San Francisco Bay Times - October 20, 2022

Frontrunner Candidates for District 6 Supervisor

November 8, 2022, General Election Overview and Recommendations

Francisco City Hall is open for inperson voting and ballot drop-off daily and during the two weekends before Election Day.

California Insurance Commissioner: Ricardo Lara

Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History

Get your blue or black pen ready; San Francisco voters are finally approaching the electoral denoue ment of this crazy, madcap year that included a whopping four elections. If this were a four-act opera by Bizet, Puccini, or Verdi, now would be the time when everyone who wasn’t already dead would be singing about the people who did die (Carmen, La Boheme, and Aida, respectively).

If you are not registered to vote, you have until October 24, so get going. A vote-by-mail (VBM) bal lot was sent to every registered voter in California on October 10. San

There are a crap-ton of candidates and two crap-tons of ballot mea sures. While the State of CA whittled it down to seven propositions, the city legislators are abrogating their responsibilities to actually legislate, so it is up to the voters to become instant experts on public works, tax policy, infrastructure, and other abstruse topics that everyone ignored in middle school civics class. Be a mensch; send in your ballot on time because elections have consequences.

Federal and State Elections

I covered most of these candidates for the June Primary Election, but here they are again in case you slept through the month of May:

U.S. House of Representatives, CD11: Nancy Pelosi

U.S. House of Representatives, CD15: Kevin Mullin

U.S. Senate: Alex Padilla

Governor: Gavin Newsom

Lt. Governor: Eleni Kounalakis

California Secretary of State: Shirley Weber

California Treasurer: Fiona Ma California Controller: Malia Cohen

California Attorney General: Rob Bonta

Superintendent of Public Instruction: Tony Thurmond California Board of Equalization, District 2: Sally Lieber State Assembly, District 17: Matt Haney or no one, you decide State Assembly, District 19: Phil Ting or not, your call San Francisco Elections

City Attorney: David Chiu now and again in 2023

District Attorney: Brooke Jenkins Assessor-Recorder: Joaquin Torres Public Defender: Rebecca Young, who? I’m going off-script, but I met her and was impressed. When in doubt, support a highly-qualified woman of color.

District 8 BART Board: Janice Li Board of Education (3 seats): Lainie Motamedi and Lisa Weissman-Ward City College (4-year term, 3 seats): Thea Selby, Jill Yee, and Vick Chung City College (2-year special elec tion): Murrell Green

District 2 Supervisor: Catherine Stefani, for D2 Supervisor and any future position; she’s an unsung hero at City Hall who gets things done without fanfare.

District 4 Supervisor: Joel Engardio —yes, he ran in D7 recently, but the 2020 census re-drew the lines and the “border crossed him.”

Access for All: Vote Yes on Proposition I and No on J

Golden Gate Park, formerly known as the “outside land” and covered with sand dunes, was initially envisioned by civil engineer William Hammond Hall (1846–1934). The city’s Park Commission in 1870 had solicited bids for a topographical survey that was awarded to Hall. Many of the park’s features, including its Main Drive— renamed John F. Kennedy (JFK) Drive in 1967—date to that survey. Hall lived to see the roads that he first designed for the man-made park be used for many forms of transporta tion, providing fair and easy access to all.

With the primary thoroughfare now closed, access is far from easy for many—particularly numerous seniors and individuals with mobil ity challenges. Recently, for example, my sister took our mother, for whom she is the primary caregiver, for a visit to the Conservatory of Flowers. Our mother has neurological prob lems as well as mild cognitive impair ment and uses a walker at home but requires being pushed in a wheelchair when on outings. The Conservatory of Flowers means a lot to her. She has visited there for years, enjoying its calming beauty and learning about its native and exotic plant collections.

Public transportation for many dif ferent reasons has proven to be near impossible for her, due to delays that actually once triggered a seizure, other safety considerations, and more. Our family is environmentally con scious and not at all wealthy. I cannot recall the last time that any of us went on a vacation. The trips to Golden Gate Park were like a vacation, espe cially for our mother.

So, what was this trip like, now that JFK is closed? It took my sister at least an hour to obtain a placard space on Nancy Pelosi Drive. Even that was lucky, as she otherwise would have to have left. By then, however, our mother was already anxious and needing to visit the rest room, which was a 20-minute walk away. My sis ter, who herself is older, had to first

attempt to cross JFK. After she looked left and right, she cautiously stepped into the road, at which point a speed ing bicyclist gave them the finger and yelled, “Watch where you are going!”

