banned trans youth from playing sports on teams that align with their gender identity.
US Senate rejects ban on trans kids playing sports
by Cynthia Laird
In a victory for trans youth, the U.S. Senate on Monday failed to advance a bill approved by the House that would have banned transgender youth participation in sports on teams that align with their gender identity. The Republicancontrolled Senate rejected the bill on cloture by a vote of 51-45. (Sixty votes were needed.)
The bill, S. 9, a version of which passed by a slim majority in the House of Representatives in January, would prohibit any school athletics program receiving federal funding from allowing transgender women and girls to participate in athletics programs designated for women and girls. The American Civil Liberties Union noted that the bill seeks to narrow the range of sex discrimination prohibited by laws like Title IX by defining sex “solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.”
The vote marks a significant victory for equality and serves as a reminder that anti-LGBTQ+ policies are unpopular and out of touch with the American people, the Human Rights Campaign stated in a news release.
“Today, a bill to ban transgender youth from participating in sports was defeated in the Senate. Despite President [Donald] Trump’s relentless targeting of transgender people and an antiequality majority in the Senate, lawmakers refused to move the bill forward,” HRC stated. “The Senate’s rejection of this anti-LGBTQ+ attack sends a clear message that attempts to legislate away freedoms for LGBTQ+ people and their families will be met with resistance.”
HRC President Kelley Robinson, a Black queer woman, said the bill would have sent a chilling message to trans youth.
“Every child should have the opportunity to experience the simple joys of being young and making memories with their friends,” Robinson stated. “But bills like these send the message that transgender kids don’t deserve the same opportunities to thrive as their peers simply because of who they are. And they are impossible to enforce without putting all kids at risk of invasive questions or physical examinations just because someone doesn’t look or dress like everyone else.
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Man convicted in ‘gay grifters’ case talks to the B.A.R.
by Ed Walsh
The former San Francisco resident and gay man convicted in the notorious “gay grifters” Palm Springs murder case told the Bay Area Reporter that he is confident his conviction will be overturned. He is blasting a new podcast that is generating renewed interest in the case for what, he said, are inaccuracies in the series.
Danny Garcia, 42, is scheduled to be sentenced in Riverside County Superior Court on April 25. If his conviction is not thrown out by then, he expects it will be later after the appeal court takes up the case. He is currently being held at the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office’s John Benoit Detention Center in Indio, about 20 miles from Palm Springs.
During his two trials, prosecutors said that Garcia, along with four other co-conspirators, conspired to murder retiree Clifford Lambert, 74, in his Palm Springs home on December 5, 2008. He was stabbed with his kitchen knives.
Garcia has maintained he is innocent and was convicted with false evidence. He spoke to the B.A.R. by phone in an exclusive jailhouse interview on Thursday, February 27. The jail only permits 15-minute calls. The interview was for a total of 30 minutes over two different calls about two and a half hours apart.
Garcia was able to have his first trial conviction thrown out in 2021. He said the remedy should have been a dismissal rather than a second trial. Garcia was convicted in a second trial in 2023.
Garcia said he thought it was unlikely his conviction would be overturned before his April
sentencing but he added, “I think, on appeal, we have a very high chance of being granted (a reversal of the conviction). If the federal court decides to hear the habeas position on the merits, I think we have probably a 99% chance for it being granted.”
See page 5 >>
Even in CA, report finds LGBTQ youth struggle with mental health
by Matthew S. Bajko
Despite the myriad measures and protective policies California lawmakers have enacted to improve the lives of LGBTQ youth, it has not shielded queer and transgender young people in the Golden State from struggling with mental health issues. A new report is detailing how depression and suicide remain at elevated levels among those aged 13 to 24.
According to the Trevor Project’s “2024 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People by State” report, being published Wednesday, 35% of LGBTQ+ young people in California “seriously considered suicide in the past year, including 39% of transgender and nonbinary young people.” Eleven percent attempted suicide in the past year, including 14% of transgender and nonbinary young people.
Sixty-four percent reported experiencing symptoms of anxiety, including 69% of transgender and nonbinary young people. Meanwhile, 52% of LGBTQ+ young people in California reported experiencing symptoms of depression, including 57% of transgender and 64% nonbinary young people.
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Low's new gig
Bondi warns AGs
Nol Simonse
The U.S. Senate on Monday rejected a House-approved bill that would have
Former friends Tyson Wrensch, left, and Danny Garcia enjoyed an evening at the now-closed Krave nightclub in Las Vegas in 2005.
Courtesy Tyson Wrensch
Bondi warns state AGs to comply with Trump order
by John Ferrannini
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi is warning three state attorneys general – including California’s – they must comply with President Donald Trump’s executive order on transgender girls and women’s participation in female sports.
The letter Bondi sent the trio of state officials is the latest escalation between the federal government and states that have policies allowing trans women and girls to play on female sports teams.
“This Department of Justice will defend women and does not tolerate state officials who ignore federal law,” Bondi stated in a February 25 news release. “We will leverage every legal option necessary to ensure state compliance with federal law and President Trump’s executive order protecting women’s sports.”
The Bay Area Reporter reached out to the Justice Department for a copy of the letter but has not received it as of press time. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for California Attorney General Rob Bonta stated to the B.A.R. February 26 that he is in receipt of the letter and will respond; the state office also has yet to provide a copy of Bondi’s letter.
State law allows trans students to play on sports teams that align with their gender identity. Earlier this month, two families sued Bonta, a school district in Riverside County and other public officials over the law, as Fox News reported.
Minnesota human rights law also lets transgender athletes compete in sports consistent with their gender identity, which supersedes Trump’s attempt to ban such state statutes, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison told local media last week.
The Democratic leader stated to the B.A.R. Wednesday that Bondi and Trump aren’t correct in their interpretation of federal civil rights laws.
“I believe Attorney General Bondi and President Trump are wrong on the law, and I’m prepared to defend and up-
hold the law,” Ellison stated. “But more than unlawful, I think it’s morally wrong to persecute a small minority group, transgender youth, with the full weight of the U.S. Department of Justice just to express prejudice against a vulnerable and often persecuted group of students.
I do not believe the best use of the Department of Justice’s limited resources is to sue Minnesota over this.”
The attorney general’s office in Maine didn’t return a request for comment by press time.
Trump got into it with Maine Governor Janet T. Mills (D) on the issue February 20 while he was meeting with governors. The president told her she needed to comply with his executive order on trans athletes or he’d withhold education funding to the Pine Tree State.
Mills said she would comply with state and federal law.
“We are the federal law,” Trump shot back. “You’d better do it. You’d better do it, because you’re not going to get any federal funding at all if you don’t.”
“See you in court,” Mills responded. She later stated, “If the president attempts to unilaterally deprive Maine school children of the benefit of federal funding, my administration and the attorney general will take all appropriate and necessary legal action to restore that funding and the academic opportunity
it provides. The State of Maine will not be intimidated by the president’s threats.”
The federal Education Department’s office for civil rights announced an investigation of Maine schools the very next day.
“Maine would have you believe that it has no choice in how it treats women and girls in athletics – that is, that it must follow its state laws and allow male athletes to compete against women and girls,” U.S. acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor stated in a news release. “Let me be clear: If Maine wants to continue to receive federal funds from the Education Department, it has to follow Title IX. If it wants to forgo federal funds and continue to trample the rights of its young female athletes, that, too, is its choice. OCR will do everything in its power to ensure taxpayers are not funding blatant civil rights violators.”
For her part, Mills said, “This is not just about who can compete on the athletic field, this is about whether a president can force compliance with his will, without regard for the rule of law that governs our nation. I believe he cannot.”
The Education Department had already announced February 12 an investigation of the California Interscholastic Federation – the state’s governing body of high school sports – as a result of its current policies. Equality California, the statewide LGBTQ rights organization, defended the interscholastic federation, which has said it won’t comply with Trump’s order because it does not align with state law.
“This policy aligns with California law and the fundamental principles of fairness and inclusion,” EQCA Executive Director Tony Hoang, a gay man, stated in a news release. “These protections have existed for years without issue and have allowed the small number of transgender athletes in California to play school sports alongside their teammates – just like everyone else.
“This federal investigation is another politically motivated attack and part of
a broader effort to weaponize the government against transgender youth,” he continued, referring to the Education Department. “It is a deliberate attempt to stigmatize and exclude transgender students as part of a coordinated agenda to erase transgender people from public life.”
EQCA didn’t provide a comment for this report on the Bondi letter.
San Jose State University is also the target of a federal investigation by the Education Department for allowing a reported trans volleyball player on the women’s team.
“We recognize that at times, these laws and policies may intersect in complex ways,” SJSU President Cynthia Teniente-Matson stated, according to a San Jose Inside report. “In navigating these frameworks, our focus remains on upholding our responsibilities while supporting our students.”
As the B.A.R. previously reported, Trump signed an executive order February 5 titled “Keeping Men out of Women’s Sports” to state it is U.S. policy to rescind all federal funds “from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities, which results in the endangerment, humiliation, and silencing of women and girls and deprives them of privacy. It shall also be the policy of the United States to oppose male competitive participation in women’s sports more broadly, as a matter of safety, fairness, dignity, and truth.”
The president pledged, “If you let men take over women’s sports teams or invade your locker rooms, you will be investigated for violations of Title IX and risk your federal funding.”
The order interprets Title IX of the Educational Amendments Act of 1972 – a landmark civil rights law – in light of Trump’s day one executive order declaring that there are only two sexes determined “at conception.”
In December, the Biden administration had already walked back its proposed policy on trans women in
women’s sports, which was an attempt to chart a middle course but that did not satisfy LGBTQ advocacy groups. The Biden administration proposal was that if a school refuses to allow a transgender student to play on a team that matched their gender identity, the refusal must be based on a need to “minimize harms” and “be substantially related to the achievement of an important educational objective.”
But states like California have a policy that goes further than that. Guidelines about LGBTQ rights issued by Bonta’s office state unequivocally, “You have the right to play on a sports team that aligns with your gender identity.” It is also explicitly stated in the Golden State’s education code that, “A pupil shall be permitted to participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, and use facilities consistent with his or her gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil’s records.”
States also have Bostock v. Clayton County (2020), the U.S. Supreme Court ruling stating that the word “sex” in the Civil Rights Act applies to both sexual orientation and gender identity, to appeal to in the legal justification for their interpretation of civil rights statutes.
A 2025 New York Times/Ipsos survey showed, however, that the majority of Americans disagree with that; with 79% of poll respondents saying trans female athletes should only compete on sports that conform to their sex as assigned at birth. By party breakdown, this included 94% of Republicans, 67% of Democrats, and 64% of those in neither party. Half of U.S. states have laws banning trans students from participating in sports consistent with their gender identity.
And the issue has been a political winner for the GOP, with some national Democrats reassessing their views on the matter in the wake of Trump’s win last fall. t
LGBTQs are among new cohort of Obama leaders
by John Ferrannini
Since President Barack Obama left office in January 2017, he has kept busy with a number of projects. One close to his heart is the Obama Foundation, which has launched various programs for people to connect with each other and motivate them to make change. One of those programs is the foundation’s Leaders USA, which recently announced its new group of participants for 2024-2025.
Three of the 13 LGBTQ+ people selected for the Leaders USA program are based in the Bay Area. They’ll be learning both about how to develop as leaders and how to build civic engagement in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors.
Lindsay Schubiner, program director of the Western States Center, is queer and told the Bay Area Reporter she is based in the East Bay. Schubiner, 40, said she applied to participate because the program “offers opportunities to connect with a network of values-driven people working in their own communities and nationally for democracy, and I think particularly right now democracy is under such incredible threat, and requires a response equal to that threat.”
