September 12, 2024 edition of the Bay Area Reporter

Breed names gay man to SF college board

by Matthew S. Bajko

When his phone rang September 5 due to a call from the office of San Francisco Mayor London Breed, Luis A. Zamora assumed it had to do with his work for City Attorney David Chiu. Zamora is Chiu’s director of executive affairs.

Yet Breed was phoning Zamora about an entirely different matter. She had called to inform him that she was naming him to fill a vacancy on the board that oversees City College of San Francisco.

Another of her appointees, Murrell Green, Ph.D., had decided not to finish out the remainder of his term through January due to “personal reasons,” according to the mayor’s office. He had already decided against seeking a full term on the November ballot.

“This came as a complete surprise,” Zamora, 39, told the Bay Area Reporter during a brief phone interview September 9.

Zamora, who received an associate degree in liberal studies in 2005 from the Rancho Santiago Community College District in Orange County, in the spring had filed to seek one of the four community college board seats up this fall. With bisexual CCSF Trustee Shanell Williams also opting not to seek reelection this year, two of the seats are open. Trustees Aliya Chisti and Alan Wong, the current college board president, are both running for reelection.

They will now welcome Zamora as the college board’s first openly gay Latino trustee, as will CCSF Trustee Vick Chung, the first openly nonbinary, genderqueer person to hold an elected office in the history of San Francisco. Breed will swear Zamora into office during a City Hall ceremony Tuesday afternoon.

“Luis is a dedicated public servant who has worked at both the local and state levels, and I believe his voice and experience will be an asset to City College,” stated Breed. “Through his personal experience attending community college, he understands how critical that pathway is to creating opportunities for future generations, and through his work he has demonstrated a commitment to strengthening and supporting public institutions. I believe he will bring a critical voice for accountability and stability to help guide City College through this crucial period.”

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Pride on the march in Oakland

The Kaiser Permanente contingent makes its way down Broadway during Oakland’s Pride parade Sunday, September 8. The parade featured dozens of groups, politicians, and community leaders. It all ended six blocks

away where the afternoon festival took place. This year’s theme was “Rooted in Pride,” and the family-friendly event was enjoyable for kids and adults alike.

by Ed Walsh

It was seemingly a solid first-degree murder case. In 2002, a 37-year-old man killed a partially disabled 56-year-old gay man and left his body rotting in the bathtub of the victim’s apartment in the Glen Park neighborhood of San Francisco. For weeks, as the victim’s body was decomposing, police said he went in and out of the apartment pawning anything of value and used the victim’s checkbook to steal money from his account.

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New Mission Station captain walks Castro beat as she sets priorities

by John Ferrannini

Top law enforcement and community leaders joined the new Mission Station police captain on a visit to San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood September 5 to identify what’s working and what needs improving in the famed LGBTQ district. Liza Johansen, a straight ally, became the station’s captain a few weeks ago, replacing Captain Thomas Harvey. Mission Station oversees much of the Castro.

“I’m so excited to be back on the beat,” she said.

Prior to her new gig, Johansen had been a captain at San Francisco International Airport, as well as a night captain, which gave her responsibility for the whole city at night, according to Police Chief William Scott, who was also at the Castro visit.

“I think I have promoted her twice since I’ve been here – lieutenant and captain,” Scott told the Bay Area Reporter. “Here’s the thing about Liza – she’s from the Mission. So, she understands where people are coming from and what they’re facing. She grew up when things were not as calm as now, so she understands the history and has lived experience.”

Johansen is the station’s fifth captain in four years. She told the B.A.R. that she wants to set priorities for her tenure and put plans in place

that can continue apace if someone else has to take charge.

“I’ve stacked my schedule for the first couple months,” she said. “There’s five-to-six items to work on and make sure progress is continuous so if another captain takes over after me they can continue and won’t have to start all over.”

and Scott brought up street sex trade and dirt bikes as issues to address; recently, five residents of Shotwell Street in the Mis

sion neighborhood sued the city demanding more action be taken to prevent solicitation.

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Juanita's Naked Birthday

Johansen

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Luis Zamora, left, was sworn in by Mayor London Breed Tuesday to a seat on the City College of San Francisco Board of Trustees.

Courtesy SF Mayor’s Office

Kamala Harris served as San Francisco’s district attorney in the early 2000s.

Jane Philomen Cleland

Mission Station Captain Liza Johansen, center, toured the Castro with San Francisco Police Chief William Scott, left, and his aide Alberto Duarte on September 5.

John Ferrannini

Bill Wilson

Oakland mayor criticizes recall effort at Pride event

by Cynthia Laird

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao said that the recall against her will be expensive and the city could face instability by potentially having several mayors serve over the next couple of years.

The recall, which will be on the November 5 ballot, along with the recall of Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price, did not seem to have much support among LGBTQ political and community leaders who attended the East Bay Stonewall Democratic Club’s annual Pride breakfast Sunday, September 8, at the gay-owned Fluid 510 bar on Broadway. Thao and lesbian at-large City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan spoke at the top of the event and both received sustained applause.

Kaplan, for the first time publicly referencing that this will be her last term on the council, encouraged attendees to give a “big round of applause for our mayor.” (Thao was formerly Kaplan’s aide before being elected to the City Council and then mayor.)

“It has been my honor to serve as councilmember at-large and Oakland’s first-ever lesbian elected official,” she said.

Thao did not address the recall during her remarks from the stage but, in an interview with the Bay Area Reporter, said it will cost about $10 million.

“There could be huge instability” because of the possibility of the city having multiple mayors over the next few years, she added. Thao took office in January 2023; her term would be up on the 2026 ballot. Instead, she will face voters in a few weeks.

If she is recalled, Thao would leave office as soon as the election is certified. That would leave the council president as interim mayor until a special election is held, as the San Francisco Chronicle reported over the weekend.

After the special election is held, then that winner would serve out the remainder of Thao’s term until 2026, when the mayor’s race would be on the ballot.

Discussions about recalling Thao started shortly after she took office when she fired then-police chief LaRonne Armstrong following an outside investigation that found he had mishandled two officer misconduct cases, as the Chronicle reported. (Armstrong is now running for the at-large City Council seat.) His supporters, which included

the local NAACP chapter, demanded Thao reinstate him, but she refused. Retired Alameda County Superior Court Judge Brenda Harbin-Forte was one of the organizers, as has been reported. She previously served on the city’s police commission and, when her term ended, Thao declined to reappoint her. (Harbin-Forte is now running for Oakland city attorney.)

“Brenda Harbin-Forte was a police commissioner and obstructed my ability to get a new chief,” Thao said. The mayor eventually hired Floyd Mitchell, the former chief of Lubbock, Texas, in March, more than a year after Armstrong was fired.

“I didn’t reappoint her and now she’s running the recall,” Thao said.

The recall effort formally started in January, and enough valid signatures were submitted in June to trigger the election.

Public safety has been a top issue in Oakland. Thao said crime figures are now moving in the right direction.

“Crime is already trending down under my leadership,” she said.

But the East Bay Times reported September 9 that crime has “surged” in Oakland since the start of the COVID pandemic in 2020. San Francisco and San Jose, meanwhile, have seen their crime figures decrease, the paper reported.

Harbin-Forte did not immediately respond to a message sent through her campaign website. (https://harbinforteforcityattorney2024.org/#contact)

On the site, she states that she has led the recall of Thao.

“We need to change Oakland now!” she states. “Vote for Independence, Integrity and Courage.”

The Alameda County Democratic Party, the local arm of the Democratic Party, voted last Thursday to oppose the mayoral recall. In a Monday news release, it noted the vote was “decisive.”

“Mayor Sheng Thao has consistently demonstrated her commitment to Oakland’s values, including economic justice, housing affordability, and public safety.

The Alameda County Democratic Party is proud to stand with Mayor Thao and rejects this attempt to undermine her leadership,” stated Alameda County Democratic Party Chair Igor Tregub.

The September 9 release from the party quoted Thao as saying, “The recall will cost taxpayers upwards of $10 mil-

lion, which is the same cost of having 35 officers on our streets. This recall is costly, risky, and is a transparent attempt, almost exclusively, by one millionaire hedge fund exec who lives in Piedmont to overturn a free and fair election.”

Sunday the B.A.R. had asked Thao if she planned to campaign against the recall.

“I’m hyper-focused on doing my job,” she said.

Thao talked about recent development in West Oakland with the rehabilitation of Raimondi Park where the Pioneer League Oakland Ballers baseball team plays. And she mentioned the recent deal to sell the city’s stake in the Oakland Coliseum to the African American Sports and Entertainment Group. (The Oakland A’s also reached an agreement to sell their stake to the group.) The $105 million sale of the city’s share enabled Oakland to avoid steep budget cuts.

During her remarks at the breakfast, Thao spoke out against those seeking to marginalize groups of people. “We say, ‘hell no, that’s not right,’” she said.

“This is my village right here,” she told the crowd. “We’re living in a very curious time right now.”

In June, the same week that the recall was certified, Thao’s home was raided by the FBI, apparently as part of a corruption investigation. Thao has not been charged and has not commented on the raid since a news conference in which she said she’s innocent and has done nothing wrong. t

1st Castro night market launches in October

by John Ferrannini

San Francisco’s LGBTQ Castro neighborhood will see the first of six night markets next month, business owners were told at their recent monthly meeting. Night markets have become popular in the city ever since gay District 4 Supervisor Joel Engardio launched one in his Westside Sunset district last year.

Now, they are popping up in various neighborhoods, including Chinatown and the Financial District. The inaugural Castro night market is scheduled for Friday, October 18.

This new addition to the neighborhood scene, other big events this fall, consideration of a Castro entertainment zone, and discussion of San Francisco’s bond measure Proposition B were the main focus of the Castro Merchants Association’s monthly meeting September 5.

As the Bay Area Reporter previously reported, Terry Asten Bennett, a straight ally who is the association’s president, said just last month that the merchants were “currently in discussions with the city, the MTA [the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency], and the Civic Joy Fund about starting a Castro night market.”

The Civic Joy Fund, co-founded by Manny Yekutiel, a gay man who is proprietor of an eponymous cafe and events space in the Mission neighborhood, seeks to revitalize San Francisco post-COVID, and has sponsored successful night markets in the Chinatown, Richmond and Sunset neighborhoods. A recent Sunset district night market drew a crowd of 20,000, according to San Francisco police.

“It’s still unclear if it’s feasible, or even desired,” Yekutiel told the B.A.R. last month about the idea. “I think the Castro would be a great place to do a night market, because we have lots of proof people like to engage in the streets of the Castro. It’s just a question of which streets, what hours, how much it would cost, and most importantly to me, is it something the merchants actually want, and the community?”

But it appears the plan is moving forward. There was no talk of any remaining logistical hurdles or potential for neighborhood opposition Thursday; instead,

CG Events co-founder Chris Carrington pitched Castro-area business owners at the Castro Merchants Association meeting about renting booths and participating in the inaugural Castro Night Market that’s scheduled for October 18. John Ferrannini

CG Events co-founder Chris Carrington, a gay man, was giving concrete details.

The night market is being produced by CG Events, which as the B.A.R. previously reported had taken over the Noe Street block parties the merchants sponsor at least four times per year.

Carrington said that the night markets will be set from 5 to 9 p.m. on the third Fridays in select months. In addition to the first one next month, others are tentatively scheduled for December 20, and then in 2025 on March 21, May 18, July 18, and September 19.

Castro Street itself won’t be closed; rather, 18th Street will be closed from Hartford to Castro streets and then from Castro to Collingwood streets. The parking lot behind Walgreens will also be utilized, according to a flyer passed out at the meeting.

“This is all about getting the merchants involved and getting people out into the neighborhood,” Carrington said. “We want to see vendors who are already in neighborhood life. We want as many people involved from the Castro as possible – merchants members will have priority in the market.”

Carrington stressed that the night market itself is non-alcoholic, “but certainly the bars and the restaurants can sell alcohol.”

The organizers are taking applications for food vendors, stores, artists, entertainers, and more for booths. People who want to inquire more about participating should email castronightmarket@ cgevents.co.

“We will be including a booth price,” Carrington said. “It’d otherwise be a rental fee for a tent – if your business has a branded tent they’d like to put up, that’s fine.”

The San Francisco Chronicle recently reported that totaling the fees paid to organizers – an application fee, annual permit fees paid to the city, another application fee, and the actual annual catering permit mean selling even pre-packaged cookies at the recent Sunset night market would’ve cost the pretty penny of $1,535. Carrington didn’t return a request for comment by press time as to how much the booth fees would be for the Castro event.

Carrington stressed to meeting attendees that the market probably won’t draw 20,000 people – at least not yet.

“The Sunset market is a seven-block market,” he said. “Our market is going to start as a two-block market, so we’re not going to have a capacity for 20,000 people to start.”

Carrington said that retail stores in the footprint should be proactive and take advantage of the opportunity to draw customers in.

“If businesses are closed at 6 p.m. then there’s not going to be a lot of foot traffic into their business,” he said. “Where I’ve seen success from other night markets is businesses doing specials and trying to draw people into their stores. It’s a bit of a cooperation.”

Other Castro fall events

CG Events is also producing a Halloween block party on Noe Street between Market and Beaver streets Sunday, October 27, from noon to 5 p.m. Carrington said that there’ll be a “kids costume contest, a pets one, and an adults one. Each of those will take place at the top of the hour 2, 3, and 4 p.m. that day.”

People interested in competing can sign up for the costume contests on site; there’ll be prizes and trick-or-treating at various businesses.

“We’ll provide the candy for you,” Carrington assured. As during CG’s Pride event earlier this year, there’ll be a “passport” available that people can take to surrounding businesses for deals.

Asten Bennett and others discussed a number of events happening before the night market starting with the Castro Art Walk, which is every first Friday, including September 6.

Greg Carey, a gay man who is chief of Castro Community on Patrol, a volunteer safety organization, told the merchants that on September 12 there will be a symposium with information tables from law enforcement agencies on hate crimes from 7 to 9 p.m. at Most Holy Redeemer Roman Catholic Church’s Ellard Hall, 100 Diamond Street.

The following day, Friday, September 13, at 11 a.m., Mayor London Breed and former mayor Willie L. Brown Jr. will be making a joint appearance at the Castro rainbow flag at Harvey Milk Plaza, which has been landmarked as an art installation after the San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved an ordinance doing so for a second and final time September 3. It was Brown whom the late gay artist Gilbert Baker, co-creator of the rainbow flag, and his friend Jeff Sheehy, who would years later be appointed the District 8 supervisor, had approached with the idea of the oversized banner at the Castro Street Fair back in 1997, as Sheehy recounted in a Guest Opinion piece for the B.A.R.

The merchants periodically change the flag several times a year; September 13 will be the first such change since the passage of the local landmarking ordinance. (The retired flags are donated to nonprofits under a program the merchants started last year.)

“I need all your help – it’s absolutely impossible for me to have the leverage to raise it [the flag] all by myself,” Asten Bennett said.

Then, two days later, on Sunday, September 15, will be the Castro Stroll, which is competing with the Haight Street Fair, Asten Bennett said.