My sister pushed the wheelchair as fast as she could, going over the rocky ground that made the chair not only hard to maneuver, but also caused it to move dangerously up and down.

Once across JFK, my sister had to push the chair over a long uphill stretch—again extremely bumpy and not well paved. She was out of breath when the bathrooms near the Conservatory were in sight. Teenagers on bicycles nearby stared and laughed as the wheelchair—vibrating from the friction of the poorly maintained path—moved past.

Their journey by this time had required at least an hour and a half, such that our mother did not make it to the bathroom in time. Some quick thinking on the part of my smart sis ter, who was carrying some items in her bag, saved the day and the two were able to visit the Conservatory.

My sister, however, dreaded the long and difficult walk back to the car.

They have not been back to the park since. I hope to go and try to help them, but my work schedule has not allowed for that yet.

My family’s experience is not an anomaly. Consider Howard Chabner, a disability rights activist and wheel chair user. He wrote to the City and County San Francisco Department of Elections, mentioning, in part:

“For decades, San Franciscans have enjoyed a compromise that allowed everyone access to JFK Drive. The road has been open to cars on week days with protected bike lanes and pedestrian walkways and closed on Sundays, holidays, and some Saturdays. Permanent closure of JFK Drive is not progressive or inclusive ... Closing JFK Drive is not the way to improve street safety. In fact, it has only increased bicycle on pedestrian incidents. Closing the road and deny ing access doesn’t make sense when

there are other simple solutions like reducing speed limits and adding pro tected crosswalks and speed bumps.

San Francisco is a city of inclusion, yet the closure of JFK Drive has left seniors, people with disabilities, and residents who live far from the park out in the cold. Golden Gate Park belongs to all of us.”

The Arc, a nonprofit for people with intellectual and developmental dis abilities, reports: “The closure of JFK Drive has prevented many of our cli ents from visiting and working in Golden Gate Park. This isn’t fair or equitable.”

Clearly, not all seniors and disabled individuals face the same challenges. Some have no problem going out for hours’ long walks, for example, and athletic hand cycle users can be seen on JFK Drive from time to time. But I ask that you have empathy for those others whose lives are already very challenging. This includes both the individuals themselves and often their caregivers.

Many stories about this matter in pro gressive-leaning papers have por trayed those who support Proposition I and are against Proposition J as elit ist. Some of the social media com ments, even from top city leaders, blatantly reveal their ageism and complete disregard for the difficul ties faced by many in our senior and disability communities. Given this, it is little surprise that so many build ings in San Francisco are not ADA compliant. The next time you go for a walk, look around the streets and imagine what they would be like for someone in a wheelchair.

It is shameful that basic rights, such as access to a park that from its inception was intended to have roads, are up to a public vote. According to the San Francisco Department of Disability and Aging Services, one in ten San Franciscans reports having a disabil ity and almost half of the people with disabilities are under age 65. Those numbers are only going to increase as the 65 and older population contin

District 6 Supervisor: Matt Dorsey District 8 Supervisor: Rafael Mandelman District 10 Supervisor: Shamann Walton

State Propositions

Proposition 1: Maintaining the reproductive rights women have had since 1973: YES—If you live in San Francisco and vote against this, you should just leave now.

Proposition 26: Legalize more gam bling while pretending to help tribes and homeless: NO

Proposition 27: Allow gigantic gam bling companies outside of California to make bucket-loads of money by making it easier for people to gamble their lives away: NO—Don’t believe the hype and the ceaseless commer cials; this isn’t helping most Indian Tribes. There are already 66 tribal casinos, 84 card rooms, and 33 horse racing facilities in CA. Get off your damn phone and go out if you want to gamble.

Proposition 28: Funding for K–12 Art and Music Education: YES—Do you want to go up against my part ner, Amy, who teaches middle school music? Now you listen here, never vote against education!

Proposition 29: Put more restrictions on dialysis centers (again): NO—3rd time (in four years) is not the charm;

stop putting kidney patients’ health at risk.

Proposition 30: The most beguil ing and confusing State Proposition in the history of California with no good outcome but includes the words “electric vehicles” and “climate change” so every environmental dogooder in CA thinks they should vote in favor. YES if you want to give Lyft a billion-dollar corporate handout or NO if you don’t and are OK with waiting for a better idea in future elections.

