Shafer adds TV to radio gig
13
Small sedans, big comfort
ARTS
8
17
Falstaff triumphs
The
www.ebar.com
Serving the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender communities since 1971
Vol. 43 • No. 42 • October 17-23, 2013
Immigrant, youth bills signed by gov. by Seth Hemmelgarn
P Jane Philomen Cleland
Several hundred people took to the streets in the Mission district last weekend to protest increasing evictions.
400 protest evictions in Mission by Peter Hernandez
A
lively blend of Latin percussion and angry rhetoric roared through San Francisco’s Mission district last weekend, where some 400 people assembled in protest amid an escalating housing crisis. Organizers declared a state of emergency due to a record rate of evictions while evictees decried affluent newcomers, largely from Bay Area tech companies. And protesters joined in an uproar, reclaiming the neighborhood amid more frequent evictions. “The tech bubble is going to pop, and the working class is going to take over,” said Jose Luis Pavon, a 35-year-old public health worker and lifelong Mission resident. The parade of dancers, drummers, and protesters commenced at 24th and Hampshire streets and snaked through the cultural corridor of 24th Street, which roughly spans from Potrero to South Van Ness and remains the cultural epicenter of San Francisco’s Mexican-American heritage. While walking through the Mission Saturday, October 12, nearly 20 speakers demanded more racial sensitivity, reformed tenant rights, an end to luxury condo developments in the Mission, and more affordable housing. The assembly stopped in front of the Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco, which may evict St. Peter’s Bookstore and G.G. Tukuy Indigenous Arts and Crafts in order to bring in higher rent and an upscale restaurant. The church was made an offer of $100,000 by a prospective buyer, said Erick Arguello, founder of the 24th Street Merchants Association. “How dare they talk about evicting when the Bible says we should love and care for one another,” said speaker Brooke Oliver. A spokeswoman at the archdiocese did not return a call seeking comment. See page 12 >>
rotections for people who entered the country illegally but don’t have documentation and for LGBT foster youth are among the bills California Governor Jerry Brown recently signed into law. Most of the bills are effective January 1. Among the pieces of legislation that Brown approved before the October 13 deadline was Assembly Bill 4, the Transparency and Responsibility Using State Tools Act – more commonly known as the TRUST Act. The bill, authored by gay Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco), addresses issues with the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency’s Secure Communities program, widely known as SComm. According to Ammiano, S-Comm was promoted as a way to deport dangerous criminals, but most of the 100,000 Californians forced out of the country through the program didn’t meet that description. “Some were even crime victims, leading members of some communities to avoid reporting crimes for fear of deportation,” a news release from Ammiano said. Carolina Morales is programs co-director at Community United Against Violence, a San Francisco-based nonprofit that’s been critical of S-Comm. She noted the city al-
Rick Gerharter
Lydia Gonzales
Assemblyman Tom Ammiano
Governor Jerry Brown
ready has a similar ordinance. “For people in San Francisco, the TRUST Act is more about continuing to feel like we’re not being punished for just being undocumented,” said Morales in an interview. Allan Martinez, a 47-year-old transgender man who lives in San Francisco but is originally from Mexico, has been afraid to call police for help in the past because of S-Comm. He didn’t report incidents like abuse from his
ex-girlfriend and a little girl who was being mistreated by her parents. Among other fears, Martinez, who doesn’t have legal documentation to be in the United States, said there was “the possibility of being deported.” Martinez spoke to the Bay Area Reporter through Morales, who provided translation. AB 4 prohibits law enforcement officials See page 9 >>
Grooms throw block party wedding
Jane Philomen Cleland
Tom Taylor, left, and Jerry Goldstein embrace at their wedding block party in Noe Valley October 13.
by David-Elijah Nahmod
T
he street in front of their Noe Valley home was closed and LGBT boldface names were in abundance as Tom Taylor and Jerry Goldstein exchanged vows in front of hundreds of their friends last weekend. The two men, who have been together for 40 years, might be known to locals for their elaborate holiday decorations outside their
21st Street home. Rainbow flag creator Gilbert Baker and Dr. Robert Akeley, who were deputized marriage commissioners for the occasion, performed the October 13 ceremony, which took place outside the home Taylor and Goldstein have shared since 1973. Akeley, a founder of Bay Area Physicians for Human Rights, recalled the early days of the gay rights movement, when he, joined by Baker, Taylor, and Goldstein, waged many hard-won battles. “We fought to make this moment happen,” said Baker. Goldstein recalled just how bad things could get in those early days. He explained to the Bay Area Reporter why it was important to the couple that their marriage ceremony be held in the street in front of their home. “[Our ceremony] was a bit grand and in the street where the SFPD stopped Tom Taylor and almost arrested him in 1976 because he allegedly had no right to live with me,” Goldstein said in an email Monday, referring to the San Francisco Police Department. But times have changed. The couple received a plaque from gay state Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco). Wedding guests included longtime activist Cleve Jones and out District 8 Supervisor Scott Wiener. “I love the idea of a wedding block party,” said Wiener. “It’s a great neighborhood celebration for two guys who are extraordinary
community leaders.” Goldstein and Taylor never thought they’d live to see the day: the longtime HIV survivors were expected to die in 1983. “For reasons inexplicable we are alive and See page 12 >>
B.A.R. election endorsements
General election
San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera San Francisco TreasurerTax Collector Jose Cisneros San Francisco Assessor-Recorder Carmen Chu San Francisco Supervisor, Dist. 4 Katy Tang
Ballot measures
SAN FRANCISCO PROPS Vote YES on A, B, C Vote NO on D Remember to vote on November 5!
{ FIRST OF Three SECTIONS }
.65% APY*
MONEY MARKET RATE
*Annual Percentage Yield (APY) is effective as of 9/25/13 and is subject to change without notice. Balances less than $500 or more
than $1,000,000.00 may earn a lower APY. Fees may reduce earnings if the average minimum balance of $500 is not maintained. Sterling Bank & Trust, FSB, San Francisco, CA.
Call 415-437-3860 to find out more.