Hetch Hetchy plan unveiled
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59% back marriage equality in CA by Seth Hemmelgarn
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Field Poll released this week shows that voter approval of same-sex marriage in California is at 59 percent, the highest level ever recorded during 35 years of polling on the issue in the state, according to the Field Research Corporation. The poll data, released Wednesday, February 29, show Jane Philomen Cleland that almost three out of five of California’s John Lewis registered voters favor allowing same-sex zcouples to marry and have regular marriage laws apply to them, while 34 percent disapprove. Another 7 percent didn’t express an opinion. In their report, Field’s Mark DiCamillo and See page 16 >>
EQCA hires interim ED by Seth Hemmelgarn
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quality California, the statewide LGBT lobbying group that’s been without an executive director since October, has hired someone to fill the position on an interim basis. Laurie Hasencamp, 53, started the job Tuesday, February 28. She replaces Roland Palencia, who abruptly left EQCA last fall after only three months Laurie Hasencamp on the job. “I’ve come out of retirement to help out for about four or five months,” said Hasencamp, who is a straight ally. She said her main goal “would be to run the day-to-day operations of the organization so the staff and board can focus on doing the important programmatic work and strategic planning for the future.” She also said, “I’ve been a supporter of Equality California for some years. It’s important for California to have an organizaSee page 16 >>
Vol. 42 • No. 09 • March 1-7, 2012
SF LGBT center marks 10th anniversary by Matthew S. Bajko
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ngel VanStark boarded a Greyhound bus one Friday last October headed for San Francisco with little more than a dream of a better life. The 19-year-old southern Californian had had a falling out with his family after disclosing he was gay and headed north to make a fresh start. “I felt I needed to go somewhere I didn’t know anyone and no one knew me so I could start fresh and rid myself of any possibility of being condemned. I always read in books San Francisco was the place to go,” said VanStark. En route he used a fellow passenger’s laptop to search for resources for LGBT people in the city and the first thing that popped up was the LGBT Community Center. “I was looking for a gay shelter to stay in,” recalled VanStark, who spent his first night in town sleeping in Golden Gate Park. “I kind of winged it when I got there.” That Saturday morning he made his way to the center and learned about Larkin Street Youth Services from the person manning the front desk and the center’s own weekly meal nights for youth on Tuesdays. By early November he had been accepted into one of Larkin’s housing programs. “I was so blessed to find the LGBT center,”
Rick Gerharter
Angel VanStark regularly attends Youth Meal Night at the LGBT Community Center, as he did Tuesday, February 28.
said VanStark, who now volunteers with its youth program as a way “to repay the city for its kindness.” Now in its 10th year of operation, the community center sees itself as being a connecting point for the LGBT community in the Bay Area.
“It is a place for people to get information and connect with each other. It is an exciting place for us to sit in the community,” said Rebecca Rolfe, who has been the center’s executive director since 2008 and has worked there for nine years. See page 15 >>
Academy of Friends ‘reborn’ by Seth Hemmelgarn
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here may not have been much that was gay about this year’s Oscars but after a rough couple of years, Academy of Friends appears to have rebounded. The San Francisco-based nonprofit, which is known for its ritzy Academy Awards gala that raises funds for HIV/AIDS organizations, had run into trouble after shortchanging charities that helped it put on the annual event in 2010 and 2011. But changes made by the board and downsizing of staff, combined with an increase in attendance, seemed to have helped stabilize the event. AOF board Chair Howard Edelman estimated that this year’s party, held Sunday, February 26, would result in at least $50,000 being distributed among this year’s five beneficiaries. Edelman became board chair in June 2011 and oversaw a scaled down and leaner gala. He noted there had been uncertainty as to whether Academy of Friends would survive. “It was like Academy of Friends was reborn,” he said in an interview Tuesday, February 28. “We went from nothing to creating this great event and showing a lot of people that we still exist and we still can do what we need to do.” This year’s partners are Huckleberry Youth Programs, Maitri, Shanti, Tenderloin Health, and the Women’s HIV Program at UCSF. Edelman said each group would get a check when
Rick Gerharter
The cast of Mamma Mia, now in San Francisco for a limited engagement, performed several numbers for the crowd at the annual Academy of Friends Oscar party.
AOF has its presentation, which he said would be in late April or early May. Edelman estimated that over 1,000 people attended the gala, which was themed “Scandalous” and held at the San Francisco Design Center Galleria.
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There guests mingled and watched the awards on large screens. Aside from veteran actor Christopher Plummer winning best supporting actor for his portrayal as an older man who comes out as gay in the film Beginners, See page 16 >>