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The
www.ebar.com
Since 1971, the newspaper of record for the San Francisco Bay Area LGBTQ community
Vol. 47 ⢠No. 41 ⢠October 12-18, 2017
Defense accuses dead B.A.R. writer of sexual attack
by Seth Hemmelgarn
T
he attorney for the man accused of fatally strangling former Bay Area Reporter writer Dan Aiello is claiming that his client, Kyle Billy Fletcher, had been âin fear of a sexual assault,â and Fletcher âwas defending himself.â Kyle Billy Fletcher Attorney Justin Mixon made his comments to the B.A.R. last week just after Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Michael G. Bowman ordered Fletcher, 38, to stand trial on first-degree murder and other charges. Aiello, 53, was found dead in his home April 15, 2015 with a belt wrapped around his neck. According to police testimony during the Wednesday, October 4 preliminary hearing, Fletcher claimed Aiello, who was on the floor, had wrapped a belt around his own neck and tried to force Fletcher into having sex with him. According to court testimony, the two had known each other for years and Aiello was upset that Fletcher had never had sex with him. Mixon said Fletcher had âused enough force to stop the attackâ by grabbing the belt. â... He didnât think he hurt him or killed him.â But police, who testified Wednesday that theyâd discovered Aielloâs naked body after seeing Fletcher carrying a TV from Aielloâs home, didnât indicate that Fletcher had said anything about having just defended himself against a violent attack. Officer Filmore Graham said that when police responded to a disturbance at about 3:30 a.m. at 1326 X Street, where Aiello lived behind his small Midtown Moped shop, he saw Fletcher carrying a flat screen TV and a woman who was also carrying something. Fletcher, who âwas really sweaty,â even though âit was really cold outside,â said, âThis is my shop. My partner and I own it,â Graham testified, adding that Fletcher had said âDanâ was âin the back lying down.â Officer Tony Parham, whoâd also responded to the scene, testified that Fletcher seemed âvery nervous.â Moments later, Graham and Parham found Aiello in his bedroom, lying face down on the floor with a belt âwrapped around his neck,â said Graham, who added there had been a possible shoeprint on his back. Aiello was soon pronounced dead. Sergeant Jason Kirtlan, who was a homicide detective at the time Aiello was killed, said that during an interview that morning, Fletcher told him that Aiello had repeatedly paid him for sex acts during the four years theyâd known each other. Aiello, who was gay, worked for the B.A.R. as a freelance writer who covered marriage equality See page 15 >>
LGBTs caught in horrific N. Bay fires
Alex Madison
by Heather Cassell
F
ast-moving wildfires fueled by dry brush and Diablo winds roared through the hillsides and vineyards in Napa and Sonoma counties starting late Sunday night and continued to burn out of control. LGBT winery owners and other community members were among the evacuees and those
who lost homes or had businesses damaged. Fountaingrove Lodge, a luxury LGBT retirement community in Santa Rosa, suffered some damage, according to media reports and facility officials. Residents were evacuated shortly after midnight October 9, Robert May, executive director of Fountaingrove Lodge, told the Los Angeles Times. The complex, operated by Oakmont
See page 14 >>
by Tony Taylor
I
n an effort to enhance beauty and promote safety, the Dolores Park Garden Club has been formed to, among other things, build and sustain flower beds throughout the park. Under the direction of volunteer Robert Brust, a small group recently gathered near the parkâs Helen Diller playground to prune, pick, and pluck. âThis is one of park and recâs babies,â said Brust, referring to the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department while standing inside a bioretention flower bed constructed earlier this year. Bioretention planters are planted depressions designed to collect and absorb runoff. Under Rec and Parkâs supervision, the bioretention flower bed sits near the base of several Guadalupe palm trees, which stayed in place during the parkâs $20.5 million renovation that was completed in early 2016. Added during construction, underground pipes guide natural spring water from the hillside of Dolores Heights and Castro Hill to the enclosed flower bed. âWith the slightest amount of rain, this thing bursts into water,â said Brust of the bioretention area, which was strategically placed near the childrenâs park for educational purposes. The Dolores Park Garden Club had three volunteers and two Rec and Park employees during its first workday September 28. Itâs a project of Rec
Tony Taylor
Robert Brust of the Dolores Park Garden Club trims overgrowth in the bioretention flower bed near Helen Diller playground during the clubâs first workday on September 28.
and Park, Dolores Park Works, and the Dolores Park Ambassadors. âI love the park,â said volunteer Kim OâConnor, a lesbian who has lived in the Dolores Park area
Photo courtesy of Lani Kaâahumanu.
Photo by Mick Hicks.
Photo by Robert Pruzan.
Co-Chairs Marke Bieschke & Alex U. Inn
Management Group, includes apartments, assisted living, and memory care facilities. All were evacuated, according to a post on the companyâs website. The Times reported that Villa Capri, the assisted living facility, burned to the ground. âIt was a harrowing experience,â May told the paper. âThe flames were right in front of us.â The residents were transported to senior
Garden club has first workday at Dolores Park
{ FIRST OF THREE SECTIONS }
October 14th Saturday ⢠6PM
The Clover Stornetta Dairy in Sonoma was reduced to charred remains as wildfires swept through the North Bay this week.
The Green Room San Francisco War Memorial Performing Arts Center
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for almost 30 years. âIâm here weeding and pruning and looking forward to planting later.â Volunteer Tom Shaub, a gay man, has seen See page 15 >>