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Letters >>
November 21-27, 2013 • Bay Area Reporter • 5
Cops thanked for quick response
During the early morning hours of November12, directly in front of my home on 17th Street, I witnessed a terrible crime. The bars had just closed and several young alleged predators in a van were tracking a gay man walking alone on the dark street. The expression of fear on his face told me something was wrong as he passed in front of my house and my street cam picked him up. Suddenly, out of the van pop two thugs who proceeded to violently attack the guy, punching him in the face several times and kicking him as he hit the ground with his teeth flying out of his mouth. While they were beating him they took his cellphone and wallet. I screamed, “I’m calling the cops.” They abandoned their assault, jumping back into their van for a fast escape. The whole thing happened in somewhere between 15 and 30 seconds. Miracle of miracles, the cops responded in less than 45 seconds in full pursuit mode and nailed all three alleged criminals in their getaway van just half a block away. I write to thank everyone from my neighbor who dialed 911 and the dispatchers who handled the call to the San Francisco Police Department officers who responded with lightning speed. Kudos to Sergeant Mike Wibunsin, who collected the extremely clear footage from my home security cameras, in following up on the arrest. He told me that his robbery team has been after these guys for several months during which they have seriously harmed many people. One can only wonder how many additional victims never reported their assaults. I am still traumatized by the horror of what I saw happen but it is wonderful that our community was able to come together with such speed and coordination to pull these violent cruel young men off the street.
Flag should be lowered for Milk march
When the LGBT community and our straight friends gather on November 27 at Castro and Market streets in the plaza named for Harvey Milk to commemorate the 35th anniversary of his and George Moscone’s tragic murders, it is my hope that the rainbow flag in Harvey Milk Plaza will be at half-staff. The Castro merchants group needs to put aside differences for one night and lower our flag of pride and liberation for next week’s vigil. Let’s honor Milk and Moscone with a traditional flag-lowering, as we recommit ourselves to fighting for their cherished ideals. Bill Wilson San Francisco
Study author willing to help
I am the principal author and principal researcher of the HIV and aging study (Meissner and deVries, San Francisco State, SF EMA HIV Health Services Planning Council, June 2013) referred to in the article “Programs emerge for HIV+ older adults” [October 31]. I am ready to help with the new programs mentioned in the article and bring much expertise to the table. If you have not seen the study or report and wish to do so, please email me at Lmeissne@mail.sfsu.edu or join the Yahoo Group http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/hivaging (not listed in the Yahoo Groups directory to protect group member privacy). If you wish to recruit me to help out in the new programs, please also use this contact information. Loren Meissner San Francisco
Dennis Peron San Francisco
Former council candidate plans LGBT bar in Oakland
compiled by Cynthia Laird
the paper is now outside the El Cerrito Del Norte, North Berkeley, and Downtown Berkeley BART stations and the Alameda Ferry at Harbor Bay Island and 2990 Main Street. In Oakland, the paper is now in racks around Jack London Square and along Broadway, including 4th and Broadway, 12th and Broadway, and near Frank Ogawa Plaza. For a full list of the new distribution sites, see the extended version of this news brief online at ebar.com.
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ormer Oakland City Council candidate Sean Sullivan is preparing to open a new LGBT-centric bar in the city’s Uptown district. Called the Port bar, Sullivan said the tagline is “A hetero-friendly place to unload.” He hopes to have the bar open next spring. Port will be located at 2021 Broadway, next to the Paramount Theatre. Sullivan said the location is ideal as it’s centrally located between Uptown and the existing gay bar scene. “We did focus groups and many Oaklanders are looking for a gay place to go with craft cocktails, local beers, and wine,” Sullivan told the Bay Area Reporter this week. Sullivan, 37, and his partner, Richard Fuentes, 31, are the lead investors. He declined to say specifically how much money the pair has invested, but called it “a significant amount.” Sullivan said the Port would be “elegant and reflective of the Oakland we live in now.” There will not be a cover charge, he added. To help raise funds to secure the lease, Sullivan has launched a crowdfunding campaign through Indiegogo that will be active through December 14. He hopes to raise $25,000. Sullivan ran for the District 3 council seat last fall but came up short. A bartender in college, Sullivan said he “got reacquainted” with mixing drinks this spring at the Home of Chicken and Waffles in Jack London Square. One of about a half-dozen investors in the project is Glenn Kaplan, a straight man who owns the city’s most popular bar, Make Wasting, on Telegraph Avenue across from the Fox Theatre. Sullivan said he is looking for a few individual investors. Kaplan said that he got to know Sullivan when he became more politically active in Oakland and that he has shared advice with him. “I think it’s awesome,” he said of the Port bar concept. “I think the community is underserved.”
Thanksgiving tribute to Native Americans Courtesy Sean Sullivan
Sean Sullivan
Sullivan plans for the project to go before the Oakland Planning Commission in January. He’s hopeful it will be approved, as the site is within a zoned nightlife district. The Indiegogo campaign can be found at http://tinyurl.com/ lbaeety.
B.A.R. expands East Bay distribution
The Bay Area Reporter has expanded its distribution in several East Bay cities, making the paper more accessible to the LGBT community outside of San Francisco. “LGBT people increasingly are living in more diverse areas and neighborhoods and we recognize that expanding our distribution to East Bay cities is necessary to address this reality,” publisher Mike Yamashita said. “Not only will this introduce the B.A.R. to new readers, but it meets the demands of the LGBT communities’ changing demographics in the Bay Area.” While the paper has been delivered to some locations in Oakland and other cities, the recent distribution additions now make it available in Fremont, Newark, Union City, Hayward, San Leandro, El Cerrito, Albany, Emeryville, Berkeley, and Alameda. The B.A.R. distribution sites are either news racks or Ped mount racks near various cafes, theaters, and other businesses. Additionally,
Bay Area Radical Women will hold a Thanksgiving feast tribute to Native Americans Sunday, November 24 at 3 p.m. at New Valencia Hall, 747 Polk Street in San Francisco. Organizers said that the indigenous people on the continent before Columbus discovered America were productive members of society, cultivating over 300 food crops as well as organizing their communities. A home-cooked roast turkey dinner will be available, along with a vegetarian entree, and new world foods. The requested donation is $10-$15. For work exchange or more information, call (415) 864-1278, email baradicalwomen@earthlink.net, or visit http://www.radicalwomen.org/ sanfrancisco.shtml.
Oakland center extends hours for STD services
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s Oakland Wellness Center has extended its hours for HIV testing and sexually transmitted disease testing and treatment. According to AHF officials, the Oakland center, located at 238 E. 18th Street (inside the Out of the Closet thrift store), is now open Mondays and Fridays from 3 to 6:30 p.m. and Wednesdays from 2 to 5:30 p.m. Previously, it had only been open two days a week. The wellness center offers free testing for HIV and STDs like chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis. It also offers free treatment for STDs. According to figures from the California Department of Public Health, Alameda County saw 6,509 cases of See page 6 >>