January 19, 2017 Edition of the Bay Area Reporter by Bay Area Reporter

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Obama commutes Manning’s sentence

ACA repeal worries LGBT health advocates

by Heather Cassell

ransgender former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning, convicted of leaking secret information to WikiLeaks, had the bulk of her 35-year prison sen- Chelsea Manning tence commuted by President Barack Obama Tuesday. Manning, 29, is scheduled to be freed May 17, after a standard 120-day transition period. Her sentence had run to 2045. She has been in prison for nearly seven years. Obama’s decision came just days before he leaves office. The administration received a letter in December from the American Civil Liberties Union requesting the commutation. Manning came out as a trans woman just after she was convicted in a military trial in 2013. See page 14 >>

Vol. 47 • No. 3 • January 19-25, 2017

Dr. Tri Do, API Wellness Center’s chief medical officer, prepares to enter an exam room.

by Matthew S. Bajko

acing harassment at her old job, Sunnyvale resident Amy Krakar opted to quit last summer and work as a freelance graphic designer from home. With the cost to maintain her old health insurance plan $800 a month, she opted instead to enroll with Kaiser Permanente through Covered California, the state-run exchange created by the federal Affordable Care Act.

For the last half of 2016 her monthly premium cost Krakar $263.12 due to her qualifying for a $206 monthly subsidy. This year her premium dropped to $129.99 per month due to her subsidy increasing to $378.10 as her income is now less. Ensuring she retained access to health insurance at a reasonable cost was a high priority for Krakar, 48, as she began taking testosterone nearly nine months ago to begin transitioning from female to male. She is now

in the process of legally changing her name to Jamie and updating her documents so her gender is listed as male. Krakar, who is using female pronouns for now, also has chronic kidney disease, which requires regular checkups to monitor her condition to avoid kidney failure. “For this price I get a decent out-of-pocket maximum and lab, doctor visit and pharmacy costs that don’t break the bank,” Krakar told See page 12 >>

Gay Rep. Pocan girds for Trump ADAP hits snags

Rick Gerharter

by Matthew S. Bajko

by Seth Hemmelgarn

alifornia’s AIDS Drug Assistance Program, which is supposed to help thousands of people get the care they need to stay alive, has been hit with problems that have sparked concern among state officials and clients. According to the Dr. Karen Smith California Department of Public Health, the trouble started after the program switched to new contractors in July. In a recent letter to Dr. Karen Smith, director of the state’s public health department, gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) called ADAP “a life-saving program for some 30,000 low-income Californians living with HIV, including more than 3,000 San Franciscans.” “I am alarmed to learn about significant problems that have resulted from the recent transition to three new contractors as well as the implementation of a new eligibility enrollment system,” Wiener said in his December 20 letter. “The destabilizing effects See page 17 >>

his Friday when Presidentelect Donald Trump is taking his oath of office outside the Capitol in Washington, D.C., gay Congressman Mark Pocan (D-Wisconsin) will be volunteering at a food pantry in the city of Verona, which is part of his 2nd Congressional District centered in Madison. The third-term federal lawmaker, whose district neighbors that of Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan, is one of more than four-dozen Democrats in Congress who have decided to boycott Trump’s inauguration. Pocan, 52, Congressman Mark Pocan made the decision last Saturday after Trump attacked CongressBut he feels that Trump’s actions, to date, are man John Lewis, a civil rights icon not worthy of the highest office in the country. who was beaten protesting Jim Crow-era laws. “I respect the office of the president and I The Georgia Democrat had said he was need Donald Trump to respect it,” said Pocan, boycotting the inaugural festivities because he views Trump as not a “legitimate president.” one of seven lesbian, gay, and bisexual congressional members. “He is still acting like a reality His comment prompted several irate Twitter television star trying to get people to buy launposts from Trump over the weekend. That was “the breaking point,” for Pocan, dry detergent and not acting like the president.” Trump’s tweet that Lewis is “all talk, talk, who met with the Bay Area Reporter Tuesday talk – no action or results. Sad!” also led gay morning in San Francisco while in town this California Congressman Mark Takano (Dweek for several Bay Area events. Riverside) to announce via Twitter last Saturday “I made the decision Saturday night,” said morning that he too would not be attending the Pocan, adding that, “I did really want to go.”

inauguration in solidarity with Lewis. He is among a dozen California Democrats to do so. The lawmakers’ boycott of the January 20 ceremony is “petty and a case of sour grapes,” Jason P. Clark, chairman of Log Cabin Republicans of California, the gay GOP group, told the B.A.R. Elected this month to a fouryear term as chairman of the Republican Party of San Francisco, Clark added in an emailed reply, “the Democrats lost this election, just as the Republicans did in 2008. One of the hallmarks of our society is that we celebrate Cynthia Laird the peaceful transfer of power from one elected official to another – whether you like him or not. Trump’s record on LGBT issues puts him ahead of ANY President-elect in history on LGBT issues. As gays, we need to cement allies in this new administration, not create new enemies.” There are legislative issues Pocan said he could work with Trump on, such as rewriting trade agreements to better protect American workers, funding infrastructure projects around the country, lowering health care costs, and reforming the tax code. “If he is sincere on these things, I would See page 17 >>

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January 19-25, 2017 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 5

Orlando shooter’s widow denies charges by Seth Hemmelgarn

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, pleaded not guilty this week to charges of aiding and abetting his support of the terrorist group ISIS and to obstruction of justice. Noor Salman, 30, who was arrested early Monday morning, January 16 at her family’s East Bay home in Rodeo, appeared in federal court in Oakland Wednesday, January 18. Salman, formerly of Fort Pierce, Florida, whose 29-year-old husband was killed in a shootout with police at Pulse, faces a maximum

penalty of life in prison. She’s currently being held without bail in Santa Rita Jail in Dublin. 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, personnel and services,” to the terrorist group “and the death of multiple victims resulted.” Prosecutors continued that on June 12 – the day of the worst U.S. mass shooting in modern history – “Salman obstructed justice by engaging in misleading conduct”

toward officials. Salman looked around the courtroom timidly Wednesday morning as she walked in wearing burgundycolored jail scrubs. She was not wearing handcuffs. Federal Magistrate Donna Ryu told Salman that she’d allow an attorney who hasn’t yet been formally assigned to her to be with her for a pre-trial interview set “to aid in the decision about whether you’re releasable on bail.” The next court date is February 1 for a discussion of Salman’s detention. A defense attorney said testimony and documentary evidence may be introduced. 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.” He said his niece didn’t learn of the shooting until her mother-inlaw called her early that morning looking for Mateen. She then contacted her husband. Al Salman said that Mateen had physically abused his wife, but she didn’t leave him because he’d threatened to take their son, who’s now 4. Mateen “got what he deserved,” Al Salman said, and “I feel sorry” for the people who were killed.t

were accused of exchanging racist and homophobic text messages. Mayor Ed Lee recently announced he’d selected Los Angeles Deputy Police Chief William “Bill” Scott from a list of finalists to replace Suhr the commission sent him. Scott is set to start his new position at the end of January. The commission has had its own problems with the San Francisco Police Officers Association and its president, Martin Halloran, involving issues such as use of force. Turman referred to recommendations the U.S. Department of Justice and other entities have recently made, saying “I think there are reforms that need to be instituted as per the Department of Justice report and other information we’ve received from other third-party bodies. I certainly look forward to getting the police officers association’s cooperation and 9.75 in. work on those types of issues.” A spokeswoman for the officers association didn’t respond to

an emailed request for At the top of his mind comment. is the December fire at Turman’s term on Oakland’s Ghost Ship the police commission warehouse that killed 36 runs through April 2019. people, at least three of President’s terms typiwhom identified as transcally run for a year. He gender. Several people had replaces former presibeen living in the Fruitdent Suzy Loftus, who vale district building even recently resigned from though it wasn’t zoned for L. Julius M. Turman the panel to take a posiresidential use. The blaze tion in the San Franerupted as an electronic cisco Sheriff ’s Department’s legal dance music concert was starting. division. Since the fire, many have exElections for the panel’s presipressed concerns about artists and dency “are usually held in May, but others who live in such buildings because we were so busy with other being evicted. measures this year, we suspended “We obviously are all responding our rules” and didn’t hold the electo the Oakland Ghost Ship fire sitution until recently. ation and are concerned about the “I assume we will have another displacement of artists and whatelection in May, unless we do annot,” Cleaveland said, “but the fire other procedural” change, he said. department’s first responsibility is Cleaveland, 69, was also voted by making sure all the buildings in our colleagues last Wednesday to lead city are safe,” whether or not they’re his commission, which oversees the zoned for residential use. fire department. “Hopefully we can work with

the building department and other city departments to triage” and help buildings with issues be improved, “so that they are safe, without displacements. None of us has the goal of displacing a single person.” Cleaveland, who works as vice president of public policy for the Building Owners and Managers Association of San Francisco and joined the Fire Commission in 2014, said San Francisco’s fire department is “probably the most diverse large city department in the country.” He praised Keith Baraka, a gay African-American firefighter who Cleaveland said is the agency’s recruitment coordinator, acting as the face of the department for potential hires. “I think that says volumes about how our fire department is stepping up to the plate to not only embrace but to celebrate diversity,” Cleaveland, whose term as president will be up in January 2018, said. “The commissioners are very supportive of that effort.”t

Noor Salman in an undated photo.

Gay men heading SF police, fire panels by Seth Hemmelgarn

7.625 in.

ay men are now leading San Francisco’s police and fire commissions after L. Julius M. Turman and Ken Cleaveland’s colleagues voted them to be presidents of their respective panels. “I plan on concentrating on reform, better community relations, and particularly serving San Francisco’s many communities, especially the African-American and LGBT communities,” said Turman, 51, an African-American attorney who first joined the Police Commission in 2011. He was selected as the panel’s president Wednesday, January 11. In recent years, the police department, which Turman’s panel oversees, has been plagued by turmoil. In May, former Chief Greg Suhr resigned after several controversial incidents, including fatal police shootings of people of color and a scandal in which numerous officers

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t Obama makes right call on Manning

6 • BAY AREA REPORTER • January 19-25, 2017

Volume 47, Number 3 January 19-25, 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 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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resident Barack Obama’s decision Tuesday to commute the majority of Chelsea Manning’s prison sentence was justified because she has served nearly seven years under harsh conditions. She is serving time for leaking secret information to WikiLeaks, for which many consider her to be a whistleblower. Manning, who came out as transgender after she was convicted in 2013, had been sentenced to 35 years. Since her conviction she’s been housed at a men’s military prison in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where she has experienced deplorable treatment from the military and prison authorities. She and her attorneys have had to fight for the basic necessities to accommodate her gender identity like hormone therapy and the ability to wear some women’s undergarments. She is not allowed to grow her hair longer, a major problem that is preventing her to live more fully in her preferred gender. She has twice tried to kill herself, revealing her fragile condition. Manning, 29, has long accepted responsibility for her actions. While she wrote at the time of her trial that her motivation was to spark worldwide discussion and reforms, she also apologized. Prosecutors presented no evidence that anyone had been killed because of the leaks, the New York Times reported. Media outlets have regularly reported on her gender dysphoria, and the mental and emotional crisis she was experiencing while serving in Iraq. With Obama’s action this week, Manning will be released May 17. Manning’s case was unique and we’re glad Obama recognized that. Others similarly convicted of improperly handling secret documents have not been sentenced to anywhere near as long as she has. Former General David Petraeus, who removed and retained classified information, was sentenced to two years probation and a $100,000 fine. Now that Obama has commuted her sentence she can be the person “I was born to be,” as she told the Times.

Thank you, Mr. President

As Obama’s eight years in office is ending, we’d also like to thank him for the many good things he

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his Cabinet; one of them, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, won the popular vote in November’s presidential election, but sadly, not enough of the Electoral College vote. Obama’s significant policy contributions aren’t the only achievements we admired about his presidency. Never before had the LGBT community had an ally in the leader of the free world to shape public discourse internationally. A gifted orator, Obama, at best, could give powerful testimony to the importance of American ideals and equality for everyone. He could also be pragmatic, a trait we appreciated, even if it frustrated us at times, as during the years-long fight to repeal DADT. It was Vice President Joe Biden, an ally if there ever was one, who forced Obama to come out in support of same-sex marriage before he was ready to. After Biden went on TV and said he was “absolutely comfortable” with letting gays and lesbians get married, the president was in a tough spot. It was a few days later on May 10, 2012, that Obama announced that he supported same-sex marriage. It was a gutsy, if shrewd, move in the midst of his re-election campaign, and it was absolutely the right thing to do. When a terrorist struck at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida last June, Obama and Biden went there and met with families and survivors. “For so many people here who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, the Pulse nightclub has always been a safe haven, a place to sing and dance, and most importantly, to be who you truly are – including for so many people whose families are originally from Puerto Rico. Sunday morning, that sanctuary was violated in the worst way imaginable,” the president said as he delivered a statement. We certainly would like to see progress continue on LGBT issues at the federal level, but are wary and don’t expect much from the Trump administration. That’s based on the people surrounding him and his own contradictory, inflammatory statements not only during the transition period, but going back to his badgering Obama on the false claim that he wasn’t born in the U.S. The LGBT community will need to join other marginalized groups to stand together to fight Trump over myriad issues, from health care to immigration to equality for all. But we thank Obama for his eight years of leadership and the good he brought to this country.t

Protecting our health care safety net by Jeff Sheehy

reduce HIV transmission and HIVrelated deaths by 90 percent in San or decades, San Francisco has Francisco before 2020. been a leader in public health. Another example of our city’s But it has been in moments of health bold leadership is Healthy San Francare crisis that our city’s response cisco. After years of federal inaction has exceeded mere leadership – risto stem the spiraling costs of health ing to challenges in innovative ways care, Mayor Gavin Newsom and that were nothing short of heroic, Supervisor Tom Ammiano a decade Rick Gerharter and offering a beacon of hope for ago forged consensus to create an countless underserved communiinnovative program that dramatiSupervisor ties. It was true with the advent of Jeff Sheehy cally expanded health care access AIDS in the 1980s. And it was true to uninsured residents. Today, even again in the years that followed, as with the ACA, Healthy San Francisaccess to quality affordable health care slipped co continues to offer immigrant communities further and further beyond the reach of workand others access to care they would otherwise ing families, immigrants, and others. do without. Now, another health care crisis looms. As a San Francisco supervisor, I am incredibly With Donald Trump and the Republican grateful for the opportunity to help lead Party set to take command of all three branchour city’s response to the crisis before es of federal government this week, their first us. Board of Supervisors President target is Obamacare. Formally known as the London Breed has appointed me Affordable Care Act, or ACA, it is a successful to the Budget and Finance Comprogram upon which more than 250,000 San mittee. I will also serve on a speFranciscans rely to access to care. For thoucial Select Committee on Federal sands of residents, the stakes are potentially life Funding, which will assess the and death if the program is dismantled. challenges San Francisco is likely Once again, our city must rise to the to face from a Trump-led federal challenge. government. Both appointments As San Francisco’s first supervisor living will afford me important opportuopenly with HIV – and as a person whose nities to fight Trump’s efforts to convert Medprofessional career has been dedicated to pubicaid into a block grant program, which could lic health – I know that our city is up for the cost millions of Americans their health care. fight. During years in which President ReaIn the coming months, committees on which I gan ignored the AIDS crisis, San Francisco’s serve will hear testimony from experts, city deelected leaders, nonprofits, and public health partments, and – most importantly – those San professionals responded compassionately and Franciscans most likely to be adversely affected effectively by working together with common by federal cutbacks in health care coverage and purpose. Today, that leadership endures in a funding. Getting to Zero initiative that is on track to Our strategy must first and foremost fight the

BAY AREA REPORTER

and his administration did for the LGBT community. Many policies, such as protections for LGBT federal employees and trans students, might not survive under the Trump presidency. But other laws, such as repealing the anti-gay “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” military policy, allowing LGBs to serve openly in the armed forces, and the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act will likely survive. Last year the Obama administration ended its ban on trans military service. Same-sex marriage is also safe for now; Trump’s immediate Supreme Court pick to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia will not change the court’s conservative-liberal split. But his future picks could. The Affordable Care Act is in jeopardy, without it many LGBTs, and millions of other Americans will lose vital health coverage. It wasn’t perfect, but it was working by providing insurance to more than 20 million previously uninsured people. For Trump and Congress to dismantle it is political malpractice. Under Obama, the State Department made it easier for trans people to obtain passports. LGBTs are visible at many levels of the federal government, from Army Secretary Eric Fanning to the seven gay ambassadors Obama has appointed, including James Brewster (Dominican Republic), Ted Osius (Vietnam), and John Berry (Australia). In 2015, Obama named the first trans woman, Raffi Freedman-Gurspan, to a White House post in the presidential personnel office. He named key straight allies to

federal government’s retreat on health care, but we can’t afford to stop there. We must also fight to encourage the state of California to be a backstop against federal abandonment. It’s a prudent approach that will help preserve access to health care for the maximum number of residents. San Francisco is blessed with extraordinarily capable leaders in Washington, Sacramento, and City Hall, and our partnerships and common purpose will be critical to forging an effective response to Trump administration cutbacks. U.S. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) last weekend rallied opposition to the Republicans’ dismantling of ACA. State Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) will also be an enormously effective champion for San Francisco as chair of the Senate’s Human Services Committee. Mayor Ed Lee and I have already begun meeting with health care leaders to ascertain the impacts of federal policy changes. Thursday evening (January 19), I’ll join neighbors at the Noe Valley Town Square from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. for a pre-inaugural community vigil, and I hope I’ll see you there. If you can’t join us, I hope you’ll contact me at (415) 554-6968 or jeff.sheehy@sfgov.org. We have faced health care crises before. Working together with common purpose, we responded compassionately and effectively – offering a national model for how to do it right. As supervisor, I look forward to working with San Franciscans to do so once again.t Jeff Sheehy was appointed District 8 supervisor by Mayor Ed Lee earlier this month.

Letters >>

January 19-25, 2017 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 7

About that monogamy study

We very much appreciate Michael’s Nugent’s article,“Most younger gay men seek monogamy, study suggests” [January 12] and his summation of the main findings. As authors of the study, we wanted to offer a few additional thoughts and data points: The first sentence reads, “Eighty-six percent of gay men ages 18-40 reported being in a monogamous relationship ...” It is actually 86 percent of gay men in our study, ages 18-40, who are in a relationship now are monogamous. In addition to a shift toward greater monogamy, we would also like to note the emergence of “monogamish” relationships. Eighteen percent of respondents in our qualitative study (n=853) reported being in “monogamish” relationships, which we defined as “holding monogamy more loosely.” Most of those identifying as monogamish considered having an occasional three-way with their partner to be acceptable. As study authors, we feel it is important to emphasize that the study found that couples in monogamous, non-monogamous and monogamish relationships all saw their relationships as viable, satisfying and long-lasting. Ninety-three percent of both monogamous couples and non-monogamous couples agreed with the statement, “We have a healthy, stable relationship.” Ninetyfour percent of monogamous couples and 91 percent of non-monogamous couples agreed with the statement, “Our relationship makes me happy/satisfied.” The study is reporting trends and describing what these different relationships look like, including advantages and challenges. The purpose was not to proselytize, but to provide information and visibility, encourage conscious choices, and promote rational discussion within the community. Blake Spears and Lanz Lowen Oakland, California

Reflecting on progress

Our Family Coalition was proud to co-present the Men Having Babies Conference last weekend in San Francisco. At this transitional moment in our history, it is worth noting that almost 200 gay men are voting in the most intimate way for a positive personal and global future: by creating and nurturing new lives. It is also worth mentioning that the conference was held at the Marines’ Memorial Club downtown, almost certainly the largest gathering of out gay people in this institution. You can be sure we would not have been allowed to do this in the era of President Reagan, who wouldn’t even utter the word “AIDS.” And let us not forget the outcry of far right leaders like the late Phyllis Schlafly, et al., over all things queer – family-building included – even during the Clinton and Bush presidencies. I say this on the literal eve of a new administration, so that we may reflect on the progress we have made in the world up to this point, progress that has led to federally recognized marriage equality, open service of LGBTQ people in the military (the nation’s largest employer), and events such as the Men Having Babies conference at the Marines’ Memorial Club. And we’ve achieved this person-to-person, by coming out as individual LGBTQ people, as LGBTQ parents, and as children of LGBTQ people. We know that the years ahead will be unbelievably hard. But we have built coalitions to keep protecting those who are most vulnerable among us, all the while remembering that the LGBTQI community has the power and experience to meet this challenge head-on. May we keep forming and cultivating loving families as a form of resistance to the hate around us. Renata Moreira, Interim Executive Director Our Family Coalition San Francisco

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Milk club’s first female co-presidents ready to battle Trump by Matthew S. Bajko

District 9 Supervisor David Campos in the fall for four months, and ith their election Tuesday this summer, she plans to work for night as the first female his successor and former chief of co-presidents of the Harvey Milk staff, Hillary Ronen, as an aide for LGBT Democratic Club, Kimher at City Hall. berley Alvarenga and Carolina For now Morales is working Morales are now positioned to be as a consultant for nonprofits vocal critics of the policies pushed focused on social justice. She by President-elect Donald Trump had worked for 10 years at the and the Republican-controlled nonprofit Community United Congress over the next two years. Against Violence, including as its The queer women of color are co-director. Rick Gerharter longtime friends and well-known She first came to the United progressive leaders in San Fran- The new co-presidents of the Harvey States in 2001, and after a monthcisco’s LGBT community and po- Milk LGBT Democratic Club, Kimberly long stay in Los Angeles, moved Alvarenga, left, and Carolina Morales, litical circles. One the child of imnorth to San Francisco planning to speak at the club’s meeting Tuesday. migrants, the other an immigrant stay for only six months. But after herself, they both bring unique coming out as queer – the fallout in the fall for the District 11 seat on perspectives to the leadership of a of which she said is “a long story” the San Francisco Board of Supervipolitical club that at times in recent – Morales decided to remain in the sors, said, “It feels like the club knows years has been faulted for having a United States, eventually becoming a what is at stake for our communilack of diversity on its board. citizen in December 2014. ties and standing in solidarity and The last person of color to lead She was unsure of how she would understands our struggles are interthe club, noted Alvarenga, was Cris protest Trump’s inauguration on connected with each other. If one Romero, a gay Latino who served in Friday but does plan to walk in the community loses its basic civil rights, 1999. Women’s March set for Saturday the other will be greatly “You know, the reality of in San Francisco. Her number one impacted.” having Mr. Trump concern with Trump becoming Their vow to fight to as a president-elect president is his plans to criminalize protect women’s rights, really shook me. I revarious communities, from undocLGBT rights, minorities, ally feel that, with the umented immigrants to Muslims. and immigrants harkens many factors that got “Besides all the other things he back to the politics of the him to be elected, I remight do in terms of health care and club’s namesake, who was ally believe we need to so many of our basic rights, I think the first out gay person lift up people of color he is going to increase criminalizain California elected to leadership and female tion and people going to jail for depublic office when he leadership,” Morales, fending themselves or their rights,” won a San Francisco su32, who lives in the said Morales. pervisor seat in 1977. Excelsior, told the Bay Alvarenga also plans to be at the “We can’t afford to be separated, Area Reporter in a phone interview Women’s March this weekend and divided and conquered anymore,” Tuesday, just days after returning take part in various actions during said Alvarenga, the political director from a weekslong visit to see her Trump’s first 100 days in office. She of Service Employees International family in Venezuela. is taking inspiration from Milk’s Union Local 1021 who lives with Added Alvarenga in a separate inability to organize street protests her wife, Linnette Haynes, and terview last month, “particularly in and other actions in the 1970s to their 4-year-old son, Oziah, in the the Trump era, we really need to put fight for equality. Crocker-Amazon neighborhood. “I the issues of queer and Latino com“I think we need to go back to think Harvey Milk understood that munities front and center.” those roots and be militant in some pretty early on.” When Alvarenga approached her ways about our position and unMorales, who last year had served in the fall about leading the Milk compromising about our beliefs in on the Milk club board as an at-large club this year, Morales said, “I felt I terms of the rights our communities member after becoming an official needed to say yes to have the Milk deserve,” said Alvarenga, who previmember in 2015, was a vocal supportclub and the whole city really stand ously served on the Milk club board er of Alvarenga’s supervisor bid. She up to Trump and his policies.” in 2009 as its vice president-political served as a City Hall aide to gay former Alvarenga, 47, who lost her bid See page 17 >>

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<< Commentary

8 • BAY AREA REPORTER • January 19-25, 2017

Standing up to sit down by Gwendolyn Ann Smith

e’re very clearly under attack. Buoyed by President-elect Donald Trump’s victory and control of all three branches of the federal government – and in spite of the disastrous effect House Bill 2 has had on North Carolina and its former governor, Pat McCrory (R) – states have been rushing to introduce anti-transgender laws. Many of the bills introduced have both built on North Carolina’s, and also taken on new tactics designed to further marginalize trans people. After several months of work, Texas decided to go big. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick (R) filed Senate Bill 6, dubbed the Texas Privacy Act. It, of course, does nothing for the privacy of transgender people in restrooms. Rather, transgender women – it should be noted that there is specific language in the bill, meaning that trans men will be allowed to use appropriate facilities – will be barred

from using restrooms, locker/dressing rooms, and showers in public buildings, schools, and universities. It also allows private businesses to do the same if they so wish. Like many other bills, too, this essentially “deputizes” private citizens, asking them to report violations to the state, so that the Texas attorney general can impose penalties on locations not following SB 6. In Virginia, state Delegate Bob Marshall (R) has introduced his own bill, House Bill 1612, picking up on Texas’ language by naming it the Physical Privacy Act. As well as prohibitions against restroom use, it also includes a requirement for schools to contact parents or guardians if a student requests to be treated as a member of a gender other than their birth gender. It’s Democratic state Representative Rick Nelson taking the lead in Kentucky. His House Bill 106 will require public buildings, schools, and university restrooms to be “used

Christine Smith

by persons based on their biological sex.” Nelson also filed a “right of conscience” bill the same day, which would allow businesses to discriminate against LGBT customers due to their religious beliefs. Washington state – in the blue Pacific Northwest – is pushing House bill 1011. It covers the same basic ground as the others, though specifying that gender-specific facilities be disallowed to people with “genitalia of a different gender from that for which the facility is segregated.” It is not quite clear how such genitalia would be determined within these facilities. What many of these bills do is require the gender listed on one’s birth certificate, a document that few carry

in their wallet, and in some cases cannot be altered. What’s more, Virginia’s HB 1612 specifies that sex is defined by one’s “original birth certificate,” meaning that even those who have changed all their paperwork and even their physical characteristics would still face discrimination in the stalls. With this in mind, let’s note an Indiana bill that was recently shot down. State Representative Bruce Borders (R) penned House Bill 1361. It would have barred transgender people in the state from making changes to the gender on their birth certificates. State Representative Cindy Kirchhofer (R) blocked it. While these bills do indeed, on the surface, work to prevent us from using appropriate facilities, there is so much more to them. If governments reduce us to our genitals, or our birth certificates, or what have you, they have taken a step toward dehumanizing us and delegitimizing our identities. If lawmakers are making a barrier out of a birth certificate, then making it impossible to update or augment it, then they’ve made it clear that we can never have equal treatment under the law, and

that our identity will be determined by lawmakers’ religion and morals. These are only the first, and make no mistake; we will see bills like these spread through additional states and likely even at the federal level. With G.G. v. Gloucester County School Board – the case involving the rights of transgender student Gavin Grimm to use appropriate facilities in Virginia – heading for the Supreme Court, the issue of transgender public accommodation rights is only going to get bigger. We are the center of the culture war now – whether we wish to be or not – and our very right to exist is on the line. Barring a nuclear hellscape, worldwide economic collapse, or other global calamity – and with the incoming president, I am not ruling out any of the above – we are going to be one of the big hot button issues for 2017 and beyond. Those opposed to equality want to legislate us out of existence, falsely assuming that if they simply make our lives hellish enough, we’ll fall in line and be good little men or women See page 9 >>

Gomez charged with murder by Seth Hemmelgarn

non-binary person has been charged with murder in the death of one Berkeley woman and attempted murder in the stabbing of another. Along with those two counts, Pablo Gomez Jr., 22, of North Hollywood, California, was also set to raigned Tuesday, January charges of assault with a

weapon and first-degree residential robbery. According to a Berkeley Police Department community alert, officers responded to an 11:42 a.m. call Friday, January 6 to the 2600 block of Courtesy Berkeley Ridge Road to make conPolice Dept. Pablo Gomez Jr. tact with a woman who’d apparently been stabbed be arand was “seriously wounded.” The 17 on woman was hospitalized “in stable deadly condition.”

