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Wiener unveils LGBT seniors bill

Vol. 47 • No. 05 • February 2-8, 2017

SF sues Trump on sanctuary

by Matthew S. Bajko

GBT seniors and H I V- p o s i t i v e people living in long-term care facilities throughout California would be protected from discrimination under a bill gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) will introduce Thursday. State Senator His bill is modeled Scott Wiener after a policy he authored and San Francisco officials adopted in 2015 on the recommendation of the city’s LGBT Aging Policy Task Force. Known as a “Bill of Rights” for residents of such facilities, it barred operators from restricting or evicting residents based on their sexual orientation, gender identity, or HIV status. See page 13 >>

Mayor Ed Lee, left, delivered his State of the City address January 26 in the restored Hibernia Bank Building in the Tenderloin.

by Seth Hemmelgarn

an Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera announced Tuesday that he is suing President Donald Trump, saying he is trying to “coerce” local authorities into “abandoning what are known as ‘sanctuary city’ laws and policies.” Trump issued an executive order last week to withhold federal funding from sanctuary

cities, and another one last Friday that barred immigrants from seven predominately Muslim countries from traveling to the U.S. “San Francisco faces the imminent loss of federal funds and impending enforcement action if it does not capitulate to the president’s demand that it help enforce federal immigration law,” Herrera’s suit states. He also said that Trump’s executive order

“is a severe invasion of San Francisco’s sovereignty” and the lawsuit maintains that the Constitution “establishes a balance of power between the state and federal governments.” The lawsuit says that under the executive order San Francisco could lose as much as $1 billion in federal funding. See page 14 >>

SF leaders back LGBT history projects Rick Gerharter

by Matthew S. Bajko

B.A.R. rolls out Besties ballot by Cynthia Laird

t’s time for the Bay Area Reporter’s annual readers’ poll, the Besties: The LGBT Best of the Bay, and voting begins Thursday (February 2). The popular contest – now in its seventh year – is a way for readers to tell the paper which LGBT-owned and LGBT-friendly people, places, and things they like in the Bay Area. Categories run the gamut from arts and culture to nightlife to dining to community. There’s also a weddings category and more. There are some new entries this year, such as best ice cream/frozen yogurt, best choral group, and best gym. The entries for local nonprofits have been reconfigured, with mostly new nominees. See page 7 >>

rescind their appeal of the project, thus allowing it to move forward. Group I lans to create a transgender hisplans to start razing the existing structoric district and a larger, freetures this month in order to construct its standing LGBT history museum mixed-use development. in San Francisco gained support at City It will entail a 12-story, 120-foot-tall Hall this week. building with a 232-room hotel, 244 On Tuesday District 6 Supervihousing units, ground floor retail, and sor Jane Kim introduced legislation space for a local nonprofit theater comto create the Compton’s Transgender, pany. There will also be a project off-site Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual (TLGB) Disnearby with 60 below-market-rate units trict, which backers say will be the first that the developer is helping to pay to legally recognized transgender district build. in the world. It will be named after Gene Group I has agreed to allow local Compton’s Cafeteria, a 24-hour eatery historians to document the site before that had operated at 101 Taylor Street Rick Gerharter it is torn down and to pay $300,000 to and was where transgender and queer Supervisor Jane Kim, left, speaks during the the city toward the creation of the transpatrons rioted against police harass- announcement of her legislation to create the Compton’s gender historic district. As outlined in TLGB District in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district. ment in the summer of 1966. the deal, one-third of the money will “By putting the T first we are being be used by the Planning Department to intentional in recognizing that trans support the creation of the Compton’s women were among the first to be TLGB Cultural Heritage District. shoe store that helped facilitate gay and transfighting for LGBT freedoms,” said Aria Sa’id, a Another third will be used by the Mayor’s gender prostitution and hustling in the area. trans woman who is the programs director at Office of Housing and Community DevelopThe Q Foundation, on behalf of a number the St. James Infirmary, a health clinic for sex ment to support the creation of a transgenderof LGBT activists, filed the appeal to call for workers that is located where the Compton’s focused community facility in the Tenderloin greater scrutiny of the proposed development’s district will be created. neighborhood. The remaining funds will be environmental impacts, including if demoliKim’s legislation is the result of a deal she given to the Mayor’s Office of Economic and tion of the existing structures would hinder helped broker between local developer Group I Workforce Development to support one or forming the transgender historical district in and LGBT activists who had appealed the planmore transgender-focused commercial or nonthe area. The Board of Supervisors was set to ning commission’s decision last year to allow profit storefront establishments in the Comptake up the matter at their meeting Tuesday. the developer’s massive in-fill project at 950‐974 ton’s neighborhood. But as the Bay Area Reporter first reported on Market Street to move forward. The buildings its blog Monday afternoon, a deal was reached See page 12 >> there were once home to several gay bars and a that paved the way for the LGBT activists to

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<< Community News

2 • BAY AREA REPORTER • February 2-8, 2017

OCC sustains allegations against gay SF cop by Seth Hemmelgarn

an Francisco’s police watchdog has sustained allegations against a gay longtime cop who was recorded calling young African-American men “ugly fucker” and other names and referring to a defense attorney as a “bitch.” But the public defender’s office isn’t satisfied with the Office of Citizen Complaints investigation of police Inspector Len Broberg, who’s regularly testified as a gang expert, and at least one veteran attorney is suggesting a moratorium on new gang-related prosecutions until there’s more examination of how police handle such cases. The investigation of Broberg, who declined to comment for this story, started after remarks he made in a March 2015 recording were publicized last May by the public defender’s office. In the audio, Broberg, a longtime member of the police department’s Gang Task Force, is speaking to other officers when he refers to Deputy Public Defender Rebecca Young as a “bitch.” He also refers to one suspect as an “ugly fucker” and another as a “fat ... jackass.” In a January 20, 2016 letter to then-Police Chief Greg Suhr, Danielle Harris, the felony unit manager in the public defender’s office, said that Broberg “disrespects young men of color” by “calling them names and mocking them openly;” he “flippantly brands young men of color as gang members, even switching the specific gang involved at his convenience, and books these same men on charges he knows are not

Rick Gerharter

San Francisco police Inspector Len Broberg

supported by probable cause.” Harris also referred to Broberg calling Young a “bitch” and arresting a young lawyer “without seeking a warrant or other approval first, despite knowing the DA was already involved in the case and had not charged the lawyer.” Finally, Harris told Suhr in her letter, Broberg had “used intimidation to dissuade” Mike Yoshioka, program director for the Bayview nonprofit City of Dreams, “from offering services to and testifying truthfully about at-risk youth.” In a letter dated January 5, 2017 outlining its preliminary findings, the OCC said it had sustained allegations of “conduct reflecting discredit on the department against a police officer for behaving inappropriately and making inappropriate remarks” and a “sexual slur against a police officer for making

sexually derogatory comments.” However, the agency said it had not sustained an “allegation of conduct reflecting discredit on the department against a police officer for harassing persons.” Harris responded with a January 27 letter to OCC Executive Director Joyce Hicks, saying that she’s dissatisfied with the agency’s investigation. “First,” Harris said, Yoshioka, the City of Dreams program manager, told the public defender’s office “that he has never been contacted by the OCC or by SFPD” about Broberg. (Yoshioka didn’t respond to the Bay Area Reporter’s interview requests.) Harris also noted that her complaint to Suhr was dated January 20, 2016, but she didn’t get the OCC’s findings “until January 19, 2017 (two weeks after its January 5 date).” She questioned why Yoshioka wasn’t interviewed and “why the investigation took a whole year when the sustained allegations were based on a recording that was filed with the complaint. Further, I request you impanel an investigative hearing immediately.”

‘Lord and master’

Young, the attorney that Broberg called a “bitch,” told the B.A.R., “The fair thing to do would be to suspend the filing of any gang charges or gang allegations against African-American men” in the city until police handling of gang issues “is investigated and researched” by an independent commission or the district attorney’s office. See page 8 >>

Salman held for pysch evaluation by Seth Hemmelgarn

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he widow of Omar Mateen, the man who fatally shot 49 people and wounded 53 others at Orlando, Florida’s gay Pulse nightclub in June, has been ordered to remain in custody so that her mental health can be evaluated. Attorneys for Noor Salman, 30, had asked for her to be released on bond, saying she was a battered woman with learning disabilities who doesn’t pose a danger. Prosecutors said that she’d known of the coming attack and that she’d even given Mateen a cover story. However, U.S. Magistrate Donna Ryu said at a hearing in federal court in Oakland Wednesday, February 1, that a psychiatric and psychological evaluation of Salman should occur before she rules whether she should be released. Federal prosecutor Sara Sweeney said that Salman had “repeatedly lied to law enforcement,” and that she’s a “risk of flight and danger to the community.” Salman pleaded not guilty in January to charges of aiding and abetting Mateen’s support of the terrorist group ISIS and to obstruction of justice. She was arrested January 16 at her family’s East Bay home in Rodeo. The former Fort Pierce, Florida resident’s 29-year-old husband was killed in a shootout with police at Pulse. She faces a maximum penalty of life in prison if convicted. She’s currently being held without bail in Santa Rita Jail in Dublin. Salman declined a visit from the Bay Area Reporter. A news release from the U.S. Department of Justice says, “According to [her] indictment, from no later than end of April 2016 through and including June 12, 2016, Salman aided and abetted Mateen’s attempted provision and provision of

material support, namely, “Between June 1 and personnel and services,” June 11, they spent alto the terrorist group most $30,000, including “and the death of mul$25,000 in credit card tiple victims resulted.” charges.” Prosecutors continued Expenses included the that on June 12 – the day AR 15 that Mateen used of the worst U.S. mass in the attack and a 1-carat shooting in modern hisdiamond ring and band tory – “Salman obstructworth over $8,000, Sweeed justice by engaging Noor Salman ney said. in misleading conduct” A bank clerk had told toward officials. Salman that she “could Sweeney said Wednesday that only gain access” to the assets “if she Salman had admitted that she knew had a death certificate,” and the day Mateen had left their home June 11 her husband was killed, “she repeat“with a firearm and a backpack full edly asked about how she would be of ammunition” and that he’d been able to get a death certificate,” and “pumped up.” she hadn’t been concerned about She said that Salman had known anything else, Sweeney said. that her husband was “planning a Salman “poses a very serious danterrorist attack,” and that she’d inger to the community,” she said. structed him to tell his family on the Ryu repeatedly pushed Sweeney night of the massacre that he was on that issue, at one point asking “out to dinner with a friend.” her, “What is the actual danger?” Salman eventually told authoriThe judge told Sweeney the danties that she knew Mateen had been ger seemed “very theoretical,” and watching ISIS recruitment videos Sweeney acknowledged there wasn’t for two years prior to the attack, evidence that Salman had pledged and that she’d been upset that he’d her allegiance to ISIS. watched them in front of their todDefense attorney Charles Swift dler son, Sweeney said. said that the strength of prosecutors’ Salman had gone to Pulse with case was “very questionable.” Mateen, and days before the shootSwift also said that Salman has ing, they’d gone to City Place, an been on suicide watch while in entertainment district in West custody but hasn’t had any mental Palm Beach, Florida, where Mateen health assistance. “asked her how bad would it be if a He said that Salman, who’d been club got attacked,” Sweeney said. “a special education student,” and She said they’d also gone to Down“a battered spouse,” had made her town Disney (now called Disney admissions to authorities only after Springs) in Orlando, and as they left being interrogated for several hours there, Mateen “asked her what would in a small filing room without an atmake people more upset, an attack torney present. on Downtown Disney or a club.” Swift also said that Salman had She also said that “the couple’s indicated to family members that spending had skyrocketed in the she and Mateen would be coming days leading up to the attack.” for a visit and that she’d bought The couple’s income had been See page 14 >> $30,000 a year, Sweeney said.

National News>>

February 2-8, 2017 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 3

Trump to leave LGBT executive order in place by Lisa Keen

he news Tuesday morning that President Donald Trump said he would not rescind an existing executive order prohibiting federal contractors from discriminating against LGBT employees should have left LGBT activists feeling relieved. But it didn’t. Most reacted with a mixture of concern that his reassuring words aren’t matching up with his troubling actions of nominating people who are hostile to LGBTs to key federal positions in health care, civil rights, and education. Most fear Trump will be inclined to act on his campaign promise that religious liberty will be “cherished, protected, defended, like you have never seen before.” In a four-sentence statement released Tuesday morning, the White House said: “President Donald J. Trump is determined to protect the rights of all Americans, including the LGBTQ community. President Trump continues to be respectful and supportive of LGBTQ rights, just as he was throughout the election. The president is proud to have been the first ever GOP nominee to mention the LGBTQ community in his nomination acceptance speech, pledging then to protect the community from violence and oppression. The executive order signed in 2014, which protects employees from anti-LGBTQ workplace discrimination while working for federal contractors, will remain intact at the direction of President Donald J. Trump.” “That is a fine statement, but actions are far more important,” said Rachel Tiven, chief executive officer for Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund. “President Trump is

Courtesy AP

The White House said Tuesday that President Donald Trump would keep an executive order prohibiting federal contractors from discriminating against LGBT federal employees.

assembling a cabinet of people who have undermined the rights of LGBT people and everyone with HIV. Last week, he invoked pretend concern for LGBT people as a justification for his rejection of refugees. ... Actions speak louder than words.” Tiven was referring to statements Trump made about violence against LGBT people as part of his justification for signing an executive order last Friday afternoon that at least temporarily bars people from several Muslim-dominated countries from entering the U.S. He also cited the mass shooting at the Orlando, Florida nightclub Pulse last June by a gunman claiming he was inspired by ISIS to explain why he was having the Defense Department create a plan for defeating ISIS. Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin also issued a statement in response to the White House press release Tuesday.

“Claiming ally status for not overturning the progress of your predecessor is a rather low bar,” Griffin said. “LGBTQ refugees, immigrants, Muslims, and women are scared today, and with good reason. Donald Trump has done nothing but undermine equality since he set foot in the White House.” And Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, noted that the White House statement is “not a step forward.” “Today’s statement says only that Trump does not intend to take the extreme step of abolishing existing protections,” Minter said Tuesday. “That is not a step forward. We remain extremely concerned that he intends to issue an order creating new religious exemptions that will harm LGBT people and others.”

Rumors swirl

The January 31 statement from

the White House caught some people by surprise. Rumors were circulating just before the statement was released, claiming that Trump was getting ready to sign an executive order rescinding the LGBT protections. Publicity for the statement that did emerge was largely lost among mainstream reporting of the increasingly dramatic backlash against Trump’s executive order restricting immigration by people from seven predominately Muslim nations and reporting of Trump’s scheduled announcement Tuesday night of his nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court. Minter suggested Tuesday morning’s statement could be an effort to mitigate any LGBT fallout over that Supreme Court nominee, what Minter said is “the most important issue for our community.” “We need everyone who cares about LGBT people to insist that the Senate must reject any nominee who is not fully committed to enforcing [the] Obergefell [decision which struck down state bans on marriage for same-sex couples] and other decisions affirming the equality and freedom of LGBT people,” he said. Griffin also noted that Trump has not committed to “opposing any executive actions that allow government employees, taxpayer-funded organizations, or even companies to discriminate.” Currently, regulations at several federal agencies, including Health and Human Services and the departments of Justice and Education, provide protections for LGBT people. The new incoming leadership at these agencies could issue new regulations that could take those protections away. Those nominees – such as Senator Jeff Sessions (RAlabama) as attorney general, Betsy

DeVos at education, and Congressman Tom Price (R-Georgia) at HHS – had many in the LGBT community bracing for the Trump administration to reverse many of the gains of the Obama administration. But Log Cabin Republicans national President Gregory Angelo said January 18 that the Trump transition team’s Office of National Engagement invited Log Cabin to draft and submit the white paper on the LGBT Non-Discrimination Executive Order. Angelo said he considered that a “strong signal” that Trump’s promise to be a “real friend” to the LGBT community was “genuine.” Log Cabin urged “preserving the LGBT Non-Discrimination Executive Order ...,” noted Angelo. It said the paper Log Cabin submitted presented the “common-sense conservative case for LGBT nondiscrimination in federal contractors to the Trump transition team.” It also noted that the last Republican president, George W. Bush, left intact the original executive order prohibiting discrimination against federal employees based on sexual orientation. After the White House issued Trump’s statement Tuesday morning, Angelo said, “President Trump is delivering” on his campaign commitment to be a “real friend” of the LGBT community. “Log Cabin Republicans is proud to have directly advocated for this important preservation of LGBT equality in the federal workforce, and heartened to see that the recommendations prescribed in our white paper on this subject have been reflected in the decision to maintain the LGBT Non-Discrimination Executive Order.”t

<< Open Forum

4 • BAY AREA REPORTER • February 2-8, 2017

Volume 47, Number 5 February 2-8, 2017 www.ebar.com PUBLISHER Michael M. Yamashita Thomas E. Horn, Publisher Emeritus (2013) Publisher (2003 – 2013) Bob Ross, Founder (1971 – 2003) NEWS EDITOR Cynthia Laird ARTS EDITOR Roberto Friedman BARTAB EDITOR & EVENTS LISTINGS EDITOR Jim Provenzano ASSISTANT EDITORS Matthew S. Bajko • Seth Hemmelgarn CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Ray Aguilera • Tavo Amador • Race Bannon Erin Blackwell • Roger Brigham Brian Bromberger • Victoria A. Brownworth Brent Calderwood • Philip Campbell Heather Cassell • Belo Cipriani Richard Dodds • Michael Flanagan Jim Gladstone • David Guarino Liz Highleyman • Brandon Judell • John F. Karr Lisa Keen • Matthew Kennedy • Joshua Klipp David Lamble • Max Leger Michael McDonagh • David-Elijah Nahmod Paul Parish • Sean Piverger • Lois Pearlman Tim Pfaff • Jim Piechota • Bob Roehr Donna Sachet • Adam Sandel • Khaled Sayed Jason Serinus • Gregg Shapiro Gwendolyn Smith • Sari Staver • Jim Stewart Sean Timberlake • Andre Torrez • Ronn Vigh Ed Walsh • Cornelius Washington Sura Wood ART DIRECTION Jay Cribas PRODUCTION/DESIGN Max Leger • Ernesto Sopprani PHOTOGRAPHERS Jane Philomen Cleland • FBFE Rick Gerharter • Gareth Gooch Lydia Gonzales • Jose Guzman-Colon Rudy K. Lawidjaja • Georg Lester • Dan Lloyd Jo-Lynn Otto • Rich Stadtmiller Steven Underhil • Dallis Willard • Bill Wilson ILLUSTRATORS & CARTOONISTS Paul Berge • Christine Smith ADVERTISING/ADMINISTRATION Colleen Small VICE PRESIDENT OF ADVERTISING Scott Wazlowski – 415.829.8937 NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE Rivendell Media – 212.242.6863

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We won’t shut up P

resident Donald Trump is upending the status quo in less than two weeks in office. The change that Trump and his senior strategist, Steve Bannon, promised during the campaign has managed to sow chaos while doing nothing to “Make America Great Again.” In fact, the opposite has happened. With his travel ban to seven predominately Muslim countries, Trump has torn apart families for no other reason than an unfounded fear that those countries are havens for terrorists. Never mind that according to Politifact, since 9/11 no fatal attacks have been carried out by anyone from those countries listed – Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen (there have been a few non-deadly attacks by individuals from two of those countries, Iran and Somalia, the site reported). According to New America, a think tank that has compiled information on terrorist activities in the U.S. since 9/11, the majority of attackers have come from within our borders. Suspiciously, Trump did not include majorityMuslim countries where terrorists have actually come from but where he has business interests. No conflict there – not. Trump fired acting U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates Monday night after she ordered Justice Department attorneys not to defend Trump’s travel ban, in what’s being called the “Monday Night Massacre,” a nod to the Nixon power grab during the Watergate era. Trump said in a statement that Yates “betrayed” him. We think Yates was standing up for the Constitution. As a holdover from the Obama administration, Yates would have been replaced anyway once the Senate confirms Trump’s pick, Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions, but she did what she thought was right up until the end. Bannon has also secured a seat on the principals committee of the National

Security Council while the status of two generals was downgraded. That’s scary, considering Bannon’s white nationalist and anti-immigrant beliefs. Now Trump’s chief political operative is sitting in on national security briefings – as one of the key White House decision makers. Bannon, in an interview last week, also railed against the media, saying it should “keep its mouth shut.” “I want you to quote this,” Bannon said in an interview with the New York Times “The media here is the opposition party. They don’t understand this country. They still do not understand why Donald Trump is the president of the United States.” We have a message for Bannon: we do understand who is president and we will not shut up. We will continue calling attention to the hypocritical, backward policies Trump proposes, and continue covering people who are stridently protesting their disagreements with the administration. Now is no time for complacency. Tuesday morning, the LGBT community dodged a bullet when the White House issued a statement saying Trump would leave intact President Barack Obama’s 2014 executive order that prohibits

Marching in unity by Gwendolyn Ann Smith

n January 21 a massive demonstration centered on women’s rights and other issues drew millions of people to venues across the world. The event, known as the Women’s March, dwarfed the sparsely attended presidential inauguration held in Washington, D.C. the day before. It was also marked by its witty, properly-spelled protest signage and the pink hand-knit, crowd-sourced “pussy hats.” The protest was not solely for women’s rights; participants cited a laundry list of issues important to them, including worker’s rights, immigration reform, health care, the environment, racial equality, and, of course, LGBTQ rights. In the wake of the march, in spite of its successes, many took to social media and other outlets to express ways the event missed the mark. Many argued that people of color were not centered as well as they should have been, while others were dismayed by what seemed to be a shifting stance on pro-choice issues. Perhaps most relevant to this column, however, were concerns about trans inclusivity at the event. I will admit a bias. I feel that trans people, at least in the San Francisco Bay Area, were well included. I’ve heard similar things from friends and family at a couple of other marches. Nevertheless, I have to assume that trans inclusion would vary wildly between an estimated 408 events. I also know that while I personally did not feel a lack of inclusion, my own experience is not universal, and only represents my own self. I mentioned the signs above, and yes, there were some great signs out there. I laughed along with some of the most snarky ones. But I’m also well aware of signs that stated things like “No Uterus = No Opinion,” which would

mean that my own two cents as a trans woman – in an event that includes LGBTQ rights within its mission – is clearly devalued. That sign was not alone, and joined others that may have strayed a bit off message. By the same token, some in the trans community also felt uncomfortable with the pussy hats, which served as a clear and very visible part of the event. The design, a simple, knitted beanie sporting cat ears, fashioned out of bright pink yarn, was a cheeky way to show solidarity in the face of President Donald Trump’s now-infamous statements about sexual assault. As I mentioned above, millions of people took part in these events, and some had never participated in such a march before. Many first timers are not going to be exactly “on message.” That’s not to say that there weren’t some there who I’m sure did harbor ill will toward transgender people, but I suspect these were a minority in many cases. At any rate, I would think of this as a time to

discrimination by federal contractors against LGBT employees. That, of course, is good news, but it doesn’t mean LGBTs can breathe easier. In fact, the Human Rights Campaign held a news conference Tuesday to warn that anti-LGBT action could soon come from the White House. Most likely, according to HRC and other organizations, Trump could issue an executive order extending a broad license to discriminate against LGBT people under the guise of “religious liberty.” Such a “license to discriminate” order would have chilling effects on the community. After all, the White House’s statement Tuesday did not say that the administration would not take other actions to limit legal protections for LGBT people. The license to discriminate order, should it be issued, would be a boon to Trump supporters, who constantly rail against equality and seem to think that businesses have a right to flout anti-discrimination laws. They do not. According to the Williams Institute, an LGBT-focused think tank at UCLA School of Law, studies have shown that LGBTs continue to experience discrimination in the workplace, either in hiring, pay, or promotions because of their sexual orientation. This affects our health, quality of life, and earning potential. The Williams Institute also pointed out more and more companies, including the top 50 government contractors and top 50 Fortune 500 firms have “specifically linked internal LGBT non-discrimination policies to improving their bottom line.” As a businessman, Trump should appreciate that fact, not seek to undermine it with a bigoted executive order. Trump’s penchant for governing via Twitter is showing the limits of 140-character decrees. The executive orders he has signed so far are sloppy and not well thought out. He’s apparently not consulting his own Cabinet secretaries or congressional leaders. What he has done is surround himself with unqualified people who depend on Fox News or Breitbart News (where Bannon used to be an executive), two right-wing sites whose accuracy is often suspect. That doesn’t bode well for our democracy.t

teach, and a place to explain why a given sign may offend or exclude. It would also be a time and a place to consider one’s own feelings about a given sign or symbol. Yes, it’s probably impossible to go too deep into any topic in a massive throng of people marching with purpose, and I think that is why so many are exploring their Christine Smith feelings post-event. I do want people to consider one important thing about this march, and the way that – setting aside signs and hats – those of us who are trans and those who are fighting for woman-specific issues can and should work together. For one – and I cannot stress this enough – trans women are women. The things that affect women can affect all women. We can all face discrimination based on our gender, no matter how we arrived at it. By the same token, issues of access to women’s health services can affect a broad swath of transgender people, including many who identify as non-binary or trans masculine. There is room for all of us to discuss similar needs and find common ground here. More so, as many smarter than I have pointed out, both the trans movement and the abortion rights battle are issues focused on body autonomy. We should have the right to augment our bodies as we see fit as transgender people, as well as having the right to terminate an unwanted pregnancy as one desires. Right now, on this last point, the stakes are very, very high. See page 14 >>

Letters >>

Early AIDS film worth watching

February 2-8, 2017 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 5

Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital’s role in the AIDS epidemic is well-known and -documented. San Francisco General has honestly earned the designation as our community’s primary health care provider for persons with HIV/ AIDS for the duration of this pandemic. In December 2016, the San Francisco Public Library’s History Center, another well-respected community organization, posted a 1985 video, titled “AIDS: An Incredible Epidemic,” which the hospital produced to address health care workers’ – and the public’s – fears, questions, and anxieties associated with AIDS. Featuring the late Dr. Merle Sande, and Dr. Paul Volberding, to this day San Francisco’s leading AIDS researcher, the film is well-worth viewing today. The most

obvious change to report since 1985 is HIV infection no longer ends in probable mortality, due to combination therapy introduced in the mid-1990s. Thankfully, there are thousands of survivors of the early transmission of HIV in San Francisco, due to the treatment and the research of the virus and its symptoms at General, UCSF and other medical sites in San Francisco. The link to “AIDS: An Incredible Epidemic” is www.youtube.com/ watch?v=cjDIoLlOWQo. My sincere thanks to the San Francisco Public Library History Center, and the medical, nursing, and allied staff of San Francisco General. John Mehring San Francisco

New SF supe facing two elections in 2018

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n what City Hall watchers say will be an odd occurrence, newly appointed District 8 Supervisor Jeff Sheehy will need to run twice in 2018 in order to keep his seat on San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors. Mayor Ed Lee appointed Sheehy last month to fill the vacancy created when former supervisor Scott Wiener resigned in December due to his election to the state Senate. The current supervisor term runs through January 8, 2019. According to the city’s charter, the election to serve out the remainder of the term is supposed to be held on the next municipal election ballot. With no local elections scheduled to take place this year, the city’s Department of Elections has determined the contest for the District 8 seat will take place on the June 5 primary ballot in 2018. Whoever wins that race will then have to run again in November 2018 for a full four-year term as the District 8 supervisor, said John Arntz, the elections department director. Local campaign consultant Jon Golinger described the nearly backto-back elections as “novel” and “kind of like a primary, almost.” “This is the first time we have ever had this,” added the North Beach activist. Voters in November rejected a ballot measure that would have forced a special election to be held this year for the District 8 seat and also barred the appointed supervisor from running for it. While there has been some confusion in recent months about the election schedule, Sheehy had told the Bay Area Reporter in December that he expected he would need to run in June 2018 and then that November should he be appointed to the seat. Whoever wins the June election next year will be seen as the clear favorite to capture the full term five months later. Last week Sheehy said he is prepared to not only run in both elections but to face opposition in both races even if he is elected to serve out the remainder of the term in the June race. “I don’t know what other people’s thoughts are; for me, I have to proceed with that assumption,” said Sheehy, a gay married father who is the first person living with HIV to serve on the board. City College Board President Rafael Mandelman, who is gay and is widely expected to run against Sheehy, said he would make a decision sometime later this year. He too noted the unique situation any candidates for the seat will face. “It sets up an odd potential

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District 8 Supervisor Jeff Sheehy made remarks at his first meeting of the Board of Supervisors.

scenario,” said Mandelman, who lost to Wiener in the 2010 election for the District 8 seat. “You are going to have two races for the same office in the same year. I don’t think we have seen that before in a local race.” There is the remote possibility that the vacancy election for the District 8 seat, which covers the Castro, Diamond Heights, Noe Valley, and Glen Park, could be held this year if a special election is called. For that to happen, either a majority of the city’s 11 supervisors would need to vote to put a ballot measure before the voters this year, or backers of a ballot measure would need to collect the necessary signatures from voters to trigger a special election. Arntz told the B.A.R. proponents of such a measure would need to collect 20,307 valid signatures from registered voters, which amounts to 10 percent of those who voted in the 2015 mayoral race. So far no such effort has been launched, and it is unclear if one will materialize due to the cost of holding a special eletion at a time when the city’s federal funding could come under attack by President Donald Trump. “I think the $3 to $4 million dollar cost, given some of the things we are hearing from the Trump administration and the failure to pass the local sales tax in November, really isn’t a great use of resources,” argued Sheehy, noting that the city is already faced with housing, health care, infrastructure and transportation needs it can’t fully fund. “Having said that, I am not intimidated or alarmed by the thought they might call a special election,” added Sheehy. “I have been around a long time and know a lot of people. I feel confident I can run a strong campaign on a short notice.”

