San Francisco Bay Times - March 23, 2017

March 23 - April 5, 2017 | sfbaytimes.com

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PHOTO BY ABBY ZIMBERG

Supervisor Jeff Sheehy

His Vision for District 8 and ‘Getting to Zero’

In the News

Compiled by Dennis McMillan Wave of Vandalism, Violence Hits LGBTQ Centers Across Nation In February and March, hate incidents have occurred at LGBTQ community centers and similar venues across the nation, in a trend that has been underreported by mainstream media. The vandalism incidents do not appear to be connected to each other, but several similar attacks have occurred at LGBTQ nonprofit offices, bars and at schools. Anti Violence Project Communications Director Sue Yacka told NBC News she sees a connection between direct attacks on LGBTQ community venues and the more than 100 pieces of anti-LGBTQ legislation that have been proposed in just the first few weeks of 2017. “You use legislation and intimidation and violence to try and make people go away. But we are not going away.” Along with a number of groups like Muslim Advocates, Transgender Law Center and Hollaback, AVP is launching a new initiative called Communities Against Hate, which allows people to directly report incidents. msn.com Report: Hate Crime Laws Have Resulted in Few Convictions for Anti-Trans Violence A 2009 hate crimes law meant to make federal prosecutions easier has resulted in relatively few convictions nationwide. An Associated Press analysis using data gathered by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University shows that 47 people nationwide have been prosecuted using the law, with 37 convictions. Another 300 people were referred for prosecution, but hate crimes charges were never filed. In at least half of those cases, there was not enough evidence or prosecutors could not prove intent, a key threshold. In the waning days of President Barack Obama‘s administration, supporters of LGBT rights hailed the first federal hate crime conviction for the killing of a transgender woman in Mississippi. With President Donald Trump now in office, they worry about the future of such prosecutions. lgbtqnation.com The Castro’s Retail Vacancy Problem Has Gotten Even Worse Linger long enough on one of the Castro’s street corners, and sooner or later, someone will make a comment about the number of empty storefronts in the neighborhood. “The retail situation has gotten worse, and it’s getting harder and harder,” one neighbor said. “I’m pretty pessimistic when it comes to retail in the Castro.” The narrative that there are more vacancies in the Castro today than, say, two or four years ago is a popular one. Recently, the CVS on Market Street and 18th Street shoe store, Dashing Sole, shuttered. Earlier this month, Wildcraft Espresso Bar suddenly closed up shop. All three businesses had been open for less than three years. Hoodline.com crunched the numbers, and found that the narrative is more than just anecdotal: it’s accurate. Today, there is a 12.8 percent vacancy rate in the Castro, or 53 empty storefronts.

That is higher and therefore worse than the national average vacancy rate for neighborhoods, which is estimated at 11 percent. The Castro’s roughly 87 percent occupancy rate compares to a citywide rate that hovers around 97 percent, which is conversely one of the country’s highest. hoodline.com Trump Wants to Eliminate Meals on Wheels Program, Affecting People with HIV Meals on Wheels brings food to people who cannot go out and get it themselves. It is a program that makes people healthier and improves their lives.

It is also often the only human contact some people receive. In addition to feeding the elderly, Meals on Wheels feeds people with HIV/AIDS who cannot take care of this need for themselves. According to Christopher

Muhammed, a Meals on Wheels volunteer, over half of the clients in certain cities are living with HIV/AIDS. lgbtqnation.com Bisexual Resource Center Designates March as Bisexual Health Awareness Month The Bisexual Resource Center (BRC) celebrates Bisexual Health Awareness Month (BHAM) for the fourth consecutive year with the launch of a social media campaign that began March 1. BHAM aims to raise awareness of health disparities within the bisexual+ community and to promote resources and action. This year, the campaign focuses on social health disparities and steps to build social support and resiliency. Throughout this month, BRC is partnering with various LGBTQ+ organizations, including BiCast, BiNetUSA, Bi Tennessee, COLAGE, GLSEN, the Movement Advancement Project, the National Coalition for LGBT Health, and the Vanderbilt Program for LGBTI Health to feature statistics, resources, and action across various spheres of social health. “Now more than ever, communities need to come together to offer support, stand up to injustice, and plan our continued efforts to survive and thrive,” said BRC Co-Presidents Heather Benjamin and Kate Estrop in a joint statement. “This year’s Bisexual Health Awareness Month, focusing on the social health of the bi+ community, will help followers do just that. It will showcase the challenges we have with finding and forming community, and lay out the steps we can take to overcome them.” edgemedianetwork.com Advocates Warn Senators: Gorsuch Poses ‘Significant Threat’ to LGBTQ Community A coalition of LGBTQ groups sent a letter to the U.S. Senate Judiciary committee ahead of the confirmation hearings for President Trump’s nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, Judge Neil Gorsuch, recommending they “interrogate” Judge Neil Gorsuch.

The federal judge’s track record—according to the letter from Lambda Legal and cosigned by the Transgender Law Center, Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund, and the Human Rights Campaign, as well as 15 other groups—leads the coalition to suspect he opposes same-sex marriage and transgender rights. The groups are concerned how Gorsuch will rule in upcoming cases, such as whether the rights of transgender students and workers are protected under existing law, and if corporations will have a license to discriminate because of their faith-based opposition to same-sex marriage. lgbtqnation.com Senator Wiener Explains How Affordable Care Act Repeal Will Harm LGBT Community Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) spoke during the State Senate floor session on the dramatic impacts that the repeal of the Affordable Care Act will have on the LGBT community, including for those living with HIV, seniors, transgender people, and communities of color. “The LGBT community traditionally, and for many, many years, has lacked the same access to healthcare as the community at-large,” Senator Wiener said. “For that reason, the Affordable Care Act was an absolute godsend for many LGBT people.

The repeal, or demolition, or whatever you want to call Trump and Congress’s gutting of the ACA will have profoundly negative consequences for LGBT people around this country, ranging from increased HIV infection rates, to more people dying from HIV, to more transgender people experiencing severe health problems. We must

FEBRUARY 25–MAY 29 This exhibition is organized by the Kimbell Art Museum in collaboration with the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Presenting Sponsors: John A. and Cynthia Fry Gunn, the San Francisco Auxiliary of the Fine Arts Museums, Diane B. Wilsey

The exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.

Claude Monet, On the Bank of the Seine, Bennecourt (detail), 1868.

Oil on canvas. The Art Institute of Chicago, Potter Palmer Collection.

1922.427. Photography © The Art Institute of Chicago.

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3/1/17 1:05 PM

Stop the Spread of D.C.’s Hate and Intolerance

Assemblymember Phil Ting The hateful rhetoric being spewed from D.C. today has a tragic side effect—it gives permission to those with hate in their hearts to act on their prejudice at a time when leaders should instead be working towards inclusion with liberty and justice for all.

In California alone, there are 79 hate groups and, unfortunately, hate crimes were already on the rise before the new president took office.

The 2015 Hate Crime in California report by the state Attorney General found that, from 2014 to 2015, hate crime events increased by 10.4 percent. The most common types of hate crimes are those committed with a racial, ethnic, or nationality bias, followed by sexual orientation bias, and religious bias.

In 2015, California had 188 hate crimes perpetrated due to the victim’s sexual orientation and 26 hate crimes against transgender and gender nonconforming individuals. In total, 25.3 percent of all hate crimes reported in

2015 were with a bias against LGBT people.

mine whether or not an incident is a hate crime.

The same report found that hate crimes with an anti-black bias motivation accounted for nearly 32 percent of all hate crimes from 2006 to 2015. A report from the Cal State San Bernardino Center on Hate & Extremism found that anti-Muslim hate crimes in California dramatically increased 122 percent from 2014 to 2015. This alarming surge in hate crimes will likely continue to grow due to the hateful discourse and shortsighted policies that the federal government is pursuing.

Unfortunately, most hate crimes are never reported, showing a need for law enforcement to reach out the community at large. That’s why AB 1161 requires law enforcement agencies developing their hate crimes policies to also reach out to community groups in order to receive their input and to build a partnership with the goal of stopping these heinous acts from occurring.

California is a state of inclusion and diversity and, in order to preserve those values and help prevent hate crimes, I introduced Assembly Bill (AB) 1161, which is sponsored by Equality California, to update the hate crime policies within police departments. Many police departments across the state have hate crime policies, but many of them are outdated and should be updated to include the model policy framework from the state Commission on Peace Officer Training (POST), which is more expansive and incorporates first responder and reporting responsibilities, training resources, and planning and prevention methods.

While California has some of the nation’s strongest hate crime laws, hate crimes can be difficult to prove. A perpetrator doesn’t always shout racist or prejudiced words while committing the crime. AB 1161 would provide a framework for police officers to understand what may be a bias motivator, which can help them deter-

We can’t legislate a person’s opinions, no matter how wrong or absurd they may be. But we can do our best to provide all the resources necessary to help police officers prevent hate crimes and to protect their communities by responding to them in the best way possible. It’s not just up to law enforcement to protect those around us; as members of the community, we each have the responsibility to provide assistance wherever we can. If you see a hate crime happening, contact our local law enforcement right away so that officers can respond.

As a father of two, I believe strongly that we have a duty to speak out against injustice to show younger generations the virtues of acceptance, tolerance, and equal rights. When communities fight back against hate crimes, we become stronger together and united in battling D.C.’s toxic vitriol from spreading West.

Phil Ting represents the 19th Assembly District, which includes the Westside of San Francisco along with Broadmoor, Colma, Daly City and parts of South San Francisco.

New Legislation to Prevent Discrimination in Filling City of Oakland Job Vacancies

While the Trump Administration’s stance on marijuana is uncertain, the national trend is anything but. California is now one of 8 states that have legalized adult use of marijuana, and is one of 28 states that have legalized it for medical purposes. Growing acceptance of marijuana is certainly good for the economy, and it also has far-reaching social implications.

One way of decreasing employment disparities for communities of color and addressing the disproportionate impacts of the war on drugs in those communities is to prohibit employment discrimination based on past non-work-related cannabis use.

In light of the passage of Prop 64, I recently authored legislation declaring that past non-work-related cannabis use shall not be considered as grounds for rejection in the selection process for any City of Oakland job, except for positions where such consideration is legally required. The Finance Committee unanimously passed my Resolution, which will go on to full Council.

Historically, the “war on marijuana” has disproportionately targeted peo-

It makes no sense to exclude people from employment for engaging

Out of the Closet and into City Hall Oakland City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan

in conduct that is widely accepted, permitted, and regulated by the City of Oakland, and which Californians have made clear is no longer a crime.

Eliminating this discriminatory practice also ensures we are including all possible qualified applicants for City of Oakland job vacancies.

In a time where federal policy decisions can feel out of our grasp, and great social injustices are a serious concern, it is right to fight for and celebrate local policies that align with our values. By making sure we have the greatest pool of applicants to fill our jobs, we can better provide public services, while also ending the use of job exclusions that are discriminatory.

Oakland City Councilmember AtLarge Rebecca Kaplan was elected in 2008 and was re-elected in 2012, and again in 2016. She is working for safe neighborhoods, for local jobs and for a fresh start for Oakland. Councilmember Kaplan graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, obtained a master’s degree from Tufts University and a Juris Doctor from Stanford Law School.

On March 16, protesters marched in front of the new San Francisco Federal Building on 7th Street to criticize President Trump’s revised travel ban.

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PHOTOS BY RINK

ple of color, especially African Americans. For example, in 2015, African American arrests were “down” to 71 percent of all marijuana arrests, but Asian and Latino arrests were up to 6.95 percent and 16.31 percent respectively, as compared to 3.02 percent White arrests. This inequitable treatment goes well beyond the criminal justice system—it can also impede employment, housing, and other opportunities.

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Openhouse’s LGBT-Welcoming Senior Housing Has Arrived House. They saved my life. They enabled me to stop running and to start my life over. I became a productive person. I became a hair dresser by trade.”

Aging in Community Dr. Marcy Adelman Today, March 23, we celebrate the grand opening of 55 Laguna, San Francisco’s first LGBT-welcoming affordable housing for seniors. The new apartments, developed in partnership with Openhouse and Mercy Housing California, are a critical component of a shared mission to meet the growing needs of San Francisco’s 25,000 LGBT seniors, many of whom struggle to find access to quality services and housing for fear of discrimination and compromised care.

As the co-founder of Openhouse with my late partner Jeanette Gurevitch, I could not be prouder than I am of serving alongside the hundreds of people who made this dream possible.

Openhouse, the LGBT community and allies, political officials, LGBT elders and the City of San Francisco worked together to bring our founding vision of senior housing and communitywide services to life.

55 Laguna Resident Robin Rheult Has a New Home, and Hope The Openhouse community at 55 Laguna provides ten studio apartments, twenty-six one-bedroom apartments and four two-bedroom apartments.

One such residence is now the home of Robin Rheult, a 55-year-old transwoman. “This place is a gift,” Rheult recently said. “To be able to wake up and feel safe and know you have a community that supports you … as a post-op transwoman, to know I have a safe place to live that I can afford for the rest of my life … I am just so humble and grateful for this and to know people care about me. On my f loor, there are gay men and four trans sisters. To walk out my apartment door and know I have likeminded people around me is a comfort.”

Rheult continued, “There was nothing for transgender people when I was growing up. I was tortured and beaten for being who I was. I didn’t even know what I was. I just wanted to be accepted, but there wasn’t any acceptance. Because of that I had a lot of mental health problems and substance abuse issues.”

“I came to San Francisco in 1993 from New York City because my sister lived here,” Rheult added. “She helped me get into rehab at Waldon

“I did the work to deal with alcohol,” Rheult said. “But I was just starting to do the deeper work about myself. I felt empty and unhappy. After more than a decade of sobriety I relapsed. Finally, I realized I had to deal with my authentic self and transition. I asked Waldon House to help me and they did. I got sober. For the first time, I started to accept myself. While I was in the program at Waldon, I was offered an SRO unit through Shelter + Care, a mental health and substance abuse program in the Ambassador Hotel in the Tenderloin. I am grateful for that. I went through all my surgeries there.”

“Then one day I got a call from S+C with another offer,” Rheult continued, “this time for a studio apartment at 55 Laguna. It was a gift. When I lived at the Ambassador Hotel, life was very difficult. I didn’t feel safe. I had to defend myself and keep people at a distance. But here, in my new apartment, I recently went to a resident potluck and the room was filled with laughing smiling people—everyone is happy, happy just to be here, to be living here. Every time I come home and come through the front door I feel love and gratitude.

I feel people care about me. It feels like a new beginning, a chance at a new life.”

Soon Will Be the Largest LGBT Affordable Senior Housing Project in the Nation Although Rheult, myself and others will be celebrating 55 Laguna’s grand opening today, the housing project— located in Hayes Valley—opened its doors in January of this year. The renovated historic building not only offers forty senior apartments, but it is also home to the Bob Ross LGBT Senior Center. The building, combined with a new and much larger building at 95 Laguna slated to break ground this fall, will provide a total of 119 affordable senior apartments and a community center with almost 8000 square feet of activity space. Together, this hub of LGBT-welcoming housing and services will be the largest LGBT affordable senior housing project in the nation.

The $56 million-dollar development was financed primarily with low income housing tax credits and with monies from the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development. According to City regulations, occupancy was subject to a lottery.

The residents are a diverse group, and while not exclusively LGBT, are primarily LGBT. Sixty-seven percent of the residents are LGBT identified, six percent are transgender and fiftyseven percent are people of color.

55 Laguna exterior (above) and interior lobby (right)

The building itself is an architectural gem with historic California murals, 20-foot ceilings and graceful arches. The building was the first teachers’ college in San Francisco.