While they were investigating that incident, officers were led to a location in the 2400 block of Ashby Avenue, where they found “a violent crime had occurred.” A probable cause statement filed by police says that “a significant amount of blood was found in certain parts” of the Ashby Avenue property. Gomez “was identified as the suspect and positively identified” by the first victim. During a search of the property and “pursuant to a

search warrant, the deceased body of a female was located,” the police document says. That woman, eventually identified as Emilie Juliette Inman, 27, of Berkeley “died of wounds made by a sharp instrument.” In charging documents filed by prosecutors, the same woman is listed as the victim of the attempted murder and assault, while another person is listed as the victim of the robbery. The community alert said Gomez

was “believed to be armed and a danger to the community.” Police in Burbank, California arrested them around 1 p.m., January 7. In an interview Thursday, January 12, Berkeley police spokesman Sergeant Andrew Frankel said he didn’t yet have any information he could share about a possible motive. “It’s still very much an ongoing investigation,” Frankel said. “Our detectives still have yet to talk to the suspect.” See page 17 >>

Community News>>

January 19-25, 2017 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 9

‘After Orlando’ arrives at Oakland City Hall by Michael Nugent

“A

fter Orlando” – an international theater action in response to the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida – had a staged reading in Oakland’s City Council chambers Friday, January 13. Forty-nine people were killed and 53 wounded when gunman Omar Mateen opened fire in the popular Orlando nightclub June 12, 2016. It is the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. His wife, Noor Zahi Salman, was arrested by federal authorities Monday in connection with the case. (See story, page 5.) In response to the massacre, and to the profound impact it had on LGBTQ rights, gun violence, Muslims, and Latinos, artists Caridad Svich (Obie Award-winner), Zac Cline, and Blair Baker invited playwrights to participate in the action. Seventy acclaimed playwrights from the United States, Canada, Britain, Australia, and Uganda responded to the call. “This is a playwright driven effort,” said Vidhu Singh, Brava Theater artist-in-residence and director for the Oakland and San Francisco productions of “After Orlando.” “Over 75 international theater actions have happened since this project began.” This performance of “After Orlando” had special significance as it was performed in the chambers of Oakland City Hall. Oakland City Councilwoman Rebecca Kaplan played a central role in organizing the action. “Rebecca is awesome,” said Singh. “She’s really progressive and supports the arts. She offered for us to use City Hall.” “I saw the show when it was at the Brava Theater and wanted it to come to Oakland too,” said Kaplan, a lesbian. “Oakland needs to have this. It blesses this room with art and healing and survival. It honors people of all orientations,” she added. “This is a beautiful political space and we’re charging it with beauty and art,” said Singh. Though in response to a massacre, these plays take a wide variety of approaches. “The plays are not all bleak, there’s humorous plays and looks at gun violence. A big variety,” said Singh.

Michael Nugent

Oakland City Councilwoman Rebecca Kaplan, left, joined Vidhu Singh and Jose Cuellar, Ph.D., at the Oakland reading of “After Orlando.”

One especially poignant play, called “Before. Before. After” by award-winning playwright Lisa Schlesinger, delicately took a game of duck, duck, goose, renamed it before, before, after, and wove it into one lesbian’s loss of her partner. In the dreamlike plot the women were together, and said, “We are going to be just like before, after. We are not gonna let after take before from us.” But the sense of innocence and their bond had been lost in the tragedy. Other works took a wide range of approaches: “Everybody Gets a Stick” by Deborah Zoe Laufer satirized gun culture with a hysterical tale

of a school where every 5-year-old and teacher got their own stick with nails in it; and “At the Store with my Daughter” by Rohina Malik revealed the experience of Muslim women verbally attacked by a gay man blaming them for the Pulse shooting. Jose Cuellar offered a closing ritual and community blessing to those present. For the actors, it was a moving experience. “This is my first time doing something political like this. It’s powerful – I think theater has the power to change society. We did a show in San Francisco too, and when we are

working through how do we deal with the loss and violence, something happens,” said actor Iris Stone. “I was excited to be a part of a theater action like this,” said actor Catz Forsman. “Has there ever been a drag queen undressing in the City Council chambers before?” asked actor Rob Thoms to laughter. Kaplan agreed it was the first time. The event was co-sponsored by Bay Area Queer Anti-Fascist Network. Anne Christine, a network organizer, said, “We must make sure we continue to talk about Orlando and support queers and people of color in Florida and other red states.” All funds raised through this donation-based event go to Somos Familia, a nonprofit supporting Latino families with LGBTQ youth. Audience members were moved by the event. “I am devastated by the mass shootings. I like supporting local events and small theater,” said Oakland resident and ally Judith Stacey. And for Oakland City Hall, this may be just the opening act. “I want to keep having events in this amazing space,” said Kaplan. “I’m excited that the next time I’m here for council, I was transformed here by plays put together after Orlando.”t

Transmissions

From page 8

living in our birth genders. It’s the same attitude they have used against practically every other minority. It is simply our turn, I suppose. We’re not a “fad” like many presume, but our presence has opened the doors for many others who may not have felt they could explore options for their own gender identity or expression. We’ve reached a point where we are visible, where we cannot easily be ignored or pushed aside, so now – like so many other groups – we have to face an onslaught of lawmakers attempting to use their power to drive us away. This is unacceptable. In the last several years, we have seen scores of bathroom bills come and go, and few have had any staying power. In spite of the sleight of hand attempted by the North Carolina Legislature, the state’s new governor, Roy Cooper (D), has made it a priority to repeal HB 2. Many of the bathroom bills mentioned above will likely not make it through their legislatures and to their governor’s desk, and fewer still will pass that hurdle. Even if they do become law, we – and our allies – will stand against them. We’re under attack, but still we rise.t Gwen Smith always uses the right facilities. You’ll find her at www.gwensmith.com.

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<< Trump Transition

10 • BAY AREA REPORTER • January 19-25, 2017

As Trump takes over, anxiety for LGBTs analysis by Lisa Keen

he most pro-gay Republican presidential candidate in history will take office as president of the United States Friday, January 20, and yet the LGBT community has much to be anxious about. While Donald Trump used his campaign pulpit to urge the American people to stand in “solidarity” with the LGBT community following the nightclub massacre in Orlando, Florida last June, his picks for key administration posts have been people with a history of standing solidly against that community. No matter what Trump might do as president to signal his unique level of comfort with LGBT people compared to his Republican conservative base, the departure of President Barack Obama, indisputably the most pro-gay president in history, will stand in stark contrast to what many LGBT people fear will

become an inevitable string of disappointing inactions (at best) and hostile attacks (at worst). According to a paper by gay demographer Gary Gates, Ph.D., released on the Gallup site, there are now 10 million Americans who identify as LGBT, a 4.1 percent increase from 3.5 percent in 2012. This analysis is based on interviews with a random sample of more than 1.6 million U.S. adults as part of Gallup Daily tracking. The hopes for a better tomorrow for LGBT people – hopes that Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton made abundantly clear she supported – are replaced now with the uneasy feeling that anti-LGBT legislation will breeze through a Republican-dominated Congress and be signed as part of some “deal” Trump might feel compelled to make to demonstrate his solidarity with his rabid right-wing base and a certain admired foreign

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leader, Russian President Vladimir Putin. So, what exactly should the LGBT community be braced to see? Here’s a look at the most likely events in Trump’s first 100 days:

The executive branch

Contractor discrimination: Obama signed an executive order in July 2014 that prohibits contractors doing business with the federal government from discriminating based on sexual orientation or gender identity. It also added gender identity to the previously existing Executive Order 13087 that prohibits discrimination against federal employees based on sexual orientation. Trump could rescind both executive orders or, in the alternative, amend the existing order to grant a request (that Obama rejected) from a group of religious leaders who urged the non-discrimination policy include a “robust religious exemption.” Hospital memorandum: Obama issued a memorandum April 15, 2010, calling for an end to discrimination against LGBT people by hospital visitation policies that limit visitors to immediate family members. The directive applies to hospitals receiving federal funds through Medicare and Medicaid. Many same-sex couples now have the benefit of marriage to protect those visitation rights, but not all same-sex couples with close, longterm relationships do. Education discrimination: In May 2016, the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice issued a “Dear Colleague” letter advising schools that discrimination against transgender students violates a federal law against sex discrimination. The Trump administration could issue a new letter with its own interpretation of the reach of Title IX. And Trump’s pick for secretary of education, Betsy DeVos, was a leading supporter of a 2004 ballot campaign against marriage equality in Michigan, and her family has given millions of dollars to anti-LGBT causes and groups. Health discrimination: In May last year, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued regulations stating that the

Courtesy ABC

Donald Trump, shown at his January 11 news conference, will be inaugurated the nation’s 45th president Friday.

Affordable Care Act’s prohibition on sex discrimination in health coverage and care includes a prohibition on discrimination based on gender identity. The Trump health and human services secretary could issue his own interpretation of the ACA’s sex discrimination. Trump’s nominee for HHS secretary, Congressman Tom Price (R-Georgia), has a long history of hostility toward the LGBT community. Plus Trump has already made clear that he would like to repeal the ACA. The House and Senate last week both took procedural votes to begin dismantling it.

The Republican-led Congress

Nullifying executive orders: Even if Trump chooses not to rescind any of Obama’s executive orders or memoranda, Congress could pass legislation to nullify any or all of them, and one Trump ally, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, predicted last month that Trump would rescind 70 percent of Obama’s executive orders. So a Trump veto on such action by Congress seems unlikely. First Amendment Defense Act: This bill was introduced to Congress shortly before the Supreme Court’s ruling that said state bans on marriage for same-sex couples are unconstitutional. The FADA is part of the effort to circumvent laws that prohibit discrimination against same-sex couples. It would allow a person or business discriminating against LGBT people to defend themselves by claiming

the discrimination is an exercise of the person or business’s religious beliefs. It seeks to prohibit the federal government from taking any adverse action against a person who “acts in accordance with a religious belief or moral conviction that marriage is or should be recognized as the union of one man and one woman.” Senator Ted Cruz (RTexas) said last month he thinks the prospects are “bright” for passing the bill now, so if the Republicanled Congress passes it, Trump will likely sign it. Johnson Amendment repeal: The Johnson Amendment is a law that ensures taxpayer money is not used to subsidize partisan political activity. Trump has said he wants the Johnson Amendment repealed because it prevents clergy from speaking about politics from the pulpit. A bill to repeal the Johnson Amendment was introduced January 3.

In the courts

The Supreme Court nominee: The most long-standing influence Trump could have on the LGBT community is through his choice or choices to fill U.S. Supreme Court seats. He released lists of potential nominees last year, and they all look decidedly conservative and some have a history of hostility toward equal rights for LGBT people. He said last week that he would name a nominee for the vacancy created by the death of Antonin Scalia within two weeks of his inauguration. Replacing one right-wing justice with another right-wing justice may not tip the court’s balance, but it will re-establish a necessary foursome that can accept conservative appeals for review. And a second Trump opportunity to nominate a justice will almost certainly bend the arc of the moral universe at the high court away from justice for the LGBT community. The North Carolina challenge: Under the Obama administration, the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against North Carolina’s antiLGBT law House Bill 2. Trump has said such matters should be left to the states. Trump’s nominee for attorney See page 18 >>

Growing support for safe injection facilities by Liz Highleyman

an entry point for seeking medical care or treatment upport for supervised for addiction. injection facilities apGay state Senator Scott pears to be rising – and Wiener (D-San Francisco) opposition falling – as a is co-sponsoring a bill with new study suggests such lesbian Assemblywoman facilities could reduce Susan Talamantes Eggman new HIV and hepatitis (D-Stockton) that will enCourtesy Alex Kral C virus infections, lower able cities to set up safe indrug overdose deaths, Researcher jection facilities on a pilot and save the city millions Alex Kral or trial basis. of dollars. “Our growing injection “San Francisco has long taken drug use problem requires new apthe lead on harm reduction interproaches,” Wiener told the Bay Area ventions and we have no reason to Reporter. “Injection drug use is a fall behind on this one,” said Laura public health problem and we need Thomas of the Drug Policy Allito treat it as such. We should utilize ance, which supports safe drug use all available tools to help people get facilities. “The evidence is extraorhealthy. Safe injection sites are one dinarily clear that supervised conoption for us to help those in need sumption programs save lives, save and to improve the situation on our money, and get public drug use and streets.” syringes off the streets.” Mayor Ed Lee, who previously Supervised injection facilities said he was opposed to supervised allow people to inject drugs under injection facilities, indicated last the watchful eye of medical staff, reweek at a forum in Seattle that he ducing the risk of death due to overis “open to the idea” if they are supdose. Sterile syringes are provided, ported by data showing they save preventing transmission of HIV lives and do not increase problems and viral hepatitis through shared associated with drug use, according equipment. And clients are offered to a San Francisco Chronicle report.

As the B.A.R. previously reported, lesbian San Francisco Health Director Barbara Garcia told a Board of Supervisors committee in December that she supported safe injection facilities. She previously estimated that the city would need as many as six sites to serve up to 22,000 people who inject drugs, and finding acceptable locations would likely be difficult.

Study shows cost-effectiveness

San Francisco is vying with cities including Seattle, New York City, Baltimore, and Portland to establish the first supervised injection facility in the United States. Seattle is the furthest ahead with support from the mayor on down, according to Thomas. “Communities across the U.S. are realizing that they need to take action to prevent overdose deaths, not to mention prevent HIV and viral hepatitis, as well as address public drug use,” Thomas told the B.A.R. “It took too many cities and states far too long to support syringe access and in the meantime many See page 12 >>

Trump Transition>>

January 19-25, 2017 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 11

Thousands stand against ACA repeal at SF rally by David-Elijah Nahmod

ore than 3,000 people gathered in front of San Francisco City Hall Sunday afternoon to protest the Republican plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act, the landmark law that has provided health insurance to over 20 million previously uninsured Americans. The ACA, also known as Obamacare, is considered to be President Barack Obama’s signature domestic achievement. The newly elected GOP majority in Congress has said that repealing the ACA is a “top priority” and last week the Senate and House both started the process of dismantling it. President-elect Donald Trump is also opposed to the ACA and told the Washington Post over the weekend that his replacement plan will provide “insurance for everyone.” But many Democrats are unconvinced about a viable replacement plan, and have worked to mobilize supporters in the days leading up to Trump’s inauguration. Sunday’s rally in San Francisco was led by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) and was just one of many similar events organized by her and Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) that were held across the country. Speakers included Pelosi, Mayor Ed Lee, Congressman Keith Ellison (D-Minnesota), and Congressman Ro Khanna (D-San Jose), among others. Several people also addressed the crowd, sharing personal stories of how ACA coverage saved their lives. Democratic legislative leaders from San Francisco included gay state Senator Scott Wiener and Assemblyman David Chiu. A highlight was singer and activist Joan Baez, who led the protesters in a sing-along of “Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around,” a song from the 1960s civil rights struggle. The rally took place January 15, the day before the national holiday that commemorates the birthday of slain civil rights leader Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who was assassinated in 1968. “We are gathered with a deep connection to Dr. Martin Luther King,” Pelosi said. “We believe that health care is a right for all and not for the privileged.” Pelosi noted that the ACA, Medicaid, Medicare, and Planned Parenthood were all intertwined, as she recalled a quote from King: “Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane.” The quote is from a speech made by King to the Medical Committee for Human Rights in 1966. “The GOP has no plan,” Pelosi said, referring to Trump’s goal of replacing the ACA on the same day the law is repealed. “Their plan is to cut and run, but we are not going down.” The crowd cheered as the congresswoman spoke. Lee touted California’s ACA enrollees. “I am proud to live in a state which enrolled more than 5 million people under the ACA, many of whom did not have coverage before,” the mayor said. “Since 2013 we have cut our uninsured rate in half to a historic less than 5 percent. The ACA has benefited too many lives to be thrown out cavalierly.” Lee pointed to women, immigrants, the LGBT community, and the mentally ill as among the people who have benefited from ACA health coverage. “We’ve seen this before, when President Bush tried to take away Social Security,” said Khanna. “Congresswoman Pelosi made sure that didn’t happen. Don’t give an inch – stand with Pelosi.”

Those who are covered under the plan also spoke. “I am alive because of the ACA,” said Anita Hiley, who was diagnosed with Stage 4 gynecological cancer and was joined by her family. “We all deserve a chance to live – we all mean something to somebody.” Ellison, a progressive leader in Congress, implored the crowd to stand together. “I am here from Minnesota,” he said. “We are all in solidarity – we need unity. We need everybody to come together because everyone gets sick.” Many protesters chanted, “Health care is a right” as the speakers addressed the crowd. “I am frustrated and terrified by the moves of the next administration,” said Dr. Ashley McMullen of Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. She pointed to cancer screenings, birth control, and treatment for chronic conditions as among the benefits of the ACA. The doctor also recalled a patient who became homeless, sleeping on the street across from the hospital that had treated him, because of his medical costs prior to the passing of the ACA. Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose) drew particularly loud

Rick Gerharter

Joan Baez sings for the 3,000-plus people who attended House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s health care rally Sunday, January 15 outside San Francisco City Hall.

cheers when she said, “Just say no to the GOP.” “We haven’t seen the replace, only the repeal,” said Congressman Mike Thompson (D-Napa). “The ACA is a matter of life and death.” After the rally Pelosi briefly spoke to the Bay Area Reporter, recalling the fight for health care that was waged by people with HIV during the peak years of the AIDS pandemic.

“We are pleased that so many people are coming forward,” she said. Baez said that she rejects Trump. “There’s a danger of thinking this is normal,” said Baez, also speaking to the B.A.R. after the rally. “I reject Donald Trump. He has a right to live his life, but I don’t have to accept him in my life.” Two longtime HIV survivors spoke to the B.A.R. about how ACA repeal might affect them.

“Obamacare was a godsend,” said Marc Huestis, who has lived with HIV since 1985. “It was comprehensive and allowed me not only to keep HIV in check, but take care of other health issues. It gave me a sense of security and dignity. Now, this is all threatened. Like millions I’m scared to death of the rug being pulled with no safety net in place.” Huestis recalled being on a variety of early HIV treatments, all of which were threatened by Republicans. “I’m determined to fight,” he said. “Today’s rally was a great first step, now the real work begins.” Patrick Henry, who was diagnosed with HIV in the 1990s, said he was uncertain not only about his own life-saving health care, but about the health care needs of his aging relatives. “How might Medicaid cutbacks affect my prescription coverage?” Henry wondered. “I’m also concerned about Trump’s professed plans to oppose and to roll back the state-to-state expansion of medical marijuana. That would adversely affect so many people with persistent illness, like myself.” Henry said that access to legal medical marijuana had greatly improved his life and the lives of others.t

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12 • BAY AREA REPORTER • January 19-25, 2017

ACA repeal

and other transgender individuals who rely on the law for access to their health care. Due to the ACA, federal regulators adopted a rule prohibiting health insurers from denying transgender individuals preventative services that didn’t correlate with their new gender, such as transmen who still need pap smears or mammograms. Nor could they deny insurance to people with pre-existing conditions, a barrier that had prevented many transgender people from being able to access health care. “Something I am worried about is if the new government is able to take away the federal subsidies and mess with the ACA that way,” said Krakar. “I am feeling a little

frightened because, before the or delayed seeking medical ACA, transgender people didn’t attention.” have many rights in health care.” Over the last several years the According to a report released API Wellness Center remodeled the Bay Area Reporter. “In the past Tuesday by the nonpartisan Conits main clinic on Polk Street, when I was between jobs and when gressional Budget Office, 18 milwhich is expected to serve 4,000 I went back to school a few years ago lion Americans could lose their patients this year, and will be I went without coverage because I insurance by 2018 and the cost of opening a satellite clinic inside couldn’t afford it. Now going withpremiums would increase subthe LGBT Community Center in out coverage would be potentially stantially if many of the ACA’s April. Last week it filed its applicacatastrophic for my health, so it’s provisions are gutted. A full retion to be recertified as an FQHC, not really an option.” peal of the law without it being which it expects will be approved. As President-elect Donald Trump Rick Gerharter replaced would see 32 million Its initial grant under the program prepares to take office Friday, vowpeople losing their health insur- The unfinished area in the San Francisco was $650,000 per year. ing to repeal the ACA, better known LGBT Community Center that API Wellness ance by 2026, found the report. But with the ACA repeal as Obamacare, as one of his first Because no data is collected Center will use as a satellite clinic. looming, the nonprofit health priorities, but remaining vague on the sexual orientation or provider has over the last year on what he and the Republicans gender identity of the people negotiated directly with health who control Congress will replace Out2Enroll, which has worked to signing up for health insurance insurers to contract directly with it with, Krakar said she is worried sign up LGBT people for insurance through the ACA exchanges, it is them. And this year API Wellness about what that will mean for her under Obamacare. unknown how many LGBT people hopes to join Healthy SF, the city’s “Having access to subsidies made have done so. Anecdotal evidence, health insurance program. a significant difference in being able however, indicates the LGBT comSixty percent of its 600 patients it to get health care,” said Keith, thus munity has greatly benefited from it. currently sees is covered by Covered losing the ACA “would be devastatRick Zbur, executive director of California or by the expansion of ing, to be honest with you.” the LGBT advocacy organization Medi-Cal, said Dr. Tri Do, API WellWhile the law didn’t start out as Equality California, estimated that ness Center’s chief medical officer. perfect for LGBT people, acknowlof the 22 million people who gained “My biggest concern is for our edged Keith, there were “so many insurance through the ACA’s expanpatients,” Do told the B.A.R. in small and big changes we have gotsion of Medicaid, known as Mediterms of the ACA repeal plans. “We ten over time that meant an incredCal in California, 2.2 million are see a lot of folks who rely on these ible amount to LGBT people, parlikely LGBT people. public forms of insurance. It will ticularly transgender people.” “The ACA also has benefited our not just impact us but our clients’ One of the biggest changes went community in a more significant ability to get x-rays, laboratory tests into effect last year for Medicaid way than the general population and see specialists as well.” and this year for private plans, because, due to discrimination and When it first achieved full FQHC which bars insurers from having a lack of acceptance, LGBT people status in 2013, the LA center also categorical trans exclusions in inface greater health disparities than received a $650,000 grant, which it surance plans. She also pointed to the rest of the public,” said Zbur. said at the time was funded by the the guidance issued in 2014 by the EQCA has been asking LGBT ACA, in order to provide medical Department of Health and Human Includes video camera inspection people to share with it via an online care to 4,000 additional patients, Services that said family plans had survey, found at https://equalityca. particularly low-income people on to include same-sex households. Call us 24/7 bsd.net/page/s/aca-stories2, how Medicaid. The federal funding in“If they try to repeal the ACA the ACA has helped them and their crementally increased to more than without any sense of replacement family. It also sent a letter this month $1 million by 2016. that might be a huge problem for to members of California’s congresIt won recertification last year LGBT people just like the rest of the sional delegation to urge them not to and expects to see its funding alcountry,” said Keith. repeal the ACA without replacing it. location continue to increase over “From expanding Medi-Cal to the coming years. The center, which LGBT health centers providing subsidies through Covoperates on a total annual budget express concern ® ered California, from eliminating of $83.5 million, has also seen its It is not just LGBT individuals that discrimination because of sexual oribottom line benefit due to more of would be impacted by the loss of the *Up to 100’ with available access point. May not be combined with other offer. Limited service area. entation or gender identity to requirits clients having health insurance ACA; LGBT health centers across the Other restructions may apply. Call for details. ing data collection about the LGBT under the ACA. country are also worried about the A locally owned and operated franchise. Lic# 974194 community – the ACA has helped “The future of all that is uncernegative consequences they could countless members of California and tain with what is going to happen suffer from the law’s repeal. the nation’s diverse LGBT populawith Medi-Cal expansion and CovThe Los Angeles LGBT Center and tion,” wrote Zbur in an email to ered California,” said Christopher the API Wellness Center in San FranEQCA members last week. “For the Brown, the LA center’s director of cisco, which both won designation first time, millions of LGBT people health and mental health services. in recent years as Federally Qualified obtained quality, affordable health “A number of our clients have exHealth Centers, would be particucare coverage under the ACA despite pressed concern and they are nerlarly impacted, as many of the clients HIV status or other pre-existing convous if they are going to be able to they now see were able to obtain ditions or because they could not afmaintain their insurance. If it has health insurance due to the ACA. ford coverage before.” come through Medi-Cal expan“They get paid through the A survey conducted by the Center sion or they have gotten insurance federal government thanks to the for American Progress showed that through Covered California, they ACA as a result of the Medicaid the uninsured rate among low- and are concerned it could go away.” expansion especially,” said Amanda middle-income LGBT people (those Due to the ACA, the center has Wallner, director of the California eligible for tax credits through the been able to provide life-saving priLGBT Health and Human Services marketplace) dropped by 24 percent mary care to its clients, said Brown. Network, an advocacy group for 60 between 2013 and 2014. Thus, the “It has been a game changer for organizations across the state. uninsured rate went from 34 permany of our clients,” he said. Wallner, a lesbian who formerly cent in 2013 to 26 percent in 2014. LGBT advocates continue to enworked for the LA center as its A 2015 report from the Urban courage people to sign up for coverpolicy and operations manager, said Institute, using data from the Health age in 2017 through the ACA – the any service provider offering health Hybrid/City Kid’s Kid’s Reform Monitoring Survey, con- programs has been impacted by the deadline to enroll is January 31 – as Hybrid/City Hybrid/City Kid’s cluded that from mid-2013 to early most do not expect to see immediACA and has a stake in seeing what 2015, the uninsured rate for LGB ate changes to the program. Instead, becomes of the law. people (the survey did not track they believe it will be several years “Our entire health care landscape transgender people) was cut in half before it is replaced. has been shifted by the ACA,” she – from 21.7 percent to 11.11 percent. “We are encouraging people to noted. “So we are living in a world Studies have long shown that not delay getting the health care where you have gotten used to lowLGBT people are more likely to be they need,” said Do. “Not only beincome Californians being able to Now Open Thursday to 7pm! low-income and the community cause of the health consequences, qualify for Medi-Cal and applying Road Mountain as a whole less likely to have health but in two years when folks are sayfor private insurance because of the Road Mountain Road Mountain insurance, noted Katie Keith, a ing these benefits will go away, they Covered California exchange, whereas Now Open Thursday to 7pm! Every Now Thursday April between 4 & 7pm Open in Thursday to 7pm! steering committee member of will have even fewer options.”t before so many people were uninsured From page 1