The other two LGBTQ Bay Area participants are Ryan Easterly, 42, a gay man who is the executive director of the WITH Foundation in San Mateo, which works to promote the establishment of comprehensive health care for adults with developmental disabilities; and Elissa Lee, 31, is a bisexual queer woman who is the senior adviser for community engagement at California Volunteers. She lives in Berkeley and works in Sacramento.
There are over 100 people in this year’s Leaders USA cohort.
“We meet together, we have group discussions, and we engage with other
national leaders to learn from them and engage with them,” Schubiner said. “There’s an executive coaching component, and a big part is building the community of leaders and building our network around making value-facing change.”
The Obama Foundation Leaders USA Program, now in its second year, was inspired by the leadership values and approach of former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, a news release stated. The program draws on the foundation’s “Hope to Action” curriculum to support leaders in engaging diverse perspectives, building collective power, and making tangible, sustainable progress toward a better world, the release noted. The Leaders USA Program has a particular focus on strengthening democratic culture.
“Our Leaders program connects and empowers changemakers from around the world who are advancing inclusive and effective solutions to the biggest challenges we face,” Obama stated in the release. “I’m incredibly proud of the leaders we’ve worked with over the years, and excited to welcome this new
class. Together, they bring different perspectives, ideas, and experiences to the table, and our hope is that they’ll be able to learn from each other and develop a deep network of support.
“I’m inspired by their dedication, and look forward to seeing them grow and create lasting, meaningful change in their communities,” Obama added.
Easterly, who lives in San Francisco, said it’s a six-month program from start to finish. His organization focuses on health care for adults with developmental challenges and advocates for largescale change in the industry.
“There’s no community, no identity that disability is not a part of,” Easterly, 42, said. “So I appreciate being able to benefit from the vast network of the Obama Leaders program.”
California Volunteers, where Lee works, is under the auspices of Governor Gavin Newsom’s office. She previously led awareness and action health campaigns for Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation.
As a two-time fellow in the Journalists in Aging program hosted by the Gerontological Society of Aging and the Jour-
nalists Network on Generations during the COVID pandemic lockdowns, Lee, who has a doctorate in occupational therapy, said she was “struck by how many seniors would talk to me in their front door, pointing out neighbors” who were supporting their neighbors in various ways.
She wants to help bring communities together across divides the way she saw happened at the grassroots level during COVID, and so oversees the neighborto-neighbor initiative at California Volunteers.
“I kind of jumped at it,” she said of applying for the Obama Foundation program. “A big focus of President Obama’s this year was the power and practice of pluralism and being able to have people of all different backgrounds and beliefs live together in society.”
She said the former president tried to craft a narrative to bring Americans together, and that the foundation is focused on that same work.
“We’ve done a number of practices around public narrative in a way that tells the story of me, the story of us, and the story of the future – what’s next – and I feel I’ve already learned a lot,” Lee said.
Asked her hopes for the program, Schubiner brought the issue back to the preservation of democracy.
“I’m really hoping to grow my network of leaders working on democracy, working to defend democracy and thinking in creative and expansive ways about how to preserve and expand rights in this country,” she said. “I’m hoping through that I can clarify my own goals and strategies for my work around defending democracy over the course of the program and hopefully gain new insights around how to do this work of countering bigotry and defending democracy in new and more creative ways that involve more sectors.”
Other out participants
There were a total of 13 LGBTQ participants selected for this year’s cohort. The others are Ray López-Chang, a queer Los Angeles movement-builder who has worked for the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education and United Way of Greater Los Angeles; Hannah Mesounai, director of mission and equity consulting with the YMCA McLean County, Pennsylvania; Jerrel Peterson, a social worker by training who’s head of content policy at Spotify; and Akiesha Anderson, an attorney who runs the Anderson Admissions Academy, a social enterprise designed to provide financially accessible services to help lowincome, first-generation, and minority law school applicants successfully navigate the law school admissions process.
Others are Lisa Mae Brunson, who serves on the boards of California State University, Long Beach’s Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and Rochester Institute of Technology’s National Institute for the Deaf’s Employer Advisory Group; Alex Grant, the national outreach director at the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition; and Nam Hoang Hoai Nguyen, a crisis counselor for the Crisis Text Line.
Rounding out this year’s LGBTQ participants are Stephen “Steve” Westby, a U.S. Army veteran who is the assistant director of student veteran transition and success at New York University; Josh Coleman, deputy director of the division of social justice and racial equity in the office of the mayor of Birmingham, Alabama; and Fernando Cárdenas, the senior director of community engagement, culture, and language at Comcast. The Obama Foundation has launched other programs since 2018. These include fellowships and programs such as one to train emerging leaders in Africa. t
Bay Area residents Lindsay Schubiner, left, Ryan Easterly, and Elissa Lee are three of the 2024-25 class of Obama Foundation Leaders USA program participants.
Courtesy Obama Foundation
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi AP
What trans people want
by Gwendolyn Ann Smith
When it comes to the struggle for trans protections, there’s one unusual quirk I’ve noticed over the last few years. I’ve found it interesting, if disturbing, and – as we are seeing the wholesale destruction of transgender rights in the United States and beyond in 2025 – it feels like this disconnect is fueling it all.
The fight for transgender rights in the 2020s lacks one important thing: a wealth of transgender voices.
The right has dominated any discussion on transgender issues, of course, even as it does its best to get transgender people removed from society and erased from our own history. All you hear about is how transgender people need to be removed from women’s sports, from women’s bathrooms, from the military, from government, and, frankly, from everything else. The reasons are kept vague, usually pointing at the need to protect women from, well, other women.
Semi-centrist pundits, meanwhile, pontificate that it is the left that has focused too much on “social issues” like transgender rights and have urged a return to “real” issues. For me, I know that housing, employment, and all of these issues being championed affect a transgender person just as much as
they do a non-transgender person, but I digress: it is always vital to protect the civil rights of all.
The same attitude has begun to permeate left-wing politics, with transgender rights often blamed as a cause for the 2024 election loss. Yet Democratic candidates avoided discussing transgender issues, with presidential candidate Kamala Harris avoiding the topic almost entirely – and never once saying the word “transgender.” Her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, to his credit, did discuss transgender issues, but the dominant attitude was to avoid the topic entirely, focusing in-
stead on the price of eggs, which is still high, by the way.
I will never forget that as momentum built behind the Harris campaign going into the Democratic National Convention, Sarah McBride – then on track to be the first out transgender person to serve in the United States Congress – was not asked to speak. Indeed, much more of the convention floor was given to moderate GOP members than to people actually in the Democratic Party, such as McBride, who went on to win her race and represents Delaware in the House of Representatives.
I also think it worth noting that the
zwere aimed squarely at McBride, who was barred – along with any other trans person – from using the correct Capitol restroom for her gender identity as soon as the 119th Congress went into session in early January.
She took this admirably, yet I couldn’t help but notice that few in the party came to her aid.
Meanwhile, as we see our rights under threat at every turn, we are not seeing transgender people being asked to speak about our rights or, perhaps more importantly, what we might need.
First and foremost, we’d like for you to listen to us. Set aside your assumptions and hear from us what we may want. Not all of us may have the same answer, but I’d bet you’d very quickly get a sense of things beyond what you might hear from non-trans gender people: contrary to popular belief, we’re not all out here shouting about pro nouns.
Of course, you likely no ticed that I hinted at that at the beginning of this column. Perhaps unsurprisingly, you’ll find the other things I’d expect for transgender people peppered through the above.
Just like our non-transgender siblings, we want legal protections. I’m not talking about something specific to being trans in this case, but just an expectation that we’re not going to be fired, lose our home, or be otherwise unfairly treated simply because of who we are. It’s the same expectation afforded to others in this country. I should also note that as rights get repealed for us, it becomes all the more likely they will be lost for others.
While many likely feel that we are unwilling to discuss any nuance within any discussion around trans rights, I’ll note that it is not transgender people pushing blanket bans around transgender people in sports, or in public facilities, or in the military. The assumption is made that we are dishonest and disloyal monsters, and I find myself wondering exactly who is being unreasonable: it is not us.
Transition, from the right, is often treated as if it is entered on a whim, with no understanding that for those of us who are transgender, it may take years, even decades, for us to reach a point where coming out as transgender is necessary to our survival. We don’t do any of this to win a gold statuette like it’s some 1980s-era comedy: it’s our very lives we’re discussing.
Our biggest want is a simple one: body autonomy. We want people to understand that, just like anyone else, we should have the right to make the right choices for ourselves and our bodies. More than anything, particularly in these times, we want to be left alone. Every day brings a new attack from the right. There are bills barring us from sports at the federal level, we are pulled from civil rights protections in Iowa, and our care is being criminalized in Texas. Each of these moves are done simply to fuel an anti-trans “witch hunt” that will never stop transgender people from existing; it will only serve to make our lives worse.
What we really want is simple: it’s just to be able to live our full lives. This should not be a topic of debate for politicians or pundits, but something we should be able to express on our own.
Hear our voices.
Hear our truth instead of the lies of the right. t
Gwen Smith has been out pricing bullhorns again. You’ll find her at www.gwensmith.com.
Bobby Kent passed away at age 78 in Omaha, Nebraska on March 14, 2024. He was a gay hippy gospel singer with two albums out, “Glide Memorial’s Bobby Kent” (1976), and “Juice” (1980). He performed to thousands in San Francisco and Berlin. He performed with the Cockettes and Jon Sugar. He grew up singing in his grandmother’s Pentecostal church.
You can get a copy of “Juice” by contacting Sugar at gawksf@yahoo.com
Christine Smith
Community News>>
The case
According to prosecutors, Garcia’s associate, gay Nepali national Kaushal Niroula, pretended to be a lawyer arranging an inheritance for Lambert.
While Niroula and Lambert were having a drink in Lambert’s house, Niroula excused himself and let Miguel Bustamante and Craig McCarthy into the home by unlocking a sliding glass door.
McCarthy testified for the prosecution that Bustamante stabbed Lambert multiple times after the pair confronted Lambert in his kitchen. Prosecutors alleged that Garcia and his lawyer, David Replogle, were involved in the conspiracy to commit the murder.
Lambert’s remains were not discovered until 2016 and 2017 near Castaic, in northern Los Angeles County.
The B.A.R. reached out to Replogle’s attorney John Dolan but had not received a response by press time.
KESQ-TV reported that Dolan argued during his opening statement in Replogle’s retrial in 2022 that the other defendants charged in the murder were Replogle’s clients in his role as an attorney, but he was not culpable for their actions. Dolan said that for any role Replogle did play in the murder plot, it was because he was threatened and under duress.
Bustamante and McCarthy were Heald College classmates and roommates from Daly City. Bustamante was a bartender at the now-closed Castro bar Jet, and McCarthy was a former Marine.
Garcia maintains he was not in Palm Springs at the time of the stabbing, and no one alleged that he was during the trials. He told the B.A.R. that the text messages implicating him in the murder plot were fabricated. He said the phone from which they pulled incriminating text messages was purchased after the date the messages were allegedly sent.
He added, “The problem is, no matter how much we argued that the evidence literally shows that these (text messages) are not authentic, that they were not sent or received, that they did not originate on this phone, that the phone had been purchased after the date of supposed messages, all these
different factors, the court still let them in, and that was the basis of the prosecution’s entire case against me.
As far as the cellphone pinging information, it actually contradicted much of the prosecution’s case. At one point they said I was in Palm Springs cleaning up the blood at the crime scene. And in fact, the cellphone at that exact time was pinging several hundred miles away.”
When asked about Garcia’s allegation that the cellphone data used in the trial was fabricated, John Hall, a spokesman for the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, told the B.A.R., “This convicted defendant is still awaiting sentencing and his appellate process. Our office will not be commenting further at this time.”
tually pleaded guilty to art fraud and received a five-year sentence. He has since died. Garcia said that Niroula had previously lied and said that he murdered Manning as part of an unrelated con, so Garcia wasn’t inclined to believe him when he claimed to have accidentally killed Lambert. And he said that he was able to verify that Manning was in jail in Puerto Vallarta some time after speaking with Replogle about Lambert’s disappearance.