Castro may consider entertainment zone

Last week, Breed and gay District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey introduced leg-

islation to create four new entertainment zones downtown. The first, on Front Street, was announced in May.

These zones were made possible by legislation by gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) allowing businesses to sell alcohol to-go within the zones during special events. The law went into effect this year, according to the mayor’s office.

“We’ve always known San Francisco has the best entertainment offerings in California, and it’s great to see our city leading the state once again,” Wiener stated in a news release. “I’m thrilled to see the city expand the Entertainment Zones to four new locations, giving San Franciscans new opportunities to enjoy the innovation and sense of community that make our city special.”

Breed’s office reached out to the office of District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, who represents the Castro on the Board of Supervisors, to inquire if an entertainment zone would be feasible in the Castro.

“We don’t do anything without reaching out to the community first, especially the [Castro LGBTQ] cultural district and the merchants, and so, hopefully, let’s have a discussion about what it is,” Mandelman legislative aide Adam Thongsavat said at the meeting.

“My understanding is it’s very flexible, district-by-district, so I wanted to invite Victor to share more.”

Victor Ruiz-Cornejo, a gay man who’s LGBTQ policy adviser to Breed, told the merchants that the special event at the Front Street zone will take place Friday, September 20, to celebrate Oktoberfest.

“You’ll be able to see it for yourself,” he said. “Think of, as a group, what street you would maybe want, does this have to be tied to a street closure inherently; or, excluding things specific, [such as] ‘we don’t want anything during the Castro Street Fair.’ So I think whatever kind of parameters you might establish.”

Ruiz-Cornejo said that there’s flexibility around the street closure issue – people can be allowed to drink on the sidewalks while the street remains open to vehicular traffic, or the street could be shut down, depending on what the community wants.

See page 10 >>

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao marched in the city’s Pride parade Sunday, September 8.

Bill Wilson

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Oakland council endorsements

Oakland voters have an opportunity to remake the City Council this November. With several seats up and new candidates running for some of them, residents can send a message that the status quo isn’t working – and can elect out candidates at the same time. Multiple recent reports have noted that people are fed up with public safety concerns, property crime, and the lack of services for the unhoused, among myriad other issues.

Below are our recommendations.

Oakland City Council District 3

Warren Logan

This district, which encompasses West Oakland, would be well-served by Logan, a gay Black man who has experience in city government.

“My work for over a decade has been making policies, designing projects, and developing programs for cities around the Bay Area and across the county in times of need,” he stated in his endorsement questionnaire. “As one of Oakland’s emergency directors during the city’s response to COVID-19, 2020’s massive wildfire season, and the power shutdowns, I served as the city’s emergency community resilience director, where I led an interdisciplinary team that fast-tracked community testing and vaccination sites, directed departments to work collaboratively, and helped small businesses take advantage of outdoor merchant programs. And it got done in just weeks – not years.”

Logan stated he wants to do more for LGBTQ nonprofits in the city, and in light of Oakland’s budgetary challenges, offered non-monetary ideas.

“As councilmember, I would be fully committed to supporting LGBTQ nonprofits,” he noted. “While Oakland is facing significant budgetary challenges, there are several key strategies that I would pursue to ensure these organizations continue to thrive and serve our community including better connecting them to existing city resources, facilitating key partnerships, and engaging local philanthropists for these critical organizations.

“While direct financial support may be limited, the city can still provide valuable non-monetary resources,” he added. “I would push to streamline the permitting process for LGBTQ nonprofits seeking to host events, rallies, or fundraisers, ensuring they have access to public spaces at low to no cost.”

Recently, Logan outlined his public safety plan. It calls for strengthening community-police relationships through better accountability and training; expanding violence prevention pro-

grams, such as Oakland’s Ceasefire, which has proved effective; and investing in afterschool and job training programs to give youth more opportunities and safer pathways.

Logan is running against incumbent Councilmember Carroll Fife, and stated he believes the time for change is now.

“I’m running for Oakland City Council District 3 because I feel our city is on the wrong track,” he stated. “Neighbors continue to share concerns about public safety, homelessness, and pollution. We deserve a representative who responds to us and can deliver meaningful changes that help our residents, workers, and business owners.”

Logan noted that he supports the city hiring a full-time grant writer after the city was criticized for missing out on a state retail theft grant last year.

We believe Logan would be an effective councilmember and endorse him in the race.

Oakland City Council District 5 Erin Armstrong Armstrong, a queer trans woman, also has experience in local government. While she faces a tough race against incumbent Noel Gallo, who represents the Fruitvale district, Armstrong has done her research and sees a path to victory, she recently told us.

As a senior policy adviser to longtime Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley, Armstrong stated in her endorsement questionnaire that she has “nearly a decade of experience addressing some of the region’s most challenging issues, including the lack of affordable housing and mental health resources, the rise in homelessness, unequal access to affordable early care and education, the proliferation of illegal dumping, and more.”

On homelessness, Armstrong would like to see those services returned to Alameda County. “My personal belief is that Oakland needs to get out of the homeless services business, which I see as the role of the county,” she stated. “Funding shelters, organizing the coordinated entry system, and administering services like health care for the homeless and street medicine are all the responsibility of the county. Over the past decade Oakland has taken on some of that funding to administer itself, but the unintended consequence has been that it is harder for small nonprofits to apply and sustain funding because now they must apply with Alameda County and Oakland, managing two grants rather than one, and segregate their billing based on whether the client is based in Oakland or elsewhere.”

After Oakland missed out on a state grant to combat retail theft, candidates were asked if they support hiring a full-time grant writer. Arm-

strong stated, “Not only a grant writer, but an entire development team.”

On mental health services, Armstrong stated that Community Assistance Recovery and Empowerment, or CARE, Courts, which were established by Governor Gavin Newsom, would be coming online in the county next year. “The city needs to be engaged in this work,” she stated, adding she sees policy changes needed for non-police teams like MACRO, which is a mobile response program for non-violent, non-emergency 911 calls. They “need to have the ability to refer someone to Care Court, as well as 5150 someone who is in crisis (currently they must involve Oakland Police Department to do a 5150 hold). These are policy changes that could actually save money, while making the city’s response to the mental health crisis on our streets more effective,” Armstrong stated.

She also noted that OPD is “dramatically understaffed,” and the city pays about $30 million in overtime spending and yet it is still not able to provide public safety services the community deserves. She proposes that the role of non-sworn officers be expanded in areas of public safety that do not require a badge or gun. Additionally, she supports the city contracting with the California Highway Patrol or Alameda County Sheriff’s Office rather than rely on overtime spending.

Armstrong has a lot of good ideas to improve the city’s governance. We endorse her for the District 5 seat.

Oakland City Council At-large Rowena Brown Brown, a queer Black woman, would continue out representation for the district that includes the entire city. Lesbian longtime Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan opted not to seek reelection after serving for 16 years. Brown is currently the district director for Assemblymember Mia Bonta (D-Oakland) so she has government experience that should serve her well on the council. Kaplan has endorsed her.

“I have been able to provide legislative fixes to issues that have plagued West Oaklanders for decades – writing and uplifting legislation after a toxic fire in August 2023. Assembly Bill 2851 will serve to regulate the metal shredding industry, working to ensure all can breathe fresh, clean air. My leadership in Oakland has proven that I am fully equipped for the role of Oakland City Councilmember At Large,” Brown stated in her questionnaire.

Berkeley council recommendations

The Berkeley City Council saw the election of queer student Cecilia Lunaparra earlier this year following a special election. She joins Terry Taplin, a gay Black man, as an out member of the legislative body.

Taplin himself is seeking reelection this November in District 2. In District 6, two out men are seeking the council seat, meaning the council will see an increase in LGBTQ representation Below are our recommendations.

Berkeley City Council District 2

Terry Taplin

Taplin should be returned to the City Council to continue working on critical issues he has pursued during his first term. He serves as the chair of the council’s Public Safety and the Facilities, Infrastructure, Transportation, Environment, and Sustainability Policy committees and is the city delegate to Alameda County Transportation Commission and the League of California Cities.

Taplin was born and raised in Southwest Berkeley and represents the neighborhood he grew up in.

In his questionnaire, Taplin noted that he has supported, co-sponsored, and authored legislation to reform zoning to: enable and expand mixeduse multifamily construction along commercial corridors and at BART stations, and allow middle

housing citywide; enable efficiency units; accelerate the production of accessory dwelling units; implement an affordable housing zoning overlay; deepen the city’s level of investment in subsidized housing; and pursue publicly owned and democratically controlled social housing in the City of Berkeley.

In terms of increasing diversity and elevating qualified LGBTQ people, particularly queer people of color, to city boards and commissions, Taplin stated, “I will partner with leaders and orgs to identify appointees, build a bench, and promote mentorship opportunities.”

Taplin supports affordable housing being constructed on BART property or near the transit stations. “Transit-oriented development is critical to reduce emissions and house people near jobs and multi-modal transportation options,” he stated. “Affordable housing should be along every corridor and in every neighborhood.”

Taplin has done a good job on the council these last four years. He has our endorsement, and voters in his district should reelect him.

Berkeley City Council District 6

Andy Katz

Residents in District 6 will see an out councilmember no matter who wins. Gay man Brent Blackaby and gay/bi man Andy Katz are both running for this seat. Taplin has endorsed both can-

didates. While both have excellent qualifications, we endorse Katz in the race, primarily because of his experience as a board member of the East Bay Municipal Utility District, to which he has either been elected or appointed since 2006. He has also served on Berkeley commissions over the years.

“I helped negotiate Berkeley’s minimum wage increase and advanced affordable housing,” Katz stated in his endorsement questionnaire. “As a Berkeley Community Health commissioner and an out LGBTQ community leader, I criticized the erasure of LGBTQ community data and health disparities in the city’s 2018 Health Status Report, and later as commission chair, ensured that the current Community Health Assessment has gathered significant data specific to LGBTQ health disparities, and includes LGBTQ representation on the steering committee so Berkeley’s future public health programs will address LGBTQ community needs.”

He noted that he is working with Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguín and other leaders to save Alta Bates Hospital, the city’s only full-service acute care hospital and emergency room, which is slated to close in 2030.

“As a labor and civil rights, consumer protection, and environmental attorney, I’ve fought discrimination and harassment, and sought justice for hundreds of people against abusive corporations and insurance companies,” Katz stated. “I’ve long supported affordable housing and strong renter protections.”

We believe Katz would be a great addition to the City Council and endorse him in the race. t

Warren Logan

Courtesy the candidate

Erin Armstrong

Courtesy the candidate

Rowena Brown

Courtesy the candidate

Terry Taplin Courtesy the candidate

Andy Katz

Courtesy the candidate

In SF D5 supervisor race, gay newcomer Jacobs aims for upset

by Matthew S. Bajko

Should Scotty Jacobs be elected San Francisco’s next District 5 supervisor, at age 30, he would be the youngest gay person to win a seat on the Board of Supervisors. The youngest out supervisor to date was Leslie Katz, a lesbian who was 34 when she was appointed to fill a board vacancy in 1996.

Jacobs would also bring the 11-member governing body closer to having a plurality of gay members, as three gay men currently serve on it. Should one of the three out candidates seeking the open District 9 seat this year also win, then the board would have a historic five-person LGBTQ bloc.

“I believe there is a significant portion of voters in District 5 who want a change in direction. They are craving a reset and a new direction for San Francisco,” said Jacobs, who will turn 31 in December.

A win by Jacobs would mark a stunning upset by a political newcomer against an incumbent supervisor. Since 2000, just two San Francisco supervisors who had won election to their seats were later defeated at the ballot box. The first was Michael Yaki

Initially appointed to fill a vacancy in early 1996, Yaki went on to win election to a full term that November when supervisors were elected citywide. But four years later Yaki lost his bid for the District 1 seat to Jake McGoldrick; in 2000 the city reverted to electing supervisors by district.

“I have never been a part of the status quo in San Francisco. I have always fought for change here. I will continue fighting for the changes this city needs: real public safety solutions, affordability, affordable housing, overdose prevention and a public bank.”

In addition to Jacobs, also running against Preston are longtime City Hall watchdog Allen Jones, 67, a Black Republican and self-described homosexual, and Autumn Looijen, who co-led the successful 2022 recall of three San Francisco school board members along with her partner, Siva Raj, who is bisexual.

Two years ago, then-supervisor Gordon Mar was defeated in a newly redrawn District 4 by Joel Engardio, a gay man who had lost previous bids for the District 7 seat on the Board of Supervisors. Over the past 24 years another four appointed supervisors were rejected by voters when they first appeared on the ballot.

One of the victors in those races was District 5 Supervisor Dean Preston, who prevailed in his 2019 race against former supervisor Vallie Brown She had been appointed to fill the vacancy created the year prior by thensupervisor London Breed’s winning a special mayoral election prompted by the sudden death of mayor Ed Lee in late 2017.

Breed had also defeated an appointed District 5 supervisor. In 2012, she ousted from office Christina Olague, the first bisexual to serve on the board who had been tapped by Lee that year to fill a vacancy.

In 2020, Preston fended off a challenge from Brown to retake the District 5 seat that has long included the Haight, Western Addition and Fillmore neighborhoods. Now, Preston is seeking a second four-year term on the November 5 ballot and fending off challenges from four opponents.

“While a lot of people are trashing the city nonstop, I have been working to make this a better community,” Preston, 54, said during Monday’s candidate debate co-hosted by the San Francisco League of Women Voters.

At the September 9 debate, the first one with the five candidates in the race, Jones said he is running because “I love San Francisco for all it has done and I want to give back to the city that helped my father raise his children.” Jones’ dad had 10 kids he raised as a single parent.

Running on her record of tackling various issues with the city’s public school district over the last few years, as she and Riva are parents, Looijen argues she can bring effective leadership to the board. She readily gives out her phone number so anyone with a problem can call her for help in addressing it.

“I will get things done for you,” Looijen, 47, noted at the debate. “Tell me your problems.”

The Chinese American Democratic Club and the San Francisco Police Officers Association have endorsed her.

The fourth challenger in the race is Bilal Mahmood, (https://www. bilalmahmood.com/) 37, who lost his 2022 bid for state Assembly. In March, Mahmood won a seat on the body that oversees the San Francisco Democratic Party and later secured its sole endorsement of him in the supervisor race. Breed and gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) also endorsed his candidacy, as did Brown.

In June, Mahmood won the endorsement of the local party’s transgender former chair, Honey Mahogany, who now runs the city’s Office of Transgender Initiatives. The city’s Tenderloin and its Transgender District, which Mahogany had advocated for its creation, were added to District 5 during the last redistricting process.

Disappointed with gay GOP articles While most of author Neil J. Young’s material is correct, I am disappointed that he apparently never approached Log Cabin Republicans in researching his book [“Gay GOPers are more prevalent than most realize,” September 5, and “Book chronicles rise of gay Republicans,” August 29]. I am also surprised that you have not asked San Francisco Log

“He understands the real need to take bold action on housing, prioritize public safety, and support San Fran cisco’s small businesses,” Mahogany stated as for why she was backing Mahmood.

He has argued he will cut the red tape that slows down everything from housing developments to hiring city staff if elected. At this week’s debate Mahmood said his goal is to make sure that “bureaucracy is not impeding the outcomes of our district.”