Proposition 31: Stop tobacco compa nies from trying to kill young people (again) with candy-flavored prod ucts: YES—Stop your crying about “adult choice”; tobacco companies use these products to target children, and besides, you shouldn’t be smok ing either.

San Francisco Ballot Measures

As always, the devil is in the details; what seems like a good idea is often a wolf in sheep’s clothing, so with out killing any more metaphors, here are the ballot measures for San Francisco with new jaunty names that I invented because I didn’t like the real names and it’s my column so I get to do that.

ues to rise in numbers. Our mother always exercised and ate a healthy, balanced diet, yet she still wound up with mobility and cognitive chal lenges. You may find yourself in such a position one day too, or have to care for a relative or friend in these cir cumstances.

One of my jobs is for the San Francisco Bay Times, and I realize that not all who work and write for the paper, or for that matter read it, agree with me. But I at least ask that you try to put yourselves in the position of those who desperately want and need access to Golden Gate Park, yet do not have it now because of JFK’s closure. I would argue that the visits to the Conservatory of Flowers, Botanical Garden, and more were beneficial to my mother’s health, both mentally and physically. Lack of access to them therefore is a loss beyond measure.

A growing number of community organizations urge, as I do, voting Yes on I and No on J. They include:

• Access Advisory Support Group of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco;

• Central City Democrats;

• Chinese American Democratic Club;

• Church Women United, San Francisco;

• Coalition for San Francisco Neighborhoods (CSFN);

• Concerned Residents of the Sunset (CRS);

• District 11 Democratic Club;

• East Mission Improvement Association (EMIA);

• Excelsior Action Group (EAG);

• Older Women’s League (OWL)Political Action Committee;

• OMI Cultural Participation Project;

• OMI Neighbors in Action;

• Planning Association for the Richmond (PAR);

• Rose Pak Democratic Club;

• San Francisco Building and Construction Trades Council;

• San Francisco Gray Panthers;

• San Francisco Labor Council;

• San Francisco Labor Council for Latin American Advancement;

• San Francisco Latinx Democratic Club;

• San Francisco Living Wage Coalition;

• San Francisco Taxpayers Association;

• SaveMUNI;

• Save Our Amazing Richmond (SOAR);

• Sunset Heights Association of Responsible People (SHARP);

• Take Action SF;

• The Arc San Francisco.

For more information and to volun teer to help protect fair, free access to Golden Gate Park: https://www.access4allsf.com/

Blake Dillon is an administrative assistant and contributor to the “San Francisco Bay Times.”

Ready to Hit the Ground Running and Deliver for District 6 and San Francisco

I have a deep love for San Francisco. I believe that this city is one of the most magical, beautiful places in the world. This is the city that I grew up in, the city that welcomed my immi grant family, and the city that has welcomed countless others of every race, religion, gender, and orienta tion.

Unfortunately, for a while now I’ve felt my heart begin to break as I watch my city torn apart by the fail ures of our local government. And this failure is not just measured by the very clear homelessness, over dose and addiction, and public safety crises on our streets, but also the inability of those in power to take responsibility and work together towards solutions. As one of the rich est cities in the richest country in the world, a place heralded as the pinna cle of democracy, we can do better, we must do better, and that is why I’m running for Supervisor.

When my parents came to San Francisco in the late 1970s as ref ugees from East Africa, they came because they believed in the American Dream: that if you work hard, you will be rewarded; that if you get an education, you can do anything. My dad, an aspir ing medical student back home, ended up working for 30 years as a taxi driver for Yellow Cab here in San Francisco, and my mother, the daughter of a Senator and the Ethiopian Ambassador to Mexico, went to City College to get her asso ciates before starting work at a local bank.

My parents worked hard and sac rificed to give me and my brother the best possible start by sending us to Catholic school. And while I

Out of Left Field

don’t always agree with the Catholic Church— after all, I am an unabash edly pro-choice LGBTQ advocate, drag queen, and founder of our city’s Transgender District—I did learn some things that have stuck with me through the years and shaped the trajectory of my life. Namely, what it meant to be of service to others, to be a person for others, and to be the change you wish to see in the world. This is what led me to pur sue social work. I’ve been working in social work since 2002, and eventu ally earned my Masters in Social Work from UC Berkeley. I’ve worked as a home less outreach counselor, in residen tial care with those suffering with chronic illness and addiction, and created and led mental health and counseling programs. I’ve helped to get people housed and keep people housed, and I’ve also fought to keep people safe. My experience work ing on the ground and directly with local government has allowed me to see just how broken our system is, but my experience is also why I know there are practical solutions we can implement as a city that would make a huge impact on chaos and suffering on our streets.