South Bay LGBT political PAC regroups

The South Bay’s LGBT political group known as BAYMEC, which stands for the Bay Area Municipal Elections Committee, is looking to regroup this year and expected to elect several new board members next week. Entering its 33rd year, BAYMEC’s aim is to help elect LGBT and straight allies to office in Santa Clara, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, and Monterey counties. Yet last year the political action committee did not release an official endorsement list for any 2016 candidates, nor did it host its yearly fundraising dinner. BAYMEC President James Gonzales, who plans to transition out of the leadership role later this year, told the B.A.R. in a recent interview that due to resignations from its board the group decided to narrow its focus last year. Overseen by what should be a 17-member board, BAYMEC at the moment has nine board members. “I think with our board having shrunk over the last two years, it was a little bit more than anything we could do,” Gonzales said of holding a 2016 fundraising dinner. While it didn’t announce official endorsements, BAYMEC did donate to three campaigns last fall, noted Gonzales. It gave $1,000 each to Wiener’s state Senate campaign and to former San Jose City Councilman Ash Kalra’s successful state Assembly campaign. Another $600 was given to help elect San Jose Councilman Sergio Jimenez to Kalra’s District 2 council seat. And BAYMEC leaders took part in a news conference in September to call out Jimenez’s opponent, Steve Brown, for suggesting businesses should be allowed to refuse service to customers based on their religious beliefs. “We had successes (last) year despite our smaller size and not having See page 14 >>

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<< National News

6 • BAY AREA REPORTER • February 2-8, 2017

Trump trolls LGBTs in travel ban order by Lisa Keen

resident Donald Trump invoked the specter of violence against LGBT people as part of his justification for signing an executive order last Friday afternoon that bars people from several Muslimdominated countries from entering the U.S. for at least 120 days. The ban also bars refugees from Syria indefinitely. He also cited the attack on the LGBT nightclub in Orlando, Florida last year to explain, in a memo issued Saturday, why he is developing a “Plan to Defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.” But LGBT legal advocates were among the throngs of people denouncing the immigration restrictions. “The new policy is blatantly unconstitutional and betrays our nation’s commitment to religious freedom,” said Shannon Minter, legal director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights. “It endangers the lives of countless people, including LGBT people, in the targeted countries. Trump’s mention of sexual orientation is a distraction and does not mitigate the unlawfulness or reprehensibility of the new policy in any way.” Rachel Tiven, chief executive officer for Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, said, “LGBT people refuse to be pawns in Mr. Trump’s dangerous and inhumane game. We utterly reject his discrimination against Muslims in the guise of concern trolling for LGBT rights. If he really wants to help LGBT people, he can pledge to retain the executive orders that help protect us and to nominate a Supreme Court justice who supports equal treatment of all regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.” Not all LGBT reaction was harsh.

AFP

President Donald Trump signs an executive order barring people from seven predominately Muslim countries from entering the U.S. Friday as Vice President Mike Pence, left, and Defense Secretary James Mattis look on.

Gregory Angelo, president of the Log Cabin Republicans national LGBT group, said, “There is nothing wrong with taking a thoughtful pause to reassess our country’s immigration policy – policy that both Republicans and Democrats agree is broken.” He applauded Trump “for becoming the first-ever Republican president to issue an affirmation in support of the gay community via executive order.” “Regardless of one’s feelings on these policies, this represents an important milestone in LGBT and Republican history,” said Angelo. Reaction to the executive order was swift and dramatic from all quarters of the U.S. and world, with protesters gathering outside the White House and at international airports around the globe, including San Francisco. By Sunday, Trump issued a statement saying, “To be clear, this is not a Muslim ban. ... This is not about religion – this is about terror and keeping our country safe.” Trump compared his executive

order to action taken by President Barack Obama in 2011, suspending for several months the processing of applications from Iraqi nationals seeking to enter the U.S. The suspension was taken after the FBI found evidence that two Iraqi nationals who entered the U.S. as refugees had engaged in terrorist activities. Specifically, Trump’s executive order states that the United States “should not admit those who engage in acts of bigotry or hatred ... or those who would oppress Americans of any race, gender, or sexual orientation.” It says its purpose is to “protect Americans” by ensuring that “those admitted to this country do not bear hostile attitudes toward it and its founding principles.” The order “suspends” for 90 days the entrance of both “immigrants and nonimmigrants” from any of seven designated predominately Muslim countries, saying their entrance “would be detrimental to the interests of the United States.” The order also suspends the U.S. refugee program for 120 days while various federal agencies amend the program “to ensure that those approved for refugee admission do not pose a threat to the security and welfare of the United States. ...” It directs that the refugee program changes include “to the extent

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permitted by law” amendments “to prioritize refugee claims made by individuals on the basis of religiousbased persecution, provided that the religion of the individual is a minority religion in the individual’s country of nationality.” This latter sentence is aimed at giving priority to applications filed by Christians from Muslim nations. Trump explained that provision to the Christian Broadcasting Network. In Syria, he said, “They were chopping off the heads of everybody, but more so the Christians,” so he thought it unfair that the U.S. was allowing more Muslims than Christians into the U.S. CNN fact-checked that point and cited Pew research indicating that, in 2016, 99 percent of Syrians entering the U.S. were Muslim, compared to less than 1 percent Christian. However, the Syrian population is 93 percent Muslim. And the numbers of Muslims and Christians allowed into the U.S. from all countries were roughly the same. Trump’s order specifically identifies Syrians seeking refugee status as “detrimental” to U.S. interests and suspends their entry “until such time as I have determined that sufficient changes have been made [to the refugee program] to ensure [their admission] is consistent with the national interest.” The order also calls on the Department of Homeland Security to expedite the implementation of a “biometric entry-exit tracking system for all travelers to the United States.” The order applies to people arriving to the U.S. from seven specific nations: Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Sudan, Yemen, and Somalia. Numerous media organizations have reported that, while many of Trump’s business interests are located in Muslim-dominated countries, none are located in any of the seven targeted nations. National Public Radio also noted that, “No Muslim extremist from any of these places has carried out a fatal attack in the U.S. in more than two decades.” The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit to stop the

immigration ban, and a federal judge in New York temporarily blocked the order’s call for deportation of immigrants arriving at U.S. airports with valid visas, green cards, or refugee status. Federal judges in other states took other actions that stopped parts of the order. But the Department of Homeland Security vowed to forge ahead with enforcement, saying it “retains its right to revoke visas at any time if required for national security or public safety.” In a January 28 memo concerning ISIS, Trump directed the defense secretary to present to him within 30 days a “preliminary draft” of a “comprehensive strategy and plans for the defeat of ISIS.” “ISIS is responsible for the violent murder of American citizens in the Middle East, including the beheadings of James Foley, Steven Sotloff, and Peter Abdul-Rahman Kassig, as well as the death of Kayla Mueller,” states the memo. “In addition, ISIS has inspired attacks in the United States, including the December 2015 attack in San Bernardino, California, and the June 2016 attack in Orlando, Florida.” During his campaign for the presidency last year, Trump repeatedly cited the attack on the Orlando LGBT nightclub Pulse, frequently in the context of his proposal to ban Muslims from entering the U.S. Omar Mateen, the gunman who murdered 49 people and injured 53 others at the nightclub last June was an American-born U.S. citizen whose parents had immigrated from Afghanistan. Mateen, who was killed in a shootout with police, called 911 during the attack and declared his allegiance with the Islamic State (aka ISIS or ISIL), but investigators did not find any evidence beyond his statement that the shooter was “directed externally” by any terrorist organization. Mateen’s widow, Noor Salman, pleaded not guilty last month to federal charges of aiding and abetting his support of the terrorist group ISIS and to obstruction of justice. She had another court appearance this week. (See story, page 5.) t

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Community News>>

t Golden Compass program launches at SF General by Liz Highleyman

he Golden Compass program is now open at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital’s Ward 86, offering a one-stop shop for HIVpositive people age 50 and older. The program, which started seeing patients last fall, will hold its official launch party Friday, February 3. Funded by a $100,000 grant from the San Francisco AIDS Walk, Golden Compass brings together a wide range of services for older people with HIV, including geriatric care, hearing and vision services, and social support groups. “We welcome the new challenge to deliver the best care to the diverse HIV-positive population we serve,” Dr. Diane Havlir, chief of the HIV/ AIDS Division at San Francisco General, told the Bay Area Reporter. “The Golden Compass program is the first in the U.S. to specifically focus on the needs of people age 50plus. This opportunity reflects the success of HIV treatment.” Currently 60 percent of people living with HIV in San Francisco are age 50 or older, and more than 20 percent are over age 60, according to the latest SF Department of Public Health HIV Epidemiology Report. People age 50 and older accounted for 11 percent of newly diagnosed HIV cases in 2015. “Older HIV-positive patients experience all the pieces that go along with HIV and other chronic conditions, all the pills to treat those conditions, and all the side effects and possible drug interactions,” said Golden Compass associate director Dr. Meredith Greene, a geriatrician with an extensive background in treating people with HIV. HIV-positive people are at higher risk for age-related problems such as cardiovascular disease, bone loss, and cognitive decline, and research shows that these conditions may occur earlier than they do in HIVnegative people. Many also deal with isolation and the trauma of losing their friends and loved ones to AIDS. “We’ve entered uncharted territory – people with HIV didn’t plan to live, and I don’t think the health care system planned for them to live either,” said Vince Crisostomo, program manager for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation’s Elizabeth Taylor 50-Plus Network. “San Francisco has been unique in its community response throughout the history of this epidemic and this is the next chapter. Hopefully now that people know we have something to offer them, they will come out of isolation.” Many older people with HIV are also dealing with pressing financial issues and affordable housing is often cited as a critical need. “When I talk about my generation of HIV survivors, more than half did not retain the affection and support of their biological families,” longtime activist Cleve Jones, who will speak at the launch party, told the B.A.R. “We lost almost all of our closest friends during that horrible time before effective treatment. During

Besties

February 2-8, 2017 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 7

strength training, gentle exercise classes for all fitness levels – including for people who use walkers or wheelchairs – and education about how to improve balance and prevent falls. West represents vision, hearing, and dental care – services focus group participants said they often had difficulty accessing. The program will do ageappropriate screenings and help clients get glasses and hearing aids. Finally, south represents networking and navigation. Isolation and loneliness were common themes in focus groups of gay men, women, and people who inject drugs, Greene told the B.A.R. The program features monthly drop-in support groups facilitated by social workers. Golden Compass services are offered on Friday afternoons at the Ward 86 HIV clinic. New patients receive an in-depth geriatric consultation, a review of their medications, and simple memory and cognitive screening. Golden Compass “gives people with HIV over 50 a place to come to

years when we should have been saving money and building pensions, we were on the front lines of a war that consumed all of our attention. “Add to that the reality of the cost of living in this town, and we’re seeing what remains of our social networks decimated by gentrification,” Jones continued. “I’m really glad this program has been started, but I’m also concerned Liz Highleyman that more and more Dr. Monica Gandhi, left, and Dr. Meredith Greene people are being relocated and won’t be able to take are part of the team operating Compass Point at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. advantage of it.”

Four compass points

Based on guidance from focus groups, the Golden Compass program is organized around the four points of the compass. Most participants emphasized that they wanted centralized services under one roof. “This is really a great program because all those services are there on site,” said District 8 Supervisor Jeff Sheehy, who is the first openly HIV-positive person appointed to the board and used to work for UCSF’s AIDS Research Institute. “It’s the holistic quality of the program

than makes it so necessary and so outstanding.” North represents the heart and mind, featuring services related to cardiovascular and neurocognitive health. Cardiovascular care is provided by Dr. Priscilla Hsue of UCSF, a well-known expert on diagnosing and treating cardiovascular disease and inflammation in HIV-positive people. The program’s weekly brain health classes will help clients improve their memory and “brain fitness.” East represents bones and strength, featuring osteoporosis screening,

get help and information and interact with other people with HIV over 50,” said Norman Tanner, one of the program’s first patients. “We look at everything together using a holistic approach,” Greene told the B.A.R. “We have a multidisciplinary team of physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and social workers – it really takes a team of people to take good care of an older person with HIV.” Greene said that close to 1,400 patients seen at Ward 86 are over age 50, and more than 100 have been evaluated by the Golden Compass program so far. People over age 70 and those with issues like cognitive problems or falls will be seen sooner. In addition to serving people in San Francisco, Golden Compass aims to serve as a resource to help other providers set up similar programs. “As people are living longer, you have to help them live well,” said Ward 86 medical director Dr. Monica Gandhi. “To our knowledge we’re truly the first program providing wrap-around services for older HIV patients. We want to disseminate this innovative model of care. Everyone HIV-positive over 50 should have holistic specialized care.”t

UNDER ONE ROOF, AND DOWN THE STREET.

Kaiser Permanente is now open in Mission Bay.

From page 1

As has been the case in recent years, readers are free to make their own nominations in each category. Readers who complete at least 75 percent of the ballot will automatically be eligible for prizes, which include San Francisco Ballet tickets and concert tickets, among other giveaways. Voting will close March 2; the Besties issue will be published April 6. People should also save the evening of April 6, when the B.A.R. will host its Besties party at Oasis, 298 11th Street, from 6 to 8 p.m. The evening will feature drink specials and light refreshments and is open to the public (21 and over). t

At Kaiser Permanente our doctors are focused on more than practicing good medicine. They take the time to really listen. And give all members the personalized, culturally sensitive care they deserve.

2016

kp.org/sanfrancisco

<< Community News

8 • BAY AREA REPORTER • February 2-8, 2017

SF youth group turns 50

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San Francisco-based nonprofit that assists homeless and runaway youth and offers HIV prevention education is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Huckleberry Youth, which started in 1967 as Huckleberry House, “was around before people walked on the moon and before ‘Sesame Street’ was created,” Executive Director Doug Styles, 52, said. It’s “pretty unique” for a nonprofit to have that kind of “staying power,” he said, and “we’re still going strong.” A kickoff party for staff, board members, and stakeholders was held Thursday, January 26. Upcoming events include a benefit concert May 20 and a 50th anniversary gala November 30. Styles said the nonprofit, which serves an estimated 6,000 unique clients – many of whom are LGBTQ – is doing well financially. The agency’s budget is about $5.8 million. “The last few years have been very, very good for us,” he said. “Our fundraising has increased year over year” and there are “more government contracts.” Additionally, he said, Huckleberry has “also been able to broaden our services and reach more youth.” Styles, a straight ally and San Francisco resident, credits the

Gay SF cop

From page 2

“This is not some rogue cop,” Young said of Broberg. “... This is the trainer. This is the lord and master of the Gang Task Force.” Among other problems revealed in the recording, Harris said in her letter to Suhr, “Broberg tells the other officers to brand one man a documented Big Block member, right after saying that same man was a Kirkwood gang member, then casually decides to deem every man there a documented Big Block member.” She quoted Broberg as saying in the recording, “So he arrived with two Big Block gang members both of whom are documented. Alvin and Calvin – yeah. Well we actually had Alvin as a Kirkwood which would be fine but he’s there with the Williform brothers so – and these guys are all documented. Just put in that they’re all documented Big Block gang members.” Young, who’s defended clients that Broberg testified against, said, “It’s so much better that it’s on a recording because now we have actual evidence of what we have known for years and have been unable to stop and unable to address because he testifies completely differently in court.” She said that Broberg has “testified under oath that Big Block doesn’t exist anymore,” and he’s testified that “he would never put gang charges on young black men for just being in an area.” Young said, “He’s labeling kids as gang members who aren’t gang members and ... he’s doing it because they live or hang out or play in this certain area.” Even if someone has a relative Broberg suspects is in a gang, “You’re finished in his eyes,” Young added. “We’re forced to deal with it on a case-by-case basis in court, but that doesn’t impact the practice of police in these communities because the culture in the police department is to treat young black men with suspicion who live in these neighborhoods,” Young said. She added, “You’re stripped of all presumption of innocence when the DA and the cop [say] you’re a gang

Huckleberry Youth’s Doug Styles

nonprofit’s work to encourage education and prevent homelessness, among other efforts, in attracting donors. Jackie Fagerlin, co-vice president of Huckleberry’s board, said, “We’re incredibly excited” about the anniversary. “We’re looking forward to celebrating. It’s a major accomplishment.” Fagerlin added, “There aren’t a lot of nonprofits our size that have survived as long as Huckleberry has, and not just survived, but flourished and grown in the past 50 years, so it’s a fantastic thing to celebrate.” member, and they do it so blithely,” particularly against young black men. Christopher Shea, an attorney provided to Broberg by the San Francisco Police Officers Association, told the B.A.R. that the veteran policeman “has accepted responsibility for his use of inappropriate language, but that’s the only thing he’s done wrong.” Shea said that many of Young’s comments about Broberg are “untrue,” and her statement that Broberg testified Big Block doesn’t exist is “totally unsubstantiated.” “If she has transcripts of that stuff, she should be showing it to you,” he said. Responding to the comments about Broberg being the “lord and master” Shea said, “He’s an expert on gangs and has trained other officers on gangs.” As for having a moratorium on gang charges or allegations in the city, it would be “inappropriate for the public defender to ask the DA to stop enforcing the law,” he said.

People of color singled out

In response to emailed questions, Harris, the felony unit supervisor in the public defender’s office, told the B.A.R., “We haven’t asked for a moratorium relating to Broberg’s conduct.” However, she said, “There are several bases for such a moratorium. The SFPD ‘gang task force’ and the DA’s gang unit prosecute young people of color exclusively. That alone is a problem. And it is not happenstance – it is a current manifestation of our country’s history of racism. Ratcheting-up sentences for these youngsters and branding them gangsters is just one way that legacy lives on. “Moreover, the ‘gangs’ in question are the loosest association of teenaged and young adult men who grew up in the same tiny neighborhoods, went to the same pre/elementary/middle/high schools, and played on the same sports teams,” Harris continued. “These so-called gangs have no entry requirements, no leaders, no organizational structure whatsoever, no dues. GTF officers will say someone who says he’s from ‘Oakdale’ or ‘Eddy Rock’ is ‘claiming’ gang membership when in fact what they are doing is provided

One concern is the election of President Donald Trump in November. Since he took office in January, Trump has taken actions including ordering a wall to be built along the U.S. border with Mexico and banning immigrants from seven predominately Muslim countries from entering the country. Media reports say he’s also set to approve new anti-LGBT policy, although on Tuesday the White House issued a statement saying Trump would keep President Barack Obama’s 2014 executive order that protects employees from anti-LGBTQ workplace discrimination while working for federal contractors. “We’re strong. We’re going to be able to survive. We’re just going to have to see how that plays out,” Styles said of the new administration. “Many of the youth and the families we work with have become very worried,” he added. In the past year, Huckleberry has expanded its work with youth who are exploited and trafficked and increased mental health and family counseling services. “I love my work, and I love this organization,” Styles said. “It’s truly having an impact on youth and that just makes my heart feel bigger.” For more information, visit www.huckleberryyouth.org.t basic biographical information. These groups intermingle with other groups such that the DA’s gang unit has multiple current cases wherein persons from different so-called gangs are charged together – this was precisely the problem Broberg confronted when he decided to just call them ‘all documented Big Block gang members.’” Harris also said, “Broberg should not be in a position of power nor in a position where he can influence the attitudes of newer officers. At the very least, he should be in a non-public contact position.” Shea said of Harris’ last statement that “she doesn’t back it up with any facts.” “The OCC conducted a thorough investigation,” he said. “The public defender is apparently disappointed in their finding and is now repeating the same allegations that are unfounded. Lenny Broberg has been a police officer for over 20 years and has never been subjected to any disciplinary action,” and he has “an exemplary record.” “The public defender is simply disappointed because he does good police work and conducts investigations that result in their clients’ conviction,” Shea said. Asked about the possibility of a moratorium on gang charges and about Harris’ criticism of police and prosecutors’ handling of such cases, Alex Bastian, a spokesman for the DA’s office, said, “We make charging decisions based on evidence.” Sergeant Michael Andraychak, a police spokesman, declined to comment on Broberg since it’s “a personnel matter.” John Alden, of the Department of Police Accountability (the new name for the OCC), said in an email, “Penal Code Section 832.7 prevents our office from answering” the B.A.R.’s questions. “A few years ago, the California Supreme Court ruled in a case called Copley Press that the police officer privacy rights described in that code section apply to administrative investigations and resulting proceedings in police misconduct cases, such as this one,” Alden explained.t

Community News>>

February 2-8, 2017 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 9

New locale for gay-owned sweet shop compiled by Cynthia Laird

Street in San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood. The day will feature tabletop role-playing games, card games, and board games. Tickets are $7. Larger donations are welcome. Ticket prices cover cost, and any extra funds will be donated to Glide Memorial Church. Organizers said there will be limited ticket availability at the door. To purchase tickets, visit www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2758791.

gay-owned dessert shop that had been on the third floor of Macy’s Union Square has moved to the ground floor in an effort to offer customers more convenience. Tout Sweet Patisserie, owned by gay executive chef Yigit Pura, is now located at the Geary Street entrance of Macy’s, directly across the street from Union Square Park. The move took place February 1. “It is the perfect time for the move,” Pura said in a news release. “We’re extremely excited for this next chapter at Tout Sweet Patisserie and look forward to building many more years’ worth of delicious memories with our clientele. We’re tickled about having a neighborhood bakery right at street level in the heart of Union Square, across from the park.” Tout Sweet is known for its signature French macarons, assorted cookies, cakes, and tarts, all of which will be available at the new kiosk. The new location allows customers to make a quick pick-up or get a sweet treat while on the go. Orders for specialty and individual cakes are still available for pick-up via the local orders section of the shop’s website. In order to help publicize the new location – and to thank customers – from now until Sunday, February 5 Tout Sweet will be giving away 100 of its “Sexy Valentine’s Hot Lips” treat each day, Pura said. The move also allows Tout Sweet to focus and expand its wholesale business. The shop currently supplies a full line of fresh pastries to a number of hotels, country clubs, cafes, and caterers throughout San Francisco and the Bay Area. For more information, visit www. toutsweetsf.com.

Court rejects claims

A queer ex-San Francisco AIDS Foundation employee has lost his case in small claims court against staff at the nonprofit.

Castro Mardi Gras group to hold annual party The new Tout Sweet kiosk has moved to the ground floor of Macy’s Union Square.

Demarus Allen-Batieste, 30, of Hercules, filed claims in October against Jared Hemming, who directs SFAF’s Strut health center, and human resources staffer Megan Arganbright alleging “wrongful termination” and other issues. Allen-Batieste had wanted $10,000 from each of them. But in separate rulings issued Tuesday, January 24, Judge Pro Tem Elizabeth Zareh said that Heming and Arganbright don’t owe Allen-Batieste “any money” on his claims. In an emailed response to the rulings he sent to the Bay Area Reporter, AllenBatieste said, “Hitler also ruled against the Jews. ... I will choose to remain moral and ethical even in the face of adversity.” Allen-Batieste had served as coordinator for Strut’s DREAAM (Determined to Respect and Encourage African-American Men) program before he left in August, according to his LinkedIn profile. SFAF spokesman Chris Richey previously said in an email, “As a matter of policy, we do not comment on HR matters.” Allen-Batieste has also been facing other legal issues. San Mateo County prosecutors

Scouts to allow trans members

register youth in the Cub and Boy Scout programs based on the gender identity indicated on the application. Our organization’s local councils will help find units that can provide for the best interest of the child.” The Boy Scouts, which is based in Irving, Texas, provides leadership and characterbuilding skills and has “nearly 2.3 million youth members between the ages of 7 and 21,” The Boy Scouts of America will now according to its website. welcome trans boys. Polly Pagenhart, a spokeswoman for the Oakland-based by Seth Hemmelgarn Our Family Coalition, said in an email, “We stand with countless othhe Boy Scouts of America has ers, Scouts for Equality chief among announced that it’s now allowthem, in expressing gratitude that ing transgender boys to be members. the Boy Scouts of America will now “For more than 100 years, the welcome transgender boys. The Girl Boy Scouts of America, along with Scouts have welcomed transgender schools, youth sports, and other girls for nearly half a dozen years, youth organizations, have ultimately and the result has been more youth deferred to the information on an leadership, and a stronger nation.” individual’s birth certificate to deterPagenhart praised Chief Scout mine eligibility for our single-gender Executive Mike Surbaugh “for the programs,” the organization said wisdom to evolve the Scouts alongon its website Monday, January 30. side our evolving understanding of “However, that approach is no lonyoung peoples’ gender identity.” ger sufficient as communities and The Scouts began allowing gay state laws are interpreting gender boys to be members in 2014. A year identity differently, and these laws later, the Scouts changed its policy vary widely from state to state.” to allow gay men to serve as troop Starting Monday, according to leaders. t the statement, “We will accept and

have accused him of stalking and threatening to kill a former mentor he’d worked with at the Zurich Symphony. In August 2015, Allen-Batieste entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity in the case. His trial is on hold as doctors examine whether he’s mentally competent. Allen-Batieste, who’s out of custody on $150,000 bail, has told the B.A.R. he hasn’t “done anything illegal,” and he’s “absolutely” competent to stand trial. The next court date is February 7.

Interior Dept. wants romantic pics from parks

The U.S. Department of the Interior, which manages the country’s national parks, has put out a call for people to send their romantic images from parks for its annual Valentine’s Day video. The department has asked people to send their videos and photos of “your weddings, proposals, and romantic moments in national parks, wildlife refuges, and other public lands.” Materials should be sent to newmedia@ios.doi.gov. The deadline is Monday, February 6.

Queer gaming day

Queer gaming day will be held Saturday, February 11 from 2 to 7 p.m. at the Eureka Valley Recreation Center, 100 Collingwood

Krewe de Kinque, a Castro-based Mardi Gras club, will hold its annual bal masque Saturday, February 11 from 4 to 9 p.m. at the Cafe, 2369 Market Street. Organizer Gary Virginia said the party will “rival New Orleans” with an elaborate costume show, regal kings and queens, balloon sculptures, live music, a DJ, beads, and more. In a nod to the krewe’s 14th anniversary, this year’s theme is “14 Karat Gold,” which will be featured in seven-foot gold masks and a Mardi Gras float stage. Drag queen Juanita More will lead a second-line parade dance. VIP guests will enjoy a Southern buffet, hosted Stoli drinks, and silent auction and raffle preview from 4 to 5. Tickets are $40 in advance or $50 at the door. From 5 to 9, reigning King XIII Sergio Fedasz and Queen XIII China Silk will preside over the bal masque, featuring go-go dancers, DJ Prince Wolf, and the crowning of this year’s king and queen. Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door. Funds raised will benefit Homobiles, a nonprofit committed to providing secure and reliable transit to the Bay Area LGBTQ community and its allies. Fares are by donation and riders are not turned away by lack of funds. Bal masque tickets are available at www.brownpapertickets.com/ event/2767493.

Trans employment workshop

Employment workshops for transgender people will be offered

later this month. Trans Thrive at the Asian and Pacific Islander Wellness Center and the Trans Employment Program at the San Francisco LGBT Community Center are offering “Trans Work It,” and the first session is scheduled for Wednesday, February 8 from 10 a.m. to noon. Workshop dates are February 10, 15, 17, 22, and 24 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. All take place at the API Wellness Center, 730 Polk Street. The workshops offer skill building, coaching, and other topics. Organizers said the program is for first time Work It participants. All participants are asked to attend all workshops to receive incentives and a certificate of completion. To see if they qualify, and for more information, interested people should contact transthrive@ apiwellness.org or (415) 292-3420, ext. 348 or employmentservices@ sfcenter.org or (415) 865-5553.