Preston, the most progressive member of the board, has been endorsed by U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club. He also earned the endorsement of Congressmember Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), prompting questions if the moderate lawmaker did so with an eye toward the eventual race for her House seat in which her daughter, Christine Pelosi, is widely expected to compete for against Wiener.

This week, Preston picked up support from the Reverend Amos Brown, a longtime Black leader and former supervisor in the city. In doing so, Brown stated, “Supervisor Preston has shown that he is committed to our community.”

For much of the year most political observers saw the race largely as a matchup between Preston and Mahmood. Then Jacobs jumped into the fray, launching his bid in May ahead of the June filing deadline.

He then nabbed the more moderate Alice B. Toklas LGBTQ Democratic Club’s second choice endorsement. The club gave its first choice endorsement to Mahmood, as voters can rank their choices for supervisor under the city’s instant runoff voting system.

Former mayor and supervisor Mark Farrell, running against Breed this year to return to Room 200 at City Hall, sole endorsed Jacobs in his race. Farrell told the Bay Area Reporter he did so because the two “share a lot of the same beliefs. I know he is new and launched his campaign late, but I think he would be a great member of the Board of Supervisors and just a common sense candidate.”

One sign that Preston’s campaign is taking Jacobs’ candidacy in the race seriously came in a news release post the September 9 candidate debate that noted both he and Mahmood had praised actions Preston has taken as supervisor. The other two candidates went unmentioned.

Grew up in Marin

Jacobs grew up in San Rafael in Marin County north of San Francisco and came out during his junior year of high school. He left to attend Wash ington University in St. Louis, from which he graduated with a B.A. in his tory and political science in 2016.

The following year he moved into the Presidio, a former military base turned national park on San Francisco’s northern tip, becoming the fourth generation of his family to call the city home. In the 1900s his great grandfather opened the family’s wholesale beauty supply business in the Tenderloin.

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Francisco Log Cabin Mill Valley, California

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District 5 supervisor candidate Scotty Jacobs

Courtesy the candidate

<< Election 2024

Milk club rescinds Wiener endorsement

by John Ferrannini

Gay state Senator Scott Wiener was on the losing end after the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club rescinded its earlier endorsement for his reelection. The club also elected a new president as it works to recover from an apparently tainted endorsement process that was recently discovered.

Gary McCoy, a gay man, was selected as the club’s new president. Previous club leader Jeffrey Kwong, a gay man, stepped down after the club discovered the potentially fraudulent endorsement votes, as the Bay Area Reporter previously reported.

The “potentially fraudulent” result of an earlier endorsement vote was to continue to endorse Wiener, who four years ago saw the Milk club endorse his queer opponent. Since then, the moderate lawmaker’s pro-housing push in the state Legislature has attracted strong op-

position from progressive leaders in the city who contend it favors market-rate housing instead of affordable units. He had also faced withering criticism from

progressives due to his support of Israel as it waged retaliatory strikes against Hamas in Gaza.

Asked why the club decided to rescind the endorsement of Wiener, McCoy stated he “wasn’t able to make the meeting where the motion to rescind was made [b]y a member,” by which he meant another meeting where the matter was initially brought up and debated. (McCoy was at the September 7 meeting where he was elected president.)

Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat, is being challenged this year by a Republican who espouses anti-transgender policies and refers to gender identity as “gender confusion.” He issued a lengthy statement after the Milk club’s September 7 vote, in which he stated that he was “grateful” to have earned its endorsement last October.

“I’m extremely grateful to the supermajority of Milk club members who voted to endorse me nearly a year ago,

and I’m grateful to the members who continued to support me through the multiple re-votes on my endorsement instigated by people who never got over the fact that the club endorsed me,” he stated. “While I was proud to receive the Milk club’s endorsement, the reality is that I’ve won all of my campaigns for supervisor and senator without the Milk club’s endorsement, and I’ll do so again this year.”

Supporters of Wiener have pointed out that his positions on housing and on the war in Gaza, while at odds with some of the club’s membership, mirror those of federal lawmakers the club is endorsing this year. Notably, his position on the Gaza conflict advocating for a ceasefire and hostage deal is indistinguishable from politicians the club continues to endorse, including Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, Congressmember Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), and Congressmember Kev-

in Mullin (D-San Mateo/San Francisco).  Harris announced “we will end America’s housing shortage” during her speech to the Democratic National Convention last month, joining other top Democrats in emphasizing housing construction this election cycle.

Continuing his statement, Wiener touted his legislative victories on LGBTQ matters.

“I’m enormously proud of my record winning tough fights to secure new protections for LGBTQ people – particularly for transgender youth – and to pass nation-leading progressive laws to tackle the climate crisis, expand access to mental healthcare, and build the affordable housing we so desperately need,” he stated. “That record is the same today as it was nearly a year ago when the Milk club voted to endorse me, and the bizarre and tragic election interference and the club’s

SF’s LYRIC reopens part of ‘Purple House’

by John Ferrannini

Congressmember Nancy Pelosi (DSan Francisco) headlined a ribboncutting ceremony for LYRIC’s Purple House for LGBTQ youth in the Castro neighborhood September 6.

The ceremony comes as the nonprofit, which serves LGBTQ youth, reopens the ground floor of the house, while the other floors are still being worked on.

The Purple House at 127 Collingwood Street has been a sanctuary for LGBTQ youth – both from San Francisco and those who came here from far-flung and less accepting parts of the country and the world – for decades. Four-in-10 youth served by LYRIC’s housing program are from outside the Bay Area, according to the nonprofit.

“As a mother of five, I can’t even imagine people abandoning their children,” Pelosi, the former House speaker, told the Bay Area Reporter. “So to see a place so welcoming to everyone is really inspiring.”

Pelosi chided more conservative voices who attack so-called San Francisco values.

“Our San Francisco values are to be praised,” she said. When the 84-yearold lawmaker was still the Democratic leader in the House in 2022, she had secured $2 million for the LYRIC renovation project.

“I was so proud to get this passed through the House even with the negative attitudes that they [homophobic

and transphobic legislators] have,” she said. “There is something so wrong with them. ... But let’s not talk about them, let’s talk about these young people.”

One of those young people, 23-yearold Oliver Elias Tinoco, a queer and nonbinary person, gave the keynote address at the event. Elias Tinoco, who uses he/him pronouns, said that as an undocumented person, he never thought he’d be gainfully employed, and felt his Latine identity was marginalized in LGBTQ spaces while his LGBTQ identity was marginalized in Latine spaces.

That all changed when he saw an ad on social media from LYRIC seeking to give work opportunities to undocumented youth.

“I didn’t even think it was possible,” he said. “It was that small moment I decided something that changed my life.”

LYRIC taught Elias Tinoco that he and his fellow LGBTQ youth had “a chance to become leaders.”

“It is our LGBTQ youth who are redefining what it means to be a San Franciscan,” he said. “It was LYRIC that taught us our identities weren’t obstacles but they’re our biggest strength.”

Ron S. McCan, programs operations manager for LYRIC, explained to the B.A.R. what had changed on the Purple House’s now 2,645 square foot ground floor from before the renovations. A driveway from Collingwood Street to a garage was removed and the house ex-

panded to make way for an additional conference room.

Part of what was once the driveway is now an ADA-accessible ramp, which leads to where the garage once was and is now another large conference-roomstyle space in addition to offices.

The ground floor renovations have cost $6.5 million (due to unforeseen costs), and the upper floors are still being worked on, LYRIC Executive Director Gael Lala-Chávez, who is nonbinary, told the B.A.R.

“We still have to fundraise $1.7 million for it,” they said. “It is a big renovation but not as much as the ground floor, so our goal is to fundraise $1.7 [million] in order to do those changes to the second and third floors.”

Therefore, Lala-Chávez couldn’t give a date when the second and third floors would be ready. As the renovations continue, LYRIC plans to maintain its satellite offices in the Castro – the old Daddy’s Barbershop at 4012 19th Street and the space at 566 Castro Street next to Fable – as well as use the ground floor of the Collingwood Street property.

“Our programming will be able to function,” Lala-Chávez added.

Lala-Chávez stressed that the renovations are necessary to increase the nonprofit’s ability to serve youth.

“This was not a beautification project,” Lala-Chávez said. “The purpose of this renovation was to get more young people in this space.”

In that, it’s been successful, as the foot-

print of space where programming can take place will have increased 50% by the time renovations end.

Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin, a straight ally, presented a certificate of honor to the nonprofit. He was joined by gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman and District 11 Supervisor Ahsha Safaí. (Peskin and Safaí are running for mayor in November’s election.) In this year’s city budget, LYRIC did see some cuts in the amount of money it received from the city, but not as much as initially proposed by the Department of Children, Youth, and Their Families, as the B.A.R. previously reported

“We did not receive our entire gap back,” Lala-Chávez stated to the B.A.R. in July. “We lost a total of $1,013,110 of funding via DCYF and we only received $330,000 back from the mayor’s augmentation. Nothing else from DCYF, unfortunately. Additionally, LYRIC lost additional $380,000 in funding in other city departments totaling $1.3 [million], which forced us to lay off some of our amazing staff and scale back programs.”

Peskin called working to get funding for LYRIC “a labor of love.”

“I’m delighted for the restoration of this space and the role the City and County of San Francisco played,” he added.

Lala-Chávez described Roma Guy, a longtime lesbian activist and former San Francisco health commissioner who attended, as a mentor. Guy gave a tribute to Pelosi.

LYRIC Executive Director Gael Lala-Chávez, second from right, used purple scissors to cut the purple ribbon September 6, signaling completion of renovation work on the ground floor of the nonprofit’s Purple House in the Castro. Congressmember Nancy Pelosi, center, attended the ceremony.

John Ferrannini

The Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club voted to rescind its endorsement of state Senator Scott Wiener.

Courtesy Sen. Wiener’s office

SF park site map honors gay politico Community News>>

by Matthew S. Bajko

Anew map for San Francisco’s Corona Heights Park designating the two features posthumously named after a gay political leader in the city has made its public debut. It was recently uploaded to the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department’s website for the greenspace overlooking the LGBTQ Castro district.

Clearly designated on the map at the park entrance by Roosevelt and Museum ways are both the Bill Kraus Meadow and Pathway. A portion of the main trail into the hillside property is now depicted in a dirt-like color with Bill Kraus Pathway marked on it.

Below the path is a green triangle emblazoned with Bill Kraus Meadow.

It is shaded in a lighter tone to set it off from the rest of the grassy area in that section of the park, where a bench bearing a plaque in honor of Kraus can be found at the end of the field at the bottom of a rock outcropping.

Kraus, a gay man and congressional aide, played an instrumental role in organizing the city’s LGBTQ community politically in the 1970s and 1980s until his death at age 38 in early 1986 after contracting meningitis. Later that year city rec and park officials approved naming the path and meadow in Kraus’ honor.

“One of his favorite spots was to hike up on top of the crest and look at the downtown skyline,” recalled Ron Huberman, 78, who was Kraus’ housemate and close friend.

Living nearby the site in Duboce Triangle, they could be found on most weekends at Corona Heights Park taking advantage of its scenic views and relative quietness, said Huberman, a gay man now retired from his job as a lieutenant in the district attorney’s investigation unit. Often, Kraus would be working on speeches for his bosses, the late congressmembers Phillip Burton and his wife, Sala Burton, who had

<< Milk club

From page 6

recent chaotic re-endorsement process doesn’t change that record of delivering for our community.”

Another gay candidate who is no longer endorsed is Luis Zamora, who is running for one of the four seats on the San Francisco Community College District Board of Trustees. Zamora was appointed and sworn in by Mayor London Breed to fill a vacancy on the college board September 10. Previously, the club had announced an endorsement of his candidacy and that of college board president Alan Wong, whose nod by Milk was not impacted by the fraudulent voting investigation.

“I was disappointed that myself and so many other trusted leaders had their

On homelessness, Brown wrote about her own background. “As someone who has experienced housing insecurity and almost being homeless between the ages of 18-24, I am focused on ensuring that transitionalage youth can be housed immediately,” she stated. “Additionally, I will work with all that are on the frontline supporting our unhoused neighbors, since they know what they need. I

<< Political Notebook

From page 5

During COVID, Jacobs bought a condo in Marin County and moved there for two years to help his mom after his parents separated following his father losing everything due to making “bad financial decisions,” said Jacobs. He now rents it to tenants, as

succeeded her husband in office following his death in 1983.

“He really loved that park, and early Sunday morning, as I mentioned, there was very few folks there, so he could concentrate on his ‘speech’ writing for Congressman Phillip Burton,” recalled Huberman. “I would usually bring along a book that I happened to be reading, and a couple bottles of water, as Bill liked his peace and quiet so he could concentrate!”

Huberman and Kraus were coowners of their apartment building along with a number of other gay men. They also helped found what is now known as the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club, which was named in Milk’s honor following his assassination in 1978.

At the time, Kraus was serving as president of the progressive LGBTQ political group. Just the year prior, he had helped get Milk elected as the city’s first gay supervisor.

Kraus went on to urge the Democratic Party to support gay rights as a delegate and platform committee member at the national conventions in 1980 and 1984. As AIDS began to

endorsements rescinded, but I respect Milk’s process and am focused on continuing to share my resonating vision for City College with the voters leading up to November,” Zamora stated.

McCoy, the new Milk club president, is a longtime gay activist who served as an aide to Pelosi when she was House speaker and is currently vice president of policy and public affairs at HealthRIGHT 360. He will finish Kwong’s term, which runs through January.

McCoy stated to the B.A.R. September 9 that the club will “begin the work of improving our internal processes so that future endorsements aren’t compromised.”

“I appreciate the time so many folks took out of their day Saturday to engage in our process to ensure the highest level of integrity and transparency of the Har-

know that many advocates have created plans of action for local and state governments to support their needs. We need a true housing first approach, mental health services, and not only transitional housing programs but programs that take care of the whole person.”

Public safety is a top concern and her first priority.

“I will work to improve response times, collaborate with police leadership to understand the staffing shortage, and work to increase the number

his mom moved to Larkspur; his father relocated to Nashville where his parents live.

In 2022, Jacobs moved back to the city near the Panhandle and Divisadero commercial corridor and rents an apartment with his younger brother.

In May, he left his job as director of brand management at the consumer packaged goods company Kinder’s but continues to own his brand man-

ravage the city’s gay male population in the early 1980s, Kraus was a vocal proponent for closing the city’s bathhouses and urging safer sex practices.

Following his own diagnosis in 1984, Kraus moved to Paris to take part in an experimental AIDS drug study. His “exile” from the U.S. garnered national media attention about the glacial pace of the drug approval process in America. When the medication he was taking was approved for trials in the states, Kraus returned to San Francisco.

The late gay San Francisco Chronicle reporter Randy Shilts would later chronicle Kraus’s role in the early days of the AIDS epidemic in his book “And the Band Played On.” (Gay British actor Sir Ian McKellen played Kraus in the 1993 HBO movie based on the book.)

At some point Kraus’ park bench plaque was painted over. And as there was no signage marking that the Bill Kraus Meadow and Pathway existed, few parkgoers knew about them.

