteer at the Cartoon Art Museum Bookstore, Smith is very active in gay life. Because he lives along the 24-hour 38 Muni bus line, he does not have a â&#x20AC;&#x153;bus curfewâ&#x20AC;? and he can stay out late. He said San Francisco is a great place for disabled people, but he has encountered a few problems. Last week, he said, he waited for a BART elevator and when it arrived a person with a bicycle pushed past him, making him late for an appointment. Smith encounters another problem. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Because I use a wheelchair, people assume I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have sex,â&#x20AC;? he said. He gets asked such questions as, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Can you have sex?â&#x20AC;? and, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Does everything still work?â&#x20AC;? Such questions annoy him. The tone of the questions determines how Smith will respond, he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I told one guy he was too stupid for me to date,â&#x20AC;? Smith said. Smith also dislikes it when someone â&#x20AC;&#x153;he cannot seeâ&#x20AC;? takes command of his wheelchair from behind by â&#x20AC;˘ Dual Diagnosis pushing him, especially when he takes on a hill. Once a â&#x20AC;&#x153;boy of 10â&#x20AC;? asked him if Relapse Prevention he could push his chair. Smith was touched but declined the offer. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There are nice people being â&#x20AC;˘ Family Program raised,â&#x20AC;? he said. LouiseLouise McCallion, Executive Director McCallion, Louise McCallion, Executive Directorâ&#x20AC;&#x153;I have not experienced HIV/AIDS â&#x20AC;˘ Doctorate Level Executive Director Executive Director discrimination,â&#x20AC;? Smith, who is HIVAs Executive Director of Reflections, I amLouise McCallion, As Executive Director of Reflections, I am passionate about my responsibility to ensure negative, said. In the 1990s, he said, passionate about my responsibility to ensure Therapists Executive Director of Reflections, I am best-in-class at our facility and toAscreate As service Executive Director of Reflections, I am best-in-class service at our facility and to create some restaurants wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t hire him passionate about my responsibility to ensure the highest quality experience conducive to the highest quality experience conducive tobecause he was gay and owners feared passionate aboutbest-in-class my responsibility to service at our facility and to create recovery. The team at Reflections will help your recovery. The team at Reflections will help your â&#x20AC;˘ High Client to ensure service at our facility a gay man as a food handler due to the highest quality experience conducive to clients finally conquerbest-in-class this battle. clients finally conquer this battle. Louise McCallion, Director recovery. The team at Reflections will help your Executive HIV/AIDS. and to create the highest quality experiStaff Ration Contact me directly if you have any questions: Contactthis me battle. directly if you have any questions: â&#x20AC;&#x153;There has been so much educaclients finally conquer ence conducive to recovery. The team at (415) 706-8906 (415) 706-8906 As Executive Director of Reflections, am Smith said.t tion sinceIthen,â&#x20AC;? louise@livingatreflections.com Reflections will help clients finally louise@livingatreflections.com Contactyour me directly if you have any questions: (800) 611-7316 passionate about my responsibility to ensure â&#x20AC;˘ Laptops and 611-7316 conquer this battle. me directly (415) Contact 706-8906 (800) Many YouTube videos celebrate louise@livingatreflections.com if you have any questions: best-in-class service at our facility and to create Cellphones
in employment, public accommodations, transportation, and other areas for people with disabilities. When it was passed, the New York Times editorialized, â&#x20AC;&#x153;It enlarges civil rights and humanity for all Americans.â&#x20AC;? The website, http://www.ADA.gov, hosted by the U.S. Justice Departmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s civil rights division, is a clearinghouse of information on the ADA. A related site, http://www.ADA.gov/ AIDS, contains guidance on compliance and complaints and summarizes
Roberts,â&#x20AC;? Mudryk said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was a national civil rights movement that fought for the rights of the disabled to live outside institutions.â&#x20AC;? Roberts, who died in 1995, was an early advocate of the independent living movement. An accessible facility in Berkeley, the Ed Roberts Campus, is named after him and is dedicated to disability rights and universal access. â&#x20AC;&#x153;California pre-dates the ADA,â&#x20AC;? Mudryk explained. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our statute provided broad protections for people with all types of disabilities in public accommodations, government services, business, employment and housing.â&#x20AC;? LGBTs with disabilities run the gamut of being involved with accessibility issues. Tenderloin resident Mira Ingram, a 45-year-old lesbian, has Type I diabetes with neuropropathy and uses a motorized chair. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was not in the ADA movement in the 1980s because I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t consider myself disabled at the time,â&#x20AC;? she said. Ingram, who marched with the Bradley Manning contingent in Juneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Pride parade, said San Francisco is more accessible than other cities sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lived in. Still she has some difficulties, â&#x20AC;&#x153;especially with older build-
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From the cover>>
Vodka boycott
From page 1
resident and activist Robbie Sweeny decided to take action. Sweeny, who works in the bar and club industry, launched a Facebook page titled Boycott Russian Vodka. Within a couple weeks the page accrued 1,000 likes, with many of its members spreading the word to boycott Stolichnaya brand vodka. Sweeny also launched a website to further spread the word: http://www.boycottrussianvodka.com. There have been calls to boycott other Russian products, but the “dump Stoli” movement seemed to gain the most traction. “I fully support a boycott of all Russian industry,” Sweeny told the Bay Area Reporter. “But I chose vodka because I work in the nightlife industry and I can contact a lot of bars. Russia’s biggest exports are military weapons, oil, and gas. On a day-to-day level, vodka is easy to boycott. Vodka is Russia’s 10th biggest export.” Joe Cappelletti, owner of Moby Dick bar on 18th Street, said that they had stopped selling Stoli products. “I’m going to honor the boycott but I’m going to educate myself further on this issue,” Cappelletti told the B.A.R. “We’ve opened a discussion on our Facebook page regarding this topic because I didn’t understand the pros and cons of it. We’ve gotten 7,000-8000 hits.” At press time, the Moby Dick Facebook discussion had 200 posted comments. While heated at times, all posters were united in their support of Russia’s LGBT community. Several suggested that people donate money to Russian LGBT organizations. Sean Richards informed Moby Dick that unless they participated in the boycott, he would boycott the bar. The page moderator had to call for civility in several postings. Other bars, such as Hi Tops, and the South of Market nightclub Holy Cow, stated that they were also honoring the boycott. The Midnight Sun and Edge did not respond to the B.A.R.’s phone calls seeking comment. SPI Group, Stoli’s parent company, is based in Luxembourg but its CEO, Val Mendeleev, said in a July 25 open letter to the LGBT com-
August 1-7, 2013 • Bay Area Reporter • 15
munity that the brand’s production process involves both Russia and Latvia. The statement also expressed Stoli’s support for the LGBT community. “Stoli is very proud of its current exclusive national partnerships with gaycities.com and Queerty in search of the most original Stoli guys,” the statement read in part. “Stolichnaya vodka has always been, and continues to be, a fervent supporter and friend to the LGBT community.” The statement was sent by John Weiss, the New York-based senior account director of SPI Group. Mendeleev signed the letter. The letter expressed pride for the company’s 2006 series “Be Real: Stories From Queer America,” and suggested that while Russian ingredients are used in manufacturing Stoli products, the company is actually based in Riga, Latvia. Sweeny disputed that contention. “The statement is slightly inaccurate,” said Sweeny. “On January 1, 2014, Stoli will once again be a Russian-owned company. And while Stoli has issued statements here and there, they’ve done nothing in Russia. Yuri Scheffler, Stoli’s owner, is one of the 100 richest men in Russia.” Sweeny mentioned news reports about members of a Dutch film crew who were detained for working on a documentary about the law. “Russia is taking giant steps backward,” Sweeny said. “It’s seen as a first-world country with ties to the UN Security Council, so this sets a bad precedent. The homophobia trickles down: this shows people they can get away with it.” The boycott has been spreading. Twin Peaks Tavern at the corner of Castro and Market streets reports that it has pulled the brand off the shelves for now. The actions by San Francisco follow those of gay bars in Chicago – Sidetrack and the Call – which began their boycott of Stoli products July 24, reported the Windy City Times. “It’s hard to believe they could carry out and enforce that kind of law, but they did,” said Sidetrack owner Art Johnson, according to the Times story. Not everyone thinks a boycott is a good idea. Out bisexual Chicago area resi-
dent Carl Szulczynski, a former radio DJ, feels that the boycott is misguided. “This is not going to hurt Putin,” Szulczynski said in a phone interview with the B.A.R. “Stoli is a sponsor of gay Pride parades. We’re shooting ourselves in the foot when turn on our supporters. We have to address Putin and the Russian government. We have to shame them publicly.” Some are indeed taking their actions directly to the Russian government. Locally, there will be a protest Saturday, August 3 outside the Russian consulate in San Francisco. Gay state Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco) is planning to join the protest. He told the B.A.R. this week that if Olympic organizers “don’t step up to the plate” then he would find a boycott of the Winter Games in Sochi to be a “worthy” tactic. “We just can’t have lip service,” said Ammiano. “Why are they being held in a country that beats us up and threatens us?” Cincinnati area resident Julianne Howell, a fan of the Olympic Games, posted a petition at Change. org demanding that Olympic sponsors such as Proctor and Gamble, Coca-Cola, Panasonic, Samsung, and Visa take a firm stand and publicly condemn Russian’s anti-gay laws. “It’s time for these companies to put their support for LGBT people first, and send a message to Russia that their anti-gay laws are not only contrary to basic human rights, but fly in the face of the spirit of the Olympic Games, which celebrate human dignity and community above all else,” said Howell in a statement. At press time, Howell’s petition, Stand Against Russia’s Brutal Crackdown on Gay Rights, had amassed 60,000 signatures. In the meantime, Sweeny remains confident that boycotting Russian products will be equally effective. “If you can’t express yourself as a gay person, then it’s illegal to be yourself,” he said.t
he pursued his love of nature. Jim was active in environmental, Audubon, Democratic, and other community improvement and interest groups. He had many friends who, with his large family, valued his caring nature and fun-loving spirit. He loved animals, especially his dogs. Jim was on the board of Family Link and instrumental in the restoration of its guesthouse. The charity offers families visiting loved ones who have life-threatening illnesses a safe place to stay. Memorial gifts can be sent to Family Link, 317 Castro Street, San Francisco, CA 94114-1504.
in San Francisco July 3, 2013. He had been fighting lung cancer for five months, and was watched over in his final days by his husband, Bob Lucas, and dear friends Daniel Hafer, Ralph Ginorio, and Wes Sebren. Born in Minneapolis on March 23, 1949, Rick grew up in St. Petersburg and graduated from the University of South Florida, where he helped create a gay-issues program on campus radio. In the 1970s he moved to San Francisco, where he managed audiovisual setups for conventions. He and Bob met in San Francisco in 1998, moved to Oakland in 2001, and were married in 2008. He lived to see the end of Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act. Rick is survived by his husband, Bob; sister, Anita Bianchi; and brothers, Kevin, John, and Jeff. He will be missed and remembered as a bright presence by all who knew him. A private memorial service was held at Rick’s and Bob’s Oakland home July 20. Donations in Rick’s name may be made to the Coming Home Hospice.
There will be a protest Saturday, August 3 from noon to 2 p.m. outside the Russian consulate, 2790 Green Street in San Francisco. For more information, see the “Protest Rally of Putin’s LGBT Policies” on Facebook.
Obituaries >> James Creswell Spotts March 2, 1948 – July 14, 2013
James (Jim) Creswell Spotts was born March 2, 1948 in New Brighton, Pennsylvania, to the Reverend Alfred Spotts and Martha Jean Creswell Spotts. He grew up in Sterling, Kansas and was one of eight children. Jim passed away on July 14, 2013 in San Francisco, after a battle with cancer, at age 65.
Jim attended Maryville College, graduating in 1970. He spent his junior year at University of Ibadan, Nigeria. After college he did two years of service at a Boston hospital, where he served after becoming a conscientious objector. Jim moved to San Francisco in 1974. He opened a restaurant and then became a licensed contractor, renovating and building houses. In 2005, Jim moved to Mariposa, California, where
Richard Scott Solsten March 23, 1949 – July 3, 2013
Richard Scott “Rick” Solsten passed into the Light quietly and peacefully at Coming Home Hospice
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<< Sports
16 • Bay Area Reporter • August 1-7, 2013
World Outgames 3 opens in Belgium by Roger Brigham
Games, which is held in Europe in years that there are no Gay Games or Outgames. The 2011 EuroGames in Rotterdam drew roughly 3,000 athletes and the 2012 EuroGames in Budapest were projected to have drawn about 6,000. The human rights conference portion of the Outgames opened on Wednesday, July 31 and attracted as much attention for who will not be speaking as it did for who will be. Organizers had met earlier with Cuban activist Mariela Castro, niece of Fidel Castro, but she pulled her support for the conference ostensibly because she was not to be a keynote speaker. The politics of that could have been a tad awkward, since the final key speaker is Matti Herrera Bower, the Cuban-born mayor of Miami Beach, host of the next scheduled Outgames in 2017. Other speakers include Cameroon attorney Alice Nkom; Reykjavík mayor Jon Gnarr; former
Quebec premier Bernard Landry; Belgian trade union leader Rudy de Leeuw; and Flemish parliamentary leader Jan Peumans. Results from Antwerp events can be followed at http://www. woga2013.org.
ety of martial arts are being combined into a unified workshop. The total number of sports is now 30, with such options as archery, chess, shooting, petanque, and yoga. This is the third edition of
the World Outgames, which was launched in 2006 when Montreal organizers, who had won the bid to host the Gay Games, decided instead to host their own expanded event. They formed the Gay and Lesbian International Sports Association and created a “threepillar” model for the World Outgames that included sports, culture, and human rights. The first Outgames in Montreal lost multiple millions of dollars, but the second event, held in Copenhagen in 2009, finished in the black. Montreal 2006 drew about 12,000 total participants, including roughly 8,000 in sports. Copenhagen drew about 5,500 athletes, or 30 percent of what organizers had originally projected. The numbers should put Outgames 3 on par with the Euro-
Winning the state legislative seat would provide him an opportunity to be a role model not only for LGBT youth but also immigrant youth, Campos said. “I think for me, I am an immigrant who came here as a kid with nothing. For me, this is about working to make sure other children in the state of California have the same chances that I had and have the same opportunities I had as a young person,” said Campos, who first came to the United States at the age of 14 as an undocumented immigrant from Guatemala and went on to be a Harvard Law
School graduate. “That is what this means for me. In the state Assembly we can make a difference in ensuring opportunities not only in the district but throughout the state.” The current officeholder, gay Democratic Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, will be termed out of office next year. He has endorsed Campos’s 2014 bid to succeed him in the state Legislature. “David is the new face of the movement. He is not only Latino and gay but also progressive,” said Ammiano. “I am very excited by his candidacy. While I hate to leave the Assembly, I think he is the most qualified.”
So far the only other candidate expected to run is District 3 Supervisor David Chiu, the board president who also recently became engaged to his girlfriend of five years, Candace Chen. An announcement from Chiu on if he will enter the race is likely to come later this fall. Asked about the possibility of running against his board colleague, Campos told the B.A.R. that he doubted it would impact their working relationship at City Hall. “I think we are both adults and are both professionals who will be able to work together. This is not a personal thing,” said Campos, who prior to winning his supervisor seat had worked as a deputy city attorney and was the lead legal counsel to the city’s public school district. “I think I am here to make my case, to talk about why I believe I am the best choice for this job, and my ideas or priorities that I have for leading an Assembly district.” Should Campos win the election next November, he would be the first Latino Assembly person from San Francisco. He would also maintain openly gay representation from the 17th Assembly District, which has long been viewed as the LGBT community’s seat. Prior to Ammiano, gay state Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) had served in the seat covering San Francisco’s eastern neighborhoods, including the gay Castro district. Leno succeeded state Assemblywoman Carole Migden after she won election to the state Senate. “I certainly would be honored to continue to have LGBT representation from that district,” said Campos. “But ultimately voters will have to decide that as well.”