Caring, Knowledgeable Staff Openhouse’s new Executive Director, Karyn Skultety, has dedicated her career to serving seniors. She is drawn to advocate for what people need and want in their lives, while helping them to recognize their own strengths.

She described the services provided to Openhouse community residents as follows: “An Openhouse staff member serves as the Resident Services Coordinator for 55 Laguna. This position is funded through our excellent partnership with Mercy Housing. The Resident Services Coordinator provides a multitude of on-site, community-based and integrated services including onsite case management, crisis intervention services and coordination and linkages to services. She also works with residents on community building activities on site. In addition, the Services Coordinator works closely with the rest of the Openhouse team to ensure residents participate with the wide array of emotional support, health and wellness, and educational offerings Openhouse offers to the broader community. These services are generously supported through contracts w it h t he Depar t ment of Adult and Aging Services and a number of foundation and corporate grants.”

Skultety explained why it is important to build LGBT-welcoming housing at this time.

“While it is true that there has been amazing progress in the LGBT movement in the past ten years, we can

all agree that the fight for justice for LGBT people is far from over,” she said. “It is important for people to understand that experiences of discrimination, violence and victimization stay with us forever, not just when a particular event ends. We know that every LGBT senior has had to fight discrimination throughout their lives, and unfortunately that f ight is far from over.”

“The LGBT Aging Task Force report tells us that nearly fifty percent of LGBT seniors have faced discrimination in the past year right here in San Francisco,” Skultety explained.

“Almost ninety percent report feeling that staff in care facilities would discriminate against an LGBT elder if they were out. This tells us that people do not feel safe, that discrimination is real and does not go away even when we are able to expand our legal rights. LGBT-welcoming senior housing becomes more than just safe housing. It becomes a symbol for what every program should provide, whether in healthcare settings, assisted living facilities, board and care home, or any other housing and service provider.”

She sees even more housing in Openhouse’s future. As Skultety said, “We will always pursue opportunities that fulfill our mission to create a home for every LGBT senior in San Francisco and beyond. With an amazing partner, like we have had with Mercy Housing for this project, we would certainly want to be a part of new housing that welcomes LGBT seniors to the home they deserve. I also think it is important to say that no matter how much housing we build, there won’t be enough—especially in the Bay Area. So, it’s important that we work equally hard on improving the experience people are having in the homes they are in, whether that is an apartment, assisted living facility, nursing home or an SRO.” “Are we really making sure LGBT elders feel safe, feel welcome, and feel like people see them and treat them for who they really are?” she asked.

“Are providers really providing services that are culturally sensitive and support a home? Are we creating a community people feel a part of? At the end of the day, housing can feel like just housing. It takes all of us in-

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Ron Cordova, 55 Laguna Resident

vested in our communities and working with respect for our elders to making housing feel like home.”

Resident Ron Cordova Appreciates Supportive, Nurturing Community Ron Cordova, a 68-year-old gay man and resident at 55 Laguna, now has just that—a comforting home.

“I wouldn’t have applied to live here if Openhouse hadn’t made the application process accessible,” Cordova said. “It seemed like a big bureaucratic mess. They simplified it and encouraged me to be hopeful about remedying my housing situation.

They really got me out of a terrible situation.”

He explained: “I was living in an SRO in the Tenderloin with 120 units. Here, there are only 40 units.

The bathroom in my apartment is the size of the unit I was living in at the SRO. I am still adjusting. Even my cat Carlos was cowering in the bathroom. For a while, the new apartment was just too much space!”

“There were a lot of drugs where I lived before,” he continued. “It wasn’t easy living there, but it gave me my health back. Having a roof over your head is very important, especially when you are sick. I am grateful to have had that place where I could take care of myself.”

“Moving here was like a miracle,” he added. “It was unbelievable. The building itself has so much character. I feel very lucky to be here. I’m in a studio with large windows and high ceilings. I live on the top floor. I don’t have a view, but I can see the sky and

the courtyard below. You can walk out and be in a neighborhood.”

“But 55 Laguna is a place to spread yourself out,” Cordova said. “It is quiet. After eight years of a hotplate, here I have a stove and a refrigerator.

All these amenities have an impact on life. I even have places to hang the light fixtures I used to make and sell. I make them out of brass armatures stretched with Chinese silk and painted with metallic pigment. I am thinking of starting to make them again.”

Karyn Skultety, PhD, Openhouse Executive Director

Dr. Marcy Adelman with Robin Rheult

“Just to be able to stay in San Francisco is great regardless of how much it changes,” he said. “It’s the people. There is a community here that is constant. I am an HIV survivor. I go to the AIDS Health Project. They have all sorts of helpful services. We should be retiring with our peers, but they are gone. A lot of people’s lives were stunted and unable to continue. It was devastating. The underlying grieving goes on all the time.”

“A couple of weeks ago,” Cordova added, “the Church Street Station was torn down. Oh my god, it felt like we had never been here. But 55 Laguna says we are still here. A couple of weeks ago, a music group showed up to play in the community room. Four men had heard about 55 Laguna, and volunteered to play for us. The music was a combination of original folk and jazz pieces. It was very emotional and moving for me to walk into this room with live music. I thought: we are not forgotten.”

Marcy Adelman, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist in private practice, is co-founder of the non-profit organization Openhouse. She is also a leading advocate and educator in LGBT affirming dementia care and a member of the Advisory Council to the Aging and Adult Services Commission.

Proposed Federal Budget Cuts to Education Would Hurt Poorest Americans international aid. The proposed budget also ignores the threat of climate change, while at the same time increases spending on the military and building a wall.

Alex Randolph, Trustee City College of San Francisco There is not a lot to be happy about these days it seems. Lying has become acceptable. Outright falsehoods are justified as responses to “fake news.”

Our President seems to be on a daily mission to leave no international leader, friend or foe, not insulted. His proposed budget cuts funding for arts, meal programs for kids and seniors, and practically ends diplomacy and

Education is not faring any better.

Just last month, our new Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos—barely in office—proclaimed in front of hundreds of Community College Trustees and leaders that community colleges are “…absolutely essential engines of workforce and economic development—locally and regional.” Likewise, Trump stressed during a business roundtable with German Chancellor Merkel that investing in vocational training and apprenticeship programs, which Community Colleges lead the way on, is essential to “getting America working again!”

Sounds good, right? Sadly, by now we all know what comes out of the mouth of this Administration does not actually ever meet the reality

on the ground. First, protections for transgender students to use the bathroom that matched their gender identity was reversed. (As Trump would say, “It’s a state issue!”) Second, according to The Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT), the President’s FY 2018 budget proposes a 14% cut to the Department of Education and a 21% cut to the Department of Labor.

The results are a disastrous $3.9 billion raid of the Pell Grant Account and complete elimination of the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG) program. Pell Grants are a critical subsidy from the federal government, based completely on financial need, for low-income students who need such grants to pay for college. SEOGs are grants that do not have to be repaid for undergraduate students with exceptional financial need. The cuts will impact the poorest Americans, over 380,000 community college students altogether.

Most of these are first generation college students who would not be able to have access to higher education without vital financial support. I was one of those students. Financial aid allowed me to earn an Associate’s, Bachelor’s, and a Master’s Degree. It makes me sad to think what future potential doctors, lawyers, engineers, artists, teachers, and change-makers will be denied while attempting to achieve their goals. But I guess they can always go to Trump University, financed with “bigly” interest rates.

The event came about because San Francisco Symphony cancelled its performances in North Carolina in response to the discriminatory and anti-LGBT legislation. Instead, they will be performing here at home to benefit LGBT organizations like Larkin Street Youth Services, Transgender Law Center, The National Center for Lesbian Rights, and The Trevor Project. Tickets start at just $20. http://www.sfsymphony.org/symphonypride

With national politics generating ever-increasing levels of anxiety, we are blessed to be living in San Francisco and California. At least locally, the resistance and progressive values seem to be strong and getting stronger. A way to make a difference while having some fun is to join me on April 4 at Symphony Pride, a one-time event featuring six-time Tony Awardwinner Audra McDonald.

It will be a night to remember!

Alex Randolph is a Trustee for City College of San Francisco. He previously served in President Obama’s administration and as an LGBT advisor for Mayor Newsom. He lives in the Castro with his partner Trevor.

Follow him on social media: www. twitter.com/adrandolph & www. facebook.com/AlexDRandolph

SF Sketch Randy Coleman Randy Coleman hails from New York, but has lived in San Francisco since 1975. Coleman shares that before moving to the Bay Area, he studied Art History and Architecture at Boston University while working as a resident artist for architectural rendering at a Massachusetts historical society.

“All of my life I’ve been an artist,” Coleman says. “To know me is to know that I have a passion for art and architecture. I love this project for the San Francisco Bay Times, and hope that you enjoy my sketches.”

© Randy Coleman, 2017

S AN F R ANC IS C O BAY T IM ES M ARC H 23, 2017

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Twelve Habits of Happy People 2. Cultivate optimism. If you simply notice “glass half empty” thoughts, you will kick-start change.

Develop a sense of positive expectations.

Roland Schembari and Bill Hartman, Co-Founders Randy Alfred, Founding News Editor 1978 Kim Corsaro Publisher 1981-2011

2261 Market Street, No. 309 San Francisco CA 94114 Phone: 415-601-2113 525 Bellevue Avenue Oakland CA 94610 E-mail: editor@sfbaytimes.com www.sfbaytimes.com

Examined Life The Bay Times was the first newspaper in California, and among the first in the world, to be jointly and equally produced by lesbians and gay men.

We honor our history and the paper’s ability to build and strengthen unity in our community.

The Bay Times is proud to be the only 100% LGBT funded and owned newspaper for the LGBT community in San Francisco.

Dr. Betty L. Sullivan Jennifer L. Viegas Co-Publishers & Co-Editors

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Design & Production

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Business Manager

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Poet-In-Residence

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CONTRIBUTORS Writers Rink, Sister Dana Van Iquity, Ann Rostow, Kirsten Kruse, Kate Kendell, Alex Randolph, Heidi Beeler, Gary M. Kramer, Dennis McMillan, Tom Moon, Tim Seelig, Cinder Ernst, John Chen Rafael Mandelman, Kit Kennedy, Phil Ting, Rebecca Kaplan, Leslie Katz, Philip Ruth, Bill Lipsky, Karen Williams, Donna Sachet, Gary Virginia, Zoe Dunning, Marcy Adelman, Stuart Gaffney & John Lewis Brandon Miller, Jamie Leno Zimron Thom Watson, Michele Karlsberg Lyndsey Schlax, Elisa Quinzi, Elizabeth River, Debra Walker, Wendy Ross, Howard Steiermann Photographers Rink, Phyllis Costa, Jane Higgins Paul Margolis, Chloe Jackman, Bill Wilson, Jo-Lynn Otto, Sandy Morris, Abby Zimberg

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Tom Moon, MFT Research shows that 50 percent of a person’s happiness level is genetically determined, 10 percent is affected by life circumstances and situation, and the remaining 40 percent is determined by our own behavior. Positive psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky has made a career of studying the causes of happiness, and in her bestselling book, The How of Happiness, she has identified the twelve choices we can make that are most highly correlated with happiness. Here they are: 1. Express gratitude. When you appreciate what you have, what you have appreciates in value. Spend time focusing on cultivating gratitude by, for instance, making gratitude lists.

3. Avoid comparing yourself to others. This is one of the worst things you can do when it comes to your happiness. It traps you in low self-esteem and inadequacy, and fosters unhealthy emotions such as jealously, shame, longing, and resentment. Instead, measure yourself by your own personal goals and dreams.

4. Practice kindness. In your everyday life, find small ways to show kindness to the people you encounter, not just to the people you love, but to the store clerk, the stranger. The more you deliberately practice kindness, the more powerful and fulfilling it becomes.

5. Nurture your relationships.

On their deathbeds, dying people most often cite their biggest regret in life as not spending enough quality time with their loved ones.

6. Develop strategies for coping with stress. Learn techniques for dealing with stress such as meditation, exercise, and counseling. Have a support system of friends and family who can be there for you when necessary. Learn how to put life difficulties into perspective by reminding yourself that “this too shall pass.”

Life is constantly changing, and nei-

ther good nor bad situations last indefinitely.

7. Learn to forgive. Holding on to a grudge or feeling shame and guilt creates an emotional burden that will limit your happiness. Make up your mind to forgive, even if the offending person hasn’t sought forgiveness.

Take control of your own happiness by releasing anger, judgement, and resentment.

8. Find the activities that keep you in the “f low.” Flow is a state in which it feels like time stands still. It’s when you’re so focused on what you’re doing that you become one with the task. Action and awareness are merged. You’re not hungry, sleepy, or emotional. You’re just completely engaged in the activity that you’re doing. Nothing is distracting you or competing for your focus.

9. Savor simple pleasures. Deep happiness cannot exist without slowing down to enjoy the joy and to appreciate the simple pleasures in daily life. When we neglect to appreciate, we rob the moment of its magic.

10. Dedicate yourself to achieving personal goals. Have something important that you are always working toward. It can be a career or personal goal, but be sure it has measurable, attainable, actionable steps that you can work toward every day.

When you have goals, you feel more positive, motivated, and in control of

11. Practice spirituality. People who regularly practice their faith or have some kind of spiritual practice are generally happier people. If you are a non-believer, take up an innerlife practice like meditation or walking in nature to enjoy the benefits of inner reflection and peace.

12. Take care of your body. Taking care of your body is crucial to being the happiest person you can be. If you don’t have your physical energy in good shape, then your mental energy (your focus), your emotional energy (your feelings), and your spiritual energy (your purpose) will all be negatively affected.

This is how Dr. Lyubomirsky sums up her findings: Happy people “do not just sit around being contented. They make things happen. They pursue new understandings, seek new achievements, and control their thoughts and feelings. In sum, our intentional effortful activities have a powerful effect on how happy we are, over and above the effect of our set points and the circumstances in which we find ourselves.”

Tom Moon is a psychotherapist in San Francisco. For more information, please visit his website http:// tommoon.net/

Another Reason for March Madness: Hamilton cording in private—replete with hair brush microphone and poodle skirt hidden away in a trunk for such special moments. For those of you too young to know what Grease is, stand on a chair, put on your green face paint and knock yourselves out defying gravity.

Tears, Laughs and Conversation Dr. Tim Seelig Oh, yes, it’s here.

The earth shook on March 10. Most of the residents of our fair city probably didn’t know what caused the tremor. Regardless, it registered at least a 5.7 on every Broadway lover’s Richter Scale. What was it that made the earth move under our feet?

Was it the Final Four? Of course not.

It was Hamilton. The musical opened to previews kicking off five months of 8 shows a week! OK, that’s 17,600 audience goers per week. Over the five-month run, 352,000 patrons will have seen Hamilton. That’s a lot!

Yes, I hear the three of you fellas reading this that refuse to be lumped into the stereotype of “show queens.”

It’s absolutely fine for you to stay in the Broadway closet. There is no judgment whatsoever if you would rather lip sync to your Grease cast re-

Even though most of my early experience singing took place in church, I did have some exposure to show tunes early on. Back then, of course, the plots were much more sanitary.

In fact, I won the 4th grade talent show in 1961 singing The Sound of Music. I was obviously ahead of my time, since the musical opened on Broadway in 1959 and would not become a movie until 1965.

So, back to Hamilton. Don’t stop reading! This is not going to be yet another review. Dan and I were lucky enough to see it on its second night here in San Francisco. What? How? Well, as a person working for a nonprofit arts organization, I was able to procure the two seats before the lines of overnight campers around the block, tens of thousands of people on hold, and the scalpers started their work. We felt so lucky.