Art needed for dog benefit

Alley Cat Books and Gallery will hold a benefit for Wonder Dog Rescue Sunday, February 12 from 2 to 6 p.m. at 3036 24th Street in San Francisco. Organizer Kate Rosenberger said that she is looking for art donations valued at $150 or more for the event. Alley Cat can provide a tax donation receipt and two tickets to the benefit. Donors are asked to drop off their artwork by February 5 at the bookstore. Wonder Dog is a nonprofit, established nearly 25 years ago, and is based in San Francisco/ It focuses on rescuing, rehabbing, and rehoming high-needs and senior dogs that would otherwise be killed in animal shelters. The annual art auction and “sweethearts dance” raised nearly $2,500 last year. Rosenberger said that art received by February 2 will likely be included in a one-night exhibit at SOMArts for the “Bow Wow Film Night,” which is well-attended by veterinarians based in California.t Seth Hemmelgarn contributed reporting.

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Bay Reporter.indd 1

9/30/16 10:24 AM

VOTE TO WIN

ONE OF SEVERAL VALUABLE PRIZES JUST FOR VOTING FOR YOUR FAVORITE PLACES, PEOPLE AND THINGS TO DO IN SAN FRANCISCO AND THE BAY AREA.

GRAND PRIZE: New Order at the Greek Theatre, Berkeley – Apr. 21, 2017. Win a pair of tickets to the legendary English band’s tour featuring their electronic dance music classics! SECOND PRIZE: San Francisco Ballet’s “Cinderella” – Apr. 28, 2017. Win a pair of tickets to the acclaimed production of “Cinderella,” choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon, music by Sergei Prokofiev. THIRD PRIZE: $100 Gift Certificate to La Mediterrenee, a longtime local favorite for Mediterranean cuisine. AND MORE PRIZES!

hank you for taking time to complete this survey by the Bay Area Reporter. Your opinion and answers are important to us. For this seventh annual readers’ poll we’re including nominees for each category, along with a write-in designation if you think another business or individual should be nominated. This year’s nominees are a mix of previous winners and new entries. The survey should only take 10-15 minutes of your time. Your identity and answers are completely confidential and will be used only to contact winners of a random drawing for several valuable prizes. You must complete at least 75 percent of the survey to qualify for the prize drawings. One survey per person/email allowed and must be submitted by midnight (Pacific Time) March 2, 2017. Survey results will be published in the April 6 issue of the B.A.R. If you have any questions about the survey, please contact our office at (415) 861-5019. Best Modern Dance Company

ARTS & CULTURE Best Art Museum

£ Asian Art Museum £ Contemporary Jewish Museum £ de Young Museum £ GLBT History Museum £ Legion of Honor £ Museum of Craft and Design £ Museum of the African Diaspora £ Oakland Museum of California £ San Jose Museum of Art £ SFMOMA £ Walt Disney Family Museum ✎

Best Ballet Dance Company £ Alonzo King Lines Ballet £ Ballet San Jose £ Diablo Ballet £ Oakland Ballet £ Post:ballet £ San Francisco Ballet £ Smuin Ballet ✎

Best Choral Group

£ Chanticleer £ East Bay Gay Men’s Chorus £ Lesbian/Gay Chorus of SF £ Rainbow Women’s Chorus (San Jose) £ SF Gay Men’s Chorus ✎

£ AXIS Dance Co. £ Jess Curtis/Gravity £ Joe Goode Performance Group £ Katie Faulkner/little seismic £ Keith Hennessy/Circo Zero £ ODC Dance £ Sean Dorsey Dance ✎

Best Nature or Science Museum

£ California Academy of Sciences £ Exploratorium £ SF Botanical Gardens £ SF Conservatory of Flowers ✎

Best Small Music Venue £ Martuni’s £ The New Parish £ Thee Parkside £ Rickshaw Stop £ El Rio £ SF Eagle ✎

Best Live Music Venue £ The Chapel £ The Fillmore £ Great American Music Hall £ Masonic Hall £ Regency Center £ Slim’s £ The Warfield ✎

£ AIDS Walk SF £ Dining Out for Life £ Equality California SF Gala £ Give Out Day £ Horizons Annual Gala & Casino Night ✎

Best Health-Related Nonprofit

£ Mission Neighborhood Health Center £ Positive Resource Center £ St. James Infirmary £ UCSF Alliance Health Project £ Women Organized to Respond to Life-Threatening Disease ✎

Best HIV/AIDS Nonprofit

£ AIDS/HIV Nightline £ AIDS Legal Referral Panel £ Bay Area Young Positives £ National AIDS Memorial Grove £ Positive Resource Center £ San Francisco AIDS Foundation £ Shanti ✎

£ American Conservatory Theater £ Aurora Theatre £ Berkeley Repertory Theatre £Curran Theatre £ New Conservatory Theatre Center £ Ray of Light Theatre £ SHN £ Theatre Rhinoceros ✎

COMMUNITY Best LGBT Event

£ Castro Street Fair £ Folsom Street Fair £ Oakland Pride £ San Francisco Dyke March £ San Francisco Pride ✎

Best Bar/Nightclub to Meet Transgender People

Best Sports Bar

£ Asia SF £ Aunt Charlie’s Lounge £ Divas £ Oasis ✎

£ 440 Castro £ The Edge £ Lookout £ Hi Tops £ Pilsner Inn ✎

Best Beer Selection

Best SoMa Bar/Nightclub

£ 440 Castro £ Brewcade £ Pilsner Inn £ Toronado £ SF Eagle ✎

Best Cabaret Venue £ Bay Area Cabaret at the Venetian Room £ Feinstein’s at the Nikko £ Hotel Rex £ Martuni’s £ Oasis £ The Starlight Room ✎

Best Castro Bar/Nightclub

£ Club OMG £ Hole in the Wall £ Lone Star Saloon £ Oasis £ Powerhouse £ SF Eagle £ The Stud ✎

Best Stray (Straight/Gay) Bar £ Blackbird £ EndUp £ New Parish, Oakland £ Slate £ The Uptown, Oakland £ Wild Side West ✎

£ 440 Castro £ Badlands £ Beaux £ The Cafe £ The Edge £ Last Call £ Lookout £ Midnight Sun £ Moby Dick £ Qbar £ Toad Hall ✎

Best Wine Bar

£ Golden Gate Wrestling Club £ SF Fog Rugby Club £ SF FrontRunners £ SF Gay Basketball Association £ SF Gay Softball League £ SF Pool Association £ SF Tsunami Water Polo £ SF Tsunami Aquatics ✎

Best Dance Floor

£ Ain’t Mama’s Drag at Balancoire £ Femme at Balancoire £ Glamazone at The Café £ Mahogany Mondays at Midnight Sun £ The Monster Show at The Edge £ Mother at Oasis £ Sex, Drags & Rock n Roll at Midnight Sun £ Sunday’s a Drag at The Starlight Room ✎

NIGHTLIFE

Best East Bay Bar

Best LGBT Nonprofit

£ Castro Country Club £ Cheer San Francisco £ Genders and Sexualities Alliance Network £ GLBT Historical Society £ Rainbow Community Center (Contra Costa County) ✎

Best LGBT Sports League

Best Theatre Company

Best Classical Venue

£ Davies Symphony Hall £ Herbst Theatre, Veteran’s Building £ War Memorial Opera House £ Old First Church £ SF Conservatory of Music ✎

Best LGBT Fundraiser

BARS

Best Bar/Nightclub to Meet Men

£ 1015 Folsom £ The Cafe £ City Nights £ Club 6 £ DNA Lounge £ EndUp £ F8 £ Oasis £ Space 550 ✎

£ Club BnB £ Club 21 £ Port Bar £ Turf Club £ White Horse Bar ✎

£ The Café £ 440 Castro £ Hole in the Wall £ Lone Star Saloon £ SF Eagle £ Powerhouse ✎

Best Mixed Drink

Best Bar/Nightclub to Meet Women

Best Neighborhood Bar

£ El Rio £ Qbar £ Rickshaw Stop £ Virgil’s Sea Room £ Wild Side West £ Club BnB, Oakland £ The White Horse Inn, Oakland ✎

£ Blackbird £ Club OMG £ Driftwood £ Martuni’s £ Twin Peaks ✎

£ The Cinch £ El Rio £ Twin Peaks £ Pilsner Inn £ Virgil’s Sea Room £ Wild Side West ✎

£ Blush £ City Club £ Press Club £ Swirl ✎

NIGHTLIFE EVENTS

Best Drag Show

Best Comedy Night

£ Comedy Night at the SF Eagle £ Comedy Returns at El Rio £ Funny Fun at Club 21, Oakland £ Hella Gay Comedy at various venues £ Hysteria at Martuni’s ✎

Best Game Night

£ Bottoms Up Bingo at Hi Tops £ Gaymers at Brewcade £ Gaymer Night at SF Eagle £ Trivia Night at Harvey’s £ Miss Kitty’s Trivia Night at Wild Side West ✎

Best (non-contest) Leather Event at a Bar £ BLUF at SF Eagle £ Code at The Edge £ Daddy at The Powerhouse £ Lick It at the Powerhouse ✎

Best Monthly Nightlife Event

£ Afternoon Delight at New Parish £ Beatpig at The Powerhouse £ Boy Division at Codeword £ Cockblock at Rickshaw Stop £ Comedy Returns at El Rio £ Disco Daddy at Eagle £ Gameboi at Rickshaw Stop £ Go Bang! at The Stud £ Polyglamorous at Oasis £ Swagger Like Us at Oasis £ Uhaul at Oasis ✎

Best Nightlife Event (non-weekly/nonmonthly)

£ Bearracuda (various venues) £ Comfort & Joy (various venues) £ Daytime Realness at El Rio £ Hard French at El Rio £ House Party at The Powerhouse £ ShangriLa at The EndUp ✎

Best Stage Show in a Bar/Nightclub

£ Above and Beyond the Valley of the Ultra Showgirls at Oasis £ Baloney at Oasis £ Buffy the Vampire Slayer Live at Oasis £ Dandy at Oasis £ The Facts of Life at Oasis £ Matthew Martin at Oasis £ Red Hots Burlesque at The Stud £ Star Trek Live at Oasis ✎

Best Theme Night

£ Cubcake at The Lone Star Saloon £ Gym Class at Hi Tops £ Mazel Top at Oasis £ Onesie Parties at Lookout £ Pound Puppy at the SF Eagle ✎

Best Unusual Nightlife Event

£ After Dark at The Exporatorium £ BAAAHS guerrilla parties £ Frolic at SF Eagle (formerly The Stud) £ Nightlife at the California Academy of Sciences £ Nightlife at the de Young £ Opening parties at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts ✎

Best Weekly Nightlife Event

£ Bandit at Lone Star Saloon £ Beer Bust at SF Eagle £ Beer Bust at Lone Star Saloon £ Gayface at El Rio £ The Monster Show at The Edge £ Mother at Oasis £ Musical Mondays at The Edge £ Pretty in Ink at Powerhouse £ Sundance Saloon at Space 550 £ Underwear Night at Club OMG ✎

Best Women’s Event

£ Cockblock at Rickshaw Stop £ Girl Scout at Port Bar Oakland £ Mango at El Rio £ Pussy Party at Beaux £ Ships in the Night at New Parish, Oakland £ Switch at Qbar £ Uhaul at Oasis ✎

PEOPLE

Best Bartender

£ Andy Anderson, 440 Castro £ Michael Breshears, Lookout £ Charlie Evans, Lone Star Saloon £ Jeffrey Green at Twin Peaks Tavern £ Aaron Isaac Joshua at Qbar £ Erick Lopez, The Edge £ Michael Tempesta, Midnight Sun £ Steve Dalton, SF Eagle ✎

Best Cabaret Performer (Female) £ Leanne Borghesi £ Connie Champagne £ Sony Holland £ Paula West £ Veronica Klaus £ Wesla Whitfield ✎

Best Cabaret Performer (Male) £ Jason Brock £ Brian Kent £ Barry Lloyd £ Russ Lorenson £ Joe Wicht ✎

Best Cabaret Performer (Drag) £ Vanessa Bousay £ Honey Mahogany £ Katya Smirnoff-Skyy £ Matthew Martin ✎

Best Comic (Female or Trans) £ Marga Gomez £ Lisa Geduldig £ Natasha Muse £ Marilyn Pittman £ Karen Ripley £ Irene Tu £ Gina Yashere ✎

Best Host/MC

Best Comic (Male) £ Yuri Kagan £ Justin Lucas £ Nick Leonard £ Ronn Vigh £ Sampson McCormick £ Jesus U. Betta Work ✎

Best DJ (Male)

£ Gehno Sanchez Aviance £ Marke Bieschke £ DAMnation £ Hawthorne £ Jason Kendig £ MC2 £ Bus Station John £ David Harness £ Justime £ Mark O’Brien ✎

Best DJ (Female or Trans) £ Balthazar £ Carrie on Disco £ G Star £ Jenna Riot £ Lady Ryan £ Lady Shar £ Najee Renee £ Page Hodel £ Olga T £ Ms. Jackson £ Siobhan Aluvalot ✎

£ Double Duchess £ The Klipptones £ Maria Konner £ Tom Shaw Trio £ Xavier Toscano £ Whoa Nellies £ Joe Wicht £ Veronica Klaus ✎

Email Address:

£ Alchemist £ Azucar Lounge £ Bar Crudo £ Dosa £ Farralon £ Hi Tops £ Nopa £ Picaro Tapas ✎

Best Bar Menu

Best Nightlife Photographer

£ Cabure Bonugli/Shot in the City £ Fabian Echevarria/FBFE £ Gareth Gooch £ Marques Daniels £ Georg Lester £ Lydia Gonzales £ Uel Renteria £ Rich Stadmiller £ Steven Underhill £ Tom Schmidt/Dot ✎

DINING

£ Bar Tartine £ Bender’s £ Harvey’s £ Hi Tops £ Lookout £ Tempest £ Trick Dog ✎

Best Food Delivery App £ Caviar £ Munchery £ Eat24 £ GrubHub ✎

£ Crepevine £ Moulin Rouge £ Orphan Andy’s £ Plow £ Stacks ✎

SERVICES & SHOPPING

£ Adrian & Mysterious D £ BAAAHS £ Hard French £ Honey Soundsystem £ Go Bang! ✎

Best Bank

£ Bank of America £ SF Federal Credit Union £ Sterling Bank and Trust £ Technology Credit Union £ Wells Fargo ✎

Best Brunch

£ Breakfast at Tiffany’s £ Dottie’s £ Hazel’s Kitchen £ Kate’s Kitchen £ Squat & Gobble ✎

Best Barbershop

Best Lunch

£ Daddy’s Barbershop £ Glama-Rama £ Joe’s Barbershop £ Louie’s Barbershop £ Male Image ✎

£ Basil £ Café Flore £ Farm: Table £ Harvey’s £ Super Duper £ Toast ✎

Best Drag King

£ Clammy Faye £ Arty Fishal £ Fudgie Frottage £ Leigh Crow £ Alex U. Inn £ Mason Dixon Jars £ Kegel Kater £ Kit Tapata £ Chester Vanderbox ✎

Best Bicycle Shop

£ Box Dog Bikes £ Freewheel Bike Shop £ Market Street Bikes £ Mission Bicycle Company £ Valencia Cyclery ✎

Best Dinner

Best Drag Queen £ D’Arcy Drollinger £ Glamamore £ Trangela Lansbury £ Heklina £ Honey Mahogany £ Joie de Vivre £ Landa Lakes £ Mutha Chucka £ Peaches Christ £ Peggy L’Eggs £ Juanita More! £ Donna Persona £ Rahni NothingMore £ Raya Light £ Sister Roma £ Phatima Rude £ Donna Sachet £ Bebe Sweetbriar £ Grace Towers £ U-Phoria ✎

Best Faux Queen £ Alotta Boutté £ Fauxnique £ Holotta Tymes ✎

£ Cala £ Canela £ Chow £ Delfina £ Finn Town £ Firewood Café £ Little Gem £ Marlowe £ Saison ✎

Best Bookstore

£ Aardvark £ Alley Cat Books £ Books Inc. Opera Plaza £ Booksmith £ Dog Eared Books £ Green Apple ✎

Best Coffee Shop £ Blue Bottle £ La Boulange £ Coffee Bar £ Dolores Park Café £ Four Barrel £ Philz £ Peet’s £ Spike’s ✎

Best Dentist

£ Financial District Dental Care £ Opera Plaza Dentistry £ Michael Perona, DDS £ University of the Pacific ✎

£ Claudio Boser £ Jim Collins £ Josh Colwell £ Connor Hochleutner £ Eric Osborn £ Simon Palczynski £ Andrew Slade £ Michael Tempesta £ Ilie Valeri £ Ty Vincent ✎

£ La Luna £ Sift £ Sweet Inspirations £ Tartine Bakery £ Tout Sweet ✎

Best Gogo Gal

£ Lucy Dorado £ Jella Gogo £ Chloe Rainwater ✎

£ Bi-Rite Creamery £ Cream £ Easy Breezy £ Humphry Slocombe £ Mitchell’s Ice Cream ✎

ZIP:

£ Bernal Heights Dog Park £ Corona Heights Dog Park £ Duboce Park £ Ocean Beach small dog run (weekly) £ Point Isabel (Richmond) ✎

Best Grocery Store (Chain) £ Molly Stone’s Markets £ Safeway £ Trader Joe’s £ Whole Foods ✎

Best Outdoor Patio £ Bar Agricole £ Café Flore £ Catch £ Fable £ Foreign Cinema £ Magic Flute £ Starbelly £ Stable £ Sycamore £ Zazie £ Zeitgeist ✎

£ 24-Hour Fitness £ Fitness SF - Castro £ Lifted £ SF CrossFit £ SoulCycle - Castro ✎

Best Health Care Provider

£ Brown & Toland £ CPMC/Sutter Health £ Kaiser £ UCSF ✎

Best Medical Marijuana Dispensary £ Apothecarium £ Green Cross £ Green Door £ Medithrive £ Shambhala MCC £ Sparc ✎

Best Place to Pamper Your Pets

£ Best in Show £ Bernal Beast £ Doggie Day Spaw £ George £ Noe Valley Pet Company £ Mudpuppy’s Tub and Scrub £ VIP Pet Grooming/ VIP Scrub Tub ✎ £ High Tail £ Pet Camp £ Mission: Cats £ Wag (Oakland) £ Wag (San Francisco) ✎

Best Realtor

£ Michael Ackerman (Zephyr Real Estate) £ Oliver Burgelman (Zephyr Real Estate) £ George Langford (Zephyr Real Estate) £ Pat Patricelli (Vanguard Properties) £ Rachel Swan (Vanguard Properties) ✎

Best Retirement Community

£ Fountaingrove Lodge £ San Francisco Towers £ The Sequoias – San Francisco ✎

Best Thrift Store

£ Community Thrift £ Goodwill £ Out of the Closet (AIDS Healthcare Foundation) ✎

Best Veterinarian

£ Mission Pet Hospital £ San Francisco Veterinary House Calls £ Seven Hills Veterinary Hospital £ VCA San Francisco Vet Specialists £ VetPronto ✎

Best Vintage Clothing/ Consignment Shop £ Buffalo Exchange £ Crossroads Trading Co. £ Sui Generis £ Wasteland ✎

Best Dog Park

Best Dessert

Best Ice Cream/Frozen Yogurt

Best Gogo Guy

Best Gym

Best Pet Hotel

£ Chevrolet £ Honda £ Lexus £ Toyota £ Volkswagon ✎

Best Breakfast

Name: Country:

Best Happy Hour Bites

Best Automaker

Best DJ Duo/Group

State:

£ DNA Pizza £ Flour + Water £ Grubstake £ It’s Tops £ Lori’s Diner £ Orphan Andy’s £ The View ✎

Best Band/Musician

Enter Your Information to Qualify for the Prize Drawings City/Town:

Best Late Night Restaurant

£ Peaches Christ £ Heklina £ Lance Holman £ Maria Konner £ Gina LaDivinia £ Honey Mahogany £ Pollo del Mar £ Juanita More! £ Mark Paladini £ Donna Sachet £ Sister Roma £ Grace Towers £ Tweaka Turner ✎

Best Grocery Store (Independent) £ Bi-Rite Market £ Golden Produce/ Golden Natural Foods £ Good Life Grocery £ Gus’s Market £ Rainbow Grocery ✎

SEX

Best Place to Buy Sex Toys

£ Folsom Gulch £ Good Vibrations £ Rock Hard £ Mr S Leather £ Does Your Mother Know ✎

Best Place to Meet an Online Date/Hookup £ Blow Buddies £ SF Eagle £ Beck’s Motor Lodge ✎

WEDDINGS & DESTINATIONS Best Beach

£ Black Sands £ Ocean Beach £ Marshall’s Beach £ Muir Beach £ Stinson Beach ✎

Best Caterer

£ J Jardine £ Molto Benne Catering £ Taste Catering ✎

Best Domestic Getaway

£ Las Vegas £ New York City £ Palm Springs £ Seattle £ Washington, D.C. ✎

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<< Commentary

12 • BAY AREA REPORTER • February 2-8, 2017

Education dir. helps patients find right combo by Sari Staver

t’s difficult to fact check, but Sara Payan says the Castro’s Apothecarium is the only medical cannabis dispensary in the world that has a full-time director of education. Payan, 43, who’s held that title for the past two years after working three years as a patient consultant, is responsible for helping patients sort out the 375 different products on the Apothecarium’s menu as well as educate and train other staff. In a recent interview with the Bay Area Reporter at the Apothecarium’s headquarters at 2029 Market Street, Payan, a straight ally, discussed her role in the rapidly evolving world of medical marijuana. Six years ago, while working as a manager for a financial district nonprofit, Payan developed excruciating stomach cramps and severe nausea. “It was so bad,” she said, “that I’d be lying on the floor in the bathroom at work,” too sick to return to her desk. After an initial misdiagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome, Payan later learned that she had Stage 3 colon cancer and would need to have surgery followed by a sixmonth postoperative course of chemotherapy. Thanks to input from her mother – a cancer research nurse who had observed patients who had successfully used cannabis – Payan decided she should look into using cannabis as part of her treatment regimen. Like many people of her generation, Payan had experimented with pot in high school and college and “was completely open” to trying it again, she said. “I have to admit, I was a little bit worried about people finding out I was using marijuana,” she said. “I was working in the financial district and, six years ago, attitudes about using cannabis were very different

Sari Staver

Sara Payan is the Apothecarium’s director of education.

than they are now.” Medical cannabis card in hand, Payan went to a dispensary. The first visit “was pretty much a disaster,” said Payan, declining to mention any dispensaries by name. The “whole atmosphere” at the dispensary was “intimidating” she said. “The bars on the window, the security guard at the door,” were typical of many dispensaries back then, she said. “What was worse,” she added, “was that the people who worked there seemed almost afraid of me once I said I was ill. Nobody had any knowledge about which products might work best for me.” But Payan went home with a medicated beverage, planning to use it before her next doctor’s appointment “to calm my nerves,” she said. But without any guidance on how to dose – and not used to the strong products on the market – Payan said

that she got “so high” that she had to cancel the doctor’s appointment so she would have a clear head to hear the prognosis. Friends who were medical marijuana patients suggested she try the Apothecarium, said Payan. “I’d gone by there many times but I had assumed from the name it was a high-end soap store,” she said. “It didn’t look anything like most of the other dispensaries” in San Francisco. “The minute I stepped inside I felt comfortable and safe. Maybe some people like rustic, but for me, when I’m sick, I want professional,” she said. After some initial experimentation with different products, Payan said she eventually found several that were helpful with the post-surgical pain as well as the nausea and neuropathy that accompanied the three-day-a-week chemotherapy regimens that followed. Then back in school completing her bachelor’s degree, Payan said her enthusiasm about her successful use of cannabis led to a meeting with the Apothecarium’s executive director, Ryan Hudson, who offered her a job as a patient consultant. After three years in the position Payan was asked to launch an education department to put together a formalized training program for all employees. New patient consultants go through a five-day training before working with patients, she said. With close to 400 products on the Apothecarium menu, making a

LGBT history project

From page 1

The developer had already agreed to dedicate a portion of the funding it is required to set aside for arts programs toward LGBT initiatives. At the request of Shayne Watson, a lesbian and architectural historian hired by Group I as a consultant, $75,000 was dedicated toward the creation of a larger LGBT historical district in the Tenderloin. There is also $27,000 to be used to support LGBTQ performances and/or arts programming. “Reaching this important milestone would not have been possible without the dedicated work of our community partners and supporters. We look forward to moving the project forward, and are grateful for your continued support,” wrote Group I President and CEO Joy Ou in an emailed statement Tuesday morning. At a news conference that afternoon, Kim said the Compton’s district would be “a living, breathing expansion of our commitment to the TLGB community.” The district will encompass six blocks in the southeastern Tenderloin and will cross over Market Street to include two blocks of 6th Street. The intersection of Turk and Taylor Street – now called Compton’s Cafeteria Way and Vikki Mar Lane – will be the center of the new Compton’s district. Organizers hope it will be a hub of services and economic opportunities for trans and gender-nonconforming communities, as well as a place to honor the community’s history. “We are looking forward to seeing what we are going to cultivate in our district,” said Janetta Johnson, executive director of the Tenderloinbased Transgender Gender-Variant Intersex Justice Project and a founding member of the Compton’s District Coalition. Some ideas already being floated include seeing more trans and queer nightlife venues open in the district, re-entry housing for transgender people who were formerly incarcerated, housing for trans women, a museum devoted to telling the

selection can be overwhelming to new patients, she pointed out. “We take as much time as necessary with each person,” Payan said. In addition to the hundreds of different strains of flowers – mostly sativa-indica hybrids – there are also dozens of different edibles, concentrates, capsules, sublinguals, and tinctures to choose from. “We often see people who may be having the worst day of their life,” she said. “Having been through a life-threatening illness myself, I can honestly say I understand what they’re going through.” Occasionally, patients ask about the potential for cannabis to cure cancer, said Payan. “We’re not medical professionals,” she said. “Although I feel confident suggesting products that I know have been effective with various symptoms, talking about a cure is out of my realm.” Recommending a product “is still a guess,” Payan said. “I first want to find out what someone’s experience has been with cannabis, what they’re comfortable and what kind of outcome they’re looking for.” If, for example, a patient is looking for something to curb their nausea, Payan asks whether they are comfortable with the euphoria that accompanies many strains. “If they’re not, I might suggest a product high in cannabidiol (CBD),” which is not psychoactive, she said. “I’ll often try to send them home with two or three different products – and a notebook – so they can write

down the dose they took and its effect, so that when they come back, we can narrow the choices,” she said. “We may not get it right the first time. We are all very different” in terms of which products work best. As research into medical use of cannabis continues to accelerate, Payan is optimistic that treatments will become more effective. Currently vice chair of San Francisco’s Cannabis State Legalization Task Force, which is advising the city on issues related to Proposition 64’s legalization of recreational cannabis for adult use, Payan said she is grateful for the opportunity to be an “educator, advocate, and activist.” With the Apothecarium planning a major expansion this spring when it plans to open a second location in the Marina, Payan said she welcomes the challenges. “I love my work,” she said, “especially the opportunity to work with critically ill patients to make their lives more bearable.”t

neighborhood’s trans history, and support for trans and gender nonconforming business owners in the area. “We know that any efforts to save the history of this neighborhood had to include efforts to protect the existing TLGB businesses, and even more important, protect the TLGB people who call the Compton’s district home and are at serious threat of displacement,” stated Brian Basinger, executive director of the Q Foundation. Once Kim’s legislation is approved by the board and signed by Mayor Ed Lee, her office will convene a task force with members from the community and various city agencies to ensure the Compton’s district becomes a reality within eight months. In addition to city recognition, supporters of the district plan to also seek state and federal historic recognition for it.

history is not only about remembering our past, but is also a powerful act of resistance.” After being hired last year as the nonprofit’s new executive director, Terry Beswick made finding a permanent site to house the museum a priority by 2020, when the lease of its current museum space, on 18th Street in the Castro, is set to expire. It first opened in 2011, but with just 1,600 square feet, there is only room for two small galleries and seating room for up to 50 people for events and talks held there. “We have too many stories to contain in our small Castro museum,” Beswick told the B.A.R. this week. Last year, the supervisors appropriated $150,000 toward the effort, which the GLBT Historical Society has used to fund a strategic planning process. Through its Vision2020 fundraising campaign for the new museum, which was launched in October last year, nearly $200,000 has already been raised. With a fiscal year 2017 budget of $1 million, the organization is preparing to scale up for a full-fledged capital campaign, said Beswick. By having official backing from the supervisors for the new museum, Beswick now plans to lobby the mayor for financial support from the city and other assistance for the project. He is also looking to partner with developers to identify a site for what is billed as the New Museum of LGBTQ History and Culture. “The point is to get City Hall on board and call for the mayor’s leadership in support of the project,” said Beswick, similar to the efforts Lee engaged in to convince filmmaker George Lucas to build his narrative arts museum in the city. (Last month Lucas announced he would instead build it in Los Angeles.) “This is a call for a world class museum I think San Francisco has earned through our contributions to LGBTQ history,” said Beswick. “To me this is a civil rights issue. We need to claim our own space for young LGBT people and visitors from around the world to learn about that history.”t

Supes back LGBT history museum project

Also during their meeting Tuesday, the supervisors voted unanimously to endorse the GLBT Historical Society’s plan to build a larger history museum in the city. Gay District 8 Supervisor Jeff Sheehy authored the resolution, which was co-sponsored by Kim. According to the GLBT Historical Society, only one other municipality in the world is known to have passed a resolution of official support for the establishment of an LGBTQ public history institution. In December 2014, the City Council of Paris voted to call on the mayor and other city officials to support the creation of a French national LGBTQ archives. “Our communities have existed since time immemorial, yet our histories continually get erased. As recently as 1933 in what had been fabulously queer Berlin, Magnus Hirschfeld’s Institute of Sexual Research along with the Museum of Sex were destroyed by the Nazis and people from our communities were taken to concentration camps,” Sheehy told the B.A.R. “The last 10 days have reminded me of those times and asserting our rights to our

Payan will be teaching classes on “Cannabis and Cancer 101” February 20 and April 10 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Moscone Recreation Center, 1800 Chestnut Street. She will also teach a class on non-euphoric ways to medicate March 13, same time and location. All classes are free, pre-registration not required. Bay Area Cannasseur runs the first Thursday of the month. To send column ideas or tips, email Sari Staver at sari@bayareacannasseur.com.