Garcia said it would have made no sense for him to be involved in a plot to steal Lambert’s assets because he said that Lambert had been having money problems due to a lawsuit from the family of his deceased former partner combined with a large mortgage payment that resulted in Lambert being “insolvent.”
Garcia said that Niroula targeted Lambert as the result of something he offhandedly said about him.
“The biggest issue in this case was alleging that I’m the linchpin because while Niroula was in jail over the summer of 2008, he had called me and was trying to get my family to help him bail out of custody. There was no chance in hell that was going to happen. And he was telling me, ‘Bail me out. I can help fund you for your technology project. You need me.’ So just to give him some kind of a dig, a little bit, I said, ‘I don’t need you. I have a financial benefactor who’s going to invest in my company.’”
born in Nepal and falsely claimed to some that he was Nepalese royalty. He was granted a student visa to study at the now-closed New College in San Francisco’s Mission District. He promised the school a $1 million donation. The donation never came. New College eventually closed in 2008, months before Lambert’s murder.
Niroula indirectly helped Garcia gain a second trial for him and two other co-defendants. While acting as his own attorney in court, Garcia secretly recorded Riverside County Superior Court Judge David B. Downing in the first trial saying he wasn’t going to open envelopes with legal matters from Niroula because Niroula was HIV-positive and had licked the envelopes. A second trial was granted for the defendants because of the judge’s misconduct.
New attention to case
The story of Lambert’s murder is gaining new attention with a podcast, “American Hustlers,” by True Crime News from Warner Brothers, with a new episode dropping every Monday. The sixth episode dropped on March 3 and there are 12 in the series. The saga has been previously featured in a number of true crime documentaries and podcasts. NBC’s “Dateline” program is working on a new two-hour show about the case.
“I have seen the transcripts of four episodes altogether. They are just mind-blowing. There’s zero factchecking whatsoever,” he said.
A co-producer of the American Hustlers podcast, Kim Kantner, told the B.A.R. Garcia’s reaction to the podcast is not a surprise.
“I wouldn’t expect Danny to be happy with the podcast,” she said. “It’s putting the story out there again. The story has been out there before and has never shown him in a favorable light, and neither does this. He is a convicted murderer, and he’s in prison, and he was a con man and con men lie. So what comes out of his mouth, I feel, needs to be taken with a grain of salt.”
Addressing Garcia’s complaint about his allegation of a lack of factchecking in the series, Kantner said, “We are as careful with the facts as we can get. We do interview a lot of people, and those people are talking to us based on memory, so we don’t state that those are facts, those are opinions, and those are people’s memories. As far as the facts, we did everything that we could as far as reviewing court records, ad nauseam. I can’t even tell you how many pages (of court records) to do the best we could to get everything correct. The podcast was vetted by lawyers to make sure that they could corroborate what we had said to the best of our ability.”
Garcia told the B.A.R. that Niroula confessed the murder to him in a clandestine meeting on a San Francisco pier. Garcia and Niroula were arrested in March 2009, three months after the murder.
Garcia went on to tell him about Lambert. Garcia said he believes Niroula was looking for another victim to con.
Public Notice: CBP, San Francisco Laboratory
Garcia says he hasn’t been able to listen to the podcast in jail but has been sent transcripts.
Public Notice: CBP, San Francisco Laboratory
Emergency permit to
“He said that he had tried to con Cliff (Lambert) and that an accident had occurred and Cliff was dead,” Garcia said. “And he said that he died in the kitchen and that professionals cleaned up the blood, and he took the body to Maria’s mortuary to be incinerated, and just a whole lot of nonsense. And so I went to (attorney) David Replogle’s office.”
Contrary to media reports, Garcia says he didn’t first meet Lambert over the internet. He said he met Lambert and his partner, Travis Lambert, at an HIV charity fundraiser in Los Angeles in 2005. He said he kept in touch with Travis through social media.
treat hazardous waste
Garcia said that Replogle assured him Lambert was alive and in a prison in Mexico along with Russell Manning, an art dealer whom prosecutors said had helped Niroula and Replogle steal Lambert’s assets. Manning even-
“And then I received a message from Cliff (Lambert) in March or April 2008 and discovered that Travis had passed away and drowned in a swimming pool. And Cliff offered to bring me down to Palm Springs,” Garcia said.
Niroula was murdered in jail by a cellmate in 2022. He was 41.
Niroula had a long history of alleged cons. A Japanese woman visiting Hawaii said Niroula conned her out of more than $500,000. Niroula was
Emergency permit to treat hazardous
waste
The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) has issued an Emergency Permit to CBP, San Francisco Laboratory for onsite treatment of expired chemicals at 630 Sansome Street, Suite 1450 San Francisco, California 94111.The items treated include one (1) 20-liter container of Tetrahydrofuran, one (1) 5-liter container of Ethylene Glycol Monomethyl Ether, one (1) 500- milliliter container of p-Dioxane, one (1) 25-milliliter container of 2,2-Dimethoxypropane, one (1) 1.5-liter container of 2 (2-Methoxyethoxy) Ethanol, one (1) 1.5-liter Methyl t-Butyl Ether, one (1) 100-milliliter container of 2-Methoxy Ethyl Ether, one (1) 1-liter container of Diethylene Glycol Monomethyl Ether, one (1) 1-gram container of 1-Bromo-2-Nitrobenzene, one (1) 1-liter container of Picric Acid, and one (1) 1000-gram container of Ammonium Nitrate.
The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (D T S C) has issued an Emergency Permit to CBP, San Francisco Laboratory for onsite treatment of expired chemicals at 630 Sansome Street, Suite 1450 San Francisco, California 94111.The items treated include one (1) 20-liter container of Tetrahydrofuran, one (1) 5-liter container of Ethylene Glycol Monomethyl Ether, one (1) 500- milliliter container of p-Dioxane, one (1) 25-milliliter container of 2,2-Dimethoxypropane, one (1) 1.5-liter container of 2 (2-Methoxyethoxy) Ethanol, one (1) 1.5-liter Methyl t-Butyl Ether, one (1) 100-milliliter container of 2-Methoxy Ethyl Ether, one (1) 1-liter container of Diethylene Glycol Monomethyl Ether, one (1) 1-gram container of 1-Bromo-2-Nitrobenzene, one (1) 1-liter container of Picric Acid, and one (1) 1000-gram container of Ammonium Nitrate.
Clean Harbors Environmental Services (Clean Harbors) has been contracted to conduct the treatment. The chemicals are potentially reactive and unsafe for transport in their present state. The treatment involves the addition of solutions to the containers to stabilize the chemicals. Once the chemicals are treated, they will be transported offsite for proper management. DTSC has determined that these chemicals pose an imminent and substantial endangerment to human health and the environment if not properly managed. Therefore, an Emergency Permit should be issued. This Emergency Permit is effective from February 27, 2025, through May 28, 2025. The Emergency Permit includes measures to minimize any adverse impact to the community and the environment.
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA): DTSC has determined that the issuance of this permit is exempt from the requirements of CEQA and has filed a Notice of Exemption (NOE) with the State Clearinghouse.
Clean Harbors Environmental Services (Clean Harbors) has been contracted to conduct the treatment. The chemicals are potentially reactive and unsafe for transport in their present state. The treatment involves the addition of solutions to the containers to stabilize the chemicals. Once the fsite for proper management. DTSC has determined that these chemicals pose an imminent and substantial endangerment to human health and the environment if not properly managed. Therefore, an Emergency Permit should be issued. This Emergency Permit is effective from February 27, 2025, through May 28, 2025. The Emergency Permit includes measures to minimize any adverse impact to the community and the environment.
DTSC has determined that the issuance of this permit is exempt from the requirements of CEQA and has filed a Notice of Exemption (NOE) with the The Emergency Permit, Notice of Exemption (NOE), and CBP, San Francisco Laboratory request for this project is available upon request from the Project Manager or
Trans people rally against Trump
Administrative Record - The Emergency Permit, Notice of Exemption (NOE), and CBP, San Francisco Laboratory request for this project is available upon request from the Project Manager or for review at the file room located at:
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Measles outbreak outruns RFK Jr.
The nation’s top vaccine denier, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is being overrun by current events and scrambling to contain the fallout. Specifically, a terrible measles outbreak in Texas has now spread to a neighboring county in New Mexico and surged to 146 cases as of Monday. Measles cases have also been confirmed in other states, including Pennsylvania. Most of the affected Texas patients are unvaccinated children; one child has died.
It’s been alarming to see RFK Jr. flailing about as this measles outbreak, the first in Texas in three decades, continues to spread. After weeks of downplaying the severity – measles is life-threatening and highly contagious – RFK Jr. finally advocated for the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine in an online op-ed on Fox News Sunday. Sort of. He’s still stating that getting vaccinated is a “personal choice,” but he was at least acknowledging the benefits of the MMR vaccine.
Alas, it was short-lived. A day or two later, though, he was on Fox News promoting vitamin A, cod liver oil, and steroids for treatment of measles. Yikes.
Health officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention haven’t been helpful either, as they delayed sending out information about the Texas outbreak for a month, as the New York Times reported. (The CDC is under the Health and Human Services Department.)
But RFK Jr. inching closer to the measles vaccine is an improvement from comments he made at President Donald Trump’s first cabinet meeting last week, when he said measles outbreaks were “not unusual.”
“Classifying it as ‘not unusual’ would be inaccurate,” said Dr. Christina Johns, a pediatric emergency physician at PM Pediatrics in Annapolis, Maryland, as CNN reported. “Usually [an outbreak] is in the order of a handful, not over 100 people that we have seen recently with this latest outbreak in West Texas.” Another physician also told the network that Kennedy was wrong.
“This is not usual,” said Dr. Philip Huang, director of the Dallas County Health and Human Services Department. “Fortunately, it’s not usual,
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and it’s been because of the effectiveness of the vaccine.”
Measles was eliminated in the U.S. in 2020, meaning no outbreaks occurred for a year or more since then, as the CDC noted.
RFK Jr.’s anti-science outlook is already proving to be damaging for Americans. And he’s only been on the job a few weeks.
We hope people across the country check their vaccination status for measles with their physicians and get the series of two shots if recommended. The vaccinations are 97% effective. Most U.S. adults were vaccinated when they were children, but it’s possible that another round of shots is necessary, as we’ve learned ourselves. The vaccination rate has been declining in recent years because of people like RFK Jr. who believe in junk science and debunked scientific articles.
Speaking of pro-science advocacy, San Francisco will be the site of the Conference on Retro viruses and Opportunistic Infections next week. The San Francisco AIDS Foundation’s HIV Advocacy Network and scientists will hold a rally at 6 p.m. Monday, March 10, at Yerba Buena Gardens to support HIV research programs. A news release noted that this research is threatened by the Trump administration’s attempts to freeze federal funding and make deep cuts to critical research programs that advance cutting-edge treatment and cures.
A federal judge has twice blocked the Trump administration from making the research cuts, according to the news service. But whatever decision Judge Angel Kelley (a Joe Biden appointee) makes likely will be appealed. And we know how the U.S. Supreme court views presidential power; the justices gave Trump broad immunity for “official acts” in a landmark case last year.
These NIH cuts would be a disaster for HIV/ AIDS research, as well as other diseases. However, it’s not surprising that the administration wants to decimate health research and why Trump selected RFK Jr. to be the health secretary.