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Community News>>

January 19-25, 2017 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 13

Gay Clinton staffer has no regrets by Sari Staver

oftware engineer Cheston Lee had no interest in leaving his lucrative job at a San Francisco startup, but when the Hillary Clinton campaign offered him a position heading its fundraising technology team, the 32-year-old gay man packed his bags for Brooklyn. In October 2015 Lee began a 14-month journey that he now describes as “the greatest experience of my life.” In a recent interview with the Bay Area Reporter, Lee discussed his time on the campaign, which he said included some of the “highest highs and lowest lows” of his life. Like many career opportunities, Lee’s introduction to jobs with the Clinton campaign was a fluke, he said. Working as a senior software engineer at the venture-based startup Optimizely, a handful of Lee’s colleagues – veterans of President Barack Obama’s campaigns – took jobs at Clinton’s New York headquarters. The jobs, he learned, typically involved 50 percent pay cuts and a 100 percent increase in hours. Overhearing his colleagues’ enthusiasm for the jobs they were about to begin, Lee said one morning, “I woke up and told my partner I had a dream that I was working” for the Clinton campaign. Lee’s partner, James Reggio, also a software engineer, urged him to look into it. In less than a month, after a number of remote interviews with senior staff, the deal was sealed, he said. Lee was hired to lead the team that would build the platform for online donations and data collection, he said. “We were both exceptionally happy with our jobs and our lives in San Francisco,” said Lee, who

later, Lee said he struggled to hold his emotions in check. Lee and his partner had a long-planned Asian vacation scheduled to begin a few days after the election. “Thankfully, we spent a few weeks away from the news,” he said. Lee Now back and making plans for his next job, Lee said he is “taking would go by without a my time” to make any day off. decisions. Working with a large For the moment, the contingent of LGBT couple is focusing on employees was a bonus, jobs in New York City, Courtesy Cheston Lee he said. Within the camalthough a move back to Cheston Lee, right, greets Democratic presidential paign’s internal commuSan Francisco “is not out candidate Hillary Clinton at the Brooklyn campaign nications system, several of the question,” he said. office. channels on their online Given the taste of chat system were devoted working for a cause, “I’d to LGBT topics, he said. coming in, Lee said. love to do something The long hours were punctuated Sensing that the vote was not similar but I’m just not sure how with occasional office parties and going their way, Lee said he went many opportunities there are,” he “visits from the candidate,” when home to have dinner with his partsaid. everything pretty much just came to ner before heading over to the Javits Thanks to the network of cola halt, he said. Center in Manhattan, where thouleagues he met during the camOn several occasions, Lee met sands of supporters were gathering paign, Lee gets “lots of leads” about with Clinton, explaining his job to for the planned rally. job possibilities. “I’ve talked to a few her and talking about the technol“But by the time I got there, I companies,” he said. ogy team’s strategy. walked in to see people crying and Despite the loss, Lee said he has a “In person, Hillary Clinton is hugging each other,” Lee recalled. lot of fantastic memories from the warm and engaging, a great listener, “A lot of people – myself included – campaign. and someone who is direct and honwere very, very emotional.” After the election, the campaign est,” he said. “You know the minute “I saw a lot of people whose hard had a party where Clinton adyou talk to her that she’s not just work for over a year – working ridressed the group, “thanking us for telling you what you want to hear.” diculous hours and giving up so our hard work and encouraging us The months flew by as campaign much – suddenly were in shock. We to stay involved in politics,” he said. momentum built. The platform all knew we had worked for the right Clinton brought 1,000 roses to Lee’s team created raised close to person. It was crushing to see that the event, which had been sent to $800 million, he said. the worst candidate for president in her home by a youth activist group. “We were proud of our work,” he history had won,” he said, referring “She urged us to give the roses to said. to Republican Donald Trump. someone who was hurting,” Lee “It was supposed to be a huge said, adding that she and Bill ClinElection Day night for the country and for histon went into the crowd, hugging When Election Day finally rolled tory,” Lee said. “It was impossible and shaking hands for several hours. around, “we were all on pins and for me to process” the loss. “It was such an honor to work for needles” as the returns started Even now, more than two months her,” said Lee.t

“I knew from the first minute that I’d made the right decision.” –Cheston moved to the Bay Area in 2008 after graduation from Rochester Institute of Technology. He had held several tech jobs in Silicon Valley and was “thrilled to find something in the city” when he got the job with Optimizely in 2010. Politically active in his college years, Lee said he’d become disillusioned with politics after the California Proposition 8 campaign in 2008, in which voters approved banning same-sex marriage. (The U.S. Supreme Court threw out the ban in 2013.) “I really saw the ugly side of politics,” he said. A lifelong Democrat, Lee said he “had no plans” to get involved in any campaign. “But the opportunity to use my skill set to work on something that I thought could have such a profound impact” was a temptation he didn’t want to pass up, he said. Life went smoothly after the move, he said. Lee’s partner was able to transfer to Twitter’s New York office, making the disruption easier on the couple. Once Lee got to Brooklyn and started work, “I knew from the first minute that I’d made the right decision,” he said. The 12-hour workdays at the Clinton headquarters were “intense,” said Lee. Sometimes weeks

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<< Trump Transition

14 • BAY AREA REPORTER • January 19-25, 2017

SF Women’s March will have LGBT contingent by Sari Staver

he National Center for Lesbian Rights has organized an LGBT contingent to walk together during the January 21 Women’s March in San Francisco. According to the website http:// www.womensmarchbayarea.org, the Women’s March is “a national movement to unify and empower everyone who stands for human rights, civil liberties, and social justice for all. We gather in community to find healing and strength through tolerance, civility, and compassion. We welcome all people to join us as we unite locally and nationally.” Marches are scheduled for the day after Donald Trump’s inauguration in more than 200 cities across the country, in conjunction with the large Women’s March in Washington, D.C. Anyone attending the San Francisco march is welcome to join the LGBT contingent, according to NCLR’s Elizabeth Lanyon, who is co-chair of the march.

The rally and candlelight march will begin at 3 p.m. at Civic Center Plaza with speakers, art, and music. At 5, the march will proceed from Civic Center, up Market Street, to Justin Herman Plaza. It is expected to conclude around 7. According to the march’s Facebook page, as of January 17 some 29,000 people have indicated they plan to attend. The NCLR contingent will gather at 4 p.m. on the steps of the San Francisco Public Library, 100 Larkin Street, where signs will be distributed to the first 200 people who arrive, said Lanyon, who joined NCLR as a development specialist last September. From the steps of the library attendees will be able to hear the Civic Center speakers, she said. When the march departs, the NCLR contingent will fold into the crowd. “Wear layers, check the weather, and bring a candle,” said Lanyon. In a prepared statement NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell said, “At no time in my life have we faced as a human family such a profound existential threat as we do

Sari Staver

NCLR’s Elizabeth Lanyon is organizing an LGBT contingent for the San Francisco Women’s March.

with this incoming administration. The level of threat requires a sense of community and coming together and joining forces and locking arms that we have never seen before. So of course NCLR is going to throw down with this kind of effort. And what has been particularly gratifying is that not only are we not alone but we are racing to keep up with

the energy and intensity of this national massive resistance. “I came to consciousness first as a feminist and then as a lesbian,” Kendell added. “Knowing what I know about feminism and the leadership of early feminists, it is exactly right that it would have been a women’s march that would be called, that it would be led by women, often at the forefront of that leadership lesbians. Participating in this march is just who we are and it is indicative and honoring of our history.” Scheduled speakers include Katherine Ellison, a Marin resident and Pulitzer Prize-winning former foreign correspondent; Ameena Jandali, director of content and a founding member of Islamic Networks Group, where she co-designs and develops educational presentations and cultural competency seminars presented in schools, colleges, universities, churches, and other venues; Hung Liu, a celebrated painter born in Changchun, China in 1948, who is professor emeritus at Mills College; San Francisco Supervisor Jane Kim;

South Bay to hold Women’s March by Heather Cassell

housands of marchers are anticipated to take to the streets of San Jose for the South Bay’s Women’s March Saturday, January 21. Upward of 10,000 people have expressed interest in attending the Women’s March on its website, said Jennifer “Jenny” Bradanini, a coleader of the event. The march will round out the three Bay Area women’s marches that are happening in Oakland and San Francisco the day after President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. They are also just a few of the hundreds planned in cities across the country, which are themselves affiliated with a large Women’s March in Washington, D.C. Funding for the local events is coming from a variety of donors and being distributed throughout the three Bay Area marches, said Bradanini. Any unused funds will be donated directly to women’s organizations. “It was important for the people in Silicon Valley also to have a place to make sure that their voices were heard,” said Bradanini, a straight 53-year-old sales and marketing professional and San Jose resident.

Manning

From page 1

She has said she was in emotional crisis at the time she sent the classified material to WikiLeaks as part of an effort to spark worldwide conversation about American military actions. Her plight – she is serving her sentence in a men’s prison and has not been allowed gender confirmation surgery – has drawn supporters worldwide. An online petition on the White House’s website seeking commutation garnered over 100,000 signatures. Manning is one of 209 individuals granted commutations by Obama Tuesday. He issued pardons for another 64 people, according to a White House blog. Longtime Manning supporter Joey Cain, who unsuccessfully tried to have her named a San Francisco Pride grand marshal in 2013, was overjoyed at the news. “How wonderful and decent of President Obama to do this,” Cain said in an email to the Bay Area Reporter. “San Francisco has been at the forefront of fighting to get Chelsea freed from the beginning. This is a victory for the LGBT community and all of our straight and

“It’s about coming together as a community to show each other ... we’ve got each other’s back ... we are going to move together for change beyond January 21.” That includes Silicon Valley’s LGBT community, which will also be present at the march and represented on the stage at the rally, said Bradanini. Other issues that will be addressed will be reproductive rights, workers rights, civil rights, disability rights, immigrant rights, environmental justice, and ending the violence against women’s bodies. Some of the speakers include lesbian Shanta Franco-Clausen, who is a commissioner on the Santa Clara County Commission on the Status of Women; lesbian Gabrielle Antolovich, who is the board president of the Billy DeFrank LGBT Community Center, and gay Santa Clara County Supervisor Ken Yeager. “We must really educate and empower women from all backgrounds how to get involved and help us win the fight for women’s rights once and for all,” said Franco-Clausen, 41. “Many women are upset [and] angry. Well I want to give them a place to put that energy and uplift each other to run for office and support them to win, so these legislative

decisions against women will be of the past.” She also hopes that by taking the stage as a visible queer woman of color she sets an example for other queer youth, she added. “Everyone has their own reasons for why they are marching. There is so much emotion and so much sharing. People feel uncomfortable to share [but] ... this march has encouraged them to talk about ... the tough things, the uncomfortable things, and the scary things,” said Bradanini, who will be marching with her 17-year-old daughter, Daisy. Sophie Gilbert, 50, is a transgender woman who is a teacher and is one of the contributors to “One Teacher in Ten in the New Millennium: LGBT Educators Speak Out About What’s Gotten Better ... and What Hasn’t.” She plans to walk with some of her students and friends. Gilbert, who recently moved to San Jose from Fresno, is walking in memory of her friend K.C. Haggard, 66, who was stabbed to death on the streets of Fresno July 23, 2015. Her murder still remains unsolved, said Gilbert. “I find it horrible and disgusting and I’m concerned about the rights

progressive allies and friends like Daniel Ellsberg, who marched in support of Chelsea in our Pride parades, signed petitions, wrote letters and never let her be forgotten.” A controversy erupted in 2013 with the San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration Committee, when it first named Manning a community grand marshal but then rescinded the honor. At the time, Manning’s trial was underway in Maryland and the community was divided, with some calling her a traitor. Tuesday, Cain proposed that SF Pride honor Manning this year. “Now, let’s invite her to be honored as the queer hero she is in this year’s Pride Celebration,” he said. Zoe Dunning, a lesbian retired Navy commander and former Pride grand marshal, opposed the Pride honor for Manning four years ago. This week, she expressed her support for Obama’s action. “Chelsea Manning has paid her debt to society for her actions revealing classified information,” Dunning said in an email. “I support President Obama’s commutation of her sentence and wish her well as she begins this next phase of her life, where she can have proper

access to medical care and support.” At her trial, prosecutors accused Manning of treason, charging her with multiple counts of the Espionage Act as well as “aiding the enemy,” a potentially capital offense. Manning confessed and pleaded guilty to a lesser version of those charges, the New York Times reported, but prosecutors went forward with a trial and won convictions on the more serious versions of those charges. A military judge acquitted her of “aiding the enemy.” Manning, who apologized, was convicted on 22 charges, including theft of military records or property. She has served more time in prison than any other whistleblower in U.S. history. “I’m relieved and thankful that the president is doing the right thing and commuting Chelsea Manning’s sentence,” said Chase Strangio, a staff attorney with the ACLU’s LGBT Project representing Manning. “Since she was first taken into custody, Chelsea has been subjected to long stretches of solitary confinement – including for attempting suicide – and has been denied access to medically necessary health care.” Strangio said the commutation

Courtesy Women’s March San Francisco Bay Area

Transgender activist Sophie Gilbert will be marching on behalf of her murdered friend K.C. Haggard.

of all of us who are minorities, who are marginalized. Our rights are in danger,” said Gilbert about the incoming Trump administration. “We fought so hard to earn these rights. We had to fight for our rights.” She said she’s proud to be marching as a transgender woman in a women’s event and on behalf of her friend. “Women come in all shapes and “could quite literally save Chelsea’s life.” While incarcerated, Manning hasn’t been able to grow her hair. The military has allowed her to partly transition, including hormone treatment and letting her wear women’s undergarments. Tuesday’s announcement angered some Republicans who said that Manning put American troops and the U.S. at risk. “President Obama now leaves in place a dangerous precedent that those who compromise our national security won’t be held accountable for their crimes,” said House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin). President-elect Donald Trump reportedly mocked Obama’s action as “politically correct,” hinting at the possibility that he might rescind the clemency. But he does not have the power to do that and Manning will soon be out of the military’s control. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange praised Obama for his decision. Manning was deployed to Iraq late in 2009. She worked as a lowlevel intelligence analyst. She helped her unit assess insurgent activity in the area it was patrolling. It was in this role that she gained access to a classified computer network,

and NCLR’s Ruth McFarlane. Other speakers will be Maria de Lourdes Reboyoso, the grassroots fundraiser coordinator for Mujeres Unidas y Activas (MUA), and UC Berkeley student Angelica Vargas. Performers include Emily Afton, Micah Tron, and the group, Your Fearless Leader. The day before the rally, Friday, January 20, a couple of fundraising events will take place in San Francisco. At 5 p.m., there will be a gathering at Wine Down SF, a womenowned and -operated wine and beer bar at 685 Folsom Street. There will be a cover charge of $5-10 but nobody will be turned away for lack of funds. March organizers will be in attendance. At 7:30 p.m., the Women Donors Network is hosting “Take Back the Ball: A Night of Hope and Action” at Bimbo’s, 1025 Columbus Avenue. Tickets, which include dinner, open bar, and comedy, begin at $350 per person. For more information, visit, http://www.takebacktheball.org.t

sizes and types,” added Gilbert, who won’t be joined by her lesbian daughter and wife, who still live in Fresno. “We are women just as much as anyone else. It is important for all transgender women to feel welcome in activities that women participate in.” Bradanini is excited about the momentum and like Franco-Clausen, hopes that more action grows out of it. “I hope that this momentum keeps going,” said Bradanini, who said there will be an oath that marchers pledge to stay together in solidarity, stand up to protect the Constitution, and become politically active and ways for people to get politically active. “It’s time now,” she said. “It’s time for us to stand up, get it together, instead of suffer it, and let’s show the world that we are here together.” Volunteers check in at 9 a.m. at San Jose City Hall, 200 E Santa Clara Street. Marchers will gather at City Hall at 10. The march kicks off at 11 and will end with a noon rally at Cesar Chavez Plaza.t For more information about Women’s March events in the Bay Area, visit https://womensmarchbayarea.org/ - join-a-march.

reported the Times. Celebrities and organizations that have advocated on Manning’s behalf applauded Obama’s decision. “Incredible courage on the part of both Obama and Chelsea Manning! What a thrilling day for true patriots!” said singer Michael Stipe in an email from Evan Greer, campaign director of Fight for the Future. “Chelsea’s release is massive victory for free speech, human rights, and democracy,” added Greer in the statement. “I’m overjoyed that she will be able to share her beautiful self with the world. She has so much to offer, and her freedom will be a testament to the power of grassroots organizing. I’m so excited for the world to get to know her as the compassionate, intelligent, and kind person who she is.” Rebecca Isaacs, executive director of Equality Federation, agreed. “Equality Federation applauds President Obama’s decision to commute the sentence of Chelsea Manning. She has served more time in prison than any whistleblower in United States history, and, like many other transgender prisoners, was treated unfairly on multiple occasions based on her gender identity and expression,” she said.t

Community News>>

January 19-25, 2017 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 15

Lang retiring from Rafiki Coalition

Jane Philomen Cleland

Perry Lang, left, and his partner, Kenneth Monteiro, Ph.D., attended a SF Pride event in 2013.

compiled by Cynthia Laird

erry Lang, the longtime executive director of the Rafiki Coalition for Health and Wellness, is retiring and there will be a special tribute and celebration Thursday, January 19 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Rafiki Wellness Center, 601 Cesar Chavez Street (near Pier 80) in San Francisco. The coalition, formerly known as the Black Coalition on AIDS, offers a diverse service menu. Its core mission is to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS and eliminate health disparities in San Francisco’s black and marginalized communities. According to its website, Rafiki Coalition strives to achieve this focus by providing health and wellness services including, but not limited to, transitional housing for people living with HIV/AIDS, health education, advocacy, health case management, trauma resiliency and mental health circles, as well as other health-promoting activities. Lang, 61, is a gay man who has

been executive director since 2003. He and his longtime partner, Kenneth Monteiro, Ph.D., were community grand marshals for the 2013 San Francisco LGBT Pride parade. Both men have long worked to build bridges and work in collaboration, they said in an interview at the time. In related news, Rafiki will hold its First Saturday health program February 4 from 9 a.m. to noon at the wellness center. Services include complementary and alternative medicine, a strength training boot camp, and lunch and table talk. For more information, visit http:// www.rafikicoalition.org.

Lyon-Martin offers pop-up clinic for documents

Lyon-Martin Health Services will be offering a free trans health and identity document pop-up clinic for transgender and gender non-conforming people looking to formalize their name and gender changes on government-issued identity documents. The clinic will be offered

Thursday, January 19 and Saturday, January 21 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Lyon-Martin, 1748 Market Street, Suite 201 in San Francisco. In the two single-day events, health care and law experts will provide medical and logistical support to aid in gender transition. Attendees will have access to primary care providers, insurance enrollment specialists, a free trans health screening, and assistance in obtaining the necessary medical certification to update birth certificates, passports, driver’s licenses, Social Security cards, green cards, and other government IDs. People should schedule an appointment by calling (415) 9017108. Clinic officials said that walkins will be available depending on staff availability. For more details and a list of documents people should bring with them, visit http://lyon-martin.org/ freeclinic/.

School students to protest Trump inauguration

from the Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy will protest the inauguration of Donald Trump by taking part in a peaceful protest. Longtime school volunteer George Kelly, who organized the Inscribe World AIDS Day event, said the students, dubbed “peaceful penguins,” will receive an “educational experience” quiet resistance with the community and neighbors. The group will leave school grounds at 11:45 a.m. and protest for about an hour. The route is expected to be 19th Street to Diamond Street to 18th Street to Collingwood Street to Market Street.

About 250 students and 50 adults

See page 17 >>

ACT joins Ghostlight Project

American Conservatory Theater has announced that it will participate in the Ghostlight Project, an artists’ event set for Thursday, January 19, the eve of the presidential inauguration, which will include over 100 theaters and theatrical organizations across the country. The collective, simultaneous action will create “light” for challenging times ahead. Inspired by the tradition of leaving a “ghost light” on in a darkened theater, artists and communities will make or renew a pledge to stand for and protect the values of inclusion, participation, and compassion for everyone – regardless of race, class, religion, country of origin, immigration status, (dis) ability, gender identity, or sexual orientation. Locally, the event will be held at 5:30 p.m. in front of the Geary Theater, 415 Geary Street, and will include a short program of speaking followed by the ceremonial lighting and photos. The event is

Rohrer becomes SFPD’s first trans chaplain by David-Elijah Nahmod

he Reverend Dr. Megan Rohrer, the first out trans person to be ordained as a Lutheran minister, is now the first transgender chaplain at the San Francisco Police Department. Rohrer, who leads Grace Lutheran Church in the Sunset district, was sworn in by acting Police Chief Toney Chaplin during a ceremony held at SFPD’s Third Street headquarters Tuesday, January 17. The SFPD position is voluntary. Rohrer, 36, who prefers genderneutral pronouns, will continue at Grace Lutheran and will also continue their work with San Francisco Night Ministry, a network of clergy who go out into the streets to counsel and pray with the homeless. Around two-dozen people attended the ceremony, including several leaders of the city’s transgender community. These included former SFPD Lieutenant Stephan Thorne, the first officer in the department’s history to transition while on duty. Thorne, who retired in 2014, transitioned in 1994, 10 years after joining the department. “I’m excited to be here,” Thorne told the Bay Area Reporter. “This is a wonderful thing. It’s a wonderful continuation of my legacy. Now trans members of the community have another resource to serve their emotional and spiritual needs.” Theresa Sparks, Mayor Ed Lee’s

free and open to all. Attendees are encouraged to bring an electric light, flashlight, electric candle, or smartphone. Other participating Bay Area theaters include the Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Crowded Fire Theater, Golden Thread Productions, New Conservatory Theatre Center, Shotgun Players, Aurora Theatre Company, and Z Space. For more information on the project, visit https://theghostlightproject.com.

LGBT PROGRESSIVE CATHOLICS † OUR FAMILIES & FRIENDS

Celebrating our Sexuality and Love as Gifts of God Liturgy & Social: Every Sunday 5pm First Sunday Movie Night Second Sunday Potluck Supper Third Wednesday Faith Sharing Group 1329 Seventh Avenue † info@dignitysanfrancisco.org Follow us on Facebook!

Rick Gerharter

Acting San Francisco Police Chief Toney Chaplin swears in Megan Rohrer as the SFPD’s first transgender chaplain as retired trans San Francisco police Lieutenant Stephan Thorne looks on.

senior adviser for transgender initiatives, was also in attendance. “This is historical,” Sparks told the B.A.R. “Not only for the department but for the community.” Thorne opened the swearingin ceremony as he spoke from the podium. “It’s my honor and privilege to be here in 2017 to be part of a legacy of tolerance and inclusion at SFPD,” he said. “We developed the first law enforcement transgender training program – it’s since been used by police in New York, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.” Rohrer then stepped up and spoke before Chaplin swore them in. “My greatest hope as a chaplain is to listen to what is needed,” Rohrer said. “My body is a body that represents the

full diversity of San Francisco and the San Francisco Police Department.” Rohrer acknowledged that in the past they had been subjected to hate crimes and domestic violence, which they did not report. “I’ll be popping up on people’s best days and worst days,” Rohrer said. “My hope is to listen and to show up – to show up for you is a great honor,” Rohrer added that they also hoped to inspire other LGBT folks to report crimes when they occur. Chaplin then stepped up to the podium and performed the swearing-in amidst applause from attendees. After the ceremony cake was served. “I feel honored,” Rohrer told the B.A.R. as they posed for photos. “There’s a lot more work to do and a lot more praying to do.”t

Jr. one-bedroom “Below Market Rate” Rental Units available at 660 King Street. $2458. a month. Includes one parking spot. Must be income eligible and must not own a housing unit. Households must earn no more than the maximum income levels below: 140% of Area Median Income One person 2 persons 3 persons 4 persons

$105,550; $120,600; $135,750; $150,800 etc.