Sports>>

February 2-8, 2017 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 13

Sports leaders lash out at Trump travel ban by Roger Brigham

t is unclear what impact President Donald Trump’s ban on travelers and refugees from seven predominately Muslim countries will have on international sports later this year. What is clear is the ferocity with which people throughout sports have condemned his action. “If we’re trying to combat terrorism by banishing people from coming to this country, by really going against the principles of what our country is about and creating fear, it’s the wrong way of going about it,” said Steve Kerr, Golden State Warriors coach, whose father was killed in 1984 by Jihad terrorists in Beirut. “If anything, we could be breeding anger and terror. So I’m completely against what’s happening. It’s a horrible idea. I feel for all the people that are affected. Families are being torn apart, and I worry in the big picture what this means to the security of the world. You want to solve terror, you want to solve crime, this is not the way to do it.” San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was critical more of how the ban was implemented than the ban itself. “Obviously the rollout was Keystone Kops-like by any measure with objectivity,” he told reporters last weekend. “Whether you want to say it’s good or bad is irrelevant. But it was Keystone Kops, and that’s scary.” U.S. men’s soccer captain

LGBT seniors bill

From page 1

It also laid out protocols for caring for transgender and gender nonconforming residents and protected the visitation rights of same-sex spouses or partners of residents in such facilities. Residents were given the right to room with the person of their choosing and could not be restricted from having sex. The state bill will mirror those provisions. “Our LGBT senior population is growing and we have not done enough to meet the unique needs of these seniors,” Wiener told the Bay Area Reporter in an interview this week. “We need to make sure LGBT seniors in long-term care facilities aren’t going back into the closet and being treated with the respect and dignity they deserve.” The city law needs to be expanded statewide, said Wiener, because “this is not just a San Francisco issue. We have many LGBT seniors throughout the state facing real challenges as they age with health issues, discrimination, and housing. We need to support them.” There were 8,809 long-term care facilities with 297,371 beds in California as of 2014, according to a report issued last year by the office of the state’s long-term care ombudsman. It is unknown how many of the residents identify as LGBT, as that information isn’t tracked. According to a 2011 study “Stories from the Field; LGBT Older Adults in Long-Term Care Facilities,” published by the National Senior Citizens Law Center, 89 percent of 649 respondents indicated that they believed caretakers would discriminate against them for being LGBT. More than 40 percent said they had personally witnessed or experienced mistreatment of LGBT seniors. “This is a tough issue because the only way we can find out if this is happening is if the senior is able

Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr

Michael Bradley attacked Trump and the travel ban on Instagram, writing, “When Trump was elected, I only hoped that President Trump would be different than the campaigner Trump. That the xenophobic, misogynistic, and narcissistic rhetoric would be replaced with a more humble and measured approach to leading our country. I was wrong. And the Muslim ban is just the latest example of someone who couldn’t be more out of touch with our country and the right way to move forward.” Major League Soccer officials also responded. “We are deeply concerned, both specifically for our players who may be impacted, and more broadly for all people who will suffer as a result of the travel ban implemented on

Friday” the Major Soccer League Players Union wrote in a statement. “Details on the practical impact of the ban are still emerging, and we are still sorting through the potential impact on our players and their families. We are extremely disappointed by the ban and feel strongly that it runs counter to the values of inclusiveness that define us as a nation.” The NBA sought clarification from the State Department on the ban. “We have reached out to the State Department and are in the process of gathering information to understand how this executive order would apply to players in our league who are from one of the impacted countries,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said. “The NBA is a global league and we are proud to attract the very best players from around the world.” The NBA’s global initiatives include Basketball Without Borders,

to reach out to an advocate, which many seniors in long-term care facilities can’t, especially if they have cognitive or communication disabilities like dementia or things like that,” said Daniel Redman, a gay attorney in San Francisco who advised Wiener on the bill and served as the legal chair of the San Francisco aging task force. Leyla Zabih, the owner of Werner Enterprises in Walnut Creek, is a fiduciary who specializes in serving as a legal guardian for seniors. She currently oversees a conservatorship of a transgender woman living in a Contra Costa County nursing home. Over the last 18 months she has worked with a team of legal advocates, including Redman and the Transgender Law Center, in pressing the facility to address her client using her preferred name and female pronouns. Initially the facility had housed her client with a male roommate and insisted in using her given male name and male pronouns. (Due to health privacy laws, Zabih declined to disclose her client’s name or the name of the facility where she is housed.) “We had to fight to have her recognized in body, mind, and spirit as the female soul she is in the nursing home,” said Zabih, who also secured a name and gender change for her client through probate court. “She was living as a woman when she had her stroke. For lack of family, lack of resources, and a lack of being able to communicate, at the prior nursing home she was at she had been listed under her former male name.” Once her client’s name change was approved, Zabih said within a few days her client was moved into a room with female roommates. After being relocated, her client felt comfortable dressing in women’s clothing and wearing makeup, she said. But issues persisted. The facility claimed she was not getting along

with the other women, while Zabih said the employees were not properly bathing her. In December her client was moved to her own room and is now “doing better,” said Zabih. After the facility agreed for her to provide training to its staff on how to work with transgender residents, Zabih said few employees attended. Had the state law Wiener has introduced been in place, said Zabih, it would have negated many of the issues her client has faced and prevented much emotional distress. “She is the victim. The amount of time she had to suffer while the powers that be decided are we going to act in our patient’s best interest is ridiculous,” she said. Under Wiener’s bill, long-term care facilities would be required to address residents using the name and pronouns of their choosing. They could not restrict a resident from using the bathroom of their choice or harass them for doing so. Nor could they deny a resident the right to dress in the clothing, accessories or cosmetics of their choosing. They would also be barred from denying residents appropriate medical care based on gender and from delivering such care in a demeaning manner. And like San Francisco’s law, the state bill also gives residents of such facilities the right to associate with any other resident or visitors of their choosing, including if it is for “sexual intimacy.” Assemblyman David Chiu (DSan Francisco) is co-sponsoring the bill, as is lesbian Assemblywoman Sabrina Cervantes (D-Riverside) and Equality California, the statewide LGBT advocacy group. “For us this is one of the more important bills we are going to work on this year,” said EQCA Executive Director Rick Zbur. “For a couple years we have been wanting to advance a bill protecting seniors in long-term care facilities. We think it can be a model for other parts of the country.”t

which recruits and develops several players from Sudan, one of the blackballed countries. With the ban facing multiple court challenges and the possibility that Trump could try to expand or extend the ban past its current 90 days, sports officials were scrambling to determine how their events might be impacted. Iran indicated initially that it might have a reciprocal retaliatory ban, but then issued visas for American wrestlers to attend the freestyle wrestling World Cup to be held there this month. On the other hand, Iran denied visas for two American basketball players who were playing professionally in Iran, J.P. Prince and Joseph Jones, leaving them stranded in Dubai. The global public relations fallout could also impact bids for the 2018 Gay Games, the 2024 Summer Olympics, and the 2026 soccer World Cup. The Federation of Gay Games will narrow an American-heavy slate of bidders for Gay Games XI down to three contenders this month, and

backlash to the ban could boost the chances of Hong Kong and Guadalajara to make the final three. Similarly, that backlash could hurt Los Angeles’ chance of winning its bid for the Summer Olympics. The site of the 2026 World Cup is scheduled to be selected in May 2020 – early in the next presidential campaign. It would appear the strongest contender for the cup, which will expand to 48 teams from the current 32, would be a combined bid by the United States, Mexico, and Canada. Of course, Trump has always had a special place in his heart and checkbook for soccer. New York’s Trump Tower used to house CONCACAF – the confederation of North and Central American and Caribbean soccer – as well as former senior American official Chuck Blazer, a cooperating witness in the federal case against FIFA. Currently living in Trump Tower under house arrest is Jose Maria Marin, who chaired the 2014 World Cup organizing committee in Brazil.t

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<< Community News

14 • BAY AREA REPORTER • February 2-8, 2017

SF sues Trump

From page 1

Meantime, elected leaders in the Bay Area and across the country expressed outrage over Trump’s executive order to withhold federal funding from sanctuary cities. At his State of the City address Thursday, January 26, the day after Trump announced his order, Mayor Ed Lee referred to the policy of protecting undocumented immigrants from being prosecuted for breaking immigration laws. Lee said he’s “grateful” to be in a city “where we honor one another and stand up for each other.” “We are the sanctuary city now, tomorrow, forever,” he said. The crowd at the refurbished Hibernia Bank, which included city supervisors, Police Chief Bill Scott, and numerous other officials, greeted the remark with a standing ovation. “We don’t talk about protecting immigrants,” Lee said. “We stand shoulder to shoulder with them.” In a statement last Wednesday, gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), said it was “a shameful

Transmissions

From page 4

It is likely, even by the time you read this, that our current administration will issue an executive order to enact a First Amendment defense act or something similar that will establish religious bigotry against LGBTQ people in the United States.

Political Notebook

From page 5

a big event,” said Gonzales, though he acknowledged, “not doing a full endorsement process wasn’t ideal. But I think where we did get involved, we were more effective in some ways than years past.” Part of the challenge the group has faced in maintaining its board members, said Gonzales, is the vast area it covers, making it difficult to recruit people from all four counties who can regularly meet. Recruiting women and transgender people as board members

Salman

From page 2

her husband Father’s Day gifts – a card and a T-shirt that said “World’s Greatest Dad.” He added that Mateen had told Salman that he would be going out to dinner with a friend the night of

Supreme Court

From page 6

concerns” about Gorsuch. “Judge Gorsuch has expressed skepticism about the judiciary’s role in defining and protecting constitutional liberties and freedoms that are central to LGBTQ lives, in ways that could undermine established constitutional protections such as marriage equality and access to reproductive health care,” said Wu. “He has wrongly and anemically interpreted the Constitution to make it harder for individuals to seek equal protection under the law. And he has expressed hostility to progressive movements’ use of the judicial process to safeguard constitutional liberties and protections for all.”

Background

Gorsuch has been a judge for only 10 years, having been nominated in 2006 by President George W. Bush to the 10th Circuit. That circuit hears appeals from federal district courts in six states: Oklahoma, Kansas, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah, plus portions of Yellowstone National Park extending into Montana and Idaho. Before becoming a judge, and while working as an attorney at the Washington, D.C.-based law firm

day,” but he said Trump’s order “only strengthens my resolve to stand up against the alarming bigotry and hatred emanating from the White House. If President Trump believes signing a piece of paper will for one second change how San Francisco and California value and protect our immigrant neighbors, he is underestimating our strength and spirit. Our immigrant communities need us more than ever and we will be there for them every step of the way. Trump can try to build his wall and he can try to cut off funding for sanctuary cities, but he’s in for one hell of a fight.” San Francisco District 8 Supervisor Jeff Sheehy, a gay man who represents the Castro and other neighborhoods, stated, “San Francisco is a city of immigrants – and will always be a sanctuary for those seeking love and acceptance. Trump’s proposed budget cuts would hurt the most vulnerable among us and must be stopped. We’re going to fight these actions with all our might.” Among the federal assistance San Francisco gets is money related to

HIV/AIDS. While Sheehy and others may be prepared for battle, it’s not yet known exactly how much money they’ll be fighting for. This fiscal year, the city’s health department has budgeted $35 million in direct federal grants and $31.2 million in indirect federal grants, which pass through state agencies or other entities, according to Rachael Kagan, a spokeswoman for the health department. Kagan referred questions about sanctuary cities and federal funding to the mayor’s office. Lee’s spokespeople didn’t respond to an email from the Bay Area Reporter. At a forum for San Francisco’s community-based nonprofits Friday, January 27 to discuss the city’s five-year financial plan and midyear budget, Melissa Whitehouse, Lee’s budget director, said, “The big change from last year is the uncertainty with the federal government.” But despite the city’s voters rejecting a crucial sales tax measure in November and a projected budget deficit of $400 million over the next

two years, Whitehouse said there would be no cuts or layoffs. “The mayor is ready to face whatever comes. ... He doesn’t want people to be panicked,” she said. San Francisco Controller Ben Rosenfield said that while uncertainty around federal funding is one of the key factors that could affect the city’s forecast, he had “no more clarity in terms of what’s at risk” since the sanctuary city executive order was announced. He added that part of the trouble with predicting what could happen is that there’s often “nothing more than 140 character” policy statements to go on, referring to Trump’s penchant for using Twitter to broadcast his stances. Other officials from San Francisco and around the Bay Area also quickly denounced Trump’s order. San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi criticized the newly inaugurated president’s desire to have people deported in a statement that said, “We stand in solidarity with millions of people throughout the country in opposition to Trump’s xenophobic

attacks on immigrants and believe no family should be torn apart because they cannot afford a private attorney. We call on the city of San Francisco and Mayor Lee to ensure detained immigrants are appointed public defenders to fight for them.” The city’s 11 supervisors last week voted unanimously to provide $1.5 million in new funding for legal representation and other services for immigrants. In a statement Wednesday, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said, “Oaklanders rely on $130 million in federal funding for everything from early education programs like Head Start to getting officers out of their cars and onto our streets at a time when community policing is so desperately needed. We will not allow this president to play politics with our safety and security.” Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin said, “We will not be intimidated by threats to cut funding to cities that believe in the fundamental notion that no person is illegal. No amount of federal funding is worth betraying our values.”t

What this will mean is the government would not defend our rights against any business or person who willingly discriminate against us. Who is to say how far this could go, potentially cementing anti-transgender bathroom language within the bill, and attempting to overturn our rights to serve in the military or seek and maintain our marriage rights.

It is just as likely that abortion rights and similar issues surrounding a woman’s body autonomy could face similar battles. We’ve already seen this with Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., the 2014 U.S. Supreme Court decision that grants a religious exemption to for-profit corporations to provide insurance coverage for contraceptives. Such a

thing could just as easily be rolled into a Religious Freedom Restoration Act at or around the same time an FADA is aimed at LGBTQ individuals. In short, this is a time where we need to build and strengthen alliances, and turn these moments whith poor messaging into something we educate one other on, to

each other’s mutual benefit. As it is, I suspect we shall have ample opportunities to march in the future, and the stronger alliances we can build, the greater impact we can have, together.t

has also been a challenge, he added. The current BAYMEC board members are scheduled to meet Monday, February 6, to elect six new people to the board. The effort to reconstitute the group’s leadership is being bolstered, said Gonzales, by concerns that the Trump administration will erode the LGBT community’s gains of recent years. “We are doing what a lot of groups are doing, using momentum from scenarios of some of our rights could be at risk and some public opinions are not as solid as we thought it was to renew energy

for our group and others to stay involved and not be complacent,” he said. Anyone interested in serving on the BAYMEC board should email Baymec@gmail.com to learn how to apply.

As of Monday morning (January 30) the campaign website for gay Assemblyman Evan Low (DCampbell) had returned after being hacked last week. Low, recently elected chair of the

Legislature’s caucus for LGBT lawmakers, had informed reporters, the Assembly Sergeant-at-Arms, and others last Thursday that his campaign site at http://evanlowforassembly.com/ had been compromised. For several days the site was offline, while the version accessible this week hadn’t been updated since 2015. On his Facebook page Rajaoui PS, who lists himself as a leader of the group Shadows Team Hackers, claimed responsibility for the hack. His January 26 post included mention of Low’s chairing the

LGBT caucus as well as a link to his website. In an email message, Low told the B.A.R. he didn’t know how or why the group had hacked his site, “I don’t even check it,” he wrote. While he found the LGBT references “scary,” Low nonetheless said there was no need for alarm and that he “just wanted to keep LGBT community folks on the lookout” and to “just be cautious and aware.” Elected in November to a second, two-year term, Low is already raising money to run for re-election in 2018.t

the attack. Swift said that Salman has close ties to the community and that her family was willing to put up property to ensure she continues to appear in court. He also said that Salman had been “considered learning disabled” and that teachers had said Salman

had “significant difficulties with abstract thinking.” “She does not have the assets to flee,” he said. “... The only danger posed is theoretical, at best.” Sweeney said she didn’t have objections to Salman receiving treatment, but she didn’t see how that would mitigate “the dangerousness”

that the defendant poses. Salman appeared in court Wednesday morning in jail scrubs, and with her hair in two braids. She took notes during some of the proceedings. Outside court after Salman’s initial appearance Tuesday, January 17, Al Salman, her uncle, referred to

Mateen by saying, “She had no idea what that crazy guy was doing.” “She’s innocent,” Salman said. “She’s a simple person. She would not hurt a fly.” Ryu said Wednesday that the case would reconvene after Salman was evaluated. The next court date will likely be later this month.t

of Kellogg Huber Hansen Todd Evans & Figel, Gorsuch penned an article for a conservative political magazine. In the article, published in 2005 by the National Review, Gorsuch argued that social activists, such as those who support marriage for same-sex couples, should rely on “elected leaders and the ballot box” rather than judges to secure “their social agenda.” “Liberals may win a victory on gay marriage when preaching to the choir before like-minded judges in Massachusetts,” wrote Gorsuch. “But in failing to reach out and persuade the public generally, they invite exactly the sort of backlash we saw in November when gay marriage was rejected in all 11 states where it was on the ballot.” Massachusetts began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in 2004 after a state supreme court ruling and action by the state Legislature. In that same article, Gorsuch also claimed that Democrats had failed to win “a majority of the popular vote in nine out of the last 10 presidential elections.” He blamed this in part on Democrats having “litigation addiction.” However, he failed to explain why Republicans had also failed to win a majority of the popular vote in seven out of the previous 10 presidential elections, according to Roper Center data.

As a judge, Gorsuch wrote a concurring opinion in the 10th Circuit’s ruling in favor of Hobby Lobby, a chain store that wanted exemptions to the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that employer health plans cover contraception. Hobby Lobby’s owners said they should have the exemption not because their store was a religious institution but because the owner held personal religious beliefs that regarded contraception as objectionable. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the 10th Circuit’s ruling in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, allowing the store to deny coverage for contraception to their employees. Gorsuch didn’t write the 10th Circuit’s ruling but wrote a concurring opinion that illustrates how his tendency to paint with a very broad brush followed him to the bench. “All of us must answer for ourselves whether and to what degree we are willing to be involved in the wrongdoing of others,” he wrote. And, in a sentence that today rings with considerable irony, Gorsuch added, “The [ACA] doesn’t just apply to protect popular religious belief: it does perhaps its most important work in protecting unpopular religious beliefs, vindicating this nation’s long-held aspiration to serve as a refuge of religious tolerance.”

Lambda Legal said Gorsuch also joined a 10th Circuit opinion in 2015 that rejected arguments made by a transgender woman prisoner who sought the right to wear clothing consistent with her gender identity and to receive medical hormone treatment related to her gender identity. The Williams Institute, a think tank at UCLA School of Law, said Gorsuch joined an unpublished opinion while sitting temporarily on a 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals case involving a transgender person who sued her employer for refusing to allow her to use a women’s restroom until after she completed gender surgery. The 9th Circuit decision, which Gorsuch joined, said the employer’s concern for “restroom safety” did not constitute discrimination. In another irony, Gorsuch clerked at the U.S. Supreme Court for both the author of the most notoriously hostile opinion on the rights of LGBT people and the most supportive. He first clerked for Justice Byron White, who, in 1986, wrote the Bowers v. Hardwick decision that upheld state laws banning sexual relations between adults of the same sex. When White retired in 1993, Gorsuch began clerking for Justice Anthony Kennedy. Kennedy went on to author the high court’s

most historic pro-LGBT decisions, including Romer v. Evans (1996), Lawrence v. Texas (2003), U.S. v. Windsor (2013), and Obergefell v. Hodges (2015). Gorsuch is widely considered a staunch conservative in the spirit of Scalia and, like Scalia, prefers to read the Constitution in a very narrow and strict manner. Such readings often lead to the conclusion that, because the founders of this nation never contemplated the widespread acceptance of LGBT people, then the Constitution could not be read to include protections for the rights of such people. Anti-LGBT Senator Ted Cruz (RTexas) called Gorsuch “a home run.” But even before Trump announced his choice of Gorsuch, Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) vowed to filibuster the nomination. Merkley, who has introduced bills seeking protections for LGBT people, said the Supreme Court seat to which Trump nominated Gorsuch is “a stolen seat.” He said President Barack Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland, should have been given a confirmation hearing and vote last year. And he said Democrats “will use every lever in our power to stop this.” Senate rules require a vote of at least 60 senators to break a filibuster. Republicans hold 52 seats.t

Gay lawmaker’s hacked website returns

Gwen Smith will stand by those who stand by her. You’ll find her at http://www.gwensmith.com.

Legal Notices>> TRUSTEE NOTICE;

to agent is notice to principal and notice to principal is notice to agent; I hereby now and forever disaffirm infancy and all contracts in minority, and hereby now notice I have attained the Age of Majority and hereby claim all accounts/property personal and real held in abeyance and I accept all Oaths and give notice of acceptance by acquiescence and decreed fiduciary relationship with trustee appointment of all Oath bound officers, trustees, licensees, and or agents whether claimed or in fact of the principal for the court under original jurisdiction and all subsequent jurisdictions thereof including and not limited to the constitution of these union States of the Republic and between the Author/Settlor/Sole Beneficiary/Sole Owner for ongoing literary composition, book, map, Chart and registered infant estate, recorded and known as Sheila Ann Blanc- established September 13 1962 and Registered Oct 1 1962 without mine or my parents knowledge or consent as ward of the state; regarding but not limited to labor interests within the original jurisdiction of the court under the original principal now chief trustee; decreed adjudicated Facts of Parentage and Declaration of status as Mother with other documents/ bonds/bank notes sent to CDPH November 18 2016 registered #RE059 798 205US; decreed case Sonoma County record #20160955330 for change of status for the Author/Settlor/ Sole Beneficiary/Sole Owner of the infant estate from infant minor to age of Majority including but not limited to all interests/ownership in all biological offspring through my blood and/ or marriage. All amendments re-registered November 10, 2016 correcting style and status; Georgia Superior Court Filings February 19, 2016 BPA Book 55, pages 973-984 and book title Certificate # 104-62-261898/ local 3801 14209 with DOS authentication issued pursuant to CHXIV, State of Sept. 15, 1789 1 Stat . 68-69; 22 USC 2657; 22USC 2651a; 5 USC 301; 28 USC 1733 et. Seq,; 8 USC 1443 (f); RULE 44 Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, presented to San Francisco County Local Registrar and Trustee Tomas J Aragon Registered mail#RE0022 058 033US for acceptance/acknowledgment and registration and shall be used at the Authors/ Settlors discretion and will and my promise to god, including and not limited to; Copyright Act of 1790/Statutes at Large, 124; 12 USC 95a(2),Stat.112ch 48 or any other applicable laws with all rights retained. Any rebuttal or refusal to accept this appointment shall be in writing under penalty of perjury with proof of recorded denunciation of Oath to original principal for the court and any agencies thereof; shall be sent within 72 hours registered mail to Sheila Ann Blanc Attn: Author/Settlor/ Sole Beneficiary/Sole Owner at PMB 7319 Witter Road, Sebastopol California Republic 954729999

JAN 12, 19, 26, FEB 02, 2017 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO

FILE CNC-17-552677 In the matter of the application of: THOMAS NATHANIEL YOUNG, 525 BRYANT ST. SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner THOMAS NATHANIEL YOUNG, is requesting that the name THOMAS NATHANIEL YOUNG, be changed to THOMAS NATHANIEL SPANN. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 514, Room 514 on the 7th of March 2017 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

JAN 12, 19, 26, FEB 02, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037400000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: LI WANG INSURANCE AGENCY, 2390 20TH AVE #210, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed LI WANG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/01/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/28/16.

JAN 12, 19, 26, FEB 02, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037397700

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ADS M NETWORK, 948 MISSION ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MUKESH BUDGUJAR. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/23/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/23/16.

JAN 12, 19, 26, FEB 02, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037384800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MERCHANT ROOTS, 1365 FILLMORE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed RYAN SHELTON. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 03/21/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/13/16.

JAN 12, 19, 26, FEB 02, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037406800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: LABOR ENFORCEMENT CONSULTING, 15 GALILEE LANE #5, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JOSHUA PASTREICH. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/30/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/30/16.

JAN 12, 19, 26, FEB 02, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037384100

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SHIATSU POINT, 195 COMMONWEALTH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed SOO JUNG KIM. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/13/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/13/16.

JAN 12, 19, 26, FEB 02, 2017

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037412100

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: FLAIR TRAVEL, 673 BRANNAN ST UNIT 503, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed DAVID MICHAEL PETLIN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/03/17. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/05/17.

JAN 12, 19, 26, FEB 02, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037411500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: FLORA JAPONICA, 542 MUNICH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed RACHEL JOHNSON. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/01/17. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/05/17.

JAN 12, 19, 26, FEB 02, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037411900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: LUCKY CAB, 120 WILLOW ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed S AND S TECHNOLOGY SVCS INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/05/17. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/05/17.

JAN 12, 19, 26, FEB 02, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037410400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BAY AREA CANINE CLUB, 230 TRUMBULL ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed CA DOGWALKING, INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/04/17. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/04/17.

JAN 12, 19, 26, FEB 02, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037415600

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PARK GYROS FOOD TRUCK, 2831 CESAR CHAVEZ, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed HEVAL INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/09/17. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/09/17.

JAN 12, 19, 26, FEB 02, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037411700

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: TARA INDIAN CUISINE, 2217 MARKET ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed OM BROTHERS RESTAURANT INC, (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/04/17. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/05/17.

JAN 12, 19, 26, FEB 02, 2017 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-036764100 The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: TARA INDIAN CUISINE, 2217 MARKET ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business was conducted by a corporation and signed by SANDER BROTHERS ENTERPRISE (CA). The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/04/17.

JAN 12, 19, 26, FEB 02, 2017 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-17-552682

In the matter of the application of: ISABELA DIAS DE MELLO SÁ GLAISTER, 1226 CHURCH ST #3, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner ISABELA DIAS DE MELLO SÁ GLAISTER, is requesting that the name ISABELA DIAS DE MELLO SÁ GLAISTER, be changed to ISABELA SÁ GLAISTER. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 514, Room 514 on the 9th of March 2017 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

JAN 19, 26, FEB 02, 09, 2017 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-17-552702

In the matter of the application of: MNATSAKAN KOUYOUMDJIAN, 1266 33RD AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner MNATSAKAN KOUYOUMDJIAN, is requesting that the name MNATSAKAN KOUYOUMDJIAN, be changed to MICHAEL MNATSAKAN KOUYOUMDJIAN. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 514, Room 514 on the 16th of March 2017 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

JAN 19, 26, FEB 02, 09, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037426100

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: TATO, 4608 3RD STREET, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed KRISTIN HOUK. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/17/17. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/17/17.

JAN 19, 26, FEB 02, 09, 2017

February 2-8, 2017 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 15

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-17-552683

In the matter of the application of: CHRISTOPHER DIAS DE MELLO SÁ GLAISTER, 1226 CHURCH ST #3, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner CHRISTOPHER DIAS DE MELLO SÁ GLAISTER, is requesting that the name CHRISTOPHER DIAS DE MELLO SÁ GLAISTER, be changed to CHRISTOPHER SÁ GLAISTER. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 514, Room 514 on the 9th of March 2017 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

JAN 19, 26, FEB 02, 09, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037423300

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BINGO TRAVEL, 2407 41ST AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JOPHIE YIN NO LEUNG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/13/17. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/13/17.