As we noted in an editorial after Trump nominated him, RFK Jr. does not believe that HIV causes AIDS. In 2021, he wrote in his book “The Real Anthony Fauci” that “heavy recreational drug use in gay men and drug addicts was the real cause of immune deficiency.” Though that was an early theory as to the origins of AIDS, it was debunked over four decades ago. In a fact sheet, GLAAD stated that RFK Jr. has attributed the disease to factors such as recreational drug use, particularly amyl nitrite (“poppers”), and lifestyle stressors. Later in the book, co-published by the Children’s Health Defense, an anti-vaccination group that RFK Jr. once led, he wrote several times that he is “neutral” on whether HIV causes AIDS, as Managed Healthcare Executive noted in a January article.
Many major universities that serve as research hubs have decried these proposed budget cuts and the chaos surrounding them, which is nothing new for the Trump administration. Forbes reported this week that Stanford University is freezing spending as support for biomedical research remains in doubt. Others are pulling back on Ph.D. admissions, the publication reported.
The Associated Press reported the new National Institutes of Health policy would strip research groups of hundreds of millions of dollars to cover so-called indirect expenses of studying Alzheimer’s, cancer, heart disease, and a host of other illnesses –anything from clinical trials of new treatments to basic lab research that is the foundation for discoveries.
But this is disingenuous and a form of AIDS denialism, a fringe belief that has been thoroughly debunked by the scientific community. One can’t be neutral on scientific evidence.
We see all of this as connected. Lower vaccination numbers bring back diseases that were once eradicated. Cuts in medical research lead to vital work not being done, and feeds into public distrust about the entire health infrastructure. Meanwhile, people living with diseases like HIV/AIDS worry that the next medical breakthrough may not come, potentially depriving them and future generations of better medications or treatment. All of this is not going to “make America great again.” Rather, if these drastic funding cuts are realized, they will result in the U.S. falling behind in regard to possible lifechanging medical advances. t
How Californians can live beyond adversity
by Rachel Gilgoff
Life, work, school, and relationships can bring us both joy and stress. With advances in technology and social media, we have 24/7 access to content from across the world. Some of it can be scary, exclusionary, shaming, or discriminatory. At the same time, we may have less in-person time for connection, spending time outdoors, and other activities that help us buffer stress.
In addition, many of us have experienced personal traumas as children such as abuse (physical, sexual, or emotional), neglect, living with a caregiver who has a mental illness or struggles with alcohol or substance use, or intimate partner violence in the home. These traumas, known as adverse childhood experiences or ACEs, are very common and are present across communities, income levels, races, and ethnicities. Based on a study conducted by RAND for Live Beyond, an ACES and toxic stress campaign by the State of California, 3 out of 5 Californians have experienced at least one ACE, and 1 out of 5 youth and young adults in California have experienced four or more ACEs.
Past traumas can impact our life, health, and relationships today.
Some stress is good for us and builds resilience. If we have a supportive environment, coping skills, and healing interventions, we can overcome many if not most challenges. However, without support, toxic stress – when the body’s stress response is activated too often or for too long – can lead to wear and tear on our physical and mental health. Toxic stress often shows up when we haven’t had the support, coping strategies, and healing interventions we have needed to balance our stress response system.
Perfectionism and people-pleasing: Common in those who had to be caretakers or were overly cautious to avoid negative or harmful attention.
Relationship challenges: If childhood taught us not to trust others or ourselves, we may struggle with forming secure attachments.
Heart disease: If stress hormones continuously tell our heart to beat faster and our immune system to be on guard, this can increase the risk for high blood pressure and inflammation in our blood vessels.
Obesity and diabetes: If our stress response is repeatedly pumping out extra sugar into our blood stream, this can overtax the system and increase risk for insulin resistance, obesity, and diabetes.
things beyond our control, lower our adrenaline and cortisol levels, and bring us back to a state of balance.
These evidence-backed strategies include supportive relationships, quality sleep, eating well, physical activity, mindfulness, and experiencing nature. California’s aforementioned Live Beyond campaign offers a range of healing strategies that can be incorporated into our everyday lives and can help us heal and thrive.
For some, stress may trigger underlying vulnerabilities to mental and physical health challenges that could improve with extra support. Many people dealing with the effects of ACEs and toxic stress find therapy helpful. Look for therapists that practice trauma-informed care, visit the Start Healing page from the Live Beyond campaign to learn more about ways to care for your mental health, or try one of these free apps: Soluna is a free mental health app for youth ages 13 to 25, and Bright Life Kids is a free parent support app. Additionally, you can search the ACEs Aware Clinician Directory to find a subset of health care providers who have completed training on ACEs and can support your physical health.
It’s never too late to begin healing or to support others in their healing journey. If you notice a young person and/or their caregiver is struggling, reach out – as a friend, relative, co-worker, classmate, neighbor, or community member. Together, California is paving the way to a healthier and more resilient future. t
The impacts of ACEs and toxic stress can influence our mental and physical health, and show up in unexpected ways and situations, affecting how we feel and act. Here are a few examples.
Heightened reactivity: Irritability, impulsivity, lack of engagement, learning issues, or even diagnoses like ADHD, anxiety, or bipolar disorder.
Disconnection: A “freeze” state characterized by detachment, numbness, quietness, or depression.
It is never too late to begin healing
Wherever we are on our stress, health, and well-being path, we can all cope, heal, and flourish, and it’s never too late to begin. We need to listen to our body and what it may be trying to tell us. We, then, can assess and address whether we have (1) control over our environment such that we could decrease the stressors in our life, and (2) implement strategies that help us cope with the
Dr. Rachel Gilgoff is a senior clinical and science adviser to the ACEs Aware Initiative with UCLA-UCSF ACEs Aware and Family Resilience Network. She’s also an adjunct clinical associate professor with Stanford University School of Medicine, integrative medicine clinician at GetzWell Personalized Pediatrics, and a member of the Live Beyond campaign, a mental health awareness initiative created by the California Surgeon General. While Gilgoff does not personally identify under the LGBTQIA+ umbrella, she is dedicated to helping all folks from the Bay Area, including the LGBTQIA+ community.
Dr. Rachel Gilgoff
Courtesy the subject
LGBTQ Victory Fund hires Low as new CEO
by Matthew S. Bajko
Four months after losing his bid to serve in Congress, gay former California state assemblymember Evan Low nonetheless ended up in Washington, D.C. On Tuesday, he officially took over as the new president and CEO of the LGBTQ Victory Fund.
The national organization works to elect LGBTQ people to office across the country at the local, state, and federal levels. It had endorsed and worked to elect Low last year to an open U.S. House seat centered in Silicon Valley that he ultimately lost to fellow Democrat Sam Liccardo, a former mayor of San Jose.
“D.C. can’t get rid of me either way. Fate still has me here still doing the work,” said Low, 41, who grew up in San Jose and plans to split his time between the nation’s capital and the Bay Area.
Speaking by phone with the Bay Area Reporter March 4, Low noted it is a full circle moment for him, as the Victory Fund had endorsed him in his first bid for elected office when he was 20 years old. He lost that 2004 race for a seat on the Campbell City Council but won election two years later at age 23, again with Victory’s backing, and went on to win his legislative seat with the organization’s support in 2014.
“I am excited to come back home to Victory,” said Low, calling it “a family business” since he “is a product of the Victory Fund.”
He succeeds Annise Parker, who had announced last year she intended to resign after leading the political group and its educational arm known as the LGBTQ+ Victory Institute since December 2017. Low will also oversee the Victory Institute, on whose board he once served and was chosen as one of its David Bohnett fellows.
“I think not subscribing to this narrative we are a liability,” said Low, “but, rather, we are an asset. I hear that time and time again.”
He isn’t concerned about seeing the Democratic Party pull away from financially backing LGBTQ candidates for office. To counteract any notion that LGBTQ candidates are a political liability, Low pointed to the numerous LGBTQ elected officials across the U.S. from the three out governors and 14 congressional members to various big city mayors, as well as highranking gay officials in the Trump administration such as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
“We must accelerate building LGBTQ+ influence and power. Evan will not only expand opportunities but also reinforce the positive influence of LGBTQ+ leaders across the U.S. and internationally,” stated LGBTQ+ Victory Action Board Chair Wade Rakes, a gay man who is the chief growth officer for St. Louis-based health care company the Centene Corporation. “His expertise, experience, and humanity will fortify Victory to build an even stronger, more inclusive future for all.”
Added gay LGBTQ+ Victory Fund Board of Directors Joseph Falk, a licensed mortgage originator based in Miami, “With his extensive background in politics, we are confident that Low will achieve both missions – helping to elect more LGBTQ+ leaders and ensuring they have the tools to serve successfully. With Low’s leadership, expect more LGBTQ+ candidates, more candidate wins, and greater LGBTQ+ political impact.”
Low told the B.A.R. one of his biggest challenges leading Victory Fund will be to counteract the narrative that some in the Democratic Party espoused following last year’s election that President Donald Trump’s victory came from his attacks on transgender rights.
case
Kantner said she and co-producer Julie Golden had been working on the podcast series since 2020, with several new developments in the case happening as they were in production.
Kantner said she hasn’t had as much time to review the comments on the series as she would like because she was among thousands who lost their homes in the Los Angeles area fires in January, about two weeks before the series debuted.
Garcia said that the podcast incorrectly stated that he had consen-
approached and excited to learn more to see if this would make sense and be the next chapter in my political career.”
Low wouldn’t disclose his compensation. According to its most recent tax filings, Parker earned $178,202 in total compensation in 2023.
His first public appearance in the Bay Area as Victory Fund’s CEO and president will come March 14 when he emcees the State of The County of Santa Clara 2025 Address to be given by Board President and District 3 Supervisor Otto Lee next Friday, March 14, Low told the B.A.R. Later this month he will head to Houston for Victory Fund’s Pride Under Pressure Champagne Brunch fundraiser being held Sunday, March 30. It will provide him a chance to publicly thank Parker for her leadership of the organization, noted Low.
Parker had served as Houston’s city comptroller and on its City Council. Her victory in 2009 as mayor of Texas’ largest municipality – and the fourth largest city in the U.S. – marked the first time an out LGBTQ+ candidate had been elected mayor of a major American city.
In December of that year Low be came the youngest openly gay, Asian American mayor in the country when his colleagues on the Campbell City Council elected him to the ceremonial municipal role. He also follows Parker as being the second former elected official to lead the Victory Fund since its found ing in 1991.
“I am excited to also acknowledge the fact that I am honored to be stepping into the most fabulous shoes of Mayor Annise Parker in this role,” Low said.
“We are everywhere,” proclaimed Low, adding that LGBTQ elected officials are focused on issues of most concern to voters, from the high cost of eggs and health care to affordable housing and access to education. “All of these kitchen table issues are important to LGBTQ elected officials and, yes, we will be authentic in our lived experiences and who we are ... We are running for office to help the betterment of everyday citizens.”
He encouraged any LGBTQ individual interested in seeking elected office to contact Victory Fund (https://victoryfund.org/) for assistance with their candidacy. It already has begun endorsing out candidates running in local elections this year as well as those who will appear on the ballot during the midterm elections in 2026.
“I am excited for those thinking about meeting this moment in time and running for office,” said Low. “Please contact us at Victory. We are here for you and excited for what the future holds.”
Parker had planned to resign on December 1 but prolonged her tenure until a successor could be found. Low told the B.A.R. that his discussions about taking on the role with Victory Fund leaders began a few weeks after the November 5 election last fall.
“As Mayor Parker indicated when she announced her retirement, the board was searching for individuals who could meet the moment and also were familiar with the work of Victory and cared about the organization,” said Low. “I was
Newsom LGBTQ judicial appointees drop
The number of LGBTQ people that Governor to judicial vacancies in 2024 dropped precipitously from the year prior. Last year, Newsom appointed eight LGBTQ judges to the state bench.