It wasn’t until January 2014 that parks officials erected an informational sign about Kraus’ life and a map of

vey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club,” he stated. “Now we can move full steam ahead for our positions on the November ballot. ... We have a ton of work ahead, but I’m confident in the dedication of our board and members to see us through.”

He had told the B.A.R. last week as the club’s vice president of communications that an investigation led by attorney Scott Emblidge of Moscone Emblidge and Rubens was ongoing, and reiterated that the goal is to have a report on what exactly happened to compromise the integrity of the club’s previously stated endorsements in a month.

New votes taken

At the special meeting, the club took new votes on the races where the endorsements were potentially fraudulent,

of sworn officers,” Brown stated. “As councilmember, I will ensure that law enforcement has the resources and public accountability it needs to keep our communities safe; responsible policing that our community trusts as well as community-building initiatives will serve to combat violence, robberies, and bipping.

“In addition, I will work very closely to address the root cause of crime by connecting with the Department of Violence Prevention and ensuring that they have the tools to do their

agement consulting firm Secret Sauce. His business experience makes him well qualified to serve on the board, argued Jacobs. He also believes a new generation of young leaders is needed at City Hall; it has been 24 years since Chris Daly, at the age of 28, became the youngest ever person elected supervisor in San Francisco.

“Every single problem in San Francisco is highly fixable. I really believe

wood bulletin board at the front of the meadow bearing his name.

Materials previously not updated online

Yet, as the B.A.R. discovered this summer, the website for the park hadn’t also been updated at the time to include mention of the meadow and pathway being named for Kraus or explain who he was. The map posted online for the park also omitted mention of the two park features.

After the B.A.R. inquired last month about the omission, and that of two facilities named for local LGBTQ icons at the Castro’s Eureka Valley Recreational Center from its website, rec and park staff within hours had updated the park websites to add the information.

the Bill Kraus Meadow and Pathway in addition to installing a new bench plaque honoring Kraus. They had done so at the urging of schoolteacher John Mehring, who had reread Shilts’ book and saw it mention Kraus frequented Corona Heights Park.

It sparked him to do some internet sleuthing, leading him to read Michael T. Roper’s 2001 book “Memories of My Gay Brothers” that mentioned the city had memorialized Kraus by naming a meadow after him. Yet, in visiting the park, Mehring found nothing to indicate where the meadow was located nor could he locate any online maps with it labeled.

“I asked people, can you tell me where Bill Kraus Meadow is. I talked to people who use the park and none knew about it,” Mehring, who died in 2018, had told the Bay Area Reporter over a decade ago.

His inquiries with parks department officials led to the creation of the Friends of Corona Heights Park and the effort in the 2010s to see that Kraus be properly honored at the city greenspace. In addition to the bench and signage about Kraus, there is a

which notably did not include the club’s endorsement of the Harris-Tim Walz presidential ticket, after the club had unendorsed President Joe Biden’s bid for the Democratic presidential nomination earlier this year over his handling of the war in Gaza. (That endorsement was for the primary only, and club officials said at the time that they could endorse for president in the November general election.)

In the U.S. Senate race, the club had announced an endorsement of Congressmember Adam Schiff (DBurbank), who is the only Democrat running in the November election. On September 7, the club voted to make no endorsement in this race.

In the race for San Francisco city attorney, the club had announced an endorsement of incumbent David Chiu for re-

best work, and help recruit community leaders for their vacant positions,” she added.

Brown also supports hiring a fulltime grant writer for the city.

Asked about increasing tourism, Brown stated, “My priority is to ensure that the promotion of Oakland through the San Francisco Bay Area Oakland International Airport drives an inclusive local economy that benefits everyone. By working with the Port of Oakland and Visit Oakland, I would focus on marketing campaigns

that,” said Jacobs. “I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t believe that, otherwise I would just be a masochist.”

D5 forum

The B.A.R. will moderate a forum with the candidates September 25 that is being co-presented by the Hayes Valley Neighborhood Association, North of Panhandle Neighborhood Association, and Lower Haight

They also said a new map for Corona Heights Park would be created and uploaded. By early September, the old map had been replaced with the new one.

“At least his name is on two places, on both of the maps, and they are positive about the actual ‘pluses’ of the park!” Huberman told the B.A.R. when informed about the wayfinding update.

He added that it is important not to lose the city’s rich LGBTQ history and to help new residents to San Francisco learn about it. Just last month Huberman was talking to a friend who was unaware there was a plaque for Kraus in the park.

“If we don’t let people who are new to the community and new to San Francisco know about those of us who went before us, we don’t know our history. And the history is really important,” said Huberman.

The new map should also be installed at the park. As noted on it, the signs are “made out of 100% salvaged materials.” t

election. On September 7, the club voted to make no endorsement in this race.

In the race for four seats on the San Francisco Board of Education, the club had announced endorsements of Virginia Cheung, Jaime Huling, and current school board member Matt Alexander. On September 7, the club voted not to endorse Cheung and Huling; its endorsement of Alexander wasn’t impacted by the voting fraud issues.

On Proposition F, which deals with police staffing and deferred retirement, the club had announced it made no endorsement. On September 7, the club voted to oppose the measure.

On Proposition K, to close the Great Highway to vehicle traffic and create a park, the club had announced it made no endorsement. On September 7, the club voted to endorse the measure. t

that position Oakland as the Bay Area’s gateway while ensuring that the economic gains are shared across our communities.”

Brown has many good ideas for improving the city and working to solve its issues. The at-large seat is important because the person who occupies it must keep the entire city in mind. We endorse Brown, who would be an asset to the City Council. t

Merchant & Neighbors Association. Doors open at 5 p.m. and the discussion will take place from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in the Koret Auditorium at the Main Library, 100 Larkin Street.

For more information about the forum, visit https://tinyurl.com/yvc4drrm. t

The Bill Kraus Pathway and Meadow are now indicated on the online map of Corona Heights Park.

From SF Rec and Park

Mayoral forum in D8 lacks LGBTQ questions << Election 2024

by John Ferrannini

While co-hosted by several neighborhood groups in San Francisco’s LGBTQ Castro district, there were no LGBTQ-related questions at the September 5 District 8 mayoral forum between four of the five major candidates in the race. Instead, candidates discussed housing, homelessness, community policing, and commission reform proposals.

Former interim mayor Mark Farrell; Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin; District 11 Supervisor Ahsha Safaí; and nonprofit executive and Levi Strauss heir Daniel Lurie discussed those issues and more at the forum, which was hosted by 11 sponsoring community groups, including the Eureka Valley Neighborhood Association and the Duboce Triangle Neighborhood Association, at the Randall Museum adjacent to Corona Heights Park.

“We invited all the top five candidates based on polling to be a part of this forum,” said Matt Hicks, who was on the volunteer steering committee for the event. “Mayor London Breed declined. I personally got involved in this because, like so many of you, I love San Francisco and I believe the city is at a crossroads. I don’t remember a more consequential race for mayor.”

Noting that the winner will possibly be decided “through multiple rounds of ranked-choice voting,” Hicks advised attendees to “please remember not only to think about your top choice but how you would rank all of the candidates.”

The debate was moderated by Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez, currently with the San Francisco Standard. The veteran news reporter kept the answers more focused on substance and on District 8 in general. In addition to the Castro, the supervisorial district in the heart of the city also contains the neighborhoods of Noe Valley, Diamond Heights, Glen Park, and part of Cole Valley.

Despite the district being home to many LGBTQ voters, there were no LGBTQ-specific questions posed to the candidates.

In a question about the city’s housing crisis, Rodriguez asked if the candidates would specifically support upzoning in the district, which could lead to taller buildings, for example.

Peskin used the opportunity to try

San Francisco mayoral candidates Mark Farrell, left, Aaron Peskin, Ahsha Safaí, and Daniel Lurie sparred on issues at a September 5 forum at the Randall Museum in District 8.

to change the perception he is against building new housing.

“We need to reject the narrative of the developers and real estate speculators,” Peskin said. “They’ll tell you I’m the worst, but I’m really the best to build the affordable housing San Francisco needs. … I am the only candidate in this race that supports expanding rent control. Unlike some of my opponents, I have never – not once – voted against affordable housing.”

Peskin said he voted for over 100,000 new housing units in his time on the Board of Supervisors. (Between 2005 and 2021, 56,226 units were produced in San Francisco County, according to the California Metropolitan Transportation Commission)

“We can build the affordable housing San Francisco needs without turning Ocean Beach into Miami Beach,” Peskin said.

Safaí and Farrell articulated similar positions, trying to steer a middle course that centered on affordability, while conceding to some upzoning.

“I agree 100% not to have a onesize-fits-all solution, but I do believe in density,” Safaí said. Janitors and other blue-collar people are unable to buy a $2 million house in his traditionally working-class district, he said.

“Listen, folks, we have a housing crisis in our city,” he said. “We have to build more housing for lower- and middleincome families.”

But there are places that need more development, he added.

“No tenants will be displaced; I don’t

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Households must have a minimum monthly income of two times the rent. Households must earn no more than the gross monthly income listed below:

believe in displacing any tenants,” Safaí said. “When we have an empty lot on Market, an empty lot on 18th [Street] … we have to look at creating housing and those opportunities.”

Farrell said “the massive upzoning this mayor has proposed would crush the citizens of San Francisco,” though he proposed upzoning in every neighborhood, but by the transit corridors.

“I’ve been incredibly pro-housing my entire career,” said Farrell, who served on the Board of Supervisors before becoming mayor for six months in 2018 after the death of then-mayor Ed Lee. “We kickstarted in District 2 [the Marina and Cow Hollow neighborhoods] three of the biggest housing projects northern San Francisco will ever see.”

Farrell chided the absent Breed, saying, “we are supposed to be building 10,000 units a year, built 2,000 last year, and this year we’re on slate to build 400 units.”

Lurie admonished all the candidates.

“We all know we have a crisis of affordability,” Lurie said. “The White House just smacked our city down last week, saying it takes longer to get through permitting in San Francisco than any other city in the country – 33 months. The City Hall insiders I’m running against have created this broken, ineffective and corrupt system where you need to hire a permit expediter to get housing built.”

The White House’s statement came as the Biden-Harris administration ratchets up a pro-development message ahead of the November elections amid a national housing deficit, with several prominent Democrats, including former President Barack Obama, making the pitch at the party’s convention last month.

Similarly, on commercial spaces and public safety, Safaí said police walking foot beats would help corridors in the Castro and Noe Valley. He introduced legislation to that effect last year, pushing to require the police department to establish community policing plans in each district.

“Get officers out of their cars, walking the beat and proactive in community policing,” Safaí said. “For District 8, you have to have it cleaned, you have to have it safe, you have to have people want to come back to the storefronts.”

Safaí told the B.A.R. after the forum that the legislation had passed and went into effect this year.

“It went into effect January 1, 2024, but the chief and the department have not implemented the foot and bike patrols and community policing plan,” he stated.

charged with attempted murder in juvenile court last week.

“We’re short 500 officers, so we have a major project of adequately staffing and adding resources to the city to maximize public safety,” Sernoffsky said. “Where staffing allows we absolutely put in bicycle patrols. I understand the supervisor wants more; so do we. We need more cops. Fortunately, we had a new academy last night with the most officers since 2019.”

Sernoffsky said that there were 12 officers in the academy class.

Candidates wrangle on homelessness

A political novice, Lurie’s message that his nonprofit experience in founding and running Tipping Point Community showed he could do things that electeds couldn’t was met with some pushback.

“What Mr. Lurie did at Tipping Point was to raise $100 million to curtail chronic homelessness – and it rose,” Farrell said. “He funded the Coalition on Homelessness.”

The Coalition on Homelessness was funded to the tune of $12,500 by Tipping Point Community between 2020 and 2022, the San Francisco Chronicle reported (https://www.sfchronicle.com/ bayarea/article/sf-mayoral-race-daniellurie-18934956.php). It sued the city for citing and arresting homeless people for sleeping in public, and for destroying their belongings.

Lurie said that the goal was to reduce chronic homelessness by 50%, and that during the timeframe of 2015 and 2022, it was reduced by 13%. The Lurie campaign claims he housed 40,000 people in that period of time.

“We didn’t hit our mark but we had successes,” he said (joking the turn-ofphrase wasn’t a dig at Farrell). “We got housing built, on time and under budget. We got shelter built.

“I don’t think we should let any of these City Hall insiders tell us they solved our homelessness crisis,” he added wryly at Farrell, who touted his record compared to Breed’s.

Farrell expressed he was OK with destroying tents – one of the issues the coalition sued over.

“After three, four times people start going into shelter, or they decide it’s not convenient to stay in San Francisco and they decide to leave,” the former mayor said.

Peskin and Lurie said they were opposed to sweeps.

“Sweeps don’t solve the problem,” Peskin said. “They just move homelessness from one neighborhood to another.”

The longtime supervisor for North Beach, Chinatown, Fisherman’s Wharf, and the Financial District said, “I have never gotten so many complaints” as in the past weeks, as Breed has ratcheted up sweeps following a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson. The court held that local government ordinances with civil and criminal penalties for camping on public land do not constitute cruel and unusual punishment of homeless people.

Said Peskin, “Frankly, Mr. Farrell, you’re just doubling down on her failed strategies.”

And as for Lurie, Peskin said, “You frankly don’t have the experience to wrangle nine city departments and 248 nonprofit providers.”

its revitalization under Breed hasn’t been as successful as it should be.

“When it was successful we were sending people home to loved ones and checking in day 30, day 60, day 90,” he said.

Safaí also added that “we literally have never begun to audit the money thrown at the homelessness crisis in this city, and I authored that legislation two years ago.”

Auditors had to alert the FBI, he said, referring to an incident where “access to housing was illegally sold to some residents” at at least one service provider, according to City Attorney David Chiu and former San Francisco controller Ben Rosenfield.

The web of nonprofits and commissions involved in day-to-day governance of the city was another topic of contention. Peskin argued he could manage it effectively; Farrell and Lurie argued that Proposition D, on the November ballot, should pass so that advisory bodies could be paired down. Prop D would limit the number of city commissions to 65, about half the current number. It would make commissions advisory in nature and give the mayor the sole authority to appoint and remove department heads.

Farrell is a big backer of Prop D, raising over a million dollars for an independent political expenditure committee on its behalf.

“Prop D actually takes action,” he said. “We don’t need 130 commissions to run the San Francisco city government.”

Lurie said he, too, wanted to “streamline our bureaucracy, cut the red tape, and snuff out the corruption.”

He added that “every single person on this stage has voted for a new commission every single year they’re been in office. When you have a commission that exists overseeing a department that no longer exists, you have a problem.”

Peskin said, “Prop D, supported by Mr. Farrell and some billionaires, will not only take San Francisco backward, it will actually produce more corruption because it concentrates so much power in the office of the mayor.” Peskin is supporting an alternative measure, Proposition E, which would create a task force to examine what commissions to eliminate or combine.

Safaí agreed that the mayor’s office has enough power as is, saying “contrary to popular belief and misinformation, we have the strongest mayor system in the country.”