You know, things like this sometimes bring out the best and worst in people. As we entered the theater, we did what everyone does: 1- used the restroom; 2- purchased a nice cocktail that you can take in with you; and 3- took a picture in front of a Hamilton sign, which I immediately posted Facebook.

By the time intermission hit, I powered up my phone and saw the ver y f irst response. It was a short one. It was simply “1%.”

A nd a not her, “Take good notes, I’ll never get to see it.” Ouch. Bitter, party of one.

O K , t h a t ’s t h e worst in people. I am so far from the Dan and Tim 1% category as to be laughable. I repeat, I work in gay, non-profit arts organization in San Francisco, for heaven’s sake. “I’ll never get to see it” is just throwing a pity party without balloons or candles! I’ll not join in singing “Happy Pity Party” to you, that’s for sure. You will see it—if you want to (and are a little patient)!

The good in people far outweighed the bad, of course. There were the scores of people who were excited and happy for us, even if a little “ jelly.”

The big question from everyone after the fact was, “Is the hype true?” I am usually a person with lots of words.

I only have one word in response to that question. “Hell, yes.” OK, two.

I just hate it when people have a lifechanging experience and when asked about it they say, “Oh, I just couldn’t put it into words.” Or worse, “You wouldn’t understand!” Seriously, it’s not Burning Man!

PHOTO CREDIT: JOAN MARCUS

© 2017 Bay Times Media Company Co-owned by Betty L. Sullivan & Jennifer L. Viegas

Daveed Diggs as Marquis de Lafayette, Okieriete Onaodowan as Hercules Mulligan, Anthony Ramos as John Laurens, and Lin-Manuel Miranda as Alexander Hamilton in Hamilton.

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your life and your destiny. Without them, you’re f loundering and confused about the direction of your life.

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Hamilton may not be lifechanging, but it is most definitely a game changer.

Everyone on the planet already knows that you are watching a musical set in and around 1776, but they are rapping. That can’t work! But oh yes, it does— and how. In the opera world, the rap is just “updated” recitative. Your ear adjusts very quickly, and you are totally sucked in.

Actually, you’ll be sucked

in and blown away at the same time!

Ponder that for a minute.

Is it a phenomenon? Well, there is a “12 step program for your new obsession” on line. That is not a joke.

There really is.

Lessons learned from seeing Hamilton: • Don’t be mean to people who get to see it.

• Be patient. You’ll see it one day.

• Listen to the soundtrack (for those of you who have not already memorized it).

• Support your local arts! You might be surprised to find that some of the best music, theater, and musical theater are happening right here under your nose—not imported from anywhere.

• Go on Goldstar and play theater roulette! You’ll find live arts can be less expensive than a reserved recliner at the local movie theater once you add in the popcorn, soda and Raisinettes.

It’s March Madness for sure—and April Madness through August Madness, too! Hope you’ve enjoyed me not throwing away my shot, otherwise known as “What Hamilton Means to Me,” or “What I Did with My Summer Vacation $.”

Dr. Tim Seelig is the Artistic Director of the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus.

GLBT Fortnight in Review

By Ann Rostow Fait Accompli Here’s what I think about Neil Gorsuch. Merrick Garland unfortunately is history and we’re not going to continually block Trump’s nominee for four years. We could do worse than Gorsuch, ergo we shouldn’t waste our limited ammunition and energy on a big campaign against him. I gather from the failing New York Times that it will be a close call to get Gorsuch sworn in before the last oral arguments of this session, but by no means impossible. The High Court hears arguments through the end of April, and Gorsuch must hear the arguments in order to vote on a case.

With this in mind, he might make it through in time to consider a separation of church and state case out of Missouri, due for arguments April 19.

Missouri’s strict laws against mixing church and state are such that a Lutheran church preschool was considered ineligible to participate in a state program that created playground materials from recycled tires. It sounds innocuous enough, but when a state program saves a church a thousand bucks or whatever it costs to resurface a playground, the state is effectively handing over that sum in cash.

Why does this matter? Because Neil Gorsuch is known to have a soft spot for religious freedom. The church in this case argues that the state does not favor a particular religion by handing over some old rubber. In addition, it says it is being unfairly barred from the state program in violation of the Equal Protection Clause. We’ll see about all this, but it’s worrisome that Gorsuch might have a say in a case that seems, on the surface (drum

roll), to favor the church. After all, to play devil’s advocate, recycling a few tires and helping out the children doesn’t ring the same bells that we hear when a giant Ten Commandments monument appears in a public courthouse. But it arguably violates the First Amendment all the same.

As a rule, I still dislike Missouri based on my status as the wife of a Kansas Jayhawk fan (please enjoy our journey to the national championship). Members of our family have been known to drive over state lines to avoid making purchases in the “slaver” state.

But I support Missouri in this context.

Waiting for Hively Meanwhile, we have yet another Title VII case out of the federal appellate courts, this time a knock down from the 11th Circuit, where a divided three-judge panel ruled that sexual orientation discrimination is not outlawed under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the stature governing bias in the workplace. The panel did say that lesbian hospital security guard Jameka Evans can pursue a different claim under Title VII, to wit that she was a victim of gender stereotyping, which is considered a variety of sex discrimination. Evans says she was harassed not just for being gay, but also for being butch, and ironically the latter is actionable while the former is not.

(And guess who wrote the panel decision? Speaking of “doing worse than Neil Gorsuch,” it was none other than antigay William Pryor, one of scariest individuals on Trump’s Supreme Court short list.)

We’ve rehashed this Title VII irony several times before, and indeed the full bench of the Seventh Circuit is poised, we hope, to iron out the discrepancies in the case of Indiana community college teacher Kimberly Hively. Last summer, the three-judge panel in her case expressed frustration with conflicting precedents that obliged the group to recognize the claim of an employee who is mistreated due to his or her gender style, while at the same time ignoring an employee who faces gay bias. In other words, an effeminate straight man might be able to sue for discrimination under Title VII, while a masculine gay man could not. If gender stereotyping is illegal, asked the panel—which was bound by precedent to rule against the gay bias claim—then why isn’t being heterosexual considered the ultimate gender stereotype? Why isn’t a gay man inherently facing the stereotype of how a “real man” behaves? Why does he have to lisp, swish or sing show tunes in the office in order to (perhaps) be protected under federal law?

On November 30, the full Seventh Circuit heard arguments in the Hively review, and although there are several other Title VII cases f lowing through the federal bloodstream, the Hively case is the biggest. Make no mistake, this is a huge issue facing the GLBT community, one that has been overshadowed by marriage equality, but which is now in the spotlight.

Keep in mind as well that the definition of “discrimination because of sex” under Title VII is taken into consideration by other courts when dealing with Title IX of the Education Amendments, the law that pro-

tects Americans against sex discrimination in public schools and colleges.

Lock Him Up! So, I just read that Ellen dislocated her finger in a “wine accident” and Portia had to take her to the UCLA emergency room where the medical staff snapped it back into place.

It seems our favorite talk show host tripped on the front stairs coming home from a party while carrying two glasses of wine and fell into the door. Been there, done that. Except for the part about falling.

In truth, I’ve developed a little kleptomania problem over the years.

There was a time when I was adamantly opposed to even taking a towel from a hotel, but now we’ve got a collection of purloined items.

Tiny coffee spoons, ashtrays, napkins, the house is littered with contraband, and high on the list are glasses from bars, restaurants or parties that somehow traveled with us into the car and eventually into the cabinet. Oh, don’t worry. I was never the driver.

Like Ellen, I’m the one who carries the glasses. Plus, they’re usually empty by the time we get home.

Moving on, have you read about the conservative Oklahoma lawmaker caught with his pants down in a motel outside Norman? This slime ball is a real piece of work, my friends. Elected to the state senate in 2010, Ralph Shortey is married to his “high school sweetheart,” has three children, and tells everyone he was torn between business and missionary work. Gag me. He now faces three felony charges for hiring an underage 17-year-old boy for sex, and taking him to the Super 8 in Moore for a marijuana-fueled tryst. The kid is a minor under Okla-

homa law, and there’s also an added charge for hiring a prostitute within 1,000 feet of a church—although I think most places in Oklahoma are within 1,000 feet of a church, particularly in Moore, which is famous for having the deadliest tornados in the country.

Check out the photos of this unattractive lumbering lug nut and linger on the one where he’s fondling a rifle and a bunch of other guns. What a dumb fool. Did I mention he was state chair of Trump’s primary campaign?

But, of course, he was! Oh, and the FBI are looking into his activities so he could face federal charges.

Buzz Kill The Internet of Things includes a vibrator that can be activated through a Bluetooth app on your phone. I read the other day that the makers of WeVibe were obliged to shell out $3.7 million to a class of customers whose personal information was captured through the device. To top it off, the We-Vibe is vulnerable to hacking, so a third party can conceivably take remote control over your vibrator and do whatever. Maybe come to a sudden stop without notice.

I’m not a huge privacy nut. I figure that anything you write or post is public knowledge, including search parameters. But I’m increasingly irritated when I search something at random and spend the next four months fending off advertisements. Mel and I went to the Solheim Cup outside of Denver nearly two years ago and I’m still getting notices of great motel deals in Colorado. I searched for a mattress late last year and have been inundated with mattress ads ever (continued on page 24)

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Supervisor Jeff Sheehy Shares His Vision for District 8 and ‘Getting to Zero’

Supervisor with a Purpose: An Interview w

6/26 and Beyond

As Director of Communications at ARI, Jeff played a central role in the institute’s mission to coordinate and integrate all of UCSF’s AIDS research activities. Stuart and his colleagues at CAPS turned to Jeff many times over the years for his communications expertise as CAPS behavioral research grew to become the gold standard in HIV prevention from its origins in 1986 up through to its 30th anniversary last year.

But, of course, when Stuart went over to Jeff ’s desk to congratulate him, he didn’t find him there. Jeff had already rolled up his sleeves and gotten to work at his new desk in San Francisco City Hall. We have since found opportunities to congratulate him at community gatherings, such as the recent Trans Youth rally on the steps of San Francisco City Hall.

PHOTO BY ABBY ZIMBERG

Jeff has hit the ground running in his new job as Supervisor, and last week we had a chance to sit down with him to talk about HIV/AIDS, healthcare, and where San Francisco and the country are headed.

How to contact Supervisor Jeff Sheehy City Hall 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Pl. Room 244 San Francisco, CA 94102-4689 415-554-6968 (voice) 415-554-6909 (fax) Jeff.Sheehy@sfgov.org sfbos.org/supervisor-sheehydistrict-8 12

Stuart and John: Thank you very much, Jef f, for taking time to speak with us and San Francisco Bay Times readers. As you know, people living with HIV/AIDS, LGBTQ people, and many other San Franciscans are deeply concerned about how the new administration in Washington will affect our lives. With respect to HIV/AIDS, San Francisco has been a leader in care and prevention for decades, and the world looks to the San Francisco Model of care. How is San Francisco preparing to safeguard the San Francisco Model of HIV/AIDS care and prevention in the face of the new presidential administration and Congress?

Jeff: Funding for the San Francisco Model of care exists within a larger federal budget framework. In these unprecedented times,

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Supervisor Jeff Sheehy with Stuart Gaffney and John Lewis

San Francisco City Hall Supervisors’ Chamber

PHOTO BY GARY MCCOY

The morning after Jeff Sheehy’s historic appointment to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors this January, Stuart went to work at his job at the University of California San Francisco and walked over to Jeff’s desk to congratulate him. Jeff and Stuart had been long time colleagues—Jeff at the UCSF AIDS Research Institute (ARI), and Stuart across the off ice at the UCSF Center for AIDS Prevention Studies (CAPS). We had long known of Jeff as an LGBTQ activist and political leader, but it was at UCSF where Jeff and Stuart worked side-by-side on HIV/AIDS research and prevention that he got to know Jeff as a colleague and a friend.

PHOTO BY ABBY ZIMBERG

John Lewis & Stuart Gaffney

“We know that active, vigorous peaceful resistance works.” the City faces cuts due to this administration’s attempts to undo the Affordable Care Act, threats to take funding away from sanctuary cities and draconian cuts to many discretionary programs proposed in Trump’s budget. At the Board of Supervisors, President London Breed has established the Federal Select Subcommittee of the Budget Committee to specifically work on responding to federal cuts.

I served on both that subcommittee and the larger five-member Budget Committee and I am committed to preserving our model of care not only for people living with HIV, but also for all San Franciscans who rely on City programs for their health care.

Under the leadership of Tom Ammiano, Gavin Newsom and Mitch Katz, the City set up Healthy San Francisco and that program provided coverage to many San Franciscans. Many individuals moved from Healthy San Francisco to either MediCal or Covered California under the ACA, but Healthy San Francisco still exists and is available if needed. And, San Francisco’s leaders all stand united and determined to support our immigrant brothers and sisters and support for our sanctuary city policy is unwavering.

Stuart and John: What are your priorities for Getting to Zero HIV infections in San Francisco?

Jeff: First, the goals of the “Getting to Zero” Consortium include more than just achieving zero new transmissions. As one of the founders of the Consortium, our goals—based on UNAIDS [The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS] goals—also seek to achieve zero preventable HIV deaths and zero HIV stigma. Targeting just transmissions leaves people living with HIV out of the equation and would ultimately fail. Expanding HIV testing, ensuring access to PrEP and other prevention interventions, linking people newly diagnosed with HIV to care and starting treatment immediately, retaining people in care by addressing all of the issues

St. Patrick’s Day Parade 2017

that make staying in care difficult such as housing, mental health and substance use, re-engaging people with HIV lost to care and reducing and eliminating stigma are all part of the comprehensive package necessary to “Get to Zero.”

And my goals mirror those of the Consortium, which at last glance included over 200 members from all sectors—public health, healthcare providers, community based organizations and the community. The Consortium, through its multi-sector subcommittees, creates initiatives with both process and outcome metrics and budgets. I fully support the ongoing initiatives put forward by the Consortium and will support its work going forward. For more information about the Consortium, please go to: https://www.gettingtozerosf.org Stuart and John: What can we do as individual citizens to advocate and help protect the “San Francisco Model” of HIV/AIDS care and the city’s other programs to provide quality health care for all its citizens?

Jeff: I believe the priority should be to preserve the Affordable Care Act. And, the best way is to talk to Republicans in Congress and the Senate and/or their constituents. For instance, I have phonebanked Southern California Congressmen and urged them to support the ACA. Others have gone to Bakersfield, a city where half the population gets healthcare via MediCal or Medicare, and talked directly to voters and urged them to talk to their Congressman. Others have gone to Republican members’ Town Halls.

Informing Republican members’ constituents of the real and true consequences of proposed changes to ACA not only helps to preserve the ACA but also starts to set the stage for the 2018 midterm elections.

Stuart and John: How have your years of experience working with the UCSF AIDS Research Institute informed your leadership and your activism?

Jeff: Working with some of the leading HIV/AIDS researchers and clinicians kept me abreast of the latest developments in HIV prevention and clinical care. Mentors such as Tom Coates and Steve Morin [former CAPS Directors and worldwide leaders in HIV/AIDS prevention research] showed me what it takes to be a successful leader and inspired me.

with San Francisco Supervisor Jeff Sheehy Photos courtesy of Supervisor Jeff Sheehy

An Historic Appointment Jeff Sheehy became the first person openly living with HIV to be on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors when Mayor Ed Lee appointed him to the post on January 6, 2017. As Jeff discusses in today’s San Francisco Bay Times interview, he also breaks new ground on the Board as a medical cannabis patient and as a legally married gay dad.

Jeff has dedicated his life to community service and has long been a passionate and effective advocate on HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ issues. A former President of the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club, Jeff served as Mayor Gavin Newsom’s advisor on HIV/ AIDS before joining UCSF’s AIDS Research Institute.