JAN 19, 26, FEB 02, 09, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037422800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: NOMAD MUSIC; NOMAD DRUM STUDIOS; NOMADS DRUM SHOP, 6743 CALIFORNIA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed DAMON HOPE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/09/17. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/13/17.

JAN 19, 26, FEB 02, 09, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037419700

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: HESHIES, 550 LAKE ST #201, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed TYLER HESCHONG. 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 01/11/17.

JAN 19, 26, FEB 02, 09, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037417800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: FANTASYLAND BY THE PARK, 1623 IRVING ST #1, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed KRISTINE PETROSYAN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/01/17. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/10/17.

JAN 19, 26, FEB 02, 09, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037418000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: LITTLE KIDS PARADISE, 266 21ST AVE #101, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed TATIANA SERGUNINA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/01/17. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/10/17.

JAN 19, 26, FEB 02, 09, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037415300

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MOLAR DENTAL STUDIO, 390 LAUREL ST #305, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JOSEPHINE CHEN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/03/17. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/09/17.

JAN 19, 26, FEB 02, 09, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037402200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: GLAMA-RAMA! SALON, 304 VALENCIA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed KATHRYN A. MCKEE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/29/16 The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/29/16.

JAN 19, 26, FEB 02, 09, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037422100

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: FLORE, 2298 MARKET ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed FOCUS 415 CAPITOL INVESTMENT GROUP, INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/12/17.

JAN 19, 26, FEB 02, 09, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037423500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CORTERIX, 1 SANSOME ST #3500, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94104. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed BMM SOFT, INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/15/17. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/13/17.

JAN 19, 26, FEB 02, 09, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037419400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: LONE STAR SALOON, 1354 HARRISON ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed BEAR TRAP LSSF INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/11/17. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/11/17.

JAN 19, 26, FEB 02, 09, 2017

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037398800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: AGESONG UNIVERSITY, 350 UNIVERSITY ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94134. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed AGESONG LIVING, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/15/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/27/16.

JAN 19, 26, FEB 02, 09, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037421200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: GLENA’S, 632 20TH STREET, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed A STREET 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 01/12/17.

JAN 19, 26, FEB 02, 09, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037420800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: TREEFORT CRAFT DISTILLERY, 849 AVENUE D, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94130. This business is conducted by a limited, liability company and is signed TREEHOUSE CRAFT DISTILLERY, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/11/17.

JAN 19, 26, FEB 02, 09, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037411000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: HILTON SAN FRANCISCO UNION SQUARE; HERB N KITCHEN; URBAN TAVERN; CITYSCAPE RESTAURANT, 333 O’FARRELL ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed SAN FRANCISCO LESSEE, LLC (DE). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/03/17. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/04/17.

JAN 19, 26, FEB 02, 09, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037428200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PINK ONION, 64 14TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed PINK ONION 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 01/17/17.

JAN 19, 26, FEB 02, 09, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037419500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ANINA, 482 A HAYES ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed BURGERS 355 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 01/11/17.

JAN 19, 26, FEB 02, 09, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037425800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CASTRO SLIDERS, 449 CASTRO ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed CASTRO PIZZA LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/19/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/17/17.

JAN 19, 26, FEB 02, 09, 2017 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-034017900

The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: LITTLE KIDS PARADISE, 266 21ST AVE #101, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121. This business was conducted by an individual and signed by KRISTINE PETROSYAN. The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/21/11.

JAN 19, 26, FEB 02, 09, 2017 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-17-552721

In the matter of the application of: LINDSAY RENEE BERGMANN, 1233 ARGUELLO BLVD #9, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner LINDSAY RENEE BERGMANN, is requesting that the name LINDSAY RENEE BERGMANN, be changed to LINZI RENEE BERRY. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 514, Room 514 on the 23rd of March 2017 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

JAN 26, FEB 02, 09, 16, 2017 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-17-552694

In the matter of the application of: ABDOLHANNAN PARVIZIAN, 2434 UNION ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94123, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner ABDOLHANNAN PARVIZIAN, is requesting that the name ABDOLHANNAN PARVIZIAN, be changed to HANNAN PARVIZIAN. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 514, Room 514 on the 14th of March 2017 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

JAN 26, FEB 02, 09, 16, 2017

STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-034252000

The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: FANTASYLAND BY THE PARK, 1623 IRVING ST #1, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business was conducted by an individual and signed by TATEVIK POGHOSYAN. The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/05/12.

JAN 19, 26, FEB 02, 09, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037439900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: EMIKO OYOGA, 940 NATOMA ST #2, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed EMIKO M. OYE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/11/17. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/24/17.

JAN 26, FEB 02, 09, 16, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037428400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: HAI FENG TRADITION CHINESE MED; HAI FENG CHINESE HERBAL, 1818 NORIEGA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed RU HAI LIANG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/09/17. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/17/17.

JAN 26, FEB 02, 09, 16, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037430500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: KA DIAMONDS, 100 SUMMIT WAY, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94132. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed BARSEKH KARAGEUZIAN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/18/17. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/18/17.

JAN 26, FEB 02, 09, 16, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037433200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CHARLES H. STINSON STUDIO; STARCHAND PRESS, 1890 BRYANT ST #300, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed CHARLES H. STINSON. 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 01/19/17.

JAN 26, FEB 02, 09, 16, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037427900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: EVOLUTION, 3186 16TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed FOTOON AND SAHEEN INC, (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/15/17. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/17/17.

JAN 26, FEB 02, 09, 16, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037431500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: LUSCIOUS GARAGE, 475 9TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed LUSCIOUS GARAGE, INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/24/07. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/19/17.

JAN 26, FEB 02, 09, 16, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037432900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BAY CONNECTIONS, 530 HOWARD ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed GRAYSON CARTER, INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/02/17. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/19/17.

JAN 26, FEB 02, 09, 16, 2017 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-037332400

The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: CALIFORNIA MOVERS LOCAL AND LONG DISTANCE INC, 1888 GENEVA AVE #504B, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94134. This business was conducted by a corporation and signed by CALIFORNIA MOVERS LOCAL AND LONG DISTANCE INC. (CA). The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/03/16.

JAN 26, FEB 02, 09, 16, 2017 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-037332500

The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: SIMPLE MOVE SF, 1888 GENEVA AVE #504B, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94134. This business was conducted by a corporation and signed by SIMPLE MOVE INC (CA). The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/03/16.

JAN 26, FEB 02, 09, 16, 2017 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-17-552745

In the matter of the application of: CARLOS MAX BRAN, 1100 GOUGH ST #18D, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner CARLOS MAX BRAN, is requesting that the name CARLOS MAX BRAN; AKA CHARLES MAX BRAN; AKA MAX CHARLES BRAN, be changed to CHARLES MAX BRAN. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 514, Room 514 on the 30th of March 2017 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

FEBRUARY 02, 09, 16, 23, 2017

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The following person(s) is/are doing business as: LIFE GATE ACUPUNCTURE, 2460 MISSION ST #212, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed KARA LEANNE ROMANKO. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 11/15/03. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/31/17.

FEBRUARY 02, 09, 16, 23, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037449400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: AI BEAUTE SKIN SPA, 1149 POWELL ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94108. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed AINA CHEN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/31/17. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/31/17.

FEBRUARY 02, 09, 16, 23, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037448000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SG ADVISORS, 4150 17TH ST #33, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed SCOTT ARTHUR GORDON. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/16/17. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/30/17.

FEBRUARY 02, 09, 16, 23, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037441500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BELLATIQUE, 924 GEARY ST #50, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed FEROZ CHAUHAN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/25/17. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/25/17.

FEBRUARY 02, 09, 16, 23, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037443500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CREATE INTERIOR DESIGN, 181 FRANKLIN ST #6, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JAMES E. BROWN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/24/17. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/26/17.

FEBRUARY 02, 09, 16, 23, 2017

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-17-552715

In the matter of the application of: SEUNG HYUK YI/JI HOO YI, 1390 MARKET ST #1428, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner SEUNG HYUK YI, are requesting that the name LIAM (KUN-HEE0) YI be changed to LIAM (CHEON) YI. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 514, Room 514 on the 21st of March 2017 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

JAN 26, FEB 02, 09, 16, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037447400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ALEXANDER SIGNING SERVICE, 16 MUSEUM WAY, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed BRETT D. ALEXANDER. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/23/17. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/30/17.

FEBRUARY 02, 09, 16, 23, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037451200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: RCB SECURITY INC, 1307 EVANS AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed RCB SECURITY INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/31/17. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/31/17.

FEBRUARY 02, 09, 16, 23, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037443900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: HOME CAFE, 2018 CLEMENT STREET, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed 1ST, INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/26/17. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/26/17.

FEBRUARY 02, 09, 16, 23, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037438900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BUSINESS BRA’S, 1415 7TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed MELANIE GARCIA & TRISHA HEIGL. 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 01/24/17.

FEBRUARY 02, 09, 16, 23, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037445400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: P C PLUMBING, 235 WESTLAKE CENTER #382, DALY CITY, CA 94015. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed A AND M REMODELING LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/26/17. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/27/17.

FEBRUARY 02, 09, 16, 23, 2017

City and County of San Francisco Outreach Advertising February 2017 Stay Connected To the City through SF311 The SF311 Customer Service Center is the single stop for residents to get information on government services and report problems to the City and County of San Francisco. And now, we have even more ways for you to stay connected to the City with our SF311 App and SF311 Explorer website. The SF311 App lets you get information on City services and submit service requests on-the-go right from your smartphone. You can track your service requests through the app or through our new website, SF311 Explorer. Download the SF311 App from your smartphone’s app store and visit the SF311 Explorer at explore311.sfgov.org today! SF DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUTH AND THEIR FAMILIES

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The following person(s) is/are doing business as: TABOUN, 203 PARNASSUS AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed SALIM I. QARU. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/01/04. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/31/17.

FEBRUARY 02, 09, 16, 23, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037450500

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FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037453500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: HERBS AND SPICE, 2211 NEWCOMB AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed RAMONA ADDISON. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/31/17. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/31/17.

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Legal Notices>> SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA RAPID TRANSIT DISTRICT NOTICE TO PROPOSERS EXTENSION OF TIME FOR RECEIPT OF PROPOSALS NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that sealed Proposals will be received until the hour of 2:00 p.m., Tuesday, February 28, 2017 at the District Secretary’s Office, 23rd Floor, 300 Lakeside Drive, Oakland, California 94612 (mailing address: P.O. Box 12688, Oakland, California 94604-2688) for General Engineering Services for BART Projects, Request for Proposals (“RFP”) No. 6M8119. Such Proposals will thereafter be accepted or rejected by the District. The Proposers are responsible to ensure their Proposals are received at the time and location specified. Dated at Oakland, California, this 20th day of February 2017. /s/ Kenneth A. Duron Kenneth A. Duron, District Secretary San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District 2/2/17 CNS-2968699# BAY AREA REPORTER

The annual citywide Summer Resource Fair is coming up on Saturday, March 11 from 10am to 2pm at the County Fair Building in Golden Gate Park. The Summer Resource Fair is a free, family-oriented event that showcases the multitude of summer programs and other opportunities for young people in and around San Francisco. This year the Department of Children, Youth, and Their Families will bring in 200 exhibitors from summer programs, camps, and classes for every age group, from toddlers to tweens to teenagers. The Recreation and Park Department will host their rock climbing wall, sports stations, and arts & crafts activities, the San Francisco Public Library will give away books, and there will be food trucks, entertainment, and more! Please visit www.dcyf.org for more information about the Summer Resource Fair, or call Emily Davis at 415-554-8991. Assessment Appeals Board (AAB) Notice is hereby given of 5 vacancies on the AAB. Applicants must have at least 5 years of experience as one of the following: Certified Public Accountant or Public Accountant; licensed Real Estate Broker; Property Appraiser accredited by a nationally recognized organization, or Property Appraiser certified by the California Office of Real Estate Appraisers. For additional information or to obtain an application, please call (415) 554-6778. Board of Supervisors Regularly Scheduled Board Meetings February and March 2017 Meetings • • • • • •

February 7 February 14 February 28 March 7 March 14 March 21

There will be no scheduled meetings on February 21 and March 28. LANGUAGE INTERPRETATION AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST CHINESE…. SPANISH…. FILIPINO Requests must be received 48 hours in advance required for interpretation. For more information see the Board of Supervisor’s website www.sfbos.org, or call 415-554-5184. The City and County of San Francisco encourage public outreach. Articles are translated into several languages to provide better public access. The newspaper makes every effort to translate the articles of general interest correctly. No liability is assumed by the City and County of San Francisco or the newspapers for errors and omissions.

CNS-2967266#

Alison’s story

Indie festival

Out &About

Cary world

O&A

Vol. 47 • No. 5 • February 2-8, 2017

Erik Tomasson

www.ebar.com/arts

Ballets pleasant & unpleasant by Paul Parish

an Francisco Ballet might as well have titled its Programs 1 & 2 as Ballets Pleasant & Unpleasant, given that that’s how the audience was bound to respond to them, and that both evenings would be in fact equally exhilarating and would have their fans. See page 30 >>

San Francisco Ballet dancer Lorena Feijoo in Yuri Possokhov’s Optimistic Tragedy.

Serial killer follies

Berlin & Beyond stories

by Richard Dodds

by David Lamble

Scott Hayes and Ann Norland dance a tango as cannibal serial killer Hannibal Lecter and FBI novice Clarice Starling in Silence! The Musical, a spoof of Silence of the Lambs at the Victoria Theatre.

Courtesy Berlin & Beyond

t’s billed as “unauthorized,” but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s unwelcome by those who could have taken offense. Among the parade of notables to visit Silence! The Musical during its New York run was director Jonathan Demme, who directed Silence See page 30 >> of the Lambs, the Oscar-winning movie

Erik Scanlon

here’s a nice queer accent to the 21st edition of Berlin & Beyond, the German-language film festival playing Feb. 3-5 at the Castro Theatre, concluding at SF’s German cultural center the Goethe Institut (530 Bush St.) Feb. 6-8, with a special DocDay of nonfiction films at Oakland’s Pro Arts Gallery (150 Frank H. Ogawa See page 29 >> Plaza). The festival, which showcases

Scene from director Jakob M. Erwa’s Center of My World.

{ SECOND OF THREE SECTIONS }

<< Out There

22 • Bay Area Reporter • February 2-8, 2017

Palo Alto pampering

RESTAURANT

CATERING

Last week there we were at the opening of Cary Leibowitz: Museum Show, the first career survey and solo museum show devoted to the NYbased artist also known as Candyass, at the Contemporary Jewish Museum. The exhibition shows 350 artworks from 1987 to the present: paintings, manufactured multiples, works on paper, archival material, and fabric works. Remarks from the artist and museum staff were preceded by a brief spirited performance by the Countess Katya Smirnoff-Skyy, who sang a few ditties and confided that after her much older husband the Count died, she converted to “Yoo-daism,” thus now considers herself a “Yoo-ess.” We say welcome to the tribe, Countess, we like your style. Great to see Bay Area art-world types turn out for Candyass. To drop a few names, we saw Kevin Killian, Wayne Smith, Glen Helfand and Sura Wood, among many others. See this week’s Fine Arts review. After the opening we were off Serving the Castro since 1981

288 Noe Street, SF • (415) 431-7210 • lamednoe.com

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NOE ST

La Mediterranee Noe @LaMedNoe

to a screening of director Pablo Larrain’s Neruda, the true story of iconic poet Pablo Neruda (Luis Gnecco), most famous communist with a public profile in post-WWII Chile. When Chile went fascist, Neruda was forced underground, putting a tenacious police inspector (tiny, hot Gael García Bernal) on his trail. In Europe, the legend of the poet hounded by the policeman grew, and artists led by Pablo Picasso clamored for Neruda’s freedom. Neruda became a symbol for liberty personal as well as literary. Larrain’s film reminded OT that poets, so-called “legislators of the world,” are our first bulwarks against fascism. Important to remember in

15TH ST

by David Lamble

the towering 1949 work by the iconic American playwright Arthur Miller. Emad learns just how closely the vocational and life-threatening problems of Miller’s Willy Loman will come to parallel his own, both at home and at work. Film buffs will remember Farhadi for his 2011 Best Foreign Language Film Oscar winner A Separation, an absorbing drama that examined another troubled middle-class family. It’s one of this filmmaker’s strengths that his characters’ foibles resonate both privately and against the landscape of a severely repressive theocratic state. Keenly aware that their creative freedom is hostage to the whims of religious authorities, Iranian film artists like Farhadi are often able to create complex argu-

ments for individual autonomy that put many privileged Western artists he Salesman, an emotionally to shame. provocative family film from one The acting of the leads, Farhadi of Iran’s most notable young filmveteran Shahab Hosseini as Emad 17TH ST makers, Asghar Farhadi, opens in and Taraneh Alidoosti as Rana, chaos as family members scramble demonstrates that even a repressive to evacuate a Tehran apartment patriarchal society like today’s Iran complex rocked by an earthquake. can produce feisty women capable Rana, the outspoken wife and theof giving bullying men a run for their ater partner of the film’s male promoney. While The Salesman mostly tagonist Emad, greets her surviving unfolds in the pressure cooker of spouse with an edgy barb that sets Emad and Rana’s workspace home, the tone for the unraveling of both there is a deft subplot in which we their personal and professional see Emad in his other role as a high relationships. “Still alive then? I school drama teacher, tutor to a thought we’d have to dig you out of rambunctious all-male theater class. the rubble.” The students, hirsute and scruffy, Later her hubby confides his constantly bait their instructor, disappointment to his work buddy, pushing the boundaries of their Babak. upper middle-class privilege to the Emad: “I’d like to limits. bring a loader and ruin Farhadi said in a reall of this city.” cently published interBabak: “They ruined view that the late-1940s this city once, but then NYC setting of Death they built it again, and of a Salesman reminded now this is it.” him of his hometown. The couple moves “Tehran today is very into a second flat, unclose to New York as deaware it was once home scribed by Miller. A town to a prostitute, some whose face is changing of whose clients have at a heady pace, destroyyet to realize their old ing everything that’s old, stomping ground has orchards and gardens, to undergone its own replace them with towseismic change. The iners. This is exactly the trusion of one of them, environment the salesAmazon Studios/Cohen Media Group an overweight working man lives in. Tehran is man, brings matters to a Rana (Taraneh Alidoosti) and Emad (Shahab Hosseini) changing in a frenetic, head. The film’s title, The in director Asghar Farhadi’s The Salesman. anarchic, irrational way.” Salesman, is homage to Opens Friday.t

16TH ST

CASTRO ST

lamednoe.com

The outdoor terrace (above) and the dining room (below) at the Clement Hotel Palo Alto

Tehran tremblors

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Courtesty the Clement

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Candyass connects

these days of billionaire kleptocrats, white supremacists, war-mongering generals, and the complacent politicians who enable them. Another timely film about a towering political/literary figure opens this week. Out and proud gay writer James Baldwin told the story of race in modern America in his great novels, plays and essays. Press materials for I Am Not Your Negro (Magnolia Pictures) inform, “In 1979, Baldwin wrote a letter to his literary agent describing his next project, Remember This House. The book was to be a revolutionary, personal account of the lives and successive assassinations of three of his close friends: Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. “At the time of Baldwin’s death in 1987, he left behind only 30 completed pages of his manuscript. In this new documentary, filmmaker Raoul Peck envisions the book Baldwin never finished. The result is an up-to-the-minute examination of race in America, using Baldwin’s original words and flood of rich archival material.” Sounds like a compelling and necessary film. Mainstream media often leaves out that Baldwin was gay, so much a part of his genius and courage.t

he Clement Hotel Palo Alto generously invited Out There and our bosom buddy Pepi for an overnight stay in the luxurious six-star hotel down the peninsula. It was OT’s first time overnighting in an “all-inclusive luxury” property, which included a personal concierge and meals prepared in an open kitchen served in our choice of the dining room, the outdoor terrace, the privacy of our suite, or in a cabana on the rooftop pool deck that overlooks Stanford University campus. Although we were aware there were other guests around, the Clement’s sense of privacy, peace and quiet was quite extraordinary. We could get used to it. With both living room and bedroom, our suite was bigger than either OT’s or Pepi’s place. Its curated amenities include Matouk linens, Frette towels and robes, 65” Samsung IPTVs, and a Nespresso Vertuoline coffee machine, sleek. The big bathroom boasts two sinks, a TV

zzip!) and Pepi’s blue-gray and black leather lace-ups, both shined to a fare-thee-well and gleaming. We wondered, did the night staff marvel at what stylish gentlemen must be slumbering above, in the luxurious suite? (Clement Palo Alto, 711 El Camino Real, Palo Alto, CA.) Sauntering around Palo Alto, we showed Pepi the site of our longago stint as waiter in a charming French restaurant. Monique’s was a power-lunch spot across from Palo Alto City Hall. As a teenage girl its venerable proprietess Monique had been a heroine of the French Resistance during the Nazi occupation, running communiques behind enemy lines. She also made a mean cream of broccoli soup. So inspiring to remember her example as dark forces close in again.

built into the mirror, a soaking tub, rainhead shower, and Toto Washlet toilet with heated seat. Pepi enjoyed exploring all of the settings on the high-tech Japanese loo. “Ooo, try this one!” At dinner, we split four enticing appetizers: Poke Nachos (marinated raw Ahi, avocado, cilantro, Serrano, wakame, Sriracha aioli, wontons), Lamb Tartare (raw Australian lamb, mint, garlic, Dijon, crostini and cornichon), baked Oysters Rockefeller with sautéed spinach, roasted garlic, bacon, Parmesan and panko, and Foie Gras Torchon (Stevia leaves, fig puree, toasted brioche bread). For OT, the Ricotta cheese, roasted red pepper-stuffed chicken breast with potato gratin and sautéed greens, for Pepi, the bone-in Rib Eye. Dessert was chocolate molten lava cake for P., and apple pie for OT, both topped with Tin Pot vanilla bean ice cream. Yummy all around. At bedtime we left our shoes outside our door, and at 8 a.m. the next morning there they were, OT’s black English leather zip-up boots (zzip!

M AR

by Roberto Friedman

Wonder why this he-fish becomes a she-fish?

Discover the surprising secrets of meeting, mating, and repopulating for animals like the clownfish. Plus, meet nearly 40,000 other creatures at the only aquarium-planetarium-rainforest-living museum. Get tickets at calacademy.

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1/26/17 2:54 PM

<< Theatre

24 • Bay Area Reporter • February 2-8, 2017

Couple’s counsel

by Richard Dodds

hen Michael McKeever wrote Daniel’s Husband, and New Conservatory Theatre Center then scheduled it as part of its current season, gay marriage was a done deal. A given. The law of the land. As in, they can’t take that away from me. If certain recent events have up-ended notions of inviolability in so many areas of civic life, it’s understandable if the issues facing the play’s characters take on rumblings of urgency. But the play is not about marriage equality, or preserving it, but rather what to do with it now that it’s in hand. That’s the only grey cloud hovering over Daniel and Mitchell, a loveat-first-sight couple with successful creative careers and who live in the kind of home that gets written up in design magazines. The amiable dinner party of the opening scene, filled with funny zingers, descends into a full-throttle debate when a guest asks why the hosts haven’t gotten married. Together for seven years, Daniel yearns to be married while Mitchell has no interest in being one of those “insipid queens desperate to assimilate.”

as Mitchell, a gay novelist, brings Conflict is largely light until set suggests nothing of what the and commanding as Daniel, a sucplayful affability to the character, the arrival of a tried-and-true characters carry on about. cessful architect, who delivers a devsomething that turns into believably device: the visit by a mother. In But there is no faulting the perastating monologue to the audience steely resolve when the crisis arrives. this case, it’s Daniel’s mother, formances that inhabit the space. about what it’s like living in his sudAs Daniel’s mother, Christine Mathe very model of modern liberal Michael Monagle is both accessible denly ailing body. Daniel Redmond comber deftly plays the characprinciples, whose passiveter’s comically aggravating side aggression tests the limits before becoming Mitchell’s of Daniel’s otherwise affable fierce foe in a way that prevents nature. But life carries on her from becoming just a stock until it doesn’t. When Daniel villain. Nicely rounding out suffers a major health crisis, the cast are Nathan Tylutki as his mother wants to take Mitchell’s stalwart friend and control. Legally, she has the literary agent, and John Steele upper hand since Daniel and Jr. as his more-than-a-twink Mitchell are not married, but twinkly boyfriend. it’s something of a false issue To marry or not to marry since Daniel and Mitchell is a question faced both by have health directives that heterosexual and same-sex they just hadn’t gotten couples, but the newness of around to signing. it in the gay community can But within those visible be both seductive and scary. mechanics, McKeever still Daniel’s Husband gives both generates bracing emotional sides equal time up to a point. heat among the characters, The scales definitely tip in one in addition to a sharp sense direction by the end, but it’s of humor on view mainly in too late for this one couple.t the first act. Director Allen Sawyer’s production and his cast capture an intensity and Daniel’s Husband will run Lois Tema honesty within the characat New Conservatory ters and their situations that Daniel (Michael Monagle, left) and Mitchell (Daniel Redmond) have mixed feelings Theatre Center through Feb. 26. Tickets are $25maintain a grip on the audi- about a visit from Daniel’s mother (Christine Macomber) in Daniel’s Husband at $50. Call (415) 861-8972 or ence. One disappointment: New Conservatory Theatre Center. go to nctcsf.org. Robert “Bo” Golden’s dowdy

Shtick shift

Courtesy of Alexander Gray Associates, New York, NY

Cary Leibowitz, Sad Rainbow, Happy Rainbow (2007). Latex paint on two wood panels, 24x53 in. each. Collection of Amy Cappellazzo.

by Sura Wood

t has taken almost 30 years for Cary Leibowitz aka Candyass to finally get a major museum show. Despite a blah, frill-free title absent of fanfare, Cary Leibowitz: Museum Show, which contains nearly 350 mostly small works and opened at the Contemporary Jewish Museum last week, is nothing to sneeze at. The gay New York artist, who tilts

toward barbed silliness and camp in mass-produced multiples, works on paper, and rueful, self-deprecating declarations (“I am a selfish and miserable person”), painted in childish print on solid-colored panels, has a neurotic Jewish, gay boy, borscht belt comedian thing going. It’s shtick that could easily descend into a morass of adolescent pity-party narcissism were it not for the artist’s mocking self-loathing and twisty, endearing

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humor. “I do think my art embodies a certain kind of gay sensibility,” he has said, “even if it’s the sensibility of an eight-year-old.” Nothing if not merciless in lampooning his myriad hang-ups, obsessions and sexual frustration, Leibowitz is his own target-rich environment. A carefully lettered placard, which looks like something that might be propped up outside an eatery, has a run-down of his inadequacies instead of the daily specials: “I’m a bad person; I’m superficial; I am fat; I am lazy; My friends should kill me; I should be shot,” and so on. It may seem churlish to critique an artist as unpretentious and kvetchy as this one, and an amusing show that, on its surface, is self-effacing, good-natured fun, but the incessant self-regard can be tiresome and overly cute, and the material is awfully light and frothy. Confection is the operative word for parts of the installation. There’s never been so much Pepto-Bismol pink in one place, and one can only hope never to see this much again. Having wandered out of the main gallery into an annex with an insistent pale-pink glow, from the walls to a series of pink geometric boards with hand-printed admonitions to “Stop copying me” (2001), I felt as though I had been trapped at a baby shower and needed some air. The work is whiny, too, but in a good way, as in “If disco is dead, what does that make me?” or, “Don’t hate me because I’m mediocre,” and who hasn’t wanted to sign up for “Schlock therapy?” Another panel asserts the painful reality, “U will always love Marky Mark more than me.” Yes, by golly, competing with Wahlberg’s abs when he was in his six-pack

underwear-model prime must have been daunting. Then there are the occasional excursions into verse: “Roses are reddish, violets are bluish, Mrs. Henry Kissinger still doesn’t realize her husband is Jewish,” and, “If U ever go to Uganda, take your work-out tapes by Jane Fonda.” Leibowitz excels at snappy, hapless quips – think of the youngish Woody Allen in his loser schlemiel mode – more than he does at the visual art. The messages are inevitably catchier than the mundane objects they’re written on, such as a pair of matching teapots, one reading “I can’t do this,” the other, “I can’t do that,” and “Wheel of Fortune (Depression Pennants, 1989),” which invites the “audience” to try their luck, except the choices are between “Life Sucks,” “Misery Rules” and “Drop Dead.” There are a couple of pieces on the pennant theme, and at first they appear to be objects that could hang on the wall of a boy’s room, but Leibowitz, who had the double whammy of growing up gay and Jewish in suburban Connecticut in the mid-1960s, certainly wasn’t your average kid. The bio of his early years – a fixation on Frank

Lloyd Wright and high-society interior designers since he was a wee lad, and a peculiar pride in being compared to the anal-retentive Felix Unger of The Odd Couple – is either impressive or alarming depending on one’s point of view. Among the keepsakes from his precocious youth is an autographed publicity still of Liberace in full furcaped regalia that the then-11-yearold Leibowitz requested and received from the performer, and “Bumper sticker self- portrait” (1990), a black & white yearbook-style photographcollage inscribed with “Wanted: overnight meaningful relationship.” One of his and my favorite creations is a teddy bear wearing a cheery yellow T-shirt that proclaims: “I will make a cubist painting someday but right now it is not important.” Though intended as an indirect reference to the AIDS crisis, it sounds like the declaration of a budding artiste too preoccupied with more pressing matters to fulfill his destiny: to become the next Picasso. Watch out, world!t Through June 25. Info: thecjm.org.