Application deadline is 2/9/17 Please contact Property for an application and more information at (415) 431-7368 You can also download at http://housing.sfgov.org Units available through the San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Developmentand are subject tomonitoring and other restrictions. Visit www.sfmohcd.org for program information.

<< Community News

16 • BAY AREA REPORTER • January 19-25, 2017

Lesbian settles suit with veterans agency by Seth Hemmelgarn

lesbian who claimed she lost her job with the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center because of discrimination has settled her lawsuit with the agency. Marea Murray, 56, of Oakland, a licensed clinical social worker, joined the medical center in December 2012 on a temporary appointment, which was terminated in August 2015. Shaun May, a spokesman for

Federal Practice Group, the Washington, D.C.-based law firm representing Murray, has said she “was passed over for permanent positions” in favor of people with less experience and who were straight. In her complaint filed in December 2015, Murray claims she was terminated as part of a “hostile work environment” based on her sex and as reprisal for her pointing to problems she was having. (Federal law doesn’t specifically prohibit people

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from being fired because of their gender identity or sexual orientation, but the government’s ban on people being fired because of their sex may be used instead.) In a recent phone interview about the case, which settled in December, Federal Practice partner Heather White said, “The VA agreed to make a certain payment. They’ve now done that. In exchange, Marea agreed to withdraw her complaint.” In a January 7 email to the Bay Area Reporter with the subject line “Six figures!” Murray said, “It is finally over. Exhausted.” She said in a follow-up email, “In light of my experience, I find it deeply disturbing and disappointing that the longstanding and vicious mobbing culture” within the San Francisco VA Medical Center’s social work service “has yet to be investigated or eradicated as it is

fomented by ‘leadership’ Murray is prohibited for and apparently enabled five years from reapplying at all levels, including to the agency. the Human Resource & She declined to say Management Service ... how much money Mur. Staff and veterans will ray’s getting, but she said, continue to suffer for it.” “They covered her attorWhite said that while ney’s fees, which were not “We really felt that this was insignificant, and I would a pretty good outcome say that it was sizable, but for all parties involved,” Marea Murray well within the bounds Murray and her attorneys that are permissible under “hope that people who the federal statutes.” perhaps do not conform to stereoMurray’s looking for a new job. typical gender norms will get fair White said that “hopefully,” the case treatment at the VA going forward. ... “will not be a drag on her career When an agency has to write a check going forward.” to an employee, hopefully it has a In copies of evaluations Murray corrective effect.” provided to the B.A.R., a VA superAs is typical in such settlevisor rated several areas of her work ments, there was no admission of as “exceptional.” wrongdoing. VA attorney Vanessa Lichten“Everyone agrees to disagree and berger declined to comment on the walk away,” White said, adding that case.t

by Belo Cipriani

with dogs and people, in stressful environments, such as in an airport or a busy restaurant, the unfamiliar noises, smells, and people could bring out a whole new behavior in their pet dog – a behavior they may not be able to control. “An assistance dog is more than a vest,” said Molly Schulz, public relations and marketing coordinator at Canine Companions for Independence. “A true assistance dog requires years of professional training and certification to perform specific tasks and provide calm, reliable assistance to individuals with disabilities.” According to Matthew Dietz, litigation director at Disability Independence Group Inc., a nonprofit disability rights advocacy center in Florida, one of the problems we face today is that people do not understand the difference between emotional support animals and service animals. Also, people do not always know how to incorporate their animal into their psychological treatment. “I receive approximately two or three people calling per week about discrimination against those with service animals or emotional support animals,” said Dietz. “And where the person claims to have a psychiatric service animal or emotional support animal, I ask if that person has a treating doctor or mental health professional who has recommended that they have their animal as an assistance animal. Where the person has papers from an internet provider, I will not work for them unless they also

Why posing your pet as a service animal is problematic T

o put it simply, dogs are amazing. Whether they are begging for food with those piercing eyes, or smothering you with wet kisses, they make it impossible not to smile. It is this level of connection and companionship that pushes some pet owners to want to take their pooch everywhere they go – even if it involves passing their pup off as a service dog. But while it is quite easy to buy fake service dog papers online, what many pet owners do not realize is that posing their pets as service dogs is not only illegal in several states, but, ultimately, could also end up physically and emotionally hurting their beloved canine friends. “By breaking the law, you are putting your own pet dog at risk,” said Lolly Lijewski, a guide dog user and a communications specialist based out of Minneapolis. She was quick to point out that in addition to the stress pet dogs face when exposed to hectic environments, if the pet dog bites a person or another dog out of anxiety, this will create another set of problems for both the pet and its owner. “The cost of a potential physical attack may run into the hundreds or thousands of dollars, depending on the severity of the attack. Costs can include medical examinations, tests and treatment, and possibly retraining, depending on the psychological impact on the service dog,” said Lijewski. What many pet dog owners may not realize is that while their pup does well at home, and is friendly

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have a local treating mental health professional.” Dietz pointed out that many people do not understand what “proof ” needs to be provided to establish a service dog or emotional support animal. He said, “Some retailers provide a paper that says the dog is a service dog. The law does not require [people] to have written proof of an assistance dog. A service dog is a dog that is individually trained to assist a person with a disability. An emotional support animal’s mere presence ameliorates the effects of a psychological disability. Because there are so many different tasks a service animal can be trained to do,” Dietz added, “having an official license would be impractical.” In some cases, pet owners who buy fake service dog papers online end up being scammed by the online retailers. They buy documents that See page 18 >>

Obituaries >> David Carl Barbieri July 1, 1956 – December 19, 2016

Discounts available thru January.

Born in San Francisco, David was raised in Atherton, graduating from Menlo Atherton High School in 1974. A decade later he moved back to San Francisco. While working in the service industry he also built his own business, Bloomers Flowers, and was a well-known bartender for over a decade at the Edge bar. Christmas was David’s passion. Every corner of his Corbett home was adorned each year in jaw-dropping decor and he would invite friends to celebrate while collecting donations for local nonprofits. An avid clubber and fan dancer, David dedicated 25 years to the iconic Folsom fundraiser Real Bad, and was bestowed with its lifetime achievement award in 2009. Dan Naccarato, the love of David’s life, passed away in 2013. After that he

downsized until finding the right home in Palm Springs in 2014. Although he was enjoying a great life in the desert, complications from a septic infection cut it short. David is survived by his parents, Carl and Ilda Barbieri; his younger brother, Jack Barbieri, wife, Danielle, and their two children, Joey and Tess. Come celebrate David and a life that touched so many others at the Sausage Factory on Castro Street Thursday, January 26, from 6 to 9 p.m.

Ken Shorner December 3, 2016 Our friend, the truly untamable pharmacist Ken Shorner, died December 3, 2016 after a battle with an aggressive, fast moving cancer that affected vital organs. He will be very much missed by those of us closest to him who somehow

managed to adapt our personalities to accommodate and appreciate his aggravating, abrasive, and generally outlandish behavior. I will miss him as a phenomenal back country mountaineering guide in the Sierra, a Rainbow Brother who blasted across the country loaded, making pit stops at every casino to count a blackjack shoe or play some Piegow with Chinese ladies; and a dear friend who deeply cared and was always ready to help with any health matters. We will be hosting a memorial at our gardens or, in case of bad weather, we will be inside Saturday, January 21 at 2 p.m. 1433 Haight Street, ring #s 1 or 4. Many thanks to Joey, Rita, Sue, Jerry, and Tabby for their round-the-clock attendance to Ken over the last several weeks. Jerry Berbiar adds, “Ken took care of people, his generosity was outstanding. He treated his thousands of patients at the Mission Neighborhood Clinic as individuals with caring and compassion. He was my friend for 31 years and I miss him.” –Mother & Jerry

t <<

Community News>>

ADAP

From page 1

that this transition has had on both enrollment workers and, most troublingly, clients is unacceptable.” He added, “I understand that the ADAP system is currently offline for an indefinite amount of time due to potential security breaches. Not only am I extremely concerned that personal information of ADAP clients may have been compromised, but also that the entire ADAP system is down during the height of open enrollment. Frankly, I am astounded that these system issues have yet to be resolved and continue to arise six months into the transition.” Smith responded with a January 6 letter in which she told Wiener what had gone on. “Shortly after” the health department switched to new contractors in

Political Notebook

From page 7

a year after becoming a member. “It just feels like an extension of (Milk’s) legacy.”

Gordon runs for state tax board

Gay former Assemblyman Rich Gordon is running for a seat on the state’s Board of Equalization in 2018. Should he be elected, Gordon would be the second LGBT person to serve on the tax oversight committee; lesbian former lawmaker Carole Migden was elected to a four-year term in 2001. Also this week Caminar, which serves adults with mental illness, physical disabilities and/or developmental disabilities throughout northern California, announced it

Pocan

From page 1

gladly work with him,” he said. Yet Pocan told the B.A.R. he has grave concerns about a number of Trump’s Cabinet post picks, in particular charter school promoter Betsy DeVos, his nominee to lead the Department of Education. A number of LGBT groups and leaders have called attention to DeVos’ support of Focus on the Family, which opposes marriage equality, and her family foundation’s donations in support of a group that endorses so-called “conversion therapy” to turn lesbian and gay people straight. Pocan and Takano, co-chairs of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus, and three other gay

Gomez

From page 8

In a brief call Tuesday, he said he didn’t have any updates on the motive. He also couldn’t say whether Gomez knew the victims, and he didn’t know whether a weapon had been found. Frankel said he didn’t believe Gomez had had prior contacts with law enforcement, and he didn’t know whether they’d had any issues with drugs or mental illness. “Our condolences go out to the victim’s family,” Frankel said. Someone who’s “not super close” to Gomez said in a Facebook exchange with the Bay Area Reporter Gomez identifies as non-binary and uses third-person pronouns.

News Briefs

From page 15

$2.9M HUD grant to SF for youth homelessness

Jeff Kositsky, director of the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, has announced that San Francisco was selected to participate in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program and will be awarded a $2.9

January 19-25, 2017 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 17

July 2016, she said, “CDPH received a letter from constituents expressing concerns that there were issues for some clients receiving medications.” “As you note,” Smith told Wiener, “the ADAP portal was unexpectedly unavailable for ADAP enrollment worker and client use as of November 29, 2016, due to information security vulnerabilities in the system.” Her agency “identified two breaches of information,” and impacted clients were notified, she said. The health department has taken several steps to help clients, Smith wrote. “To ensure uninterrupted client access to medications, we have extended client eligibility to their next reenrollment or recertification date occurring after June 30, 2017,” she said in her list of remedies, adding, “CDPH is working diligently to bring the portal back up as soon as possible.”

In response to the Bay Area Reporter’s emailed questions Tuesday, January 17, health department spokeswoman Ali Bay said her agency “is aware of concerns expressed by stakeholders and clients and has been working diligently to address these concerns as quickly as possible.” Since July 1, Bay said, the health department’s had 13 client complaints. Staff from Magellan, one of the ADAP contractors, was authorized “to provide real-time, 24 hours a day, seven days a week authorizations to pharmacies for a 30-day supply of medications for ADAP clients with active eligibility who experience access issues at the pharmacy,” she said. “In addition, enrollment processes and a coding error were corrected that prevented some individuals from accessing their medications.” The health department is

“working non-stop to resolve the information security issues and bring the system back online as soon as possible,” Bay said. One of the contractors Wiener and Smith discussed is A.J. Boggs, which is based in East Lansing, Michigan and oversees ADAP’s enrollment system. Clarke Anderson, the company’s CEO, responded to an interview request with an email that said, “We work closely with the CDPH Office of AIDS to ensure that ADAP program services are delivered quickly and effectively. CDPH has many efforts underway to improve support to people living with HIV through ADAP and we appreciate the need to get more information out about this program.” Anderson referred questions to the health department. Magellan is ADAP’s pharmacy benefits manager. A spokeswoman

for the company wasn’t immediately available Tuesday afternoon. Bay didn’t respond to questions about how much money the new contracts for A.J. Boggs and Magellan are worth. A 37-year-old Los Angeles man who’s living with HIV said he recently lost his health insurance because ADAP hadn’t been making payments. Without insurance, he wasn’t able to get a prescription for an HIV medication refilled. He also had to put off surgery on his spine. The man, who didn’t want his name published, was finally able to get his problem fixed, but he said, “It was scary.” “Within 24 hours, I lost my health insurance, I lost $600 out of my pocket, and I lost my medication that I need to take daily to be OK” because of the trouble he had with ADAP, he said.t

had hired Gordon as its first government relations officer. “Rich is a longstanding and effective advocate for a strong safety net of health and human services for local families,” stated Chip Huggins, CEO of the nonprofit, which merged this month with Family & Children Services of Silicon Valley. “We are thrilled that Rich has accepted our invitation to join Caminar and continue his career of making a difference for vulnerable members of our community.” In a statement, Gordon said he “look(s) forward to assisting Caminar in being an even stronger partner in addressing critical health concerns for families.” Forced out last year of his 24th Assembly District seat on the Peninsula due to term limits – he served three consecutive two-year terms

– Gordon in November had indicated to the B.A.R. that he was considering running for higher office and looking for work in the policy sector. He announced his bid for the tax board’s sprawling District 2 seat, which spans from Santa Barbara on the Central Coast north to the Oregon border, Tuesday morning. “California is at a watershed moment. I have been in the trenches for the last six years, working to help our state navigate and recover from the Great Recession, while at the same time, working to enact a range of bold and groundbreaking progressive policies,” stated Gordon, 68, who lives with his husband, Dr. Dennis McShane, in Menlo Park. “Just days before a new president’s inauguration, our state is faced with uncertainty, apprehension and anxiety as it looks to Washington,

D.C. Now, more than ever, it’s critical that California has a tax system and structure in place that ensures we collect and manage all the vital tax dollars our state needs to function and flourish.” The tax board seat will be open next year as fellow Democrat Fiona Ma, the current occupant, is running for state treasurer in 2018 due to John Chiang’s decision to run for governor. Gordon may not be the only out candidate in the race, as according to the secretary of state, lesbian state Senator Cathleen Galgiani (D-Stockton) has filed paperwork with the intent to run for the tax board seat. Yet she doesn’t live in the tax board district, thus it is likely her interest in the race has more to do with being able to raise money for a future bid for elected office since

she will be termed out of her Senate seat in 2020. Gordon, who chaired the Assembly Rules Committee as well as the Legislative LGBT caucus, carried a bill that allowed the state to pay the property taxes for seniors and qualified disabled individuals in exchange for being repaid when they sold their property. Prior to his time in the state Legislature, Gordon served on the San Mateo County Board of Education in the 1990s and then the county’s Board of Supervisors. “I’ll bring my local and state experience as well as my broad policy background to the job to explore and enact new ways that improve our tax structure, while making it less vulnerable and susceptible to the booms and busts of our economy. California needs a stable budget,” stated Gordon.t

congressmen sent a letter last week urging tough questioning of DeVos by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, which held its confirmation hearing Tuesday. Pocan, first vice chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said he also has concerns about labor secretary pick Andrew Puzder. And with secretary of state nominee Rex Tillerson, the former Exxon Mobil CEO, “I have concerns on multiple fronts,” said Pocan, “especially with his closeness to Russia given its interference with our election.” As for those hoping Trump will be impeached, Pocan said his Vice President-elect Mike Pence could be even worse as president when it comes to LGBT rights and progressive values.

“He was the most homophobic governor in the country,” Pocan said of Pence, who led Indiana the last four years. “That should concern people if Donald Trump is the face of the administration but Mike Pence is the point person on policy. We potentially are in trouble.” Aside from anti-LGBT policies Trump’s administration, working with a Republican-controlled Congress, could put in place, Pocan is also troubled by whom the incoming president will nominate to the vacant seat on the U.S. Supreme Court. If his nominee is a staunch conservative, as Trump has indicated the person will be, Pocan predicted, “that could cause potential problems for the LGBT community.” Marriage rights could come

under attack, noted Pocan, whose Toronto wedding in 2006 to Philip Frank was legalized by the court’s 2015 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges. He pointed to the movement to allow people to cite their religious beliefs to deny services to same-sex couples and other LGBT people as one legal issue the reconfigured court will likely confront. The Golden State and its incoming attorney general, Congressman Xavier Becerra (D-Los Angeles), will play an important role in pushing back against the legislative and legal attacks on equality, said Pocan. “Honestly, we are looking for places like California for leadership and for the likes of leaders like Xavier Becerra to file lawsuits to slow down the process and fight for our

rights,” he said. Yet such leadership exists not just on the coasts, added Pocan, as there are countless progressive leaders in the country’s heartland also ready to fight against any rollback of LGBT rights and other progressive issues. He boasted that 23 years ago Dane County, where he lives, had more out LGBT elected leaders than all of California at the time. “I know a lot of these things the coasts move forward, but the heartland has been good on this issue as well,” said Pocan, noting that Wisconsin, in 1982 under a Republican governor, was the first state to ban discrimination against gays and lesbians not only in employment but housing and public accommodations.t

Gomez declined to be interviewed Friday, January 13 at Berkeley City Jail, where they were being held without bail. They have since been transferred to Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, California. According to Gomez’s Facebook page, they had been studying Chicanx and Latinx issues at UC Berkeley and was a senior climate action fellow with the Alliance for Climate Education. Rebecca Anderson, the alliance’s education director, said in an emailed statement that Gomez had been involved with her group’s leadership and climate education programs from 2012 to 2015. “We are profoundly saddened to hear about the terrible circumstances surrounding the arrest of Pablo Gomez,” Anderson said. “To learn that Pablo is a suspect in this

crime comes as a total shock to us. ... Although no longer connected to ACE, Pablo added many positive and meaningful contributions to our work.” She added, “The victims of this senseless crime, and their friends and families, are in our thoughts and prayers.” A statement on the website for Sienna Ranch, where Inman worked, said she was “a brilliant, passionate, creative teacher and a sparkling, joyful, sincere person,” whose death “has shaken our community to the core.” The ranch has been “inundated with messages from the families of current and former students who were touched by her teaching,” the statement reads. According to a parent of one of

Inman’s special needs students, “Emilie knew just how to transport this diverse group of friends from one world to another filled with fascinating plants, fuzzy-tailed friends, mud puddles, hillside daydream, and original songs she had written. As the group evolved to include more students from our extended community, Emilie continued to embrace ALL children, especially those with special and complex needs. ” Inman had been supporting a new scholarship program that was being developed at the time she was killed. The ranch has decided to name the scholarship after Inman. Donations to the fund may be made at https://www.paypal.me/ Inmanmemorial. After Gomez’s arrest, they were

held for several days in a Los Angeles Sheriff ’s Department medical facility before being brought back to Berkeley. A sheriff ’s department spokesperson said that because of medical privacy laws, the agency couldn’t provide specific information related to Gomez’s housing. On Facebook, Gomez is a member of groups including the Gender Equity Resource Center, which is based at UC Berkeley and addresses LGBTQ and other issues. The center’s director hasn’t responded to an interview request. Along with murder and other charges, Gomez also faces special allegations including use of a knife. A clerk at the Alameda County Public Defender’s office said Tuesday she couldn’t find Gomez in the agency’s system.t

million grant through HUD’s Office of Special Needs Assistant Programs. Both Larkin Street Youth Services and the Lavender Youth Recreation and Information Center praised the grant. “Larkin Street Youth Services is thrilled by HUD’s announcement that San Francisco will receive $2.9 million to fight youth homelessness,” said Sherilyn Adams, executive director of the agency. “This is a monumental moment in time, and

this funding is a game-changer. ... Youth homelessness is finally on the map, and Larkin Street is honored to be part of this work.” HUD is awarding $33 million to 10 communities – including four in rural areas – under its Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program designed to end youth homelessness. HUD received 130 applications, which underwent a comprehensive review. San Francisco is one of six urban areas funded through the program.

“I am excited to see HUD’s commitment to developing targeted solutions to help end youth homelessness,” Kositsky said in a news release. “I am proud of all the work that we have been doing with youth and our community partners to help end youth homelessness.” Jodi Schwartz, executive director of LYRIC, said that with the grant, the city has been “given an opportunity to implement the innovative strategies necessary to lift our most marginalized

young people out of homelessness – queer, trans, gender non-conforming youth; black and brown youth; and youth suffering from untreated mental health challenges.” The 2015 San Francisco Homeless Unique Youth Count found 1,569 unaccompanied, unsheltered youth in the city, according to Kositsky’s news release. The next Youth Count is scheduled for January 26 as part of this year’s Homeless Point-in-Time count the city is conducting.t

Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

18 • BAY AREA REPORTER • January 19-25, 2017

Trump

From page 10

general, Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Alabama), has a long and consistent history of acting against the best interest of LGBT citizens. If confirmed by the Senate, it seems likely Sessions, with the support of Trump, will withdraw the U.S.’s lawsuit against the North Carolina law. It also seems likely the Trump DOJ will weigh in on the side of North Carolina should the Supreme Court eventually review the constitutionality of HB 2 as other lawsuits against it continue. And a similar law is now proceeding through the Texas Legislature. The Title IX showdown: In the spring, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case, Gloucester v.

Seeing in the Dark

From page 16

are commonly good for a year and, consequently, are locked into renewal fees. They also end up buying accessories that in the end do not do anything to keep their pets safe, or help manage their behavior in a crisis. At the University of the Pacific, which has three campuses in California, a service animal policy was established to create a safe environment for both service and emotional support dogs. The policy allows access to both service and emotional support animals; however, poorly behaved service animals will be asked to leave and then return only once the dog or handler has completed additional training. “I think there are probably a few reasons that schools are having such a difficult time with therapy dogs and emotional support animals,” said Daniel Nuss, director of services for students with disabilities at UOP. “One reason is that many institutions likely did not engage training and education on the topic prior to the influx of requests and quickly became overwhelmed due to a lack of internal expertise and processes.” The issue of imposter service dogs is multifaceted and complex.

Grimm, to decide whether Title IX’s prohibition on sex discrimination in schools should be read to include a prohibition on gender identity discrimination. Under the Obama administration, the Department of Justice supported the transgender student’s claim that Title IX protects his right to use a bathroom of the gender with which he identifies. Under the Trump administration, a DOJ led by Sessions will almost certainly take sides with the Gloucester school district. The good news is that it seems most unlikely Trump can nominate and have confirmed a new right-wing Supreme Court justice in time to join in whatever ruling the court makes in the case this year. A tie vote will leave the federal appeals court ruling – in favor of the transgender student – intact.t On one end, there are service dog handlers who live in fear of having their service dog attacked by an untrained pooch, and the training schools that rely on donations are impacted by the perception ill-behaved pet dogs in vests leave behind. There are people with emotional disabilities who lack training on the difference between a service dog and an emotional support animal, and pet owners who are unaware of the risk they are taking when disguising their pet dogs as service animals. Also, federal law is limited in this case, and it is up to each state to create their own service animal policies. But perhaps the biggest problematic piece of this puzzle is the online retailers who are profiting from selling fraudulent papers, and preventing people from receiving the proper education.t Belo Cipriani is a disability advocate, a freelance journalist, the award-winning author of “Blind: A Memoir” and “Midday Dreams,” the spokesman for Guide Dogs for the Blind, and the national spokesman for 100 Percent Wine – a premium winery that donates 100 percent of proceeds to nonprofits that help people with disabilities find work. Learn more at belocipriani.com.

Legal Notices>> ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-16-552649

In the matter of the application of: TONY MICHAEL PERKINS, AKA TONY MICHAEL DANIEL APKER PERKINS, 19 CLEMENTINA ST #207, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner TONY MICHAEL PERKINS, AKA TONY MICHAEL DANIEL APKER PERKINS, is requesting that the name TONY MICHAEL PERKINS, AKA TONY MICHAEL DANIEL APKER PERKINS, be changed to TONY MICHAEL ARCHULETAPERKINS. 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 February 2017 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

DEC 29, JAN 05, 12, 19, 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 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037400100

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: HAPPY FACE FAMILY PRESCHOOL, 631 HEARST AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ELENA RAMIRIZ. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/28/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/28/16.

DEC 29, JAN 05, 12, 19, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037370400

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-037395300

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: GIDDYUP PUP, 44 TUCKER AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94134. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed GENEVIEVE NIZIC. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/21/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/21/16.

DEC 29, JAN 05, 12, 19, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037380500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: NORIEGA STREET CLEANERS, 1711 NORIEGA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed YU FEN WANG. 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 12/09/16.

DEC 29, JAN 05, 12, 19, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037393700

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SERENITY SKINCARE BY RACHEL, 754 PACIFIC ST #D1, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed RONG RONG HUANG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/01/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/20/16.

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 95472-9999

JAN 12, 19, 26, FEB 02, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037397900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: INVITE A THIRD, 4153 20TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed CUC NGUYEN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/12/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/27/16.

DEC 29, JAN 05, 12, 19, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037398200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: COCO’S RAMEN, 3319 MISSION ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ZHILING XIN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/27/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/27/16.

DEC 29, JAN 05, 12, 19, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037393100

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: NORCAL COURIER AND LEGAL SERVICES, 268 BUSH ST #4042, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94104. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed 41510 LOGISTICS 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 12/20/16.

DEC 29, JAN 05, 12, 19, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037396100

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BEX SPEX, 4083 24TH ST #460726, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed BEX SPEX, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/05/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/22/16.

DEC 29, JAN 05, 12, 19, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037397500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ICARUS ARCADE, 4145 ULLOA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed ICARUS ARCADE (CA). 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.