Supervisor Sheehy with Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi

Stuart and John: What lessons do you think we can draw from the waves of activism during the worst years of the AIDS crisis, and following the passage of Prop. 8?

Jeff: We know that active, vigorous peaceful resistance works. During the AIDS crisis, which is not over, a nation and the world have been moved to act. Strident, persistent and insistent action, along with the active demonstration of our love, stood in stark contrast to the hate and bigotry we faced. When people get to know people with HIV, when people get to know gay men and lesbians, when they feel the power of our love, they change.

Stuart and John: What has your experience so far as a Supervisor taught you about the significance of your public profile as being HIV positive, and as a married gay man raising a family?

Jeff: I would also add to that list being a medical cannabis patient. What I know and have known is that stigma exists, whether it is directed towards LGBTQ folk, people with HIV/AIDS or medical cannabis users. And the best way to combat stigma is to let people know who you are and to assert your identity without shame or fear.

I also think that my identity represents the remarkable achievements of our community and I stand in awe of everyone who has worked over the years to make my life possible. Yes, I have put a brick or two into the towering edifice, but collectively with great sacrifice and enormous effort, we have achieved so much!

If you had told me when I came out in 1979 that I would be married and have a family, I wouldn’t have believed you. And in the early 80s, I did not believe that I would live to see 40, much less 60, which I will turn in about a month. So, on one hand, there are so many people and so much history to honor; on the other hand, not everyone in our community is flourishing. I think of long-term survivors who struggle every day, and I am working to start to address some of the issues they face. I think of LGBTQ folks who are denied their human rights, the trans and gender non-conforming kids who exhibit such awe-inspiring courage and who are targets of the Trump administration. We still have so much work to do.

San Francisco Pride 2016

“Keeping our healthcare safety net, sustaining our sanctuary city status and protecting our immigrant brothers and sisters, and supporting our Muslim brothers and sisters are immediate priorities.”

Stuart and John: Would you like to share anything regarding your vision as Supervisor for the Castro, District 8, and San Francisco more broadly?

Jeff: As I mentioned above, resisting Trump is a key [effort]. Keeping our healthcare safety net, sustaining our sanctuary city status and protecting our immigrant brothers and sisters, and supporting our Muslim brothers and sisters are immediate priorities. But, we also have a housing crisis. We need to protect tenants from evictions. We need to create more housing at all levels, but especially at affordable rates for low and middle income people.

We need to preserve affordable housing in our neighborhoods, and I want to use the small sites program to the greatest degree possible in District 8. Homelessness remains a daunting challenge that we must continue to address. The new Department of Homelessness is promising and with budget support in this cycle, I hope we will see some progress.

Stuart and John: We understand that you are a longtime reader of the San Francisco Bay Times and have known or worked with members of its team through the years. Are there any memories or impressions that you’d like to pass along to readers?

Supervisor Sheehy with Irish Deputy Prime Minister (Tánaiste) Frances Fitzgerald

Supervisor Sheehy speaks on the front steps at City Hall

PHOTO BY RINK

In the 1990s, Jeff was one of the creators of San Francisco’s path-breaking Equal Benefits Ordinance, the first citywide measure in the nation requiring employers with city contracts to provide equal benefits to their employees’ domestic partners. Jeff is also a founding member of the Steering Committee of San Francisco’s Getting to Zero Consortium, which seeks to make San Francisco the first city to achieve zero new HIV infections, zero HIV deaths and zero HIV stigma. Jeff is married to his partner of 18 years, Bill Berry, and together they are raising their 12-year-old daughter, Michelle.

Wedding Day

Jeff: Sister Dana is a community treasure, everywhere, every day chronicling our lives and times. I can’t count the number of times I was expertly interviewed by Ann Rostow back in the day before I dropped off the radar to raise our daughter. And, of course, Rink Foto. It is so great to see him snapping away at every event. One of the things I missed when I was out of circulation was Rink sidling up to me, whispering in my ear the latest gossip.

I think we have forgotten how important the queer press is. When I led and we won the national boycott against United Airlines in support of the Equal Benefits Ordinance that I helped create and which brought health and pension benefits to hundreds of thousands of gay men and lesbians across the country, our key avenue for communication was our queer press. Whether the Bay Times, Windy City News out of Chicago, Southern Voice, Washington Blade or other publications, many of which are gone, that was all we had. The mainstream media would not cover us for fear of losing ads. But our press was there, and we need to continue to support a vigorous and active queer press.

John Lewis and Stuart Gaffney, together for over three decades, were plaintiffs in the California case for equal marriage rights decided by the California Supreme Court in 2008.

Their leadership in the nationwide grassroots organization Marriage Equality USA contributed in 2015 to making same-sex marriage legal nationwide.

Women’s March San Francisco, January 21, 2017

Supervisor Sheehy with Rainbow Flag creator Gilbert Baker

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Wine Train Pride Ride 2017 Photos courtesy of Jo-Lynn Otto, Napa Wine Train and Dvpix.nett On a beautiful spring-feeling evening last Saturday, March 19, the Wine Train Pride Ride made its way up the tracks from Napa toward Healdsburg and all points in between. Passengers riding in elegantly restored train cars— some of which featured brass, artworks and wood paneling—were presented with hours of stunning views. The rolling stream included verdant valleys, winding creeks, wildflowers and some of the world’s most famous vineyards. While admiring all, guests enjoyed a gourmet meal with glasses of fine wines presented by LGBT winemakers. The desserts even sported an edible Pride flag on top! Wine Train host Cheryl Stotler welcomed everyone who attended and honored the beneficiary REAF (Richmond/Ermet Aid Foundation) for their ongoing support of the Bay Area’s LGBT community. Donna Sachet introduced special guest Pennsylvania State Representative Brian Sims, and entertainer Daft-nee and her Go-Go boys brought smiles and cheers from the crowd with their music and dancing. Sister Roma, Patrik Gallineaux of Stoli and numerous others from our community came along for the memorable ride.

For more information about the Wine Train, please visit: http://winetrain.com/

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Clarkson Crane: Gay San Francisco Between the World Wars

Faces from Our LGBT Past Dr. Bill Lipsky When Clarkson Crane published his first novel The Western Shore in 1925, it was notable for many reasons. It was the first book from a mainstream American press whose characters openly speculated about each other’s sexuality—their “tendencies in love”— and wondered whether or not they were “queer.” It presented its gay characters, not as stereotypes, but as individuals who came from different backgrounds, “a gallery of credible human beings.” None was a villain, corrupting the innocent around him.

Nobody met a tragic ending.

Born in Chicago in 1894, Crane moved to California with his family in 1911. He graduated from UC Berkeley in 1916. After the United States entered the Great War the next year, he joined Section 586 of the U.S. Army Ambulance Corps, made up largely of UC students and recent alumni. For his bravery at Aisne and Champagne in 1918, the French Army awarded him the Croix de Guerre.

Crane returned to California after the war, wanting to be a writer, but found he could not support himself.

In 1924, he returned to France. Living on a small stipend provided by an aunt, he settled into a humble hotel on the Left Bank in Paris. There, he took up the bohemian life of an expatriate, and drawing upon his experiences as a Berkeley student, completed The Western Shore, his first novel.

The book was remarkably frank for the period, asking, “Who is gay?” and, “How can you tell?” Probably the “fellow [who] had a squeaky voice, plucked his eyebrows, and always had his left palm against his hip.” Not the man who was “not effeminate. [His] voice was very soft, not at all squeaky; he rarely touched any one he knew; and frequently kept his eyes averted … Naw … ‘he’s not queer.’” Earlier novelists did not have questions. They simply presented risible or menacing stereotypes.

All of Crane’s novels are tinged with homoeroticism, although his most specific is The One and the Many. Written between 1948 and 1953, it tells the story of a young man’s journey of self-discovery in San Francisco between the world wars. Even then, Crane writes, “There were plenty of young homos drifting around town with whom I could have sex.”

Whatever its literary merit—it was never published— the narrative is invaluable as a documentary of a time when same sex relationships were illegal and could lead to long prison terms.

Clarkson Crane

The book is rich with information about how men thought about themselves. At the time, many believed homosexuality was a perversion or a mental illness, but Crane’s narrator is very comfortable with being gay, believing it is normal for him. “As far back as I could remember I had always been attracted to boys,” he says.

“Expert opinion” simply was wrong, his narrator says, but “two books gave much clearer understanding of my nature: Leaves of Grass and The Intermediate Sex” by Edward Carpenter.

“The need for concealment was the only aspect of homosexual life that I disliked. Otherwise, I felt quite satisfied to be what I was, and I would not have wanted to change my nature, even if that had been possible.”

There were no bars, clubs or organizations then, but likeminded men still found each other. One popular “cruising site” was Golden Gate Park, during the 1920s inside the Stanyan Street entrance. Another was the beach near what was then Fleishhacker Pool, now the site of the San Francisco Zoo, where Crane met Clyde Evans, his partner of 47 years. A third was among the “bohemians” in the Montgomery Block Building. Now the site of the Transamerica Pyramid, it was for many years home to struggling artists and writers and almost certainly the seed that grew into San Francisco’s first LGBT community in North Beach.

One of the gay-friendly places that came to North Beach, called Martino’s in The One and the Many, was a “speak-easy in which homos were allowed to gath-

er, if they were not rowdy.” It was “above a grocery store on the second floor of a frame apartment house, and one was only supposed to be admitted if one had a card.” Possibly the club was modeled upon Finocchio’s when it was over a store at Sutter and Stockton streets.

During the same era, the City saw its first “gays only” bath houses, where someone could have “a fabulous, but a perfectly fabulous time.” Crane’s model may have been the Club Turkish Baths, which opened at 132 Turk in 1930.

More than any single place, Crane explains that “nearly always I have found my long-time friends in unexpected and perfectly ordinary places, or even in social gatherings where I was introduced to them—rarely in special places where homos gather.”

He was “always looking for someone who attracted me,” he confesses. Fortunately, “I had developed the homo’s all seeing eye.” Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.

Bill Lipsky, Ph.D., author of “Gay and Lesbian San Francisco” (2006), is a member of the Rainbow Honor Walk board of directors.

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HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE DE YOUNG AND LEGION OF HONOR

Stuart Davis: In Full Swing At the de Young, April 1–August 6 The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco are pleased to present Stuart Davis: In Full Swing, the first major exhibition in 20 years dedicated to Davis (1892–1964), a key figure in the development of American Modernism. Approximately 75 works will reveal Davis’s unique ability to assimilate the imagery of popular culture, the aesthetics of advertising, and the rhythms of jazz into colorful works that hum with infectious energy.

Loans from the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York’s Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Hirshhorn Artist Stuart Davis standing in his studio.

Museum and Sculpture Gar- (Photo by Ralph Morse/The LIFE Picture den among others, will allow Collection/Getty Images). Image courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco West Coast audiences the rare opportunity to see careerspanning works by this enterprising modern painter, who ranks with Georgia O’Keeffe and Edward Hopper as among the most important American artists of his generation.

“Stuart Davis was an artist both ahead of his time, and completely immersed in it,” says Max Hollein, director and CEO of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. “His works provided comment on the times and were simultaneously a dominant force in postwar art. The de Young has always believed that artists have a duty to comment and critique our culture and we are pleased to show how one American artist responded to the tumultuous times he lived through.”

Not quite a retrospective, Stuart Davis: In Full Swing takes as its starting point Davis’s breakthrough paintings of commercial products from the early 1920s and concludes with the unfinished canvas left on his easel at his death in 1964—spanning a period of time that ranges from the jazz age to the protest era. The organization of this exhibition is unique, revealing new aspects of Davis’s practice. Related works from different periods of the artist’s career will be installed alongside one another, reflecting Davis’s tendency, beginning in the late 1930s, to appropriate and rework his own earlier compositions; this will be the first major exhibition to do so. The presentation also will include Davis’s kinetic compositions, which evoke the excitement, speed, and turbulence of the age, and continue to feel fresh and resonant today.

Stuart Davis (1892–1964), “Lucky Strike,” 1921. Oil on canvas, 33 1/4 x 18 in. (84.5 x 45.7 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York; gift of the American Tobacco Company, Inc., 1951. © Estate of Stuart Davis/Licensed by VAGA, New York. Image courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

Stuart Davis (1892–1964), “For Internal Use Only,” 1944–45. Oil on canvas, 45 x 28 in. (114.4 x 71.1 cm). Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, an affiliate of Wake Forest University; gift of Barbara B. Millhouse. © Estate of Stuart Davis/Licensed by VAGA, New York.

Image courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

“Davis’s work was always ahead of its time,” says Emma Acker, assistant curator of American art for the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, “from his appropriation of images from consumer culture and advertising in the 1920s, which predates 1960s Pop art; to his colorful ‘all-over’ abstractions of the early 1940s, which anticipate the ‘action painting’ of the Abstract Expressionists; to the ‘billboard aesthetic’ of his large-scale works from the early 1950s, whose reductive abstraction looks forward to 1960s Color-field painting. He is a pivotal figure in American art who blurred the boundaries between high and low, text and image, and representation and abstraction to create modern art that is lively and accessible, and reflects the world we live in.”

Stuart Davis: In Full Swing is co-organized by Barbara Haskell, curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, and Harry Cooper, curator and head of modern art at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The presentation at the de Young museum, organized by FAMSF’s Acker, will be on view from April 1 through August 6, 2017. Following its presentation at the de Young, the exhibition will travel to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, where it will be on view from September 16, 2017, through January 1, 2018.

Stuart Davis Life and Legacy Davis began his career at an early age, leaving high school after his freshman year to study art full time with Ashcan School leader Robert Henri in New York City. Five of his watercolors were included in the now-legendary Armory Show of 1913, which introduced Davis to the avant-garde European modernist styles that heavily influenced his subsequent work. His exposure to European Modernism continued during a yearlong sojourn in Paris, where he painted scenes of cafes and street life.

The de Young’s presentation begins in 1921, as Davis emerged from his apprenticeship with European modernist artists and movements and began to develop his mature style. Early works such as Lucky Strike draw their imagery from familiar commercial products and merge the bold, graphic style of advertising with the visual language of Cubism to communicate a distinctly modern—and an unmistakably American— experience. Davis similarly incorporated a Cubism-derived structure of flat, overlapping planes in the works he produced toward the end of the 1920s—including his well-known Egg

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Stuart Davis (1892– 1964), “The Mellow Pad,” 1945–51. Oil on canvas, 26 1/4 x 42 1/8 in. (66.7 x 107 cm). Brooklyn Museum; bequest of Edith and Milton Lowenthal 1992.11.6. © Estate of Stuart Davis/Licensed by VAGA, New York.

Image courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

Beater series of abstract still lifes (1927–28), three of which will be on display, and the vibrant landscapes he made in Paris, New York, and Gloucester, Massachusetts, where, beginning in 1915, he often spent summers.

During the Depression years of the 1930s, Davis was a committed social activist, dedicating much of his time to organizing on behalf of artists’ rights. By the late 1930s, he had increased the scale of his work and embraced an even more abstract language, influenced in part by his work as a muralist; one of the highlights of this section of the exhibition is his New York Mural (1932), which he produced for an exhibition at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. Davis’s abstractions of the 1940s, such as For Internal Use Only (1944–45) and The Mellow Pad (1945–51), feature densely patterned surfaces that anticipate the all-over compositional formats of Abstract Expressionists like Jackson Pollock.

In the works he produced between the end of World War II and his death, Davis abandoned the shallow pictorial space of Cubism in favor of even flatter compositions that reflect the aesthetic of the billboard, as seen in Visa (1951), whose reductive abstraction looks forward to 1960s Colorfield painting.