Courtesy of the artist and INVISIBLE-EXPORTS

Cary Leibowitz, I Love (1990). Latex paint on wood panel, 12 panels, 12x16 in. each.

Theatre>>

t Human fallibility & home restoration

February 2-8, 2017 • Bay Area Reporter • 25

Joan Marcus

Abby Corrigan is one of three performers playing the lead character in Fun Home, in this scene as a sexually confused college student soon to discover her path, with Karen Eilbacher playing a militant lesbian, in the musical now at the Curran Theatre.

by Richard Dodds

erfection may not exist in nature, but in the unnatural world of the theater, Fun Home comes pretty close to achieving that distinction. That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best musical or the most enjoyable ever conceived, but even contenders for those honors usually have a conceptual glitch or two that we usually forgive. But there is nothing in Fun Home that I could imagine changing to better tell its story. It’s as if a lightning bolt flowed through its creators, but in reality, the results were achieved the old-fashioned way: years of trial and error. The musical’s ascent toward rightness could be cold comfort without the warmth found in its story of grudging acceptance of human fallibility. A family tragedy is at the center, but it is acknowledged almost immediately, while the musical then looks back on the family’s life through several decades of good times, bad times, strange times, and confusing times. The trajectory is not a gathering of clouds toward an impending doom, but a quest in hindsight to understand how all the pieces might fit together. Fun Home, which took the Tony Award for best musical in 2015, is the inaugural theater production in the beautifully renovated Curran Theatre. The musical derives from Alison Bechdel’s autobiographical graphic novel Fun Home, which carries the subtitle “a family tragicomedy.” Bechdel was already known for her syndicated comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For when Fun Home was published in 2006, and despite its success in the gay and lesbian community, it was hardly sought-after material for a musical, never mind a Broadway hit. But through seven years of offand-on development, librettist and lyricist Lisa Kron and composer Jeanine Tesori took the illustrated novel apart and put it back together with an uncanny reach to a perfect storm of musical storytelling. It’s the tale of a character who just happens to be named Alison Bechdel, and is told through three characters portraying her as a tomboy adolescent, a sexually confused college student, and a middle-aged cartoonist who hovers over the time-shifting scenes as a narrator and commentator trying to sort out meanings in her memories. That her father was a closeted gay man who committed suicide is the family tragedy acknowledged near the top of the show, and that is then given fuller context near the end. But while what happens in-between is occasionally unsettling, it is often

joyous and comedic as Alison copes with a family that may or may not be more idiosyncratic than yours. True, most kids don’t have a family funeral home to play in, but Alison and her siblings make it into a fun home. And their father is a rabid perfectionist, especially about his historically accurate home renovation, making him a tyrant who can also be helpful and even a playmate in a specific variation on those flawed beings known as parents. The score created by Kron and Tesori does contain standalone songs, but much of the musical work is so interwoven with the action that no song list is published in the program. This is Kron’s first outing as a lyricist, and her words have a kind of conversational poetry that fits right in with Tesori’s score that has its own sense of meandering direction that always finds its destination. The cast of this tour is pretty much first-rate from top to bottom. Of the three Alisons, my personal favorite is Abby Corrigan as a geeky college student awkwardly trying to come to terms with her sexuality (achieved with an understanding militant lesbian brashly played by Karen Eilbacher), but Alessandra Baldacchino (at most performances) as precocious young Alison is also a delight as she struggles for her father’s elusive approval. Kate Shindle plays grown Alison, a difficult role because it’s as much an observer as a participant, and certain shadings that could enhance it are missing. Robert Petkoff finds a heart in what could be an ominous character as Alison’s father, and Susan Moniz is heartbreaking as his long-suffering wife who knows his secrets. Director Sam Gold originally staged Fun Home for a proscenium theater at the Public Theatre, then had to reimagine it in the round when it moved to Broadway’s Circle in the Square. And then for the tour it was back to proscenium stages. The production on view at the Curran looks made for the space, with David Zinn’s scenery offering a big surprise midway through the show. It may seem strange to call Fun Home a feel-good musical, but that is what it finally delivers in the end. In fact, it feels something of a tonic for toxic times, not so much in a forget-your-troubles, comeon-get-happy way, but more as an affirmation of the human capacity for empathy even when it’s a battle to call it forth.t Fun Home will run at the Curran Theatre through Feb. 19. Tickets are $29-$185. Call (415) 358-1220 or go to sfcurran.com.

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<< Music

26 • Bay Area Reporter • February 2-8, 2017

Joyride through Paris at Davies Hall by Philip Campbell

or the past two weeks the San Francisco Symphony has welcomed guest conductors to the podium at Davies Symphony Hall for programs anchored by Mozart and Beethoven and guest artists performing exciting concertos from the 20th century. But that isn’t the really big news. On the SFS website under “Hall Amenities,” “Starting January 2017, SF Ballet, SF Opera, and SF Symphony will launch a pilot program offering audiences the chance to enjoy beverages at their seats during select performances.” We became aware of the new policy after noticing many patrons with glasses and bottles during the first of the eligible concerts, and got the explanation by referring back to signs posted in the lobby. The note on the website goes on to say that many venues nationwide have adopted similar policies, and all three local organizations will meet during the six-month trial period to monitor the impact. We knew you could bring sippy cups into many Broadway shows already, and considering the prices, I mean really, why not? So now it is possible to remain hydrated and even make a wine pairing with repertoire at the big three SF cultural

Piano Concerto No. 1. His first time was marred mostly by Grimaud’s willfulness and his inability to keep up. He had much better luck this time around with another star soloist. Jean-Yves Thibaudet has the Ravel Piano Concerto in G Major (1931) in his DNA, and we knew we were in for a jazzy treat the minute he walked onstage in a patterned dinner jacket just this side of Liberace, and a pair of crested slippers. With the attentive and sympathetic support of Bringuier and the orchestra, Thibaudet Decca-Kasskara-tone took us on a joyride Jean-Yves Thibaudet wore a patterned dinner jacket and a pair of crested slippers to through the heady perform the Ravel Piano Concerto in G Major. Paris of the early 1930s, redolent of Gershwin, Stravinsky sites, too. The only major distracthe savage beast. and bittersweet Gallic melody. tion results from the sheer novelty The most recent concerts at It was a happy visit, and there reof watching listeners drink while the DSH featured the return of French ally should have been an encore, but musicians play. If they don’t mind, I conductor Lionel Bringuier after it was good enough to give Bringuier can get used to it, too. Far be it from his debut in 2014 when he paired a pass for his stolid interpretation of me to condescend, it may be it isn’t with pianist Hélène Grimaud for a the Beethoven Fourth after intermisonly music that has charms to sooth lumpy presentation of the Brahms

sion. It was well-played and solid, and still a little dull. Kodály’s gypsyflavored Dances of Galánta opened the bill and was a fine set-up for the dizzy Ravel Concerto. The Beethoven provided a less satisfying conclusion. The week before, conductor James Gaffigan also made his way back to DSH. We remember him from his days with MTT, serving as SFS associate conductor and as artistic director of the Orchestra’s Summer in the City concerts. Paired with guest artist Simone Lamsma performing Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2, Gaffigan proved he is a game co-worker, but is more suited to flying solo. I had the same response to Lamsma in Prokofiev as I first experienced at DSH during her debut in 2014 with a poorly paced and hardfought performance of the great Sibelius Violin Concerto. The attractive Dutch artist is obviously gifted and she is never less than competent, but her interpretive skills take a backseat to technique. She met the daunting challenge with determination, but still couldn’t convince. Gaffigan proved his gift warmly with a really entertaining Mozart Symphony No. 36 in C Major. The orchestra responded to his justright lead with full sound and positive energy. It brought the audience to their feet, for Mozart! Now, I’ll drink to that.t

Fate of the Underclass Everyman by Tim Pfaff

n art there are few better fables of the fate of the underclass surviving without a social safety net than Alban Berg’s first opera Wozzeck. Since its premiere in 1925, it’s never seemed other than timely (there’s no better proof than that the Nazis banned it as degenerate), and it again seems the stuff of headlines. Before it’s banned anew, you might want to salt away a new recording or two, lullabies for a world on fire. A certain austerity, sometimes punctuated by ear-battering outcries from the orchestra, is key to the work’s power, and Andreas Homoki’s spare production for Zurich Opera, captured in a live performance in 2015 (Accentus DVD/Blu-ray), takes its cues primarily from the music. The stage looks almost painted, and the individual scenes of the uninterrupted three acts are presented in what look like wooden picture frames; each successive scene appears in a frame within the previous one, compressing the claustrophobic drama the way the music does.

Much of the action takes place as if on a news scroll, a treadmill that threatens to crush the players in its ineluctable roll. The pictures, rightly, are surreal. The players have powdered faces, not in the 18th-century bewigged style but as if they had just escaped a bomb blast. The costume closest to realistic is Wozzeck’s, underscoring his being a harried Everyman; he’s a grunt soldier in the war waged by the forces who have what he does not: money. Homoki’s production captures the obscenity of hiding the plights of the poor behind the five syllables of “inequality.” Similarly, he makes

the most of the blade with which Wozzeck tries futilely to shave the moralizing Captain in the opening scene, keeping it to hand for the dirty work of his deranged murder of his common-law wife Marie and his demise at his own hand. Christian Gerhaher – a baritone of such refinement that he might not seem a natural for the title role like, say, the more rugged, blunt Matthias Goerne is – digs as deeply into the part as did the similarly qualified Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau in an earlier generation. He simply makes you forget the Gerhaher of the recital platform, as mesmerizing as that singer is – and that this is singing and acting of an established text and, most critically, that you are in the theater at all. Physical acting of the caliber he delivers – leaping about the picture frames as if they were the uneven bars at the Olympics (some of his colleagues are noticeably more unnerved by them) – would alone set a new standard in the role; but then there is the singing. More than in any Lieder performance I’ve heard from this consummate song specialist, the focus is all on the words hauntingly

fused to tones, rightfully refusing to delineate singing from speech as though the two were opposed – “Spechstimme” of the truest, most penetrating sort. If I hadn’t heard it with my own ears while simultaneously seeing it with my own wondering eyes, I would not ask you to believe that when the rightfully terrified Marie, looking death in the face, asks him what’s going on, Gerhaher’s Wozzeck replies, “Nothing,” slowly and with chilling clarity sounding out every single successive letter of the German word, N-i-c-h-t-s, “singing” on the consonants, too. It’s a dizzyingly great performance, but the singing is superb from everyone, not the least the Drum Major, San Francisco favorite Brandon Jovanovich. Homoki ensures credible interplay between him and Gun-Brit Barkmin’s Marie in their coarse yet clearly relished sex play – just the thing to send Wozzeck over the edge believably. In the other pit, that is, the orchestra’s, Fabio Luisi again demonstrates his flair for wringing the maximum drama out of a 12-tone score while articulating it precisely.

Naxos’ new Wozzeck, a Houston Symphony performance recorded live in 2013, is a less fevered reading of the score but hardly tepid. Hans Graf gets acute playing from the orchestra, and the cast, including some starry names, responds with strongly committed performances. If it all comes off something less than incandescent, that’s likely owing to the fact that these musicians are veterans in many senses of the term. From the proximate first howls of Marc Molomot’s Captain, the singers convey the feeling that Berg might not have meant quite what he notated demandingly yet so carefully. When the singing slides into something closer to speech, there’s a nagging sense of cutting corners. Roman Trekel’s Wozzeck is, gratefully, the clearest and best sung, but it stops short of making you catch your breath. Soprano Anne Schwanewilms, a natural for Marie, disappoints. The opera has often suffered from assigning this pivotal role to a diva at career’s end, and Schwanewilm’s predictable acuity with the text is not enough to compensate for her matronly Marie.t

Film>>

February 2-8, 2017 • Bay Area Reporter • 27

SF IndieFest’s reel news by Erin Blackwell

n the old days, so they tell me, you used to leave Reality behind when you walked through the gilded portals of the local movie theater to indulge in silvery visions of strange people and other worlds. When the movie was over, you’d return to Reality. Things don’t feel so clear-cut at the moment. Personally, I’m in a movie I’d like to get up and walk out of, but apparently this is really happening. So you might as well double-down and go see a movie inside a movie, preferably one that blurs the lines between fake and factual. Lucky for you, it’s the beginning of February, and the SF IndieFest is again in residence at the Roxie, Alamo Drafthouse, Brava, and 518 Gallery, Feb. 2-16. Independent films offer alternative visions to the dominant Hollywood version of Americans’ place in a world of the unlivable chaos of rival factions. When it’s not championing the use of violence for its own sake, Hollywood is ever more desperately clinging to feel-good tropes that were artificial when first adopted 100 years ago, and now are obscene in their disconnect.

movement understandably annoyed by the ascendance of a Republican regime bent on denying the realities of human erotic expression. The original German title, Lust Macht Frei, is a joke on the hideous Hitlerian motto Arbeit Macht Frei, or Work Liberates, sadistically hung over the heads of those entering a concentration camp. Director Yony Leyser, of Israeli and Palestinian descent, stars as an expat American wide-eyed in a pansexual hedonist’s Berlin, referencing the heyday of the Weimar Republic. Leyser’s onscreen lover is a Russian hustler. What could be timelier during the current Trump-Putin bromance Courtesy SF IndieFest than a look at how much closer Russians are to EuroSasha (Tim Fabian Hoffman) in director peans than we are? But you Yony Leyser’s Desire Will Set You Free. needn’t fixate on geopolitical realities when watching all Independent films provide fresh, genders variously sucking tongue provocative glimpses of realities beand other body parts in a Wonderyond the reach of the world’s greatland dotted with past and current est propaganda machine. queer icons like Nina Hagen, Rosa Desire Will Set You Free comes at von Praunheim, Peaches, Rummelthe ideal moment to revivify a queer

snuff, and Blixa Bargeld. Desire repositions Berlin as the queer capital of the world, reinstating it as the go-to sanctuary city for anyone nauseated by the wehrmacht (war-making) patriarchal paradigm. (Roxie, 1/12, 13) Dark Seduction was just another black-and-white hardboiled La La Land hommage triggered by Humphrey Bogart’s Phillip Marlowe, except it focused on a quest for some deadpan lesbian vampires. After preliminary shooting in 1984, life got in the way and director Greg Travis abandoned the negative, work print, and soundtrack, to pursue other projects. In a heroic feat of reclamation, Travis came to the retrospective rescue of his own unfinished film, overcoming time-based technological obstacles to finally bring his 16mm vision to an audience. Thirty years ago, Hollywood was a very different place. (Roxie, 2/3) Papagajka, a debut feature by Emma Rozanski set in Sarajevo, lends the formal dignity of theatrical abstraction to the lonely life of a security guard whose reality gets an overhaul by a mysterious stranger. (Roxie, 2/4, 6) Ticket to the Circus, directed by Barbara Troy, is touted as “a younger and gayer Thelma and

Louise,” a timely concept. (Roxie, 2/4, 5) Fear Itself, that thing FDR told Americans was the only thing to fear, mashes up clips from horror films spanning decades and international boundaries, to locate the essence of dread. (Roxie, 2/10, Alamo 2/14) 2001: While Kubrick Was in Space is a road movie from Argentina inspired by the country’s financial meltdown. (Roxie 2/11, Alamo 2/12) Because this is Indie Fest, film blurs into fact with a number of zany events like the Anti-Valentine’s Day Power Ballad Sing-a-long (Roxie, 2/14), The Big Lebowski Live Onstage (Brava, 2/10), Mad Max: Silent Fury with live soundtrack (Roxie, 2/16), the irrepressibly livecommented Super Bowl LI: Men in Tights (Roxie, 2/5), and Princess Bride Bingo, with drinks, bingo cards and fabulous prizes (Roxie, 2/11). The Bad Art Gallery will again be up and running, complete with catalogue notes, libations, and mood music (518 Valencia St., 2/4). On a more reverent note, a hosted reception (2/9 only) posthumously honors local filmmaker Lise Swenson, followed by her last film, Saltwater. (Roxie, 2/9, 11)t

More better indie by David Lamble

ack for the 19th year, the San Francisco Independent Film Festival capitalizes on our city’s appetite for offbeat and boundary-pushing cinema that can persuade over 11,000 film buffs to leave their cable and streaming devices and choose from a menu of 43 feature films (37 fiction, six nonfiction), 10 live parties, and 48 short subjects from 22 nations. The 2017 SF IndieFest runs Feb. 2-16 at the Roxie Theater, Brava Theater, Alamo Drafthouse, 518 Gallery and Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts. A Revolution in Four Seasons Filmmaker Jessie Deeter traces the Arab Spring Revolution in Tunisia from its roots in a street peddler’s martyrdom to the creation of a new constitution. The film features candid input from both strictly observant Muslims and men and women of far more independent faiths and cultural persuasions. Deeter’s doc demonstrates the hard price to be paid for freedom in a still violently unsettled part of the world. (Roxie, 2/11; Alamo, 2/12) The Other Kids Chris Brown’s captivating doc captures the wrenching choices faced by a cross-section

maker Barbara Troy’s women-on-the-lam drama celebrates two tough dames who find each other while fleeing the law in the urban chaos of Detroit. (Roxie, 2/4, 5) Down Under Leave it to the Aussies to push all the buttons on a wild ride through madness. In Abe Forsythe’s slow-moving 90 minutes, anarchy Courtesy SF IndieFest Courtesy SF IndieFest breaks out as rival Scene from director Chris Brown’s documentary The Other Kids. Scene from filmmaker Jessie Deeter’s A Revolution in Four Seasons. tribes collide. A gang of white knuckleheads fears that of California adolescents about melsnuff. (Roxie, 2/12, 13) Folk Hero & Funny Guy FilmMuslim immigrants are invadto graduate high school. We visit Saltwater Lise Swenson’s film maker/comic Alex Karpovsky hits ing their beaches, and a gaggle of with an undocumented boy living traces a young woman’s journey to the road after being romantically transplants from Lebanon seems in a trailer in the woods, a kid who the ecological meltdown that is Calidumped. The film riffs on the imbent on proving who’s the craziest cuts himself to relieve anxiety, a girl fornia’s Salton Sea, with relics from possibility of finding happiness in of them all. A few attractive men whose blue-dyed hairdo first isolates her family’s history. (Roxie, 2/9, 11) the midst of two many options for acting very badly! (Roxie, 2/5, 10) her and later attracts a sympathetic Twenty Twenty-Four Richard fun, mischief, and enlightenment. Hunky Dory Michael Curtis female friend, a young man pushed Mundy explores the madness/sanity (Brava, 2/2) Johnson gives us an it-can’t-getby a military recruiter to take the US quotient of a solitary scientist who Desire Will Set You Free An any-worse tale, the story of Sidney, Army’s program for upward mobilretreats to an underground bunker American writer is drawn to Berlin by a young aspiring rock-n-roller ity, along with a genial assortment to await the oncoming nuclear war. a Russian hustler, there to discover the whose dreams crash into a flaming of young Turks, freaks and rebels. A psychological thriller that’s slow German capital’s queer mainstream ruin as a “dive-bar drag queen.” A In many ways an updated version of to get underway. (Roxie, 2/5, 8) and underground. With appearances new direction beckons when his ex that great 90s coming-of-age classic Ticket to the Circus At a time when by Punk Queen Nina Hagen, “elecdrops off their 11-year-old son into Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Conthe venerable Ringling Bros. Barnum tro star” Peaches, Brooklyn’s Blood Sidney’s custody. (Roxie, 2/11, 15)t fused. (Roxie, 2/12, 13) & Bailey Circus is calling it quits, filmOrange and the German group Rum-

College lovers by Brian Bromberger

ives can change in 10 seconds, and the consequences of a tragedy can ripple through generations as people coping with loss try to move on despite the gaping hole in their hearts. Brian O’Donnell and Sasha King have taken this human conundrum and set it in a gay context as two families struggle with the role of fate and past history in Akron, just released on DVD by Wolfe Video and a crowdpleaser at last year’s Frameline. While veering towards melodrama and edging close to an afterschool special, O’Donnell and King manage to avoid these pitfalls. Benny Cruz (Matthew Frias) is a college freshman studying to be a doctor who, during a touch football game, meets fellow collegiate Christopher Gaines (Edmund Donovan)

on the playing field. Sparks are ignited, numbers exchanged, and a romance begins to bloom. Their sexuality is matter-of-fact, as they are out, proud, confident, healthy, and open about their desires. Both their families are accepting. When Benny comes home he confides to his mother that he has met a special guy, to which she replies, “Is he cute?” No trauma of coming out, no ugly homophobia, no complicating religious beliefs or cultural differences, just the excitement of an incipient love. Benny lives with his parents (Andrea Burns, Joseph Melendez) and younger sister at home while Christopher resides on campus, as his parents have divorced. Benny and Christopher spend their spring break in Florida visiting Christopher’s mother, Carol (Amy da Luz), a

free-spirited yoga teacher. It is not a spoiler to reveal that 15 years earlier Carol accidentally ran over and killed Benny’s older brother Davy in an Akron parking lot. Carol connects the dots of who Benny is, and confesses the truth to him. Can this relationship survive the traumatic news? Are Benny’s parents able to absorb this unbelievable coincidence of these two meeting and falling in love? Here we have gay characters in a story focused not on their sexuality, yet their relationship still has consequences for them and their families. The film presents a stark choice for these characters having to choose each other or their mothers, then explores avenues to exorcise these past demons. Frias and Donovan are appealing, natural, and hß∆ave chemistry. Burns, as the grieving, overprotective mother, has to carry

most of the emotional weight, delivering a believable performance. Da Luz is also up to the task of a woman seeking forgiveness from a calamity that has upended her life. O’Donnell’s script could be critiqued as idealistic, depicting an unconditionally approving MexicanAmerican family. In the 26-minute bonus featuring interviews with cast and crew, O’Donnell reveals he didn’t know a single gay person growing up in Akron. Changes are afoot in the Buckeye State, as local citizens and businesses were eager to support the film. Akron could have been an overwrought soap opera, but with an intelligent script, engaging directing, true-to-life actors, and a willingness to tackle such subjects as premature death and grief with honesty, it becomes a compelling tale of healing and reconciliation.t

<< Out&About

28 • Bay Area Reporter • February 2-8, 2017

Out &About

O&A

The Human Form @ John Bergguen Gallery Group exhibit of classic works by Alberto Giacometti, Edward Hopper, Henri Matisse, Willem de Kooning, Gerhard Richter, Richard Diebenkorn, Pablo Picasso and other artists who explore the human anatomy. Thru Mar. 4. 10 Hawthorne St. Mon-Sun 10am-6pm. www.berggruen.com

I Am Not Your Negro @ Bay Area Cinemas Samual L. Jackson narrates Raoul Peck’s Academy Award-nominated and multi-award-winning documentary based on the writings of gay Black author James Baldwin. Landmark, Alamo Drafthouse and other theaters. www.iamnotyournegrofilm.com

Fri 3 Native Son @ Marin Theatre Company, Mill Valley

Resisting by Jim Provenzano

ere are this week’s RDA of nutritional arts events. In between protests and panic, make room for the arts. For nightlife, see On the Tab listings.

Thu 2

Fri 3

Group exhibit of paintings celebrating the gallery’s two decades. Thru Mar. 31. Tue-Fri 11am-6pm. Sat 12pm-5pm. 411 Brannan St. at 3rd. arthaus-sf.com

Newly-commissioned revival of composer John Adams, designerarchitect Frank O. Gehry and choreographer Lucinda Childs’ epic abstract work about patterns and permutations. $36-$126. 8pm. Also Feb. 4. UC Berkeley campus, Bancroft Way and Dana. www.calperformances.org

20th Anniversary Exhibit @ ArtHaus

Above and Beyond the Valley of the Ultra Showgirls @ Oasis D’Arcy Drollinger’s hit drag live-band rock musical comedy about Super Vixen, a girl band’s ups and downs, returns. $25-$35. Thu 8pm Fri & Sat 7pm. Thru Feb. 18. 298 11th St. www.sfoasis.com

The Christians @ SF Playhouse Lucas Hnath’s Off-Broadway hit unflinching look at faith in America, staged with a live choir, gets a West Coast premiere. $20-$125. Tue-Thu 7pm. Fri 7 Sat 8pm. Sat 3pm, Sun 2pm. Thru March 11. 450 Post St., 2nd floor. www.sfplayhouse.org

Classic & New Films @ Castro Theatre Feb. 2: Jeanne Moreau in La Notte (3pm, 7pm) and Elevator to the Gallows (5:15, 9:15). Feb. 3: 21st Berlin & Beyond Film Festival. Feb. 7: Tom Ford’s Nocturnal Animals and A Single Man. Feb. 8: Gaslight and Spellbound. Feb. 9: One More Time With Feeling and Wings of Desire. $11-$16. 429 Castro St. www.castrotheatre.com

Eat, Pray, Laugh! @ The Marsh Berkeley Katie Rubin’s solo show about a Jewish princess’ search for an Indian guru. $20-$100. Thu 8pm, Sat 8:30pm. Thru March 11. 2120 Allston Way, Berkeley. www.themarsh.org

Finding Neverland @ Orpheum Theatre Musical adaptation of the story loosely based on J.M. Barry’s Peter Pan, about how Peter became Peter Pan. $55$225. Thru Feb. 12. 1192 Market St. www.findingneverlandthemusical.com www.shnsf.com

SF Indie Fest @ Roxie, Brava and Alamo Drafthouse Theaters Unusual, wild, strange and beguiling independent films galore, with moviethemed parties, too. $15-$20. Thru feb. 16. www.sfindie.com

Silence: The Musical @ Victoria Theatre Cloud 9 Theatricals and Ray of Light Theatre present the Bay Area premiere of Jon Kaplan, Al Kaplan and Hunter Bell’s acclaimed unauthorized musical parody of the film/book Silence of the Lambs. $35-$45. Thu-Sat 8pm (Some Saturdays 7pm and/or 10pm). Thru Feb. 25. 2961 16th St. 863-7576. www.silencethemusicalsf.com

Available Light @ Zellerbach Hall, Berkeley

Blast Theater Festival @ Ashby Theatre, Berkeley Festival of dance and theatre arts, including James Graham’s touching duet, Homeroom, with Sebastian Grubb (Feb. 3 & 4); Joshua Silverstein & Kyle Blaze (Feb 5) Rotimi Agbablaka’s Type/Cast and other performers. $10-$20. Thru Feb. 26. 1901 Ashby Ave. www.shotgunplayers.org

Daniel’s Husband @ New Conservatory Theatre Center West Coast premiere of Michael McKeever’s drama about a gay couple’s disagreeement over marriage. $25-$50. Wed-Sat 8pm Sun 2pm. Thru Feb. 26. 25 Van Ness Ave., lower level. www.nctcsf.org

David King @ IS Fine Art and Design The local multimedia artist’s captivating new and recent collages and drawings. Opening reception 6pm-8pm. 3848 24th St. at Church. www.davidkingcollage.com www.IanStallings.com

Fun Home @ Curran Theatre The historic theatre’s first show after two years of extensive renovation; West Coast premiere of a new staging of Jeanine Tesori and Lisa Kron’s Pulitzer-finalist and five-Tony-winning musical based on Alison Bechtel’s graphic memoir about family, death, coming out and coming of age. $29-$149. Tue-Sun 8pm, Wed, Sat & Sun 2pm. Thru Feb. 19. 445 Geary St. 358-1220. www.sfcurran.com