DEC 29, JAN 05, 12, 19, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037375300

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: THE WORD; YELLOW BRICK ROAD INDUSTRIES, 465 S. VAN NESS AVE STE A, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed YBR PROMOTIONS LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/01/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/06/16.

DEC 29, JAN 05, 12, 19, 2017 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-17-552673

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: INTEGRITY MARKETING, 662 HURON AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed RICHARD G. HABIB. 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 12/02/16.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SERVICE EXPERTS, 280 FRANKFORT ST, DALY CITY, CA 94014. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JONATHAN JOYA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/15/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/15/16.

In the matter of the application of: BERYL MAGILAVY, 433 LINDEN ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner BERYL MAGILAVY, is requesting that the name BERYL MAGILAVY, be changed to SIMONE THOMAS. 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.

DEC 29, JAN 05, 12, 19, 2017

JAN 05, 12, 19, 26, 2017

DEC 29, JAN 05, 12, 19, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037388400

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 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-037376500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: KEMESTRY, 4007 FOLSOM ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed RONALD B. BROOKS. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/07/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/07/16.

JAN 05, 12, 19, 26, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037393400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: LAPHET, 448 LARKIN ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed WILLIAM LUE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/20/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/20/16.

JAN 05, 12, 19, 26, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037395800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PUSH DANCE COMPANY, 179 OAK ST #J, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed RAISSA SIMPSON. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/31/05. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/22/16.

JAN 05, 12, 19, 26, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037390200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ABSEE WORLD, 2088 OAKDALE AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed EVELYN TAM. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/16/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/16/16.

JAN 05, 12, 19, 26, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037400400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: THE URBAN CHAIR, 3650 24TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed CARLA BEYER. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/26/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/28/16.

JAN 05, 12, 19, 26, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037408900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CHEFS FEED, 32 PAGE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed CREDIBLE, INC (DE). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 02/03/11. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/03/17.

JAN 05, 12, 19, 26, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037405100

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: TAKUYA, 716 IRVING ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed TAKUYA INVESTMENT INC (CA). 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 05, 12, 19, 26, 2017 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037385900

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: ZETAOHM LLC, 2565 3RD ST #315, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed ZETAOHM 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 12/14/16.

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 05, 12, 19, 26, 2017 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-034273200

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: GYROTONIC PACIFIC HEIGHTS, 2999 WASHINGTON ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business was conducted by a limited liability company and signed by TRINITY FITNESS LLC (CA). The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/13/12.

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 05, 12, 19, 26, 2017

JAN 12, 19, 26, FEB 02, 2017

Read more online at www.ebar.com

January 19-25, 2017 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 19

Legal Notices>> FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037426100

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037415300

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.

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-037423300

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

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.

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-037422800

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

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.

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-037419700

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

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.

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-037417800

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

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 SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA RAPID TRANSIT DISTRICT NOTICE TO PROPOSERS – GENERAL INFORMATION January 10, 2017 Subject: Request for Proposals No. 6M2061 Public Liability Claims Adjustment Services To All Interested Parties: The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (herein “District” or “BART”) will be requesting proposals for Consultant Services to provide Public Liability Claims Adjustment Services. The Scope of Services and associated requirements are in the Request for Proposal (RFP.) The request for Public Liability Claims Adjustment Services entered into pursuant to this RFP will be will be for three (3) years, with the District options to extend the Agreement for up to two (2) additional one-year periods, subject to termination, as provided for in the Agreement. PROSPECTIVE PROPOSERS WHO ARE NOT CURRENTLY REGISTERED ON BART’S PROCUREMENT PORTAL TO DO BUSINESS WITH BART, ARE REQUIRED TO REGISTER ON THE BART PROCUREMENT PORTAL ON-LINE AT HTTPS://SUPPLIERS. BART.GOV/ IN ORDER TO OBTAIN SOLICITATION DOCUMENTS, UPDATES, AND ANY ADDENDA ISSUED ON LINE. PROPOSERS WHO HAVE NOT REGISTERED ON THE BART PROCUREMENT PORTAL PRIOR TO SUBMITTING A PROPOSAL, AND DID NOT DOWNLOAD THE SOLICITATION DOCUMENTS FOR THIS SOLICITATION ON LINE SO AS TO BE LISTED AS AN ON-LINE PLAN HOLDER FOR THIS SOLICITATION, WILL NOT BE ELIGIBLE FOR AWARD OF THIS AGREEMENT. Proposer should note that this Agreement is subject to the District’s Small Business Program that includes a preference of 5% of the lowest responsible Proposer’s price, up to a maximum of $250,000, for a certified Small Business Prime CONSULTANT submitting a Proposal on this Agreement. Proposer’s attention is directed to Sections I.F and I.G below which set forth the District’s Small Business Program requirements. Inquiries regarding the District’s Small Business Program shall be directed to the District’s Office of Civil Rights, 300 Lakeside Drive, 16th Floor, Oakland, CA 94612, Telephone at (510) 4646100, or to BART’s Website at: www.bart.gov/ocr . A pre-proposal meeting will be held on Friday, January 25th at 10:00 A.M. in the BART Offices located at 300 Lakeside Drive, 18th Floor Conference Room No. 1800, Oakland, CA 94612. Prospective Proposers are urged to make every effort to attend this only scheduled pre-proposal meeting. Proposals must be received by 2:00 P.M., local time, February 28, 2017 at the address listed in the RFP. Submission of a proposal shall constitute a firm offer to the District for One-Hundred and Eighty (180) calendar days from date of proposal submission. Upon conclusion of the pre-proposal meeting, please direct all questions concerning the Scope of Services and other administrative issues of this RFP to Steve Alva, Contract Administrator, via E-Mail at salva@bart.gov. Any questions regarding the Small Business Preference, please contact Alma Basurto at abasurt@ bart.gov. Thank you for your interest in District procurements. Dated at Oakland, California, this 12th day of January, 2017. /S/ Jacqueline R. Edwards Jacqueline R. Edwards, Deputy Assistant District Secretary San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District 1/19/17 CNS-2965881# BAY AREA REPORTER

Classifieds The

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.

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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

ebar.com Legal Notices>> 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.

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.

San Francisco International Airport is soliciting proposals from qualified consultants to provide airline liaison office (“ALO”) consulting services between the Airport and the San Francisco Airline Airport Affairs Committee. This professional service contract has an initial term of five (5) years with two one-year options to extend, at the Airport Commission’s discretion. Respondents must be able to demonstrate the following Minimum Qualification Requirements: At least three years of experience, within the last five years in facilitating airport/ airline affairs for an airport located in the United States designated by the Federal Aviation Administration as a large hub primary airport, which provides international airline service beyond North America. A pre-proposal conference is scheduled on Tuesday, January 24, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Standard Time. The Request for Proposals (“RFP”) is posted on the City and County of San Francisco’s website at http://mission.sfgov.org/OCABidPublication/ BidDetail.aspx?K=11548 All RFP submittals are due Tuesday, February 21, 2017 at 4:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time.

CNS-2965142#

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

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JAN 19, 26, FEB 02, 09, 2017 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-034252000

JAN 19, 26, FEB 02, 09, 2017

The Watergarden Gay and Bisexual Men’s Club and Bath has an opening in the Maintenance department for experienced individuals with the following: Janitorial, Carpet cleaning, Landscaping, Window Cleaning, Painting, Pool and spa maintenance experience is preferred but not necessary. This is a full time position. Must be available to work weekends. Full medical and Dental, Life insurance, AD&D insurance. 2 weeks Paid Vacation, after 18 months of full time employment. Full time 40 hr. per week, 7am to 3:30 pm. Hourly salary based on experience. Fill out an application at: 1010 The Alameda San Jose Ca. 95126 Or email resume to: Scott@thewatergarden.com

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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.

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.

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

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

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Out &About

O&A

Vol. 47 • No. 3 • January 19-25, 2017

www.ebar.com/arts

There’s more to Cary Leibowitz than just Candyass by Sura Wood

davidallenstudio.com

Cary Leibowitz in the lobby of the Contemporary Jewish Museum.

Thrillpeddlers Artistic Director Russell Blackwood slits Flynn DeMarco’s throat in a Shocktoberfest production that may have shed its last drop of blood.

Thrillpeddlers in peril! by Richard Dodds

Scene from director Eliza Hittman’s Beach Rats.

Sundance stories

Courtesy Sundance Film Festival

Rick Gerharter

ary Leibowitz was a precocious kid. Growing up middle-class, Jewish and gay in suburban Connecticut in the 1960s, the New York-based artist penned essays in the first grade declaring his admiration for Frank Lloyd Wright, and had a subscription to Architectural Digest by the time he was 10. At 13, his dreams of grandeur took the form of what he calls “total gay-boy art,” drawings of fictionalized All-American suburban neighborhoods, and fantasies of swanning through elegant rooms designed by interior decorator maven Pauline de Rothschild. He went on to study architecture at Pratt, switched to painting, and by 1987, adopted the moniker “Candyass” because, as he once told art critic Holland Cotter, “It sounded like a Jewish accountant and a rap singer working together.” Droll humor, self-deprecation, a bundle of insecurities and stand-up comedy shtick characterize his work, as do self-loathing, Jewish neuroses and a queer sensibility that’s difficult to define. All these elements coalesce in an outsider who never felt like the cool guy and still See page 30 >> doesn’t, a state of affairs that has had its advantages.

by David Lamble

s 1950s horror movies liked to conclude, “The End – or is it?” so it is with Thrillpeddlers. The 26-year-old troupe that has shed buckets of stage blood is losing its home known as the Hypnodrome. A handshake deal that guaranteed use of a former venetian blind showroom at token rent for two years stretched into 13 years as potential buyers for See page 25 >> the building came and went. But on the first day

he 2017 edition of the Sundance Film Festival, playing Park City, Utah from Jan. 19-29, sets out to define the independent-film menu across a broad range of genres. What follows is our guess on what may prove hot in 2017, based on some preliminary reports from the mountains. The 2017 edition is dedicated to films about climate change. See page 30

{ SECOND OF THREE SECTIONS }

Sunday 1/29

CARMEN CUSACK AT THE VENETIAN ROOM FAIRMONT SAN FRANCISCO

Grammy and Tony nominee (Steve Martin & Edie Brickel’s Bright Star) San Francisco Bay Area Debut!

www.bayareacabaret.org • (415) 927-4636 1/29 CARMEN CUSACK Grammy and Tony nominee (Steve Martin & Edie Brickel’s Bright Star)

<< Out There

22 • BAY AREA REPORTER • January 19-25, 2017

Who’s afraid of Samuel Beckett? by Roberto Friedman

415 -500 -2620

ill Irwin knows that we are blessed to live in a world that was graced by the great Irish poet, dramatist and novelist Samuel Beckett. His show On Beckett, at ACT’s Strand Theater through Jan. 22, is Irwin making his case, after a lifetime of living with Beckett’s works, for the sublimity of his oeuvre. A master clown, a founder of SF’s Pickle Family Circus, a Tony Award-winning actor, star of stage and screen, a MacArthur, Guggenheim and Fulbright Fellow, Irwin delivered an entertaining and elucidating evening that was one part lecture, two parts performance, as he acted out passages from Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, Endgame and Texts for Nothing leavened with plenty of commentary and clarifying detail. He said his goal in creating the piece was to “find the actor’s connection, to make a ‘talking language’” of the texts he excerpted. It was his foray onto the “mysterious continent” of Beckett-land, and the audience was happy to be along for the trek. Although Beckett’s theatre of the absurd could be considered heady stuff, an investigation into the endless arguments going on within our minds, and although it is redolent of literature, an “allusive voice” that echoes great works, Irwin made the best

possible case for the Nobel Laureate as a “writer of the body.” He has found the place where his expertise in clowning intersects with the abstract, sometimes abstruse texts. Both demo & emo, he showed how the wearing of a bowler hat or baggy pants inflects a performance, informs Beckett’s enigmatic characters. He called Godot, Beckett’s most famous work, “metaphysical vaudeville.” And as a finale of sorts, he presented Text for Nothing #11 in what he termed “full clown” mode. It was full wow. Kevin Berne Beckettian monologues have entered the popular Tony Award winner Bill Irwin presents culture, much as Shake- On Beckett, a look at Samuel Beckett’s plays, prose, and poetry, at A.C.T.’s spearean script has. Is Strand Theater. there any better encapsulation of despair, depression, press conference, itself theatre of the inherent irony of the absurd, with the report, “He’ll the human condition release his taxes once the audit is than the last three senfinished. (You remember that audit. tences of Beckett’s last Its friends call it Godot.)” novel, The Unnamable? In a Q&A after the performance, “You must go on. Irwin told us part of the fascination “I can’t go on. for him in continuing to do the “I’ll go on.” piece is to investigate “where the As Irwin observed, audience ends, and the performer like all the greats, Beckett begins.” In this case, he had the has already entered the collective Strand audience right in the palm subconscious, and more will be reof his clown hands.t vealed. As if to confirm the observation, the very next morning in The Through Jan. 22 at the Strand New York Times, columnist Gail Theater. Tickets ($30-$70): (415) 749-2228 or at act-sf.org. Collins described the p.e. Trump

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f misery loves company so much, why doesn’t it just marry it? Well, sometimes it does, but the spouses may not realize at first that this is their bond. In Amy Herzog’s Belleville, troubles in paradise begin to show in the first scene as Abby walks in on her husband while he is having an intimate pants-down interlude with the computer. Not so shocking anymore, that, but it does give her pause. “You’re having a slightly Victorian reaction,” says Zack, flipping any fault to her, as begins an ominous unraveling of secrets and mysteries

JAN 20— FEB 26, 2017 WEST COAST PREMIERE BY MICHAEL MCKEEVER DIRECTED BY ALLEN SAWYER

that becomes increasingly complex before reaching a too-pat resolution. But at least until that point, Custom Made Theatre’s production holds us tight during its 90 minutes, as a couple is forced to acknowledge that their marriage has been held together with spit and glue. As long as self-deceptions remain sequestered, Abby and Zack might just have it all. Her dream of living in Paris has come true, thanks to Zack’s work with Doctors Without Borders. But every compliment now seems to be taken as a passive-aggressive jape, every deviation from the routine a red flag of some sort. Custom Made has given Herzog’s play a quality staging, with a quartet of strong performances under M. Graham Smith’s moody direction. As Abby, Alisha Ehrlich hardly need open her mouth to communicate a woman in need – but of what, remains elusive both for her and for her husband. “I’m so fucking tired of being told to be happy,” she says. Yet Zack seems to be making an effort, having even skipped the graduation ceremony from medical school so he could take a job in Paris, but in Justin Gillman’s performance, there is a queasy sort of deferentiality that proves prescient. Zack and Abby live in Belleville, a multi-ethnic neighborhood in

Paris, and their landlord emigrated from Senegal and lives downstairs with his wife (nicely played by Nkechi Emweuwa). Zack and Alioune are pot-smoking buddies, but Abby always seems to be tripping over her efforts to establish her embrace of diversity. She nearly has a meltdown after offering the nonplussed Alioune angel-shaped Christmas cookies after remembering he is Muslim. Nick Sweeney plays Alioune with a quiet intensity, and only reluctantly insists that Zack pay his months-in-arrears rent, of which Abby knows nothing. Tugging at that thread begins a marriage’s unraveling. What helps set Belleville apart from a typical relationship drama is the mystery-play structure, as secrets are gradually pried out, with an increasing sense of dread as tensions rise. If the specifics can’t be known before the end comes, it’s not hard to have anticipated something along its lines, and it feels too easy. There is then a low-key coda of unclear intentions that requires you to know at least one French phrase: “Je suis desole.”t Belleville will run through Jan. 28 at Custom Made Theatre. Tickets are $20-$42. Call (415) 798-2672 or go to custommade.org

“Beautifully crafted and powerfully realized” MIAMI HERALD

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Alisha Ehrlich and Justin Gillman play a couple whose marriage is based on falsehoods gradually revealed in Amy Herzog’s Belleville at Custom Made Theatre.

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<< Music

24 • BAY AREA REPORTER • January 19-25, 2017

Mahler cantata given deluxe treatment

Cory Weaver/San Francisco Symphony

Left: Baritone Brian Mulligan, and Right: soprano Joelle Harvey and tenor Michael Konig in San Francisco Symphony’s Das klagende lied at Davies Symphony Hall.

by Philip Campbell

ustav Mahler and Michael Tilson Thomas go way back. If MTT has spent a large part of his own musical career exhaustively re-examining the great composer’s works, the very least we can say is that he keeps finding new and interesting aspects. He is always eager to share the results, and his long championing of what some refer to as Mahler’s early manifesto, the cantata Das klagende lied, is a good example. The maestro served up a semi-staged version of the folkloreinspired score last week at Davies Symphony Hall with a little help – well, actually a lot of help – from his friends. Clearly a work exhibiting the talent of a budding genius, the Song of Lament is boldly ambitious and offers many hints of the masterpieces to come. If Mahler never wrote an opera, this gives an idea of what might have been. The allusions to Wagner are apparent, and the libretto, by the composer himself,

gives more character to individual vocal soloists than most works in the genre. Still, it isn’t an opera or ballet, and the recent production ultimately showed more flaws in the dramatic pacing than a more traditional interpretation might have. That isn’t to say it wasn’t entertaining and often stimulating to observe. Director James Darrah has partnered with the SFS before, in presentations ranging from the triumphant (Britten’s Peter Grimes, Bernstein’s West Side Story and On the Town) to the good (Peer Gynt and The Flying Dutchman) to the downright grotesque (the scoreobscuring multimedia treatment of Beethoven’s Missa solemnis). Beautiful projections by Adam Larsen and evocative lighting by Pablo Santiago helped Ellen Lenbergs’ handsome set and Sarah Schussler’s ethereal costumes appear suitably mythical for Darrah’s storybook vision of Mahler’s dark exploration of sibling rivalry and reprisal. Ragnar Bohlin’s magnificent SFS Chorus and MTT’s hearty band of

orchestral musicians added gravitas and urgency to the obscure tale. The accomplished and graceful young dancers could probably have been dispensed with, but the quartet of vocal soloists was positively riveting. American baritone Brian Mulligan and German tenor Michael König, both making their SFS debuts, are no strangers to the musical stage, and Mulligan is fast becoming a regular at the San Francisco Opera. His unforgettable Sweeney Todd foretold an acting credibility that matches his fine voice, and König’s resonant tenor impressively certified his international opera reputation. Soprano Joélle Harvey was a pure-toned and easily audible soloist, and mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke has a long track record with MTT, the SFS and Mahler. Her distinctive voice is especially well-suited to the repertoire, and her ability to convey a sense of strength, even in moments of aching vulnerability, is totally convincing. The program opened with

Mahler’s brief and rarely heard (except in SF) Blumine, with fine solo work from Principal Trumpet Mark Inouye. The first half ended with Sasha Cooke’s deeply felt Songs of a Wayfarer. Sung with supertitles but without “staging,” the simple approach proved Mahler doesn’t need to be gussied up in order to be understood. The lavish treatment of Das klagende lied was hopefully appealing to first-time listeners. It was no harm, no foul for MTT fans, and endearing proof of his adventurous lifelong advocacy.

Absent conductor

There is another event coming soon that should hold special appeal for music enthusiasts craving a fresh take on classical repertory and concert performance. One Found Sound is a Bay Area arts “start-up” that follows in the lead of groups like New Century Chamber Orchestra and The Knights in NYC by performing exclusively without a conductor. The ensemble is made up

of young, local professionals. Many are graduates of the SF Conservatory and other local institutions. The mission uniting the group is a shared goal of creating their own opportunities and breaking from established traditions. OFS performs in smaller unconventional venues such as breweries or art galleries, on the same level as the audience, all within touching distance. Performances generally last little over an hour, with plenty of breaks to enjoy food, drink and chat. It’s a fun, affordable and informal concert experience, geared especially for younger listeners and anyone desiring a more intimate connection with classical musicians. Heron Arts (7 Heron St., San Francisco) is the setting for the final performance in One Found Sound’s fourth full season, on Fri., Feb. 3, at 8 p.m. It features chamber music by Ravel, as well as orchestral works by Debussy and Respighi. Single tickets are available in advance, or at the door (slightly higher). More info can be found at onefoundsound.org/.t

Close but no cigar: looking at ‘Lulu’ by Tim Pfaff

ulu is hard to take straight up. No one since Proust had taken a harder look at the lethal folly of romantic love than the opera’s creator, Alban Berg, and although misconceptions about it continue to fall away, producers and audiences still find the challenging work easier to enjoy as a theatrical “sensation,” plying its trade in a gutter somewhere between the naughty and the outright immoral. The 1937 opera, finally established as one of the 20th century’s greatest, is such strong stuff that Berg’s widow fought to suppress it. Her husband lived on the knife-edge of Eros’ madness, and that’s what he served up, lovingly and as compassionately as Proust, in Lulu. Its 1979 premiere in its completed three-act form was a visually imposing misfire from one of the greatest opera directors, Patrice Chereau, who thought he could out-Berg

Berg. But its incompletion at the time of Berg’s death is not the reason lesser artists have, in the guise of fixing it, often contradicted and dulled it. Recently, William Kentridge, a visual artist taking over as director, wallpapered it in a much-heralded traveling production that Nonesuch has preserved in its Metropolitan Opera stopover. One sign of a true Lulu is that the producers display the Lulu portrait in every scene. Time and again, I exhausted myself locating Kentridge’s portrait in the blizzard of projected images, some arresting, many banal and off-point – and all of them, collectively, distractions from the opera’s meticulously calculated, fine-bore horrors. Just before I watched it, life, in one of its synchronous caprices, tossed me a “dated” video of Wieland Wagner’s Lulu production as staged in Stuttgart in 1968. Even as the old twoact “torso,” it took Berg at his word and sliced like a blade to the beating

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hearts of the opera’s characters who, liberated from the bounds of type, stereotype and symbol, threw Lulu’s heat. By comparison, Kentridge’s Met Lulu is a cool glass of milk. The incandescence of soprano Marlis Petersen, one of the great Lulus of our day in her final incarnation of the title role, only highlights the vacuity of what transpires around her. The other singers get the job done – their “pieces of work,” in Jack the Ripper’s droll take on the opera’s climactic murders – but none rises anywhere near Petersen’s level and most are just not good enough, though garishly clothed. I know nothing of Susan Graham’s sexual preferences, and I’m good with that, but as opera’s most iconic lesbian, the complicated Countess Geschwitz, she is a cipher and seems uninterested in her music, if irrefutably professional about it. As she sings and acts it, the role is smaller than one remembers. Perhaps tellingly, perhaps unwittingly, in Kentridge’s staging the dying Dr. Schoen aims his last words – “The Devil” – not at Geschwitz, as in Berg, but at Lulu, who has done him a favor by putting five bullets in his back. He loves her. He has loathed to a one the many others in competition for her, but he has reserved his true hatred for Geschwitz, the one threat he cannot overwhelm, as Berg understood.

It’s not that Kentridge’s Lulu is sloppy. The singing and acting are noteworthy in the horrifically difficult ensembles, which clearly were rehearsed to a fare-the-well. Still, in the pivotal one, the genderfuck of Act II, Scene 1, out come the unlit cigars and the tired Freudian question they pointedly ask. It’s one of those “amplifications” of Berg through which its energy leaks away. Kentridge does triumph where he had damn better. In the middle of his opera, Berg asks for a film of the pivotal action, over a musical palindrome of seething brilliance, and even directors with big budgets have – unaccountably, unconscionably – largely abjured. Kentridge’s is the most accomplished and shattering I have seen. But elsewhere all that art becomes the “Schmutz”

Schoen deplores. Shortly after the Painter has made the Lulu portrait – and promptly killed himself, gratefully offstage – Lulu cries out, “I can’t stay here.” I know how she feels. The met Opera Orchestra under Lothar Koenigs, deputizing for James Levine but hardly at the last minute, is, appropriately enough, a shadow of the self it had been for this work under Levine and Fabio Luisi. In another of life’s consolation prizes for this Lulu lover, immediately after I watched the Met’s, I heard the Kentridge in its reincarnation at English National Opera last November, on a delayed BBC radiobroadcast. What a difference this potent music alone makes! Without having to constantly bat away the welter of visual images like cobwebs, the music comes through at full strength, conducted by Mark Wigglesworth. The cast is terrific, and James Morris is a fine Dr. Schoen. Brenda Rae is yet another of the great Lulus, and Sarah Connolly is a dream Geschwitz, as complete and soul-baring an executant of the role as I have heard. If you want to make Lulu’s acquaintance, there’s never been a better time. The ENO Lulu is sung in a brilliant English translation, by Richard Stokes, that “reads” clearly, and it will be available on the BBC’s iPlayer Radio until Feb. 3. bbc. co.uk/programmes/b087q1xc.t

t <<

Theatre>>

January 19-25, 2017 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 25

David Nicoletta

Thrillpeddlers

From page 21

of the new year, Artistic Director Russell Blackwood got notice from the landlord – who Blackwood said should more properly be called his benefactor – that a sale was imminent. Thrillpeddlers needs to pack up its faux guillotine and other props and costumes and be out of the space by March 1. Almost immediately after getting that news, Blackwood and his husband and fellow Thrillpeddler, Jim Toczyl, had to hurry to Rocklin, in Placer County, where Toczyl’s father had fallen critically ill before dying on Jan. 8. Blackwood was still in Placer when he talked by phone last week about Thrillpeddlers’ past, present, and possible future. “Being able to hunker down here in Rocklin with our immediate family actually served me to an advantage,” he said. “I’m not in the Hypnodrome space, I’m not with any other members of Thrillpeddlers, and I’m not caught up in rehearsing what was going to be our next show. I’m feeling a fair amount of calm right now. Not that I haven’t sobbed and sobbed. Not immediately, which was more like numb, cold, and constricted, but then a good two days into it was the first time I cried about it, and it was epic.” Back in San Francisco, the Thrillpeddlers’ machinery will be cranking up to high speed before leaving the Hypnodrome. A series of events will take place between now and the end of February that will include a staged concert version of what was to be the company’s next big production and a farewell revue made up of songs and sketches created for Thrillpeddlers that reflect the many strange faces of the company. Thrillpeddlers began as a sporadically producing itinerant company that fed into Blackwood’s decades-old interest in Paris’ Le Theatre du Grand-Guignol, known for its blood-and-gore melodramas, while injecting its own kinky vibe that has remained steadfast. “Back in 1999 and 2000, we would have things like foot-fetish variety acts and psychedelic enema nurses in blacklight,” Blackwood said. “It was a kink mashup.” After moving to the Hypnodrome, tucked away under a freeway ramp on 10th Street near Division, the annual Shocktoberfest revue of classic Grand Guignol and original plays and songs was eventually augmented by an annual Theatre of the Ridiculous production. That led to reviving musicals that the Cockettes had performed at the start of the 1970s and provided Thrillpeddlers with some of its biggest hits. Thrillpeddlers has maintained a first-hand Cockettes connection in songwriter and musical director Scrumbly Koldewyn who was an original member of the psychedelic, gender-bending, high-camp troupe that burned brightly but briefly. He worked with Thrillpeddlers on reviving such Cockettes musicals as Pearls Over Shanghai and Hot Greeks, and has contributed songs and short musicals for Shocktoberfest productions. His new full-length musical Amazon Apocalypse, or How the Devil Came to Save The Planet, written with Cab Covay, has already been cast and was set to open in late February. Instead, it will receive a semi-staged concert production on Feb. 9-11. “The premise is if the devil comes to Earth seven times in one day, there will be this complete change,” Blackwood said. “The devil shows up in places around the world in different decades entering into different bodies. It culminates with him entering into a corporate dictator, and I get to play that character.”