A lifelong jazz enthusiast, Davis stated that jazz was the “great American art expression,” with “the same quality of art that [he] found in the best modern painting.” Davis’s working method of appropriating and reworking his own earlier compositions shares with that musical genre the concept of variations on a theme, and similarly conveys a uniquely modern sense of dynamism and vibrancy.

Related Programming Saturday, April 1, join the de Young for an opening day celebration including a concert by Jazz of the Harlem Renaissance, art making, and a lecture by Nate Sloan on “Thriving on a Riff: Jazz and the Art of Stuart Davis.”

Sundays, May 7–21, there will be jazz concerts in the museum atrium.

A guest lecture by Barbara Haskell, curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, will take place on Sunday, May 21, and will be followed by a jazz concert.

On Friday, June 16, exhibition curator Emma Acker, assistant curator of American art for the Fine Arts Museums, will give a lecture on the exhibit.

For more information: deyoungmuseum.org/stuart-davis

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From the Coming Up Events Calendar See page 28 Wednesday, March 29 - Winemaker Theresa Heredia presents Russian River chardonnays and pinot noirs supporting HRC. portbaroakland.com

Saturday, April 1 - Paul Madonna Book Reading – 5 pm @ 3 Fish Studios, 4541 Irving.

Author Madonna discusses his new novella “On to the Next Dream.” paulmadonna.com/ ontothenextdream/index.htm

Hula Master Patrick Makuakāne and Dancers to Perform at San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus Concert Paradise Found San Francisco Gay Men’s Chor u s (SF GMC ) event s are always among the best of the year, but we are especially excited about Paradise Found, which will be presented March 30–April 1 at the Herbst Theatre in San Francisco. Na Lei Hulu I Ka Wekiu Dance Company, led by Director and Kumu Hula (Hula Master) Patrick Makuakane, will join the Chorus as special guest artists. Founded in 1985, the company is known for its unique contemporary style called hula mua, or “hula that evolves.” This form of dance blends traditional movements with non-Hawaiian music like opera, electronic, dance, alternative, and pop. The hypnotic dancers will be featured in beautiful productions on the Herbst stage with SFGMC. The concert will additionally include several world-premiere pieces. One is the 15-minute epic work “Paradiso,” by SFGMC Composerin-Residence Dr. James Granville Eakin III. Based on the writings of Dante, “Paradiso” is breathtaking, radiating with bold conviction and vivid color, and is anchored by three trios guiding the listener from despair to ultimate joy, backed by the power of the entire Chorus of 250 men. Another two works are collectively called “Sanctuary,” by world-renowned composer Ola Gjeilo, whom the Chorus commissioned to write “New Year’s Carol” in 2014.

“Rather than tell you what paradise is, we are going to give you a huge smorgasbord from which to select,” SFGMC artistic director Tim Seelig told the San Francisco Bay Times. “The Paradise Found buffet is literally overf lowing with delights—each designed to tickle a different sense.”

“You’ll be enthralled with the stunning representations of paradise such as the two world premieres by Ola Gjeilo, ‘Sanctuary,’ and James Eakin’s ‘Paradiso,’” he said. “To Ola and his librettist Charles Anthony Silvestri, a place of peace is a green oasis in the midst of a bustling city. It is definitely something we San Franciscans love to do. You’ll swoon to the men singing ‘Bali Hai’ and ‘Some Enchanted Evening.’ And you’ll come right out of that seat when the stunning dancers of Na Lei Hulu literally fill the stage with breathtaking hula.

Finishing off the buffet will be a surprise desert the likes of which you’ve never seen—guaranteed. There will be everything from leis to ukuleles, hula to heaven, Paradise to Polynesia.”

He continued, “Preparing this concert has been a tenyear journey for me. It was ten years ago when I was introduced to Dante’s Paradiso and began dreaming about a concert around that gargantuan tome … It is a true mirror of our own lives and our journey in search of peace, tranquility and unity. At the darkest point of our lives, we are led to each layer of selfawareness until we find our own paradise surrounded by friends, family and mu-

Photos courtesy of SFGMC

sic. And that is only a small part of the concert.”

“One of t he ha l lmarks of SFGMC is singing familiar music the audience loves mixed in with brand new interesting repertoire,” Seelig added.

“You’ll delight to the Hawaiian War Chant a la Bette M idler.

A long the way, we sing an incred ible piece by Broadway composer Andrew Lippa, who also composed ‘I Am Harvey Milk’ for SFGMC four years ago. The piece is titled ‘Dance with the Storm.’

It pretty much sums up our lives right now. We have a storm brewing and we must somehow make peace until the storm passes over. ‘Way Up There’ is a piece composed by Tena Clark for Patti LaBelle, commissioned by NASA for the 100th Anniversary of flight.”

“Imagine, if you will, that whatever your concept of paradise or heaven might be, they’ve installed an emotional roller coaster. Get on board. It’s going to be a fabulous ride.”

Paradise, the spring concert for SFGMC’s Season 39, will be presented at four performances: Thursday, March 30, at 8 pm; Friday, March 31, at 8 pm; and Saturday, April 1, at 2:30 and 8 pm. Tickets range in price from $25–65 and are available now at www.SFGMC.org or by calling City Box Office at 415-392-4400.

In other news, the Chorus is already working hard on its 40th Season, which starts in August, and on the forthcoming Lavender Pen Tour. As Seelig told us, “These are busy and wonderful times for SFGMC.”

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Gay Filmmaker Francois Ozon’s Frantz Is Both a Handsome Romantic Melodrama and Ghost Story der the Sand in that it is a kind of “ghost story,” in which the dead man haunts the living. Can you discuss t h is t heme in your work?

Film Gary M. Kramer Frantz, by gay French f ilmmaker François Ozon, is a black and white costume drama, set in 1919 Germany.

A loose remake of the Ernst Lubitsch drama Broken Lullaby, this handsome romantic melodrama has Anna (Paula Beer) mourning her fiancé Frantz (Anton von Lucke), who was killed in the war. One day, she spies Adrien (Pierre Niney) at Frantz’s grave, and befriends him. When Adrien visits Frantz’s parents, Hans (Ernst Stötzner), and Magda (Marie Gruber), he recounts stories about their friendship. However, Adrien eventually reveals his relationship with the dead man to Anna, and the dynamic between them changes.

On the phone from New York, Ozon chatted with the San Francisco Bay Times about making Frantz.

Gary M. K ramer: W hat can you say about the challenges of making a period piece and shooting in Germany, and in black and white?

François Ozon: It was interesting.

The black and white helped me a lot.

It’s difficult to imagine period films in color. There are many documents and archives and that are in black and white. It was more realistic, and involves the audience more.

Gary M. K ramer: I like that the grayness ref lects the characters’ moods. There are a few scenes in color, which are striking when they appear.

François Ozon: Yes, the period of mourning and death—black and white matched well with that. And I wanted emotional moments when the color comes back. These scenes were not always memories, but a fantasy or moments of happiness.

Gary M. Kramer: Frantz connects to your previous film Un-

François Ozon: Yes, I think it is always interesting in films to speak about the dead and tell a story around a dead person.

There is an idolization.

You can imagine what you want about [Frantz].

Adrian and A nna and Frantz’s parents all have their own vision, and each has another point of view. They can project what you want on this character.

Gary M. Kramer: Frantz additionally connects to other films you’ve made, such as The New Girlfriend and Young and Beautiful, in that it portrays a young woman finding herself and her self-worth. Can you discuss the appeal of this theme in your work?

François Ozon: I love to identify myself to young girls. I don’t know why! I am an old man now. I think there is emotion on Anna’s journey.

First, she’s a victim of a difficult period, and at the end she understands who Adrien and Frantz were. I like her evolution.

Gary M. Kramer: Can you talk about casting Paula Beer as Anna?

François Ozon: I didn’t know Paula. I met her at a casting session in Germany. I fell in love with her face and her maturity—she was only 20 years old. She was very emotional and clever, and had a beautiful face.

She reminded me of Gene Tierney.

I made a test with her and Pierre in Paris and the chemistry between them was perfect. They helped each other. He didn’t speak much German and she didn’t speak much French.

Gary M. Kramer: Speaking of German and French, art and poems and music seem to be the things that unite the characters across cultures.

François Ozon: Yes, it’s a theme of the film. Art can unite countries and people, and that’s why it was important for me to use the French and German [references] to show that the characters love music and painting,

and are curious about the culture of another country. Anna knows Verlaine, and Adrien knows German literature. It [shows] how people understand and accept one another.

Gary M. K ramer: Frantz features characters keeping secrets and telling lies to protect others. How do you want viewers to judge your characters’ behavior?

François Ozon: I think it was interesting that this post-WWI period was one of transparency. Sometimes secrets and lies are helpful in a situation to support life. The lies that Adrien and Anna both tell are not the same.

Sin is an important theme in the film.

[For example] there is the scene when the priest and Anna talk, and she asks what should she do. The priest responds, ‘To protect people.’ After all this period of [war and] death, it’s very touching. The audiences can understand it.

Gary M. Kramer: The characters are all coping with tragedy and loss. What is your coping mechanism for dealing with a loss?

François Ozon: I make movies!

[Laughs]. The best way to work, I think, is to make films. Films are therapy for me, a little bit. When you make a film with complex feelings, it’s a way to understand people, and it’s always complex how people react in front of death and pain and so many ways of mourning. © 2017 Gary M. Kramer Gary M. Kramer is the author of “Independent Queer Cinema: Reviews and Interviews,” and the coeditor of “Directory of World Cinema: Argentina.” Follow him on Twitter @garymkramer

Our Little Bubble

By Jenn Bowman (Editor’s Note: Teacher Jenn Bowman of San Francisco’s Mission High School is teaching LGBTQ Studies.

In this column, Bowman’s students share their thoughts about LGBTQrelated matters, including their concerns, what they have learned in class and more. The following piece was written by Lillian, who is in the 10th Grade.)

It has taken some time for me to realize that not everyone in the world, or even in the country, has the same views as those in the great city of San Francisco do. It took a trip to Los Angeles by train, and the demographics of our last election, for the truth to hit me in the face. The beautiful scenery was littered with red “Make America Great Again” signs and train stations had cars with those same red bumper stickers parked in the hot sun.

According to The New York Times, 30 out of our 50 states voted for Trump.

The map of the states is primarily red; a shocking color, threatening to destroy our San Francisco safe haven.

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even better safe space open to everyone that the students use as a way to talk about, and protest, the new direction this country is taking.

Student Voices This fact has made me appreciate my state, city, and school so much more.

Though the suburbs of California may be more conservative than the major cities, I feel like these people are not completely radicalized, making it not necessarily accepting, but much more tolerating than the other states.

Our city is one of difference. People who don’t fit in other places flock here and quickly find a community that embraces them as one of their own. Not fitting in or not being “normal” is the norm, and I think that is beautiful.

Though Mission High could definitely improve, it is an accepting place with people everyone can, at least somewhat, relate to. This LGBTQ+/ women’s studies class is an

Mission High School: https://mhssfusd-ca.schoolloop.com/ LGBTQ Scholarship Opportunities: https://static1.squarespace.com/ static/52c7dc91e4b0c06f bd156f6b/ t/53b63f b8e4b079c1947dbd fa/1404452792563/LGBTQ.pdf Jenn Bowman, a history teacher at Mission High School, is a queer woman, activist, scholar, and queercore lover. With a small group of teachers, she took part in the initial LGBTQ Studies pilot class from 2010-11 in collaboration with the SF LGBTQ Center. This pilot, which offered a class for students on Saturdays at the Center, led to a 2010 school board resolution that promoted the expansion of LGBTQ Studies across high schools.

SF Symphony Cancels North Carolina Concerts to Present Symphony Pride on April 4, Benefiting Bay Area LGBTQ Community On April 4, Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony, along with Broadway star Audra McDonald, will celebrate the Bay Area’s spirit of inclusion and diversity with a special concert in Davies Symphony Hall recognizing and supporting our local LGBTQ community. Symphony Pride is scheduled on the eve of the Orchestra’s East Coast tour, which was to have included two concerts in North Carolina, but were cancelled in response to discriminatory legislation adopted by the state.

Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony believe strongly in representing the values of the community it serves, offering Symphony Pride as an event that not only celebrates and affirms the Orchestra’s commitment to inclusion, but also supports service organizations working towards equality for all.

“This special evening honors the essential contributions that LGBTQ composers have made in shaping the American musical sound,” said Tilson Thomas. ”One of music’s greatest roles is to bring people together. I am proud to join with the musicians of the San Francisco Symphony and my dear friend Audra McDonald in presenting an evening that celebrates and honors the spirit of our community. This concert also offers me the opportunity to express my appreciation for the generous welcome extended to me and my husband Joshua Robison since our arrival here over 20 years ago.” “ We com mend M ichael Ti lson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony for taking a stand in support of the LQBTQ community,” said Mayor Edwin M. Lee. “This great event reaff irms San Francisco’s commitment to equality for all, regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Now, more than ever, San Francisco must exemplify what it means to be an inclusive city, devoted to protecting and advancing the rights of all who live here.”

The wide-ranging concert program features the voices of many LGBTQ musical mavericks that MTT has championed throughout his career, including Lou Harrison, Henr y Cowell, Meredith Monk, and John Cage. Further illustrating the remarkable impact LGBTQ composers have made on the Broadway stage, Audra McDonald performs a selection of songs by Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, and Kander and Ebb. McDonald also narrates Aaron Copland’s iconic Lincoln Portrait, a hopeful work he wrote to capture “the magnificent spirit of our country.” Concluding the concert is the extraordinary f inal movement of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 1, a work the Orchestra will be performing in Carnegie Hall later in the week. Event Chairs of Symphony Pride are longtime California State Senator and civil rights advocate Mark Leno and Joshua Robison.

Broadway and television star A ud r a Mc Don a ld joi n s MTT in Symphony Pride as co-host, vocalist, and narrator of Copland’s A Lincoln Portrait. Known for her powerful performances in musicals and dramas such as Ragtime, A Raisin in the Sun, and Porg y and Bess; for her solo tours and appearances with symphony orchestras nationwide; for her role on the ABC medical drama Private Practice; and for her many successful recordings, McDonald holds a record six acting Tony awards, two Grammy awards and an Emmy award.

McDonald and Tilson Thomas have been friends and frequent collaborators for over two decades. This per for mance mark s her 11th with the SFS and MTT since her debut with the Orchestra in their 1998 Gershwin Centennial Celebr at ion broadc a st nationally from Carnegie Hall. Throughout her career, Audra McDonald has been a passionate advocate and outspoken activist for equal rights and LGBTQ causes.

The majority of ticket proceeds from Symphony Pride will support organizations that provide services to the LGBTQ community in the Bay Area, including Larkin Street Youth Services, Transgender Law Center, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and The Trevor Project.

Larkin Street Youth Services has been at the forefront of meeting the unique needs of LGBTQ youth for decades. Throughout their continuum of services, from drop-in centers and shelters to education and employment programs, Larkin Street ensures that all programs are safe and welcoming places where LGBTQ youth are celebrated for who they are.

Specialized initiatives for LGBTQ youth include HIV prevention, testing, and housing as well as their Castro Youth Housing Initiative, which provides supportive housing to homeless youth who identify as LGBTQ for up to 24 months.

Headquartered in Oakland, Transgender Law Center is the largest organization in the country dedicated to changing law, policy, and attitudes so that all people can live safely, authentically, and free from discrimination regardless of their gender identity or expression. The center envisions a future where gender self-determination and authentic expression are seen as basic rights and matters of common human dignity.

Located in San Francisco since 1977, the National Center for Lesbian Rights is a national legal organization committed to advancing the civil Davies Symphony Hall

Audra McDonald

Michael Tilson Thomas

and human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their families through litigation, legislation, policy, and public education.