As someone who has worked for nearly 4 years in City Hall as a legis lative aide and Chief of Staff to then Supervisor Matt Haney, we were able to make some headway. We coauthored Mental Health SF with Supervisor Ronen to help put SF on the way to providing Universal

Mental Healthcare, and importantly, be able to address the overwhelming mental health and addiction crisis on our streets. However, the rollout of Mental Health SF has been painfully slow, and while we are making prog ress adding more mental health and recovery beds, we’ve absolutely failed at hiring the workers to staff them. One of the first things I plan to do in office is prioritize the hiring of these mental health and crisis work ers by introducing the Crisis Workers Hiring Act, which would allow us to finally hire the workers we so desper ately need.

San Francisco continues to face an affordability crisis that has pushed people out of the city and exacer bated homelessness here, and at the root of these issues is our inability to build housing of all types. We must build more housing—shelters, navi gation centers, permanent support ive housing—to help those already

homeless and in need of services. We also need to approach housing from a holistic perspective of build ing for the future while protecting those most vulnerable today—ensur ing better tenant protections and expanded rent control to support individuals and families in being able to stay housed. I have led on hous ing as Chief of Staff in the District 6

Progressive Measures by and for Those Who Work in San Francisco

They say in pol itics you can judge someone by their ene mies as much as by their friends.

That’s why at Red Bridge Strategies, where we proudly special ize in running leftist ballot measures, we’ve found comfort in running some of the only ballot measures with opposition from corporate land lords and major corporations who don’t want to pay their fair share to help our city’s economic recovery.

Yes on H - Double Voter

Participation for working people, people of color, and young people

Yes on O - Invest in workforce training and education at City College

Yes on M - Fill some of the 58,000 Vacant Homes in San Francisco

Measures M, O, and H are all by and for working people in San Francisco, and spearheaded by some of the strongest unions, active neigh bors, and community organizations like the Democratic Socialists of America—we’re working for a city shaped by the people who live here, not the corporate forces respon sible for driving out working San Franciscans.

So, what are we really up against?

Surprise: the opposition to these historic tax-the-rich measures are the ones who will be ... taxed. These are the wealthiest players in our city, including big corporations and those who represent the largest landlords in SF.

While San Francisco has always been a champion for progressive taxes, this year is a moment of truth for our city’s electorate. What we’re facing now in a political climate where we no longer have the anx ious energy of Trump as president is that voters are feeling the squeeze of inflation, and a deep fatigue of slog ging through five elections in the past year. This is an electorate that is too tired to participate.

We feel you, San Francisco; we need a break. There’s so much to keep track of on the ballot and voters are experiencing some very real fatigue.

Historically, odd year elections have half the turnout compared to regular even years—so moving elections to even years with Prop H will double the turnout for the people we want to have a voice in the future of our city: people of color, low-income people, and young people, all while giving us a break in 2023.

And imagine if we demanded that the corporate land lords hoarding 58,000 vacant units in buildings with over 3 units will either put them on the market or pay for more affordable housing construction? That’s Prop M. Picture a city with Prop O—where only the largest corpora tions returned the favor for the mountains of cash they made through the tech-boom and ensured that every San Franciscan has access to a quality education and work force training at city college.

office for years, building thousands of units of housing and hundreds of affordable units, but we still need more.

The State is requiring San Francisco to build 80,000 units of housing over 10 years, and right now we are not on track to reach our goals. That

You don’t have to imagine it ... but only if you vote. And if it makes you pissed that it’s even a question of why we would fund those things, here’s the San Francisco League of Pissed Off Voters Guide to help you vote on all the issues: https://www.theleaguesf.org/

Avery Yu and Jen Snyder are the Co-Founders of Red Bridge Strategies, a political consulting firm specializ ing in leftist ballot measures, public persuasion cam paigns, and democratic socialist candidates. https://www.redbridgewins.com/

Committed to District 6 Leadership That Brings Solutions to Our City

I was appointed to serve as District 6 Supervisor in May of this year. I’m committed to leadership that brings solutions to our City that are as big as our problems, which include cri sis-level challenges from drug over dose deaths, open-air drug dealing, and the need for affordable housing.

