Criminal justice props
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Egg's old home has tenants
Dance center supports Blacks
ARTS
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'Howard' a lyric legend
The
www.ebar.com
Serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer communities since 1971
Vol. 50 • No. 35 • August 27-September 2, 2020
Courtesy Facebook
Creating a San Francisco drag laureate for, like perhaps a member of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, is one of the proposals in the city’s revised LGBTQ+ Cultural Heritage Strategy.
Cynthia Laird
B.A.R. publisher Michael Yamashita
B.A.R. launches memberships by Cynthia Laird
I
n a continuing effort to receive support from readers, the Bay Area Reporter this week launched its membership program. Memberships offer people a way to financially support the 49-year-old LGBTQ weekly. The program follows the paper’s successful crowdfunding campaign earlier this year that raised $30,000 after the paper lost much of its advertising due to the pandemic. Publisher and owner Michael Yamashita wrote to all those who donated through the Indiegogo campaign, and noted many wanted a way to continue contributing. See page 8 >>
Mural evokes Black trans lives
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olunteers put the finishing touches on a Black Trans Lives Matter street mural Sunday, August 23. The mural, at the intersection of Turk and Taylor streets in the Transgender District in the Tenderloin, is at the corner where Gene Compton’s Cafeteria was located. The mural was done in collaboration with the Transgender District; District 6 Supervisor Matt Haney’s office; trans community leader Honey Mahogany, who’s an
Rick Gerharter
aide to Haney; CounterPULSE; and the Tenderloin Community Benefit District. The mural’s timing coincides with the 54th anniversary of the Compton’s riots, which began when a transgender woman resisted arrest by throwing coffee at a police officer. A virtual commemoration of the riots takes place August 28 on Zoom. For more information, visit https://www.transgenderdistrictsf.com/.
Drag laureate in San Francisco?
by Matthew S. Bajko
C
ities across the country have designated poet laureates, so why not name a drag laureate? Creating such a position in San Francisco is just one idea local officials are exploring in order to preserve the city’s LGBTQ culture. Having a citywide ambassador of drag is among the nearly 50 suggestions included in San Francisco’s groundbreaking LGBTQ+ Cultural Heritage Strategy, a revised version of which was released this month. The proposals run the gamut from supporting the city’s trio of LGBTQ cultural districts; constructing the country’s first large-scale, freestanding LGBTQ museum; addressing the lack of affordable housing for LGSee page 5 >>
Crews gain ground on Bay Area fires Courtesy Project More
Ahead of Silicon Valley Pride, South Bay leaders will detail how Post Street in San Jose will become an LGBTQ inclusive district.
Virtual Silicon Valley Pride kicks off Sat. by John Ferrannini
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ilicon Valley Pride kicks off Saturday, August 29, with an all-virtual line-up of events, some of which are viewable through the Pride organization’s Facebook, YouTube, and Twitch accounts, and some of which celebrants can participate in via Zoom. There is also an effort underway to reimagine Post Street in San Jose as a space for an LGBTQ inclusive district. While not part of the official Silicon Valley Pride, city officials and others will hold a news conference Friday, August 28, at 1 p.m. Post Street is home to Splash San Jose, an LGBTQ nightclub. The Pride festivities will occur on August 29 from 9:30 a.m. until midnight, inclusive, and on Sunday, August 30, from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., inclusive. This year’s theme is “Equality Rising.” The line-up was quietly placed on the Pride organization’s website two weeks ago, according to Saldy Suriben, a gay man who is the chief marketing officer for Silicon Valley Pride, adding that the schedule was a collaborative process among all members of the organization’s board of directors. “Like many Pride organizations, the event is virtual because of the pandemic, but we feel that Pride is not canceled and we need to celebrate our identity as the LGBTQ community and commemorate the people who fought for our rights, especially queer trans women such as Marsha P. See page 8 >>
by Matthew S. Bajko and John Ferrannini
F
ire crews were beginning to gain ground on several enormous wildfires raging around the Bay Area this week, though air quality continued to be dangerously unhealthy throughout the region. Recent lightning storms triggered hundreds of fires that are affecting communities across the state. These include the Walbridge fire and the Meyers fire in Sonoma County, which are both part of the LNU Lightning Complex fires that are impacting cities across the North Bay in several counties as far north as Lake County. At a virtual news conference Monday afternoon, Cal Fire Division Chief Ben Nichols said crews were gaining ground on the Walbridge Fire and the Meyers Fire, which is almost contained. As of Wednesday morning, the fire had burned 357,046 acres and was 33% contained. “There was no significant growth throughout the day on the Meyers or Walbridge fires,” Nichols said. The weather is not expected to change in the next couple of days, “allowing us to work in the areas with the most significant threats.” When asked to give a “rough estimate” of when people in the lower Russian river communities, such as Rio Nido, can return to their homes, Nichols said it’s “overzealous to say in the next day or so” and said he’d be surprised if it was faster than five days. Joining Nichols was Congressman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael), who noted, “We are at a point where we are turning a corner.” In Fairfield, Jonathan Cook and his family received the order to evacuate mid-afternoon last Wednesday, August 19, after the south boundary of the LNU Lightning Complex’s Hennessey Fire jumped Highway 80 in Vacaville and headed toward their neighborhood of Paradise Valley. “Before we were evacuated we were already deciding to leave. We could see the flames on the other side of the freeway,” said Cook, a gay man who is executive director of the Solano Pride Center. “Fortunately, we got out before there was that big traffic jam on the freeway.”
Courtesy Facebook
Jonathan Cook posted a photo from one of his neighbors thanking firefighters from Contra Costa County house engine 86 and San Ramon Valley house engines 33 and 34 for saving their Fairfield neighborhood last week.
He and his parents used a backroads route to head up to his sister’s house in Sacramento to spend the night. They were able to return home the next morning, as firefighters from Contra Costa County saved their and their neighbors’ homes as well as a nearby livestock ranch. “The fire burned right down the hill behind our housing development,” said Cook, adding that a staffer of the center and his husband, and a female board member and her wife all evacuated as well. “Over the weekend we were a little worried. The fire is still critical in north Vacaville. We are worried about friends and community members who live there.” The LGBTQ center staff has been checking in with clients, especially seniors, to make sure they are doing OK and have necessary supplies and plans in place if they need to flee the fire. With the air quality at hazardous levels due to the fire smoke, Cook said he inquired about getting N-95 face masks to hand out to people but has been unable to acquire any at the moment. “It is pretty bad, the air quality. Basically, it is unhealthy for people to be outside,” said Cook. “We
are having to wear N-95 masks everywhere we go. We are staying indoors as much as possible.” Dr. Sundari R. Mase, Sonoma County’s interim health officer, said that the evacuations and poor air quality are likely to contribute to the spread of COVID-19. “Unlike previous fires, we have the added threat of COVID in mind,” Mase said. “The most effective masks [for fires] are those you’ve seen in the past with the front valve. ... Alone these do not protect against COVID-19.” An N-95 mask without an opening for expelling air is the best way to protect against COVID-19, Mase said, and that a mask with an opening for breathing out is more likely to spread the virus.
Other fires
Wednesday Cal Fire reported that the SCU Lightning Complex fires had burned 365,772 acres and was 25% contained. It is impacting parts of Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa, San Joaquin, Merced, and Stanislaus counties. Northwest of Santa Cruz the CZU August See page 8 >>