The Trevor Project is the leading and only accredited national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBTQ young people under the age of 25. The Trevor Project offers a suite of crisis intervention and suicide prevention programs, including TrevorLifeline, TrevorText, and TrevorChat as well as a peer-to-peer social network support for LGBTQ young people under the age of 25, TrevorSpace. Trevor also offers an education program with resources for youth-serving adults and organizations, a legislative advocacy department, and conducts research to discover the most effective means to help young LGBTQ people in crisis and end suicide.

Symphony Pride is made possible through the generous support of Mr. Alvin Baum & Mr. Robert Holgate, Nancy & Joachim Bechtle, Mr. & Mrs. Owsley Brown, Susie Tompkins Buell & Mark Buell, Jack Calhoun & Trent Norris, Mr. Duncan L J Clark, Matt & Pia Cohler, Jeffrey Fraenkel & Alan Mark, Laurel & Vinod Gupta, James C. Hormel & Michael P. Nguyen, Mr. Thomas Horn, Mark Leno, Nellie & Max Levchin, Nion McEvoy & Leslie Berriman, Microsoft, Mark & Alison Pincus, Michael Tilson Thomas & Joshua Robison, The Bob A. Ross Foundation, Dr. & Mrs. Orville H. Schell, Diane B. Wilsey, and Jed & Danielle York. Wine for Symphony Pride is generously provided

by Pine Ridge Vineyards and Seghesio Family Vineyards.

Tickets ($25–50) are available at sfsymphony.org, by phone at 415-8646000 and at the Davies Symphony Box Office, on Grove Street between Van Ness Avenue and Franklin Street in San Francisco.

A broadcast of Symphony Pride will air Tuesday, April 11, at 8 pm on Classical KDFC 90.3 San Francisco, 104.9 San Jose, 89.9 Napa, and kdfc.com, where it will be available for on-demand streaming.

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March Madness: How to Fill Out a Winning Bracket my now golden brown, but quivering, shoulder. “What would you like for me to do?”

Me: Taking a deep breath, gathering any semblance of strength and uttering these words, “Who should I pick to advance? Eighth seeded Wisconsin or ninth seeded Virginia Tech?”

Sports John Chen Laying poolside—diligently turning golden brown in sunny 95-degree Palm Springs and surrounded by beautiful, playful, social naked men of all shapes and sizes—I was in paradise, although Hawaii was more paradisy (is this a word?) two weeks ago. But something’s amiss. Something continued to nag at me, filling the back of my brain with concern, anxiety and sleeplessness. Sensing my trepidation, the stunning specimen of masculinity tanning nude next to me asked if I was alright and if there was anything he could do to ease my obvious tension. I thanked him for his kindness and generosity, and graciously accepted his offer.

Stunning Male Specimen (SMS): “I sense your trepidation. Is there anything I can do to ease your obvious tension?”

Me: “I thank you for your kindness and generosity and, yes, there is something you can do to ease my obvious tension.”

SMS: Turns to face me, grins, and gently puts his big strong hand on

SMS: “That’s a tough one … I can now see why you are full of trepidation. Historically, the 8 vs. 9 matchup is anyone’s guess, but I am personally leaning towards Virginia Tech because they are more athletic than the methodical Badgers.”

For the next couple of days, I sought advice from various NCAA Tournament Bracket gurus in Palm Springs because I am tired of losing to sixyear-old girls and finishing no higher than the 50th percentile among the millions and millions of March Madness contestants every year. After all, I am somewhat of a sports expert!

In the pool: “The water feels really good, doesn’t it? Where are you from?

I love New York! So, what teams do you think will be in the Final 4?”

In the Jacuzzi: “The hot jets feel so nice on a cool desert evening. Yes, I agree. Feels even better naked. Yes, I concur. The situation is very much a turn on for me as well. So, as you may already know, at least one dreaded 5 seed historically gets upset in the first round by an underrated mid major 12th seed. Do you think #12 Middle Tennessee State that returns everyone from last year’s team, which upset #2 Michigan State, is a safe bet to upset #5 Minnesota this year, especially when Minnesota may be overseeded and has virtually no one on

the roster with NCAA Tournament experience?”

In the play room (don’t judge) spanking a near perfect butt in dim lighting of one who appears to be a handsome bearded younger man strapped in a sling: “You will tell me who you picked in your bracket! Address me as sir, not daddy! So … you have the Bears, Bruins, Wolverines, Irish, Mountaineers and Friars going deep with great penetration this year?”

At brunch: “You look like an intelligent little child whose Barbie doll most likely has helped you picked many winners in your previous brackets. Who do you have winning the whole thing this year?”

Based on the results of such proven and scientific research, I am much more confident this year. I truly believe I will, no, I shall surpass my previous 50th percentile glass ceiling.

Sorry, I can’t share my winning picks with you this year because I don’t want you to be a winner since there can only be one winner and I shall be that winner! March Madness is here.

Who did you pick in your bracket?

John Chen, a UCLA alumnus and an avid sports fan, has competed as well as coached tennis, volleyball, softball and football teams.

Sister Dana Sez: Words of Wisdumb from a Fun Nun

By Sister Dana Van Iquity Sister Dana sez, “Last week was St. Patrick’s Day. How many of us wore green on that great day? And how many of us awoke the next day feeling a little less Irish and a lot more hung-over?! Oh myyyy! Pssst: Guinness is the unofficial cure.”

Totally sober, we joined EQCA (EQUALITY CALIFORNIA) at their pre-event reception—generously hosted in downtown San Francisco at the law offices of Perkins Coie.

At this reception, we had the opportunity to meet fellow EQCA supporters, enjoy La Crema wine and appetizers, and hear from event co-chairs Sen. Scott Wiener and Board of Equalization Member Fiona Ma about the work of Equality California and how we can support the SAN FRANCISCO EQUALITY AWARDS BANQUET in May. To be exact, the Awards Banquet is on Saturday, May 6, from 6 pm–11 pm at the Westin St. Francis in San Francisco. eqca.org STRUT, the Castro hub of health and wellbeing for gay, bi, and trans men, invited the public to their ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION. With over 300 of their friends and supporters in attendance, it was an honor to celebrate the successes of their first year; lift up the histories and contributions of STOP AIDS, STONEWALL, and MAGNET; and look towards the future.

Strut CEO Joe Hollendoner started off the evening of presentations by listing all of the historical events that led them to this spot, includ22

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ART SAVES LIVES, the studio, gallery, and performance space at 518 Castro and 18th (curated by renowned artist Thomasina De Maio), presented “WE ARE ALL HERE,” a reception for dozens of artists from The Arc San Francisco with their artworks. These incredible pieces will be exhibited through March 30. THE ARC SAN FRANCISCO is a lifelong learning and achievement center for over 840 individuals with developmental disabilities in San Francisco, San Mateo, and Marin counties.

ry Beswick welcomed the guests at the party, encouraging us to carry the torch and move forward for equality. He spoke of the search for a bigger and better queer museum; honored exhibition curator Elizabeth Cornu for her tireless work.

Jim Fourniadis, co-founder and director of the Dark Room, and Erin Ohanneson, decades-long producers of many a fantabulous live interpretation of famous/infamous live stage parodies, are moving away to Sacramento for other artistic venues, and closing down the glorious Dark Room in the Mission.

“We always hoped we could keep the Dark Room open forever, but forces beyond our control saw to that, and sadly we join the ranks of so many other venues that are just a memory,” said Fourniadis. Ever since 2004, the Dark Room Theater at 2263 Mission has constantly put on standup comedy and sketch shows, as well as stage parodies of Star Wars, The Terminator, The Princess Bride, Duck Soup, The Wicker Man, the video game “Asteroids”—not to mention the scary/funny live-action Twilight Zone episodes.

So, of course, we sent Jim & Erin off in grand style with a fabulous farewell party. Artists, crew, friends, critics gathered at the Dark Room to reminisce and drink ourselves into (continued on page 25)

Thirty-two years ago, a band of queer history enthusiasts created the GLBT HISTORICAL SOCIETY to uncover, preserve, and share stories of the LGBTQ past. Six years ago, they opened the doors of the GLBT HISTORY MUSEUM in the Castro. So, they held A DOUBLE ANNIVERSARY PARTY to celebrate these milestones—and to raise funds for their spring makeover. The museum is showing her age and needs a fresh face so she can better welcome visitors for the next four years. I’m delighted to announce there are two new exhibits on display: “Faces from the Past: We Have Always Been Here,” Sister Dana (right) aboard the Napa Valley Wine Train Pride Ride on and “South of Mar- Saturday evening, March 19, with special guest Pennsylvania State ket’s SF Leather Representative Brian Sims (center) and (seated from left) Sister Roma, Scene.” Executive REAF’s Ken Henderson and others enjoying the ride during an outstanding gourmet meal and wine tasting.

Director Ter-

PHOTO COURTESY OF NAPA WINE TRAIN

ing nods to the STOP AIDS PROJECT and the former MAGNET sexual health clinic (the old sign from which was just recently installed in the 2nd floor lobby). Additionally, he announced that thanks to individual, institutional, and civic partners, to date, they have raised 97% of their fundraising goal of $15 million through their Campaign for Health and Wellness.

Wedding Photography That Captures Love for Eternity

By Misti Layne It is off-the-charts exciting and monumental when you get engaged. But, let’s be honest here. It is also daunting to plan a wedding and envision your dream day. The endeavor often requires months of planning with your friends and family. Yet, in the end, it all boils down to the committed love shared between two people.

I learned within the first hour of my work as a wedding photographer that the connection between the couple, and the love shared between family and guests, is what the real essence of the day is about. There are many important parts—including location, flowers, music, officiant and all the rest—but throughout the day, it all comes back to the couple. My style of documentary photography was established from day one, and I’ve not wavered since.

How do those intimate, telling, everlasting images happen? Glad you asked!

First, we do an engagement/portrait session. You hire me maybe a year out from the wedding and we click and it is great. But, we can’t let all that time go by without seeing each other again, and this is where the engagement session is just a fantastic time to reconnect and learn about each other.

I study you as a couple and individually. I learn your comfort zones and, yes, just how much I can push gently or coax with humor in order to get the right shots.

At the same time, you learn about my style and how we will work together on your wedding day. We connect in multiple ways. Most importantly, when I see you again on your wedding day, I look forward to hearing a happy, “Misti is here!” (Editor’s note: Misti Layne is her real name. Her grandmother had a dream and woke up thinking of the name!) We have already laid the groundwork, building trust, so you can relax more and enjoy the memorable moments to come.

It is my job then to capture the magic of those moments: the simple touch on the arm, the look in the eyes that speaks utter volumes or the kiss that puts Hollywood to shame. We do the

standard portraits, but then we get in there and take images that make you look at each other once more and feel your big day and its important intimacy all over again. If you are feeling that way again as you peruse through the story from my images, then I did my job.

Your job is to show me the love. My job is to capture it for eternity.

Misti Layne is a San Franciscobased photographer who is willing to go anywhere for your amazing day. She is ready to capture the precious moments so they are never forgotten. Find her at www. mistilayne.com and 415-225-1128.

Frederick Sullivan and Jaime Botello, who oversee the Weddings & Occasions page for the “San Francisco Bay Times,” are the talented wizards behind Sullivan-Botello Events (http://sullivanbotelloevents. com) and SnB Party Rentals (650-877-0840, www.snbpartyrentals.com). Both are Certified Wedding Planners with extensive experience in creating memorable, personalized events for special occasions. Their rental service is incredible, offering everything from beautiful gold Chiavari chairs to LED dance floors, and all at competitive prices. They are the creators of the Gay Vanity Wedding Show and are longstanding members of the Golden Gate Business Association, which is the nation’s first LGBT Chamber of Commerce.

Historic White Horse Bar to Honor Late Gay Baseball Legend Glenn Burke at Rainbow Honor Walk Benefit Play ball and give a high five to the inventor of this celebratory gesture— openly gay baseball legend Glenn Burke of Oakland A’s fame—while raising funds for and paying tribute to the Rainbow Honor Walk. On April 1 from 3–6 pm, grab a beer and join us as we honor LGBT heroes and heroines with a beer bust at America’s oldest continuously operating gay bar, The White Horse (6551 Telegraph Avenue, Oakland). There will be ballpark-style food and fun, including hot dogs, nachos, peanuts, popcorn and a raffle (cash only) with fabulous prizes including two tickets for the Oakland A’s 2017 Season Opener, Glenn Burke baseball cards, a Glenn Burke Biography and more.

DJ “Lifeline” will be playing all your favorite music. Admission is threetiered and tickets can be purchased through an Eventbrite page accessible online at www.rainbowhonorwalk.org or purchased at the door, $20–$40.

“Our heroes and heroines can be found everywhere: in schools, in Congress and, like Glenn Burke, at home plate,” said Rainbow Honor Walk Co-Founder and Board President David Perry. “We are so grateful to the White Horse, a historically safe haven for our LGBTQ sisters and brothers, for giving us this opportunity.”

Glenn Burke played with both the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Oakland A’s from 1976–1979. He was

also the creator of the “high five” in 1977. Faced with much adversity and bigotry due to being openly gay at a time when it was rare, especially in professional sports, Burke was nonetheless proud of his accomplishment, stating, Glenn Burke high fives Dusty Baker, October 2,1977, Dodger Stadium “They can’t ever say now that a gay man lotte Ruffner, Donna Sachet, Guscan’t play in the majors, because tavo Serina, Kendall Stulce, Barbara I’m a gay man and I made it.” At 27 Tannenbaum, Tarita Thomas, and years old he left his career and latColton Windsor. er died of complications due to AIDS The following are the next 24 honin 1995. orees for inclusion on the Rainbow “Our hope as a board is that people Honor Walk: from around the world will walk the Rainbow Honor Walk and take away Alvin Ailey (1931–1989) Gay American ballet dancer and choreinspiration and education,” said Perry, noting that installation of the next ographer credited with popularizing modern dance and revolutionizing 24 plaques in memory of LGBT heroes and heroines will take place over African American participation in 20th-century concert dance. the next year in staggered fashion.

The first 20 plaques of the Rainbow W.H. Auden (1907–1973) Gay EngHonor Walk were installed in Seplish poet known for love poems such tember 2014 in San Francisco’s Casas “Funeral Blues,” poems on polittro District. “Some of these names ical and social themes such as “Separe well-known. Some are barely tember 1, 1939,” and poems on culknown. All deserve to be known.” tural and psychological themes such as “The Age of Anxiety.”

The Rainbow Honor Walk Board is comprised of the following individJosephine Baker (1906–1975) uals: Kathy Amendola, Peter Goss, American-born dancer, singer, acMadeline Hancock, Karen Helmuth, tress, and world-famous entertainBen Leong, Bill Lipsky, David Perry, (continued on page 25) Joe Robinson, Charlie Roddy, CharS AN F R ANC IS C O BAY T IM ES M ARC H 23, 2017

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NEWS (continued from page 5) stop this train wreck.” Later, Senator Wiener spoke at a round table discussion in Sacramento, sponsored by the California HIV/AIDS Policy Research Program, entitled “Maintaining Care and Coverage for Californians Living with and at Risk of HIV in an Altered Healthcare Landscape.” sen.ca.gov Wild Turkey Roams the Streets of the Castro, Causing Concern at Animal Control A wild turkey was spotted in the Castro strutting right in front of the UPS Store at Market and Castro streets.

Animal Care & Control (ACC) spokesperson Deb Campbell said a second caller contacted their emergency line after spotting the turkey in a backyard at Market and 16th streets, right near the first sighting. Animal Control officers were dispatched to the scene, but when they approached the turkey, it took flight and landed on a roof.