I’m the first self-identified member of the substance use recovery com munity to serve on the Board of Supervisors in a generation. As the only current member of the Board to acknowledge a history with sub stance use disorder, I’m committed to providing paths to recovery for those struggling with addiction. As an out gay man who is openly HIV positive, I proudly join Supervisor Rafael Mandelman as the board’s second current LGBTQ+ member. My 14 years of experience in the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office have prepared me extraordinarily well for the role of Supervisor that I now hold, and am proud to have served as one of two LGBTQ+ members of City Attorney Dennis Herrera’s executive staff for the entirety of that time, serving first alongside Terry Stewart and then Ron Flynn. Our work together in that office included more than just history-making litigation—it was the nine-year, nationwide communica tions strategy the City Attorney and I both led to win the hearts and minds necessary to strike down Prop 8 once and for all in 2013.

I’m a City government veteran, most recently serving on the command staff of the SFPD as the department’s Communications Director. Under the leadership of San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott, I worked with the SFPD in partnership with the California Department of Justice since 2018 to implement some 272 recommendations that aspire to

make SFPD a national model of 21st Century policing.

Supervisors Rafael Mandelman and Catherine Stefani joined me to intro duce San Francisco Recovers, an ambitious, new public health and criminal justice approach to the deadly drug crisis facing our City: https://tinyurl.com/46za2ea7

The comprehensive citywide strat egy aims to reduce drug overdose deaths, incentivize recovery for those struggling with addiction, end streetlevel drug dealing, and open-air drug scenes. The approach is based on successful drug market interventions found in the U.S. and Europe, and identifies needed seed funding from City Attorney David Chiu’s $100+ million settlement with opioid man ufacturers.

I’m a strong and early supporter of Proposition D, the Affordable Homes Now charter amendment on the November ballot to streamline des perately-needed affordable housing, teacher housing, and mixed-income

housing. Prop D is the most effi cient pathway towards achieving more affordable housing in our City for low- and middle-income San Franciscans and public school teach ers. The work San Francisco is cur rently undertaking on its Housing Element for the next eight years may be the most important racial and social justice work I’ll do in my career. We can make real prog ress to address economic inequality and housing unaffordability, and to ensure that we fulfill the promise of a truly progressive housing produc tion plan.

Learn more about my work and poli cies at https://www.mattdorsey.org/ Supervisor Matt Dorsey repre sents District 6, consisting of SoMa, Mission Bay, East Cut, and Treasure Island. Previously he served for 14 years in the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office and was the Head of Communications for the San Francisco Police Department.

Vote Yes on Prop D: Affordable Homes Now

While there are two similar-sound ing housing measures on San Francisco’s November 8 ballot—Prop D and Prop E—only one of them will make it faster and easier to build more affordable homes and that’s Prop D: Affordable Homes Now.

With housing affordability top of mind for residents, it’s essential that voters fully understand the major dif ferences between these two measures. That’s not so easy to do, however, because some are spreading blatant misinformation about both.

I have the honor of serving as Chair of the Senate Housing Committee, and housing is my top priority in the Senate. I’m deep in housing policy and pay close attention to the details of whether a proposal will lead to more housing faster. When you lay out the facts, it’s abundantly clear that Prop D is the only measure that will lead to more affordable homes— while Prop E will do nothing to alleviate SF’s ever-worsening afford ability crisis. Let’s look at three (of the many) reasons why that’s the case.

1. Prop D is the only measure backed by affordable housing leaders with a record of prohousing progress.

Prop D was placed on the ballot with signatures from more than 80,000 residents who, like the overwhelm ing majority of San Francisco vot ers, strongly support building more affordable homes for lower and mid

dle-income resi dents. It’s backed by a broad coali tion of nonprof its led by Habitat for Humanity

Greater San Francisco, Mission Housing, the Nor Cal Carpenters Union, and many others, along with myself, Mayor London Breed, and Supervisor Matt Dorsey.