Hand to God @ Berkeley Repertory Robert Askins’ dark comedy about a hand puppet that speaks to a young man in a far-right religious church. $29-$89. Tue, Thu-Sat 8pm. Wed & Sun 7pm. Sat & Sun 2pm. Thru March 19. 2025 Addison St., Berkeley. (510) 647-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org

Hedda Gabler @ Exit on Taylor Cutting Ball theatre company’s production of Paul Walsh’s translation of Henrik Ibsen’s historic pre-feminist drama. $15-$45. Thu 7pm, Fri & Sat 8pm, Sun 5pm. Thru Feb. 26. 277 Taylor St. www.cuttingball.com

The Madwoman in the Volvo @ Berkeley Rep NPR personality and best-selling memoirist Sandra Tsing Loh takes the driver’s seat and slams the engine into overdrive in her hilarious, enlightening, and totally candid road trip through the triple M’s: middle-age, menopause, and motherhood. $60-$75. Wed & Sun 7pm. Thu-Sat 8pm. Sat & Sun 2pm. Thru Feb 15. 2025 Addison St., Berkeley. www.berkeleyrep.org

Native Son @ Marin Theatre Company, Mill Valley Nambi E. Kelley’s stage adaptation of Richard Wright’s classic novel stars Jerod Haynes, who originated the role in the Chicago world premiere. $22$60. Tue-Sun 7:30pm. Sat & Sun 2pm. Thru Feb. 12. 397 Miller Ave., Mill Valley. www.marintheatre.org

The Resistance @ New Parkway Theatre, Oakland Dhaya Lakshminarayanan, Karinda Dobbins, Imran G, Irene Tu, Johan Miranda and Luna Malbroux share post-Inauguration comic perspectives as queers and/or People of Color. $20. 7:30pm. 474 24th St. www.thenewparkwaytheater.com

Sat 4

L’Amour, L’Amour @ Strand Theater Juanita More! and six drag talents (Glamamore, Jef Valentine, Rahni, Qween, Dulce de Leche, Voodonna Black) perform upscale burlesque acts at A.C.T.’s new theatre; with special bar cocktails. $30-$45. 8pm. 1127 Market St. www.juanitmore.com www.act-sf.org

Approaching American Abstraction @ SF Museum of Modern Art See the restaged and new exhibits of Pop, Abstract and classic Modern art at the renovated and visually amazing museum, with two extra floors, a new additional Howard Street entrance, cafe and outdoor gardens. New exhibits include Diane Arbus: In the Beginning, Japanese Photography from Post-War to Now, and Tomás Saraceno: Stillness in Motion: Cloud Cities (thru May 21). Free-$25. 10am8pm. 151 Third St. www.sfmoma.org

Brook Pessin-Whedbee @ Green Apple Books Reading and signing with the author of the new book, Who Are You? The Kid’s Guide to Gender Identity, the first-ever non-fiction picture book to introduce gender diversity. 11am. 506 Clement St. www.kidsguidetogender.com www.greenapplebooks.com

Carey Leibowitz: Museum Show @ Contemporary Jewish Museum Exhibits about Jewish culture and by Jewish artists, including Carey Leibowitz: Museum Show (witty queer pop art, thru June 25), Roz Chast: Cartoon Memoirs (thru Sept. 3). Free (members)-$12. Fri-Tue 11am-5pm, Thu 11am-8pm (closed Wed). 736 Mission St. 655-7800. www.thecjm.org

East 14th @ The Marsh Don Reed returns with his solo show about his Oakland childhood, part of his coming-of-age trilogy. $20-$100. Sat 8:30pm. Sun 5:30pm. Thru Feb. 18. 1062 Valencia St. www.themarsh.org

Out of the Box: The Rise of Sneaker Culture @ Oakland Museum Out of the Box: The Rise of Sneaker Culture (thru April 2) and Oakland, I want you to know..., an exhibit of Oakland resident portraits and reflections on gentrification. Free/$15. Reg. hours Wed-Sat 11am5pm (Fri til 9pm). 1000 Oak St., Oakland. (510) 318-8400. www.museumca.org

Psychedelic Sex @ Center for Sex & Culture Psychedelic Sex from Buzz Bense’s Gay Stash: A Memorial Exhibition of colorful erotic art works by the late founder of Eros Sex Club. Thru April. 1349 Mission St. www.sexandculture.org

Revolutionary Grain @ Oakland Library Revolutionary Grain: Celebrating the Spirit of the Black Panthers in Portraits and Stories commemorate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Black Panther Party. Thru Feb. 28. African American Museum & Library, 659 14th St., Oakland. www.oaklandlibrary.org

SF Hiking Club @ Alum Rock Park Join GLBT hikers of the SF Hiking Club for a six-mile hike in Alum Rock Regional Park, located in the Diablo Mountain Range near San Jose. Carpool meets 9:30 at Safeway sign, Market & Dolores. 740-9888. www.sfhiking.com

Various Exhibits @ MOAD Where is Here, Helina Metaferia: Home-Free, A Matter of Fact: Toyin Ojih Odutola and Urban Africa, all thru April 2. $5-$15. Wed-Sat 11am6pm. Sun 12pm-5pm. Museum of the African Diaspora, 685 Mission St. www.moadsf.org

Sun 5

A Billion Buddhas @ Asian Art Museum A Billion Buddhas: The Awakened Cosmos of Himalyan Buddhism (thru April 9). Other exhibits include Worshipping Women: Power and Devotion in Indian Painting (thru Mar. 26). Free-$25. Tue-Sun 10am5pm. 200 Larkin St. 581-3500. www.asianart.org

Unearthed @ California Academy of Sciences Exhibits and planetarium shows with various live, interactive and installed exhibits about animals, plants and the earth; new exhibit, From Stone Age to Space Age, showcases minerals through time. Special events each week, with adult nightlife parties many Thursday nights. $20-$35. Mon-Sat 9:30am-5pm. Sun 11am-5pm. 55 Music Concourse Drive, Golden Gate Park. 379-8000. www.calacademy.org

Tue 7

Beartoonist of San Francisco: Sketching an Emerging Subculture @ GLBT History Museum New exhibit of art work by bear cartoonist Fran Frisch. $5. 4127 18th St. www.glbthistory.org

Exist and Resist @ Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts Group exhibit of politically-themed art in multiple media in response to the elections. Thru Feb 11. 2868 Mission St. www.missionculturalcenter.org

Kim Lembo @ Bazaar Café The singer-songwriter’s Tuesday residency thru Feb. includes special music guests. Thru Feb. 7pm-9:30pm. 5927 California St. bazaarcafe.com kimlembomusic.com

Wed 8

Hippie Modernism: The Struggle for Utopia @ Berkeley Art Museum Pacific Film Archive New largescale multimedia exhibit about 1960s-1970s counterculture. Thru May 21. Free-$12. 2625 Durant Ave., Berkeley. bampfa.berkeley.edu

Queer Night @ Comix Experience Graphic Novel Club hosts a Comic Valentine-making party with visual artists, $ 8pm. 305 Divisadero St. www.comixexperience.com

Queerest Library Ever @ SF Public Libraries

Afternoon workshop with sexologist Jallen Rix. $150. 11:30am-5:30pm. 1060 Folsom St. www.alchemysf.com

Hormel at 20: Celebrating Our Past/ Creating Our Future, a dual exhibit of archival materials celebrating two decades of the LGBTQ collections. Also, Council of Elders: Portraits of Older Gay Men (thru May 4). 100 Larkin St., 3rd floor, and at the Eureka Valley Branch, 1 Jose Sarria Court at 16th St. www.sfpl.org

Queer Tango @ Finnish Hall, Berkeley

A Thousand Splendid Suns @ Geary Theater

Connecting With the Erotic Masculine @ Alchemy SF

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

SF Hiking Club @ San Francisco Join GLBT hikers of the SF Hiking Club for a 10-mile hike across SF from the breakers to the bay. Meet 9am at Safeway sign, Market & Dolores, or 9:45 at the ocean end of the N-Judah line. 794-2275. www.sfhiking.com

Super Bowl: Men in Tights @ Roxie Cinema Annual party to watch the football finale with funny comments; part of SF Indie Fest. $15. 3pm. 3117 16th St. www.roxie.com

Mon 6

Kenneth Taylor @ Castro Country Club Love and Universe, an exhibit of the artist’s paintings. 4058 18th St. www.castrocountryclub.org

Rhino in the Castro @ GLBT History Museum Theatre Rhinoceros’ monthly readings of gay-themed plays; this time, She Kills Monsters by Qui Nguyen. $5. 7pm. 4127 18th St. www.glbthistory.org

American Conservatory Theatre presents the world premiere of Ursula Rani Sarma’s theatrical adaptation of Khaled Hosseini’s best-selling novel set in war-torn modern Kabul, with live music. $25-$100. Tue-Sat 8pm (or 7pm). Sun 7pm. Sat & Sun 2pm. Thru Feb. 26. 415 Geary St. 749-2228. www.act-sf.org

Thu 9

Amazon Apocalypse @ Hypnodrome Thrillpeddlers present a semiproduced version of Scrumbly Koldewyn and Cab Covay’s campy musical; shortened in performances by the end-of-month sale/closure of the theater. $25-$40. 8pm. Also Feb. 10, 7 & 11. 575 10th St. at Division. www.hypnodrome.org

Angie Stone @ Yoshi’s Oakland The dynamic R&B and pop singer returns for three nights of concerts. $49. 8pm & 10pm. Also Feb 10 & 11. 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland. www.yoshis.com To submit event listings, email events@ebar.com Deadline is each Thursday, a week before publication.

t <<

Film>>

Berlin & Beyond

From page 21

new films from Germany, Austria and Switzerland, fills the widening gap between what the American art-house film circuit offers and the ever-expanding world of Eurocentric cinema. This year’s queer offerings include the gay teen romance Center of My World and Daniel Abma’s documentary Transit Havana, examining the reality of transgender rights and surgery programs in post-Fidel Cuba. Other highlights include the Castro opening-night film Scrappin’, Max Zahle’s trainrobbery yarn tied to a failing family scrapyard business (2/3); and the Castro closing-night Fukushima, Mon Amour, Doris Dorrie’s exploration of a bond between two unlikely female friends centered on the site of the Fukushima nuclear reactor meltdown (2/5). Center of My World This family comedy opens when 17-year-old Phil (scrappy blond Louis Hofmann) returns from summer camp to discover that his spirited sister and eccentric mother have stopped speaking to each other. The boy’s life is enlivened by the appearance of dark-haired hottie Nicholas (Jannik Schumann) as a troublesome object of affection. Director Jakob M. Erwa makes effective use of having Phil narrate his story: “This is me. A small-town boy. Maybe a bit more gay than most. What I mostly do is hang out, chilling. Spending rainy afternoons in our library.” The film alternates between Phil’s present predicaments and slowmotion flashbacks to a utopian childhood playing with his twin sister. The story is punctuated with snippets of un-selfconscious nudity from a highly attractive supporting ensemble. In a more queer-friendly world this lovely feature would be opening at a Bay Area art-house. (Castro, 2/4) Transit Havana This not-tobe-missed doc from Daniel Abma begins with three adult transgender women in an elevator. The conversation is candid and hilarious. The occasion is the time every year when two plastic surgeons from Belgium and the Netherlands arrive in Havana to perform sexual reassignment surgery on five lucky Cubans chosen by lottery. “For the beach, Iike to tuck my balls back. Otherwise I get stressed. Though no one cares. But still I do it for my own sake.” “I always have tape on me. Surgical tape. Today I went nuts looking for the tape. I couldn’t find it.” “It’s a really good one from the international drugstore. It’s even transparent. It’s really sticky. I have to pull it off. If I’m not well-shaved, you know! It’s like waxing!” Throughout Havana Transit the talk is candid, as these women in the making, and at least one new guy, discuss how the prospect of surgery and the elaborate bureaucracy of the still-Socialist Cuban government are both liberating and stressful. “I don’t feel good having male genitalia. It’s not what I want. I never wanted it.” “When is your time?” “I don’t decide that. The commit-

February 2-8, 2017 • Bay Area Reporter • 29

tee decides it. If it was up to me, it would be now. I’m ready!” We hear reflections from a onetime-male Cuban soldier. “On paper I’m still a man, Osmany. I’m a heavy artillery reserve staff sergeant. If war broke out, I’m the most qualified person to defend the Plaza de la Revolucion. If war broke out now, imagine when they came to get me and saw me like this. They’d freak out. They’d say, ‘What happened to you? How did you get through the military without us realizing it?’ Well, I got through by faking it very well.” Complete with great shots of Havana’s old city and peeks at the classic 50s American cars lovingly maintained in home garages. (Pro Arts Gallery, 2/4; Goethe Institut, 2/7) 24 Weeks In German director Anne Zohra Berrached’s drama, a cabaret star, Astrid (Julia Jentsch), six months pregnant, discovers that her baby-to-be is severely disabled. The decision whether or not to carry the child to term is framed like a cabaret performance. (Jentsch appears at the Castro screening, 2/4.) Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe Writer/director Maria Schrader presents a tale of the torturous exile of Austrian writer Stefan Zweig, 1936-42. It’s the tragedy of a man who loses his homeland to Nazi oppression, a fate he had predicted. (Schrader appears at the Castro screening, 2/4.) Dark Fortune In Swiss director Stefan Haupt’s drama, based on Lukas Hartmann’s novel, an eightyear-old boy (Noe Ricklin) survives a road accident that kills his entire family. (Haupt appears at the Castro screening, 2/5.) Heidi The popular 19th-century children’s novel is brought to the screen by Swiss director Alain Gsponer. Starring Anuk Steffen and Bruno Ganz, it’s the story of an orphan girl whose happiness tending to her grandfather’s goats is interrupted when she’s taken away from grandpa’s lonely mountain cabin by her Aunt Dete. (Castro, 2/5, 10 a.m. children’s matinee) At Eye Level Winner in the Youth 4 German Cinema competition tells the story of an 11-year-old orphan boy whose encounter with his birth father becomes a fear-inducing event. (Castro, 2/3) Hanna’s Sleeping Dogs In director Andreas Gruber’s story, a nineyear-old girl grows up Catholic in the Austrian town of Wels. Hanna is disconcerted to discover that her family roots are actually Jewish, leading to a social identity crisis. (Castro, 2/3) The Culpable The Catholic priest/altar boy scandal is framed in Gerd Schneider’s drama. A prison chaplain, Jakob, is dismayed when a brother priest is arrested under suspicion of sexual abuse. Jakob’s struggle to reconcile the truth with his friendship with his disgraced friend becomes a riveting crisis of faith. (Castro, 2/4) Close to Your Heart In director Ingo Rasper’s story, a lonely female supermarket cashier, Emma, goes on a spree of wallet-pilfering. (Castro, 2/5)t Info: berlinbeyond.com.

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<< Dance

30 • Bay Area Reporter • February 2-8, 2017

SFB 1 & 2

into bravura dancing by squads of anarchists fighting communists, punctuated by the explosive leaps of Taras Domitro, who could seem to occupy the entire stage at once. Possokhov understands the Bolshoi way of creating tension, building it, and set off knots of fighters in counterpointed surges around a central conflict over the only woman on board, danced by the ballerina Lorena Feijoo in her most austere style. She is ostensibly the commissar in charge, but in fact the target of assaults of various kinds, and sometimes gets carried aloft as a trophy while the conflict ebbs and flows. Possokhov and Demutsky are both Russian émigrés. In Soviet days, the good guys were clearly distinguishable from the bad, as in a Disney movie; this ballet uses the

rhetoric of huge Russian jumps, leaps, lifts, crowd surges, but with a sense of divided loyalties. It does not take sides, as the child of a biracial marriage cannot take sides with one set of ancestors over another. Though the story is murky, the emotions are huge, and the physical excitement immense. On leaving the building I flew down the stairs, the charge the dancers had generated was so great. That show opened with Alexei Ratmansky’s Seven Sonatas, a Robbins-esque piano ballet to Scarlatti for six virtuosi; it was immaculately danced, coolly received. It closed with William Forsythe’s brilliant Pas/Parts, a virtuosic capriccio for a couple dozen dancers that treats ballet as if it were club dancing. Incredible brilliance from so many indi-

viduals; corps dancers looked like stars. Thom Willems’ very strange, pulseless electronic music eventuBoth programs are mixed bills ally resolved into a cha cha cha, with a big, juicy world premiere and Francisco Mungamba took at the center. Program 1 featured a the mounting excitement over scrumptious setting of Rachmanithe top. Carlo Di Lanno, Joseph nov’s romantic Piano Concerto Walsh, James Sofranko, Diego #2, Program 2 a big, Soviet-style Cruz, Wei Wang, Henry Sidford all athletic melodrama set on a deserve mention, as do Sophiane battleship at sea, set to a commisSylve, Maria Kochetkova, Frances sioned score, Optimistic Tragedy Chung, and Sasha De Sola, our (composer Ilya Demutsky, set by newest star, who had a moment in SF Ballet resident choreographer which she seemed to hang in the Yuri Possokhov). It felt like you firmament and glow as if forever. were looking at Battleship PotemIf that was the unpleasant prokin in a fevered dream (brilliant gram, the happier one featured the set by Alexander V. Nichols). In kind of ballet that makes you feel the midst of this foggy murk, good. Fragile Vessels, a huge, flowDemutsky’s loud, Shostakoviching romantic number by the Czech at-his-most-sardonic-Ladychoreographer Jií Bubenícek, with Macbeth-like music – metallic, a glowing golden set design by his percussive, brassy – broke out twin brother Otto, was set to the kind of Romantic music guaranteed to sell out a house, a Rachmaninov concerto performed by SFB pianist Mungunchimeg Buriad and the San Francisco Ballet orchestra, conducted by Martin West. Buriad’s tone and attack were not quite big enough to impress, but once the music got going, it created an ocean of sound that the dancers could swim in. Bubenícek’s contemporary ballet idiom derives not from the jagged, Expressionist style but from the 60s American silky mode of Trisha Brown, all flowing arms, “released” shoulders, sumptuous play of power held in reserve and released back into the limbs. The Adagio comprised a ménage a trois: Joseph Walsh and Wei Wang, who seem more into each other than they are into Dores Andre. Perhaps each of them is more into something that seems Erik Tomasson like “their life’s work,” San Francisco Ballet dancers Dores André, Wei Wang and Joseph Walsh in Jiří Bubeníček’s Fragile Vessels. which requires solitude. So there would be little duets

From page 21

Silence

From page 21

that had been used to create “an exuberantly gross spoof ” according to The New York Times. Demme then urged Jodie Foster, one of the stars of the 1991 movie, to see the show. She slipped unnoticed into the theater, but surprised the cast and audience when she was first on her feet to lead a standing ovation. The musical began as a gag, a bunch of songs written to entertain friends by adding showtunes to a grisly story. “We never set out to make a musical,” said Jon Kaplan, who wrote the songs with brother Al. “It was never meant for an audience.” But those songs found a viral audience on YouTube as well as a producer who suggested creating an actual stage show. Several songs were added, and writer-actor Hunter Bell was brought in to spruce up the script. It debuted in 2005 as part of the New York International Fringe Festival, drew turn-away audiences, and won the festival’s best-musical award. Plans to reopen for a commercial run stumbled along until it finally made its official off-Broadway debut in 2011, where it ran for two years. Now it’s at the Victoria Theatre as a co-production among original producer Victoria Lang, Cloud 9 Theatricals, and SF’s Ray of Light Theatre. Ray of Light’s Jason Hoover is directing Silence! with a local cast playing such iconic cinematic characters as FBI trainee Clarice

Starling (Ann Norland), cannibalistic convict Hannibal Lecter (Scott Hayes), and a serial killer nicknamed Buffalo Bill (Brian Watson) who skins his female victims’ corpses to create flesh bodysuits. The musical is faithful to the basics of the film’s plot, though any chance to crank up the drama for laughs is taken. And the songs often come from lines of dialogue, although “If I Could Smell Her Cunt” and “Put the Fucking Lotion in the Basket,” for example, take on an altered resonance when set to music. Plus, add in a chorus of tapdancing performers in floppy-eared lamb costumes. “We worked hard not to take ourselves too seriously,” said Bell, who also wrote the popular [title of show], a musical about writing an as-yet unnamed musical. “But we wanted to at least take it seriously enough so it wasn’t a nonsense-fest and you could just dismiss it as a dirty joke.” Silence! The Musical will run at the Victoria Theatre through Feb. 25. Tickets are available at silencethemusicalsf.com.

died shortly before the musical faced its first audience. The new tour is running Feb. 7-19 at the Golden Gate Theatre, where theß first Rent tour had a six-month run in 1999. This tour is a non-Equity production, signaling a cast that includes many performers at the starts of their careers. Michael Greif ’s original staging has been recreated by Evan Ensign, who was a resident assistant director during the musical’s Broadway run, and original choreographer Marlies Yearby has

returned to stage the dances for the new tour. Tickets at shnsf.com.

Ready for a ‘Revolution’

Set 200 years in the future, The Revolution Will Not Be Harmonized is a new musical comedy about a strange dystopia in which a song can rule the world. It’s the first fulllength musical written by PianoFight’s all-female comedy troupe Chardonnay, and it’s the latest attraction on PianoFight’s mainstage in the Tenderloin.

interrupted by absorbing solos for each of them, the occasional spat, but overall a compelling picture of three people who love one another very much but also have important “interests” of their own. I don’t have the right words for this, but it looked almost biographical, perhaps autobiographical. It ebbed and flowed in harmony, gently reminding me of relationships I’m more used to reading about than seeing in ballet. It ended in the famous Cupid and Psyche pose Balanchine used in Serenade, with the third dancer as Dark Angel. Bubenícek uses the corps beautifully to create atmosphere, world. Another set of principals altogether, grandly danced by Sophiane Sylve and Carlo di Lanno, figured in the first and third movements. The ballet was a hit and will doubtless be encored next year. This program opened with a vehicle to present our new ballerina, Sasha de Sola, who effortlessly and radiantly dominated Haffner Symphony (Helgi Tomasson, 1991). DiLanno made a rococo prince out of his role as her partner in a deft setting of classical steps to Mozart’s very danceable music. That program closes with the immensely likable ballet, new last year, In the Countenance of Kings, by Justin Peck, resident choreographer of New York City Ballet. The throbbing, fast-paced music is an orchestration of Sufjan Stevens’ Gershwinesque score depicting the Bronx Queens Expressway. The whole piece has a tinge of Broadway to it, and it’s not necessary to take the designations “The Protagonist, The Foil, The Hero” too seriously. Mungamba was fabulous as the Protagonist the night I saw it, as were Sofranko (the Foil) and Henry Sidford as a slightly deadpan hero (he reminded me of Hugh Laurie). Isabella de Vivo, a corps dancer, tore it up as the principal lady, and the whole corps danced their socks off. Both programs are still running and play through this weekend.t sfballet.org

In this future, the land is ruled by “Spotif-Eye” and populated by a workforce made up exclusively of freelancers who nonetheless have inflexible work schedules. The main characters are three women: a hairobsessed lieutenant, a mysterious elder who speaks in song lyrics, and one algorithmically perfect song. Humanity can only be saved by a sisterhood in harmony. The musical runs Feb. 2-25, and tickets are available at pianofight.com.t

‘Rent’ is due

It’s been 20 years since Rent opened on Broadway, and that milestone is being recognized with a 20th anniversary tour of the musical that had a cultural buzz that has only recently been matched by Hamilton. Jonathan Larson’s rock-musical take on La Boheme, set among idealistic young artists in the age of AIDS, took on added resonance when Larson

Carol Rosegg

Skyler Volpe plays the doomed Mimi in the 20th-anniversary tour of Jonathan Larson’s Rent at the Golden Gate Theatre.

Leather

Karrnal Knowledge www.ebar.com V www.bartabsf.com

Shining Stars Vol. 47 • No. 5 • February 2-8, 2017

by David-Elijah Nahmod

or half a century the Mitchell Brothers O’Farrell Theater has been one of the world’s most famous porn palaces. But now, the O’Farrell is expanding its horizons with the implementation of semi-regular queer nights with a saucy new variety show featurng new and favorite local talents. See page 30 >>

Meta Jane Johnson

Left: Andre Shakti takes it off at the first Spank Bank burlesque show at The O’Farrell Theatre. Right: Wonder Dave hosted and cocreated the new queer burlesque night.

On the Tab Feb. 2-9

oubleplus fun await s, comrades. The Ministr y of En tertainment commands it.

in on page 28 >> Listings beg

Fri 3 Shot in the City

Polyglamorous’ 2nd Anniversary @ Oasis

{ THIRD OF THREE SECTIONS }

The polls are now open! VOTE NOW FOR YOUR FAVORITE PLACES, PEOPLE AND THINGS TO DO IN SAN FRANCISCO AND THE BAY AREA. BE ENTERED TO WIN ONE OF SEVERAL PRIZES.