Concerned for the safety of the turkey and hoping to keep it away from traffic, the ACC is asking neighbors to be on the lookout for any further turkey sightings. Officers also plan to visit the area again, in case it makes another appearance. California Department of Fish and Wildlife spokesperson Andrew Hughan explained that turkeys here usually go to Golden Gate Park, as well as to a few of the golf courses in town. Spot a wild tur-

key in the urban jungle? Contact Animal Care & Control’s emergency dispatch line at 415-554-9400. hoodline.com ‘One Million LGBTQ’ in Nationwide Action, with Hundreds in the Castro A draft of an executive order on “religious freedom” was circulating in the Trump administration, outlining a possible weakening of protections designed to shield LGBT individuals from discrimination, according to a copy of the proposed order obtained

by ABC News. This brought about Facebook’s #Organize for March 18th; We Are The Resistance: “If you are able to take off from work, simply show up at the local courthouse or State Capitol, City Hall, Library or even a symbolic park that you can coordinate locally with others. The main idea is to show our numbers and strength with the power.” Hundreds of LGBTQ protesters showed up in Harvey Milk Plaza and elsewhere.

The order—which may never become administration policy, depending on internal deliberations—would also free some private companies from being forced to provide contraceptive coverage as part of the health plans they offer employees. And it would open the door for tax-exempt entities to speak out “on moral or political issues from a religious perspec-

tive” without fear of losing favored tax status. meetup.com/resist Restored, Re-Dedicated Harvey Milk Streetcar Returns to the Streets Harvey Milk wasn’t just the f irst openly gay supervisor in San Francisco history, say representatives of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. He was also the first supervisor to use a Fast Pass. During a recent ribbon cutting ceremony to rededicate a fully restored and refurbished car #1051 to the late supervisor—which was first dedicated to and named after Supervisor Milk in 2008—several agency representatives recalled that the former District 8 supervisor rode the F-Market line from Castro and Market streets to Civic Center every day during his one year in office. (Milk and Mayor George Moscone were assassinated at City Hall in November 1978). The FMarket makes daily runs from Jane Warner Plaza to Pier 39 along Market Street and the Embarcadero. The popular Muni line is comprised of historic streetcars, most of which have been in use since the 1940s, though the line hosts a few older cars as well.

Car #1051 was returned to service after the ceremony at Jane Warner Plaza. “It’s so lovely to be here,” said District 8 Supervisor Jeff Sheehy, who is

openly gay. “These refurbished street cars have done so much to bring people to the Castro—this is glorious!”

After the brief ribbon cutting ceremony, people were invited to board and inspect the spotless streetcar. Frames inside the car, once reserved for paid advertisements, now hold placards telling the story of Harvey Milk’s life and legacy. hoodline.com Trump State Department Taps Reps from Anti-LGBT Groups for U.N. Women’s Rights Delegation The United States Department of State announced that its official delegation to the 61st annual United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) includes representatives of two organizations known to oppose the U.N. human rights system, LGBTIQ rights, and women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights: the Center for Family and Human Rights (C-FAM) and the Heritage Foundation. C-FAM is being labeled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The Heritage Foundation called for a cut in funding for programs combating violence against women and claims that antidiscrimination laws grant LGBT people “special privileges.” Jessica Stern, Executive Director of OutRight Action International, a twenty-seven-

year-old international LGBTI human rights organization with ECOSOC status, commented on the U.S. Delegation to the U.N. CSW. “In their Senate confirmation hearings, Secretary of State Tillerson and U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley repeatedly pledged to uphold the right to be free from discrimination as an American value. The appointment of these organizations to the official U.S. delegation undermines their positions. I urge Secretary Tillerson and Ambassador Haley to ensure that the U.S. delegation maintains nondiscrimination at the CSW in the face of obvious pressure from these newly appointed members of the delegation.” edgemedianetwork.com Drunken Man Damages Castro Clothing Store’s Window Sometime between March 8 and 10, a front window was smashed at a clothing store: Body at 450 Castro Street.

Hoodline spoke with a Body employee, who said that a drunk male patron from nearby gay QBar left the bar around 2 am, and angrily punched or kicked the window. According to the employee, QBar staff held the suspect until police came and arrested him. Stay tuned for any updates from the SFPD. (This is personally disturbing, as this news reporter lives right above Body). hoodline.com

ROSTOW (continued from page 11) since. Homeaway wants me to go to Croatia. Easy Jet wants me to f ly around Europe. Budget wants me to rent cars in Hartford. Either stop or figure out that I’m not going to Croatia, the trip to Denver is over, and I’ve already rented the car in Hartford.

And Easy Jet? I live in Austin, Texas, so I’m not interested in your Paris to Lisbon deal of the week.

And speaking of Europe, how is it that Norway is the happiest place on Earth? Really? I’ve never been to Norway, but I see from the map that it is very far north, and likely to have very long cold winters. How would those conditions be conducive to happiness? I suppose it has something to do with “hygge,” the Danish idea of coziness, like when everyone sits around in a comfortable den by the fire, drinking hot grog and reading 19th Century novels. That does sound nice. Now that I think about it,

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there’s nothing better than being safe and warm inside during a snowstorm or a torrential downpour. On the other hand, an 80-degree day on the golf course in February is nothing to complain about.

When We Revise For the record, I eventually watched one episode of When We Rise, the gay rights docudrama that recently aired on ABC, specifically the one that covered 1992 to 2006. I was covering the GLBT community in the gay press those years, specializing in marriage equality well before it was a thing. Let’s just say that the people who wrote the TV show did not operate in my universe.

When the actual history of the gay rights movement is written, and let’s give it a little time, the landmarks of those years will include the Hawaii case that launched marriage

SA N FRANCISCO BAY T I ME S MA RC H 2 3 , 2 0 1 7

equality, the Texas case that led the High Court to overturn sodomy laws, Vermont civil unions, the Massachusetts case that legalized marriage for the first time in the United States, the two-pronged political fights first against antigay state laws and then against antigay state referendums. The show featured none of these events.

The Prop 8 case did not lead to marriage rights. Equality was fought for and won by the lawyers at GLAD, Lambda, NCLR and the ACLU, first through the Windsor case, and then through the myriad federal cases that led to Obergefell. Indeed, the Prop 8 case was ill advised and could have blown our entire legal strategy through the well-meaning, but naive, efforts of celebrity lawyers Boies and Olson. I suppose I can’t call When We Rise revisionist history, because as yet we don’t have a deep articulation of

our actual history to revise. But the “docu” part of the docudrama was ludicrous nonetheless.

Screen Shots I refuse to discuss state legislative news this week. I am waiting to evaluate these sessions once time runs out, essentially burying my head in the sand and hoping everything will turn out okay in the end. You may have read, for example, that the Texas senate passed a draconian bathroom bill.

That’s true, but I still hope the house will let it die in some committee. I know it’s Texas, but we have a sane speaker of the house, and we are relying on him to save us from all manner of bad ideas.

It occurs to me, as I watch TV with the sound off while writing, that Sean Spicer’s features are all clumped together in the middle of a fairly large facial area. His mouth is up close, his

eyes are jammed together near the bridge of his nose and his nostrils are squished in. Also, his forehead is a mile long and two miles wide so he looks weird. To make it worse, he is often obliged to scrunch everything even more together as he searches for the next excuse. I know this is unkind, and I sort of feel sorry for Sean Spicer, but he has made his bed, don’t you agree?

Also, speaking of people on my silent TV screen, I went to f irst through third grade with Senator Sheldon Whitehouse. His best friend was named Jimmy Hurd, and they did everything together. I liked them. I was president of the popular Mama Googoo club, which I myself founded, and I recall that I graciously allowed Sheldon and Jimmy to join at an entry level. The levels were color coded. arostow@aol.com

RAINBOW HONOR WALK (continued from page 23) er, embraced by France as a national treasure, who refused to perform for segregated audiences in the United States Gladys Bentley (1907–1960) Lesbian American pianist, singer, and performer during the Harlem Renaissance; her comical, sweet, and risqué performances included songs about her female lovers.

Glenn Burke (1952–1995) First openly gay major league baseball player and inventor of the high five, which he gave after hitting a home run.

Quentin Crisp (1908–1999) Gay English writer and raconteur whose flamboyance attracted increasing public interest in his views about social manners and the cultivation of style.

Divine (1945–1988) Gay American singer and actor specializing in female roles made famous by director John Waters.

Marie Equi (1872–1952) Lesbian American physician and political activist devoted to providing care to working-class and poor patients, providing health care information to women, and fighting for civic and economic reforms, women’s right to vote and an eight-hour workday.

Fereydoun Farrokhzad (1938– 1992) Gay Iranian singer, actor, poet, TV and radio host, writer, and iconic opposition political figure who advocated for an open society that accepted all people.

Barbara Jordan (1936–1996) Noted American politician and civil rights leader widely considered to be the first open lesbian elected to Congress, representing Texas in the House of Representatives.

Kiyoshi Kuromiya (1943–2000) Japanese-American civil rights activist and founder of the Critical Path Project, one of the earliest and most

comprehensive sources of HIV treatment information.

Audre Lorde (1934–1992) Lesbian American writer, radical feminist, and political activist whose works shined a light on civil and social injustices she observed throughout her life.

Leonard Matlovich (1943–1988) Decorated American soldier, widely recognized as the first to challenge the U.S. military’s ban on homosexuals serving in the armed forces.

Freddie Mercury (1946–1991) Bisexual British singer, songwriter, record producer and lead performer with the rock group Queen.

Sally Ride (1951–2012) Lesbian, physicist and first American female astronaut in space.

Sylvia Rivera (1951–2002) American transgender activist and founder of the Gay Activist Alliance.

Vito Russo (1946–1990) Gay American film historian, activist and author of The Celluloid Closet, which brought awareness to LGBT characterizations in film.

José Sarria (1922–2013) Columbian-born political activist, founder of the Imperial Court system and an early openly gay candidate for public office in the U.S. Maurice Sendak (1928–2012) Gay American illustrator and author of children’s books, best known for Where the Wild Things Are. Rikki Streicher (1926–1994) Lesbian American political activist and founder of the Gay Games Federation.

Gerry Studds (1937–2006) American politician and the first openly gay member of the U.S. Congress.

Lou Sullivan (1951–1991) American author, activist, and female to male transgender pioneer who is

widely credited for the modern understanding of sexual orientation and gender identity as distinct, unrelated concepts.

Chavela Vargas (1919–2012) Lesbian Costa Rican-born singer known for her rendition of Mexican rancheras and for her contribution to other genres of popular Latin American music.

We’wha (1849–1896) Zuni Native American Two-Spirit/Mixed Gender Tribal Leader who was malebodied but performed primarily “feminine” tasks as well as serving as a mediator.

When a volunteer committee of community members proposed the Rainbow Honor Walk, they received the unanimous support of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to create the sidewalk monument. Comprised of 3’x3’ bronze plaques embedded in the sidewalk, the Walk salutes the groundbreaking achievements of noted LGBT individuals throughout history. The first 20 honorees were announced in 2011.

In 2012, the Rainbow Honor Walk board solicited design proposals from around the world. An independent jury of artists and cultural leaders selected the winning design by architect Carlos Casuso of Madrid, Spain.

The plaques were manufactured by Mussi Artworks of Berkeley, California, with creative oversight of the process spearheaded by Lawrence Noble, head of the sculpture department at San Francisco’s Academy of Art University.

The Rainbow Honor Walk will eventually extend from the Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy on 19th Street at Diamond down to Castro Street— the LGBT community’s “Main Street”—and will continue up Market Street with additional extensions on 18th Street. On Market Street, San Francisco’s main thoroughfare,

the Walk will continue to the LGBT Center at Octavia Boulevard.

All funds for manufacture of the Rainbow Honor Walk are raised privately, with each plaque costing approximately $7000. A major source of income comes from the San Francisco Human Rights Campaign Action Center and Store (575 Castro Street) through the sale of commemorative mugs, t-shirts and lapel pins, which has generated over $15,000 for the Rainbow Honor Walk.

“We would not be walking the walk today without the donations of hundreds of people from all over the world and the continuing efforts of our friends at HRC,” said Perry, noting that tax-deductible donations can be made online at www.rainbowhonor.org Donors are listed on the website.

Christine Jorgensen (1926–1989) Pre-eminent American transgender pioneer and advocate.

Frida Kahlo (1907–1954) Mexican artist whose work has been celebrated as emblematic of national and indigenous tradition.

Del Martin (1921–2008) American feminist, gay rights activist and founder of the Daughters of Bilitis.

Yukio Mishima (nee Kimitake Hiraoka, 1925–1970) Japanese playwright, poet, actor, film director.

Bayard Rustin (1912–1987) American civil rights leader.

Randy Shilts (1951–1994) San Francisco journalist, biographer.

Gertrude Stein (1874–1946) American novelist, essayist, playwright.

The first 20 honorees, whose plaques were installed in September 2014, are:

Sylvester (1947–1988) American disco star, soul singer, San Francisco performer.

Jane Addams (1860–1935) Social worker, first American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, 1931.

Alan Turing (1912–1954) British scientist who broke the Nazi’s Enigma Code and who was the father of the modern computer.

James Baldwin (1924–1987) American novelist, playwright, essayist, poet, civil rights activist.

George Choy (1960–1993) San Francisco activist for Asian and Pacific Islander youth and people with AIDS. Federico Garcia Lorca (1898– 1936) Spanish poet, playwright, political activist.

Allen Ginsberg (1926–1997) Renowned Beat poet and free speech activist.

Keith Haring (1958–1990), American artist and AIDS activist.

Harry Hay (1912–2002) English born writer, gay rights activist and founder of The Mattachine Society, 1950.

Tom Waddell (1937–1987) American athlete, physician, founder of the Gay Games.

Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish playwright, poet, novelist, essayist.

Tennessee Williams (1911–1983) American dramatist, poet, novelist.

Virginia Woolf (1882–1941) English novelist, essayist, publisher.

Individuals interested in contacting the Rainbow Honor Walk may do so by email at info@rainbowhonorwalk.org or by mail to Rainbow Honor Walk, 584 Castro Street, #113, San Francisco, CA 94114.

Contact can also be made via Facebook by searching “Rainbow Honor Walk.”

SISTER DANA (continued from page 22) oblivion because these lovely tiny art freeek venues are drying up here in EssEff. The annual WINE TRAIN PRIDE RIDE, a rolling extravaganza aboard the historic NAPA VALLEY WINE TRAIN, (my second annual trip), in support of Bay Area LGBT communities and benefiting the groundbreaking RICHMOND/ ERMET AID FOUNDATION, was a smash as usual. But even more special because we got to enjoy socializing with special guest, openly gay PA State Representative Brian Sims, who is both extremely good looking and extremely good politicking. He said, “We have all been impacted by HIV/AIDS, and we will all be the generation to end AIDS!” After a multi-course gourmet dinner onboard with wine sponsored by LGBT vintners, winemakers and allies, we enjoyed a rockin’ after-party with entertainment by the delicious Daft-nee Gesundheit and her two hot go-go boys, with dancing till midnight. It was totally disco retro back to the excellent ‘80s with mirror ball and flashing lights.

But, before all that, we had delighted in a shuttle bus from the Castro (facilitated by the lovely Skye Patterson) to the Napa train site, imbibing in Stoli voddie cocktails provided

by Patrik Gallineaux and enjoyed by such luminaries as Donna Sachet and Sister Roma—as well as the REAF producers Ken Henderson & Joe Seiler. At the after-party, Daphne was an awesome entertainer, singing live from the musical Falsettos, and climaxing with a spoton Cher lip-synch. And then we journeyed home on the shuttle back to the Castro with cocktails and for more partying in Gay Ground Zero.