Prop E, on the other hand, was put on the ballot by the Board of Supervisors, whose majority has routinely blocked, politicized, and delayed so many new housing proj ects—including affordable hous ing—that the state of California is now investigating our city and con sidering penalties against us. The Board of Supervisors has, similarly, voted consistently to kill pro-hous ing legislation that would have done the most to create thousands of new affordable homes for San Francisco residents who need them most.

2. Prop D is the only measure that fully expedites and depoliticizes 100% affordable housing projects.

For projects where 100% of the homes are affordable to low- and middle-income residents and where the projects comply with all existing

planning/building codes and zoning rules, Prop D streamlines the permit ting and funding and prevents these projects from being killed by merit less lawsuits brought by NIMBYs.

In contrast, Prop E does nothing to stop 100% affordable housing proj ects from being delayed to death by bad-faith lawsuits or killed by the Board of Supervisors. Leaving such

Malia Cohen,

Scott Wiener, Hon. Matt Haney,

David Chiu, Hon. Rafael Mandelman, Hon. Courtney Welch, Hon. Victor Aquilar Jr.,

Amber Childress, Hon. Shay

Kate Maeder, Lisa Williams, George Smith, Tom Temprano

ELECTION

AND

is dangerous because the State could withhold mil lions of dollars that would otherwise go towards helping us build affordable housing here in San Francisco. As Supervisor, I will work to ensure that we come up with a citywide upzoning plan that will allow us to achieve our Regional Housing Needs Allocation goals. I’ll also work to ensure that housing projects are built more quickly by streamlining the permitting process and creating an emergency ombudsman program to help housing get built by identifying and eliminating the obstacles that are getting in the way.

As one of the co-owners of the Stud—San Francisco’s oldest LGBTQ venue—I, like countless others, was devastated when we were forced to shut down by the pandemic. But let’s be honest, small businesses were suf fering in San Francisco long before COVID-19 came on the scene. With sky-high rents and a significant drop in tourism, our downtown has been decimated. I am determined to be a champion for small businesses in our district. Making it easier for businesses to open, and cre ating an environment where they can thrive. I will fight for safe and clean streets to ensure the return of tourism, conventions, and conferences, and help our downtown get back on track.

Police certainly have an important role to play in our public safety strategy, one that requires more support, but also more accountability. We can offer pay raises and hiring bonuses in order to hire back some of the hundreds of police we’ve lost, but the fact is that hir ing new police officers is a problem across the nation. Though we’ve invested millions in trying to recruit, train, and hire new officers, we’ve been unable to get anywhere close to the number we need.

But there are other ways in addition to hiring new offi cers that can have a serious impact on public safety and also lower the burden on our police department.

As a proponent of the Mid-Market Safety plan, I know the power of effectively utilizing community ambassa dors. Groups like Urban Alchemy and our Community

Benefits Districts have done a lot to help keep our streets calm, safe, and clean. My biggest critique of the MidMarket Safety plan was that it needed to be district-wide and encompass large portions of downtown, otherwise drug dealing and the chaos it can cause simply move to somebody else’s doorstep down the street or around the corner. As Supervisor, I will ensure we have a com prehensive and coordinated strategy to keep our streets safe.

As someone who has lived here for 4 decades, worked the last 20 years as a social worker, founded the Transgender District, is a small business owner, has worked as legislative aide and Chief of Staff in the District 6 Office, and currently serves as Chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party, I will bring a wealth of experience to the role of District 6 Supervisor. I will be able to hit the ground running and deliver for this district and our city. That’s why I’ve received the most endorsements in this race. I’ve been endorsed by our nurses, firefighters, teachers, city workers, nonprofit workers, and more. I’ve been endorsed by progressive groups, pro-housing groups, the Labor Council, wom en’s groups, and I’m the only candidate who has been endorsed by all the major LGBTQ democratic clubs and endorsing organizations in the city.

San Francisco has a big decision to make this November. At a time when trans people are under attack across this country, San Francisco could actually elect its first trans person to the District 6 seat on the Board of Supervisors. It’s a chance to make history, and a chance to elect the most qualified candidate.

Honey Mahogany is the Chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party, and is the first Black as well as transgender person to serve in that role. Now a candi date for District 6 Supervisor, Mahogany previously served as a legislative aide and then chief of staff to former Supervisor Matt Haney. https://www.honeymahogany.com/

projects vulnerable to getting killed by NIMBYs abusing the legal system is not streamlining, no matter how many times Prop E back ers attempt to claim it is. The reality is that the Board of Supervisors majority crafted Prop E to make it look like the measure expedites housing while actually empowering the Board of Supervisors to keep killing new housing proposals.