Mayor Breed’s response

The B.A.R. asked Breed’s campaign why she decided to skip the forum and for its response to what the other candidates said about her record.

Joe Arellano, the campaign’s spokesperson, went on the attack against the other top-polling candidates, Farrell and Lurie, stating, “Unlike Daniel Lurie and Mark Farrell, Mayor Breed has a job.”

“Mayor Breed has already participated in four debates and still has the upcoming SF Chronicle/KQED debate and numerous candidate forums on her schedule, between now and Election Day,” he stated. “She has to balance the demands of running the city, while also running a campaign.”

Arellano framed her absence as a difference in approach to the voters.

Applications and information available on DAHLIA, the San Francisco Housing Portal, at housing.sfgov.org.

Applications and information available on DAHLIA, the San Francisco Housing Portal, at housing.sfgov.org.

The applications’ deadline is 5PM on September 26, 2024. Applications must be submitted online at housing.sfgov.org from September 5 to September 26, 2024. For assistance, contact one of the housing counseling agencies listed at housing.sfgov.org/housing-counselors.

The applications’ deadline is 5PM on September 26, 2024. Applications must be submitted online at housing.sfgov.org from September 5 to September 26, 2024. For assistance, contact one of the housing counseling agencies listed at housing.sfgov.org/housing-counselors.

This property has some units with special features for mobility-impaired or sensory-impaired households. Several preferences apply; learn more at housing.sfgov.org. Income and other restrictions apply. Section 8 welcome. Equal Housing Opportunity.

Evan Sernoffsky, director of strategic communications for the SFPD, told the B.A.R. September 6 that it’s been implemented to the extent that staffing allows.

For assistance, contact one of the housing counseling agencies listed at housing.sfgov.org/housing-counselors.

This property has some units with special features for mobility-impaired or sensory-impaired households. Several preferences apply; learn more at housing.sfgov.org. Income and other restrictions apply. Section 8 welcome. Equal Housing Opportunity.

This property has some units with special features for mobility-impaired or sensory-impaired households. Several preferences apply; learn more at housing.sfgov.org.

“Our foot and bike patrols were imp at the beginning of the year and we use them as staffing allows,” Sernoffsky said in a phone interview. “For instance we have foot patrols in neighborhoods like Chinatown, the Castro – we have four cops on foot patrol in the Castro –Union Square – one of our foot patrol officers responded to the [Ricky] Pearsall shooting.”

Pearsall, a rookie for the San Francisco 49ers, was shot in an attempted robbery August 31. A 17-year-old was

Lurie said he has a plan to build 1,500 shelter beds in six months and create 2,500 units of shelter, all while ratcheting up Homeward Bound – initially an initiative from when now-Governor Gavin Newsom was mayor whereby the city pays for unhoused people to return from whence they came. Breed recently rebranded the program Journey Home.

“We’ve been doing sweeps for years with these City Hall insiders and it doesn’t work,” Lurie said. “You have to have safe and dignified shelter to move people into, bus tickets home. People are going from the Tenderloin and SOMA [South of Market] out to the Avenues.”

Safaí said that he agreed with the Journey Home program and suggested

“She has a limited amount of time and she wants to speak directly with voters as much as possible,” he stated. “She wants to escape the bubble of city insiders and go straight to the people, meeting them as they live their daily lives.”

Arellano concluded that Farrell and Lurie “want more debates so they can stand on the stage repeating the same toothless talking points over and over again.”

In addition to EVNA and DTNA, the forum was also sponsored by Bernal Cut Neighborhood Alliance, the Buena Vista Neighborhood Association, the Cole Valley Improvement Association, the Corbett Heights Neighbors, the Dolores Heights Improvement Club, Friends of Noe Valley, the Glen Park Association, the Mount Olympus Neighbors Association and Upper Noe Neighbors. t

John Ferrannini

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In doing so, Breed has given Zamora a leg up in his bid for a full four-year term overseeing the beleaguered college district. He is one of eight candidates in the race.

While he still must convince a majority of voters that he is the right person to help lead City College, Zamora acknowledged his candidacy will benefit from the boost in name recognition from his appointment and experience he will now receive as a trustee over the next eight weeks.

“I think so. Anytime you get an opportunity to get a head start is helpful. Obviously, it will help with a name recognition bump,” said Zamora. “But frankly, my message will resonate the same way either way. City College is an amazing institution, and I feel we need a culture change there in order to make sure we are thinking of City College’s long-term financial stability, we are focused on student-based outcomes, and really working with our state partners to get City College fully accredited.”

CCSF has struggled to deal with the

In a jailhouse interview, James McKinnon confessed to the Bay Area Reporter that he killed Gary Lee Ober but said he acted in self-defense to fend off a sexual assault.

In a separate case, McKinnon was accused of abusing another man just a month before he killed Ober. In that case, he allegedly forced 68-yearold Luther Chattman to live in filth, stealing money from him and, in one instance, tried to strangle him. McKinnon had been employed as the man’s caretaker.

McKinnon had a prior conviction for misdemeanor domestic violence, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. McKinnon told the B. A. R. that he was married twice and had a child with each wife. He said he “walked out” on both wives and his two children.

Then-district attorney Terence Hallinan was prosecuting McKinnon for murder. But McKinnon’s fate would soon change very dramatically in his favor.

Kamala Harris, now the Democratic nominee for president, defeated Hallinan in a runoff election in 2003 and took office as San Francisco’s DA in January 2004. Harris was elected with promises of being “smart on crime” and the support of powerful friends, including then-San Francisco mayor Willie Brown. Hallinan was stung by a San Francisco Chronicle investigation that found he had the lowest conviction rate in the state, and Harris was quick to remind voters of that record.

When she took office, Harris appeared to focus on improving her predecessor’s record. But several law enforcement sources told the B.A.R. and other media outlets at the time that she inflated her record by holding a “fire sale” on backlogged homicide cases, pleading them out to manslaughter or even lesser charges.

Harris has also been accused of inflating her experience as a prosecutor. Last month, ABC News reported that in a 2003 campaign flyer she claimed she “tried hundreds of serious and violent felonies, including homicide, rape, and child sexual assault cases.” But when confronted about it by op-

<< Night market

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Nate Bourg, a gay man who is the merchants’ treasurer and the co-owner of The Academy event space where the association meets, said that any discussion of creating a new entertainment zone in the Castro would have to happen after outreach to bar and nightclub owners, specifically.

impacts it felt from the COVID pandemic. It saw enrollment initially drop but increase by more than 10% during the last academic year.

While the board was able to approve a balanced budget and set aside a 5% reserve, it faced harsh criticism from students and faculty over the cuts it made to do so. And it is already bracing for more fiscal challenges in coming years.

Plus, the board must hire a permanent chancellor for the college, who will be the 11th chancellor since 2016. Interim Chancellor Mitchell Bailey, the first gay man to lead the school, was brought on in May for a year to fill the vacancy created by the departure of former chancellor David Martin for a leadership post with Sierra College in Placer County.

Chiu, who had also employed Zamora when he served in the state Assembly, called him “an incredible force for good” and uniquely suited to lead the college district.

“I’ve seen firsthand his work bringing people together to find consensus and common ground. He has the heart and mind of a public servant, and I’m excited to see him take on the task of guiding City College through its current chal-

ponent Bill Fazio in a 2003 debate on KGO Radio, Harris responded, “I’ve tried about 50 cases, Mr. Fazio, and it’s about leadership.”

Debbie Mesloh, spokesperson for Harris’ 2003 campaign, dismissed the allegation, telling ABC News last month that it was “absurd to parse semantics when you are talking about securing justice for crime survivors.”

Fazio told ABC News last month that he supports his former adversary for president. He recalled that Harris had been “exaggerating her record” during that campaign and said it was “puffery,” which he said was common among politicians.

“I think we all tend to do that when people run for office. You’ll get people who say that they graduated summa cum laude and they didn’t, or graduated top of their class, and they didn’t,” Fazio said.

In a 2006 Chronicle article, San Francisco Police Captain Tim Hettrich credited Harris for tightening loopholes in bail and drug programs but said she routinely offered some defendants favorable plea deals and refused to prosecute others.

“What this is all about, with her, is conviction [rate] – the percentage of convictions compared to other district attorneys in the state of California,” Hettrich said.

Echoed SFPD homicide division’s Lieutenant John Hennessy in the 2006 story, in referring to Harris’ downgrading of charges, “It’s not like her predecessor accepted a bunch of junk. They were good cases when they were filed.”

The Chronicle reported that Harris inherited a backlog of 73 homicide

“We should find a way for nightlife owners to have input,” he said. “They often don’t attend this meeting, because it’s quite early. I’m really curious what people think about this.”

Thongsavat assured that nothing is finalized.

“If the feedback is ‘thanks, but no thanks,’ then we don’t have to move forward,” he said.

lenges to new heights,” stated Chiu.

In 2021, Zamora had stepped down as a city immigrant rights commissioner when he began his job in the city attorney’s office. He was elected last May co-chair of the California Democratic Party’s LGBTQ+ Caucus and was an elected district-level delegate at last month’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

He had sought a seat on the body that oversees the San Francisco Democratic Party on the March 5 primary ballot but came up short. Nonetheless, it laid the groundwork for his college board campaign, (https://luiszamoraforsf.com/) said Zamora.

The resignation in 2022 of gay former college board trustee Tom Temprano due to his being hired by statewide LGBTQ advocacy organization Equality California had led to Breed’s nomination of Green. Formerly dean of academic counseling and student services for West Valley College in Saratoga, California, Green had won a full term that November.

“Murrell focused on student success and ensuring that City College was meeting the needs of its student body,”

cases and took the unusual step of sending letters to defense attorneys inviting them to discuss plea deals. In 32 of those cases, Harris’ office cut deals for manslaughter or lesser crimes, including assault or burglary.

One of those 32 cases was McKinnon’s. The San Francisco DA’s office said it was approached in 2005 by McKinnon’s lawyer asking for a plea deal to have his charges reduced to manslaughter. The DA’s office accepted and, as part of the deal, did not prosecute McKinnon for the previous elder abuse case. The attorney representing Chattman’s family in the elder abuse case said in 2007 he learned about the plea-bargain from the B.A.R. and said that the evidence in that case was very strong, as shown by the lucrative settlement the family received from the company that employed McKinnon. The lawyer declined to state the amount of the settlement.

Ober’s closest friends who were witnesses in the case learned from the B.A.R. of the plea deal months after it was made. A B.A.R. reporter was also a witness in the case because of the jailhouse confession but was never informed of the plea deal, and the DA’s office never returned calls asking about the status of the case. The B.A.R. learned of the deal by pulling paperwork on the case at the Hall of Justice.

At the time, Ober’s friends expressed outrage over the DA’s decision to drop the murder charges that eventually resulted in him being paroled in 2007 after serving five years for both crimes. (While the DA’s office agreed not to prosecute McKinnon in the Chattman case, it did order him to pay restitution, though his attorney said McKinnon had no money.)

“The community should be outraged,” Ober’s friend Frank Franco told the B.A.R in 2005. “I don’t care what the excuses are, this guy should have been brought to trial.”

Ober’s friend and neighbor, Stephanie Henry, told the B.A.R. in 2005, “He basically got off scot-free. I cannot believe it. It was all swept under the rug. It’s a ridiculously sad sentence. I am shocked. I am devastated in sadness. It is unbelievable. I cannot believe how justice did not prevail. It didn’t even halfway prevail.”

In a 2005 interview with the B.A.R., Harris said she supported the pleabargain because she had complete

Money for Milk plaza, City Clinic

Brian Springfield, a gay man who is executive director of the Friends of Harvey Milk Plaza, joined Joseph Sweiss, a gay man who’s working on the Yes on B campaign, to pitch the case for Prop B, which will require 66.66% affirmative votes to pass on the November 5 ballot.

The $390 million bond measure was placed on the ballot by Breed

stated Breed. “I appreciate his service and wish him luck in his continued pursuits of public service.”

This marks the second time in less than a month that Breed has named a gay man to fill a vacant elected education post in the city. In mid-August, Breed swore in Phil Kim to a seat on the board that oversees the San Francisco Unified School District.

Kim, who had previously lost bids to be elected to the school board, resigned August 23 as executive director for school strategy and coherence in the superintendent’s office due to accepting the mayor’s nomination. He succeeded former school board president Lainie Motamedi, whom Breed had appointed in March 2022 to replace one of the three school board members recalled that month.

With Motamedi’s term not up until 2026, Kim will first need to run to serve out the rest of the term on the June ballot that year unless a special election is called sooner. He would then seek a full four-year term that November.

For the meantime, Kim ensures there will be LGBTQ representation on the oversight body due to the pending de-

confidence in the assistant district attorneys who worked on the case, Elliot Beckelman and Linda Allen. When asked about the case in a 2006 interview with the legal newspaper, the San Francisco Recorder, Harris said, “The evidence supported [a manslaughter] charge, and not a murder charge.”

The San Francisco medical examiner concluded that Ober died of cutting wounds to the chest. McKinnon told the B.A.R. that he did not use a knife but declined to say how he killed Ober, whose body was found in a “near skeletal” condition. The heat in the apartment had been turned up in an apparent attempt to accelerate Ober’s decomposition.

Mesloh, Harris’ then-spokesperson, reiterated to the Recorder the reasons why the case against McKinnon was weak. Mesloh said that blood was found on a knife in Ober’s apartment but it didn’t belong to McKinnon or Ober. Mesloh added that despite his confession, McKinnon claimed he acted in self-defense and that “psychiatric issues” had been introduced.

The relevance of the knife is unclear since neither the police nor McKinnon himself has suggested that a third person was involved in the killing. Henry, the neighbor, told the B.A.R. that the blood on the knife was likely from Ober’s partner, who had AIDS and died by suicide months earlier by cutting his wrists.

The psychiatric issues apparently stemmed from McKinnon’s videotaped interview with police. Allen, the assistant DA who had most recently worked on the case, told the B.A.R. in 2005 that McKinnon “rants and raves” on the tape and he appeared mentally disturbed.

Franco, Ober’s friend, said that was all an act to confuse the issue. He noted that McKinnon did not act crazy before or after the killing with him or other witnesses.

Allen told the B.A.R. that although the plea-bargain may be difficult for a civilian to understand, it was a best choice and that if the case went to trial, there would be a serious risk that it could end in an acquittal.

Harris is making her record as a tough prosecutor a cornerstone of her campaign for president and frequently speaks about her support of LGBTQ rights. Political LGBTQ rights powerhouses, including the Human Rights

and the supervisors.

“This bond will invest in our critical infrastructure and advance projects that create jobs and prioritize important civic needs,” the mayor previously stated. “It will create safer streets and smoother roads, deliver welcoming and vibrant plazas and public spaces, support families, and strengthen our public health institutions that serve all of our residents.” What specifically affects the

parture of queer school board member Mark Sanchez. He opted not to seek reelection this November to his seat on the board.

Another gay appointee awaits hearing

Meanwhile, another of Breed’s gay appointments to fill a vacancy should now receive confirmation by the Board of Supervisors later this month. She had named Mike Chen to a seat on the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Board of Directors, which has been without an LGBTQ member since last fall.