Housing Opportunity, Partnerships and Engagement for Mayor Ed Lee; and B.A.R. society columnist Donna Sachet. “As more people get to know David, they will feel as we do. Having sat next to David on the Board of Supervisors, I am very proud to endorse him in this race,” said Dufty, formerly the city’s District 8 supervisor. DeJesus said that Campos is well respected in the Latino community and his base of support in the Mission district would be advantageous in the Assembly race. “I think that would help him going forward,” said DeJesus. “I think he is well supported in the Latino community.” Chung added that Campos’s story also resonates with Asian American voters in the district, as many also came to America as immigrants and had to rebuild their lives. “His story is not too different from that of Asian Americans who came to this city and had to work their way up and find their place and to build their future,” said Chung. With Latino and Chinese voters about equal in the Assembly district, the LGBT vote could play a critical role in determining who wins the race. While Chiu is well regarded within LGBT circles, Campos’s being a member of the community may give him an edge. “I think the demographics are good for me,” said Campos when asked about the voting makeup of the 17th Assembly District. LGBT leaders also noted that Campos has already drawn support from both progressives and more moderates in the community, pointing to his ability to “create consensus” on issues as a main reason. “We have been fortunate that the people sent to Sacramento from our community have been coalition builders,” said Sparks, adding that Campos would continue that tradition. As of now Campos has yet to hire a campaign staff or consultant. He is working on revamping his supervisor campaign website, http://www.davidcampossf.com, for the Assembly race and plans to hold his first fundraiser sometime in September. “We know this race is winnable for us and we will work as hard as we can,” Campos said.t
T
he sports program of the 2013 World Outgames in Antwerp, Belgium begins this Saturday, August 3, with rowing competition and opening ceremonies. As late as March of this year organizers were speculating the event would draw 6,000 athletes for about 40 sports. Steven Goosens, marketing manager of Antwerp 2013, told the Bay Area Reporter this week 5,000 athletes had registered, with the largest number of athletes coming from Germany and the United States. Goosens said 500 of those athletes would compete in aquatics. Seventy-five percent of the registrants are men. Some sports initially announced for the event have been dropped because of lack of registrations, including figure skating and ice hockey, which were cut in February. Baseball had been announced as a sport in addition to softball but was eliminated without notice. Wrestling and a vari-
<<
Campos
From page 1
seat had long been expected. But only recently did he make up his mind, Campos, 42, told the Bay Area Reporter in an exclusive interview Monday. “It was something I began to think about seriously in the last few months,” said Campos, who was re-elected to his second and final four-year term on the Board of Supervisors in 2012. “To be honest, it is a very personal decision and I needed to think about what was the right thing for me and my family. After thinking about it, I decided that it was.”
t
Miami Beach Mayor Matti Herrera Bower will address the World Outgames in Belgium.
Clean up the Plaza • Seguridad para la Plaza
Thank You Northeast Mission Business Association Mission Creek Merchants Association Valencia Corridor Merchants Association
and all of the Mission business owners, property owners, tenants, BART riders and shoppers who have already signed the “Clean Up the Plaza” petition. In the next weeks, we will deliver the thousands of signatures to City Officials to demand that something be done to make the 16th and Mission Plaza a safe and pleasurable place for our neighborhood, families and visitors.
We need your help. If you have not yet signed the petition, please visit our website and do it now. Thanks again! Gil Chavez, Organizer
Together we can change it.
www.cleanuptheplaza.com www.seguridadparalaplaza.com
Broad LGBT support
He has already formed an LGBT advisory steering committee for his Assembly campaign. Serving as chair is Steve Adams, a gay man who is president of the city’s Small Business Commission. “I am very passionate about keeping that seat an LGBT seat in Sacramento,” said Adams, a senior vice president and regional manager at Sterling Bank and Trust. Others serving on the LGBT committee include Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club President Tom Temprano; Human Rights Commission Executive Director Theresa Sparks; Health Commissioner Cecilia Chung; Police Commissioners Petra DeJesus and Julius Turman; Bevan Dufty, director of
Soccer’s Rogers recognized
Equality California has announced that it will honor openly gay soccer player Robbie Rogers with the Courage in Leadership Award at its 2013 Los Angeles Equality Awards dinner in October. “By living an authentic life as a proud openly gay athlete, Robbie Rogers is leading the path for others to follow,” John O’Connor, Equality California’s executive director, said in a statement. “Rogers is a perfect example of why we sponsored the FAIR Education Act, which enables students to learn about the extraordinary courage and public service of successful lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.” Rogers is the only active openly gay male player in major professional U.S. sports.t
National News>>
t t U.N. begins equality campaign Read more online at www.ebar.com
by Heather Cassell
T
he United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, has launched a yearlong global public education campaign for LGBT equality. The campaign, dubbed Free and Equal, will raise awareness and respect for LGBTs around the world. It was announced at a July 26 news conference in Cape Town, South Africa where Pillay was joined by Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu and the first openly gay justice of the South African Constitutional Court, Edwin Cameron, who was appointed by former president Nelson Mandela. More than 76 countries criminalize consensual same-sex relationships, according to a 2011 U.N. report on violence and discrimination against LGBT people. Discrimination against LGBT people ranges from housing and employment to imprisonment and death.
<<
Pink Saturday
From page 5
available Wednesday. Police haven’t yet released a booking photo. Investigators are trying to determine if Porter-Bailey and his companions were the same people who committed other robberies and assaults just after this year’s Pink Saturday street party, which drew thousands of people. The incidents occurred on Market Street between Civic Center and Castro Street around the same time period, police
<<
Gay DA
From page 13
nine.
‘Doing the right thing’
Cricket also came up when Clark discussed working out plea deals in cases, which is something he doesn’t seem interested in. “I haven’t settled many of my homicide cases,” he said, adding that if Cricket could speak English, “she could settle cases. ... I’m here to try them.” However, Clark also said, “I’m not going to file cases where the proof is not there,” and he said that he once dismissed an attempted murder case mid-trial because the victim “lied while he was on the stand.” “Doing the right thing really isn’t that hard to do,” he said. Clark, who considers himself “an amateur sociologist,” said, “I love what I do for a living.” He said he never feels more alive than when he’s in trial. He also said he’s “tried to mentor younger attorneys.” The biggest thing he works with them on is “how to communicate with witnesses.” “I have a conversation with people when they’re on the stand,” said Clark, while younger prosecutors may “script everything out,” which can mean “you’re not catching the nuance in the answer.” “I try to teach them to be better listeners” and coach them on how to make the 12 jurors “more receptive to your point of view,” he said. Clark indicated he wants people in the community to be more receptive to taking part in the process. “I would like people who believe in public safety to stop avoiding jury service,” he said. “If the community would become more involved and help make it the political will of the community to better support law enforcement, I
To counter the anti-gay laws and societal attitudes, the campaign will focus on the need for both legal reforms and public education to counter homophobia and transphobia, according the U.N. news release. It was fitting that the announcement was made in South Africa, where Pillay lives. The African nation has set an example around the world with its progressive laws protecting and providing rights to LGBT individuals, yet it continues to struggle with the implementation of those laws. In spite of its troubles protecting LGBT individuals, it remains an example for all of Africa, which is plagued by discrimination and violence against LGBT people. The campaign comes shortly after President Barack Obama’s trip to Africa in late June, where he sparred with Senegalese President Macky Sall over LGBT rights. African leaders and some activists
said. On July 16, Superior Court Judge Andrew Y.S. Cheng held two people who’d been with Porter-Bailey to stand trial on charges stemming from other incidents that occurred early June 30. Cheng found there was sufficient evidence to hold Johnay Davis, 20, and Julian Williams, 22, both of Oakland, to answer on two counts of second-degree robbery, a charge of attempted second-degree robbery, and an allegation of causing great bodily injury. During Davis’s
think the city would be safer,” said Clark. Among his colleagues, Clark is apparently known for his quick wit, a talent he displayed during the recent interview. At one point, Alex
in the U.S. have recently criticized Obama for pushing the gay agenda in Africa. Some activists are pointing to the recent murders and jailing of LGBT people, which are viewed as a backlash in response to his stance. Obama is receiving similar criticism for his silence on Russia’s homophobic laws and crackdown on LGBT citizens. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Kimoon commended the Free and Equal campaign, calling it an “unprecedented” initiative. “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights promises a world in which everyone is born free and equal in dignity and rights – no exceptions, no one left behind,” said Pillay, stressing that the discrimination that many LGBT people face is a violation of basic human rights. “Yet it’s still a hollow promise for many millions of LGBT people forced to confront hatred, intolerance, violence and discrimination on a daily basis.”t A longer version is online at ebar.com.
preliminary hearing, she was identified as the person who robbed the woman of her purse outside the Mint and helped Porter-Bailey attack her. Additionally, Cheng held Williams to answer on another attempted second-degree robbery charge. Police are urging people who believe that they were victims or potential victims of the same suspects but did not report the incident to contact the Mission Station Investigation Team at (415) 558-5400.t
Bastian, an assistant district attorney who serves as Gascón’s chatty spokesman, chimed in and talked about the work the agency’s victims services unit does with families.t “This will be great for your profile
Bay Area Reporter August 1-7, 2013 Bay area reporter 1717 August 1-7, 2013• • ••
Legal Notices>> SUMMONS (FAMILY LAW) SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF CONTRA COSTA NOTICE TO RESPONDENT: MICHAEL P. GIANNINI, YOU ARE BEING SUED. PETITIONER’S NAME IS ESTHER A. DIXON CASE NO. D13-00517 You have 30 CALENDAR DAYS after this Summons and Petition are served on you to file a Response (form FL-120 or FL-123) at the court and have a copy served on the petitioner. A letter or phone call will not protect you. If you do not file your Response on time, the court may make orders affecting your marriage or domestic partnerships, your property, and custody of your children. You may be ordered to pay support and attorney fees and costs. If you cannot pay the filing fee, ask the clerk for a fee waiver form. If you want legal advice, contact a lawyer immediately. You can get information about finding lawyers at the California Courts Online Self-Help Center (www.courtinfo.ca.gov/ selfhelp), at the California Legal Services Web site (www.lawhelpcalifornia.org), or by contacting your local county bar association. SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF CONTRA COSTA, 751 PINE ST., MARTINEZ, CA 94533. The name, address, and telephone number of petitioner’s attorney, or the petitioner without an attorney, is: ESTHER A. DIXON, 314 MALCOLM DR., RICHMOND, CA 94801 Date: JAN 31, 2013. Clerk of the Superior Court, by AJ GAMBOL, Deputy.
JULY 18, 25 AUG 01, 08, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035224200 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: STARPAC TRADING, 445-447 SUTTER ST. #412, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94108. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed EDGARD ESPIRITU. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/08/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/08/13.
JULY 11, 18, 25, AUG 1, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035215000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BERNARDO TRANSPORTATION CO, 3159 CESAR CHAVEZ #6, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MANOLO BERNARDO MERCHANT. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/02/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/02/13.
JULY 11, 18, 25, AUG 1, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035198600
RICK BARTALINI
PRESENTS
TICKETS AVAILABLE AT RBPCONCERTS.COM
JULY 11, 18, 25, AUG 1, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035227900 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: THE MARKET; THE MARKET ON MARKET; MARKET ON MARKET; M.O.M.; 1355 MARKET ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed MARKET ON MARKET, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/09/13.
JULY 11, 18, 25, AUG 1, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0352212 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SAN FRANCISCO INN, 385 9TH ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed NINTH STREET LODGING LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/05/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/05/13.
JULY 11, 18, 25, AUG 1, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035226000
JULY 11, 18, 25, AUG 1, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035224700
JULY 11, 18, 25, AUG 1, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035202900 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BERNAL HEIGHTS MARKET, 3391 MISSION ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ISSA DABAI. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/25/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/25/13.
JULY 11, 18, 25, AUG 1, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035222000
SAN FRANCISCO, CA
The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MERCURY DISTRIBUTING; MERCURY MANAGEMENT; MERCURY MAIL ORDER; MERCURY DISTRIBUTORS; MERCURY PUBLISHING; 4077A 18TH ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed PATRICK E. BATT. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/04/82. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/10/13.
JULY 11, 18, 25, AUG 1, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035220800
The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ULTRA WORLD COMMUNICATION CO., 1010 STOCKTON ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94108. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed RUN CHANG HE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/24/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/02/13.
AUGUST 6 & 7
JULY 11, 18, 25, AUG 1, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035228300
The following person(s) is/are doing business as: USA POWER MARKET, 1532 OCEAN AVE., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed AMY WONG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/24/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/24/13.
JULY 11, 18, 25, AUG 1, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035216400
EXCLUSIVE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA PERFORMANCE
In the matter of the application of: MARIA ESTRELLA DIANE PEREZ VANCIL, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner MARIA ESTRELLA DIANE PEREZ VANCIL, is requesting that the name MARIA ESTRELLA DIANE PEREZ VANCIL, be changed to MORNINGSTAR P. VANCIL. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 514 on the 5th of Sept. 2013 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.
The following person(s) is/are doing business as: REENTRY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM; RECOVERY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM; RAP; 3012 16TH ST. #201, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103-5933. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed RECOVERY SURVIVAL NETWORK (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/09/13.
The following person(s) is/are doing business as: WALKIN DOGS, 333 FREDERICK ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed CHARLENE M. HAUGE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/01/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/05/13.
THE MAGIC RETURNS
ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC13-549516
The following person(s) is/are doing business as: THOUSAND ORCHIDS, 4 DESMOND ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94134. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed HERMAN LEE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/05/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/05/13.
JULY 11, 18, 25, AUG 1, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035228200
The following person(s) is/are doing business as: YOUTH SF, 4722 MISSION ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed FRIENDS OF ST STEPHENS (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/08/13.
JULY 11, 18, 25, AUG 1, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035193400 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: RD TRANSPORT, 1958 35TH AVE., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed ABSOLUTE IMPORT USA (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/20/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/20/13.
JULY 11, 18, 25, AUG 1, 2013 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-034687600 The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: VAGABOND INN CIVIC CENTER, 385 9TH ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business was conducted by a limited liability company and signed by NINTH STREET LODGING LLC (CA). The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/31/12.
JULY 11, 18, 25, AUG 1, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035243600 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ALWAYS TRUCKING, 1601 CORTLAND AVE., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed PATRICIA ESPINOZA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 02/01/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/16/13.
JULY 18, 25, AUG 01, 08, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035239900
The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PACIFIC BAY REALTY, 3601 CABRILLO ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed IGOR BELOV. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/09/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/09/13.
The following person(s) is/are doing business as: HEADLIGHTS HAIR STUDIO, 494 HAYES ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed GLENN KEITH DE MATTIA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/15/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/15/13.
JULY 11, 18, 25, AUG 1, 2013
JULY 18, 25, AUG 01, 08, 2013
Serving the LGBT communities since 1971
18 • BAY AREA REPORTER • August 1-7, 2013
Classifieds
▼
The
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www.computerhelpsf.com Recorded information at 415-820-3251
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Legal Notices>> ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC13-549673 In the matter of the application of: RAYMOND FONG, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner RAYMOND FONG, is requesting that the name JIA CHENG FANG, be changed to ANSON FONG. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 514 on the 26th of September 2013 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.