It marked a nearly 50% decrease from 2023, when Newsom appointed 15 LG BTQ people to judicial appointments. And the drop occurred despite the fact that more out applicants had sought to become judges last year than had two years ago.
According to data Newsom’s of fice quietly posted (https://www.gov. ca.gov/2025/02/28/governor-newsomreleases-2024-judicial-appointmentdata/) online February 28, 22 LGBTQ people applied for a court vacancy in 2024. In 2023, 14 LGBTQ people had applied.
Since becoming governor in 2019 through December 31, 2024, Newsom appointed 47 LGBTQ judges. They ac counted for 5.9% of sitting judges in the Golden State last year.
As of January 1, Newsom had made 576 judicial appointments, including 131 in 2024, from a pool of 1,898 ap plicants of which 147 were LGBTQ. According to the governor’s office more than half of Newsom’s judicial appoint ments have been women, and more than half also identified as a person of color. t
The podcast interviewed Dennis Domini, who was identified as Garcia’s cousin and was a driver for Garcia and Niroula. He knew Garcia since Garcia was a child growing up in Modesto. He was insistent that Garcia and White had a sugar daddy relationship and that their sex was consensual. Because Garcia was 16, if White did have sex with him, it would still be illegal in California, where the age of consent is 18. Domini said his last name is an alias, a name that means master or dominate in Latin.
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sual sex with the late gay San Francisco philanthropist Thomas White when he was 16. Garcia said he was violently sexually abused by White and suffered permanent physical scars. He told the B.A.R. that White had burned his genitals with candle wax. With the help of Replogle, a gay man and his attorney, Garcia and another man sued White and eventually received a settlement from him. That settlement was $500,000 each to Garcia and his co-plaintiff, according to NBC News. Other reports have placed the settlement as high as $1 million for each. Despite the settlement, White denied the allegations.
“The FBI and the DEA have that as an alias for me, so we might as well just stick with it,” he said on the podcast.
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Former California assemblymember Evan Low is the new CEO of the LGBTQ Victory Fund.
Courtesy the subject
grifters’
“Even among states with supportive LGBTQ-plus policies, LGBTQ-plus youth continue to face elevated suicide risk and high rates of LGBTQ-plus victimization. I think the findings do make it clear that communities all across the country must take action to support the health and well-being of LGBTQ-plus youth, for sure,” said Ronita Nath, Ph.D., the vice president of research at The Trevor Project since January 2023.
The state-specific findings are based on the national nonprofit’s survey last year of 18,000 LGBTQ+ young people ages 13-24 across the country, including in Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. The breakout statistics for California are based on the responses of the 1,800 LGBTQ+ youth from the Golden State who took part in the 2024 annual survey.
“Similar to previous research, these data reinforce that LGBTQ+ youth are not disproportionately impacted by suicide because of who they are, but rather, because of how they are mistreated, stigmatized, and discriminated against,” noted Trevor Project CEO Jaymes Black, the first Black and first nonbinary leader of the nonprofit. “This is an incredibly difficult time for many LGBTQ+ young people – and these findings give us critical insight into the unique challenges they face in every state. We hope lawmakers, advocates, youth-serving professionals, and allies in every corner of the country use this research to better understand and support the young people in their communities.”
While the agency releases its mental health survey results each year, it does not routinely break the findings down by all 50 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico. This marks only the second time it has done so; after the initial state-by-state breakdown in 2022 was met with such positive interest, the agency decided to do it again and plans to release such reports every two years going forward.
“We really hope this 50-state report
“We should want all of our kids to have the chance to be on a team, problem solve with others, learn valuable skills, and find places to belong. Thank you to the leaders who stood up today, pushed back against those playing politics with young people’s lives, and declared that ours should be a nation where every child feels valued,” she added.
The B.A.R. exchanged text messages with Domini, but he hasn’t yet agreed to be interviewed by the paper.
Garcia told the B.A.R. that Domini’s statements about his relationship with White were “mind boggling” and extremely upsetting to his family.
Replogle also sued White on behalf of 20 Mexican boys and young men in Puerto Vallarta. Garcia said that against his advice, Replogle included some boys in the suit who were never molested by White. Mexican authorities charged several of the boys with extortion for lying about being molested for the promise of a lawsuit payout. Garcia said federal authorities have ample evidence of White molesting boys, and possession and making of child pornography. The B.A.R. reached out to the U.S. Attorney’s office for verification of that claim but the office said it could not provide comment.
Domini, who said on the podcast that he helped recruit the boys in Puerto Vallarta, said the allegations against White were all false. He said the only victim was White.
White died in custody in Puerto Vallarta in 2013. His lawyer, Stuart Hanlon, had told the B.A.R. at the time that his official cause of death is listed as pneumonia but that it stemmed from septic infection from a prior surgery. White was 78 and had spent more than a decade in custody,
will provide, will help those in policymaking positions to gain a critical insight into what their LGBTQ-plus young people are facing in their states,” said Nath, a straight ally currently based in Canada with her family who previously was splitting her time between New York and Boston.
‘Snapshot in time’
Last year’s survey recorded improved responses from California respondents compared to the state-based results released three years ago and based on the survey conducted in 2021. According to the 2022 report for California, 44% of LGBT youth had “seriously considered” suicide in the past year, with 54% of trans and nonbinary youth saying they had.
Fourteen percent of the LGBT youth had attempted suicide in the past year, with 19% of the trans and nonbinary youth saying they had. As for anxiety, 69% of all youth and 75% of trans and nonbinary youth, had experienced it, while 58% reported being depressed with 65% of trans and nonbinary youth reporting they had symptoms of depression.
Speaking to the Bay Area Reporter about the 2025 report for California LGBTQ+ youth, Nath stressed that it cannot be statistically compared to the 2022 report because the findings aren’t based on random samples. Rather, each is meant to be a “snapshot” in time of what the sample of LGBTQ+ youth are experiencing.
“We are just taking this to mean this is the state of things right now amongst this group of LGBTQ-plus young people in California,” noted Nath.
Nonetheless, seeing decreased numbers in this year’s report for California compared to the 2022 report is “very, very hopeful,” Nath allowed. “The idea is, hopefully, to continue to see that trend downward.”
At the same time, having 35% of the California respondents to last year’s survey reporting they had seriously considered taking their own life “is still quite high,” Nath said.
The ACLU also praised the bill’s defeat.
“As anyone paying attention to the actions of the Trump administration can tell you, this bill is simply one part of a sweeping effort to push transgender people out of public life altogether,” stated Mike Zamore, national director of policy and government affairs at the ACLU. “We need more attention on actually ensuring fair and equal opportunity for all girls and women, not in-
“The goal would be for folks reading this report to think about where can improvements be made, and what can we do in our communities and states to provide more affirming spaces and to lower those suicidal thoughts and considerations for sure,” said Nath.
What the findings make clear, Nath pointed out, is that even LGBTQ youth in California are not immune from the homophobic and transphobic rhetoric found online, or the anti-LGBTQ policies being pushed by Republican President Donald Trump, conservative GOP lawmakers in various statehouses, and even local leaders here in the Golden State.
“We do know that the policy environment matters,” said Nath. “When you look at all these states, broadly speaking, LGBTQ-plus young people living in a state with more protective policies did report lower suicidal attempts and less barriers to care than those LGBTQ-plus young people living in hostile states. We know there is a consistent link between an affirming state and LGBTQ-plus young people’s mental health.”
California is likely to adopt additional pro-LGBTQ measures this year. As the B.A.R. reported last week, among this year’s LGBTQ legislative package in the Statehouse is Assembly Bill 727 by gay Assemblymember Mark González (DLos Angeles) that would require schools in the state serving students in grades 7 to 12, as well as colleges and universities, to include on student identification cards the Trevor Project’s 24/7 suicide hotline 1-866-488-7386. (The text line can be accessed by texting START to 678-678.)
And Senate Bill 418 authored by lesbian state Senator Caroline Menjivar (D-San Fernando Valley) would prohibit health insurers from denying care to a person based on the sex they were assigned at birth, gender identity, or if they are intersex. It would apply to health insurance coverage or other health-related coverage.
flicting invasive and humiliating checks and bullying on kids to serve adults’ political purposes. We are thankful to the senators who rejected this ugly effort to codify discrimination within a historic civil rights law, and we will always fight for the freedom of all young people to be themselves at school, including on the playing field.”
HRC stated that pro-equality supporters across the country have taken action since its consideration in the
first in a jail in Thailand where he was initially arrested before being extradited to Mexico.
John Hill, an Oakland attorney who along with Replogle represented White’s accusers in Puerto Vallarta, told the B.A.R. in 2013, after White’s death, that a psychiatrist examined 10 of 20 young men and boys who had accused White in Mexico and determined the accusations were credible and that they suffered serious harm caused by White. Hill questioned why White would agree to a $7 million settlement before all the victims were examined if he were innocent.
When discussing the new podcast Garcia didn’t mince words. “It’s basically just a classic hit piece designed to get as much publicity as possible
Fifty percent of the LGBTQ California respondents to the Trevor Project survey reported being unable to access mental health care, with their reasons varying from being afraid to talk to someone and not wanting to get parental permission to see a therapist to the cost for therapy and fears it would lead to their being hospitalized or reported to police.
Due to the various anti-LGBTQ actions Trump has taken within his first weeks back at the White House, Nath told the B.A.R. she is “very concerned” that it will negatively impact the mental health and wellbeing of LGBTQplus youth who take part in the Trevor Project’s survey this fall and in the years to come.
“Our work is about people, not politics. We strongly encourage all lawmakers and community leaders to really champion policies that protect the health of LGBTQ-plus youth and create policies that reduce suicide among LGBTQ-plus youth,” said Nath.
Regional data
Based upon regional results to the Trevor Project’s survey, LGBTQ+ youth living in states across the South had some of the highest rates of wanting but being unable to access mental health care (e.g., South Carolina 63%, Texas 60%) and some of the highest rates of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity (e.g., Alabama 65%, Arkansas 66%). They also had some of the lowest levels of community acceptance (e.g., Mississippi 21%, Tennessee 33%) compared to other regions.
As for the West, LGBTQ+ young people in the region had some of the highest reported rates of affirming home environments (e.g., Montana 54%, Oregon 54%) compared to their LGBTQ+ peers in other regions. However, they also reported some of the highest levels of depression, with 57% of LGBTQ+ youth in Oregon experiencing symptoms of depression in the past year.
U.S. House to help defeat the transgender youth sports ban. HRC helped drive over 35,000 constituent calls and emails to lawmakers on Capitol Hill urging them to reject this legislation, including 8,000 calls on March 3 to U.S. Senate offices.
The ACLU stated that federal courts have consistently found in favor of trans student-athletes challenging bans on their equal participation consistent with their gender identity. California also has
case called “Until Someone Gets Hurt.” The title refers to something a Las Vegas police inspector told him when he pressed them to do more to stop Garcia before he could steal from anyone else. The investigator said they couldn’t do anything until someone gets hurt.
Wrensch has spoken before groups with a PowerPoint presentation showing how easily otherwise cautious people can be taken in by a con. He said he is speaking out about the case to help others to avoid becoming the victim of a swindle.
The latest report from the Trevor Project adds more data to what LGBTQ young people are dealing with in today’s political climate where their needs and rights are increasingly under attack. As the B.A.R. reported in January, a study published jointly by the Trevor Project and the Movement Advancement Project that used data sets from both organizations found roughly 266,000 LGBTQ+ young people and their families have uprooted their lives and left a state because of anti-LGBTQ politics or laws.
Based on the state-specific survey, 16% of LGBTQ+ young people reported that they or their family have considered leaving California for another state because of LGBTQ+-related politics and laws, including 18% of transgender and nonbinary young people. Of those aged 13 to 17, 53% reported being bullied, while 36% of those aged 18 to 24 had been.