3. Prop D is the only measure that will speed up the affordable housing project approval process.

San Francisco’s affordable housing shortage is due, in part, to its needlessly lengthy approval process that can take an average of 4–7 years to approve a single housing project—longer than any other city in California. These excessive delays further drive-up housing costs, making our city even more unaffordable for lower- and middleincome residents.

To expedite the approval process, Prop D requires affordable hous ing projects to be approved by the city within 3–6 months once an eligible application has been submitted and prevents the city from playing politics and thus delaying or rejecting eligible projects.

Prop E, by stark contrast, fails to provide any time frames for the City to deem project applications eligible for streamlining. What does that mean? No time frames means there is no accountability for anyone to speed up anything. Projects can be killed by running out the clock.

There are even more differences between Prop D and Prop E detailed by nonprofit think tank SPUR that document why Prop D is the only measure on the ballot that will create more affordable homes faster and why Prop E will do nothing to stop San Francisco’s housing affordability crisis from growing worse: https://tinyurl.com/4hxx55nn

With so much at stake for tens of thousands of San Francisco resi dents in dire need of affordable homes, the solution is clear: Vote Yes on Prop D for Affordable Homes Now: https://www.affordablehomesnow.org/

Scott Wiener represents San Francisco and northern San Mateo County in the California State Senate and previously served as a member of San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors. Senator Wiener serves as Chair of the Senate Housing Committee. https://tinyurl.com/5b6xh67e

Middle Class Tax Refunds for Millions of Californians

• Were a California resident for six months or more of the 2020 tax year;

• Are a California resident on the date the payment is issued.

Your CA AGI can be found on line 17 on Form 540 or line 16 on Form 540 2EZ. As an example, an eli gible married couple who earned $150,000 or less and has at least one dependent would get the maximum refund of $1,050. If that same couple claimed no dependents, they would receive $700.

• Received your tax refund by check regardless of filing method;

• Received your 2020 tax refund by direct deposit, but have since changed your banking institution or bank account number.

State officials said they expect about 95% of all payments—direct deposit and debit cards combined—to be issued by the end of this year.

October means the Franchise Tax Board (FTB) has begun the pro cess of sending $9.5 billion tax relief payments to most Californians. As Assembly Budget Chair, I was part of the legislative leadership team that negotiated these refunds that are meant to help residents fight global inflation. We’ve seen how rising prices were affecting household bud gets, and we wanted to use some of the state’s surplus to assist approxi mately 23 million residents with the cost of gas, rent, utilities, and other essential expenses.

These one-time payments range from $200 to $1,050. You may be eligi ble if you:

Filed your 2020 tax return by October 15, 2021;

• Meet the California adjusted gross income (CA AGI) limits ($250,000 for single filers and $500,000 for married couples);

• Were not eligible to be claimed as a dependent in the 2020 tax year;

Meanwhile, a single filer who made between $125,000 and $250,000 and has no dependents, would get $200.

For a complete list of scenarios, please visit the Franchise Tax Board website and click on the Middle Class Tax Refund box to help you determine your eligibility and esti mate your payment: https://www.ftb.ca.gov/

The first wave of checks has already begun landing in people’s bank accounts with most eligible resi dents receiving their funds electron ically by mid-November. FTB is using the banking information it has on file when it sent out the two previ ous Golden State Stimulus payments last year.

If FTB does not have your bank ing information, Middle Class Tax Refunds will be physically mailed in the form of a debit card to home addresses, starting on October 28 and ending by mid-January. You’ll likely fall in this category if you:

• Filed a paper tax return;

• Received your Golden State Stimulus payment by check;

For those who did not file a 2020 tax return but are on Supplemental Security Income/ State Supplementary Payment (SSI/ SSP) for seniors, the blind or dis abled, grants will increase next year, instead of 2024. Amounts will go up by $39/month for individuals or $100/month for couples.

And with 2023 approaching, res idents eligible for the California Earned Income Tax Credit (CalEITC) should start making a plan to file their taxes early, so they can receive that refund too. The state’s Franchise Tax Board web site also has information on that pro gram.