AUG 01, 08, 15, 22, 2013 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC13-549676 In the matter of the application of: ANTHONY T. HOANG, CHIN-YI LEE for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner ANTHONY T. HOANG, CHIN-YI LEE, is requesting that the name ANTHONY TAI HOANG be changed to ANTHONY TAI HUANG; the name CHENNAN LEE HOANG be changed to CHENNAN LEE HUANG; and the name ANNIE LEE HOANG be changed to ANNIE LEE HUANG. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 514 on the 1st of October 2013 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.
AUG 01, 08, 15, 22, 2013 NOTICE OF APPLICATION TO SELL ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES Dated 07/02/13 To Whom It May Concern: The name(s) of the applicant(s) is/are: 242 COLUMBUS AVENUE LLC. The applicants listed above are applying to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control at 33 New Montgomery St. #1230, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105 to sell alcoholic beverages at 242 COLUMBUS AVE., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133-4509. Type of license applied for
47- ON-SALE GENERAL EATING PLACE JULY 18, 25, AUG 01, 2013
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Legal Notices>> ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CAlIFORNIA, COUNTy OF SAN FRANCISCO FIlE CNC13-549661 In the matter of the application of: JOSHUA EZRIN & LARA EZRIN, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner JOSHUA EZRIN & LARA EZRIN, is requesting that the name ANA LUCERO EZRIN, be changed to ISABEL ANA LUCERO EZRON. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 514, Rm. 514 on the 24th of September 2013 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.
AUG 01, 08, 15, 22, 2013 NOTICE OF APPlICATION TO SEll AlCOHOlIC bEvERAGES Dated 07/12/13 To Whom It May Concern: The name(s) of the applicant(s) is/are: CARMEL PIZZA LLC. The applicants listed above are applying to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control at 33 New Montgomery St. #1230, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105 to sell alcoholic beverages at 2826 JONES ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133-1110. Type of license applied for
41- ON-SAlE bEER & WINE - EATING PlACE JUly 18, 25, AUG 01, 2013 NOTICE OF APPlICATION TO SEll AlCOHOlIC bEvERAGES Dated 07/11/13 To Whom It May Concern: The name(s) of the applicant(s) is/are: URBAN PUTT SAN FRANCISCO LLC. The applicants listed above are applying to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control at 33 New Montgomery St. #1230, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105 to sell alcoholic beverages at 1096 S VAN NESS AVE., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110-2616. Type of license applied for
41- ON-SAlE bEER & WINE - EATING PlACE JUly 18, 25, AUG 01, 2013 NOTICE OF APPlICATION TO SEll AlCOHOlIC bEvERAGES Dated 07/08/13 To Whom It May Concern: The name(s) of the applicant(s) is/are: HENRY CHANG, QIN CHEN. The applicants listed above are applying to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control at 33 New Montgomery St. #1230, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105 to sell alcoholic beverages at 836 IRVING ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122-2311. Type of license applied for
41- ON-SAlE bEER & WINE - EATING PlACE JUly 18, 25, AUG 01, 2013 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CAlIFORNIA, COUNTy OF SAN FRANCISCO FIlE CNC13-549642 In the matter of the application of: ALICE ANNE PIERCE, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner ALICE ANNE PIERCE, is requesting that the name ALICE ANNE PIERCE, be changed to ALICE PIERCE JOHNSTON. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Rm. 514 on the 12th of September 2013 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.
JUly 18, 25, AUG 01, 08, 2013 FICTITIOUS bUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035242500 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: L & G ELECTRONICS, 101 GUTENBER ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed CHENGYU GUO. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/16/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/16/13.
JUly 18, 25, AUG 01, 08, 2013 FICTITIOUS bUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035230700 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PORTER GULCH DESIGNS, 1635 GOUGH ST. #604, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed BROOKE DEDIEGO. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/07/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/10/13.
JUly 18, 25, AUG 01, 08, 2013 FICTITIOUS bUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035237400 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM TRAININGS, 5214F DIAMOND HEIGHTS #106, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94131. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed RICHARD LAWRENCE RUSSO. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/03/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/15/13.
JUly 18, 25, AUG 01, 08, 2013 FICTITIOUS bUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035225700
NOTICE OF APPlICATION TO SEll AlCOHOlIC bEvERAGES
FICTITIOUS bUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035222100
FICTITIOUS bUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035212300
FICTITIOUS bUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035264400
Dated 07/18/13 To Whom It May Concern: The name(s) of the applicant(s) is/are: REGNO LIMONE LLC. The applicants listed above are applying to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control at 33 New Montgomery St. #1230, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105 to sell alcoholic beverages at 636 2ND ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. Type of license applied for
The following person(s) is/are doing business as: J & J, 175 ORSI CIRCLE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by a married couple, and is signed JACLYN LEE & WESLEY LEE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/05/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/05/13.
The following person(s) is/are doing business as: HIRE RIGHT CONSULTING, 152 CHENERY ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94131. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed TSZ YEE CHAO. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/18/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/01/13.
41- ON SAlE bEER & WINE - EATING PlACE AUG 01, 08, 15, 2013 FICTITIOUS bUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035226700
JUly 18, 25, AUG 01, 08, 2013 FICTITIOUS bUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035245400
JUly 04, 11, 18, 25, 2013 FICTITIOUS bUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035270300
The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MULE RADIO SYNDICATE, 209 9TH ST. #300, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed MULE DESIGN STUDIO INC. (CA) & CALEB SEXTON. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/01/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/26/13.
The following person(s) is/are doing business as: TREEHUGGERS, 1562 PLAZA DR., SAN LEANDRO, CA 94578. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JUSTIN C. SPENCER. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/17/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/17/13.
The following person(s) is/are doing business as: RATCHA THAI CATERING, 631 BROADWAY ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed TIPSUWON INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/29/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/29/13.
JUly 25, AUG 01, 08, 15, 2013 FICTITIOUS bUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035247000
AUG 01, 08, 15, 22, 2013 FICTITIOUS bUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035212300
The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ASIANA TRAVEL, 3001 GEARY BLVD. #203, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed DONG YOUNG LEE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/18/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/18/13.
The following person(s) is/are doing business as: HIRE RIGHT CONSULTING, 152 CHENERY ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94131. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed TSZ YEE CHAO. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/18/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/01/13.
JUly 25, AUG 01, 08, 15, 2013 FICTITIOUS bUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035248100
JUly 11, 18, 25, AUG 01, 2013 FICTITIOUS bUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035245100
The following person(s) is/are doing business as: GOODFLOWER PAPER AND DESIGN, 1235B DIVISADERO ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MAUREEN BHAK. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/18/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/18/13.
The following person(s) is/are doing business as: TROCADERO CLUB, 701 GEARY ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed ALCYONE, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/17/13.
The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CONTRABRANDS, 2539A POLK ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed NICHOLAS R. AVEDESIAN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/09/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/09/13.
JUly 18, 25, AUG 01, 08, 2013 FICTITIOUS bUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035233400 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: RAGE STYLE SAVVY BOUTIQUE, 1678 KIRKWOOD ST. #B, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed KASHIA DOMINQUE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/11/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/11/13.
JUly 18, 25, AUG 01, 08, 2013 FICTITIOUS bUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035241300 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SPACES DESIGN, 966 ILLINOIS ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed MARK STEVEN MILLER & FELIPE MAXIMO RODRIGUEZ. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/19/05. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/16/13.
JUly 18, 25, AUG 01, 08, 2013 FICTITIOUS bUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035235100 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: HENRY’S HOUSE OF COFFEE, 1618 NORIEGA, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed HOUSE OF COFFEE INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/01/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/12/13.
JUly 18, 25, AUG 01, 08, 2013 FICTITIOUS bUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035232200 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: GOLDEN BAY CUSTOM UPHOLSTERY, 936 RUTLAND ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94134. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JOSE A. CORTEZ. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/11/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/11/13.
AUG 01, 08, 15, 22, 2013 FICTITIOUS bUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035229100 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BAY EQUITY REVERSE, 100 CALIFORNIA #1100, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94111. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed BAY EQUITY LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/01/09. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/10/13.
JUly 18, 25, AUG 01, 08, 2013 FICTITIOUS bUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035234600 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: GREAT CLIPS 5270, 1770 FULTON ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed GRACE GCCA LLC - (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/01/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/12/13.
JUly 18, 25, AUG 01, 08, 2013 NOTICE OF APPlICATION TO SEll AlCOHOlIC bEvERAGES Dated 07/17/13 To Whom It May Concern: The name(s) of the applicant(s) is/are: TANPOPO INC. The applicants listed above are applying to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control at 33 New Montgomery St. #1230, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105 to sell alcoholic beverages at 1740 BUCHANAN ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115-3209. Type of license applied for
41- ON-SAlE bEER & WINE - EATING PlACE JUly 25, AUG 01, 08, 2013 FICTITIOUS bUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035254200
JUly 25, AUG 01, 08, 15, 2013 FICTITIOUS bUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035249300
JUly 25, AUG 01, 08, 15, 2013 FICTITIOUS bUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035235800
The following person(s) is/are doing business as: JOSHUA JOHNSON CUSTOM APPAREL, 225 HYDE ST. #103, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JOSHUA JOHNSON. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/19/13.
The following person(s) is/are doing business as: TALK STREAM NETWORK; TSN; 2500 MARIN ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed SWIRL BROADCASTING, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/12/13.
JUly 25, AUG 01, 08, 15, 2013 FICTITIOUS bUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035252200
JUly 25, AUG 01, 08, 15, 2013 FICTITIOUS bUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035221300
The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SOUL FOOD CITY, 403 EDDY ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed AMINE JEMAI. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/19/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/19/13.
JUly 25, AUG 01, 08, 15, 2013 FICTITIOUS bUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035205900 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: REVENGE, 1427 NEWCOMB AVE., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JAZZ BANKS. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/26/13.
JUly 25, AUG 01, 08, 15, 2013 FICTITIOUS bUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035251000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: COFFORNIA, 296 OCEAN AVE., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed COFFORNIA LTD (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/19/13.
JUly 25, AUG 01, 08, 15, 2013 FICTITIOUS bUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035255200 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SHABU TONIGHT, 1222 NORIEGA ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed IST, INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/23/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/23/13.
JUly 25, AUG 01, 08, 15, 2013 FICTITIOUS bUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035247800 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PUBLIC ARCHITECTURE, 1211 FOLSOM ST., 4TH FL., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed PUBLIC DESIGN STUDIO (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 04/17/02. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/18/13.
JUly 25, AUG 01, 08, 15, 2013 FICTITIOUS bUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035208200
The following person(s) is/are doing business as: KIRIN ENTERPRISE, 3700 CABRILLO ST. #304, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed CHEN HUANG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/09/13.
The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ANTHONY CIANCIOLO ENTERPRISE, 3488 22ND ST. #4, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ANTHONY CIANCIOLO. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/22/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/22/13.
The following person(s) is/are doing business as: OCEAN ANTIQUE AND COLLECTIBLES, 2407 OCEAN AVE., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94127. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed WEI CHAO KUANG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/27/13.
JUly 18, 25, AUG 01, 08, 2013
JUly 25, AUG 01, 08, 15, 2013
AUG 01, 08, 15, 22, 2013
The following person(s) is/are doing business as: LUCKY RIDER, 2665 GENEVA AVE. #408, DALY CITY, CA 94014. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed PATRICK J. TIERNEY. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/05/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/05/13.
AUG 01, 08, 15, 22, 2013 FICTITIOUS bUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035261500 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: RIGHT-HAND WOMAN, 2014 21ST AVE., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed DENA BETH MENDELSOHN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/18/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/25/13.
AUG 01, 08, 15, 22, 2013 FICTITIOUS bUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035256400 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PRIME REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT, 63 ELLIS ST, SAN FRANCISCO., CA 94102. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JOHN KONSTIN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/10/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/23/13.
AUG 01, 08, 15, 22, 2013 FICTITIOUS bUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035270800 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: KNIGHTS INN, 1 RICHARDSON AVE., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94123. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ASLEM A. SHAIKH. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/29/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/29/13.
AUG 01, 08, 15, 22, 2013 FICTITIOUS bUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035273000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: AIRWERKS, 1527 27TH AVE., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed WILSON TAM & WING CHAN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/30/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/30/13.
AUG 01, 08, 15, 22, 2013 FICTITIOUS bUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035228500 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PESCE, 2223 MARKET ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed PESCE LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/10/13 The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/10/13.
JUly 18, 25, AUG 01, 08, 2013
AUG 01, 08, 15, 22, 2013 FICTITIOUS bUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035236300 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: TWIN WALLS MURAL COMPANY, 3840 FOLSOM ST. #3, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed ELAINE C. CHU & MARINA PEREZ-WONG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/12/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/12/13.
AUG 01, 08, 15, 22, 2013 FICTITIOUS bUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-0352704000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ASIAN BOWL; SIAM SAIGON 2; 629 BROADWAY ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed TIPSUWON INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/2913. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/29/13.
AUG 01, 08, 15, 22, 2013 FICTITIOUS bUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035241700 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: FOG CITY, 1300 BATTERY ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94111. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed 1300 BATTERY, INC., A CALIFORNIA CORPORATION (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/16/13.
JUly 25, AUG 01, 08, 15, 2013 FICTITIOUS bUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035221800 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MAHADEV HOTEL, 2420 VAN NESS AVE., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed S & S HOSPITALITY INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/27/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/05/13.
JUly 25, AUG 01, 08, 15, 2013 FICTITIOUS bUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035271300 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SAFE PATIENT HANDLING SOLUTIONS, 1226 32ND AVE., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed SAFE PATIENT HANDLING SOLUTIONS LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/29/13.
AUG 01, 08, 15, 22, 2013 FICTITIOUS bUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035258000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: TOSCA CAFE, 242 COLUMBUS AVE., SAN FRANCISCO CA 94133. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed 242 COLUMBUS AVENUE LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/20/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/24/13.
AUG 01, 08, 15, 22, 2013 FICTITIOUS bUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035252000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: COBBLE & FORGE, 358 EDINBURGH ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed COBBLE AND FORGE, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/15/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/19/13.
AUG 01, 08, 15, 22, 2013 FICTITIOUS bUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FIlE A-035266400 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SAATCHI & SAATCHI S, 501 YORK ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed ACT NOW PRODUCTIONS, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 03/07/08. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/26/13.
AUG 01, 08, 15, 22, 2013 STATEMENT OF AbANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS bUSINESS NAME FIlE A-033379400 The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: KINDRED NURSING AND REHABILITATION CENTER-VICTORIAN, 2121 PINE ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business was conducted by a limited liability company and signed by KINDRED NURSING CENTERS WEST, LLC (DE). The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 02/28/11.
AUG 01, 08, 15, 22, 2013
Knight court
29
Hannah's game
Chemistry set
Out &About
25
O&A
23
26
The
Vol. 43 • No. 31 • August 1-7, 2013
Dance in the open air
www.ebar.com/arts
Operatic Oscar
by Paul Parish
by Philip Campbell
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San Francisco Ballet dancers in a previous Stern Grove Festival performance. Scott Wall
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t was a grey day in Stern Grove, the spectacular wilderness-park where San Francisco Ballet danced last Sunday out in the open air. There, for three-quarters of a century, free concerts have been presented all summer long. The old philanthropists made amazing gifts: Mrs. Sigmund Stern made a magnificent bequest, as grand a gesture as the park itself, which is a miniature Yosemite within the 7x7 of San Francisco. It’s as if some god had dropped his ax and left a gorge 500 feet deep, now carpeted in deep forest green, spangled with nasturtiums, bristling with towering eucalyptus trees. On the floor of this valley rests a natural amphitheater with perfect acoustics, which the late, great Lawrence Halprin “methodized” into a landscape garden.