Twenty percent of all the Golden State LGBTQ+ youth reported being physically threatened or harmed based on their sexual orientation or gender identity, and 56% had been discriminated against for being LGBTQ. As for recent politics negatively impacting their well-being, 47% of the LGBTQ+ young people said it had “a lot” and 41% responded “sometimes.”
“We tell people you don’t need to be experts in LGBTQ-youth topics or identities to show young people that you care,” said Nath. “No matter where you lived growing up or how you were raised or what your comfort level is with LGBTQ topics, it is never too late to show LGBTQ-plus young people they are loved.”
The report with data pertaining to each of the 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C. can be found online at thetrevorproject.org/survey2024-by-state. t
Young people experiencing a crisis can contact The Trevor Project’s 24/7 suicide hotline at 866-488-7386 or text START to 768-768.
laws that allow student-athletes to participate on teams that align with their gender identity.
As the Bay Area Reporter noted last week, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi sent letters to three state attorneys general, including Rob Bonta in California, warning that they must comply with Trump’s executive order on transgender girls and women’s participation in female sports, which he wants to ban. t
going to ...,” Garcia said. At that moment the call was automatically terminated by the jail after the 15-minute time limit was reached.
Wrensch told the B.A.R. that he met with White twice while he was in jail in Puerto Vallarta. White gave Wrensch a piece of advice to avoid being a target of a con artist, advice he shares with others. White told him, “I would have never told anybody how much money I made when I sold my company,” Wrensch said in the B.A.R. interview.
for Tyson Wrensch and paint us in the worst picture as possible,” he said.
Wrensch is a former friend of Garcia’s. Wrensch knew Garcia for five years and considered him his best friend. Wrensch appears on the podcast and was interviewed by the B.A.R. in February.
Less than two years before Lambert’s murder, Wrensch, who now lives in San Francisco but at the time was living in Las Vegas, had to cut short a trip to Brazil after learning his bank account was drained and he had no more money to continue his trip. When he returned home he said he quickly learned Garcia was responsible and had ripped off at least one other friend.
Wrensch co-authored a 2013 book with Sherrie Lueder on the Lambert
In retrospect, Wrensch told the B.A.R. that there were some early warning signs that Garcia may not have been on the up and up. He noticed once when Garcia withdrew $1,500 from an ATM the message on the machine said, “Thank you Thomas White.” Wrensch thought it may have been an account set up by White to pay off his lawsuit settlement. Another time Garcia was supposed to rent an apartment near where he was living in Munich, Germany but, after all the arrangements were made, Garcia never showed up at the apartment to sign the papers and just returned to the U.S. On another occasion, Garcia’s father asked about his recovery from a motorcycle accident, but Wrensch said there was never an accident.
Garcia denied Wrensch’s allegations in his telephone interview with the B. A. R.
“It is a little complicated, our relationship back then. But no, 99% of his allegations are patently false, and we’re actually
In the interview, Wrensch recalled telling Garcia of the golden parachute he got when he was laid off by a tech company. In retrospect, he thinks that may have been the lure for Garcia to victimize him.
When told of the B.A.R.’s interview with Garcia and of Garcia stating that the incriminating texts that were used against him were fabricated, Wrensch said that AT&T experts at Garcia’s trial testified otherwise. Wrensch said that it came out after the murder that Lambert was having financial problems but, at the time of his murder, Garcia didn’t know that. Wrensch said Garcia wouldn’t have asked Lambert to invest in a company he hoped to start if he didn’t think he had a lot of money.
In recounting his ordeal, Wrensch recalled a conversation he had with a friend and mentor who was also a cop. The friend prophetically told him, “‘When this is over, there will be a body. It might be his. It might be yours. It might be someone else’s, but there will be a body at the end of this story.” t
The 2008 murder of Clifford Lambert took place in his Palm Springs home.
Ed Walsh
Nol Simonse
by Jim Provenzano
It’s difficult to consider a director other than Todd Haynes who defies convention, immerses in genre and turns it inside out, all with such focused production values that one can only sometimes gasp.
Thus, a retrospective of his films at the Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive will showcase his films (March 8-April 12), and some shorts you’ve probably never seen.
From his early works, including “Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story” (1987), the nowbanned Barbie doll-cast music biopic (which for legal reasons cannot be screened), to becoming one of the shining stars of 1990s New Queer Cinema, Haynes also creates lush dramatic stories like “Far From Heaven.” His diverse career deserves such a retrospective.
Frequent co-producer Christine Vachon calls Haynes, “one of few American directors who really knows how to make use of every inch of the frame in an extraordinary way.”
Born in Los Angeles, Haynes, 64, grew up making short 8mm films, including “The Suicide,” completed in high school. His college project, “Assassins: a Film Concerning Rimbaud,” will be screened at the PFA retrospective.
Fame
Haynes’ early acclaimed film, “Poison” (1991) combined Jean Genet inspiration, Pierre & Gilles fetish and retro horror, while exploring aspects of AIDS at the height of the epidemic. The film was attacked by right-wingers for getting partial NEA funding, yet it won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.
Disease became another theme with chemically-sensitive Julianne Moore’s character becoming increasingly allergic to everything in “Safe” (1995). Moore has starred in four other Haynes films, most recently the compelling actor/identity sex scandal drama, “May December,” (2023) with Natalie Portman.
“The theme of identity comes up again and again in all of Todd’s work,” said Moore in a 2024 Vice interview. “Who are we? Who do we belong to? How do we find ourselves?”
While few of Hayne’s films are visually similar, there is a consistency in precise style, of immersing into a location or a time era, as in the visually gorgeous 1950s interracial romance (and Douglas Sirk homage) “Far from Heaven” (2002), for which his screenplay won an Academy Award nomination.
Haynes hit greater stride with his sixth feature film, “Carol” (2015) based on the Patricia High-
Aby Myron Caringal
s part of Robert Moses’ KIN’s “New Legacies: One Acts,” Nol Simonse’s latest choreographic work channels the tension of an impending storm, both environmental and political.
Nol Simonse has long been a fixture in the Bay Area dance scene, known for his compelling performances with companies like Sean Dorsey Dance and Janice Garrett & Dancers. But for one weekend this month, Simonse takes on a different role: choreographer for Robert Moses’ KIN’s 30th Anniversary Season.
His new work, “Before the Storm,” developed alongside longtime collaborators playwright Jim Cave and musician Lawrence Tome, premieres as part of “New Legacies: One Acts,” RMK’s commissioning platform that pairs choreographers with composers and spoken word artists.
When Robert Moses first invited Simonse to be part of “New Legacies: One Acts,” the only directive was broad: legacy.
“He was like, ‘Okay, the theme is legacy. You can take that wherever you want to go with it,’” Simonse recalled. His take on legacy is layered. He sees it as something both deeply personal and inherently communal, shaped by the mentors who came before him and the peers who inspire him daily.
“I do believe that dance is an oral tradition that’s handed down from teacher to student,” he said. “But beyond that, I also think of legacy as a field of inspiration. I’m constantly being inspired by the artists around me, the different artists I work with.”
Leaving a legacy
That idea of legacy led Simonse, Cave, and Tome toward an urgent and timely question: what kind of world are we leaving behind? Their piece began taking shape during a period of deadly wildfires in Los Angeles earlier this year.
We all come from different backgrounds, you know. We’re all queer artists working in the Bay Area,” Simonse said. “There were a lot of different ways we could go with it, and the direction we took was to focus more in an environmental place.”
The trio had previously collaborated on “Death Pod,” a piece with a similarly ominous undercurrent. But this time, the metaphor deepened.
smith novel, the lesbian-themed “The Price of Salt,” and starring the glorious Cate Blanchett. The film received six Academy Award nominations, won five Golden Globe awards, nine BAFTA awards, and six Independent Spirit awards.
That Haynes was snubbed for a Best Director Oscar nomination is thought by some to be because the film is about empowered women, not tragic lesbians as in the past. The film now has a cult following that includes dress-up nights at screenings.
Heroes
Other recent films to be screened in Berkeley include the beautiful parallel-story adventure, “Wonderstruck” (2017) and Mark Ruffalo in the DuPont poisoning scandal, “Dark Waters” (2019). Haynes’ early eccentric short “Dottie Gets Spanked” and Haynes’ first film, the 1985 aptly poetic “Assassins: A Film Concerning Rimbaud” will also be screened.
Music plays a prominent role in three of his screened films: “Velvet Goldmine” (1998), the glam rock fable with queer/bi love between a Bowie/Iggy-esque duo, and the fan who hunts down the past after a faked death; the beguiling multi-cast Bob Dylan biopic-ish “I’m Not There” (2007); and his rock-steady 2021 documentary, “The Velvet Underground.”
For the PFA openers, Haynes has chosen four of his films to include a screening and Q&A with different film scholars. Unfortunately, they’re already sold out. But the remainder of the retrospective will be viewable through April 12.
One upcoming project, cited as a gay detective drama set in 1930s Los Angeles, stopped production in 2023 when its star, Joaquin Phoenix, abruptly quit. But Haynes is moving on with
guests at Robert Moses KIN’s 30th
John Hefti
Innovative film director’s retrospective at Pacific Film Archive
Todd Haynes is ‘Far from Safe’
Director Todd Haynes
Jonathan Rhys Meyers in ‘Velvet Goldmine’
Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett in ‘Carol’
Dennis Haysbert and Julianne Moore in ‘Far From Heaven’
Choreographer Nol Simonse in 2020
‘Happy Pleasant Valley’
by Jim Gladstone
How often do horny septuagenarians have truly satisfying sex?
“Once in a blue pill moon,” croon three ladies of a certain age in “Happy Pleasant Valley,” the new musical by playwright/composer Min Kahng, now having its world premiere engagement in a TheatreWorks Silicon Valley production at Palo Alto’s Lucie Stern Theater.
That devilishly clever lyric, which merges a Great American Songbook trope with modern pharmaco-poetics, isn’t overemphasized or revisited as a refrain. It whizzes by just a single time. And there’s plenty more where that came from. The show is funny and honest (and glancingly poignant) about sex and aging. But it never dips into crassness or camp.
“I tucked lots of little jokes and Easter eggs into the dialogue and lyrics,” said the Alameda-based Kahng, during a recent interview with the Bay Area Reporter. At 42, he’s ready for some mischief.
Changing lanes
Kahng, grew up in a KoreanAmerican immigrant family, where artistic expression was not top of mind. As an undergraduate at UC Berkeley, he majored in rhetoric as well as music, which kept law school available as a back pocket option.
But after a short post-graduate spell in the corporate world, he steered himself toward a theater career, working on the business side –marketing, publicity, casting – as he developed his craft.
Kahng’s first musicals, including “Tales of Olympus” and “Where the Mountain Meets the Moon,” were produced by the now defunct Bay Area Children’s Theatre.
“I was working there in administration,” said Kahng, “and I’ll always be grateful that they gave me the oppor-
t << Theater & Film
Playwright Min Kahng’s whodunnit musical at TheatreWorks
tunity to share my creative side.”
Kahng’s breakout work for general audiences was “The Four Immigrants: An American Musical Manga,” which debuted at TheatreWorks in 2017, winning Theatre Bay Area and Bay Area Theatre Critics’ Circle awards for best new musical.
But “Happy Pleasant Valley” (which is saddled with the unwieldy subtitle “A Senior Sex Scandal Murder Mystery Musical”) seems to mark the beginning of a new phase of his writing life.
It’s the first of several works in which Kahng, who is gay, but has not previously centered sexuality, homoor otherwise, in his writing, is featuring such matters more prominently.