Above: Composer Scrumbly Koldewyn, left, and Thrillpeddlers Artistic Director Russell Blackwood were working on a new musical when word came that the troupe needs to vacate the Hypnodrome. Right: Rumi Missabu, an original member of the Cockettes, returned to his role as Madam Gin Sling when Thrillpeddlers had its biggest hit with a revival of Pearls Over Shanghai. The future of the company is now up in the air.

Blackwood termed that final turn of events as “prescient.” On Feb. 14, the troupe will offer two Valentine’s Day benefit performances of Farewell to the Hypnodrome with a revue of variety acts and songs. Also coming up in the final weeks of the Hypnodrome are a trio of performances of Naked Dudes Reading Lovecraft presented by Thrillpeddlers regulars Andy Wenger and Damien Chacona under the aegis of their Ham Pants Productions. And finally, on Feb. 25-26, there will be a rummage sale of set pieces, costumes, props, books, and odds-and-ends. (Ticket info at hypnodrome.org.) In addition to Amazon Apocalypse, a revival of Peter Fogel and Kelly Kittel’s Y2K rock musical has been cast and was slated to open in May. “Having these two pieces in our hip pocket at least for the moment is an asset,” Blackwood said in terms of getting them staged in other venues. “I can’t keep the casts on hold for very much longer, but for the moment it’s still, ‘Show us a stage, and we can do it.’” Thrillpeddlers has never operated under anything like a traditional theatrical model. The Hypnodrome seats only 45 while the casts may have up to 20 members. General admission tickets are $30, and Blackwood has no interest in fundraising. The annual summer Creep Show camp for kids does help with the budget. He is the only Thrillpeddler to get a salary, while cast members get $10 per show. “I think if we were offering $40 or $50 a show, something might change in all that,” he said. “All of a sudden it becomes part of the real thing, and this stipend is small enough to keep us all amateurs, and beautifully so.” Blackwood is 50 and his husband just turned 60. They have talked about starting new adventures, perhaps outside San Francisco, but Blackwood had to admit that if the Hypnodrome had remained available, he could see himself continuing business as usual into his 60s. “Right now, here in Rocklin, I’m not feeling the lightbulb going off yet, and it may not until I’m back in the midst of the company and things start presenting themselves. Aside from word just getting out about this, I don’t know what other sparks will be working in our favor. “The entire experience with Thrillpeddlers has unfolded full of synchronicity, full of free passes. It’s been hard work but very idyllic and charmed.”t

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<< Out&About

Out &About

O&A

26 • BAY AREA REPORTER • January 19-25, 2017

Native Son @ Marin Theatre Company, Mill Valley

Kathy Griffin @ Masonic Hall

Nambi E. Kelley’s stage adaptation of Richard Wright’s classic novel stars Jerod Haynes, who originated the role in the Chicago world premiere. Previews; opens, Jan 24. $22-$60. Tue-Sun 7:30pm. Sat & Sun 2pm. Thru Feb. 12. 397 Miller Ave., Mill Valley. www.marintheatre.org

The popular comic returns for a laughfilled show. $49-$79. 8pm. 1111 California St. livenation.com

Resist Trump @ Justin Herman Plaza Join 100s of people in SF Rising Alliance’s morning protest against the deplorable incoming Trump administration. 8am-1pm. 1 Market St. www.facebook.com/SFRisingAlliance/

Stand Up, Fight Back @ El Rio

Wed 25 Fun Home @ Curran Theatre

Not normal by Jim Provenzano

rom idealistic visions to political nightmares, art reflects reality, which is this week a bit scary. Refuse to normalize. For nightlife, see On the Tab listings.

Thu 19 20th Anniversary Exhibit @ ArtHaus

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

Bill Irwin On Beckett @ Strand Theatre The veteran comic and dramatic actor performs excerpts from Samuel Beckett plays, and discusses his explorations of the playwright’s work. $20-$60. TueSat 7:30pm. Sat & Sun 2pm. Thru Jan. 22. 1127 Market St. www.act-sf.org

Classic & New Films @ Castro Theatre Jan. 19: The Great Dictator (3:15, 7pm) and Duck Soup (5:35, 9:15). Jan 20: Noir City 15 film festival opening night. (www.noircity.com). $11-$16. 429 Castro St. castrotheatre.com

Comedy Returns @ El Rio Maureen Langan, Joe Nguyen, Ash Fisher, David Lawrence Hawkins, and host Lisa Geduldig share laughs for a Trumpocalypse Eve. $7-$20. 8pm. 3158 Mission St. www.elriosf.com

Poe-Pourri 5 @ Dog Eared Books Jon Ginoli, Johnny Ray Huston, Connie Champagne, James Jeske, Marilyn Fowler, and Russell Blackwood read Edgar Allen Poe excerpts, with host Tweaka Turner, a lookalike contest, raffles, food, wine and cake. 7pm8:30pm. 489 Castro St. www.dogearedbooks.com

Radar Reading @ SF Public Library Juliana Delgado Lopera hosts the eclectic queer reading series, this time with Gabrielle Glancy, Andrea Wolf, Carolina de Robertis, and Marcela Pardo. 6pm. 100 Larkin St., lower level. www.radarproductions.org www.sfpl.org

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto @ Strut Mussalmaan Musclemen, the artist’s exhibit of mixed media works depicting Muslim men, fabric and photos, combining craft styles with homoerotic imagery. 470 Castro St., second floor. Thru January. zulfikaralibhuttoart.com strutsf.org

Fri 20

Avenue Q @ New Conservatory Theatre Lopez & Marx and Whitty’s hilarious puppets-for-adults musical comedy returns, with two different casts. $20-$60. Wed-Sat 8pm. Sun 2pm. Extended thru Jan. 22. 25 Van Ness Ave., lower level. www.nctcsf.org

Benefit for Planned Parenthood, with all bar proceeds going to the health nonprofit from 4pm-6pm; show with The World and Preening, 9pm, with DJ Emotions. Donations. 3158 Mission St. www.elriosf.com

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? @ Ashby Stage, Berkeley Shotgun Players perform Edward Albee’s classic drama about an unhappily married college town couple. $25-$40. In repertory thru Jan. 22. 1901 Ashby Ave., Berkeley. (510) 841-6500. www.shotgunplayers.org

Cirque du Soleil @ AT&T Park

Who Are You? @ Rosa Parks Elementary School

The amazing Canadian circus company performs another dazzling show, Luzia, a Waking Dream of Mexico. $49 and up. Tue-Sat 8pm. Also various matiness thru Jan. 29. 74 Mission Rock St. www.cirquedusoleil.com/luzia

Author Brook Pessin-Whedbee and illustrator Naomi Bardoff read from and discuss their new children’s book about non-binary gender identity. 5:30pm. 920 Allston Way, Berkeley. www.kidsguidetogender.com

Daniel’s Husband @ New Conservatory Theatre Center

Sat 21

West Coast premiere of Michael McKeever’s drama about a gay couple’s disagreeement over marriage. $25-$50. Wed-Sat 8pm Sun 2pm. Previews; opens Jan. 28. Thru Feb. 26. 25 Van Ness Ave., lower level. www.nctcsf.org

Ed Luce @ Mission Comics & Art The creator of the popular Wuvable Oaf comic series (pro wrestlers, Satanic demons and cats!) signs copies of his new collection, Blood & Metal. 6pm-8pm. 2250 Mission St. www.wuvableoaf.com missioncomicsandart.com

Exist and Resist @ Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts Opening reception for a group exhibit of politically-themed art in multiple media in response to the elections. Donations. 6pm-9pm. Thru Feb 11. 2868 Mission Street. missionculturalcenter.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 Human Form @ John Bergguen Gallery Opening reception for a 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. berggruen.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, candid road trip. $60-$75. Wed & Sun 7pm. Thu-Sat 8pm. Sat & Sun 2pm. Thru Feb 15. 2025 Addison St., Berkeley. berkeleyrep.org

Meg Stuart @ CounterPulse The acclaimed performer performs four solo dance-theatre works. $20-$35. Fri & Sat 8pm., post-show reception; coat donations for homeless accepted. 80 Turk St. www.counterpulse.org

All Power to the People: Black Panthers at 50 @ Oakland Museum Multimedia exhibition celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Oakland-based civil rights and community group; thru Feb. 26. Other exhibits include 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 11am-5pm (Fri til 9pm). 1000 Oak St., Oakland. (510) 318-8400. www.museumca.org

Behind the Scenes @ GLBT Historical Society Archives Get a free inside look at how historic LGBTQ items are collected and stored at the new archival offices, with Joanna Black. 2pm-4pm. 989 Market St., lower level. RSVP info@ glbthistory.org www.glbthistory.org

Butterflies and Blooms @ Conservatory of Flowers Beautiful floral displays, plants for sale, docent tours, and the popular live butterflies exhibit; thru June 30. Tue-Sun 10am-4pm. $2-$8. Free for SF residents. 100 JFK Drive, Golden Gate Park, 831-2090. www.conservatoryofflowers.org

Cloud Forests @ SF Botanical Gardens See beautiful floral and foliage displays, trees and plants in various beautiful gardens specific to region. Daily walking tours and more. Free-$15. Tours, lectures, classes and more. Open daily, 7:30amsunset. Golden Gate Park. 661-1316. sfbotanicalgarden.org

Crimes of the Heart @ Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts Beth Henley’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play about three sisters in Mississippi gets a local production. $31-$80. Thru Feb. 5. 500 Castro St., Mountain View. www.TheatreWorks.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. themarsh.org

Lamp of the Covenant @ Contemporary Jewish Museum Exhibits about Jewish culture, including Lamp of the Covenant: Dave Lane and Pour Crever by Trimpin, Hardly Strictly Warren Hellman. Lectures and gallery talks as well. Free (members)-$12. Fri-Tue 11am-5pm, Thu 11am-8pm (closed Wed). 736 Mission St. 655-7800. thecjm.org

Mincing Words @ The Marsh Tom Ammiano returns with his comic solo show about his life in politics. $20-$100. Saturdays at 5pm. Extended thru Feb. 25. 1062 Valencia St. www.themarsh.org

Perverts Put Out @ Center for Sex and Culture Daphne Gottlieb, Philip Huang, Greta Christina, horehound stillpoint and other authors read sexy stories, with hosts Simon Sheppard and Carol Queen. $10-$20. 8pm. 1349 Mission St. www.sexandculture.org

Revolutionary Grain @ Oakland Library Revolutionary Grain: Celebrating the Spirit of the Black Panthers in Portraits and Stories commemorating 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

Serge Gay Jr. @ Spoke Art Different Rules, the painter’s exhibit of compelling pop culture-infused fantastical images. Thru Jan. 28. 816 Sutter St. www.sergegayjr.com www.spoke-art.com

Women’s March @ Civic Center Join 1000s of women and male supporters in the local portion of nationwide protest marches to counter the incoming Trump administration’s sexist, bigoted, far-rightwing extremism. 3pm-8pm. Rally at City Hall, candlelight march downtown 5pm. womensmarchbayarea.org

Sun 22 Best Gay Erotica @ Strut

Rob Rosen, Richard May and Dale Chase read from their contributions to the new anthology, Best Gay Erotica of the Year, Volume 2: Warlords and Warriors. 7pm. 470 Castro St. www.strutsf.org

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

Mon 23

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. MonSat 9:30am-5pm. Sun 11am-5pm. 55 Music Concourse Drive, Golden Gate Park. 379-8000. www.calacademy.org

Vintage Prints @ William Blake Gallery New gallery of historic art by the 18th and 19th-century poet and illustrator. Mon-Fri 10am-5pm. Sat 11am-5pm. 49 Geary St. #205. www.william blakegallery.com

Tue 24

10 Percent @ Comcast David Perry’s online and cable interviews with notable local and visiting LGBT people, broadcast through the week. 7pm. Thu-Tue 11 & 11:30am & 10:30pm. ComcastHometown.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

Wed 25 Fran Frisch @ Lone Star Saloon

Reception for the upcoming exhibit, Beartoonist of San Francisco: Sketching an Emerging Subculture, the artist’s show of original bear comic art. 7pm9pm. 1354 Harrison St. lonestarsf.com glbthistory.org

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 Pulitzerfinalist and five-Tony-winning musical based on Alison Bechtel’s graphic novel 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. sfcurran.com

Perfectly Queer @ Octopus Literary Lounge, Oakland Ajuan Mance, Willy Wilkinson, and Anna Pulley read at the East Bay edition of the literary reading series. 7pm. 2101 Webster St., Oakland. facebook.com/perfectlyqueerreadings www.oaklandoctopus.org

Thu 26

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. sfoasis.com

Literary Speakeasy @ Martuni’s James J. Siegel welcomes writers Celeste Chan, Daphne Gottlieb, J. James Keels, Jon Sindell and Olga Zilberbourg to the monthly literary series at the fames martini bar. 7pm. 4 Valencia St.

A Roof Over My Head @ Manilatown Center Concert performance of gay activist Tommi Avicolli Mecca’s new musical about the housing crisis. Free. 7pm. 868 Kearny St. manilatown-heritagefoundation.org

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

Strike a Pose @ Roxie Theater Frameline Encore presents the acclaimed documentary about Madonna’s talented back-up dancers, and their lives post-fame. Free. 7pm. 3117 16th St. www.frameline.org www.roxie.com To submit event listings, email events@ebar.com Deadline is each Thursday, a week before publication. For bar and nightlife events, go On The Tab in BARtab, and online at www.ebar.com/bartab

Film>>

January 19-25, 2017 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 27

Banking on Banksy ever, is a grand adventure, which manages both to show him at work and posit as its protagonist a crazy French street artist who stumbles into the success that eludes 99% of his adopted profession. The best way to save Banksy is not to go around cutting up walls he’s painted on, although I sympathize with the executive producer’s passion. City governments everywhere must be enlightened, encouraged, or forced to cultivate and protect artists and their works, not just the ones moldering inside the sanctioned vaults of taste. “When you go to a Courtesy the artist museum you are simply A big rat 30 feet above Haight Street.: Banksy art came to San Francisco. a tourist looking at the trophies of a few millionaires,” says Banksy. The daredevil ephemera that the passive-aggressive bite of the by Erin Blackwell randomly appear in unexpected pithy slogans that often accompany n April 2010 the renowned street places also need their champion. his stenciled figures. Banksy has artist Banksy visited San Francisco Why is making images on walls a the soul of a political cartoonist, and painted a handful of paintings crime? “Some people become vanone who sees beyond parties and on nondescript walls around town. dals because they want to make the so-called issues to deep, troubling Within days, the works were covered world a better-looking place.”t sources of sorrow. His film, howover in other people’s paint. Seen and documented, they disappeared. One of them, removed along with a chunk of siding from a proud Victorian, has started a second life as a valuable commodity in an art market desperate for new work to get excited about. A new film – infomercial or documentary, you decide – follows the struggles of an art collector bent on preserving a genuine piece of Banksy ephemera. Saving Banksy opens Friday at the Roxie. Brian Greif, a robust quinquagenarian with plenty of time, energy, and resources to throw at his aesthetic quest, is shown driving around San Francisco, looking at the image of a big rat 30 feet above Haight Street, and sometime later lovingly stowing a few planks of vintage redwood wrapped in sheets in his closet at home. The film begins to sag after a blaringly up-tempo prologue devolves into something tediously close to a home movie. Greif is also shown driving around Miami, whining about the disorienting scale of an art fair, and later looking at the reassembled giant rat on an exhibition wall. An executive producer on the film, this earnestly uninsightful fanboy occupies too much of the film’s meager 67 minutes. Greif ’s predicament is to have “saved” an artwork the artist himself doesn’t want saved. Out on a limb, enjoying the spotlight, and striving to be principled, Greif is shown negotiating with SFMOMA, who are loath to collect anything against the wishes of the artist, especially when that means it can’t be authenticated. In other words, Greif, whose name is perhaps misspelled, can’t give it away. Neither can he sell it, since that would scupper his principles and oft-intoned goal: not to deprive the public of the chance to gaze at a spray-paint-and-stencil giant rat. The longer Greif holds out against bidders, the higher the price soars, well upwards of half-a-million. His nemesis is tall, flamboyant German art dealer Stephan Keszler, painted as a villain because he makes money selling art. Street art is designed for the street, not the auction house, we’re told on-camera by street artist Ben Eine, whose dogmatic dictums wear thin before we’ve heard the last of them. San Francisco’s failure to support street art is glanced at, but not examined. Director Colin M. Day, while dutifully illustrating his subject, fails to have a point of view. Banksy himself directed a film about street art called Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010). The title shares

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<< Film

28 • BAY AREA REPORTER • January 19-25, 2017

Scary perspectives at the Castro Theatre by Tavo Amador

ddie Muller’s annual Noir City film festival plays the Castro Theatre Jan. 20-29. The genre’s dark worldview seems especially appropriate now. Robert Siodmak, who helmed Burt Lancaster’s star-making debut in 1946’s The Killers, directed him in Criss Cross (1949), a story of romantic obsession. Steve Thompson (Lancaster) still loves ex-wife Anna Dundee (Yvonne De Carlo, years before The Munsters). She’s re-married, to a criminal (Dan Duryea). Steve arranges an armored car robbery that he hopes will let him take her away. But things go wrong. Lancaster’s terrific – his virility smolders. De Carlo is splendid. Duryea is appropriately sleazy. With Stephen McNally and Richard Long, well before The Big Valley. Screenplay by Daniel Fuchs, from the novel by Don Tracy. John Huston’s The Asphalt Jungle (1950) is a classic heist movie. When Sam Jaffe is released from prison, he plans the perfect jewelry robbery, using a perfect group of crooks. He soon learns that perfection is an ideal, never realized. Memorable performances from Jaffe (a decade before TV’s Ben Casey), Louis Calhern, Sterling Hayden, Jean Hagen, and James Whitmore. An 11th-billed Marilyn Monroe shows a cynical side of herself as Calhern’s mistress. Huston and Ben Maddow pungently adapted W.R. Burnett’s novel. (Fri., 1/20) In Kansas City Confidential (1952), John Payne hopes to make a

new life after leaving prison. But he’s unjustly accused of a million-dollar robbery. He hunts down the scary culprits (Neville Brand and Lee Van Cleef) in Mexico, and falls for sweet Colleen Gray. Phil Karlson directed, from a screenplay by George Bruce and Harry Essex, based on a story by Harold Greene and Rowland Brown. Lee Marvin, Stephen McNally and J. Carroll Nash plan a bank robbery in an Arizona mining town, causing a Violent Saturday (1955). Victor Mature, Sylvia Sidney and Ernest Borgnine are among those whose lives are disrupted in this delirious mix of soap opera and crime. Richard Fleischer directed, from Sydney Boehm’s screenplay, based on William L. Heath’s novel. In lush Cinemascope. (Sat., 1/21, matinee) Federico Fellini co-authored Four Ways Out (La citta se defende) (1951). Four amateurs who rob a stadium during a soccer match must separate to avoid capture. Then the trouble begins. Pietro Germi directed this unusual blend of noir and neo-realism. With a young Gina Lollobrigida. Mario Monicelli’s celebrated spoof of caper films The Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958) is set in Rome. Inept amateurs plan to rob a government pawnshop, with hilarious results. Marcello Mastrioanni, sexy Vittorio Gassman, Claudia Cardinale, and Renato Salvatori star. Monicelli had a hand in the screenplay, which is based on a story by Italo Calvino. Both films in Italian with English subtitles. (Sat., 1/21, evening)

Blacklisted American director Jules Dassin went to France and made Rififi (1955), a brilliant heist drama that became an international success. The celebrated 30-minute break-in sequence is a model of holdyour-breath suspense. With Jean Servais. Dassin and Rene Wheeler adapted the novel by Andre Le Breton. Claude Sautet’s 1960 Classe Tous Risques (Consider All Risks), an insightful look at dishonor among thieves, is unjustly forgotten. Lino Venturi is eager to end his criminal exile in Italy by returning to France with his wife and two small children. When they arrive in Nice, he calls his gangster pals, who aren’t happy to hear from him. They reluctantly send young, sexy Jean Paul Belmondo to bring him to Paris, but it’s clear he’s on his own. What will he do? With Marcel Dalio. Sautet co-wrote the screenplay, based on a novel by Jose Giovanni. Both pictures in French with English subtitles. (Sun., 1/22) In Stanley Kubrick’s The Killing (1955), Sterling Hayden plots a precise racetrack heist but soon discovers how many things can go wrong. Vince Edwards (a few years before Ben Casey) and Jay C. Flippen are the co-conspirators. With Colleen Gray and noir queen Marie Windsor. Kubrick’s direction is taut and suspenseful. He and Jim Thompson adapted Lionel White’s novel. Cruel Gun Story (1964) stars Japan’s King of Noir, Jo Shishido, who’s behind

bars for having avenged himself on a man who paralyzed his sister. He gets sprung by a mobster who wants him to rob an armored truck loaded with loot from the Japanese Derby. He learns too late that there’s more to the assignment. Directed by Takumi Furakawa. Written by Hisataka Kai and Haruhiko Oyabu. In Japanese with English subtitles. (Mon., 1/23) Alec Guinness, Peter Sellers, Herbert Lom, Cecil Parker, and Danny Green are The Lady Killers (1955), Alexander’s MacKendrick’s witty noir about bank robbers who pretend to be members of a string quartet. They rent rooms from a lovable elderly lady (Katie Johnson)

while they plan their heist. She innocently foils them at every turn. Story and screenplay by William Rose. A delight. The League of Gentlemen (1960) stars Jack Hawkins as a discarded veteran who convinces cronies to help him rob a bank, using a pulp novel as a guide. Very funny. With Richard Attenborough. Directed by Basil Dearden, screenplay by Bryan Forbes from the novel by John Boland. (Tues., 1/24) Once a Thief (1960) marked French superstar Alain Delon’s Hollywood debut. He’s an ex-con going straight, married to AnnMargaret, when cop Van Heflin charges him with a crime he didn’t commit. Delon responds by planning a robbery with his brother (homely, virile Jack Palance). The gifted Delon, probably the era’s most beautiful actor, easily commands the screen. Shot on location in San Francisco. Directed by Ralph Nelson. Screenplay by Zekial Marko, from his novel. Gorgeous fugitive Delon joins The Sicilian Clan (1969), headed by Mafioso Jean Gabin. Delon tells him how they can commit a diamond heist. Lino Venturi is the determined cop hunting him down. Things get more complicated when the boss’s daughter-in-law falls for Delon. Directed by Henri Verneuil, who helped adapt Auguste Le Breton’s novel. Great Enno Morricone score. (Wed., 1/24)t

Beneath their wings by David-Elijah Nahmod

eaches (1988) is a fondly remembered film starring Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey. It tells the sad tale of a close, sometimes stormy, unlikely friendship between two seemingly mismatched women. CC (Midler) is a loud, brash singer with stars in her eyes, a gay icon in the making. Hillary is an attorney from a wealthy, conservative family. Their 30-year friendship begins on one beach and ends on another when Hillary is struck down by illness. The film was a hit, grossing $57 million against a $20 million budget. Midler sang “Wind Beneath My Wings,” one of her biggest hits, on the film’s soundtrack, and Beaches remains a favorite among her fans. Lifetime airs its remake of Beaches starring Rent’s Idina Menzel as CC,

Lifetime

Nia Long and Idina Menzel in the Lifetime remake of Beaches.

and Nia Long as Hillary, on Sat., Jan. 21. The film was directed by Allison Anders, whose credits include wellreceived independent films Gas,

Food and Lodging (1992), Mi Vida Loca (1993), as well as episodic TV. The original Beaches ran over two hours. Lifetime’s version clocks in

at a scant 90 minutes, which necessitates truncating the story. One glaring omission from the remake is Leonie, CC’s outrageously colorful stage mother, played so memorably by Lainie Kazan in 1988. In Anders’ film Leonie is reduced to a one-line cameo, but when you shorten a story’s running time by more than 30 minutes, something has to go. A few of the original’s plot points have a rushed feel, including CC’s rise to stardom and Hillary’s failed marriage. In spite of these flaws, Menzel and Long offer fine performances in the lead roles. Menzel, a seasoned veteran of Broadway musicals, has a powerful voice and delivers soaring covers of “Wind Beneath My Wings” and “The Story of Love,” another song performed by Miss M some 30 years ago. Menzel and Long enjoy a nice chemistry and play off each other

well as CC and Hillary bond, grow apart, and find each other again. Eventually they become family as tragedy enters their lives. There are no surprises to be found in Anders’ film for anyone familiar with the original, it’s the same story. Everything viewers see on screen is lifted directly from the original. But there are pleasures to be found in Menzel and Long’s interpretations of the roles, and that tearjerker of an ending still packs a wallop. Neither version of Beaches could be called a great film, but both are enjoyable. The story is reminiscent of “women’s pictures,” weepy soap operas that were produced during the 1940s, often starring legendary ladies Joan Crawford or Barbara Stanwyck. If you’re in the mood for a good cry, Beaches premieres on Lifetime on Jan. 21 at 8 p.m.t