A crowd of thousands, babes in arms to folks in wheelchairs, showed up to picnic on the lawn, on the terraces, up the hillside among the trees, to see the home team dance for them, and they gave them a heart-warming welcome. SFB gave a mixed program of pieces, two of which they’ll be showing in New York this October. I hope New Yorkers like it as much as we did. Sunday’s program was a parade of the strength of our dancers. What a company! The men must rank as one of the world’s best ensembles – of which the finale (Suite en blanc, which looks a lot like a suite from Swan Lake) gave overwhelming evidence, with wave after wave of men doing cabrioles, entrechats, tours en l’air, all “the steps out of the hard book,” in See page 23 >>
hen self-declared genius and reThe story follows through his imprisonment nowned Irish aesthete Oscar Wilde and final release. m a d e The Santa his famous tour of Fe Opera America in 1882, and Opera the front page of the Company of San Francisco ExamPhiladelphia iner offered “A hearty co-commishand of fellowship, sioned and My Brother, Poet, produced the Friend!” Last Satsplendid prourday, the Santa Fe duction, with Opera welcomed the support from conquering hero back donors includto the States with a ing the Bob much bigger gesture, Ross Foundat ion. The the world premiere message of of Oscar by composer Oscar and Theodore Morrithe timing of son and co-librettist the premiere John Cox. Written for David Daniels as Oscar could not be countertenor extraorWilde and Kevin Burdette as more relevant dinaire David DanColonel Isaacson in Santa Fe today, while iels, the compelling Opera’s Oscar. discrimination new work chronicles Ken Howard against sexual the last days Wilde orientation persists amid growing signs of lespent with friends in England before his trial gal change and acceptance. for gross indecency that resulted in a convicMorrison and Cox depict Wilde’s humanity tion and sentencing to two years’ hard labor See page 22 >> and transfer to the notorious Reading Gaol.
Adrift in San Francisco A by David Lamble
Cate Blanchett as Jasmine and Bobby Cannavale as Chili in director Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine. Merrick Morton, Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics
pproaching the dog days of summer, the last thing a critic expects to be doing is handing out Oscar tip-sheets. But there’s no getting around it, Cate Blanchett is over the moon in the strongest Woody Allen-penned drama since 2004’s Match Point. In Blue Jasmine, Allen hands the Australian some juicy material – it’s not often anyone gets to emote through a script inspired by two of this country’s finest tragedians, Tennessee Williams and Bernard Madoff. A drama that alternates between New York flashbacks where the title character is married to a charming, thoroughgoing scoundrel, Hal (Alec Baldwin), and a spiraling out-of-control San Francisco present tense, Blue Jasmine is unusually riveting because right out the box we’re aware that we’re witnessing the meltdown of a vulnerable, fragile soul who long ago learned to show a tough façade to the world, especially to that part of it consisting of relatives. In Act I, Jasmine arrives at SFO talking up a storm with any stranger who’ll lend her an ear. But Jasmine’s self-aggrandizing monologues are frequently not directed at anyone at all. Arriving at her sister Gin-
{ SECOND OF TWO SECTIONS }
ger’s (Mike Leigh regular Sally Hawkins) Mission District flat, it’s clear that the women have radically different expectations about the nature and duration of Jasmine’s sudden visit. “My flight was bumpy, the food was awful! You’d think, first class?” “I thought you were tapped out!” “I’m dead broke, really, the government took everything!” “All I can say is that you look great.” “Now look who’s lying!” Lying, of course, is at the core of the drama. In Blue Jasmine, Allen is in some ways building on the midlife-crisis material experienced by Gena Rowlands’ blocked writer in 1987’s Another Woman. Renting an office to finish her latest novel, Rowlands was unnerved, then transfixed when a young pregnant woman’s sessions with her shrink came wafting through the heating vent. In Blue Jasmine, the voices Jasmine hears are unfortunately leaking out from her ruminations about the train wreck her marriage to the swindling Hal turned into. Even more disturbing are hints that Jasmine may have See page 30 >>
<< Out There
22 • Bay Area Reporter • August 1-7, 2013
Impresario extraordinaire by Roberto Friedman
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ateline: Washington, D.C. Currently on show at the National Gallery of Art, the large exhibition Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes, 1909-1929: When Art Danced with Music is a celebration of the role Russian impresario Serge Diaghilev played in promoting modernism in dance, music, and visual art. Without Diaghilev and his Ballets Russes, modern ballet as we know it today would never exist. Out There caught the show last week. Among his collaborators seen here are the artists Léon Bakst, Alexandre Benois, Jean Cocteau, Giorgio de Chirico, Sonia Delaunay, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, and Georges Rouault, and composers Igor Stravinsky, Erik Satie, and Sergei Prokofiev. His dancers and choreographers included Mikhail Fokine, Vaslav Nijinsky, Léonide
Massine, Bronislava Nijinska, and George Balanchine. Costume and scenic designs are plentiful, but there is movement and music in the galleries, too, with videos playing of the Joffrey Ballet performing Afternoon of a Faun and The Rite of Spring, and the New York City Ballet performing Prodigal Son. The show feels timely, with current 100th anniversary celebrations of The Rite’s infamous premiere, and author Robert Craft’s recent assertions that Stravinsky was a man who had sex with men – indeed, a composer who had sex with other composers (Ravel, supposedly). On view for the first time in a museum in the United States are the largest objects ever exhibited inside the Gallery: Natalia Goncharova’s backdrop for The Firebird (1926), measuring 51.5 feet wide by 33.5 feet tall, and the front curtain for The Blue Train (1924), 38.5 feet wide by 34 feet tall, designed by
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Wadsworth Athenaeum Museum of Art, Hartford, CT
Costume design for Vaslav Nijinsky as the Faun from The Afternoon of a Faun (1912), graphite, tempera and gold paint on laid charcoal paper by Léon Bakst.
drawn by the exoticism of Russia’s folk past, and the eroticism of Orientalist fantasies. Rite is a conception of pagan Russia set to extremely aggressive music, performed with a large orchestra for ballet, and exotic rhythms. The Ballets Russes never performed in Russia, but Diaghilev was always loyal to Russian artists. The exhibition is presented in five parts: The First Seasons considers
the company’s first seasons in Paris (1909-12); Vaslav Nijinsky: Dancer and Choreographer centers on the first of Diaghilev’s male protégés, a sensual dancer and choreographer celebrated for his technical brilliance; The Russian Avant-Garde; The International Avant-Garde; and Modernism, Neoclassicism, and Surrealism. Nijinsky emerges as a focus of fascination; at five-feet four-inches, with a long neck and massive thighs, he had a body scaled for modernism and primitivism. He invented a new dance technique: inward, low to the ground, flat-footed. Think of his lecherous, feral yet somehow refined and elegant Faun. Though the show originated at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, it is augmented by the National Gallery’s own paintings (Modigliani, de Chirico) and sculpture (Rodin, of Nijinsky). It’s the liveliest and most enjoyable art exhibition on view in the District today (through Sept. 2).t
from the poem “Two Loves” by Lord Alfred Douglas (nicknamed Bosie), a love that Wilde deemed “the noblest of emotions.” The pair openly consorted in London at a time when secrecy was necessary for survival. History has been unclear about the motivations of the young and beautiful Bosie, but one fact remains: he hated his viciously bigoted father, the 9th Marquess of Queensberry. Bosie was arrogantly confident of his own security in society, so insisted that Wilde sue his father for libel after he called their relationship deviant. The subsequent reprisal against the author and playwright trapped him in a knot of politics, Victorian morals and judicial cruelty. The new opera reminds us of his essential goodness, and exalts the integrity of his sacrifice. Wilde’s ideal of beauty may not have been realistic, but it was allconsuming, and it caused his downfall. He would not betray his truth. Oscar vindicates the homosexual icon and gives him a rightful place in the pantheon of immortals. The solid dramaturgy of Cox’s libretto flows from an illustrious directing career, and Morrison’s late start in composition (42) is crowned at age 75 with his brilliant first attempt at writing an opera. The score is assured and powerful, tender and achingly lyrical. The partnership’s combined talents yield some deeply moving moments, and provide a narrative arc that ends in a triumphant finale. With the stunning backdrop of the high New Mexico desert surrounding the stage of the beautiful
open-air Santa Fe Opera House, the production’s remarkable staging packed an impressive punch. It didn’t hurt when dramatic lightning flashes appeared in the distance. Conductor Evan Rogister moved the responsive and sonorous orchestra briskly throughout the performance, with expert attention to the details of Morrison’s orchestral fabric, filled with effective punctuation marks, brief snatches of period melody and lovely motifs. The cast was uniformly excellent, and tenor William Burden was especially effective as Wilde’s loyal friend Frank Harris, the irascible Irishman, American citizen and transatlantic journalist and publisher. His scenes comforting the wretched Wilde with kindness and fierce protectiveness were heartbreaking. Soprano Heidi Stober played Ada Leverson (another writer, and Oscar’s adored “Sphinx”) with a sweet and resolute sympathy. It was in Leverson’s nursery that Wilde resided until his trial, and the nursery setting gave director Kevin Newbury an opportunity for a coup de theatre when the toys came to life portraying the judge and jury in the farcical and distressing trial ending Act One. Baritone Dwayne Croft played American poet Walt Whitman as a singing narrator. His performance was fine, but he couldn’t help seeming dry. Framing devices are useful, but they don’t add much character to a role. In a clever stroke, Bosie became a silent dancing part. Reed Luplau looked right and moved with lithe agility, especially effective when See page 30 >>
Courtesy V&A, London
Vaslav Nijinsky from The Spirit of the Rose, poster for the opening season of the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Paris (1913), color lithograph by Jean Cocteau.
Picasso and painted by Diaghilev’s principal set designer Prince Alexander Schervashidze. In watercolor, gouache, gold and silver, the Firebird back cloth is a riot of gilt onion domes and spires. The Blue Train curtain is a vivid enlargement of Picasso’s “Two Women Running along the Beach” (1922). Both pieces are blockbusters. These avant-garde artists were
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Oscar, the opera
From page 21
and bravery in pioneering the new freedoms. They free him from victim status for his steadfast refusal to accept society’s ignorance. “I am the Love that dare not speak its name” is
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Theatre >>
August 1-7, 2013 • Bay Area Reporter • 23
Knights of the Round Table go punk by Richard Dodds
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xperiencing San Francisco Playhouse’s production of Camelot is something like seeing a CineScope movie in an art-house cinema. The theater company has wisely downscaled its seating capacity in what has previously been called Theatre on the Square and the Post Street Theater, but its rendering of Camelot is definitely widescreen. That’s not just an analogy, because a stage-wide screen is used for morphing scenic backdrops (by Micah Aanes) that could engulf a set (by Nina Ball) of lesser substantiality. What we have is epic intimacy that can’t help but reveal the strengths and flaws of the original material, as well as the highs and lows of a production that wants to confront some of those flaws. The primary change is to push the action further back in the Dark Ages to scruff up the energies, but that turns out to be mainly represented in the knights of King Arthur’s Round Table, who are now some form of punk hooligans. Several performers take on a casual conversational tone that helps freshen the material, which leaves Johnny Moreno, as King Arthur, all alone in his high-tone world. Arthur wonders at times if he may still be a savage, but wondering it in an accent suggesting someone who has studied to sound as if he were from Mayfair, a posh neighborhood yet to be conceived. “I’m not even sure I’m civilized,” the sau-
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SF Ballet
From page 21
a mounting crescendo of leaps and turns that amounted to an applause machine. The women went likewise through their paces – pirouettes ending on pointe or in total genuflection (and all this in the open air, on a cold stage in the fog), with no hint of whining, no evidence of effort. They’re up there in white tights, which reveal every flaw and do little to keep you warm, while the grateful audience is bundled up in hats and down jackets. Perhaps the best evidence of the dancers’ strength came in the new ballet Stone and Steel. It was made by corps dancer Myles Thatcher for the trainees (the very bottom rank of SFB, those who have not even been named apprentices) and had its premiere at a community matinee last year – and was utterly worthy of presentation by the real company on a real stage. Thatcher knows how to capitalize on the appeal of young dancers – without asking them to dance like mature artists, they can move with the power and finesse they have in abundance, in rhythms that resemble those of club dancing. The attack is juicy and powerful, like hip-hop – they hit their marks right on time, with a little extra creamy effort locking into place, like the door of a Mercedes making its expensive closure. Their tensile strength is like that of a knife hurled down into the floor. They’re dancing to strong-mood movie music (“Time Lapse” from
Jessica Palopoli
King Richard (Johnny Moreno) tries to convince his prospective bride Guenevere (Monique Hafen) of the charms of his homeland in Camelot, now playing at San Francisco Playhouse.
cer-eyed Moreno says in a manner that manages to curlicue “civilized” into a five-syllable word. Along with a face that expresses an actor seriously at work, it’s a performance that could benefit from not trying quite so hard. Monique Hafen brightens the day with insouciant charm as Guenevere, and in her early flirtations with Arthur, Hafen helps Moreno bring alive Alan Jay Lerner’s unexpectedly clever banter. Hafen also has the
best singing voice in the company, but the cast does not often do favors to the score written by Lerner and Frederick Loewe – which includes here the return of two songs cut from the Broadway production. Richard Burton and Julie Andrews were the original incarnations of Richard and Guenevere, but they were already stars when the show opened. It was Robert Goulet, with his swashbuckling good looks and booming baritone, who became a
star because of Camelot. That’s not what you get with Wilson Jermaine Heredia, who is best known as the cross-dressing Angel in the original production of Rent. Nor is his Lancelot anything like Angel. Heredia has created his own Lancelot, a little bit nerdy, and his boasts of superior faith and fortitude seem sort of sweet. But Heredia can’t do justice to Lancelot’s big song, “If Ever I Would Leave You,” in the higher registers where he takes it.
Man on a Wire, “I Saw Daddy Today” from Goodbye Lenin!), music that’s unsubtle but compelling; Thatcher has such a gift for use of space, for timing, entrances and exits, and overall structure that it succeeds by limiting its emotional range, and maximizing what it does use. Edwaard Liang’s “Distant Cries,” a pas de deux for the diva Yuan Yuan Tan and her excellent partner Damian Smith, displayed her spidery limbs impressively, but it rang hollow to me. SFB has made an international reputation as dancers of new works, and this program reflected their touring ambitions. They’re likeliest to have a hit with the new ballet From Foreign Lands by Alexei Ratmansky, which, though it’s an effervescent, lighter-than-air divertissement, is a fabulous little ballet that’s built to charm, and will probably last until dancers no longer want to dance. Ratmansky is the former director of the Bolshoi, a choreographer of wit and imagination who’s now the resident choreographer at American Ballet Theater in New York. He’s got a huge range, but he excels at the kind of irony that Shostakovich made central to his music. Under the Soviets, the truth could only be told in a joking manner, and Ratmansky brings that tradition with him here. From Foreign Lands is an exquisite parody of the folksy ballet – it’s built on the Central European “character dances” we know from the blockbuster “grand ballets” (Swan Lake, Don Quixote), the mazurka (Polish), czardas (Hungarian), tarantella
(Italian), etc., and set to the “lightclassical” music by Moritz Moskowsky from which it takes its title. Ratmansky’s use of this material is as sweetly and complicatedly ironic as the Coen Brothers’ use of Southern
Gothic was in O Brother, Where Art Thou? One example will have to do. In the Spanish section, the hot Latin lover we met in the Italian number (Joan Boada) enters with the Russian girl (Frances Chung) from the first
Scott Wall
San Francisco Ballet dancers in a previous Stern Grove Festival performance.