“I used to be a very devoted evan-
‘Exteriors’
by David-Elijah Nahmod
Writer/director Mark Schwab’s new film “Exteriors” is divided into three parts that while unrelated, explore gay relationships with an intensity that’s rarely seen on screen. All of the film’s characters are fully developed, with motives that are made clear through insightful dialogue and strong performances. The cast is unknown but experienced. Most of their credits are in small independent films, shorts, and music videos, according to IMDB. Each of them offers performances which suggest that stardom could be in their futures.
The first part tells the story of Wyatt (Christian Gabriel) and Logan (Matthew Bridges), two best friends. Logan has a new boyfriend, and Wyatt comes to realize that Logan’s new paramour is his ex, Shane (Jacob Betts). Wyatt goes to Shane and confronts him about this new relationship. He struts around Shane’s apartment seductively and obnoxiously as it becomes clear that Shane is both sick of him and attracted to him.
The characters in this story are not afraid to show their emotions, with Gabriel being particularly good as the
gelical Christian but have left the faith; and a major –though not the only–factor was accepting my identity as a gay man,” he said.
“When I was starting out my theater career, I was still in the early phases of understanding who I am apart from any religious framework. I don’t think I was ready to explore any of that via my work, because I was still figuring it out for myself.
“But in recent years, as I’ve become much more comfortable and confident in my identity, the topics of sex and sexuality have become more prominent in my work. I suppose as my perspective has solidified, I both consciously and unconsciously incorporate it into my writing.”
Kanhg credits Stephen, his husband
3-part indie film explores gay relationships
somewhat bitchy Wyatt. The rather lengthy scene in Shane’s apartment feels almost sinister as viewers wonder why Wyatt is visiting Shane. But the scene between Wyatt and Logan also has its dramatic moments as Logan, sensing that something’s wrong as he tells Wyatt about his new boyfriend, asks “Are we okay? Did I say something wrong?”
The second story is a two-character piece. In it, a lonely man named Jason (Julian Goza) is cleaning a pool at an upscale house when he realizes that Kenny (Fernando Jose), the young man staying at the house is someone he had a brief fling with eight years earlier when he was spending the weekend at the Russian River. Though Jason wanted more things couldn’t go any further because Kenny had a boyfriend who is now his husband. Kenny, possibly a pseudonym, doesn’t remember Jason, or does he? The two have a deep and intimate conversation which lasts all through the night and takes a romantic, if platonic turn.
Good acting
This segment is exceptionally well acted by Goza and Jose, who have superb chemistry with each other. Their story makes insightful observa-
of 12 years, for the emotional and financial support that has allowed him to make theater a fulltime career.
Among Kahng’s projects in development are “Freedom Conference,” a non-musical drama set in the Christian “ex-gay” conversion community, which Kahng notes is based loosely on personal experiences, and “Lot! A Biblical-ish Musical” (with collaborator Weston Eric Scott) which applies the campy glam of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” to the story of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Genre blender
“Happy Pleasant Valley” has its origins in a news story Kahng read about a decade ago.
“It was about the fact that there was a surprisingly high incidence of sexually transmitted infections in senior living communities,” he recalled. (The musical’s title is becomes more, well, “catchy” when you consider its initials: H.P.V.).
“When you think about it, it makes sense. People are free to explore at that age. There’s no chance of getting pregnant, you can have some privacy.” Kahng, who grew up watching “Murder She Wrote” and reading
Agatha Christie whodunnits, had long toyed with the notion of a murder mystery musical, a hybrid form with little precedent (Rupert Holmes’ “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” is a rare example).
The newspaper report led him to realize that a senior residence provided a contained environment and circumscribed suspect pool; the ideal circumstance for a detective’s investigation. The interpersonal passions and jealousies of a close-knit community provided an irresistible tangle of intrigue. And, it so happens, people are dropping dead all the time in these places.
Kahng was hot on the trail of a new project, which he developed his over the next several years, supported by TheatreWorks’ writers’ retreat and new play development programs along with a residency at the prestigious MacDowell Colony.
While the finished piece has all the eccentric characters, plot convolutions, and red herrings of a zany mystery, Kahng has also woven a late-in-life coming out story, gentle meditations on elders’ sense of isolation, and an intergenerational team of protagonists (A Jessica Fletcher-inspired grandma suspected of murder and her vlog documentarian granddaughter).
Like the play’s overlong subtitle, the combination of all these narrative elements suggests a potlucky comic genre mishmash. But the musical throughline of Kahng’s bright melodies and deftly honed lyrics provides strong connective tissue and a polished overall tone. It’s terrifically well-made mischief.t
‘Happy Pleasant Valley: A Senior Sex Scandal Murder Mystery Musical,’ through March 30. $44-$94. Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Rd., Palo Alto. www.theatreworks.org
tions about the hook-up culture that’s so prevalent in the gay male community. Goza is extremely endearing and might just steal your heart. You’ll root for him, and hope that he finds the love and companionship that he yearns for.
The third story is the best of the three and takes a disturbing turn. It’s the tale of Dr. Lesh (Peter Stickles), an unethical therapist who secretly records his sessions with Lex (Pano Tsaklas), a young man who has drawn some media attention for a shooting and trial that he was involved in. Lex is trying to get to a place where he can date again. Lesh listens to these recordings while having sexual fantasies about Lex.
Dr. Lesh is married to Michael (Diogo Hausen), a software engineer who has to go away for a weekend conference. Lesh decides to spend the weekend stalking Lex, who has a date that he’s meeting in the park. Lesh gets the shock of his life when he sees that Lex’s date is Michael. Lesh confronts Michael, who breaks things off with Lex, telling him that he has a husband. But Michael makes the mistake of letting Lex know who his husband is. Stickles is particularly good, capturing the tragedies and subtleties of a highly qualified professional man who loses control of his better judgement, finding out more than he wanted to know and nearly destroying his career in the process.
The three stories, while having no connection to each other, make for a fascinating and cohesive film. Schwab writes good stories with flair, successfully capturing the nuances of gay relationships. This is good filmmaking from a talented filmmaker who shoots with a precision that’s almost hypnotic. The director, incidentally, makes a brief cameo in the third story as one of Michael’s colleagues. “Exteriors” is highly recommended.t
‘Exteriors,’ 80 mins, streaming on Tubi TV and Gay Binge TV www.tubitv.com www.gaybingetv.com
Julian Goza and Fernando Jose in ‘Exteriors’
(Clockwise from left) Lucinda Hitchcock Cone, Ezra Reaves, Sophie Oda, and Emily Kuroda in TheatreWorks Silicon Valley’s ‘Happy Pleasant Valley: A Senior Sex Scandal Murder Mystery Musical’
Reed Flores
Playwright Min Kahng
Faryn Borella
Hollywood honors
by Victoria A. Brownworth
After weeks of hype, interviews with first-time nominees and first-time host Conan O’Brien, the 97th Academy Awards Oscars extravaganza did not disappoint.
This year the Oscars were also a love letter to Los Angeles and the Hollywood community after the devastating wildfires that impacted thousands, including many of the stars in attendance.
The theme of resilience and recovery ran through the night. There were tributes to the firefighters and first responders.
Also making LGBTQ history was Karla Sofía Gascón, the first out trans actress ever nominated, for her role as Emilia Pérez in the musical crime thriller dramedy. Jacques Audiard’s outstanding and groundbreaking film about a trans woman crime boss also garnered awards at Cannes and the Golden Globes and led the Oscars with 13 nominations.
Ariana Grande opened the show with a haunting rendition of “Over the Rainbow” that set us weeping.
Often called the gay Super Bowl, the Oscars provided excitement, emotional speeches, incredible musical performances and a plethora of queer faces and voices from Queen Latifah to Bowen Yang (Lena Waithe sitting with Cynthia Erivo sure did make for a cute couple, maybe, although Erivo also has undeniable chemistry with “Wicked” co-star Ariana Grande).
There was a surprise appearance by Mick Jagger presenting Best Original Score. And history was made when out gay costume designer Paul Tazewell, who has won Tony awards for his designs, including for “Hamilton,” became the first Black man to win for Best Costume Design.
Among the top nominees were the great Colman Domingo, out gay man and style icon, for Best Actor. Domingo was also nominated last year for his role as Bayard Rustin. Alas, this was not his year. He was bested by Adrien Brody in the epic Holocaust film “The Brutalist.”
and gave one of the night’s most emotional speeches. A tearful Saldaña told a cheering crowd she was the first person of Dominican descent to win an Oscar. She thanked her family and said she was the proud daughter of immigrants who came to the U.S. in 1961.
Saldaña’s tour de force performance in “Emilia Pérez” was delivered in both Spanish and English and included her performance of the song which won for best original song. Saldana was a deeply impassioned speech which highlighted the importance of immigrants to American society.
Another passionate speech came from the Palestinian and Israeli collective who directed the best documentary feature “No Other Land.” The two directors called out American foreign policy on the Palestinian conflict and urged a solution to the ongoing repression.
In his acceptance speech (possibly the longest ever at five minutes), Best Actor winner Adrien Brody highlighted the messaging of the Holocaust epic “The Brutalist,” speaking to the rise in antisemitism and to the current atmosphere of hate and Othering in the U.S. It was a riveting commentary on the links between art and politics and the way film can situate history to remind us of the dangers inherent in revising that history.
These statements were a reminder of how powerful a platform the Oscars is and how many people hear these words globally. We were disappointed that Best Actress winner Mikey Madison didn’t speak more declaratively about her role as a sex worker in Best Picture winner “Anora.” We would have liked more than a passing lipservice comment that she will always be an ally’ a missed opportunity in our opinion.
Gays and ‘Grey’s’
With awards season officially ended, March also signals the return of some fave queer-friendly series, among them season three of the wildly popular HBO dramedy “White Lotus.”
This season of the killer franchise takes us to Thailand for eight episodes, with some recurring characters from the first two seasons as well as new ones.
Spy.” O’Donnell, like other actors who shared the screen with her, issued a statement mourning her untimely passing.
After a series of significant roles as a child actor, Trachtenberg transitioned to adult roles, and was known particularly for her portrayals of Buffy’s younger sister, Dawn Summers in the cult classic TV series, “Buffy, the Vampire Slayer” and for her role as the beautiful vituperative style icon
Georgina Sparks n the queer classic, “Gossip Girl.”
Trachtenberg had been out of the acting scene since 2021 and early reports noted she’d recently had a liver transplant. We never know what challenges people are facing behind the scenes.
So, for the myriad of sadness as well as the undeniable euphoria of all TV has to offer, you know you really must stay tuned.t
Tainting Gascon’s nomination was controversy over past racist tweets about Muslims, George Floyd and diversity at the Oscars by her. She was also accused of attacks on a fellow Best Actress nominee, Fernanda Torres. Host Conan O’Brien even joked about it in his monologue. The film’s director has said he has cut all ties with her.
While the controversy may have kept Gascon from a history-making win, it did not undermine the impact of the film overall, which won several awards.
One of those was Zoe Saldaña, who won Best Supporting Actress
The theme is wellness and the season stars Leslie Bibb, Carrie Coons, Jason Isaacs and Parker Posey among others. We will miss Jennifer Coolidge, whose character met an untimely end last season, but look forward to what creator Mike White has in store for us.
Shonda Rhimes’s beloved medical drama “Grey’s Anatomy” returns March 6 for its 21st season, making the ABC series the second-longest running show on TV after “Law & Order: SVU.”
“Grey’s” has always had queer characterizations, and this season will debut a new gay character to add to the lesbian and nonbinary characters currently on the series.
Shonda Rhimes is also debuting a new series, “The Residence,” on Netflix. A thriller with a satirical edge that takes place in the White House after a murder will resonate with fans of Rhimes’ previous political drama, “Scandal,” of which we were a devotee.
Also this month, Tom Hanks debuts a ten-part docuseries on our amazing natural world in North and South America. NBC’s “The Americas” is a lush look at the breadth of our extraordinary flora and fauna and incredible wildlife, with a score from Hans Zimmer.