Grrrrrrrrlll, I was exhausted. But soooo satisfied.

SISTER DANA SEZ, “WHAT’S ALL THE FUSS ABOUT THIS SO-CALLED ‘MARCH MADNESS?’ BACK IN HIGH SCHOOL, THE VERY THOUGHT OF A BASKETBALL HURLING TOWARDS ME MADE ME MAD! BUT DON’T LET THAT STOP ANYONE FROM CHECKING OUT THESE MAD FAB EVENTS TO COME!” SAN FRANCISCO GAY MEN’S CHORUS invites beachcombers, hula dancers, and others to their next concert, “PARADISE FOUND” at Herbst Theatre, 401 Van Ness Avenue. Sublime Music. Dreamscapes.

Ethereal Beauty. Featuring Special Guest Artists Na Lei Hulu Dance Company. Wear your tacky Hawaiian floral shirts, or don’t. Shows are Thursday, March 30, 8 pm; Friday, March 31, 8 pm; and Saturday, April 1, 2:30 pm & 8 pm. This will be a concert full of new delights, cherished favorites, and stunning worldpremiere compositions. sfgmc.org Come and knock on our door … because D’Arcy Drollinger presents THREE’S COMPANY LIVE! back with brand new episodes, March 23– April 29 (Thursdays at 8 pm–Fridays & Saturdays at 7 pm). A gender-bending send-up of the infamous ‘70s sitcom starring John Ritter, Suzanne Somers and Joyce DeWitt, that changed the airwaves forever with their racy subject matter, sexual innuendos, and over-the-top physical comedy. A man pretends to be gay in order to share an apartment with two women in this legendary bedroom farce. The cast features many of San Francisco’s drag stars and even some actual clowns: D’Arcy Drollinger,

Heklina, Michael Phillis, Matthew Martin, Sara Moore, Marine Layer, Sue Casa & Laurie Bushman. Fun happens at Oasis, 298 Eleventh at Folsom in San Francisco. sfoasis.com PEACHES CHRIST PRODUCTIONS and FUDGIE FROTTAGE PRESENTS are proud to announce the West Coast premiere of LADY BUNNY’s “TRANSJESTER!” playing in San Francisco’s Verdi Club (2424 Mariposa Street) for a limited two-day engagement on both April 13 and April 14, 8 pm. There are VIP tickets available for both dates. The always hilarious Bunny breaks down some of the latest buzzwords that we’re all supposed to remember for every occasion as we “evolve.” Sometimes, Bunny tells me, that we’re actually evolving away from common sense! Okaaaay?!

You’ll absolutely adore Bunny’s hysterically raunchy song parodies. I always do. Tickets available for purchase at peacheschrist.com TENDERLOIN COMMUNITY BENEFIT DISTRICT (TLCBD) Board of Directors and staff invite the public to celebrate the Office Grand Opening & Ribbon Cutting Ceremony with specials guests including District 6 Supervisor Jane Kim and Tenderloin Station Captain Teresa Ewins. Enjoy small bites, beverages, and connect with board members, City officials, community partners, and staff as you explore the new space. Among the office features are a large scale Safe Passage-inspired mural, neighborhood banners, a community chalk board and more. 512 Ellis Street, Wednesday, March 29, 4–6 pm.

“MOMENTUM” is OUT & EQUAL’s annual celebration and

gala dinner including top entertainment, thrilling auctions, a cocktail reception, and inspirational speakers. They will celebrate advances in workplace equality and the individuals and organizations who take the lead on fundamental issues of equal rights—both in and out of the workplace. This year they are thrilled to have The Pointer Sisters join the celebration! Featuring Oscar-winning filmmaker Dustin Lance Black, Out & Equal Founder and CEO Selisse Berry, Bravo TV’s Scott Nevins, and comic Kate Clinton.

Wednesday March 29, 7:30–10 pm, Westin St. Francis, 335 Powell Street. outandequal.org This spring and summer, many San Francisco cultural organizations are sponsoring special events to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Summer of Love. The GLBT HISTORY MUSEUM is taking part by mounting a new exhibition set to open April 7: “LAVENDERTINTED GLASSES: A GROOVY, GAY LOOK AT THE ‘SUMMER OF LOVE.” The exhibit opens Friday, April 7, with a public reception from 7 to 9 pm at the GLBT History Museum at 4127 18th Street in The Castro. Admission is $5; free for members. The show runs through September 27. For more information, visit glbthistory.org/museum The SF LGBT CENTER’s 15TH ANNIVERSARY SOIRÉE will be an unforgettable evening to celebrate the completion of their remodel, which breathes new life into their physical space and creates a sustainable home for future generations of LGBTQ people. Saturday, April 8, 5 pm dinner, open bar, entertainment, live and silent auction; 8:30 pm general admission party with open bar

and hors d’oeuvres. Juanita MORE! returns as Entertainment Director with performances, music, live and silent auctions, and lots of dancing. The proceeds from Soirée will fund expansion of the Center’s Youth Program, increase Information and Referral services, and improve the building facilities. Terra Gallery & Event Venue, 511 Harrison Street. sfcenter.org The celebration continues the day after Soirée on Sunday, April 9, as they rededicate the renovated home. Join them at the Center (1800 Market Street, San Francisco) for a ribboncutting ceremony and Open House at 1 pm. Registration is free!

TDOV 2017 is TENDERLOIN DAY OF VISIBILITY, LOVE & RESISTANCE on Friday, March 31, reception 5:30 pm, event program 6:30 pm, SOMArts, 934 Brannan Street (between 8th and 9th street). It’s a magical evening of celebrating community. Across the country and internationally there has been an increased visibility of our transgender and GNC communities. Despite increased national media visibility, 2016 goes on record as one of the most dangerous years for transgender and gender nonconforming people, with alarming rates of violence, homicides, and suicides - specifically impacting trans women of color and youth. Special guest: Gigi Gorgeous, with emcees Nya from Transcendent and Shawn Demmons. tdov.org Sister Dana sez, “’Beware the Ides of March!’ Well, March 15 is over, but we should still remain aware of our nation being taken over by a tyrant far worse than Julius Caesar. Never mind the Ides! Beware the next four years!”

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Compiled by Blake Dillon * Indicates the event has multiple dates

23 : Thursday *15th Annual USF Human Rights Film Festival – 11 am, continues through March 25 @ Presentation theater, 2350 Turk Blvd. A three-day festival showcasing 14 films from eight countries. usfca.edu/arts-sciences/about/ human-rights-film-festival *OUTwatch LGBTQI Film Festival & Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival – Through March 27. Multiple locations in Sebastopol. Films of interest include The Joneses, Inside the Chinese Closet, Southwest of Salem and more. sebastopolfilmfestival.org Queer Arts Mixer – 5:30 pm @ El Rio, 3158 Mission Street.

Monthly mixer for queer artists to build community, forge collaborations and chat. byoq.org March Queer Reading Series – 5:45 pm @ SF Public Library, Main Library, 100 Larkin.

RADAR Productions presents readings plus Q&A with Marisa Crawford, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Yuska Lutfi Tuanakotta and Trinidad Escobar. radarproductions.org LGBT Arts & Culture Showcase – 6 pm @ Asian Art Museum, 200 Larkin Street. Local queer performing artists including Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Breanna Sinclair, Topsy Turvy Queer Circus and a screening of Queer Rebels. asianart.org

24 : Friday *Dancing in Revolting Times: Holding Our Ground (D.I.R.T. 2017) – Through March 26 @ Dance Mission Theater, 3316 24th Street.

Twenty-five artists come together and use beauty, joy and rage to fight for community and for funding supporting the arts. dancemission.com *Leonard Cohen: Bird on a Wire – Through March 30 @ The Roxie Theater, 3117 16th Street.

Cohen as presented in Tony Palmer’s never before released documentary from 1974. roxie. com *Gay Men’s Sketch Exhibit – Daily through April @ Strut, 470 Castro, 1st & 3rd Floor. Gay Men’s Sketch is the oldest public open drawing group in the world.

Started in March of 1987 by photographer/artist Mark I. Chester, they have met weekly in SoMa to provide a friendly, supportive, fun environment for gay artists to draw the male nude and interact with other gay male artists. markichester.com

25 : Saturday Resist! How Artists Can Survive & Strategies Under the New Regime – 1 pm @ Intersection for the Arts, 901 Mission Street, Suite 306. Features a panel discussion moderated by Lexa Walsh with panelists Marc Vogl, Ebony McKinney and Jan Masaoka. theintersection.org The Ecological Crisis: Taking Responsibility and Cultivating Hope – 1 pm @ The Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar Street, Berkeley. A multi-disciplin26

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ary presentation hosted by The Psychological Institute and The Sanville Institute about the psychological causes and effects of the ecological crisis. tip-berkeley.org Stephanie Teel Band – 7 pm @ Half Moon Bay Brewing Co., 390 Capistrano Road, Half Moon Bay. Teel’s popular band, including drummer Robin Roth, performing in a favorite venue. hmbbrewingco.com

26 : Sunday Fabulous 50’s Fundraiser – 2 pm @ 2088 Golden Gate Avenue. Lesbian/Gay Chorus of San Francisco benefit hosted by Dale Danley and Michael Helquist with a Wall of Wine auction, cocktails and hors d’oeuvers. secretary@lgcsf.org Keeper of the Beat: A Woman’s Journey Into the Heart of Drumming – 4 pm @ Lark Theater, 549 Magnolia Avenue, Larkspur. Special guest Sylvia Boorstein will appear in conjunction with this screening of an award-winning documentary featuring Bay Area drummer Barbara Borden. kobmovie.com

27 : Monday *Supporting Transgender and Gender Expansive Foster Youth – 9:30 am @ Born Auditorium of the Human Services Agency of SF, 170 Otis Street. Accredited by SFSU, the event features a panel of former foster youth, service providers and researchers who will discuss questions related to the transgender youth in the foster care system. eventbrite.com/e/supportingtransgender-and-gender-expansive-foster-youth-tickets32334259641 *Harvey Milk Photo Center Spring 2017 Classes & Exhibits – Multiple exhibits continue and registration for classes is open @ 50 Scott Street. harveymilkphotocenter.com

28 : Tuesday Rainbow Seniors – 12:30 pm @ San Leandro Senior Community Center, 13909 E. 14th Street, San Leandro. A safe and confidential space for LGBT seniors 50+ to share thoughts, feelings, resources, information and support. lavenderseniors.org Tito’s Happy Hours at Hi Tops – 6 pm @ Hi Tops, 2247 Market Street. Hosted by HRC San Franicsco Bay Area and featuring Tito Beveridge, the owner and founder of Tito’s vodka. act.hrc.org

29 : Wednesday Transgender Day of Visibility – 6 pm @ UCSF LGBT Resource Center, 500 Parnassus Avenue, HSW300. The Center presents a screening of The Trans List featuring 11 individuals telling their stories of identity, family, career, love struggle and accomplishment. lgbt.ucsf.edu LGBTQ Rights: What’s at Stake? – 6:30 pm @ Inforum at the Commonwealth Club, 555 Post Street. SF Pride in conjunc-

tion with the Commonwealth Club presents a discussion on the implications of executive orders and religious freedom legislation on the LGBT community. inforumsf.org

30 : Thursday Night at the Black Hawk Live Jazz Concert – 7 pm @ Tenderloin Museum, 298 Eddy Street. A celebration of jazz and the history of the Blackhawk featuring Jazz in the Neighborhood and the Community Music Center. tenderloinmuseum.org Screening of This is Everything: Gigi Gorgeous and Panel – 6 pm @ Twitter HQ, 1355 Market Street. Benefiting Transgender Day of Visibility. eventbrite.com Rufus Wainwright at the Berkeley Symphony’s 13th Annual Gala – 6:30 pm reception followed by dinner @ Craneway Pavilion, 1414 Harbour Way S, Richmond. An intimate solo performance with singer, songwriter and composer Rufus Wainwright and a formal dinner catered by Coxtail Catering. berkeleysymphony.org/gala

Sweat & Queers – 2 pm @ Dirt Diamond 1, James Rolph Jr. Playground, 1499 Hampshire Street.

San Francisco Gay Varsity League’s Gold Rush Division Teams square off. varsitygayleaguesanfran. leagueapps.com

3 : Monday *Beautiful Relationships: Flora and Fauna from Around the World – 10 am @ San Francisco Botanical Garden, 1199 9th Avenue. An exhibit of nature illustrations by Rachel DiazBastin, open through April 30. sfbotanicalgarden.org

4 : Tuesday *The Summer of Love as Seen by Local Artists – Daily through May 25 @ San Francisco City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place. SF Arts Commission’s exhibition of work by legendary 60s rock and roll photographer Jim Marshall and a new Market Street Poster Series featuring contemporary perspectives on the Summer of Love. sfgov.org

Symphony Pride – 8 pm @ Davies Symphony Hall, 201 Van Ness Avenue. Co-hosts Michael Tilson Thomas and Audra McDonald and the SF Symphony present a special concert celebrating the Bay Area’s spirit of inclusion and diversity with a focus on voices of the LGBTQ community and benefitting selected LGBT community non-profits.

6 : Thursday Breast Cancer Fund’s 25th Anniversary – 7:30 pm @ San Francisco Design Center, 101 Henry Adams Street. Emcee Kate Clinton with a program that will include Impact Auction and an organic meal and wine choices. breastcancerfund.org

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5 : Wednesday Think & Drink: Trump’s Impact on the Bay Area, Californians and Federal Politics – 6:30 pm @ Mechanics’ Institute, 57 Post Street. A panel of investigative journalists and authors will discuss how the new administration is impacting urban, state and federal politics. milibrary.org *Wednesdays at Feinstein’s – 5:30 pm @ Feinstein’s at the Nikko, 222 Mason Street. A rotating series of events presented on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Wednesday of each month and featuring the return of Broadway Bingo and a rotating roster of Bay Area trios, comedians and an open mic night for performers. feinsteinsatthenikko.com

31 : Friday Powerful Women 8th Annual Awards Luncheon – 11:30 am @ Scott’s Seafood, 2 Broadway.

Oakland. Celebrating Women’s History Month. traininginstituteonline.com Transgender Day of Visibility, Love and Resistance – 5:30 pm @ SOMArts, 934 Brannan. A free event featuring trans leadership awards, entertainment led by Gigi Gorgeous, with small bites and drinks plus emcee Nya from Transcendent and Shawn Demmons. todov.org

1 : Saturday Paul Madonna Book Reading – 5 pm @ 3 Fish Studios, 4541 Irving. Author Madonna discusses his new novella On to the Next Dream. paulmadonna.com/ontothenextdream/index.htm Grease 2: The Peaches Christ Experience with Maxwell Caulfield – 7:30 PM @ The Castro Theatre, 429 Castro Street. SF Sketchfest presents an evening with Peaches Christ and the cult-classic Greast 2 plus a preshow appearance by the film’s star Maxwell Caulfield. sfsketchfest2017.sched.com/ event/8wM2

2 : Sunday Spring Kickball: The Virgins Who Can’t Drive v Blood,

As Heard on the Street . . . What do you think are the most important issues facing the LGBT community in San Francisco?

compiled by Rink

Jennifer Siu

Sisters’ Novice Abbi

Juba Kalamka

Kebo Drew

J.B. Higgins

“Lack of awareness, inclusiveness, proper resources, and no protection of a clear barrier between LGBTQ and other communities”

“Affordable housing”

“The difficulty is continued resistance to intersectionality-informed approaches to issues affecting our communities–racism, white supremacy, homonormality, biphobia, misogyny, and transphobia.”

“I am very concerned about LGBTQ people–their safety, displacement, and vulnerability.”

“Donald Trump”

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