Two more featured players help define the spirit of each act. After a brief appearance as the magician Merlin, Charles Dean spends most of his time as the comically befuddled King Pelinore. Dean brings naturalness to the absurd that makes it endearing. Pelinore is kicked aside in the second act after the arrival of Arthur’s son from a one-night encounter. You don’t need to wait to see what schemes he plans to know that Mordred is an evil character. Paris Hunter Hall’s makeup and stance suggest the beginnings of a Frankenstein-meets-Elephant Man figure. With Hall’s own aggressive sneering, it’s too much for a character whose big song, “The Seven Deadly Virtues,” has such twittering Lerner lyrics as, “You’ll never find a virtue unstatusing my quo or making my Be-elzebubble burst.” Director Bill English, with help from musical director Dave Dobrusky, has certainly corralled a difficult musical into an attractive production. But there are a few missteps significant enough to further confuse the musical’s floundering tone. In one example, and unfortunately for the blameless Heredia, he got laughs when he bent down to bring a fallen knight back to life – because of a heavy-handed burst of heavenly music and a beam of angelic light. The moment was lost.t Camelot will run at San Francisco Playhouse through Sept. 14. Tickets are $30-$60. Call 677-9596 or go to sfplayhouse.org.
dance, whereupon his original girlfriend shows up and stares everybody down. The brilliant dancer-actress Shannon Marie Rugani triumphed in this role. The dancers were, as ever, See page 29 >>
<< Television
24 • Bay Area Reporter • August 1-7, 2013
The best of summer by Victoria A. Brownworth
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o much great TV, so little time. Most summers there’s one good show we wait for all week. We keep counting the days until the fall season begins in September, like harried parents waiting for school to start again. This summer, almost every night we are spoiled for choice. But as the summer winds down, we want to be sure you aren’t so busy sipping Negronis or carrot coladas (yes, they really are terrific, especially with a slivered heirloom carrot that still sports its green-fronded top) by the pool that you miss shows that really should not be missed. Here are a few shows that are just so good, so pitch-perfect, so well-acted, so wellwritten that you’ve just got to watch them. For queer content alone, ABC Family’s The Fosters is must-see TV. Finally a network has gotten lesbians right. It also gets gay kids right. In the same show, too. Lena Adams (Sherri Saum – and haven’t we been touting her here since her soap opera days on Sunset Beach?) and Stef Foster (Teri Polo, who also started out on the soaps, on Loving) are the Fosters. The interracial couple – Stef is a police officer, and Lena is vice-principal at a charter school – lives in the Mission Bay area of San Diego (lesbians always land in the Mission District). The two women are raising Stef’s teenage son Brandon, as well as their two adopted kids, Mariana and Jesus, fraternal Latino twins. Their foster children are Callie and Jude Jacob. Callie is a very troubled teen Lena reaches out to, and her brother Jude comes with. Jude (Hayden Byerly) is the youngest Foster, and there’s a great big Q for questioning/queer over his adorable head. He’s interested in a boy at school, Connor, and he’s also leaning toward the flamboyant. Now that he’s settled with the Fosters (he and his sister were tossed from their last foster home be-
cause of some trouble with Callie), he knows he wants to dress better. In one recent scene, Mariana is painting his nails and Callie comes in, takes a look and says, “Hey, uh, don’t wear that to school, buddy, okay?” But Mariana, who’s trying to build his sense of self, tells him, “You know you don’t have to follow everything she says.” All the kids on this show are terrific actors, although they do all suffer from an overload of the CW-style beauty. There is no one on this show who isn’t either drop-dead gorgeous or just really teenage-hot. But other than that lack of realism, the show gets high marks for being real-life kid and real-life queer. In addition to sexual orientation issues, drugs, sexual abuse and mean girl/bullying conflicts are addressed with the various teens. The stresses an ex-husband (Stef’s) and ex-girlfriends (Lena’s) can contribute to a relationship make the lesbian relationship very real. But we also really like seeing a whole queer family on the tube in a show that is not a comedy. On July 25, Terri Polo was a guest on Craig Ferguson’s The Late Late Show. She’s always super butchy on The Fosters. That’s another thing we don’t get to see much on the tube, an actual butch lesbian. They’ve been bred out of TV in the quest for pretty lesbians straight men can relate to. Jessica Capshaw’s Arizona on Grey’s Anatomy is as butch as they come on the tube, and she barely grazes tomboy status. Polo was incredibly sexy on Ferguson’s show, in leather shorts and a shirt open down to there. She’s funny and real and so happy about The Fosters. Check her out at CBS.com. There was also an opening tease clip from The Fosters that epitomizes just how absolutely true to lesbian life the show is. One of the reasons The Fosters is so good is because there’s a real lesbian with a real wife and kids writing for the show, Joanna Johnson. Johnson is also
back at CBS’ The Bold & the Beautiful in a hot new storyline that may lead to a lesbian/bisexual love triangle if our prayers get answered. Johnson plays Karen Spencer, sister to mogul Bill Spencer. Last week Karen helped orchestrate a takeover of the company by manipulating Bill’s soonto-be-ex wife Katie (multiple Emmywinner Heather Tom). Karen’s partner, Dani (Crystal Chappell), walked in on Karen and Katie in an intense hug and asked, “What’s going on here?” but was quickly advised by Karen that she and Katie had just pulled off their coup. In the days since, Karen is clearly pulling the strings on the angry and betrayed Katie. Karen blames her brother for keeping her in the closet for years, and rightly so. Revenge is in the air. We like Dani a lot (and we love Chappell, who is doing not one but three lesbian web series; talk about an ally!), but we would just really like to see a love triangle on daytime with three women of the acting caliber of Tom, Johnson and Chappell. Really.
Killer shows
Now back to shows you really can’t miss this summer. AMC’s The Killing has never been better, never been more exciting, never been more moving than in this third season, which began last month, and the most recent episode – no words. The queer storyline on this show is one of the most terrific on the tube and totally different from anything else you’ll see. The Killing is full of gut-grinding realism, setting it far above the standardissue police procedural thriller. Our favorite new character, the butch lesbian street-kid Bullet (played with amazing nuance by newcomer Bex TaylorKlaus), is the pivot for nearly all of this season’s action. We don’t want to spoiler the show for those who haven’t been watching (yet), but the rape of one of the street kids – by his parole officer, no less – is about as real as it gets. You’ll see scenes and interactions on The Killing you won’t see elsewhere. There’s a Dickensian element to this season of The Killing, but it’s Dickens by way of Dostoevsky and Hubert Selby. When you see Bullet trying to protect these other streets kids, kids that represent what happens to LGBT teens all the time, you will feel an affinity and closeness to these characters, who are so much more than TV stand-ins that it will make your heart break. The Bridge has the same undercurrent of heartache as The Killing, and a lot of the grittiness. This new F/X drama is hyperrealistic, takes place between the borders of the U.S. Southwest and Mexico (El Paso and Juarez), details the way drugs and killing happen there and why. The show is the co-creation of Meredith Steihm, who brought queers to NYPD Blue in the 90s. She also created Cold Case, and has also worked on Homeland. Steihm is a dynamo, nominated for her first Emmy as a writer before she was 30. CBS’ Under the Dome is classic Stephen King and Stephen Spielberg. This sci-fi-ish thriller is about government conspiracies, the things that can happen when technology goes awry, and most of all – because it’s Stephen King – it’s about what happens in small towns, especially when people are under pressure. The acting is superb, the suspense is really strong, and there’s also a queer storyline. Orange is the New Black on Netflix is lesbian, lesbian, bisexual, lesbian. It’s also really good and will stream right to your TV/computer. And if you think “How good can this be?” the answer is very, very good. After all, Netflix’s first original series, House of Cards, just got the nod for a slew of Emmys. Our guess is this time next year, OITNB will as well. We’re not sure why ABC Family is the place to see really good LGBT TV, but we also recommend Twisted. This show is Pretty Little Liars (another one of ABC Family’s queer-heavy shows)
ABC-TV
Sherri Saum plays Lena Adams on ABC Family’s The Fosters.
for guys (but women can watch, too). As ABC Family describes Twisted, the series focuses on “charming 16-year-old Danny Desai [the gorgeous Avan Jogia – watch for him alone], who murdered his aunt when he was only 11.” Desai has spent the past five years in juvie, and has now been released to go home – to tiny, claustrophobic, judgmental Green Grove, New York. (See comment above about small towns.) He tries to reinvent himself while also reconnecting, but something super bad happens, and he is suddenly the prime suspect in a classmate’s murder. So now he has to clear his name and also deal with what haunts him: his aunt’s murder, and why he killed her. Beyond the eye candy of gorgeous teenage boys who always seem to be in disarray, this is a solid thriller, and while not as edgy as The Killing, is definitely a show not to miss. We try to stay away from reporting on too much TV news in this column unless it’s a national or international issue (although we have absolutely nothing to say about the Royal Baby that has not been said), but the trial of George Zimmerman and its aftermath certainly deserve attention. A disclaimer here: We have been among those protesting the verdict in the Zimmerman trial, and have written elsewhere about the case. Juror B29, known only as Maddy, a 36-year-old mother of eight, was the sole juror of color – she calls herself a black Hispanic – in the George Zimmerman trial. On July 25 she decided she should get a little face time. (Other jurors have spoken in shadow with only their jury numbers to CNN’s Anderson Cooper.) Juror B29 is now touring the talk shows. She started with an ABC News exclusive, speaking to Good Morning America co-anchor Robin Roberts, who has reported on various aspects of the Trayvon Martin shooting. We love Roberts, but she did not ask this juror a single difficult question and was deeply sympathetic to her throughout when her job was to be a reporter, not a hand-holding buddy. Juror B29 said, “George Zimmerman got away with murder, but at the end of the day you can’t get away from God.” This one quote seems to be all over the place, repeated on various news and tabloid shows. And it’s a good one, because it validates those of us who believe Zimmerman is guilty and should have been convicted of manslaughter at the very least. This quote also reframes Juror B 29/Maddy as yet another victim of the judicial system, rather than an arbiter of the verdict she is now expecting forgiveness for. She most assuredly is not a victim, and treating her as such is simply wrong. Being a juror is a job. It is never an easy one nor a simple one, but the law requires citizens do it fairly and honestly. Pleading for forgiveness for your choices afterwards is craven and appalling. “I stand by the decision because of the law,” she said. But that’s not all she said. What hasn’t been quoted widely is that she believes there never should have been a trial. “I felt like this was a publicity stunt,” she told ABC News’ Roberts. “This whole court service
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thing [having a jury trial] was publicity.” Oh, okay. So Zimmerman shouldn’t even have been prosecuted. How does that square with your thinking he was guilty of murder? Then there was this: “It’s hard for me to sleep, it’s hard for me to eat, because I feel that I was forcefully included in Trayvon Martin’s death.” Note she does not say Trayvon Martin’s murder or killing or even shooting. Just death – like he had a heart attack on the sidewalk rather than that he was shot at point-blank range through his heart and bled to death after he was stalked by Zimmerman, who had a concealedcarry weapon. And there’s more: “And as I carry him [Trayvon] on my back, I’m hurting as much as Trayvon’s mother, because there’s no way any mother should feel that pain.” Wow. She served on a jury for a few weeks – clearly without wanting to – and failed to convict the killer even though she says she was for convicting him of second-degree murder. Yet now she feels she’s suffering as much as Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon Martin’s mother, whose 17-year-old son was shot to death, and whom Fulton will never speak to or hold or kiss again. We understand the purpose of TV news is to give us, the viewers, as many facts as possible. But giving this woman a podium to excuse and absolve herself of guilt (which is what we really think is keeping her from sleeping and eating) is a lot worse than giving Geraldo Rivera a few drinks and an iPhone late at night and letting him loose on Twitter. Juror B29 says she owes Trayvon Martin’s parents an apology. Yes, she does. But we don’t think she’s deserving of their forgiveness. It only takes one juror to force a hung jury. And another juror told Anderson Cooper that the first vote tally was two for murder and one for manslaughter. In a jury of six, with three voting to convict and three voting to acquit, it really took just one person to stand by her convictions to get at least a hung jury. Juror B29 can’t have it both ways. She can’t think Zimmerman was guilty of murder, yet vote to acquit. She can’t claim to have “held out till the last minute” as she told Roberts she did, and vote to acquit. She can’t lay the responsibility for justice on God, when she was in the jury room, not God. That Roberts voiced no objection to these answers made this “exclusive” more of a talk-show confession than an interview about one of the most controversial trials of the past decade. In the end we’re in agreement with Juror B29 about God’s punishment. But we think it’s applicable on many levels in the Trayvon Martin case. Many, Maddy, many. Speaking of outrages, how many more days must we see Anthony Weiner on the evening news? We never thought Weiner should have resigned from Congress. We thought he should have taken a leave of absence, done some re-hab-y thing like all the Republicans caught in actual sex scandals involving actual sex with actual people (we’re talking to you, David Vitter), and then come back and done his job, sans sexting. But he didn’t. He hopped into the New York City mayor’s race just as City Council president Christine Quinn, the first woman and first out LGBT candidate, was cresting over the 50% approval mark. Weiner sucked away votes and money from Quinn, and was leading in the polls as recently as last week. Then his sext-mate decided it was time for her to get a little TV face time. Sydney Leathers (sometimes the jokes just write themselves) went super classy with her reveal: selling herself to Inside Edition. When will these guys in politics learn that kissing and telling is a business? If you’re going to cheat on your wife, you’re going to get caught See page 28 >>
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Film >>
August 1-7, 2013 • Bay Area Reporter • 25
Confronting the banality of evil by David Lamble
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annah Arendt, an engrossing portrait of one of the 20th century’s most influential and controversial philosophers, begins on a dark road in a shabby suburb of Buenos Aires. A shadowy figure alights from a city bus and walks with obvious weariness down a poorly lit lane. Suddenly an unmarked truck pulls up, and three men leap out, seizing the bus passenger. A loud scream is heard as the truck roars off into the night. We shift to the sight of the Manhattan skyline. Two well-dressed women are chatting about a pending divorce. The woman about to be unhitched pokes her friend about the news that her professor hubby will be out of town for an early morning student meeting. “No student meets early in the morning!” As we quickly discover, Hannah Arendt (Barbara Sukowa) and Mary McCarthy (Janet McTeer) are not only best of friends with an encyclopedic knowledge of each other’s affairs, but, as director Margarethe von Trotta will demonstrate, are a kind of warrior couple daring to storm the
Zeitgeist Films
Barbara Sukowa as the title figure in director Margarethe von Trotta’s Hannah Arendt.