Cut short
Finally, the tragic news February 28 that actress Michelle Trachtenberg was found dead in her apartment hit Millennials hard. Trachtenberg was a face we’d watched in film and on pivotal TV series for Nickelodeon since she was a child.
Trachtenberg shared the big screen with Rosie O’Donnell in “Harriet, the
Michelle Trachtenberg Wikipedia
Scenes from the 97th Academy Awards:
Above: ‘Wicked’ costume designer Paul Tazewell
Middle: Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande opened with a “Wizard of Oz”/”Wicked” medley. Below: Zoe Saldaña All photos: ABC
Words: Kara Zajac on ‘Curly Hair’
by Michele Karlsberg
In Kara Zajac’s memoir, “The Significance of Curly Hair: A Loving Memoir of Life and Loss” (Atmosphere Press), she shares the story of growing up with her grandmother and the bond they created that transcended time.
They were opposites in every way. Her grandmother was a barefoot, family-first woman who raised children with unconditional love, even as she quietly bore unimaginable hardships. Kara, on the other hand, had crafted a life as a gay, fiercely independent career woman, avoiding the very traditional roles she embodied.
But her Gram’s death revealed secrets that reshaped everything she thought she knew. This is a memoir of discovery, transformation, and the enduring power of love across generations. But most importantly, it’s about preserving her grandmother’s legacy.
Zajac is a freelance writer, chiropractor and entrepreneur. Zajac is
also an accomplished multi-instrumentalist who started playing drums at two years old and currently tours the Southeast with The Jessie Albright Band.
Michele Karlsberg: You mentioned your grandmother asked you to write her story when you were ninth grade.
I was the age my daughter is now and was young, cocky, and thought I had all of the answers, just like most teenagers. My grandmother told me that she had been reading a story a boy wrote about his grandfather, proud of his accomplishments in WWII. She looked at me with that hopeful twinkle in her eye and asked, “Would you ever write a story about me?” I hardly noticed the anticipation in her loving smile as I snarked back, “But you’ve never done anything.”
Of all the things I regret, my utter disregard for her feelings is what I wish I could erase. Instantly the twinkle in Gram’s eyes faded, her
joyful smile replaced by sadness or maybe even embarrassment that she asked in the first place. The subject was never brought up again.
When I got the call that Gram had fallen I got on the first flight to Boston but wasn’t going to make it in time before she died. Although in a coma my Mom held the phone to my Gram’s ear and I told her that I was writing a book, the story she asked me to write so many years before.
I was able to tell her that her life mattered, her story was worth telling, and that her strength is what made all of us children and grandchildren the successful people we became. I knew Gram heard my words because Mom said her heart rate jumped from 64 to 78 when I was talking about the book. Gram’s biggest fear was being forgotten, by writing her story I will make sure that never happens.
You found a time capsule in one of Gram’s drawers. What did the capsule reveal?
Gram rarely talked about painful things. We all knew she had a nervous breakdown but didn’t really know any of the details. As we were sitting around discussing her life, we realized the big gaps, wishing we could ask more questions because obviously we didn’t know as much as we thought about the specifics of Gram’s life.
My two younger cousins heard us talking and went to their garage, where a lot of Gram’s old things were stored. They brought back a drawer from one of Gram’s old dressers. The drawer itself was the time capsule.
We first uncovered heavy, dark green saucer-shaped tablets. On the prescription label, dated 1957, the year my grandfather died, was Gram’s shaky writing, “Nerve Pills.”
Finding these were uncanny because Gram never took any medicine, not even aspirin. Finding drugs of any sort was quite unsettling because it allowed us to see the enormity of the pain Gram was trying to forget.
The drawer also contained an envelope with Gram’s writing. There was an itemized list of her expenses: milkman, dentist, Nancy’s asthma medicine, dancing lessons... She didn’t have enough money to pay for all of these things, so she would pay each one of them a little bit and had a running balance.
The secret drawer gave the
family a very intimate glimpse into the pains and struggles Gram had before my grandfather’s death and after her nervous breakdown. Finding these things answered a lot of questions we never thought to ask her.
You meet with grief support groups. Why is this important to you?
Grief is a funny thing. No one really knows how to do it. You can’t really be taught the right way or the wrong way. Gram suffered a nervous breakdown after the overwhelming grief of losing her husband and then never really talked to any of us about the pain it inflicted on her.
I feel like sharing stories and talking about our pains is a way to cope and move forward. It also makes us realize that deep down, we’re not that different from each other. We feel the same joys, the same pains. I think in this world of intense division, it’s important to remember how we are all deeply connected on an emotional level.t
Steven Underhill
Author Kara Zajac
t Collaboration & Retrospective >>
Simonse described “Before the Storm” as modern and abstract, and it’s meant to evoke a sense of anticipation, of not knowing what’s coming or how powerful it will be.
“We started working on this on Jan. 6, and we ended on Jan. 20,” Simonse said, noting the two dates etched into history. “There was also that idea of this impending storm, and how are we going to weather it? How do we prepare? How do we survive and protect our loved ones?”
Despite the anxiety woven into the piece, Simonse insists it isn’t just about fear. It’s about resilience. He wants to encourage audiences to find strength in their communities in the face of uncertainty.
“If there was anything to take away from it, it’s that we can take care of each other,” he said. “There is mutual aid, there is mutual support. We can have compassion and empathy for each other. We can take care of each other, and we can move forward together. We have to keep moving forward even as the storm is going to rage on.”
For Simonse, live performance is irreplaceable.
“Live art is so freaking important,” he said. “There’s just nothing like it. It’s a group of strangers gathering together, sitting in the dark, seeing other human beings on stage. Things can go wrong, somebody can slip and fall, but you’re seeing people experience themselves, their lives. No movie, no amount of YouTube videos will ever compare to that.”
Admiring mentor
Robert Moses, for his part, is an unabashed admirer. He first encountered Simonse’s work years ago and has watched him evolve as an artist, continually pushing the boundaries of contemporary dance with each new project.
“I think the man is brilliant,” Moses said. “I see stuff come out of Nol that I couldn’t imagine coming out of anyone else. And this is both as a performer and as a creator.” Moses prefers to keep some distance from the process, allowing
a new project based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, set to star Kate Winslet.
In a phone interview from his Portland home, where he lives with his partner Bryan O’Keefe, Haynes discussed several of his films, and inspirations, ahead of his visit to Berkeley.
Jim Provenzano: After rewatching a few of your films, one thing I noticed, along with the great acting and camera work, were particular themes that ran through each movie: diffused glass windows in “Carol,” the emerald in “Velvet Goldmine.” How do you decide on these kinds of details when you’re creating the process of getting a film together?
Todd Haynes: Each movie is this sort of thrilling, just in the visual sort of language, and the references and the kind of movies I’m looking at and the photographers or painters. Each movie is its own “journey,” to use the most banal word in the world, and I make an image book, particularly from the visual standpoint in probably every film since “Safe.”
I don’t think I had one for “Poison.” It’s really like my first nonverbal communication with my director of photography, a way to talk about what I’m imagining, what the film’s temper-
the artists to shape their own works without interference. While Moses has only seen an early phase of “Before the Storm,” choosing to wait until production week to see the full piece, he has no doubt about its impact.
“When I saw that Nol applied for the ‘New Legacies’ project, I was so happy that he got it, and I knew that he was going to make a tremendous work,” said Moses. “And if you don’t think his work is brilliant, you get to kick me in the shin at the end of the evening. But you will not kick me in the shin. You will be throwing gold coins.”
ament and temperatures, color palette and visual references might be.
But even in the process of putting it together in a book form with the beginning, middle, and an end, I find that there are things that I’m learning about how to structure a narrative. It almost makes me think back to when I, like many of us, were obsessed mix tape makers, right?
Of course, yeah.
I was one of those guys who would either make a tribute tape to an artist or to a concept or a genre of music, and they were TDK, either 90-minute or 100-minute tapes. It was 45 minutes on each side, right? And I
would just be obsessed about the segues from song to song, the emotional arcing up, and then starting to get intense and the last act of that side and then go down. I realized I was also creating a narrative experience in music on those tapes. And the length of those tapes was like a feature film if you play both sides.
Now that you’ve accomplished some of the most beautifully visceral queer stories of men and women, and more subtle takes on societal rebels, when do you think, ‘Okay, now I’ll do a gay one again’?
I would rather assign queerness
As Nol readies “Before the Storm” for its world premiere during RMK’s 30th Anniversary Season, he is preparing to let the work go. Letting go, he acknowledges, is one of the hardest parts of the artistic process, watching the dancers take ownership of the choreography and bring their own interpretations to the movement.
“I feel like that nervous stage mom,” said Simonse. “People talk about your art being your baby, and at some point, you have to give your baby away. At a certain point, I won’t be able to take notes anymore, and I’ll just have to say to the dancers, ‘Okay, this is your piece now.’ That, in itself, is legacy.”t
to how we see the world rather than the content of a particular story. Filmmakers, idols of mine like Werner Fassbinder, who was openly gay and made 40 movies in such a crazy short amount of time; three of them are more like miniseries, multiple parts series.
I think of Douglas Sirk as a queer filmmaker and the artificial view of American heterosexual morality that’s the subject of his movies. The fact that he cast a closeted gay man (Rock Hudson) and make him a star as the lead love object [in “All That Heaven Allows”].
He was too smart, Sirk, to not know that there was something lacking in Rock, in the authenticity city of kisses and embraces being exchanged with the female characters who fall in love with him in his movies. That it was intentional, right? That sadness that accumulates in his movies about these heterosexual lives, never fulfilled by the happy ending he slaps on at the end.
That about is about as queer as you can get. I don’t care what he does in bed. It’s that understanding of the world and it’s a marginal perspective. It’s a perspective of criticism about dominant culture. And there are many gay filmmakers who don’t have that criticism at all. But that doesn’t interest me.
I’m so curious about some of your initial inspirations that led to, for example, the gay wedding and ‘spit baptismal’ in “Poison.”
Robert Moses’ KIN presents ‘The Kennings,’ and Nol Simonse’s ‘Before the Storm,’ $15-55, March 14-16, Z Space, 450 Florida St. www.zspace.org/kennings
It’s funny. There’s always something, even if it’s almost like a dream you had, there’s something sort of beyond language or beyond words. I felt that about “Velvet Goldmine.” I just had this feeling about it before I started to make it or write it that I wanted to sort of find all the elements to fulfill. But just along your prior question and point, I think “Far from Heaven” is a film that totally does engage with queer subjects and a gay problem. But it sort of puts it alongside other problems. And we’re forced to kind of look at the different ways people who don’t have direct access to power, or for whom that power or those liberties are compromised or challenged. How do they function in different ways while an unequal society pushes back against them, whether it’s because they’re Black or they’re a woman or because they’re a closeted gay man. How do we survive?
And that’s just a film that’s almost like a model, I guess, for what I think in my little way, what I think Fassbinder did in a very big way. Or what my evocation of what Sirk does in his movies, but making the gay aspect more explicit than Sirk was able to do. Although he probably would’ve loved to.t
Read the full interview on www.ebar.com.
‘Todd Haynes: Far from Safe’ at BAM/PFA, $5-$18, March 8 - April 12, 2155 Center St., Berkeley. www.bampfa.org
Left: Robert Moses in rehearsal
Above: Robert Moses’ KIN dancers in rehearsal with Megan & Shannon Kurashige and Robert Moses
Nol Simonse
Anna Simonse
Left: Bruce Cree in ‘Assassins: A Film Concerning Rimbaud’ Right: Cate Blanchett in ‘I’m Not There’
Courtesy Todd Haynes
Left: Tony Pemberton in ‘Poison’ Right: Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore in ‘May December’