Goofs & spoofs by David Lamble

here’s an old expression, “Earn your attitude,” that the creators of Smile Again, Jenny Lee, a churlish soap opera shot in San Francisco, might have considered before they filmed this story about a washed-up 20something tennis player. Attacked by a man with a lead pipe, Jenny (Monique Hafen) is left barely able to walk, her ability to play competitive tennis threatened. Swiss-born filmmaker Carlo Caldana sets his dyspeptic tale in a gorgeous slice of lower Pacific Heights, where an insufferable brat like Jenny might feel at home. While it’s not essential that we love her, Jenny wears out her welcome well before the end of Act I. She spends most of her screentime

hectoring everyone in sight to lend her money, pay her bills, or listen to her whine. There might be a market for well-photographed poppycock shot in our fair city, but for it to work the material would have to reflect the taste and sense of humor of the average Cafe Flore patron. Jenny Lee feels stale before it can be unwrapped. Opens Friday at the Roxie Theater. About 10 minutes into German director Maren Ade’s laugh-outloud father-daughter gem Toni Erdmann, you grasp that you’re on a special cinema ride. With its politically incorrect humor and flagrant nudity, the film might be a tad long, but I’d be damned if I know what to cut. It launches on a sad note, the death of practical joker/retired music teacher Winfried’s ancient

Courtesy Marguery Film

Monique Hafen and Linda DeMetrick in director Carlo Caldana’s Smile Again, Jenny Lee.

dog. Equally pressing on this naturally jolly German senior’s disposition is a growing feeling that his

beloved adult daughter, Ines, is on the wrong path at work, a consultant job that’s turning her into a

sadly serious young woman. The heart of the piece is Winfried’s decision to “goof ” on his kid at work in an escalating series of practical jokes that would test the strongest family bonds. In his most egregious stunts Winfried dons a tacky black wig while sitting in on Ines’ highlevel business meetings, eventually inspiring a father/daughter debate on the nature of happiness. The leads are terrific, Peter Simonischek as Winfried and his outrageous alter ego Toni Erdmann, and Sandra Huller as Ines, a part that includes a scene of complete frontal nudity that will probably not make the cut in a projected Hollywood remake. Toni Erdmann is a front-runner for Oscar’s Best Foreign Language Film honors. Opens Friday at Landmark’s Embarcadero Center Cinemas.t

Books>>

January 19-25, 2017 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 29

Spiritual & gender transitions by Brian Bromberger

Out of the Ordinary: A Life of Gender and Spiritual Transitions by Michael Dillon/Lobzang Jivaka, edited by Jacob Lau and Cameron Partridge; Fordham University Press, $34.95

efore Christine Jorgensen, Candy Darling, or Kate Bornstein, there was Michael Dillon, a transgender pioneer and one of the first cases of a woman transitioning to a man. The holy grail of transsexual history has been the long-rumored memoir of Dillon/Jivaka, finished in 1962, two weeks before his sudden death at age 47 after collapsing on a hike in India and dying in a local hospital. Mailed to his literary agent, but prevented from being published by his transphobic brother, the autobiography literally lay hidden in a London warehouse for 50 years. A successor at the literary agency retained a copy of the manuscript, which he would quietly make available to scholars doing work on Dillon, including trans researcher Pagan Kennedy, who completed a biography of Dillon/Jivaka, The First Man-Made Man, in 2007. Two trans scholars from Harvard Divinity School, Cameron Partridge and Jacob Lau, who attended one of Kennedy’s book readings, approached her about the memoir, and she made digital photographs of the manuscript available to them. Eventually it was published by Fordham. Born Laura Maude Dillon on May 1, 1915, into a minor aristocratic family, her mother died a week after giving birth, and her father, an alcoholic, when she was 10. She was

raised in Folkestone, England, by two spinster aunts. From early on, Dillon had an interest in spirituality, beginning with Anglican Christianity, due to a close relationship with a local vicar. Dillon attended Oxford, studying theology then classics, becoming an avid rower. She began adopting masculine traits such as smoking a pipe and confiding to friends that she was attracted to women. She was sent by a local doctor to a psychiatrist who unprofessionally shared her story with another physician who worked in the laboratory where Dillon had secured a position. The resulting ridicule by colleagues was unbearable. This began a four-year miserable period when Dillon was employed in a garage. In 1939 she began self-administering testosterone, which had only been synthesized in 1935. At 28, he legally registered as male under the name Lawrence Michael. Dillon became a firewatcher during WWII, but also started studying sexology and hormones, writing his first book Self: A Study in Ethics and Endocrinology in 1946. He eclipsed Harry Benjamin, the foremost expert, by 20 years in formulating a coherent medical model of trans people. He had a double mastectomy and, deciding to study medicine at Trinity College, found a surgeon to perform the first phalloplasty (construction of a penis) on an assigned birth female. Graduating in 1951, he joined the Merchant Navy as a surgeon for six years, traveling all over the world. He might have made this decision due to his failed relationship with Roberta Cowell, not mentioned in the memoir. She had contacted Dillon about transitioning from male

to female and he fell in love with her, but not feeling similarly, she rejected his marriage proposal. He would never have another romance. In 1958 he wrote to Burke’s Peerage to register to be next in line for his older brother’s title, a move that outed him to the press. Journalists hounded him on his navy ship. Fleeing from them, he decided to become a Tibetan Buddhist monk, having studied Buddhism for years and struck a friendship with Dhardoh Rimpoche at the Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya (site of the Buddha’s enlightenment) in India. He was ordained a novice, the first Westerner to be accepted as a Tibetan monk and allowed into a monastery, writing two books: Practicing the Dhamapada (1959) and Growing Up Into Buddhism (1960). He took the name Lobzang Jivaka, the Buddha’s physician. He studied under a strict Theravada English monk teacher who exposed him after discovering Dillon was heading for Tibet. Authorities turned him back at the border. Having retrieved his manuscript, Dillon added a short account of the previous three years and an introduction, finishing it on May 1, 1962, his 47th birthday. Oddly, the memoir would arrive before news of Dillon’s death. Readers wanting an in-depth account of his transition or struggles to embrace a new identity will be disappointed. He only discusses the subject because he wants to correct media misrepresentations of his life, writing in the hope it might “contribute to a broader understanding and social acceptance for others with histories like his own.” There are no

lurid sexual revelations and only a brief reference of his conversion to Buddhism, having covered that topic in a previous book. The other frustration is that Dillon is very much a man of his times, far from enlightenment, casually making indiscreet remarks that we would regard today as imperialist and racist. His prose is

rather dull, veering at times into an off-putting, morally righteous tone. While not the revelatory read one might wish, as a rare historical document of what it was like to be a trans man in the middle of the 20th century, there is cause for celebration at the publication of this fascinating if unresolved life.t

LGBT artists put sounds in your ears by Gregg Shapiro

t’s hard to imagine the spectrum of music without the contributions of LGBT artists, so don’t even try. From show tunes to country music, from indie rock to jazz, queer musicians have a presence you can hear and feel. Not just a stage A loving homage to the both the popular disaster movies (The Poseidon Adventure, Airport 1975) and the music (“Hot Stuff,” “Theme from Mahogany,” “I Will Survive,” “You’re My Best Friend”) of the 1970s, Disaster!: Original Broadway Cast Recording (Broadway Records) is co-written by gay Broadway maven Seth Rudetsky and out actor Jack Plotnick. The double-disc 2015 New York cast recording of A New Brain (PS Classics) by William Finn (Falsettos) and his collaborator James Lapine features Jonathan Groff, Christian Borle and Ana Gasteyer among cast members. The two-CD original cast recording of the chamber musical First Daughter Suite (Ghostlight/Razor & Tie) by gay composer-lyricist-librettist Michael John LaChiusa features Tony nominees Mary Testa as Barbara Bush, and Alison Fraser as Betty Ford and Nancy Reagan. For queer hipster ears Teens of Denial (Matador), the eagerly anticipated second album by Car Seat Headrest (aka Will Toledo), doesn’t disappoint, deliver-

ing on the promise of 2015’s Teens of Style with brilliant numbers “Destroyed by Hippie Powers,” “Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales” and “(Joe Gets Kicked Out of School for Using) Drugs with Friend (But Says This Isn’t a Problem).” Led by trans rock legend Laura Jane Grace, Against Me! returns with Shape Shift with Me (Total Treble). While not as remarkable as 2014’s Transgender Dysphoria Blues Blues, it includes outstanding songs “Delicate, Petite & Other Things I’ll Never Be,” “Haunting, Haunted, Haunts” and “All This (and More).” For I Had a Dream That You Were Mine (Glassnote), openly gay Rostam Batmanglij of Vampire Weekend fame has teamed up with Hamilton Leithauser of the Walkmen to form Hamilton Leithauser +Rostam, one of the most compelling collaborations of the year. Queer country queens Big Day in a Small Town (WB), the official major-label debut by lesbian singersongwriter Brandy Clark, is a masterpiece. Seriously. One of the queerest and best artists in Nashville, Clark’s songs have been covered by others (see Kacey Musgraves), but nothing beats hearing Clark singing the title tune, “Three Kids No Husband,” “Homecoming Queen” and the heartbreaking “You Can Come Over.” Publicly out a few years before Clark, Ty Herndon and Billy Gilman, Chely Wright returns with I Am the Rain (Megaforce), her first album in almost six years. Produced by Joe Henry (Madonna’s brother-in-law to some of you) and featuring

guest artists Rodney Crowell, Emmylou Harris and the Milk Carton Kids, it’s a dazzling, stripped-down affair. Jazz hands Gay jazz pianist and composer Fred Hersch, a recording artist for more than 30 years, performs originals and covers including the Beatles’ “For No One” on Sunday Night at the Vanguard (Palmetto), with John Herbert on bass and Eric McPherson on drum. It’s the latest offering from the Fred Hersch Trio. On Songs of Life (Miranda Music), Scott Morgan, Fred Hersch’s partner, covers three of Hersch’s songs

as well a mix of vintage (“Lost in the Stars,” “I’m Just a Lucky So-andSo”) and contemporary (the Beatles’ “I Will,” James Taylor’s “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight”) standards. Lesbian drummer extraordinaire Allison Miller is as well-known for her solo albums as she is for her collaborations and work as an indemand session musician. Two of Miller’s most recent collaborations include Swivel (Little 1 Music) as part of the Honey Ear Trio (along with Jeff Lederer and Rene Hart) and Lean (Music Wizards) with Jerome Sabbagh and Simon Jermyn.t

ebar.com

<< Fine Art

30 • BAY AREA REPORTER • January 19-25, 2017

Leibowitz

From page 21

While it’s true he has made a name for himself playing the loser card, in “real life” he’s a success, with a full-time job at the Phillips Auction House in New York, a recent marriage to his partner of 16 years, and a country house designed by his hero, architect Robert Venturi. “It’s all so grown-up,” reflects Leibowitz, who now, at the age of 53, has landed his first-ever solo museum exhibition. The show, which opens at the Contemporary Jewish Museum next week, includes over 350 artworks from 1987 onward: paintings, prints, installations and mass-produced multiples that tilt toward camp and kitsch, and text-based works that make plaintive pleas for reassurance (“Do these pants make me look Jewish?”), profess love for artists from Michelangelo and Keith Haring to Andy Warhol, and traffic in testaments to arrested development that just won’t quit, like the handscrawled open letter that asks the recipient to check one of the following boxes: “You love me too; you are in-like with me; you need more time; you wish you never met me.” Hey, whether we’re 6 or 60, we could all do with a little more clarification, right? In town to oversee the exhibition’s installation, Leibowitz took some time out to talk. Here are

Sundance

From page 21

Beach Rats Eliza Hittman, whose 2014 first feature It Felt Like Love debuted at Sundance, returns with the tale of a confused Brooklyn teen caught between misbehaving buddies, potential girlfriends and the dark world of online chats with older men. Band Aid A battling couple finds their salvation in a rock band whose song list is inspired by their domestic squabbles. Zoe Lister-Jones writes, directs and stars. Burning Sands A college frat’s pledge week becomes a hellish ordeal for a once-favored pledge torn between obeying the group’s code of silence or speaking out against a rising tide of violence during the secret hazing rituals. Gerard McMurray directs a cast headed up by Alfre Woodard, Steve Harris, Tosin Cole, DeRon Horton and Trevante Rhodes. Crown Heights Matt Ruskin adapted this true-life miscarriageof-justice story from the acclaimed Public Radio program This American Life. When a man (Colin Warner) is falsely charged and convicted of murder, his best friend (Carl King) attempts to prove his innocence. Golden Exits Writer/director Alex Ross Perry demonstrates how the arrival of a young foreign girl upends the lives and emotional stability of two Brooklyn families. With Emily Browning, Adam Horovitz, Mary-Louise Parker, Lily Rabe, Jason Schwartzman and Chloë Sevigny. The Yellow Birds Director Alexandre Moors (with writers David Lowery and R.F.I. Porto) commands this topical drama showcasing promising newcomer Tye Sheridan as one of two friends who join the all-volunteer army and are sent to Iraq. Following a battlefield tragedy the surviving buddy must juggle a vow of silence with the desire to assist a grieving mother’s need for consolation and closure. The Hero Filmmaker Brett Haley (with co-writer Marc Basch) gives us Lee (Sam Elliott), a retired cowboy actor who’s retired to a life of residual checks from TV ads cushioned by a strong pot habit. A big award and some startling news lead to reflection and a new friendship with an opinionated comedian. With Laura Prepon, Krysten Ritter,

edited excerpts from that conversation.

that’s always afraid to make a scene or be impolite.

Sura Wood: For 30 years you’ve studiously avoided having a museum show. How come, and why now? Cary Leibowitz: I wish it was as glamorous as that. I hadn’t really been invited, so it’s not like I had the option to avoid it. I’ve been very jealous of other people having shows. I also think maybe I wasn’t quite in synch with the times, but now my stuff has a bit of a nostalgic patina. I think being perpetually out-ofstep has been a lucky thing.

Are you following in the footsteps of Woody Allen in making inadequacy an art-form? Probably. I love all his movies, and I do come from that same sort of mindset. I don’t think of myself as a loser in a slacker sort of way. It’s a more Woody Allen kind of thing. Do you ever feel marginalized by being labeled a gay artist? I don’t feel marginalized, but I do feel somewhat guilty because I don’t feel like I’ve ever been a strong advocate of pushing political agendas. Even in my art, there’s nothing earthshattering.

What’s it like putting together three decades of work? It’s a bit nerve-wracking. At one point I realized the packing tape on the storage When you were 11, what boxes was older than the prompted you to write Courtesy of the artist and INVISIBLE-EXPORTS friend helping me organize Liberace and request an them. I have to say, after Cary Leibowitz, Faggy Faggy Boom Boom (2013). autographed headshot? looking at some of the old Latex paint on wood panel, 38.5 x 32.25 in. I don’t really know why, stuff, I think I haven’t really but around the same time I pushed myself enough. wrote to him, I also wrote to It depends on whether it’s a good You’ve said that early on, you Liza Minnelli, these people who are day or a bad day. Sometimes the were very focused on yourself. I’m now so associated with gay culture. work is still pretty personal in the thinking of that piece that says, When I got to college and had gay first-person sort of way. I’ve never “I’m torn between you, me and friends, the Liberace photo was my liked pointing the finger at anymy ego.” Do you look outward pedigree paper. one or making anyone feel guilty more? or responsible. There’s part of me Nick Offerman, Katharine Ross. she finds herself embroiled with sheep farmer Johnny Saxby numbs I Don’t Feel at Home in This half-siblings and their rich, selfhis boredom with binge-drinking World Anymore In filmmaker involved father. Mifti seeks relief and casual sex. The appearance of Macon Blair’s story, a depressed in an obsessive fling with Alice, an a Romanian migrant worker ignites woman (Melanie Lynskey) collaboolder white-collar-criminal junkie. an intense bond that sets Johnny on rates with a rude neighbor (Elijah Berlin Syndrome (Australia) a new path. With Josh O’Connor, Wood) after a home burglary to find Cate Shortland and screenwriter Alec Secareanu, and Gemma Jones. the culprits. Shaun Grant’s passionate vacation My Happy Family (Germany/ Ingrid Goes West Matt Spicer romance takes a sinister turn when Georgia) In filmmaker Nana Ekvtiwith co-writer David Branson an Australian photographer awakmishvili’s story, three generations Smith have hatched an odd comeens in a Berlin flat and is unable to of a Georgian family live under one dy-drama about a young woman’s leave. roof. All are shocked when 52-yearmisadventures with an Instagram Woodpeckers (Dominican Reold Manana moves out to live alone. “influencer.” public) In filmmaker José María Without her family and husband, a Landline Gillian Robespierre Cabral’s romantic drama, a young journey into the unknown begins. (with co-writer Elisabeth Holm) man, Julián, finds love and a reason The Nile Hilton Incident (Swepresents this tale of a pair of sisters for living in the last place imagden) Tarik Saleh sets his tale in coming of age in 90s New York. inable: his country’s dangerous Cairo, weeks before the 2011 revoThe girls’ Pop turns out to be one Najayo Prison. His tryst with fellution, Police Detective Noredin is of many family members cheating low prisoner Yanelly must develop working in the infamous Kasr el-Nil on their marriage vows, practiced through sign language and withpolice station when he is handed the liars who connect only in devious out the knowledge of the prison’s case of a murdered singer. He soon ways. With Jenny Slate, John Turguards. realizes that the investigation conturro, Edie Falco, Jay cerns the power elite, Duplass and Finn close to the PresiWittrock. dent’s inner circle. Novitiate Maggie The Wound (South Betts’ drama flashes Africa) Director John back to the early 60s, Trengove with writers when the fallout from Thando Mgqolozana Vatican II forces a and Malusi Bengu young aspiring nun relate the story of an to grapple with isisolated factory worksues of faith, sexuality er who joins the men and secularism. With of his community in Margaret Qualley, the mountains of the Melissa Leo and JuliEastern Cape to initianne Nicholson. ate a group of teenage Patti Cake$ Gerboys into manhood. emy Jasper gives us When a defiant initiCoutesy Sundance Film Festival a New Jersey-based ate from the city disdrama about an as- Scene from director Alexandre Moors’ The Yellow Birds. covers his best-kept piring rapper who secret, Xolani’s way of survives a jungle of life is threatened. strip malls and clubs seeking her 15 Don’t Swallow My Heart, AlNon-Fiction Films: Casting Jonminutes of high-octane fame. ligator Girl! (Brazil) In Felipe BraBenet Kitty Green examines the unRoxanne Roxanne Michael gança’s fable, a 13-year-old boy is in solved death of six-year-old AmeriLarnell flashes back to NYC in the love with a Paraguayan Indian girl. can beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey, early 80s as a wannabe teen singer To win her love, he must confront a sensational child-murder case. seeks to be a hip-hop legend in her his part of the world’s war-torn hisOver 15 months, reflections and Queensbridge neighborhood. tory and the secrets of his brother, performances were elicited from To the Bone Marti Noxon’s world Fernando, a motorcycle cowboy. the Ramseys’ Colorado hometown, premiere unfolds at a group recovery Family Life (Chile) Directors creating a bold work of art from the home where Ellen, a 20something Alicia Scherson and Cristián Jimécollective memories and mytholorecovering anorexic, finds help from nez with writer Alejandro Zambra gies the crime inspired. an unorthodox physician. With Lily tell the story of a lonely man who Chasing Coral Jeff Orlowski Collins, Keanu Reeves, Lili Taylor, invents a vindictive ex-wife supexplains how coral reefs around Alex Sharp and Liana Liberato. posedly withholding his daughter, the world are vanishing at an unWalking Out The filmmaking in order to cozy up to a single mom precedented rate. A team of divers, Smith Brothers, Alex and Andrew, he’s met. photographers and scientists sets return with a potentially lethal faFree and Easy (Hong Kong) In out on a thrilling ocean adventure ther-son struggle during a Montana director Jun Geng’s melodrama, a to discover why and to reveal the big-game hunt. traveling soap salesman appears in a underwater mystery. Axolotl Overkill (Germany) Hedesolate Chinese town. Dolores Peter Bratt probes how lene Hegemann’s Berlin-based teen God’s Own Country (UK) Frana California farmworker activist drama features 16-year-old Mifti. cis Lee’s tale is set during springtime bucked 1950s gender conventions Mourning the death of her mom, in Yorkshire, where lonely young by co-founding the country’s first

Has the Candyass persona provided you with insulation from criticism, like hiding behind a mask? A little of that, and, in a good way, it’s like wearing a favorite garment. It helps me stay strong. I use it as a crutch, not as a persona. Years ago, sitting around with friends, we shared what we were called as sissy kids growing up. One friend said he had been called a candyass. He made me a red-ink rubber candyass stamp, and I started using it as a signature, a Dada-ism. When I began showing my work, people really noticed it, and I went with it. The country has just elected a president who campaigned against political correctness. Where are you in this debate? Most political correctness is just moral correctness and should be there. That phrase is an excuse for people to not accept there are a lot of different types of people out there, or that certain things, which might seem funny, really aren’t. I’m not a religious person, but I do feel that we should all be humanitarians. t Cary Leibowitz: Museum Show, through Jan. 26 at The Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco.

farmworkers’ union. Wrestling with raising 11 children, gender bias, union defeat and victory, and nearly dying after an SFPD beating, Dolores Huerta emerges with a vision that connects her newfound feminism with racial and class justice. The Force Pete Nicks’ cinema verité look at the long-troubled Oakland Police Department examines federal demands for reform, a popular uprising following events in Ferguson, and an explosive scandal. Icarus Bryan Fogel sets out to uncover the truth about doping in sports, examining a chance meeting with a Russian scientist that transforms his story from a personal experiment into a geopolitical thriller involving dirty urine, unexplained death and Olympic Gold, exposing the biggest scandal in sports history. The New Radical Adam Bhala Lough explains how millennial radicals from the US and the UK are attacking the system through dangerous technological means. Nobody Speak: Hulk Hogan, Gawker and Trials of a Free Press Brian Knappenberger shows how the trial between Hulk Hogan and Gawker Media pitted privacy rights against freedom of the press, and raised important questions about how big money can silence media. Quest Jonathan Olshefski’s portrait of a North Philadelphia family and the creative sanctuary offered by their home music studio was filmed with vérité intimacy. The family’s 10-year journey is an illumination of race and class in America, a testament to love, healing and hope. Unrest Harvard Ph.D. student Jennifer Brea is struck down at 28 by a fever that leaves her bedridden. Not believing doctors who say it’s all in her head, she sets out on a virtual journey to document her and four other families’ stories fighting a disease medicine forgot. Water & Power: A California Heist Marina Zenovich’s story of California’s convoluted water system is an examination into power that shows how small farmers and everyday citizens face drought and a debilitating groundwater crisis. Whose Streets? Sabaah Folayan and Damon Davis give a factbased account of the Ferguson, MO uprising told by the people who lived it. An unflinching look at how the killing of black teen Michael Brown inspired a community to fight back and sparked a global movement.t

On the Tab

Leather

Shining Stars Vol. 46 • No. 3 • January 19-25, 2017

www.ebar.com ✶ www.bartabsf.com

Justin Vivian Bond The award-winning chanteuse pops back to Oasis by Jim Provenzano

“I

’m trying to practice radical empathy,” says Justin Vivian Bond of the unique performance style that balances whimsy, sincerity and laugh-out-loud humor with songs and stories, all of which has brought Mx Bond deserved accolades. See page 33 >>

Shot in the City

Justin Vivian Bond

MORE! at The Strand

Juanita MORE! and crew return to the new theater gem by Sari Staver

uanita More, one of the city’s most famous drag queens, is bringing a new show to the Strand Theater on Saturday, February 4. Billed as an homage to love, L’amour, L’amour stars a lineup of prominent performers including Glamamore, Miss Rahni, Honey Mahongany, Voodonna Black, Dulce De Leche, Qween, and Jef Valentine. See page 34 >>

Van Vereen, Juanita MORE!, Rory Davis and Fauxnique perform at the recent Puttin’ on the Tits at the Strand Theater.

{ THIRD OF THREE SECTIONS }

Read more online at www.ebar.com

January 19-25, 2017 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 33

Earl Dax

Justin Vivian Bond performing with Nath Anne Carrera at Joe’s Pub.

Tammy Shell

Justin Vivian Bond, over the moon.

Justin Vivian Bond

From page 31

After developing the now legendary Kiki & Herb cabaret act in the Bay Area, then conquering the New York cabaret scene, performing in Europe and touring elsewhere, Bond returns to San Francisco for two shows at Oasis on January 31 and February 1. In a phone interview from New York, Bond discussed some recent adventures, and how to balance politics with entertainment. After the sold-out return of Bond’s holiday show, The Bipolar Express at Joe’s Pub in Manhattan, Bond will offer a hint of that show (minus the Christmas stuff) in the San Francisco concerts, with some surprises. “I have a whole Red State section, to see things from another perspective,” said Bond. “I also have a section where I talk about mental health, which is a bit from BiPolar Express, but we still need that. And I do a tribute to the early ‘70s ‘Girl in Trouble’ movies of the week. There are some surprise songs that are really beautiful.” Bond’s list of collaborators reads like a Who’s Who of queer arts, including Mx’s band, and the collective House of Whimsy. Bond is curating a night for the Live Arts Festival (with Bill T. Jones as Artistic Director). Mx’d Messages will feature Kate Bornstein, Lynn Breedlove, Severely Mame and others. “We’re exploring non-binary approaches to the world,” said Bond, who is known as one of the most accomplished transgender performers in live theatre and cabaret. “That’s gonna be fun.” This and several other programs will be at Manhattan’s Live Arts Theatre scheduled for March 14 to 19 (www.newyorklivearts.org). This summer, John Waters and Sandra Bernhard will join Bond’s return to hosting the Speigeltent at Bard College, where Bond also teaches (www. fishercenter.bard.edu/spiegeltent/). Of course, many local friends remember Bond’s recent New Years Eve shows at The Herbst Theatre, and the saucy cabaret show at Feinstein’s where Mx donned a patchwork gown made of porn playing cards.