bastions of entrenched male power in a literary/media capital where the written word can bolster or destroy reputations in a New York minute. Von Trotta, whose oeuvre overflows with feisty female duos and who has previously collaborated with Sukowa to redefine a fiery sinner/saint (Rosa Luxemburg), here delivers an intimate intellectual thriller in which an academic pioneer – whose early
life included a torrid affair with a brilliant thinker with Nazi leanings, Martin Heidegger (Klas Pohl), and then a breathtaking escape from the death camps and relocation to America with her Heinrich – dares to defy the Establishment’s marching orders. May 11, 1960: Arendt learns the news of the abduction of Nazi Holocaust bureaucrat Adolph Eich-
Books >>
Gilbert the great lover by James Patterson
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he handsome John Gilbert’s (1897-1936) silent film successes did not translate to a successful career in sound film for several reasons, including, as Hollywood legend has it, “a high-pitched, squeaky voice,” alcoholism, and emotional instability, according to author Eve Golden in her well-documented new book John Gilbert: The Last of the Silent Film Stars (University of Kentucky Press). She refers to Gilbert as his friends did, as Jack. Gilbert’s tragic fall from fame served as inspiration for Oscar winner Jean Dujardin in The Artist (2011). That film, true to Hollywood fashion, had a happy ending. Gilbert’s last years in film were brutal, and Golden does not gloss over it. Gilbert’s film career began with Thomas Ince’s Triangle Films in 1915, and the young actor would star in 26 films under his direction, with such early luminaries as William S. Hart and Lon Chaney. In 1918, Gilbert worked for several studios. In Heart o’ the Hills, “a hillbilly drama,” he starred opposite Mary Pickford. By 1921, he had leading roles at Fox, and critics wrote favorably of his acting and his handsome good looks. The oft-married Gilbert signed with MGM in 1924, and gained stardom in such films as Eric Von Stroheim’s 1925 The Merry Widow and King Vidor’s 1925 war classic The Big Parade and his 1926 La Boheme, which paired him with Lillian Gish. Golden effectively captures the sex, drugs and jazz that led to deaths of 1920s stars like Wallace Reid and Jeanne Eagles. In the case of comedian Fatty Arbuckle, it was the death of an “extra girl” in a San Francisco hotel that damaged his reputation and career. Of one Hollywood party, Golden writes, “Liquor was provided by the host for everyone, and morphine and cocaine, with hypodermic syringes, for those who craved them.” Gilbert’s drug of choice, throughout his life,
was alcohol. At MGM, Golden says, “All Jack’s lovers were female – the homosexuality of MGM stars William Haines and Ramon Navarro made the studios nervous about blackmailers.” As Haines and Navarro’s films were profitable, MGM execs did not mind their sexuality. Gilbert had a “great lover” reputation for years, but he did not generate emotional intensity on screen with female co-stars until MGM signed Greta Garbo and paired them in 1926’s Flesh and the Devil, a love triangle. Between the two stars it was “love at first sight,” according to those around them. Audiences agreed. The Garbo-Gilbert era at MGM had begun. Was the Garbo-Gilbert romance a fake? Golden offers mostly previously published accounts of Garbo’s sexuality. She referred to herself as male. As a child in Sweden, she referred to herself as a boy. She preferred wearing men’s clothes and shunned makeup. She asked MGM for male roles. “No one knows for sure if she and Jack ever had sex,” Golden writes. Movie audiences had their own opinions, and MGM publicity fueled the nation’s interest in Garbo and Gilbert as lovers. The GarboGilbert 1927 Love, a modern version of Anna Karenina, gave ad writers “Garbo and Gilbert in Love.” According to Golden, Love was the couple’s best film. The 1928 Garbo-Gilbert A Woman of Influence, originally about bisexuality and venereal disease, was changed to a film on embezzlement. It got mixed reviews, but by that time audiences did not care about reviews when it was a Garbo-Gilbert film. Gilbert’s later silent films without Garbo were passable, and he had a multi-year contract at MGM for $250,000 per film. As it became apparent to MGM Gilbert’s voice was not suitable for sound films, they resorted to humiliating him with minor film work so he would get angry and break his contract. As Gilbert lost a fortune in
the 1929 stock market crash and there was wide-scale unemployment in Hollywood, he clung to his contract. The charge against Gilbert for a “high-pitched, squeaky voice” grew over a series of films. Golden shows film critics of the era did not immediately level this charge at Gilbert. She presents evidence that deficiencies in early recording technology may have distorted Gilbert’s voice. Still, the
mann by Israeli intelligence agents with wide-mouthed wonder. “They want his trial to be in Jerusalem.” We watch her challenge the conventional wisdom about the highprofile murder trial, under the tutelage of New Yorker editor William Shawn. Shawn was intrigued by Arendt’s bold theory as to why the mediocre little man on trial in Jerusalem deserved to hang. Von Trotta makes brilliant theatrical use of the B&W TV trial footage, with its prize specimen, the man in the glass booth. Eichmann has that Hollywood character-actor stock trait, a nervous tic distorting the right side of his mouth that reinforces the notion that his every utterance is a damnable lie. It’s hard to believe it’s been over three decades since Barbara Sukowa shone as the spitfire prostitute seducing the upright building inspector in Fassbinder’s Lola. Just past 60, she retains a volcano version of force majeure. Sitting in the Jerusalem courtroom, Sukowa’s Hannah registers an amused incredulity as she grasps how far off the mark the newspaper-cartoon Eichmann is from the pathetic creature on dis-
play. Part of the rocket fuel propelling Sukowa and McTeer’s McCarthy is the film’s marathon cigarettesmoking, showing the role nicotine played in unleashing A-type personality traits in the 1950s and 60s, even among women. Every time she snaps open her lighter to “match” herself, Hannah turns into a intellectual gunslinger. The smoking sessions, like Nick and Nora’s drinking in The Thin Man, become comic motifs that keep us panting for more, while also making mental notes to check on the cause of our heroines’ ultimate demises: sure enough, Arendt: heart attack; McCarthy: lung cancer. Arendt calls Shawn’s bluff when he advises her to delete the bitterest of her trial notes, blaming WWII Jewish leaders for complicity with the Nazi death plans. “To a Jew, this role of the Jewish leaders in the destruction of their own people is undoubtedly the darkest chapter of the whole dark story.” Her severest critics in the American Jewish right will clamor “self-hating Jew,” adding references to her ancient affair with the pro-Nazi Heidegger.t
charge stuck. Out of work, Gilbert resorted to alcohol and lost confidence in his ability to act. In 1933, MGM called him with a role. Thinking it another cruel joke, Gilbert declined it. When Gilbert learned Garbo wanted him, he accepted the role in what would become their last film. Queen Christina was a success, but Gilbert did not have a film comeback. Paramount star Marlene Dietrich, married at the time, began a rumored romance with Gilbert in 1934, and the studio signed him for a role in Desire opposite Dietrich. Gilbert had a heart attack before production and lost the
part. Not soon after, he died, at 41. Golden’s book is well-researched but largely emotionally barren for such a tragic life. Emotion makes an appearance in the book’s Afterword, in which the author relates press interviews during the 1980s with Gilbert’s four ex-wives, by then elderly and in poor health, and his children, who hardly knew him. The combined experiences of former wives and children were their brief marriages, and visitations with Gilbert were filled with love. It is refreshing to know John Gilbert the “great lover” on screen was, though complicated, also one off-screen.t
<< Out&About
26 • Bay Area Reporter • August 1-7, 2013
Art isn't easy by Jim Provenzano
Josh Kornbluth @ Ashby Stage, Berkeley The acclaimed thought-provoking solo performer’s Sea of Reeds explores his process of getting bar-mitzvahed in Israel as an adult, despite being an atheist. $20-$35. Wed & Thu 7pm. Fri & Sat 8pm. Sun 5pm. Thru Aug. 18. 1901 Ashby Ave., Berkeley. (510) 841-6500. www.shotgunplayers.org
Keith Moon: The Real Me @ Eureka Theatre Mick Berry’s solo show explores the life and death of The Who’s fabled drummer. $40. Thu-Sat 8pm. Sun 7pm. Extended thru Aug. 18. 215 Jackson St. (800) 838-3006. www.keithmoontherealme.com
Les Nubians @ Yoshi’s French Afropean-urban-R&B sisters Hélène and Célia Faussart perform at the stylish nightclub-restaurant. $28-$32. 8pm & 10pm. 1330 Fillmore St. 655-5600. www.yoshis.com
Sarah Cahill @ Old First Chirch Solo pianist performs a variety of modern works. $17. 8pm. 1751 Sacramento St. at Van Ness Ave. 474-1608. www.oldfirstconcerts.org
Casebolt and Smith, Thu. 8
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aking art is tough. Making a living at it is tougher. Whether bent over a pottery wheel, repeating a scene with fellow actors, or searching for the right chord in a song, artists have a greater struggle in common; fooling themselves into hoping anyone will give a hoot about their art once it’s done. Fortunately, we have another diverse array of exhibits, arts fairs and
must-see shows this week, even in what some consider a summer “offseason.” Dance duo Casebolt and Smith’s witty show pokes fun at the pretentions and problems of postmodern dance, which they explore while they dance (see Thu. 8). Artists from all over converge at Fort Mason to showcase their handiwork at the American Craft Council Show. (see Fri. 2). For haunting landscapes, Brian Blood’s California
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Jewish Film Festival @ Castro Theatre
The Age of Beauty @ Exit Theatre
Annual festival of Jewish and Israeli-themed narrative, feature, short and documentary films with diverse topics including Amy Winehouse, Neil Diamond and Broadway musicals. Thru Aug. 12. 429 Castro St. 6216120. www.castrotheatre.com
Stuart Bousel wrote and directed this play about four women, straight and lesbian, whose friendships and affairs have reached various problems. $20. 8pm. Thu-Sat thru Aug. 16. 156 Eddy St. www.brownpapertickets.com
Christine Andreas @ Feinstein’s at the Nikko Broadway singing star ( La Cage aux Folles, The Light in the Piazza) performs Bemused, her cabaret act featuring a myriad of Broadway classics and American standards. $30-$55. 8pm. $20 food/drink minimum. Also Aug 2 & 3. Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. 394-1111. www.hotelnikkosf.com
Comedy Bodega @ Esta Noche Marga Gomez (often) hosts the weekly LGBT- and queer-friendly comedy night at the Mission club. This week, Marga and Miss Persia. Thu Aug 8, Shazia Mirza, Mary Van Note and Brendan Lynch. No cover; one-drink min. 8pm. 307916th St. www.comedybodega.com
Figuratively Speaking @ SMAart Gallery Opening reception for a group exhibit of human figure sculptural works. 6pm-10pm. Reg hours Tue-Sat 11:30am-5:30pm. 1045 Sutter St. Thru Aug. 31. 962-7877. www.smaartgallery.com
Jerry Garcia Celebration @ Connecticut Yankee Garrin Benfield, Matt Cohen, Jordan Feinstein, Murph Murphy and Ezra Lipp perform Grateful Dead classics in honor of the iconic San Francisco musician’s birthday. 9pm. 100 Connecticut St. 552-4440. www.theyankee.com
Number Two Contributors @ Books Inc. Join dozens of LGBT writers and contoributors to the new zine that honors the 60th anniversary of the groundbreaking gay “homophile” magazine. 7:30pm. 2275 Market. St. www.booksinc.net
Steve Cole @ Yoshi’s Celebrated saxophonist performs with his band at the stylish nightclub-restaurant. $24. 8pm. 1330 Fillmore St. 655-5600. www.yoshis.com
Strange Shorts @ Oddball Films Unusual vintage short films. Aug 1, Polanski and the Polish Avante-Garde. Aug. 2, Stand Your Ground, short films about confrontation and ‘60s political resistance. $10. 8pm. 275 Capp St. 558-8117. www.oddballfilms.blogspot.com
Sweet Bird of Youth @ Tides Theatre Local production of Tennessee Williams’ haunting play about a boozy has-been actress and her gigolo who escape to his small Gulf Coast hometown after a Broadway flop. $20-$40. Wed-Sat 8pm. Thru Aug. 24. 533 Sutter St. at Powell, 2nd floor. 399-1322. www.tidestheatre.org
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paintings should inspire as they visualize our foggy summertime (See Tue. 6). And for some classy drama, don’t miss Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart in Harold Pinter’s No Man’s Land at Berkeley Repertory, opening this week (see Sat. 3). With the return of another edition of the BART strike, it may tough for SFers to get there, but who said anything worthwhile was easy?