Chen, who serves on and is a former chair of the SFMTA Citizens’ Advisory Council, had his vote in late July delayed by the supervisors’ Rules Committee so he could meet with Chinatown leaders and others. Board President Aaron Peskin told the B.A.R. last week that the panel is set to vote on Chen’s nomination at its September 16 meeting and expects him to advance to the full board for a vote. If confirmed, Chen will succeed Lydia So, whom Breed in the spring named to fill a vacancy on the city’s planning commission. t

Campaign and Equality California, have strongly endorsed Harris, as have San Francisco’s Harvey Milk and Alice B. Toklas LGBTQ Democratic clubs.

“VP Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz are fierce champions for the LGBTQ+ community, contrasting sharply with Trump’s DANGEROUS policies,” stated the HRC on its website, referring to Harris’ vice presidential running mate.

Banning gay-panic defense

In January 2020, a year before she was sworn in as vice president, Harris, then California’s junior U.S. senator, applauded New Jersey for becoming the ninth state to outlaw so-called gay panic defenses that effectively condones violence against LGBTQ+ people when an unwanted sexual advance is made toward them. She noted her work to outlaw that defense in California.

Harris wrote, “The ‘gay/trans panic’ defense has been used to justify horrific acts of violence against the LGBTQ+ community. I was proud to help make California the first state to outlaw it when I was San Francisco’s District Attorney and am happy to hear New Jersey is following suit. Let’s ban the ‘gay/ trans panic’ defense everywhere.”

Longtime LGBTQ ally Oprah Winfrey spoke last month before the Democratic convention with a message for voters, noting Harris’ “passion for justice and freedom and the glorious fighting spirit necessary to pursue that passion.”

In a profile of Harris in 2005, Winfrey noted that Harris was the first Black woman elected as a district attorney in California. Winfrey called her a “superstar prosecutor” with a 90% conviction rate.

In Harris’ speech at the convention, the vice president spoke about fighting for victims, and justice. She used the word justice six times.

But justice is not a word that Ober’s friends used to describe how the San Francisco District Attorney’s office handled Ober’s murder under Harris’ direction.

“If this is justice I would hate to see what is unjust,” Henry said in 2005 when informed by the B.A.R. of the plea bargain.

Harris’ campaign office did not respond to the B.A.R.’s numerous requests for comment. t

Castro and LGBTQ communities, Springfield and Sweiss said, is that the bond contains $25 million for the revitalization of Harvey Milk Plaza and $27 million for the relocation and expansion of services of the San Francisco City Clinic, which is currently located in the South of Market neighborhood. City Clinic provides sexual health services and,

B.A.R. reporter Ed Walsh had a jailhouse interview with James McKinnon in 2002.

B.A.R. Archive

t Community News>>

Residents were also angered by groups of dirt bike riders who rode into the city, including through the Castro, the weekend before Labor Day, as KGOTV reported.

Dirt bikes are illegal on highways and city streets without certain modifications, according to the California Highway Patrol.

But the big issue discussed during the walk was burglaries, which Johansen pledged the police will go after “until it’s eradicated.”

Police department statistics show that reported burglaries are down over this time last year 14%, but that’s little comfort for Claude Gratianne, a gay man who is the CEO of ZGO Perfumery at 600 Castro Street. He told the B.A.R. he was burglarized early that same morning.

Gratianne was having a window replaced when the law enforcement and community leaders paid a visit. Security video Gratianne had showed him that the burglars “had lookouts” and struck at 3:40 a.m. when they “torched a hole in the glass” of his business’ window, he said.

“Different guy punctured the glass, third guy came and those two guys helped themselves to everything on the counter,” Gratianne said, adding that they left when an alarm sounded.

“They know when an alarm goes off to expect police,” he said, adding they stuck around for almost a half-hour, leaving just two minutes before police arrived.

San Francisco Police Department Public Information Officer Paulina

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while it does not exclusively serve the LGBTQ community, many queer people have utilized it over the years.

Sweiss assured Prop B will not raise taxes.

<< LYRIC

From page 6

“Today is just a ‘hallelujah’ day,” Guy said. “The leadership of Madam Pelosi

Legals>>

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-24-559030

In the matter of the application of HUI LAN CHAN, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appears from said application that petitioners YAN CHUN XUE & WING KONG CHAN are requesting that the name HUI LAN CHAN be changed to ISABELL CHAN. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N on the 14th of NOVEMBER 2024 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

AUG 22, 29 SEPT 05, 12, 2024

AMENDED ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-24558809

In the matter of the amended application of JOCQUON ROBERTS, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appears from said amended application that petitioner JOCQUON ROBERTS is requesting that the name JOCQUON ROBERTS be changed to JOCQUON JOHNSON. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N on the 15th of OCTOBER 2024 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

AUG 22, 29 SEPT 05, 12, 2024

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-24-559038

In the matter of the application of CHAU THI A NGUYEN, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appears from said application that petitioner CHAU THI A NGUYEN is requesting that the name CHAU THI A NGUYEN be changed to ASIAN CHAU NGUYEN. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N on the 26th of SEPTEMBER 2024 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

AUG 22, 29 SEPT 05, 12, 2024

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-24-559051

In the matter of the application of RALPH JEROME OGDEN, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appears from said application that petitioner RALPH JEROME OGDEN is requesting that the name RALPH JEROME OGDEN be changed to DAVU IMAMU

Henderson stated to the B.A.R. in an email September 5 that “at approximately 4:09 a.m., San Francisco Police Officers responded to the 600 block of Castro Street in regard to a burglary.”

“Officers were advised that an unknown subject was observed near the business removing items from the premise[s],” she continued. “Officers arrived on scene and observed obvious signs of forced entry to the business. Officers conducted a walkthrough of the premise[s] and did not locate any suspects inside the building.”

Gratianne recounted the tale to District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, who joined the walk.

“I liked what the DA had to say,” he said. “She reassured me she’d do her best to prosecute these criminals, and I had a good impression of her.”

“What San Francisco does really ell is its bond management strategy, so the reason it doesn’t raise property taxes is because as old bonds expire, the city activates new ones,” he explained. “Since 2006, the city has been committed to staying within that threshold.”

There’ve been a number of highprofile burglaries of businesses in recent weeks, especially in the Richmond and South of Market neighborhoods.

“It’s an organized gang,” Gratianne asserted. “If they can bust the gang, they can make a dent in these burglaries of businesses.”

Jenkins said she heard “a number of public safety issues that need to be addressed” on the walk, and that businesses can help on the burglary front, for example, by installing cameras.

Gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman said that he’s hopeful for Johansen’s tenure at Mission Station.

“It’s a tough, tough, tough job,” he said of being Mission Station captain. “They really do have some very serious public safety challenges in different neighborhoods. In the Castro and Noe [Valley],

I’m hopeful we can make a deeper dent in retail theft, that they can help reduce the use of drugs in public spaces, and get people who need help into care.”

Castro a model of community policing

Castro neighborhood residents, businesses, and other stakeholders are very protective of the area, which represents a model of cooperation between neighbors and the authorities, several officials told the B.A.R.

“Castro is definitely a special place,” Scott said. “A lot of people come here … and they want the streets safe. We’re going to give them the best service we can give them.”

Greg Carey, a gay man who is chief of Castro Community on Patrol, a volunteer safety organization, agreed with that assessment. His community-led, queer-led organization was honored by the FBI earlier this year, as the B.A.R. previously reported, as a model of community leadership.

“I call it the fabric of safety,” Carey said. “There’s five or six different groups with the same purpose but different methods – the [Castro Community Benefit District] ambassadors, our volunteers, beat cops – all of these things help make an impact. One of our slogans is visibility as a safety presence. The more people see people in different uniforms, the more it prevents trouble.”

Jenkins said that the community isn’t afraid to put her feet to the fire, either.

“I absolutely do think the Castro is one of the most proactive neighborhoods when it comes to public safety,” she said. “They advocate their needs to

law enforcement and with us, and I’d say while every neighborhood wants us to ensure they are safe, they [the Castro] are empowered, they want partnership, they want to feel heard, and if you don’t, they will hold you accountable.”

One Castro denizen holding his elected leaders accountable is Billy Lemon of the Castro Country Club, a recovery community space on 18th Street. Lemon said that in order to get a workplace restraining order against Zero Triball – who is accused of perpetrating a reign of terror in the neighborhood through harassment and alleged assaults, as the B.A.R. previously reported – he had to pay almost $20,000 in attorneys fees.

Triball was most recently implicated in a now-viral incident in which two nudists protected tourists from an attack allegedly by him, as the B.A.R. reported.

Lemon took Jenkins, Scott, and Mandelman aside to pitch Jenkins his proposal for a city fund for those in need of restraining orders for their workplaces.

“That’s probably my problem,” Mandelman said, as it may require appropriations from the Board of Supervisors.

Added Lemon, “It feels like a win; if you can get business leaders behind you, it’s an easy solution.”

Lemon was glad they came by.

“I am always happy when city officials find the curiosity to come by,” he said. No arrests have been made in the ZGO Perfumery burglary case; the incident investigation is still active, and anyone with information is asked to contact 415-575-4444 or text a TIP411 and begin the message with SFPD. t

is/are

Springfield said the measure needs a good push to get through, considering the high threshold.

really is not to be – there’s no way we can say thank you. Respect and clapping isn’t good enough.”

Gay state Senator Scott Wiener (DSan Francisco) said he lived on the same

RYAN COCHRANE WINES, 495 BARNEVELD, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed CATHERINE COCHRANE, COURTNEY COCHRANE & SEAN COCHRANE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/08/2024. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/16/2024. AUG 22, 29 SEPT 05, 12, 2024 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2024-0404168 The following person(s) is/are doing business as NICKS LIGHTHOUSE, 2801 LEAVENWORTH ST #103, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed WHARF 77, INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/08/2024. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/13/2024. AUG 22, 29 SEPT 05, 12, 2024

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2024-0404156

The following person(s) is/are doing business as GRANDPA BILL’S NO RECIPE FOODS, 3000 23RD ST #407, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed CRAIG M. LINDAHL. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/09/2024. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/09/2024. AUG 22, 29 SEPT 05, 12, 2024

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2024-0404131

The following person(s) is/are doing business as TRILOGY DIGITAL MEDIA, 1985 FULTON ST #10, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed BIPLAW SIJAPATI. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/07/2024. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/07/2024. AUG 22, 29 SEPT 05, 12, 2024

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE

2024-0404160

The following person(s) is/are doing business as APEX CUSTOMS BROKER, 2163 21ST AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed WEI WANG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/12/2024. AUG 22, 29 SEPT 05, 12, 2024

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2024-0404193 The following person(s) is/are doing business as PEARL TEESE, 2390 46TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ARIA PEARL VILLAJIN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/23/2024. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/15/2024. AUG 22,

“There’s three ways you can help – No. 1: donate to the Prop B campaign,” he said. “The other thing is voter education –it’s as easy as putting signs in your window to get people to vote for Prop B. The more they see it, the more it will be in their

street as LYRIC his first seven years in San Francisco, which made defending the nonprofit personal for him.

“It’s important, especially right now with what’s happening in this country

brain to vote for Prop B. The third thing is to vote if you live in San Francisco; really, as Castro merchants, I hope you will support it for the investments in Harvey Milk Plaza.”

Springfield recently co-wrote a Guest Opinion piece in the B.A.R. urging support for Prop B. It was co-authored by

where our LGBTQ youth are political footballs,” Wiener stated. “It’s really scary but what’s so reassuring for me is that in San Francisco, in California, we support these young people.” t

Jeffrey Kwong, a gay man who until recently was president of the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club, and Mawuli Tugbenyoh, a gay man, and Olivia Parker, a lesbian woman, are co-chairs of the Alice B. Toklas LGBTQ Democratic Club.

ALLEY, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94108. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed PENNY CHEN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/01/2024. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/01/2024. AUG 22, 29 SEPT 05, 12, 2024

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2024-0404215

The following person(s) is/are doing business as VALLEY AND COAST PAPER CO., 353 340TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94131. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ELSA MURRAY-LAFRENZ. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/19/2024. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/19/2024. AUG 22, 29 SEPT 05, 12, 2024

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2024-0404219

The following person(s) is/are doing business as CATALANO CONSULTING SERVICES, 255 EUREKA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed NINA CATALANO. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/08/2024. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/20/2024. AUG 22, 29 SEPT 05, 12, 2024

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2024-0404198

The following person(s) is/are doing business as APNA CHULHA, 550 VALENCIA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed APPAM SF CORPORATION (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/16/2024. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/16/2024. AUG 22, 29 SEPT 05, 12, 2024

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2024-0404142 The following person(s) is/are doing business as MYKATSU, 380 BUSH ST #6, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94104. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed

ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-0398423

The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as HONG KONG PRODUCTION CO., 1488 DONNER AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business was conducted by a corporation and signed by T&K POLYBAG CO LTD (CA). The fictitious business name statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/04/2022. The abandonment of fictitious business name statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/23/2024. AUG 22, 29 SEPT 05, 12, 2024

STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-0402414

The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as BEST COAST COLLECTIVE, 595 PACIFIC AVE FL 4, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133. This business was conducted by a corporation and signed by AVENUE 8, INC. (CA). The fictitious business name statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/26/2024. The abandonment of fictitious business name statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/14/2024. AUG 22, 29 SEPT 05, 12, 2024

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-24-559046 In the matter of the application of JENNIFER CARLEEN SYLVA & EDUARDO FRANCISCO VELASQUEZ ESCOBAR, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appears from said application that petitioners JENNIFER CARLEEN SYLVA & EDUARDO FRANCISCO VELASQUEZ ESCOBAR are requesting that the name RAQUEL CARLEEN VELASQUEZ ESCOBAR

Clockwise from left, San Francisco Police Chief William Scott; District Attorney Brooke Jenkins; lesbian managing attorney for collaborative courts and diversion Susan B. Christian; bisexual assistant district attorney Matt Donahue; and Castro Country Club head Billy Lemon talked crime and associated issues in the Castro during a visit to the sober space September 5, 2024.

John Ferrannini

by David-Elijah Nahmod

“Ilove being 33,” Juanita MORE! said with a laugh.

MORE! has been celebrating her 33rd natal day for many years. This time she’s going full throttle as she throws herself a wild birthday party on September 20 at Haum, a Mission District Yoga Studio. In an interview with the Bay Area Reporter, MORE! explained that in the past she

had held most of these soirees in her tiny Tenderloin apartment. But with so many people attending, moving around became a bit of a problem, so this year she and her friends will bring the party to a larger venue.

“I only turn 33 once a year,” MORE! said. “So, this time I wanted a bigger venue. I’ve had a few outside my apartment. Once in an art studio/ warehouse in Los Angeles, we sat everyone at a beautiful long table. It’s also fun to mix it up and challenge what I do.”

Everyone who attends the party must be nude; no shoes allowed. There will be a clothes check.

Along with her many other popular monthly and annual events since the 1990s, MORE! has been throwing these naked parties since 2012.

“The local magazine Das Einhorn was launching its third issue, and they asked if I would like to participate and host a dinner party,” said MORE!

