DOMA plaintiff Edie Windsor dies
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Lesbian shops thrive in Pacifica
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17
ARTS
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Arts events
Turandot
The
www.ebar.com
Since 1971, the newspaper of record for the San Francisco Bay Area LGBTQ community
Vol. 47 • No. 37 • September 14-20, 2017
Milk Plaza finalists revealed Anthony Torres, aka Bubbles
Artist known as Bubbles shot dead by Seth Hemmelgarn
A
n LGBT artist known as Bubbles is being mourned after he was fatally shot in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood last weekend. Bubbles, whose name was Anthony Torres, reportedly got into an altercation with someone from the New Century Theater strip club at 2:50 a.m. Saturday, September 9 and was shot several times. Torres, 44, was well known in the Tenderloin and other communities for his love of music, dancing, and handing out free snow cones and cotton candy near the area where he was killed See page 15 >>
Three design firms are finalists to reimagine the windswept, forlorn Harvey Milk Plaza. Tony Taylor
by Tony Taylor
A
iming to transform the most visible corner of the Castro, a design competition for a reimagined Harvey Milk Plaza has revealed three finalists for public feedback. People have until September 21 to view and comment on the proposals. The plans for the public space named after
the slain city supervisor and gay rights icon, all honor Milk’s struggle for LGBTQ civil rights, allow for gatherings of protests and celebrations, and consider the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s new elevator and accessibility project. “Our goal is for construction to begin sometime in 2020,” said Andrea Aiello, executive director of the Castro/Upper Market
Community Benefit District. The CBD is working with the Friends of Harvey Milk Plaza, a Castro neighborhood organization, on the project and Aiello serves as president of that group. A donation of $500,000 supports the design competition and subsequent plaza development, Aiello said in a news release. (The Bay
Gay Florida Oakland celebrates Pride businesses on the mend T after Irma
See page 14 >>
by Michael Nugent
by Ed Walsh
G
ay beachfront businesses in Fort Lauderdale, Florida appear to have dodged a bullet. Although LGBT businesses in Key West, which took a direct hit from Hurricane Irma, expectedly fared worse, the damage was not as severe as it was following Hurricane Wilma in 2005. Fort Lauderdale is second only to Palm Springs for its abundance of gay resorts. Most of the LGBT hotels are just steps away from the ocean and were included in a mandatory evacuation order. The Florida Keys were also under an evacuation order but thousands stayed behind anyway, including a hearty group that holed up through the storm in a gay hotel. The good news for Fort Lauderdale is that Irma veered to Florida’s west coast. The city got hit hard but businesses there are already on the mend and optimistic about opening soon. The Grand Resort and Spa, just two blocks from Fort Lauderdale Beach, reported only See page 13 >>
he parade was bigger than previous years and more people watched it go up Broadway as warm weather brought tens of thousands to the East Bay to celebrate Oakland Pride. A more intimate celebration than the behemoth across the bay, Oakland Pride’s September 10 festivities offered attendees a rainbow of genders and colors – along with signs of resistance amid the revelry. The daylong event was Oakland’s eighth annual LGBTQ Pride festival. Attendance was estimated at 50,000. People from across the Bay Area and beyond came out to show their support. “I live right down the street and this is my third year coming. I really enjoy the plethora of interesting people I’ve seen here,” said Ashley Coats, 33, a queer woman. “I came from McKinleyville, a small town in north Humboldt,” said Gloria Meyer, 60, who is a lesbian. “It’s amazing to be around so many gay people together. I came here to support Oakland Pride.” Some people offered embraces at no charge. “I come to Pride to give free hugs,” said Amos Lans, 60, a gay man living in Oakland. Lans was working the Billys booth with a “free hugs” sign around his neck. “This is a day I look forward to all year. It’s gratifying for many sections of the population – especially heavy, older, or disabled people – who are not the objects of positive
Jane Philomen Cleland
Grand marshal Michael Morgan, music director and conductor of the Oakland Symphony, rode in the Oakland Pride parade September 10.
attention and affection. So I go out of my way for those folks.” The value and experience of diversity was on full display at this year’s Pride. “I’m deaf and I came to Oakland Pride for the first time because this is the first year they have top quality accessible interpreters. Music
and gay culture are culturally sensitive specializations – not every interpreter can sign them,” said Barbara Hyde, 51, a lesbian from San Leandro. “Diversity’s always celebrated here. This is a piece of what the United States should be. I love Pride and being around gay people.” See page 14 >>
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