Fri 2 American Craft Council Show @ Fort Mason See and shop among the work of 200-plus artisans in textiles, jewelry, sculpture and woodwork. $5-$18. Fri 10am-8pm, Sat 10am-6pm. Sun 11am-5pm. Thru Aug. 4. Festival Pavilion, Marina Blvd. at Buchanan. www.craftcouncil.org/sf
Beach Blanket Babylon @ Club Fugazi Musical comedy revue, now in its 35th year, with an ever-changing lineup of political and pop culture icons, all in gigantic wigs. Reg: $25-$130. Wed, Thu, Fri at 8pm. Sat 6:30, 9:30pm. Sun 2pm, 5pm. (Beer/wine served; cash only). 678 Beach Blanket Babylon Blvd (Green St.). 421-4222. www.beachblanketbabylon.com
A Comedy of Errors @ Forest Meadows Ampitheatre, San Rafael
Sing-Along Trapped in the Closet @ Castro Theatre R. Kelly’s operatic multiple music videos, directed by Victor Mignatti ( Broadway Damage ) which became a bit of a campy pop culture gem, are screened with subtitles. Laurie Bushman and Sara Moore cohost. $12. 8pm. Thru Aug. 4. 429 Castro St. www.castrotheatre.com
Summer Sampler @ ODC Theater
Don Reed’s new solo show about the groovy 1960s. $15-$50. Sat 8:30, Sun 7pm. Thru August 25. 1062 Valencia St. at 22nd. 282-3055. www.themarsh.org
Fortunate Daughter @ La Val’s Subterranean, Berkeley Impact Theatre’s intimate production of Thao P. Nguyen’s solo show about her struggle to exist in separate families: traditional Vietnamese heritage, and her acquired queer family. $10-$20. Thu-Sat 8pm. Thru Aug. 3. 1834 Euclid Ave., Berkeley. www.impacttheatre.com
Hedwig and the Angry Inch @ Boxcar Theatre The hit local production of John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask’s popular transgender rock operetta features multiple actor-singers performing the lead. $25-$40. Wed-Sat 8pm. Also Sat 5pm. Extended with open-ended run. 505 Natoma St. 967-2227. www.boxcartheatre.org
Hot Strokes @ Mark I. Chester Studio Exhibit of erotic, leather and kink-themed male nude drawings made at the studio’s drawing group. Thru August by appointment. 1229 Folsom st. www.MarkIChester.com
In the Moment @ Asian Art Museum Japanese Art From the Larry Ellison Collection, an exhibit of 60+ artworks from the collection of Oracle’s CEO. Thru Sept 22. Also Art of Adornment, Southeast Asian Jewelry; Thru Nov 24. Free (members)-$12. Tue-Sun 10am-5pm. 200 Larkin St. 5813500. www.asianart.org
Sat 3 10,000 Dresses @ SF Public Library Illustrations from Marcus Ewert and Rex Ray’s book 10,000 Dresses on display on the 2nd floor (thru Aug 31). 100 Larkin St. 557-4400. www.sfpl.org
Art & Soul Festival @ Downtown Oakland 13th annual outdoor music and food fest, with four stages, performances by Lisa Loeb, Leela James, Vintage Trouble, ConFunkShun, Tristan Prettyman and Los Rakas and many local groups; dozens of food and beverage booths. 12pm-8pm. Also Aug. 4, 12pm-6pm. Free(12 & under)$15. Broadway between 8th & 12th St. www.artandsouloakland.com
Beat Memories: Photographs of Allen Ginsberg @ Contemporary Jewish Museum
Fair Trade Art Bazaar @ de Young Museum
Camelot @ SF Playhouse
God of Carnage @ Shelton Theater
Can You Dig It? @ The Marsh
Showcase of dance works: Two If By Sea by Kimi Okada; Triangulating Euclid, the critically acclaimed collaboration between Brenda Way, KT Nelson and Kate Weare; and The Light Has Not the Arms to Carry Us, a three-part work by Kate Weare. $30-$45. 8pm. Also Aug. 3. 3153 17th St. 863-9834. www.odcdance.org
Marin Shakespeare Company’s outdoor ampitheatre productions of William Shakespeare’s classic story of mistaken identities, adapted with a Texan cowboy theme; performed in repertory with The Spanish Tragedy, Thomas Kyd’s classic Elizabethan revenge tragedy, considered Shakespeare’s inspiration for Hamlet. Thru August 11. $20-$37.50. Fri & Sat 8pm. 4pm and/or 8pm Sun. Pre-show picnicking welcome. Dominican University, 890 Belle Ave., San Rafael. 499-4488. www.marinshakespeare.org
Sale of works by 17 fair trade vendors of native handcrafts, textiles, jewelry and accessories. 9:30am-8:30pm. Also Aug. 3, til 4:30pm. 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, Golden Gate Park. 750-3600. www.deyoungmuseum.org
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Enjoy the new exhibit of vintage prints, taken by the gay Beat poet, of his friends Jack Kerouac and others. Also, Beyond Belief: 100 Years of the Spiritual in Modern Art, part of the SF MOMA’s off-site collaborative exhibits; thru Oct 27. 2pm-5pm. Free (members)-$12. Thu-Tue 11am-5pm (Thu 1pm-8pm) 736 Mission St. 655-7800. www.thecjm.org Local production of Lerner and Loewe’s hit Broadway musical about King Arthur, Guinevere and his court, stars Tony Award winner Wilson Jermaine Heredia (with composer & playwrights’ estates’ approved edits and additional songs). $25-$75. TueThu 7pm. Fri & Sat 8pm. Sat 3pm. Thru Sept 21. 450 Post St. (2nd floor, Kensington Park Hotel). 677-9596. www.sfplayhouse.org
Figuratively Speaking, Thu. 1
J.D. Okhai Ojeikere @ MOAD J.D. ‘Okhai Ojeikere: Sartorial Moments and the Nearness of Yesterday (artist talk July 24) and Gordon Parks: Photographs at His Centennial (both thru Sept. 29). Museum of the African Diaspora, 685 Mission St. at 3rd. 358-7200. www.moadsf.org
No Man’s Land @ Berkeley Rep Legendary British actors Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart pair up in Harold Pinter’s masterful 1974 stage play about two writers questioning their lifelong friendship; with Billy Crudup. Tickets only available via subscription. Previews (opens Aug. 11). $35-$135. Tue, Thu-Sat 8pm. Wed 7pm. Thu & Sat 2pm. Sun 2pm and/or 7pm. Thru Aug. 31. Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison st. (510) 647-2949. www.BerkeleyRep.org
Rye Rye, Hard French @ Public Works Popular hip hop diva performs with MIA; Bay Area rapper Micahtron and Swagger Like Us also perform; plus, DJ sets by the Hard French crew (Brown Amy & Carnita), and Olga T. $15-$20. 9pm-2am. 161 Erie St. www.hardfrenchryerye.eventbrite.com
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New local production of Yasmina Reza’s darkly funny play (translated by Christopher Hampton) about four parents whose negotiations about a bullying child descend into savagery. $26-$38. Thu-Sat 8pm. Thru Sept. 7. 533 Sutter St. (800) 838-3006. www.SheltonTheater.com
Josh Klipp and The Klipptones @ Palace Hotel The local jazz crooner and his band perform weekly shows at the hotel’s lounge, with a growing swing-dancing audience. Extended thru Aug. 16. 7pm-11pm. 2 New Montgomery. www.joshklipp.com
Marga Gomez and Miss Persia at Comedy Bodega, Thu. 1
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American Craft Council Show, Fri. 2 Photo
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Out&About >>
August 1-7, 2013 • Bay Area Reporter • 27
Un Flic, Max et Les @ Castro Theatre Two early 1970s French detective films (newly restored 35mm prints) in a double feature. $8.50-$12. Also Aug. 8. 429 Castro St. www.castrotheatre.com
Gail Jhonson, Pat Casion @ Yoshi’s Oakland Two smooth jazz vocalists perform at the classy nightclub-restaurant. $19. 8pm. 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland. (510) 2389200. www.yoshis.com
Inside Downton Abbey @ Commonwealth Club Masterpiece Theater producer Rebecca Eaton discusses the hit PBS show about the residents and servants of a British estate in the early 20th century. $7-$20. 6pm. 595 Market St. 2nd. floor. 597-6700. www.commonwealthclub.org
Brian Blood’s paintings, Tue. 6
Sing-Along Chitty Chitty Bang Bang @ Castro Theatre
Sunday’s a Drag @ Starlight Room
Dick Van Dyke stars in the odd children’s musical film about a family’s flying car; screened with sing-along subtitles. Laurie Bushman and friends host, with a costume contest. $9-$12. 2pm. Also Sun 2pm. 429 Castro St. www.castrotheatre.com
Donna Sachet hosts the weekly fabulous brunch and drag show. $45. 11am, show at noon; 1:30pm, show at 2:30pm. 450 Powell St. in Union Square. 395-8595. www.harrydenton.com
Wild Child @ Yoshi’s Oakland Doors tribute band (with lead singer Dave Brock’s spot-on Jim Morrison vocals) performs classic ‘60s rock and the classy nightclub-restaurant. $24. 9:30pm. 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland. (510) 2389200. www.yoshis.com
The Wiz @ Julia Morgan Theater, Berkeley Berkeley Playhouse’s local production of Charlie Smalls and William F. Brown’s Tony Award-winning musical update on The Wizard of Oz. $17-$60. Wed & Thu 7pm. Sat 2pm & 7pm. Sun 12pm & 5pm. Thru Aug. 25. 2640 College Ave., Berkeley. (510) 845-8542. www.BerkeleyPlayhouse.org
Women’s Health Event @ LGBT Center Kick-off party for a new health initiative for lesbian/bisexual women over 40; sponsored by Doing It For Ourselves and Women’s Health and Mindfulness; games, food and drinks, activities. Free/$5. 2pm6pm. 1800 Market St. www.lavenderhealth.org
Wunderworld @ Creativity Theater Thrillride Mechanics perform Sara Moore and Michael Phillis’ “human cartoon” play about an 80-year-old Alice who takes a trip down the rabbit hole once again. $10-$15. Sat 11am & 2pm. Sun 2pm & 5pm. Thru Aug. 11. 221 4th St. at Howard. www.Wunderworld.net
A View From the Bridge @ Harvey Milk Photo Studio Opening reception for Joseph A. Blum’s exhibit of black and white photos. 1pm-4pm. Thru Oct. 3. Reg. hours Tue-Thu 6pm-9pm. Sat 11am-4pm. 50 Scott St. 554-9522. www.HarveyMilkPhotoCenter.org
Vintage Paper Fair @ County Fair Bldg. Large-scale fair with dozens of vendors offering rare postcards, prints and ephemera. 10am-6pm. Aug. 4 11am-5pm. Golden Gate Park, 9th Ave at Lincoln Way. www.vintagepaperfair.com
Sun 4 Cabaret Showcase Showdown @ Martuni's Producers’ Choice Awards and Show edition of the cabaret competition includes performances by Sheelagh Murphy, Mark Johnson, Jesse Cortez and Norman Vane, as well as Katya Smirnoff-Skyy and Mrs. Trauma Flintstone. $7. 7pm. 4 Valencia St. at Market.
Live in the Castro @ Jane Warner Plaza New live weekend outdoor music concerts presented by the Castro/Upper Market Community Business District. Aug. 4, The Buds and Elsa Welch. 3pm. Castro St. at Market. 500-1181. www.castrocbd.org
Richard Diebenkorn @ de Young Museum New exhibit of the painter’s Berkeley Years (1953-1966). Free/$22. Thru Sept 22. Also, Eye Level in Iraq: photographs by Kael Alford and Thorne Anderson. Also, From the Exotic to the Mystical: Textile Treasures from the Permanent Collection, thru Aug 4. Also, Objects of Belief from the Vatican, thru Sept 8. $10-$25. Tue-Sun 9:30am5:15pm. (til 8:45pm Fridays) Thru Dec. 30. Golden Gate Park, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive. 750-3600. www.famsf.org
Mon 5 10 Percent @ Comcast Cable David Perry’s LGBT-themed talk show features a variety of local and visiting guests. This week, Joe Landini, founder of SAFEhouse and The Garage, and Jennifer Maerz, producer of The Bold Italic. Various times thru the week. www.davidperry.com
California Native Plant Bloom @ SF Botanical Gardens Seasonal flowering of hundreds of species of native wildflowers in a century-old grove of towering Coast Redwoods. Free$15. Daily. Golden Gate Park. 6612-1316. www.SFBotanicalGarden.org
The Last Drag @ LGBT Center Smoking cessation group meets Wednesdays for seven weeks (thru Sept. 11). Free. 7pm-9pm. 1800 Market St. at Octavia. 339-STOP. info@lastdrag.org LastDrag.org
Migrating Archives @ GLBT History Museum Migrating Archives: LGBT Delegates From Collections Around the World features historical items from nearly a dozen countries and archives, each showcasing an archive of prominent LGBT persons. $5. Reg hours Mon & Wed-Sat 11am-7pm. Sun 12pm-5pm. 4127 18th St. www.glbthistorymuseum.org
Peter Stackpole: Bridging the Bay @ Oakland Museum Exhibit of 1935-36 photos showcasing the original construction of the Golden Gate Bridge. Thru Jan 12, 2014. Also, the Gallery of California Natural Sciences has been renovated and re-opened. Wed-Sun 11am5pm (Fri til 9pm). Thru June 30. 1000 Oak St. (510) 318-8400. www.museumca.org
Love in the Dark @ Ashby Stage, Berkeley Mary Baird performs a solo read performance version of film critic Pauline Kael’s book about her responses to movies. $15. 8pm. 1901 Ashby Ave., Berkely. (510) 8416500. www.shotgunplayers.org
Piano Bar 101 @ Martuni’s Sing-along night with talented locals, and charming accompanist Joe Wicht (aka Trauma Flintstone). 9pm-1:30am. 4 Valencia St. at Market.
Star Trek: Into Darkness, World War Z @ Castro Theatre The summer blockbuster scifi sequel (2:15, 7pm) and the zombies-on-speed epic (4:40, 9:25) in a double feature. $8.50-$12. 429 Castro St. www.castrotheatre.com
Tue 6 Brian Blood @ Arthaus Exhibit of the artist’s sweeping impressionist-styled California landscape paintings. Tue-Fri, 11am-6pm. Sat 12pm-5pm. 411 Brannan St. 977-0223. arthaus-sf.com
Diana Ross @ Golden Gate Theatre The legendary Motown vocalist and former Supremes singer returns for two full concerts. $70-$265. 8pm. Also Aug 7. 1 Taylor St. at Market. www.shnsf.com
Madonnalogues @ 1760 Market
Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart in No Man’s Land, Sat. 3
Thu 8 Ariana Savalas @ Feinstein's at the Nikko Young jazz vocalist performs songs from her new CD, Sophisticated Lady. $25-$45. $20 food/drink minimum. Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. 394-1111. www.hotelnikkosf.com
Casebolt and Smith @ ODC Theater Los Angeles dance duo perform O(h), an imaginative evening with a wry performance/spoken edge that critiques the clichés of dance, as well as perspectives on male performers “dancing too gay.” $23-$28. Thu-Say 8pm. 3153 17th St. at Shotwell. 863-9834. www.ODCtheater.org
Gypsy Allstars @ Yoshi’s
Nadya Ginsberg, dubbed “the woman of a thousand voices,” known for many celebrity impersonations, performs her Madonna impersonation show. $20. 8pm. 1760 Market St. http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/413692
Eclectic band (“Bamoleo meets Bollywood”) performs at the stylish nightclubrestaurant. $26-$30. 8pm. 1330 Fillmore St. 655-5600. www.yoshis.com
Ramekon O’Arwisters @ African American Art & Culture Complex
Author of the bestseller Laurel Canyon discusses his rock history book What You Want Is In the Limo. 7:30pm. 2275 Market. St. www.booksinc.net
Sugar in Our Blood: The Spirit of Black and Queer Identity in the Art of Ramekon O’Arwisters, an exhibit of multimedia folk art-inspired wprks by the local gay artist. Tue-Sat 12pm-5pm. 762 Fulton St. Thru Sept. 12. www.ramekon.com
Rebirth Brass Band @ Yoshi’s Oakland
Wed 7 Bi Monthly Social @ Café Flore Gathering for all ages, genders and orientations. 7pm-10pm. 2298 Market St. 621-8579. www.cafeflore.com
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Michale Walker @ Books Inc.
Classic traditional New Orleans brass band performs funk and traditional music at the classy nightclub-restaurant $29. 7:30 & 9:30pm. Also Aug. 9, 8pm & 10pm. 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland. (510) 2389200. www.yoshis.com
To submit event listings, email jim@ebar.com. Deadline is each Thursday, a week before publication. For more bar and nightlife events, go to www.bartabsf.com
28 • Bay Area Reporter • August 1-7, 2013
<< Society
t Fun, fun in the summertime by Donna Sachet
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riday night, it seemed that every drag queen and theatre queen in the city was assembled at Truck for the 50th birthday celebration of Matthew Martin. Well-known for his creative characterizations and much-loved throughout the theatre community and beyond, Matthew received well wishes, specially composed musical tributes, and a few stinging barbs from the capacity crowd, including Heklina, Cookie Dough, Sister Roma, Connie Champagne, Ethel Merman, Sara Moore, D’Arcy Drollinger, Birdie Bob Watt, Trauma Flintstone, and Tom Orr. If you like magic and San Francisco history, you’re going to love the Magic Parlor at the Chancellor Hotel in Union Square, where we spent last Saturday night. Thursday-Saturday, the small restaurant in the lobby is transformed into a Victorian parlor with well-worn furniture, intriguing knick-knacks, and soft lighting. The audience, a mix of out-of-town tourists and locals, gathers in the bar and is then ushered inside at 8 p.m. As the lights lower and mysterious music plays, Master Conjuror Walt Anthony emerges, dressed in natty old-world charm. Without giving away too much, suffice it to say that carefully woven tales of historic San Francisco lead into amazing slights of hand and convincing illusions, leaving the audience in awe and delight. We once sang with Walt in the SF Gay Men’s Chorus and have known of his successful show for some time, but we finally got in to see him and can’t recommend this wonderful event enough. Check it out soon. Afterwards, we met up with Reigning Emperor Drew Cutler, Coco Butter, Kevin Lisle, and Gio Adame for a visit to the Tenderloin bars. Never forget that at one time the majority of gay bars were located in the Tenderloin, along with a significant portion of the gay population. Our own Compton Cafeteria Riot preceded the Stonewall Riot by three years. The few remaining gay bars are diverse, friendly, and worth a stop. We began at Mark’s bar at the corner of Post and Polk, where bartender Jose looked after a mélange of business executives, office secretaries, and local residents. The high ceilings and broad windows give Mark’s a spacious feeling, and the solid-wood bar and accents lend a masculine air. From there, we wandered across Post Street to Diva’s, where Empress Alexis Miranda reigns supreme. The weekly show was in full swing, offering the talents of Empresses Galilea and Sissy St. Clair, La Moni Stat, Taina, Mini
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Lavender Tube
From page 24
and publicly humiliate your wife and yourself, lose all credibility with voters, and possibly lose your marriage as well. And yet so many continue to claim lesbians and gay men are the ones ruining marriage. MSNBC’s All In with Chris Hayes at least made an effort to tell the other side of these scandals. Hayes interviewed former sex worker Melissa Petro, who has been trying to reclaim her postsex-work life, about how women are “used, abused and discarded” as well as vilified in these sex scandals, while the men are redeemed. And we just have to mention that Geraldo Rivera insanity. After spending a non-stop week in support of George Zimmerman – like that wasn’t enough of a bad career choice – there
Steven Underhill
The San Francisco summer weather was chilling, but the men were hot at the annual Up Your Alley street fair last Sunday.