“I agreed, and we all thought it would be more fun if everyone was naked. After the issue came out, everyone wanted to attend.”

by Philip Mayard

Bay Area dance fans can look forward to a packed fall season that continues well into December. Check out last week’s issue for dance performances in early fall. Then start making plans for the rest of the season, which includes programs inspired by the movement of Guinea, West Africa, Cuba, and Haiti; a 20th anniversary celebration of our city’s beloved Trolley Dances; a retrospective program by the internationally renowned dance troupe Pilobolus; and much more.

AXIS Dance Company

The Bay Area’s own AXIS Dance Company, one of the nation’s most acclaimed ensembles of disabled, non-disabled, d/Deaf, and neurodiverse performers, presents its fall program, “Ecos.” The performance includes three world premieres that showcase the company’s unparalleled artistry in blending physical movement, diverse perspectives, and innovative collaborations. Works include “Blueprints of being” by award-winning Spanish choreographer Jorge Crecis, a collaborative work with Post:ballet; “Harmony of Souls” by celebrated Bay Area artist and architect Dazaun Soleyn; and “Piel de Luna,” choreographed by AXIS Artistic

Footloose

MORE! promised that all ages and body types are welcome. She recalled past parties where first-time attendees told her how nervous they were before coming. At the end of the party, they couldn’t wait to return for the next one, and that attending was very liberating.

There will be a few people who will remain clothed.

“Everyone is nude except for me, fashion, the

Dimensions Dance Theater Oakland’s Dimensions Dance Theater, one of the country’s oldest and most respected Black dance companies, premieres a new evening-length work by Haitian-American choreographer Laurie Fleurentin and company founder Deborah Vaughan. “Healing to Joy,” a fusion of traditional Haitian dance with music and contemporary dance, is planned as the first of two parts, with the complete work to be premiered in 2025. $15-25, October 12, Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts, 1428 Alice Street, Oakland. www.eventbrite.com

Sharp & Fine

Directed by sisters and co-founders Megan and Shannon Kurashige, “A Detective Story” showcases the distinctive talents Sharp & Fine has developed over more than a decade: visually captivating storytelling, dynamic dancing, and live music. The performance features three couples, each with one member missing, and reinvents the detective genre by having each character draw the inspector’s attention onto themselves. $20-80, October 18-20, Z Space, 450 Florida St. www.sharpandfine.org

Epiphany Dance Theater

Over the past two decades, San Francisco Trolley Dances has become a mainstay of the City’s arts calendar. This year the company will premiere a feature-length film covering the history of the event and the more than 1,000 artists who have taken part in it. This one-night-only screening event will also include live performances and a giveaway of costumes, props, and other sundries. Free, October 19, YBCA Forum, 701 Mission St. epiphanydance.org

RAWdance

Director Nadia Adame. $25-55, October 11-13, ODC Theater, 3153 17th St. www.axisdance.org

Raíces et Résistance Arenas Dance Company, Duniya Dance & Drum Company, and Dance Mission Theater’s Liberation Academy present a world premiere work that delves into the rich socio-political ties between Guinea, West Africa, and Cuba. The piece traces the complex relationship forged by the transatlantic slave trade and the cultural exchange of the post-colonial era in the 1960s. $1535, October 11-20, Dance Mission Theater, 3316 24th St. www.dancemissiontheater.org

RAWdance celebrates its 20th anniversary with four world premieres. Company Co-Artistic Directors Wendy Rein and Ryan T. Smith choreograph two works: “Escape,” inspired by culturally-rooted vacation destinations such as the Borscht Belt and Provincetown, and “Social Circle,” which delves into the elaborate web of Victorian-era etiquette. Company dancers Erin Yen and Kelly Del Rosario premiere “Refer,” inspired by quirky cultural habits the artists hold dear, while Stacey Yuen and Nick Wagner offer a new quartet exploring cultural death rituals. $2530, October 24-27, ODC Theater, 3153 17th St. www.RAWdance.org

Juanita MORE! and a friend at her naked dinner party in 2017.

Drag impresario’s birthday party takes a nude direction

naked with Juanita MORE!

Mr. Joe Montana

RAWdance

Fall Arts Preview in dance, part 2

by Jim Gladstone

“When you work in the performing arts, you’re always meeting people,” says Brian Quijada of his first encounter with Nygel D. Robinson, his co-creator on “Mexodus,” a show that’s bound to surprise audiences with both its content and performance style, opening at the Berkeley Rep on September 13.

“Everybody meets everybody,” he explained. “And they all say to you, ‘Awesome stuff, man! We should collaborate.’ And then you never see them again.”

Such overtures are by no means inherently disingenuous. But they’re almost always impractical. The peripatetic, commission-driven, scrambling-for-the-next-gig lifestyle of midlevel emerging talent makes it next to impossible to pause, join forces, and take an unanticipated deep dive into a new project together.

“Brian and I met at a musicians’ conference in New York in 2019,” explained Robinson during an interview with the Bay Area Reporter. The two composer/performers were joined

by the show’s director, David Mendizábal. “We were the only people of color there.”

After Robinson, a singer and musician, heard Quijada discussing his own musical specialty, live looping, he engaged him in a conversation.

Mutual admiration

Live looping is the recording and replaying of short segments of sound in real time, aided by software programming. It can turn a single word into a chant, a note into a rhythm. When individual loops are layered on each other, then played simultaneously, complex musical textures can be created. Additional vocals and instrumentals can be performed live atop these moments-old recordings, building a wall of sound.

Among the best-known practitioners of live looping in contemporary culture are Reggie Watts, the music and comedy collagist, and Ed Sheeran, who plays stadium concerts with no human accompaniment, generating an extraordinary variety and blend of sounds through the looping and layering of his vocals, guitar fingering, foot

taps, and percussive slaps to his instruments’ bodies.

For a singer, Robinson explained, live looping could be valuable in creating audition self-tapes, potentially eliminating the need to find and hire an accompanist.

Quijada was struck by the possibilities that live looping could offer a talented singer like Robinson, who is also a creative multi-instrumentalist (He plays bass, drums, guitar, piano, percussion, and trumpet).

“This guy could be unstoppable,” he thought.

During the conference, the pair had an impromptu jam session at Quijada’s New York apartment. Before Robinson headed back home to Chicago, the pair exchanged familiar words along the lines of, “Awesome stuff, man! We should collaborate.”

Despite their best intentions, the pair might well have never seen each other again. But then a third character joined the “Mexodus” origin story.

Lockdown opportunity

“The conference,” said Quijada, “was right before everything shut down. Not long after, I got a phone call from Liz Carlson at New York Stage and Film [a non-profit arts incubator], who I’d worked with before. She said they had some money to help support artists during the pandemic and asked if I had a new project I was working on.”

For several years, Quijada had been fiddling with the idea of developing a theater piece around a little-known bit of American history: a southbound route of the Underground Railroad in which southern slaves were ushered to freedom in Mexico.

He reached out to Robinson, and the pair – each essentially confined to

<< Naked Birthday From page 13

door person, security, and the chef, fire,” said MORE!

Three DJs will be part of the event, all of whom are part of MORE!’s extended San Francisco family. They’ve been attending her naked birthday parties for years and know how to keep the dance floors bumping. DJ Jumpr has been part of Fog City Pack, Dad SF, and Stank. DJ Fawks is a music and events producer and has been creating queer underground spaces that focus on kink and community at FawksTales and Mull. DJ Milos Gilic is an art and design director who loves bass and techno.

“Haum is 2500 square feet,” MORE! said. “There is plenty of room to dance naked and barefoot.”

Proceeds from the evening will benefit a cause that’s near and dear to MORE!’s heart, The Rainbow Railroad.

their apartments by the pandemic –began their collaboration, at first planning to record a suite of thematically connected songs, one a month.

By June of 2021, the pair had completed what they were then referring to as “a concept album.” But Carlson thought they had the makings of musical theater. “Are you ready for a director?” she asked.

Carlson introduced the collaborators to David Mendiázabal, of New York’s Obie-winning Movement Theatre Company.

“David seemed really interested in the themes and story we were working with,” said Quijada, “When we first met, I asked him if he knew what live looping was. He was like, ‘Not at all.’ And Nygel and I thought, ‘That’s perfect!’”

“If I had known the ins and outs of the technology, it might have limited my creative imagination,” said Mendizábal. “But in not understanding it very well, I felt free to suggest we try things and then we would see if we could make it happen.”

“To me, the beauty of looping is that it’s all done live,” said Quijada. “This project would be infinitely easier if we just recorded parts of it, but we wanted to perform live and we wanted David to challenge us to make everything make sense dramatically. We didn’t want it to be a concert of a song cycle.”

“There needs to be a dramaturgical reason for everything that happens on stage,” said Mendizábal, “the looping can’t be a gimmick.”

Loops and links

In preparing for “Mexodus”’s world premiere last year, a co-production of Washington D.C.’s Mosaic Theatre and Baltimore’s Center Stage, Mendizábal

pushed Quijada and Robinson to tease out the themes of their text and relate it to their creative process. (Between the time he got involved with the show and its premiere, Mendizábal was named Associate Artistic Director at Berkeley Repertory).

The collaborators began to consider connections between their working partnership and the story they were telling: how slaves and those who helped liberate them supported each other; how the productive solidarity between brown and black characters in the 1800s reflected both the composers’ personal relationship and social justice movements today; and how “Mexodus” would simultaneously introduce audiences to an unfamiliar story and an unfamiliar form of musicianship.

Gradually, with their director’s support and suggestions, Quijada and Robinson integrated these layers of meaning into the production, embodying them in their live performances.

“Live looping is a really hard thing to do,” said Quijada. “It requires a lot of practice and a steady hand even if your nerves are through the roof. We describe it as a tightrope act, because once you press record, if you don’t nail the next four bars of music perfectly, you have to live with that error for the next three minutes at least.

“But that’s part of what makes it engaging for the audience: When you go to the circus, you trust that the trapeze artist knows what they’re doing, but you’re still a little worried for them. There’s sense of danger to it.”t

“Mexodus.” Sept. 13-Oct. 20. $31.50$134. Berkeley Repertory Theatre, 2015 Addison St. berkeleyrep.org

“They are a global not-for-profit organization that helps at risk LGBTQI+ people who are facing persecution based on their sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics get to safety worldwide,” said MORE!. “With everything happening in our world and country, keeping our queer family safe is most important.” MORE! hopes that attendees of the nude birthday bash will come away with a sense of freedom.

“The freedom to just be yourself,” she said. “So come, get undressed, and start a conversation with someone. We all share the common bond of loads of love.”t

Juanita MORE! Naked Birthday Dinner and Dance Party, September 20, Haum, 2973 16 Street, 8pmmidnight, no entries after 10pm, $25. www.eventbrite.com www.juanitamore.com

Juanita MORE! and a friend at her naked dinner party in 2022. Fred Rowe

Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson in ‘Mexodus’

Chris Banks

Local LGBTQ+ Media Giving Day

October

8th!

Celebrating 100 years of local media for and by our community.

The first gay publication in America was 100 years ago this year—1924’s Friendship & Freedom, produced by Henry Gerber. It was shut down by police after just two issues. Through the years, LGBTQ+ media faced similar censorship and hardships. But 100 years later, there is a chance to revitalize this journalism and make it stronger to face the anti-LGBTQ+ backlash, providing critical coverage of this vital part of the U.S. media landscape.

This first year, with one donation, you can support six of the top LGBTQ+ outlets serving our community:

Bay Area Reporter – Dallas Voice _ Philadelphia Gay News Tagg Magazine _ Washington Blade – Windy City Times

This project is a program of News Is Out, a collaboration of six of the top local LGBTQ+ media across the country, supported by Local Media Foundation, a 501(C)(3) organization. Tax-deducible donations can be made anytime from now until Oct 8th. Scan the QR code to donate now! Learn more here: givebutter.com/LGBTQequityfund When you give to one, you give to all

Sean Dorsey Dance celebrates 20 years

by David-Elijah Nahmod

Sean Dorsey Dance, the company founded and run by dancer/choreographer Sean Dorsey, is celebrating its 20th anniversary, and Dorsey couldn’t be more pleased. Dorsey’s 20th has been filled with travel, performances, tours, classes and celebrations.

In addition to his whirlwind touring schedule, Dorsey and company will be returning home to the Bay Area, where they will bring a best of retrospective performance to Z Space from September 19-21. Z Space has long been the company’s artistic base. It’s a place that’s near and dear to Dorsey’s heart.

“It is stunningly gorgeous,” Dorsey, a trans man, said in an interview with the Bay Area Reporter. “It’s wheelchair-accessible, has all gender bathrooms, and has queer and trans staff.”

Dorsey is thrilled to have reached the 20th anniversary milestone. For Dorsey, the most profound feelings of his 20th come from audience members who tell him how much his work has impacted them over the years.

He’s had young trans and non-binary dancers tell him that he is the reason they went into dance, that seeing him made them realize that a career in dance was possible for them.

“I never had any role models like this when I was young,” he said. “So, to be providing a mirror, to hear that I am a possibility model is huge.”

During the course of their 20th season, Sean Dorsey Dance will be performing in conservative red states like

North Carolina, Utah and Georgia, among others, not safe places to be LGBT of any stripe.

“I am more fearful touring these places now then I was twenty years ago,” he said. “The national antitrans backlash right now is massive, it’s well-funded, and it’s entrenched by people’s own states and local governments. I have always faced backlash and haters, ever since I was in dance school. But the vast majority of my lived experience as a dancemaker and activist is brimming with blessings. Getting to make powerful work, be in incredible collaborations and community relationships, teach and tour. Very few dance companies get to tour this much. I’m lucky.”

Returning repertory

One of the pieces that SDD is bringing to the Z Space anniversary performance is “Lou,” a suite of dances first choreographed in 2009. “Lou” tells the story of Lou Sullivan (1951-1991), a gay transman who lived and died in San Francisco, and who broke down many barriers. Sullivan founded one of the first support groups for trans masculine people, did groundbreaking research and publishing on trans folk, and educated the medical community

Step Afrika!

SFDanceworks

SFDanceworks presents a trio of exciting works including “Äffi,” created by controversial German choreographer Marco Goecke; a world premiere by Rena Butler, set to music performed by the Young Women’s Choral Projects of San Francisco; and a new work by Ja Collective, best known for their mesmerizing choreography created for pop music videos. $40-100, November 7-10, Z Space, 450 Florida St. www.sfdanceworks.org

about trans identity. Dorsey spent a year reading and hand transcribing 30 years-worth of Sullivan’s diaries.

“Then I spent months compiling and distilling thirty years of Lou’s diaries into an original sound score which I narrated,” Dorsey said. “Then I choreographed a suite of dances based on his remarkable journey. This is one of my favorite pieces from my entire twenty-year history. It’s incredibly close to my heart, and I’m so proud to bring it back to the stage.”

Another of the Z Space pieces is

called “The Missing Generation,” which Dorsey describes as a love letter to a forgotten generation, people who lived through the horrifying early years of the AIDS epidemic.