Before the 2007 Tony nomination for Kiki and Herb Alive On Broadway, (and the Obie, Bessie and Ethyl Eichelberger Award wins) some recall Bond’s early incarnations as Kiki DuRane with Kenny Melmann in San Francisco nightclubs from the early 1990s, “which makes them old,” Bond quipped with affection for longtime fans. “It was a terrifiying and fun time, because we were young,” Mx added. “And our shows were slightly terrifying.” True, some couldn’t tell the difference between the creative organized chaos and the spontaneous chaos of the Kiki & Herb shows. Bond promises an equal dose of practiced musical renditions of original and classic songs with a twist, plus a bit of spontaneity that merited all those awards. Since moving to New York, Bond has become quite the fashion and pop culture icon as well, having graced the covers of many publications. At a recent Gucci party in Rome, Bond performed a few songs with collaborator and ex-partner Nath Anne Carrera at the 400-year-old Biblioteca Angelica. “I decided to get goddessy and witchy for that show,” said Bond. “We performed ‘Twenty-Second Century,’ and ‘The Golden Age of Hustlers’ from my album Dendrophile.’ Gucci’s new creative director, Alessandro Michel, is brilliant and super-nice; they just made a new line that’s all queercore.” Asked about any fashion keeps from the show, Bond said, “I did not keep the mink-lined kimono, but I got a nice cream-colored suit, so if they ever decide to revive Fantasy Island, I can be Mxtress Roarke.” Despite the global travels, Bond stays in touch with old friends and colleagues. The night before our interview, Bond saw San Francisco comic Marga Gomez’ solo show Latin Standards at The Public Theatre. “She’s so great,” said Bond. “She’s another one who’s a bit bicoastal. Her show references her New York family, but also the days of Esta Noche in San Francisco.” At the mention of lost and new venues in San Francisco, including A.C.T.’s renovated Strand Theater,

Bond recalled one of the earliest shows in Mx’s career. “Before Kiki and Herb, Kenny and I did a New Year’s Eve variety show hosted by Philip R. Ford, called The He/She Follies. It was quite the lineup. I think I sang ‘The Man That Got Away’ and ‘Don’t Rain on my Parade.’ I thought those would be a lot better than they were.” Bond recalled visiting the original Oasis in San Francisco, and recalled a “trashy fun” party hosted by Lewis Walden and Michael Blu. “I’m very excited to play there,” said Bond. “My show is really about what’s going on in the world; Red versus Blue, how we need to not just resist but infiltrate.” By infiltrate, Bond means somewhere between coasts. “I want to do this show in different places,” Mx said. “Someone was talking about ‘the liberal bubble.’ I wish I lived in a fucking bubble! I don’t feel like I’m safe and protected from all this crazy shit that’s going on. I’m willing to step out of the bubble. “I want to go to places where queers are in red states, to perform a sort of U.S.O. show, like back in San Francisco. People would come to see our shows and to be with other people around them who are like-minded; they would form community.” Music isn’t the only platform for the multi-talent. Bond is also an accomplished essayist, film actor, and the author of the Lambda Literary Award-winning memoir, Tango: My Childhood, Backwards and in High Heels. “It’s really important as a live artist

to bring people together who have a point of view about what you’re saying, so they know they’re not the only people who are pissed off or scared or inspired by something,” said Bond. “They can actually find other people with whom to relate. The more that happens, the more powerful minorities become.” Bond described a recent Houston show as fun, and looks forward to an Orange County show after San Francisco. “Even in blue states like upstate New York last summer where I performed, that’s much more red. I could see that for these people, the writing was literally on the wall. I saw barns with the sides painted ‘Trump.’ Yet people went out of their way to see my show, and were so enthusiastic. As long as they’re able to laugh at things, they’ll be fine.” Asked about updates made to the show, Bond framed it as beyond the topical. “The ecstasy of outrage has been going on for a long time.” Bond will perform with bandmates Matt Gray (pianist and musical director who recently accompanied Taylor Mac’s epic show featuring 24 decades of American music), Bay Area-now-New York guitarist Nath Anne Carerra, and violinist Claudia Chopeck. “We’ve been touring together for the past several years, and doing a lot of shows in New York. We have a big repertoire of songs, but I’ll surprise them once in a while. That’s why the show is called ‘…Shows Up.’ I want to show up and be in the moment. Things are changing so quickly. I am

not interested in doing static art. I never have been.” That spontaneity is what keeps audiences surprised by Bond’s sometimes wild, and ultimately heartfelt, shows. “I like touring now,” Bond continued. “The way things are going in the world, I like seeing how people are feeling about everything. It’s often reassuring to find out that not everybody hates everybody. It’s important to get out to these small places, and perform for people who never see someone say the crazy stuff I say. We have to unleash the queen, as we used to say.” Bond mentioned an upcoming show in Costa Mesa which will probably be “totally different. I might be more confrontational in Orange County, because it’s more of a Republican area. In San Francisco, I feel I have a similar world view. I won’t have to yell at the people. They already know!” Expect that magical blend of musical dexterity, goddess-like wisdom, and outright hilarity. “I’m excited to see who shows up,” said Bond. “I’ve got a lot of old pals there. Lord knows I love those queens. The last time I performed in San Francisco, I was given lots of drugs from the audience. They wouldn’t let me drink onstage, so I asked for a valium. No flowers for Mama; just pills.”t Justin Vivian Bond performs at Oasis, January 31 and February 1 at 8pm. $25-$40. 298 11th St. www.justinvivianbond.com www.sfoasis.com

Nath Anne Carerra and Justin Vivian Bond performing in Rome at Bibliotecha Angelica for a Gucci party.

Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

34 • BAY AREA REPORTER • January 19-25, 2017

Both photos: Shot in the City

Left: (left to right) Voodonna Black, Miss Rahni NothingMore and Fauxnique perform at the recent Puttin’ on the Tits at The Strand Theater. Right: David Glamamore’s rousing performance at the recent House of MORE! show, Puttin’ on the Tits.

MORE! at The Strand

From page 31

“This is the cream of the crop of San Francisco drag,” said More in a telephone interview with the Bay Area Reporter. “These gals have over 250 years of stage performance” among them, she said. More, who has been performing for two decades, hosts regular parties and happy hours around the city, and every year hosts a fundraising party on the Sunday of Pride weekend. The entertainment will include a variety of live and lip-synced acts, “interpreted in the high fashion, glamorous-comedic style the House of More has become infamous for staging,” according to an announcement for the show. The Strand lobby bar will be

hosted by Shannon, who will mix a variety of “love-inspired” cocktails created especially for the evening. Shannon, who is also a producer of the show, said the cocktail menu hasn’t been finalized, but will include half a dozen “love-inspired red and rose drinks” in addition to the usual libations. Shannon is also producing a multimedia production in the lobby, she said. The upcoming show is expected to sell out, said More, following rave reviews and “an almost sold-out house” at the group’s recent show at the Strand last November, Puttin’ on the Titz. The Strand, part of the American Conservatory Theatre, opened in 2015 and boasts a 283-seat theater and a lobby café and bar. The February show will be an entirely new production, but will feature all

of the same entertainers who performed in the November show, plus some new ones, More said. “I’m super excited to be back at the Strand,” said More, who is directing the show. “The venue is absolutely fantastic with state of the art lighting and sound. We are thrilled to be back.” More, who declined to give her birth name or her age (“Just say that I’m timeless”), has been a professional chef most of her life, and often hosts pop-up food events, including a party with her family’s homemade tamales at Hecho in the Castro last December. Performer Dulce de Leche said the Strand “gives us the space to dream big” in creating the show. “I’m a 350-pound lady and had the opportunity last time to do a fullblown tap dance number with two

backup performers,” she said. This time she will be performing several “big diva vocals” as well as a few “group numbers.” Qween, who has performed at the San Francisco Opera and California Shakespeare Theatre, will also be returning to do solo and group numbers at the February show. By staging the show at the Strand, “we’re able to attract a different audience base,” she said. “Typically, drag is performed in bars sometime between midnight and 2 A.M.,” she added. “Our show will add people who might be more used to going out for a 7pm or 8pm curtain.” Jesse Oberst, a gay man who attended More’s last show at the Strand, and assisted More and David Glamamore’s large-scale fashion show at the de Young Museum last year, said he was “blown away to see

a drag show with these amazing production values.” “I’m used to seeing drag shows in a dark and dirty night club with people throwing dollar bills onto the stage,” he said. “This is really a validation of their art form.” Todd Barket, a gay man who plans to attend the show, said Juanita “talked me into buying a box seat” for the November performance. “I was so glad that I did,” he said. “It was absolutely amazing. I can’t wait to see the new show.” ‘L’amour, L’amour,’ February 4 , 7pm-11pm at The Strand Theater, 1127 Market Street. Tickets are priced at $25-$35 and can be purchased through the Strand/ American Conservatory Theatre’s website. www.act-sf.org www.juanitamore.com

We are the future of the LGBT community. “The world still has its challenges but things are getting better. From the way we first met on line to marriage equality to our daughter’s upcoming Quinceañera our life together is more fulfilling every day. We keep up with events and entertainment on EDGE, because that’s where we see our future at its brightest.” The people depicted here are models. Their image is being used for illustrative purposes only.

Both photos: Shot in the City

Above: Honey Mahogany performs on the stage of The Strand Theater at the recent House of MORE! show. Below: House of MORE! fans at The Strand Theater.

On the Tab>>

January 19-25, 2017 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 35

Porchlight @ Oasis The engaging storytelling event makes its debut at the SoMa club, with Beth Lisick and Arline Klatte and guests Karla Martin, Erin Foley, Dana Merwin, Eddie Pepitone and Mike Phirman; part of SF Sketchfest. $25. 7:30pm. Also Jan. 21 with guests Drew Droege, Tara Jepsen, Kari Kiernan, Stephen Tobolowsky and others. 298 11th St. www.sfoasis.com

On the Tab

January 19-26

Red Hots Burlesque @ The Stud

Fri 20 (L-R) Wonder Dave, Magnoliah Black, Sadira, and Jet Noir at Spank Bank @ Mitchell Brothers’ O’Farrell Theatre

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

Rock Fag @ Hole in the Wall n and prowet for the urinauguratio avorite watering holes get stiff drink, a h wit ip rsh toon dictato tests. Get ready for the car ce floor. dan the on h vis der ess a relentl a biting comedy show, or

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

Thu 19

After Dark @ Exploratorium Adult cocktail party at the interactive science museum. Jan. 19: Mechanical Melodies; silent films and odd inventions, plus Argon science demos. $10-$15. 6pm-10pm. Pier 15 at Embarcadero. www.exploratorium.edu

Comedy Returns @ El Rio Maureen Langan, Joe Nguyen, Ash Fisher, David Lawrence Hawkins, and host Lisa Geduldig share laughs for a Trumpocalypse Eve. $7-$20. 8pm. 3158 Mission St. www.elriosf.com

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 The very interactive clothing-optional party features porn stud Derek Parker in a raunchy stage show; free clothes check. $20. 9pm-1am. 729 Bush St. at Powell. 397-6758. www.thenobhilltheatre.com

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

The Monster Show @ The Edge

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

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

Pre-Trumpocalpse Happy Hour @ The Stud Enjoy cocktails at a special preInauguration nightmare happy hour fundraiser, sponsored by/proceeds go to www.48Hills.org and Save Our Stud. $25. 6pm-8:30pm. 399 9th St. www.studsf.com

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

SF Restaurant Week @ Multiple Venues Stop by any of 122 participating restaurants for multi-course prix-fixe lunches, dinners and special deals. Thru Jan. 29. www.sfrestaurantweek. 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

Tubesteak Connection @ Aunt Charlie’s Lounge

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

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

Nice Jewish Boys @ The Residence

Underwear Night @ Powerhouse

Keshet’s monthly happy hour gathering for gay Jewish men and their pals. 7pm. 718 14th St. www.keshetonline.org

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 20

Ain’t Mama’s Drag @ Balancoire Weekly drag queen and drag king show hosted by Cruzin d’Loo. 8pm10pm. 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

DTF Fridays @ Port Bar, Oakland Various DJs play house music at the new gay bar’s weekly event. 9pm2am. 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

Growlr @ SF Eagle DJ Russ Rich spins at the hookup app’s cruisy night, with gogo cubs and chubs. $5. 9pm-2am. 398 12th St. at Harrison. www.sf-eagle.com

Happy Friday @ Midnight Sun The popular video bar ends each work week with gogo guys (starting at 9pm) and drink specials. 4067 18th St. 861-4186. www.midnightsunsf.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

Fri 20 Big Dipper at Swagger Like Us @ Oasis

Some Thing @ The Stud Latin Explosion @ Club 21, Oakland The Latin dance night includes drag acts and gogo studs. $10-$20. 9pm4am. 2111 Franklin St., Oakland. www.club21oakland.com

Lick It @ Powerhouse DJ Blackstone spins grooves at the cruisy night. $5. 10pm-1am. 1347 Folsom St. www.powerhousebar.com

Lucinda Williams @ The Fillmore The rock singer performs with her band; Aaron Lee Tasjan opens. $40. 9pm. Also Jan. 21. 1805 Geary St. at Fillmore. www.thefillmore.com www.livenation.com

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

Mica Sigourney and pals’ weekly offbeat themed drag performance night. $7. 10pm-3am. 399 9th St. www.studsf.com

Spank Bank @ Mitchell Brothers’ O’Farrell Theatre Queer variety and burlesque show, with Wonder Dave, women burlesque performers (Nikki Darling, Snatch Adams and more), male stripper Jet Noir, circus acts, comedy and live music (Leigh Crow and others) at the famed strip club and porn cinema. $20. 8pm & 10pm. 895 O’Farrell St. www.eventbrite.com

Stand Up, Fight Back @ El Rio Benefit for Planned Parenthood, with all bar proceeds going to the health nonprofit from 4pm-6pm; show with The World and Preening, 9pm, with DJ Emotions. Donations. 3158 Mission St. www.elriosf.com

See page 36 >>

<< On the Tab

36 • BAY AREA REPORTER • January 19-25, 2017

On the Tab

From page 35

Swagger Like Us @ Oasis Gay rapper Big Dipper returns to headline the queer hip hop dance night, with DJs DavO, 8ulentina and Jamila Afrika. $10. 10pm-2am. 298 11th St. www.sfoasis.com

Vanessa Bousay, Eric Chalfant @ Hotel Rex The local singer performs in and out of drag in Me and Mr. V; Tom Shaw accompanies. Cocktails and small plates available. $3-$55. 8pm. 562 Sutter St. www.societycabaret.com

Vibe Fridays @ Club BnB, Oakland

Club Rimshot @ Club BNB, Oakland

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

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

Sat 21

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

Gameboi SF @ Rickshaw Stop

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

The monthly queer Asian & pals dance night celebrates Lunar New Year. $8$15. 9:30pm-2am. 155 Fell St. www.rickshawstop.com

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

Kathy Griffin @ Masonic Hall

Queer Tango @ Finnish Hall, Berkeley

The popular comic returns for a laugh-filled show. $49-$79. 8pm. 1111 California St. www.livenation.com

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

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

Revel @ SF Eagle The monthly benefit for Groundswell Instititue blends sisters, faeries and butch queers, with performances, raffles and fun. $5. 7pm-12am. 398 12th St. www.sf-eagle.com

Nark Magazine’s monthly event, with DJs Steve Mizek and Christopher Orr. $5. 9pm-2am. 398 12th St. www.sf-eagle.com

Sat 21 Kathy Griffin @ Masonic Hall

Shake It Up @ Port Bar, Oakland

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

Domingo De Escandal @ Club OMG Weekly Latin night with drag shows hosted by Vicky Jimenez and DJ Luis. 7pm-2am. 43 6th St. clubomgsf.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. balancoiresf.com

Mica Sigourney and Tom Temprano cohost the wacky weekly game night at the cool Mission bar. 8pm. 3152 Mission St. www.virgilssf.com

Opulence @ Beaux Weekly dance night, with Jocques, DJs Tori, Twistmix and Andre. 9pm-2am. 2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

Piano Bar 101 @ Martuni’s

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

Red Hot Mama @ Cinnabar Theater, Petaluma

Beer Bust @ Lone Star Saloon

No No Bingo @ Virgil’s Sea Room

Bandit @ Lone Star Saloon

Show off your tattoos at the inkthemed night. $5. 9pm-2am. 1347 Folsom St. powerhousebar.com

Sun 22

Sing along at the popular musical theatre night; also Wednesdays. 7pm2am. 2 for 1 cocktail, 5pm-closing. 4149 18th St. at Collingwood. edgesf.com

Tue 24

Pretty in Ink @ Powerhouse

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

Musical Mondays @ The Edge

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

Heklina sometimes hosts the weekly night of drag tour de force performances, DJ MC2 spins dance grooves before and after the show. Jan. 21 is a special George Michael tribute. $10-$15. 7:30pm-9pm. Reg: 10pm-3am. 298 11th St. www.sfoasis.com

Soul Party @ Elbo Room

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

Underwear Night @ 440

Mother @ Oasis

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

Mule Mondays @ Port Bar, Oakland

Sing-along night with talented locals, and charming accompanist Joe Wicht. 9pm. 4 Valencia St. at Market.

Make Out Party @ SF Eagle

Sharon McNight performs her Sophie Tucker Story musical solo show. $25-$35. Fri & Sat 8pm, Sun 2pm. Thru Jan. 29. 3333 Petaluma Blvd. N, Petaluma. (707) 763-8920. www.cinnabartheater.org

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. starlightroomsf.com

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

Mon 23

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. 8:30pm1am. 6551 Telegraph Ave, (510) 6523820. www.whitehorsebar.com

Gaymer Meetup @ Brewcade

Block Party @ Midnight Sun Weekly screenings of music videos, concert footage, interviews and more, of popular pop stars. 9pm-2am. 4067 18th St. 861-4186. www.midnightsunsf.com

Cock Shot @ Beaux Shot specials and adult Bingo games, with DJs Chad Bays and Riley Patrick, at the new weekly night. No cover. 9pm-2am. 2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

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

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. www.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.

Love @ The Stud Mama Dora, Thee Pristine Condition, and Ultra present new Tuesday-style shenanigans to warm your heart. This week’s theme: We Love Cock. $5. 9pm-1am, show at 10pm. 399 Harrison. www.studsf.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

Naked Night @ Nob Hill Theatre

Karaoke Night @ SF Eagle

Queer Jitterbugs @ The Verdi Club

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

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

Enjoy weekly same-sex (and other) swing dancing, with lessons, social dancing, ASL interpreters and live music. $15. 9pm-11:45pm. 2424 Mariposa St. at Potrero. www.verdiclub.net

See page 38 >>

Read more online at www.ebar.com

January 19-25, 2017 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 37

A man honored, a woman sashed

Tim Wong

The late Saliem “Tommy” Thomas (left), and his surviving husband, Jim Maher (right).

by Race Bannon

his week I’d like to honor our leather and kink communities by acknowledging two starkly different aspects of what we do as kinksters. In one case, it’s how a community bands together to honor the life of someone who has died. In the other, a community bands together to gather and partake in what’s become a joyous ritual institution among our kind. On January 8, a large group of men, along with many women in attendance, honored the life of a revered man within their community, Saliem “Tommy” Thomas. Organized in large part by Jerry Roberts and Tommy’s husband, Jim Maher, with a beautiful digital photo slideshow by Brett Brockschmidt, peo-

ple gathered at the San Francisco Armory to honor the memory of Tommy. Various people spoke of their fond recollections of Tommy and discussions took place after the official portion of the proceedings about connections to him. It was a fitting tribute to a man much loved. Tommy was, of course, one of many great people in our leather and kink scene that have passed, but what struck me was how this was a beautiful example of all segments of our kink scene rallying to honor such people when they are no longer with us. We respect their accomplishments. We honor their contributions to making our

lives better, more welcoming, more loving, more active. I see this a lot and don’t think we can have too much of it. It’s important. Tommy was active in various San Francisco community activities, producing and assisting in countless charitable events, including, but not limited to: the Phoenix Uniform Club, for which he served as president many times, and other offices most of the time; the AIDS Emergency Fund, and the Inter Club Fund, for which he was both director and president for many years. As was evident when I attended the remembrance ceremony, Tommy is loved and will be sorely missed by the San Francisco leather and uniform communities, the Imperial Court of San Francisco, and friends and associates throughout the Bay Area kink scene. I hope our leather and kink scene continues the tradition of honoring those people no longer with us who have impacted our lives in significant ways. It not only honors them, but it enriches the historical perspective for younger people so that they fully understand the foundations upon which their current identities, sexualities and social structures are built.

Ms. SF Leather

Contrasting with the somewhat somber tone of the memorial for Tommy was the Ms. San Francisco Leather Weekend, with the contest as the main event. On January 13, there was a meet and greet event at the Pilsner Inn at which people could meet the contestants and judges for the contest while mingling with their fellow kinksters. On January 15, the weekend wrapped up with a victory brunch at Wicked Grounds. In between was the main event, the Ms. SF Leather 2017 contest held at a great new location this year, SOMArts. SOMArts has served our city with a variety of programs and events as well as making their space available to a variety of constituencies. It was nice to see the space used for a leather event. The upcoming Mr. San Francisco Leather 2017 contest will be held at the same location on March 4, 2017. Three fine women competed. Azalea, Jesbian and Marilyn Hollinger vied for the title, with Azalea ultimately winning after a tied tally with Jesbian that was broken by the judges. Considering that the two who tied were only a point ahead of Marilyn Hollinger, this turned out to be an incredibly close contest. All three women were outstanding as competitors. Since the contest coincided with the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, there was a beautiful slideshow trib-

Both photos: Rich Stadtmiller

Top: Contestants for Ms. SF Leather 2017 (left to right): Marilyn Hollinger, 2nd runner up; Azalea, winner; and Jesbian, 1st runner up. Bottom: Judges for the Ms. SF Leather contest: Beatrice Stonebanks, Cody Elkin, Daddy Vick Germany, Q, and Little Bad Daddy.

ute to MLK. To further honor MLK as well as all people of color, there was an amazing singing performance with a choir in robes. Kippy Marks accompanied on violin while Alotta Boutté sang, along with the choir, a wonderful rendition of “Proud,” a song originally sung by Heather Small. Per her bio, Azalea is a queer, poly, kinky, gender-fluid, top-heavy switch who loves coffee and spends way too much time on the internet. She often transforms into a purple pony, a papillon puppy, and a gryphon. She has presented classes on petplay at IMsL, Pantheacon, SF Citadel, Wicked Grounds, and Kink Unlimited. She hosts the Human Animal Night munch and is a certified sex educator through San Francisco Sex Information. On her YouTube channel (Azalea Pony) she likes to talk about petplay, her adventures with ADHD, and wearing zentai suits. (And she says if you see her around, say hi!) I asked the Azalea how she felt after her win.

“I had an incredible time at the contest and everyone I met was wonderful. I’m looking forward to connecting and working with the great leather community.” The beneficiaries of the contest proceeds were the Woman’s Leather Program of the Leather Archives and Museum and Community United Against Violence. These two events are but two examples of a wide variety of happenings that speak to the vibrancy and connectedness of our local leather and kink communities. We honor our members, both past and present, and revel in many fun communal events such as the Ms. SF Leather contest. Our Bay Area kinky selves have a lot for which to be thankful.t

Check out Leather Events on www.ebar.com/bartab Race Bannon is a local author, blogger and activist. You can reach him on his website, www.bannon.com

38 • BAY AREA REPORTER • January 19-25, 2017

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On the Tab

From page 36

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 @ Hi Tops Play the trivia game at the popular new sports bar. 9pm. 2247 Market St. 551-2500. www.HiTopsSF.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

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Bone @ Powerhouse Punk/Alternative monthly night returns, with some performances, too. 9pm-12am. 1347 Folsom St. www.powerhousebar.com

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Girl Scout @ Port Bar, Oakland The weekly women’s happy hour and dance night with DJ Becky Knox. 6pm10pm. 2023 Broadway. www.portbaroakland.com

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

Latin Drag Night @ Club OMG

Comedy Showcase @ SF Eagle

LGBT Pub Crawl @ Castro

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

Fran Frisch @ Lone Star Saloon Reception for the upcoming exhibit, Beartoonist of San Francisco: Sketching an Emerging Subculture, the artist’s show of original bear comic art. 7pm9pm. 1354 Harrison St. www.lonestarsf. com www.glbthistory.org

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

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

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Nip @ Powerhouse

Kick It @ DNA Lounge

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

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 26

Above and Beyond the Valley of the Ultra Showgirls @ Oasis D’Arcy Drollinger’s hit drag rock musical comedy about Super Vizen, 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

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

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

Thump @ White Horse, Oakland

Wed 25 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

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

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

Underwear Night @ Club OMG

Bondage-a-Gogo @ The Cat Club

Movie Night @ SF Eagle

Skate Night @ Church on 8 Wheels

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Thu 26 Above and Beyond the Valley of the Ultra Showgirls @ Oasis

Weekly electro music night with DJ Matthew Baker and guests. 9pm-2am. 6551 Telegraph Ave, (510) 652-3820. www.whitehorsebar.com Want your nightlife event listed? Email events@ebar.com, at least two weeks before your event. Event photos welcome.

Read more online at www.ebar.com

January 19-25, 2017 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 39

Shining Stars Steven Underhill Photos by

Stadium @ Verso M

LK Weekend’s annual Gus Presents circuit dance parties this year took place at some new venues, including Verso (1525 Mission St. www.versosf.com), where the mostly male crowd enjoyed Stadium, the monthly Sunday T-dance, on January 15. www.guspresents.com More photo albums are on BARtab’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/lgbtsf.nightlife. See more of Steven Underhill’s photos at www.StevenUnderhill.com.

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For headshots, portraits or to arrange your wedding photos

call (415) 370-7152 or visit www.StevenUnderhill.com or email stevenunderhillphotos@gmail.com

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