Minerva, Liliana Rangel, and others. Finally, we popped into the oldest continuously operating gay bar in San Francisco, the Gangway on Larkin, where Andy Rose served us with aplomb. The time-worn décor is nautical, the jukebox is loud, the customers are eclectic, and the drinks are strong and cheap. So wander out of the Castro and SoMa one night and give the Tenderloin a try. The weather may not have been ideal, but the crowds showed up for Up Your Alley street fair, and all reports have been positive. Our favorite part of the weekend was Sunday night’s Play-T-dance at Mezzanine, produced by P. Tyrone Smith. Besides the incredible visual effects, live performances, and extraordinary mixing by DJ Russ Rich, we co-hosted the BeatBox-sponsored VIP Play Pen upstairs with BeBe Sweetbriar and Suzan Revah. You could not help but have a great time at this incredible party. Partial proceeds benefited Folsom Street Fair Events and Real Bad, which both distribute phenomenal amounts to local charities. If you enjoyed Up Your Alley, remember that Folsom Street Fair is now right around the corner, during the last weekend in September. Prepare now! A couple of upcoming August
events worth your attention: On Tues., Aug. 13, the annual dinnerdate auction with the models of the Bare Chest Calendar takes place at Public Works at 6:30 p.m. Let auctioneer Lenny Broberg work his magic, and leave with a fabulous dinner date. Through direct sales and events like this, the amazing Bare Chest Calendar has raised thousands of dollars over nearly three decades for AIDS Emergency Fund and Positive Resource Center. GayCities presents The Most Original Stoli Guy contest on Wed., Aug. 14, at BeatBox. Finalists for this national competition have already been chosen in Los Angeles, Denver, Miami, and Philadelphia, and contests are scheduled in San Diego, Dallas, and Washington, D.C., with finals in New York City. It’s not too late to enter or simply attend. Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation’s Help is on the Way XIX, Broadway & Beyond, is on Sun., Aug. 18 at 7:30 p.m. at the Palace of Fine Arts. The cast is stellar, including Jim Bailey, Carole Cook, Maureen McGovern, Alex Newell, Lisa Vroman, Paula West, Salsamania, and the SF Gay Men’s Chorus. Beneficiaries are Aguilas, AIDS Housing Alliance, Project Open Hand, and Shanti. Get your tickets now, and make them VIP so that you can enjoy the post-show reception with the performers.t
was the naked selfie. Rivera was once a sexy, handsome guy who was also an award-winning reporter. But while he’s still handsome at 70 and pretty fit, no one wants to see that. Memo to everyone: No more naked selfies. No. More. They’re not sexy, they’re just embarrassing. And as we keep saying, the Internet is forever. Spiteful playmates will always, always be spiteful. Especially when there might be a payday involved. Speaking of spitefulness, Alec Baldwin is totally off the rails again, and has put yet another gay reporter in his sights. Inexplicably, Baldwin hasn’t gotten the Paula Deen treatment for his previous anti-gay attack. Anderson Cooper was one of a gazillion queers who noticed this. So when Baldwin was on Howard Stern’s Sirius radio program July 25, Baldwin felt the need to complain about being vilified by “the gay community” because
we dared to complain when someone threatened to beat up another queer. Baldwin, taking the same victim stance as Juror B29, said that he was most surprised and hurt by Cooper’s response. He told Stern, “That was the one that shocked me the most. What I realize about him is, everybody in the media, they have a job to do. Anderson Cooper has a job to do. And that job is to try and reinforce his credibility in the gay community after the fact that you couldn’t get him out of the closet for 10 years with a canister of tear gas. Now he’s the sheriff. Now he’s running around writing everyone a ticket.” Oh, dear. But then, what can you expect from someone who famously called his own daughter – who was 11 at the time – a pig on the family voicemail? We complained for years about the See page 29 >>
t
Karrnal >>
August 1-7, 2013 • Bay Area Reporter • 29
Excitable men by John F. Karr
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our scenes produced for the CocksureMen website have been collected on a DVD titled Chemistry. One of the site’s chief virtues is that it isn’t founded on the assurance that all its performers are straight. It hosts plentiful gay guys. And if Chemistry doesn’t feature a single star you can’t see in a mess of other places, you can be assured that his CocksureMen scene is a good one. The disc’s title is truthful – the guys get off on each other. As a result, there’s little grandstanding, none of that overzealous G4P guy stuff that substitutes athletics for a more genuine connection. When these guys get excited, it’s for real. And the producers don’t rush them. Three of the scenes are considerably over a half-hour. But although many Cocksure scenes are filmed on location, all four in Chemistry take place in an Ikea Instant Room. I can’t conceive of people living in these arid rooms, and it’s a compliment to the performers that the reality of their connection overcomes the artificiality of its surroundings. They’re certainly an attractive bunch, starting with Landon Conrad, who comes off well in his pairing with substantially hung, uncut Leo Domenico. Landon’s virtues are well-known, but let us now praise his most professionally oriented asshole. When first we see it, it’s already loosely open, ready for its close-up and eager for penetration. Which it gets really good from handsome Domenico, who ultimately spurts his spunk way over Landon’s head. A couple shorter blasts land in Landon’s hair, a welldeserved crown o’ pearls. I also relish Landon’s orgasm being prompted by the fucking, not a post-fuck jerk-off. Topher Dimaggio is the next headliner, in a scene with Jeremy Stevens, a dude I really like because of his pretty dick, muscular body, and all-over blondness (if I grieved the loss to porn of its best blond, Jake Genesis, there are a pair of blond studs who provide appreciable consolation – Stevens is one of ’em, and younger, more outgoing Liam Magnuson is the praiseworthy other). Topher voices popular opinion of Jeremy
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Lavender Tube
From page 28
Silver Fox staying in the closet – even if he says now he was never in the closet. That said, one thing is not the other thing. The idea that Anderson Cooper wouldn’t have had this very same complaint about Baldwin from the confines of the closet is wrong – Cooper definitely would have. But beyond that, which is not the point, Baldwin threatened to maim, rape and kill a gay reporter. So the idea that somehow Cooper is to blame for calling Baldwin out? Uh, no. Baldwin apologized to GLAAD (!) after his first terrible violent anti-gay rant. Who’s he going to apologize to this time? Because it should be Anderson Cooper first, and the rest of us next. When you violently and publicly trash-talk two gay male reporters in less than a month, you no longer sound like an ally. You sound like an enemy.
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SF Ballet
From page 23
engaging, wonderfully focused, brimming with energy, “hungry.” Most of the pleasure in the afternoon’s dancers
CocksureMen
With veteran star Shane Frost in a screen grab from Chemistry, newer guy Bryce Star rocks that renegade look.
But! Are you going to be a fan of the Penis Sandwich? In both this scene and the preceding, we get a cock rubbed between a pair of feet, sorta like when a gal gets her boobs humped. The guys ooh and aah about how it feels, but I think they’re acting. “It’s so sexy,” says Topher, and I’m sure he’s referencing the visual more than the sensation. Veteran star Shane Frost gives a good tumble to newer guy Bryce Star, who has upped the renegade look of his full-sleeve tat with a faux-hawk. Looks hot. Another tattoo he’s got is the inscription, “Step into my quiet violence.” It’s not a false promise. He gives Frost’s cock a fervent mouth-milking, and – this is good – he sniffs his armpits as Frost is slavering over his cock. After Frost’s fucking forces the cum outa Star’s cock and across his belly, the top laps it up and shares it with Star in a final fade-out kiss. There’s a strong scene with two handsome and uncut guys, Jessy Ares and Hans Berlin, and a bonus jack-off from Tyler Torro, which lets us gaze at length on his smooth, masculine beauty.t
when he pulls down the guy’s briefs and breathlessly observes, “You got a nice dick.” What an understatement it is when Jeremy responds, “So do you.” He then brings tears to his eyes with the eager forcefulness of his cocksucking. As for the precision-groomed Topher, he’s so hot that he’s the guy who’s been elected to give Paddy O’Brian his first topping (an event I’ll report on ASAP). Topher’s smooth, buffed body is swell enough, but it’s his thick, jetblack eyebrows that slay me. What a determined, sexy look he’s got. And a pretty determined dick, too. He’s an excellent plow boy, and knows what he wants. When his cock is buried in Jeremy’s rump, he orders, “Squeeze that ass for me.” Later, he plunks his balls atop Jeremy’s lips and pumps a load way over his face, with select droplets dropping into a yearning mouth. Topher’s hardly finished cumming when Jeremy’s sucking his cock clean of all goo. “That’s hot,” declares Topher in appreciation, and I think that in general, viewers will concur.
www.CocksureMen.com
Finally, since we have loved Glee long and hard for lo these many years, we were saddened to hear of Cory Monteith’s (Finn) sudden death from a mixture of drugs and alcohol. Finn gave Glee heart, and Monteith gave Finn soul. The producers on Glee did a very good job of hiding Monteith’s substance abuse issues. His addictions weren’t dragged through the tabloids on a daily basis like Lindsay Lohan’s or Amanda Bynes’ have been. We’re not sure that’s a good thing: public shaming sometimes leads people to seek help, or at the very least gets others involved in helping, as Bynes’ parents are finally doing. Finn was a favorite of ours on Glee, and we’ll miss him, his sweet face and his even sweeter voice. But we have to question how many times this has to happen to young, talented people before we stop making each new damaged person’s addiction into a train-
wreck party to watch while we point and go tsk tsk. Glee announced they will be dealing with Monteith’s – and Finn’s – death in the third episode of the new season. It would behoove the show’s creators to think about what kind of message they want to send about Monteith’s death to the younger audience for Glee. Monteith reportedly battled addiction for over a decade, since he was very young. And yet we never heard about it before his death. Were Glee’s producers protecting Monteith or their own brand, in keeping the breadth of his addiction secret? Since Monteith is now dead from an overdose, the answer seems painfully clear. Poor excuses are everywhere on the tube these days. But so is some seriously good, hyper-realistic and soulsupporting TV. So for the wheat as well as the chaff, and to keep an eye on who’s screwing up what, you know you really must stay tuned.t
was due to their appeal. Contemporary ballet, right now, is mostly about what dancers can do. We’re seeing levels of technique and finesse that are more impressive than the substance the ballets express, so the
satisfactions are often those of seeing brilliance in unison, finesse in transitions, or of favorite dancers surpassing themselves. It remains wonderful to see what glorious dancers we have living and working among us.t
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30 • Bay Area Reporter • August 1-7, 2013
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Blue Jasmine
From page 21
been the one who blew the whistle on Hal, much to the distress of son Danny (Alden Ehrenreich). In San Francisco, Jasmine’s lingering taste for the good life, regardless of who’s paying the bills, leads to some serious domestic Sturm und Drang with Ginger’s low-achieving boyfriend, Chili (Bobby Cannavale). Jasmine’s haughty “he’s not good enough for you” disrespect of Chili will come back to haunt her when it’s revealed that she and Hal may have cost Ginger and her ex-hubby Augie (a surprisingly reserved and touching Andrew Dice Clay) their life savings in one of Hal’s crashand-burn investment schemes. The domestic brawls start to resemble scrimmages between British soccer hooligans, a brutal side of Allen’s
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film work that can still shock funseeking old fans. One way to view Blanchett’s no-holds-barred embrace of her character’s descent to the brink of madness is to say she’s fulfilling Woody’s version of Blanche DuBois, as some have already noted, a Blanche without a specific victimizing Stanley. Like Williams, Woody Allen gives his heroines license to wail about the injustice of being tethered to nature’s brutes. Mia Farrow’s memorable flight from a Depression-era lout of a husband into movie-palace celluloid fantasy gave Woody his most poignant picture of pop fantasies as the ultimate narcotic, in The Purple Rose of Cairo. But Woody, conscious of his own low-achieving, bickering parents, is prone to hold his characters accountable for their toxic spills. Not only does Merrick Morton, Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics
Cate Blanchett as Jasmine in director Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine.
Jasmine make a mess of Ginger’s life with Chili, but her own stab at resurrection is sabotaged by some serious man-bobbles, including a quasi-comic episode with a serial abusive dentist (a comic gem from Michael Stuhlbarg) and a more tragic fiasco with an ambitious politician, Dwight (Peter Sarsgaard). As the film waxes into a surreal third act, Blanchett commands more of our attention as a human vessel emitting her own sad SOS with no help on the horizon. Even more than Blanche, Jasmine
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ebar.com
Oscar, the opera
From page 22
dancing other images in Wilde’s imagination, but choreographer Sean Curran was often repetitious, and there were times when the movements simply looked unoriginal. Bass Kevin Burdette doubled as the Judge and Colonel Isaacson, Governor of Reading Gaol, with a chilling authority. Infirmary patients David Blalock and Benjamin Sieverding lent heart-choking realism to their poignantly sung cameos. A fine moment of comic relief arose when they joined with Oscar for a rousing rendition of “Burlington Bertie from Bow.”
comes to resemble another consummate Gena Rowlands character, the actress heroine flailing away at depression in the last great Cassavetes film, 1984’s Opening Night. Another indication of just how far Woody has come in realizing his American Bergman ambitions arrives in a small role pulled off with aplomb by Francis/Sophia Coppola protégé Alden Ehrenreich, as the angry son Danny. The boy’s bitter monologue directed against Jasmine’s calling the cops on Hal demonstrates just how far
Woody has progressed from the days when young men were largely absent from his universe. Since the mid-90s, a litany of some of our finest star lads-in-waiting have made their “coming out” Woody turns: Tobey Maguire, Leonardo DiCaprio, Edward Norton, and Jessie Eisenberg. The only discordant note: for those hoping to see a Woody Midnight in Paris/To Rome with Love valentine to San Francisco, sadly, Baghdad-by-the-Bay is used mostly as a bite-the-bullet reality check to Manhattan’s golden cliffs.t
Star attraction David Daniels was quoted recently as hoping Oscar would become the highlight of his career and add to the countertenor repertoire as well. Daniels has made the countertenor voice palatable to most listeners by now, even if some will probably never be sold. His phenomenal opening-night performance silenced the naysayers and even pre-performance critics, who actually faulted the composer for associating a high male voice with gayness. I would say it was not so much identifying the sound as gay, but accepting its queerness: as in atypical and unusual. It seemed an utterly appropriate choice to me, and Daniels can sing with plenty of full-throated strength when he
needs to. His characterization was a little generalized at times, but the commitment to the exhausting task was obvious, and he made a spectacular success of the openingnight performance. We felt Oscar’s pain and confusion, and appreciated the resolve behind his fear. The story ends with Oscar being inducted into the halls of immortality, and we worried it was about to take a pretentious turn when a jest punctured the pomposity. With the characteristic wit and spirit of Oscar Wilde, the opera ends with a smile. Oscar plays Philadelphia next, but it would be a sin if he doesn’t make it back to San Francisco someday.t
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