Vote now at www.ebar.com/besties2017

<< On the Tab

28 • Bay Area Reporter • February 2-8, 2017

On the Tab

From page 27

Thu 2

Above and Beyond the Valley of the Ultra Showgirls @ Oasis D’Arcy Drollinger’s hit drag rock musical comedy about Super Vixen, a girl band’s ups and downs, returns with a live band. $25-$35. Thu 8pm Fri & Sat 7pm. Thru Feb. 18. 298 11th St. www.sfoasis.com

After Dark @ Exploratorium Adult cocktail party at the interactive science museum. $10-$15. 6pm-10pm. Pier 15 at Embarcadero. www.exploratorium.edu

Gayface @ El Rio Queer weekly night out at the popular Mission bar. 9pm-2am. 3158 Mission St. www.elriosf.com

Karaoke Night @ The Stud Sing along and sing out, Louise, with hostess Sister Flora Goodthyme. 8pm2am. 399 9th St. www.studsf.com

Kingdom of Sodom @ Nob Hill Theatre Very interactive sex party with strippers, too. $20. Cash bar. 8pm1am. 729 Bush St. at Powell. 3976758. www.thenobhilltheatre.com

Mary Go Round @ Lookout

Disco guru DJ Bus Station John spins grooves at the intimate retro music night. $5. 10pm-2am. 133 Turk St. at Taylor. auntcharlieslounge.com

Underwear Night @ Powerhouse Free coat/clothes check when you strip down to your skivvies at the cruisy SoMa bar. $5. 10pm-2am. 1347 Folsom St. www.powerhousebar.com

Fri 3

Ain’t Mama’s Drag @ Balancoire

Fri 3 Dhaya Lakshminarayanan at The Resistance @ New Parkway Theatre, Oakland

Weekly drag queen and drag king show hosted by Cruzin d’Loo. 8pm-10pm. No cover. 2565 Mission St. www.balancoiresf.com

Beach Blanket Babylon @ Club Fugazi The musical comedy revue celebrates its 40th year with an ever-changing lineup of political and pop culture icons, all in gigantic wigs. $25-$160. Beer/wine served; cash only; 21+, except where noted. Wed-Fri 8pm. Sat 6pm & 9pm. Sun 2pm & 5pm. 678 Beach Blanket Babylon Blvd. (Green St.). 421-4222. www.beachblanketbabylon.com

Jean Genies, Cruella @ Slim’s The David Bowie tribute band performs; the all-women Motley Crue tribute band opens. $15-$40. 9pm. 333 11th St. www.slimspresents.com

Latin Explosion @ Club 21, Oakland The Latin dance night includes drag acts hosted by Lulu and Jacqueline, and gogo studs. $10-$20. 9pm-4am. 2111 Franklin St., Oakland. www.club21oakland.com

Lick It @ Powerhouse DJ Blackstone spins grooves at the cruisy night. $5. 10pm1am. 1347 Folsom St. powerhousebar.com

Midnight Show @ Divas Weekly drag shows at the last transgenderfriendly bar in the Polk; with hosts Victoria Secret, Alexis Miranda and several performers. Also Saturdays. $10. 11pm. 1081 Polk St. www.divassf.com

VinSol guest-DJs the two-year anniversary of the fun, queens & cubs “Faerie-Burner” dance night, with residents Mark O’Brien and Major. $7-$10. 9pm-2am. 298 11th St. www.sfoasis.com

Sex, Drags & Rock n Roll @ Midnight Sun

Stimulating festive and fun parties at the earth sciences museum returns, with 21+ music, drinks, demos and exhibits. $12-$15. Feb. 2: Lunar New Year with DJ Tanoa; Weekly 6pm-9pm. 55 Music Concourse Drive, Golden Gate Park. www.calacademy.org/nightlife

Picante @ The Cafe Lulu and DJ Marco’s Latin night with sexy gogo guys. 9pm-2am. 2369 Market St. www.cafesf.com

Queer Karaoke @ Club OMG Dana hosts the weekly singing night; unleash your inner American Idol. 8pm. 43 6th St. www.clubomgsf.com

Rock Fag @ Hole in the Wall Enjoy hard rock and punk music from DJ Don Baird at the wonderfully divey SoMa bar. Also Fridays. 7pm-2am. 1369 Folsom St. 431-4695. www.hitws.com

Thursday Night Live @ SF Eagle Music night with local and touring bands. $8. 9:30pm. 398 12th St. at Harrison. www.sf-eagle.com

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

Towne & Country @ The Stud

Mother @ Oasis

DTF Fridays @ Port Bar, Oakland Various DJs play house music, and a few hotties gogo dance at the new gay bar’s weekly event. 9pm-2am. 2023 Broadway. (510) 823-2099. www.portbaroakland.com

Gaymer Night @ SF Eagle Group video game-playing night on the big-screen TVs and prjection screens; free coat check, no cover. 8pm-1am. 398 12th St. www.sf-eagle.com

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

House music and cocktails, with DJs Shareef Raheim-Jihad and Ellis Lindsey. 9pm-2am. 2120 Broadway. (510) 7597340. www.club-bnb.com

Red Hots Burlesque @ The Stud The saucy women’s burlesque show hosted by Dottie Lux will titillate and tantalize. $10-$20. 8pm-9:30pm. 399 9th St. Also Sunday brunch shows at PianoFight Theatre.144 Taylor St. www.redhotsburlesque.com www.studsf.com

Truck presents a “Longjohns & Viagra” sexy party, with a clothes/ coat check so you can strip down to your longjohns and cruise away; Pumkin Spice DJs. $5. 9pm-1am. 3600 Market St. at 16th. sflookout.com

Sat 4

La Bota Loca @ Club 21, Oakland Latin, hip hop and Electro music night. Dec. 24: no cover, all night. 9pm-4am. 2111 Franklin St., Oakland. www.club21oakland.com

Bootie SF @ DNA Lounge DJs Mysterious D and guests spin at the mash-up DJ dance party, with four rooms of different sounds and eight DJs. $10-$15 and up. 9:30pm3am. 375 11th St. www.bootiesf.com www.dnalounge.com

Club Rimshot @ Club BNB, Oakland The weekly hip hop and R&B night. $5-$15. 9pm to 4am. 2120 Broadway. (510) 759-7340. www.club-bnb.com

Frolic @ SF Eagle The fun fursuit and friends party continues at its new location, with DJs NeonBunny, Wild Life, and Dave Brown. $8-$12. 8pm-2am/ 398 12th st. at Harrison. www.frolicparty.com www.sf-eagle.com

Go Bang! @ The Stud Sergio Fedasz, Steve Fabus and Prince Wolf serve up delicious retro disco grooves, with guest DJs Andrew Emil and Jeffrey Tice. Free/$12. 9pm-3am. 399 9th St. at Harrison. www.studsf.com

Shot in the City

Nightlife @ California Academy of Sciences

Dhaya Lakshminarayanan, Karinda Dobbins, Imran G, Irene Tu, Johan Miranda and Luna Malbroux share post-Inauguration comic perspectives as queers and/or People of Color. $20. 7:30pm. 474 24th St. thenewparkwaytheater.com

Winter Party @ Lookout

Sat 4

The weekly drag show with DJ MC2, themed nights and hilarious fun. $5. 9pm-2am. 4149 18th St. at Collingwood. www.edgesf.com

Lips and Lashes Brunch @ Lookout

Vibe Fridays @ Club BnB, Oakland

Polyglamorous @ Oasis

The Monster Show @ The Edge

The Resistance @ New Parkway Theatre, Oakland

New event from the new owners of this historic queer bar, with a show pony set, upper crust theme. Rolo and Marke B DJ, drag show with Honey Mahogany and friends. $10. 10pm4am. 399 9th st. www.studsf.com

Steven Underhill

Mercedez Munro and Holotta Tymes’ weekly drag show. $5. 10:30pm show. DJ Philip Grasso. 3600 16th St. www.lookoutsf.com

Tubesteak Connection @ Aunt Charlie’s Lounge

Hella Gay Comedy @ Club OMG New weekly women & queers comedy night hosted by Debbie Devereaux (aka Charlie Ballard). No cover. Open mic, too. 6pm-8pm. 43 6th St. www.clubOMGsf.com

James Monroe Iglehart @ Lesher Center for the Arts, Walnut Creek Feinstein’s presents the Broadway musical star and Bay Area native who performs a concert of varied music genres. $63-$93. 8pm. 1601 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek. feinsteinsatthenikko.com www.lesherartscenter.org

Sat 4 L’Amour, L’Amour @ Strand Theater

Heklina hosts the weekly night of drag tour de force performances, DJ MC2 spins dance grooves before and after the show. Feb. 4 is a Mariah Carey tribute. $10-$15. 7:30pm-9pm. Reg: 10pm-3am. 298 11th St. www.sfoasis.com

Nitty Gritty @ Beaux Weekly dance night with nearly naked gogo guys & gals; DJs Chad Bays, Ms. Jackson, Becky Know and Jorge T. $4. 9pm-2am. 2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

Pretty in Ink @ Powerhouse Show off your tattoos at the inkthemed night. $5. 9pm-2am. 1347 Folsom St. www.powerhousebar.com

Saturgay @ Qbar Stanley Frank spins house dance remixes at the intimate Castro dance bar. $3. 9pm-2am (weekly beer bust 2pm-9pm). 456 Castro St. www.QbarSF.com

Sex, Drags & Rock n Roll @ Midnight Sun Muthachucka’s monthly drag show returns, with a ‘60s groovy love theme, performances by Sugah Betes, Bea Dazzler Phatima Rude, Divine Miss Bovine and others. 10pm. 4067 18th St. www.midnightsunsf.com

Shake It Up @ Port Bar, Oakland DJ Lady Char spins dance grooves; gogo studs, and drink specials, too. 9pm-2am. 2023 Broadway. (510) 8232099. www.portbaroakland.com

Soul Party @ Elbo Room DJs Lucky, Paul, and Phengren Osward spin 60s soul 45s. $5-$10 ($5 off in semi-formal attire). 10pm-2am. 647 Valencia St. 552-7788. www.elbo.com

Sun 5

Beer Bust @ Lone Star Saloon Enjoy daytime partying with bears and cubs, plus fundraisers for the SF Fog Rugby team. 4pm-8pm. 1354 Harrison St. www.lonestarsf.com

Beer Bust @ SF Eagle The classic leather bar’s most popular Sunday daytime event in town draws the menfolk. Beer bust donations benefit local nonprofits. $10. 3pm6pm. Now also on Saturdays. 398 12th St. at Harrison. www.sf-eagle.com

Blessed @ Port Bar, Oakland Carnie Asada’s fun drag night with Carnie’s Angels – Mahlae Balenciaga and Au Jus, plus DJ Ion. 2023 Broadway. www.portbaroakland.com

On the Tab>>

February 2-8, 2017 • Bay Area Reporter • 29

High Fantasy @ Aunt Charlie’s Lounge Weekly drag and variety show, with live acts and lip-synching divas, plus DJed grooves. $5. Shows at 10:30pm & 12am. 133 Turk St. at Taylor. auntcharlieslounge.com

Hysteria @ Martuni’s Irene Tu and Jessica Sele cohost the comedy open mic night for women and queers. No cover. 6pm-8:30pm. 4 Valencia St.

Tue 7

Love @ The Stud

Hella Saucy @ Q Bar

Domingo De Escandal @ Club OMG

Gaymer Meetup @ Brewcade

Weekly Latin night with drag shows hosted by Vicky Jimenez and DJ Luis. 7pm-2am. 43 6th St. www.clubomgsf.com

The weekly LGBT video game enthusiast night includes big-screen games and signature beers, with a new remodeled layout, including an outdoor patio. No cover. 7pm-11pm. 2200 Market St. www.brewcadesf.com

Femme Brunch @ Balancoire Weekly live music shows with various acts, along with brunch buffet, bottomless Mimosas, champagne and more, at the stylish nightclub and restaurant, with live entertainment and DJ Shawn P. $15-$20. 11am-3pm. After that, Femme T-Dance drag shows at 7pm, 10pm and 11pm. 2565 Mission St. at 21st. 920-0577. www.balancoiresf.com

GlamaZone @ The Cafe Pollo del Mar’s weekly drag show takes on different themes with a comic edge. 8:30-11:30pm. 2369 Market St. www.cafesf.com

Jock @ The Lookout Enjoy the weekly jock-ular fun, with DJed dance music at sports team fundraisers. 12pm-1am. NY DJ Sharon White from 3pm-6pm. 3600 16th St. www.lookoutsf.com

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

Sue-Per Bowl Sunday @ Oasis Watch the game, or pretend to care, at the SoMa club’s Jumbo-screening of the Super Bowl, with chips & dip. No cover. 2:30pm. 298 11th St. www.sfoasis.com

Sunday’s a Drag @ Starlight Room Donna Sachet often hosts the weekly fabulous brunch and drag show, now celebrating its tenth anniversary. $45. 11am, show at noon; 1:30pm, show at 2:30pm. 450 Powell St. in Union Square. 395-8595. www.starlightroomsf.com

Sunday Brunch @ Thee Parkside Bottomless Mimosas until 3pm at the fun rock-punk club. 1600 17th St. 2521330. www.theeparkside.com

Super Bowl Party @ Pilsner Inn

Karaoke Night @ SF Eagle Sing along, with guest host Nick Radford. 8pm-12am. 398 12th St. www.sf-eagle.com

Mahogany Mondays @ Midnight Sun Honey Mahogany’s weekly drag and musical talent show starts around 10pm. 4067 18th St. 861-4186. www.midnightsunsf.com

Mule Mondays @ Port Bar, Oakland Enjoy frosty Moscow Mule cocktails in a brassy mug, specials before 8pm. 2023 Broadway, Oakland. www.portbaroakland.com

Musical Mondays @ The Edge Sing along at the popular musical theatre night; also Wednesdays. 7pm-2am. 2 for 1 cocktail, 5pmclosing. 4149 18th St. at Collingwood. www.edgesf.com

No No Bingo @ Virgil’s Sea Room Mica Sigourney and Tom Temprano cohost the wacky weekly game night at the cool Mission bar. 8pm. 3152 Mission St. www.virgilssf.com

Piano Bar 101 @ Martuni’s Sing-along night with talented locals, and charming accompanist Joe Wicht. 9pm. 4 Valencia St. at Market.

Sacred Cocktails @ Lookout Spirits and the spiritual combine at the monthly gathering. This month, Black (Women’s) Lives Matter, with guest speaker Rev. Ann Jefferson, City of Refuge UCC & Pacific School of Religion. 6:30pm. 3600 16th St. www.sacredspacesf.org www.lookoutsf.com

Underwear Night @ 440 Strip down to your skivvies at the popular men’s night. 9pm-2am. 440 Castro St. 621-8732. www.the440.com

Mama Dora, Thee Pristine Condition, and Ultra present new Tuesday-style drag and cabaret shenanigans to warm your heart. Feb. 7 Theme: For Love or Money. $5. 9pm1am, show at 10pm. 399 Harrison. www.studsf.com

Naked Night @ Nob Hill Theatre Strip down as the strippers also take it all off. $20. 9pm. 729 Bush St. at Powell. 397-6758. www.thenobhilltheatre.com

Retro Night @ 440 Castro Jim Hopkins plays classic pop oldies, with vintage music videos. 9pm-2am. 44 Castro St. www.the440.com

Tap That Ass @ SF Eagle Bartender Steve Dalton’s beer night happy hour. 398 12th St. at Harrison. www.sf-eagle.com

Trivia Night @ Port Bar, Oakland Cranny hosts a big gay trivia night at the new East Bay bar; drinks specials and prizes. 7:30pm. 2023 Broadway. www.portbaroakland.com

Una Noche @ Club BnB, Oakland Vicky Jimenez’ drag show and contest; Latin music all night. 9pm-2am. 2120 Broadway. (510) 759-7340. www.club-bnb.com

Underwear Night @ Club OMG Weekly underwear night includes free clothes check, and drink specials. $4. 10pm-2am. Preceded by Open Mic Comedy, 7pm, no cover. 43 6th St. www.clubomgsf.com

Wed 8

Bondage-a-Gogo @ The Cat Club The weekly gay/straight/whatever fetish-themed kinky dance night. $7$10. 9:30pm-2:30am. 1190 Folsom St. www.bondage-a-go-go.com www.catclubsf.com

B.P.M. @ Club BnB, Oakland Olga T and Shugga Shay’s weekly queer women and men’s R&B hip hop and soul night, at the club’s new location. No cover. 8pm-2am. 2120 Broadway, Oakland. www.bench-and-bar.com

Enjoy beer specials with free chili dogs as you watch the football finale. 3pm. 225 Church St. at Market. www.pilsnerinn.com

Tue 7

Mon 6

The ‘80s pop music singer performs classics hits and some new music; Glam Shanks opens. $35. 8pm. 1805 Geary Blvd. at Fillmore. www.thefillmore.com

Kollin Holtz hosts the open mic comedy night. 5:30pm-8pm. 398 12th St. at Harrison. www.sf-eagle.com

Bandit @ Lone Star Saloon

The weekly women’s happy hour and dance night with DJ Becky Knox. 6pm10pm. 2023 Broadway. www.portbaroakland.com

Drag Mondays @ The Cafe Mahlae Balenciaga and DJ Kidd Sysko’s weekly drag and dance night. 9pm-1am. 2369 Market St. www.cafesf.com

Epic Karaoke @ White Horse, Oakland Mondays and Tuesdays popular weekly sing-along night. No cover. 8:30pm-1am. 6551 Telegraph Ave, (510) 652-3820. www.whitehorsebar.com

Adam Ant @ The Fillmore

New weekly queer event with resident DJ Justime; electro, soul, funk, house. No cover. 9pm-1am. 1354 Harrison St. www.facebook.com/BanditPartySF www.lonestarsf.com

Hella Saucy @ Q Bar Queer dance party at the stylish intimate bar. 9pm-2am. 456 Castro St. www.QbarSF.com

Comedy Showcase @ SF Eagle

Girl Scout @ Port Bar, Oakland

Latin Drag Night @ Club OMG Weekly Latin night with drag shows hosted by Vicky Jimenez. 9pm-2am. 43 6th St. www.clubomgsf.com

Lezzie Fog @ The Stud

Kick It @ DNA Lounge

New women’s Happy Hour. 5pm-9pm. $1 drinks. Free pool. 399 Harrison. www.studsf.com

Kandi Love, Northcore Collective and Plus Alliance’s weekly EDM, flow arts dance night, with DJs; glow drag encouraged. $5-$10. 9pm-2am. 375 11th St. www.dnalounge.com

LGBT Pub Crawl @ Castro Weekly guided tour of bars. $10-$18. Meet at Harvey Milk Plaza, 7:45pm. Also morning historic tours on Mon, Wed, & Sat. www.wildsftours.com

Miss Kitty’s Trivia Night @ Wild Side West The weekly fun night at the Bernal Heights bar includes prizes, hosted by Kitty Tapata. No cover. 7pm-10pm. 424 Cortland St. 647-3099. www.wildsidewest.com

Movie Night @ SF Eagle Enjoy drinks and a flick, with trivia games and prizes. 8pm-2am. 398 12th St. www.sf-eagle.com

Nip @ Powerhouse Nipple play night for the chesty types. Free coatcheck and drink discount for the shirtless. $5. 10pm-2am. 1347 Folsom St. www.powerhousebar.com

Queer Night @ Comix Experience Graphic Novel Club hosts a Comic Valentine-making party with visual artists, $ 8pm. 305 Divisadero St. www.comixexperience.com

Wrangler Wednesdays @ Rainbow Cattle Company, Guerneville Wear your jeans and meet new folks at the Russian River gay bar. 16220 Main St., Guerneville. www. queersteer.com

Thu 9

Angie Stone @ Yoshi’s Oakland The dynamic R&B and pop singer returns for three nights of concerts. $49. 8pm & 10pm. Also Feb 10 & 11. 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland. www.yoshis.com

Nap’s Karaoke @ Virgil’s Sea Room Sing out loud at the weekly least judgmental karaoke in town, hosted by the former owner of the bar. No cover. 9pm. 3152 Mission St. 8292233. www.virgilssf.com

Nightlife @ California Academy of Sciences Stimulating festive and fun parties at the earth sciences museum returns, with 21+ music, drinks, demos and exhibits. $12-$15. Weekly 6pm-9pm. 55 Music Concourse Drive, Golden Gate Park. www.calacademy.org/nightlife

Skate Night @ Church on 8 Wheels Groove on wheels at the former Sacred Heart Church-turned disco roller skate party space, hosted by John D. Miles, the “Godfather of Skate.” Also Wed, Thu, 7pm-10pm. Sat afternoon sessions 1pm-2:30pm and 3pm-5:30pm. $10. Kids 12 and under $5. Skate rentals $5. 554 Fillmore St. at Fell. www.churchof8wheels.com

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

Thursday Night Live @ SF Eagle Music night with local and touring bands. $8. 9:30pm. 398 12th St. at Harrison. www.sf-eagle.com Want your nightlife event listed? Email events@ebar.com, at least two weeks before your event. Event photos welcome.

Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

30 • Bay Area Reporter • February 2-8, 2017

Both Photos: Meta Jane Johnson

Left: Cinnamon Maxxine entertains at the O’Farrell Theatre’s first Spank Bank. Right: Pole-dancing and more at Spank Bank at the O’Farrell Theatre.

Stripteasin’

From page 27

Opened by brothers Jim and Artie Mitchell during the height of the late ‘60s–early ‘70s sexual revolution, the theater received considerable attention when the adult film Behind the Green Door opened in 1972. A bizarre mix of surrealism and hardcore sex, Behind the Green Door was filmed at the theater, and starred a fledgling mainstream actress who called herself Marilyn Chambers. Already seen in a small role in the Barbra Streisand film The Owl and the Pussycat, Chambers was also the loving mom cradling her baby on boxes of Ivory Snow detergent. The combination of Chambers’ wholesome Ivory Snow image and the unbridled lust she portrayed in Behind the Green Door was a publicist’s dream. The film was a sensation and put its star, and the theater, on the map. Forty-five years later, the O’Farrell Theatre continues to draw in the crowds. For $40, a steady stream of straight men pile in to watch naked women dance. For the first time in its history, naked men will be dancing at the O’Farrell. Gay. straight, male, female, and everyone in between are all invited to enjoy the diverse delights of the O’Farrell’s newest dancers. “These shows are for everyone,” Meta Mitchell, daughter of theater co-founder Jim Mitchell, said in an interview with the Bay Area Reporter. “We are not changing our business model. This is in addition to

what we normally do.” Mitchell pointed out that the O’Farrell is one of San Francisco’s last independently owned strip clubs. “This idea has been brewing in my head for awhile,” she said. “Then I lost a friend in the Ghost Ship fire. When he passed, the time seemed to be now. We need venues that are safe. The O’Farrell is opening doors.” As Mitchell chatted, a male dancer named Jet Noir was getting ready to perform private dances, for men or for women, in the O’Farrell’s Kopenhagen Room. “Nude modeling led me to burlesque,” Noir said. He said that he gives no thought to the gender or the sexuality of his audiences. “After seven years of performing burlesque, I’m used to being in front of hundreds of people. I never think of them as categories. My goal is to create something memorable.” Noir added that he was amused by the idea of referring to male strippers or female strippers. “It’s just a person doing this,” he said. The evening’s main attraction, Spank Bank, was hosted by stand-up comic and stripper Wonder Dave, who took to the stage in pink tights and blue lipstick. Dave received tumultuous applause from the packed house, an audience which was a mix of gay couples, lesbian couples, and straight hipsters. All were there for the same purpose: to enjoy a few laughs while they looked at naked bodies. “I got into burlesque via slam poetry actually,” Wonder Dave told B.A.R. after the show. “Back when I

lived in Minnesota, a friend of mine saw me do a funny poem about sex and asked if I’d like to do it at her burlesque show. I inquired if I’d need to take off my clothes and she said, ‘If you want to!’ I thought it wouldn’t make sense to be the one dude in the show and also the only one not removing clothes so, I worked stripping into the piece.” Wonder Dave has not retired from his poetry or stand-up shows. “I still perform spoken word,” he said. “But since so much of my work is comedic in nature, the shift to doing stand-up was a pretty simple transition. I’ve been a featured comic at a number of local shows, which often means performing in bars to people who only half-pay attention to and those people are definitely not expecting to hear a gay guy talk about his sex life.” Working strip clubs gives Dave more freedom. “At a regular show, I really have to finesse the audience into going to a place where we can talk about queer/kink stuff,” he noted. “Spank Bank is a really freeing show. It’s strip club so the idea of what is ‘publicly acceptable’ is already out the window.” Spank Bank was not unlike the burlesque shows of a century ago, albeit a wee bit more explicit. Dancers came out on stage and performed their strip routines, but there was also comedy and even a little music. Leigh Crow, a lesbian who was once known as drag king Elvis Herselvis, performed a jazzy,

bluesy, fully-clothed number which had a bit of an Elvis vibe. Those who wanted to see skin were not disappointed. Stripper Lady Liquid lived up to her name. Obviously a trained dancer, her control over her body movements was incredible. And yes, the Lady showed her all. There were also comical strips, such as when Snatch Adams, as a janitor, mopped the stage to the tune of Donna Summer’s “She Works Hard For the Money” as her clothes slowly fell to the floor. If boys are more to your liking, then you might have enjoyed the cute Asian boy who pole-danced. And Wonder Dave flashed his own dick during one of his monologues. “Am I objectifying people?” he asked his appreciative audience. “Yes, I am, and so are you. That’s why we’re here!” Dave mentioned Andre Shakti, the co-producer of the show and a dancer at Mitchell Brothers. “She and I have done a Spank Bank variety show for the past few years at the Dark Odyssey: Surrender kink event together,” Wonder Dave said. “We used that show as a model. We wanted the night to build, getting progressively more explicit. But we also wanted to make sure moments of levity were included throughout. I love working with Andre on the show because she’s so passionate about making sure that people from all walks of life are represented; gender, race, and body type.” And indeed, one of the male danc-

ers was the adorably cute James Darling, a female-to-male transgender porn actor. Also featured was a plussized dancer who pulled a strand of pearls out of her vagina, as well as a nod to the TV series The Walking Dead: stripper Niki Darling literally danced her way out of a body bag! Wonder Dave reiterated Meta Mitchell’s promise that the queer nights are in addition to what the O’Farrell is known for. “They are still featuring their cast of female exotic dancers,” he said. “It’s a big club and there is room for everyone. And if you’re interested in seeing sexy people of all genders, the good news is that your purchase of a ticket to any of the shows above includes free admission to the club after the show.” Upcoming queer shows include Sex Fail Storytelling on Valentine’s Day, which will funny stories about sexual and romantic mishaps told by Magnoliah Black, Dixie De La Tour, Baruch Porras-Hernandez and Jamie DeWolf. In February 17, the O’Farrell Theater offers Jokes and Jocks on February 17. That show will feature a line-up of female comics and male strippers. Said Wonder Dave, “Funny ladies and naked dudes: who could ask for anything more?”t For information on upcoming shows, visitthecinestage.com And be sure to follow Wonder Dave facebook.com/teamWonderDave O’Farrell Theater ofarrell.com

Both Photos: Meta Jane Johnson

Left: Sadira danced at the unique burlesque event. Right: Leight Crow croons at last week’s Spank Bank event.

Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

32 • Bay Area Reporter • February 2-8, 2017

Bromotion

by John F. Karr

Nob circle HilljerkTheatre with Bruno Bernal

Thu - January 26

@ 9pm

www.thenobhilltheatre.com

Bruno bernal josh conners

friday & saturday January 27th & 28th

bruno solo shows @

josh joins bruno fo8 r 10

pm sex shows!

ichael Roman is pretty new on the scene. I don’t believe in slavery, but this Roman owns me. He’s made a slim handful of scenes for a couple websites, and will next turn up in a Lucas Entertainment glossy. I wasn’t out there fishing around for bareback sites. But a photo of Michael proved irresistible, and led me to Bromo. The site’s pungent scenes surely clouded my consciousness, because it was quite a while before the meaning of what I thought was a curious name dawned on me. It’s so simple I should be embarrassed. It’s Bro (ther) and (ho) Mo condensed; kind of clever, ain’t it? Here are the Bromo hallmarks: butch, brutal, bearded, big, and, most especially, bareback and breeding. For the 83 models in the site’s 116 scenes, it’s all bareback, all the time. And the choice Bromococks regularly pile drive the cum that’s puddled in a crack’s crater up the ol’ anal porthole. As for those cocks, the site’s filmmaker has certainly indulged a particular taste. Most every one, is cut, cleanly sculpted, and shiny smooth, making Bromo a site of fine phallus. I had to wear a bib. Another Bromo speciality is group scenes, which showcase individual players while coming off spontaneously. All the scenes benefit from steady camera work. They look professional without getting too slick; they’re strong, but personable. There are multiple tags to guide you around the site. While breeding is standard, the tag that roused my desire with its frequency was cum-eating. Sadly, at Bromo that means merely licking it off bellies or fingertips, maybe tasting a bit dripping off a facial. There are only a couple of those savory, direct cock to kisser scene cappers. As the POTUS might tweet, “Disappointing!” About that breeding, though. Here’s the prognosis Billy Santoro gave when rationalizing his new bareback studio some months ago. “Count how many condom studios there are left,” he wrote. “Like, six. The industry is changing. It’s not unsafe to have bareback sex anymore. The people who run these studios are stuck in the ‘80s. Studios need to move forward.” It makes me wonder how long those condomed companies will hold out against overwhelming competition, not to mention medical developments. For one thing, we have PrEP, and for another, recent reports showing that there’s no evidence of HIV transmission from people with a fully suppressed viral load to their partners. This news could mark for many a farewell to the wearying wearing of rubbers. I’d hope it will at least circumscribe the pursuits of bug chasers, and men who fuck with the emphasis on breeding, activities I’ve sniffed at. Always struck me as adolescent. But back to Bromo. Its earliest scenes, from 2015, are traditional, in both scripting and stars, who may have been engaged for marquee value. Sebastian Young shows up for two prison scenes, Tom Faulk appears with both short and long hair, and Vadim Black is handsomely effective as ever. In a sure sign of the site’s grasping for customers, even Johny Rapid plies his much-used ass

Occasional bottom Shawn Reeves is seen here at Bromo decimating Griffin Barrows’ ass.

among a fair sprinkling of scenes; the come-on header for his first one screams, “Johnny Goes Bareback!” Scene titles like I Bred My New Stepdad; and Bellboys show the reliance on standard tropes. Later titles reflect the site’s mature identity, with the power fucking of He Likes It Rough and Raw; Submission; DOM Parts 1-4; and The Intruder, a series of role-playing scenes in which dark-miened and heavily tattooed top man Brad Powers wears a black knit hood as he overpowers his subjects.

One exception to the site’s near dearth of uncut men would be a 30-year-old husky whose porn career so far consists of his three scenes for Bromo. He’s Gage Unkut, who is as the name describes. In addition, he’s a big bruiser, though not quite as big as his three-scened Bromo buddy Aaron Bruiser, who is as the name describes. Bruiser’s a foul mouthed, bad-ass fucker. I’d certainly like more than two scenes from my lust-inducer, Michael Roman. The site excitingly shows off his brawny body and carnivorous personality. In one of the two scenes, Mr. Unkut subjects Michael to some pretty intense banging. In the other, Michael tops bearded Internet fave, Brendan Phillips, all the while aggressively manhandling the receptive dude, spanking him with a leather belt, delivering a merciless face fucking, and letting Phillips ride his dick with an energetic passion that provides sensational viewing. Among already known stars who come off better at Bromo than elsewhere, is Jordan Levine, who goes to town in a number of scenes, most especially with Scott Riley. You’ll also find Wesley Woods, muscular plugger Ashton McKay, and revvedup bottom Jeremy Spreadums, who does as his name describes. Solomon Aspen is here, too. I initially liked him a good deal, but I’m wary of the performer he’s become. He sure throws himself into his job. Orally, he gurgles and gags; anally, he gasps and moans while habitually hosting dildos amongst the many cocks. But he’s become a slick professional; he over-performs. Str8 guys do that. Even ones who like a lot of anal action. Can’t fault him in his Bromo scenes, though. He can be exciting. Lastly, I delighted in making a delayed discovery of Shawn Reeve, who stars in four scenes as a gym trainer. His lines of seduction may be porn at its most hoary, but he transforms them with a wit that makes them entertainingly fresh. And Top: Intense banging’s on the way at it don’t hurt that he’s 22 Bromo, for Michael Roman (right) and years old, and 6’3’ of blond, stern Gage Unkut. Bottom: Jeremy buff, slightly hairy, salivatSpreadums takes a happy ride on Rod Peterson, at Bromo. ingly hung, and versatile beauty.t