“Our culture has totally turned its back on this painful period of history and its survivors,” he said. “It’s very powerful to revisit excerpts of this show, especially because two of the elders I recorded interviews with have now passed, ABilly Hennin-Jones and Miss Cheryl Courtney-Evans. I was very, very lucky to get to know and

Washington DC’s renowned step dance company marks its 30th anniversary with “The Migration: Reflections on Jacob Lawrence,” a powerful production depicting the Great Migration through Black dance, bold visuals, and vibrant theater.

Based on Jacob Lawrence’s 1940s paintings, the performance features a bold soundtrack with Nina Simone, John Coltrane, gospel, and West African drumming. The choreography blends stepping, tap, body percussion, and modern dance to trace a journey from Africa to the post–Civil War

South and beyond. $36-108, November 2-3, Zellerbach Hall, Berkeley. www.calperformances.org

San Francisco International Hip Hop DanceFest

Micaya presents her annual global convergence of hip hop dance artistry. The 26th annual event features artists from Montreal, Paris, Detroit, Milwaukee, Los Angeles, Vacaville, San Mateo, and San Carlos, and showcases works drawing from hip hop, krumping, dancehall, popping, locking, waacking, house, jit, and other dance styles.

become friends/family with these extraordinary activists.”

A third piece in the retrospective is “The Secret History of Love.” This piece is based on oral histories that Dorsey recorded with LGBTQ elders, asking them how they found love and community decades ago, when it was so much harder than today.

“The stories shared with and entrusted to me were harrowing, heartbreaking, hilarious, inspiring and just so powerful,” Dorsey said. “Police raids on nightclubs, underground speakeasies, secret codes, first crushes and secret love affairs.” Dorsey spoke of what he hopes the audience will take from the 20th anniversary retrospective.

“At this brutal moment in America and the world, I hope audiences will be fueled by how our dances lift up the beauty, grace, strength, resilience and resistance of our communities, especially our elders and ancestors and trans-cestors,” he said. “There is really something for everyone in this program, for dance lovers, for people who are afraid of modern dance, for theater lovers, for history buffs.”t

Sean Dorsey Dance’s 20th Anniversary Home Season, September 19-21, 8pm, Z Space, 450 Florida St. $15-$35. Sept. 20 show is ASL interpreted. Sept. 21 show includes gala reception, KN95 masks provided and required, masks optional for gala reception. www.zspace.org www.seandorseydance.com

According to Micaya, “With the recent debut of breaking at the Paris Olympics, the enthusiasm for hip hop artistry is bigger than ever. I’m honored to be presenting these innovative, world-class companies and to celebrate this art form and the world-wide hip hop community.” $60-75, November 9-10, Palace of Fine Arts, 3601 Lyon St. www.sfhiphopdancefest.com

Pilobolus

The athletic, innovative, beloved, and critically acclaimed dance theater company Pilobolus returns to the Bay Area with “reCREATION,”

inviting audiences into a realm where imagination knows no bounds. This retrospective production blurs the lines between gravity and creativity, offering a deep look into the creative process.

After a successful three-week residency at the Joyce Theater in New York, “recreation” sets out on a transformative journey, where artists and audiences together rediscover and reinvent timeless narratives through fresh perspectives on history, myth, and human expression. $36-108, November 30-December 1, Zellerbach Hall, Berkeley. www.calperformances.orgt

<< Fall Dance Preview

From page 13

Left: AXIS Dance Company Middle: Raíces et Résistance Right: Dimensions Dance Theater

David DaSilva

Upper Left: Sharp & Fine

Upper Middle Left:

Epiphany Dance Theater’s ‘Trolley Dances’

Upper Middle Right:

San Francisco International Hip Hop DanceFest

Upper Right: Pilobolus

Lower Left: Rena Butler of SFDanceworks

Lower Right: Step Afrika!

Brooke Anderson

Nash

Sean Muniz

Andy Mogg

RJ Muna

George Etheridge

Jjati Lindsay

Sean Dorsey Dance

Kegan Marling

t Books >>

‘Small Rain’

by Tim Pfaff

Garth Greenwell’s generous, expansive new novel, “Small Rain” (Farrar, Straus & Giroux) is built on the author’s own experience of a dozen-day stay in the hospital, gazing into the maw of death from an infrarenal aortic dissection; affairs of the heart. The author’s fans, now legion, will hold their breath in suspense even though the very existence of the book attests to his survival.

A celebrated record producer once commented that, for a singer, “the sine qua non of a great singer is an immediately recognizable vocal timbre.” An identifying, defining sound, in short, and for all the ways “Small Rain” represents exploration of new terrain, for author and reader alike, that extension only augments the unique voice Greenwell staked out in his two previous novels.

What likely will seem absent, until the very end, is any depiction of sex, at least of the kind of sensational sex writing that brought him first fame. Then, in the short section about his –you can only call it discharge– home from the hospital to the arms of his life companion, Luis, comes an almost sacramental aside.

“It had been some time since we’d had sex, some time before I went into the hospital, I mean. What happened to most couples had happened to us, sex had become an event, something remarkable … the whole time in the hospital it was like that part of me had died, I thought maybe I would never do it again… maybe that whole part of me was a thing of the past.

Garth Greeenwell has written a true-life love story. If not a romance novel in the usual sense, it’s a novel as true romance.

It has always been clear that the stories Greenwell told in his previous books were drawn from his own life experience. “Small Rain” begins with what is already the novel’s most famous sentence, emblazoned in large type on the cover of the advanced reading copy –above title and author. “They asked me to describe the pain but the pain defied description, on a scale of one to ten it demanded a different scale.”

The lavish detail of Greenwell’s writing in this 300-page novel may or may not be “true,” but it’s entirely credible –asserts its own truth– and is at the heart of the author’s achievement here. For all their gritty detail, these pages are not the world’s greatest nurses’ notes but rather the reflections of a quicksilver observing mind and soul.

Greenwell staked out comparable ground with the middle section of “What Belongs to You,” a 40-page single paragraph that darts in and out of past and even future to establish its own kind of time. Any impulse to question the author’s even greater elaboration of thoughts, memories, and projections in “Small Rain” is stilled by the way past, present, and future are limned in long, loping sentences, leaping commas with a single bound, climbing and descending the mountainous paragraphs.

Garth Greenwell’s remarkable new novel

But he does not digress

Reading “Small Rain,” I was frequently reminded of Nietzsche’s insistence that the path to truth is through “circuitous routes.” Greenwell’s plot – and there is one, decisively– weaves four main threads. Central is one recounting the horrors, depredations,

and monotony with regrettable interruptions that make up hospitalized life, and the surprising appearances of angels in the form of caring nurses and doctors.

Then there’s the renovation of the couple’s house followed by its devastation in a horrid, Midwestern wind-

whipped derecho. And then there’s Greenwell’s own pilgrim’s progress through lifelong body dysphoria.

“What a strange thing a body is,” he writes, “how eerie to be filled with blood and covered with hair, to be a machine any part of which might fail; and how strange to have hated it

so much, when it had always been so serviceable… it had been all that time available for love and it had never occurred to me to love it.”

But by the time the novel has run its course, there are what can only be called disquisitions on a number of other poems –analyses, to be sure, but, more to his point, reflections in the broadest sense of the word.

He thinks the doctors consider him “an infinitely cherishable bundle of pathos.” A departing nurse collects the remnants of yet another bedside medical procedure, disposing of “the deflated [IV] bags, husks with little puddles in the bottom.”

The concurrence of the actual and the philosophical is rare but precious.

“It was the loveliest feeling, to buy books and feel like it was an act of virtue, books I would almost certainly never read … but that gave me pleasure just sitting in their piles. They gave a sense of abundance.”t

Read the full review on www.ebar.com.

‘Small Rain’ by Garth Greenwell, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 302 pages, also audiobook read by the author, $28 www.fsbooks.com www.garthgreenwell.com

Author Garth Greenwell

Art fraud in P’town

by Laura Moreno

eannette de Beauvoir’s “The Fine

J

Art of Deception: A Provincetown Mystery” is the ninth finely crafted book in the Provincetown Mystery series, but it is a complete standalone work in itself.

Whether you have any knowledge of art or not, this is a mustread. You’ll find yourself thrust into the murky, high-stakes world of art fraud. But don’t expect de Beauvoir to follow the usual mystery series formula. Instead of beginning the book with a dead body, she begins with a nightmare, a subtle indication that things are not as they seem and won’t be easy to figure out. The body doesn’t show up until more than 100 pages later. So, who’s to say whether a crime has been committed at all, until Sydney Riley takes on the case.

The likable and well-developed young character Sydney Riley, an events planner and amateur sleuth with a probing mind and a wicked sense of humor, never fails to win the hearts of readers. Her life-like personality makes the book a lot of fun to read.

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An intriguing literary device de Beauvoir employs is the ongoing soliloquy (or is it a dialogue?) of private thoughts running in Sydney’s head as she coaches herself through the investigation.

The author achieves this very smoothly by writing the book in the first person from Sydney’s perspective, while Sydney recounts the story by telling us what she said, quoting herself as if the story were in the third person. The effect is that we are privy to her unfiltered internal commentary, which proves to be fertile ground for much of the comedy throughout the book.

Plus, Sydney’s interactions with Mirela, a talented Bulgarian painter who works in the local gallery, add a

welcome layer of interest as humorless Mirela helps Sydney unravel the mystery, sometimes bringing her child along with her. But although Mirela is interesting, she may not be altogether forthcoming.

“No one with a child has a sense of humor,” Mirela explains. “They remove it.”

Much

amiss

When an art broker is suddenly hit crossing the street in quiet P’town, a once-rare cause of death that is dramatically on the rise, the community quickly realizes the woman has been murdered and something is very much amiss.

In the author’s note at the end, de Beauvoir writes, “As you can probably

tell, I’m fascinated by the extraordinary amount of fraud present in the art world, and by how it’s done. Most of the players/places referenced in this novel – Myatt and Drew, Han van Meegeren, the Knoedler Gallery, the Geneva Freeport – are real, and the FBI does indeed have an active art fraud division.”

The author goes on to explain the facts of the biggest and most puzzling art heist ever. In 1990, in the middle of the night, 13 paintings now valued at approximately $500 million (including renowned paintings by Rembrandt and Vermeer) were stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston and have never been found.

The intricate conspiracy to defraud

Going Out

the museum guards and pull off the robbery was immortalized in the film “This is a Robbery: The World’s Biggest Art Heist.”

Meanwhile, de Beauvoir explains, despite huge improvements in the tools used to detect fakes, even the experts sometimes have great difficulty discerning which paintings are the originals, as when a prestigious New York gallery sold a replica for $80 million. To add insult to injury, the signature of the artist was mockingly misspelled.

“Who wants to be known as the gallery that bought a fake Degas?” de Beauvoir writes, especially when reputation is what matters most in the art world, money is being made, and life floats along as if everything were just fine on the surface. But turning a blind eye is self-sabotage.

As more people defect from the face-value crowd, no longer believing everything they are told when clues indicate the contrary, we may want to do what Italy does with its great art. Long past quibbling about conspiracy theories, Italy knows it has a real conspiracy problem. Their solution: replace all public art in advance with top quality replicas so that nothing truly valuable is stolen.

“The Fine Art of Deception: A Provincetown Mystery” is very much worth reading for the education you’ll receive about the “spectacular contradiction at the heart of art forgery.” But brace yourself for the book’s explosive ending, as all is revealed and justice prevails in P’town.t

‘The Fine Art of Deception: A Provincetown Mystery,’ by Jeannette de Beauvoir, Homeport Press, $15.99 www.homeportpress.com www.jeannettedebeauvoir.com

Author Jeannette de Beauvoir

Ginger’s returns

by John Ferrannini

The San Francisco Financial District’s only LGBTQ bar is now going to be open regularly on some weeknights with a new lineup of programming.

As the Bay Area Reporter previously reported, Ginger’s at 86 Hardie Place had been shuttered since the COVID pandemic struck in March 2020. Acquired by Future Bars, which owns a number of bars in the area including Nightingale (239 Kearny Street), Rickhouse (246 Kearny Street), and Pagan Idol (375 Bush Street), it was resurrected by Dana Marinelli, a lesbian who had been general manager at Oasis but who started working at the company earlier this year.

After a splashy Pride weekend debut, Ginger’s was open for 10 individual events through July and August – including Grace Towers’ Downtown First Thursday afterparty – but starting September 4 will be open every Wednesday and Thursday from 5 p.m. to midnight and then from 5 p.m. Friday to 2 a.m. Saturday.

Ginger’s was popular for weekday happy hours, as the bar drew office workers from the surrounding downtown concentration of corporate headquarters and financial institutions. But the Financial District is also a neighborhood whose decline has been catapulted to the center of the city’s politics as it seeks to revitalize the beleaguered district.

In recent decades, the city’s Pacific Stock Exchange – the so-called Wall Street of the West – closed in 2002, and tech firms preferred to set up shop in the newly developed South of Market.

But things really took a downturn in 2020 during the COVID pandemic. The streets, bereft of office workers then working from home, highlighted open-air drug use and sales in the eyes of the public and the media. Combined with issues concerning car break-ins, and organized retail theft, businesses began an exodus. According to a report from the Institute of Governmental Studies released last year, downtown San Francisco ranked last among 62 North American cities in recovering from the pandemic.

Glitter & be ghoul

Marinelli said that Wednesdays will be dedicated to bingo or karaoke.

“Thursdays I am going to get back to all of the talent shows that Ginger’s had before the shutdown,” Marinelli said, including Glitter Box with MGM Grande and Landa Lakes.

“I’m beyond thrilled that Ginger’s is back, and with it, Glitter Box,” Lakes stated to the B.A.R. “Glitter Box has always been a drag family affair and it is going to be an incredible night of fabulous performances with the house of glitter which turns 20 next year, and

I can’t wait to see everyone there. The energy is going to be electric!”

Marinelli is also making the Downtown First Thursdays afterparty permanent. Downtown First Thursdays is a popular street event south of Market that brings hundreds to listen to DJs, eat meals from food trucks and otherwise enjoy the evening, sponsored by the Civic Joy Fund.

Marinelli was also pleased to announce the return of “Terror Vault Take-

over,” with Raya Light, Mocha Fapalatte and Natasha Nightmare. The first iteration will be Friday, September 6 with shows at 8 p.m., 9 p.m., and 10 p.m.

“The ghouls from Terror Vault are giddy with excitement at being released early to christen the Halloween season at Ginger’s SF,” Raya Light stated to the B.A.R. “Queer spaces are vital to the rebirth of San Francisco and Ginger’s is leading the way. It only makes sense to bridge the iconic Ginger’s with the only-

in-San Francisco experience that is Terror Vault, whose new immersive horror sci-fi adventure ‘Fatal Abduction’ runs all through October at the SF Mint.”

Marinelli said she’s working on boosting awareness of Ginger’s for a new generation.

“My goal is to introduce Ginger’s to a new audience of younger people who may not have heard of the space,” she said, adding that she’s hoping to add ever “edgier drag house takeovers.”t

Ginger’s manager Dana Marinelli

Left: New and returning fans of Ginger’s Middle: Landa Lakes Right: Raya Light, ghouled up for a Terror Vault show

Gooch