As your state representative in Sacramento, I hope these actions help ease some of the rising costs affecting your household budgets.

I’m proud that California is among 17 states providing inflation relief payments.

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

COVID-19 Isn’t Over: Wear a Mask

Out of the Closet and into City Hall

Oakland City Councilmember At-Large, Rebecca Kaplan

Although it has been two and a half years since COVID turned our lives upside down, the pandemic has not gone away. The virus continues to move throughout our community while we act as though everything is “normal.” As a result, I continue to urge community members to con tinue wearing masks indoors and around those not in your immediate household.

There have been changes to the guidance issued by some officials and agencies regarding the use of masks to help protect public health from the dangers of further spread of COVID. However, I, along with several public officials and experts, caution that the new, looser mask guidance is not based on COVID case rates dropping to the previously recommended and announced levels.

Instead, some officials and agencies have simply changed their criteria in order to remove masking, although the data of transmission levels does not support this change.

As I have stated in the past: “As someone who is elected to repre sent the public, and who has been working on COVID issues since the beginning of the pandemic, including launching the nation’s first FEMAsupported large scale COVID vac cination project (headquartered at the Oakland Coliseum, with addi tional community-based outreach with mobile vaccination sites in hard-hit communities), and as an MIT-trained scientist, I have been following the data and working to help protect the health of our com munities.

I began masking around people out side my household, particularly indoors, in the spring of 2020, before health officials and the CDC began recommending it. I began wear ing, recommending, and helping to obtain and distribute higher qual ity masks (such as N95, KN95) long before the CDC recommended them.

And now, I will continue to wear a quality mask when indoors around people outside my household, even as some agencies are no longer requir ing it. And I encourage the public to do the same.

While we may wish the pandemic were over, wishing does not make it so. Taking effective measures to stop the spread, including masking, is the thoughtful response, and will help end the pandemic, rather than pre tending it is over.

It is also important to note that even the very loose official new CDC guidance recognizes that there are many millions of people for whom the unmasking is incredibly danger ous—including those who cannot be vaccinated (which includes young children), the immunocompromised, and people with various disabilities and “pre-existing conditions.”

For the public at large to stop mask ing indoors at this time as we head back indoors for the cold and flu sea son, while transmission and case rates continue to be quite high, and while thousands of people per week continue to die of COVID, puts everyone at increased risk—and, par ticularly, puts people with some dis abilities and diseases, and those who cannot be vaccinated, at grave risk. Caring about our own lives should be reason enough to keep wear ing masks indoors—and, I would hope, caring about the lives of others should also be a factor in our deci sions. Those who are at heightened risk and those who cannot be vacci nated should not be put at major risk of death or serious illness.

Furthermore, the risk factors in most public discussions have been ignoring the danger of “long COVID”—in which even those who have a “mild” or “asymptomatic” initial infection, may suffer a wide array of ongoing negative health impacts for a long time afterwards.

For those of us, including myself, who were activists fighting to save lives in the early days of the AIDS pan demic, when federal officials were still treating it as a joke, this cur rent challenge is upsetting, but not unprecedented. We have actions we can take to help protect both our selves, and one another. We can care about disability justice. We can care about the stark racial inequities being revealed and exacerbated by COVID. We can care about the peo ple around us. And we can protect our own health.

Wearing a higher quality mask, such as an N95 or KN95, substantially reduces the risk of COVID trans mission, both for the person wearing it, and for the people around them. Why would we want to do any less?

) and Facebook ( https://tinyurl.com/34c3zkrv ).

Vote Early!

the United States. The USTS was last conducted in 2015, with 27,715 responses. It is hoped that the 2022 survey will reach many more peo ple and provide an updated and expanded view of the experiences of transgender people across a wide range of areas, such as education, employment, family life, health, housing, and interactions with police and prisons.

In Case You Missed It

Joanie Juster

I find election seasons to be extremely stressful—and here we are in San Francisco facing our fourth election this year. Yikes. But as someone who believes fully in the democratic process, I can’t really complain. It’s just time once again to do our homework, and vote as if our democracy is on the line. Because, you know, it is.

Meanwhile, plenty else is going on this month. Check it out:

Diversity, Inclusion, Sunshine, & LGBTQ+ History Month

Pride activities in San Francisco tend to be clustered in certain neighbor hoods: the Castro, Market Street, Polk Street, SoMa. But District 10?

This southeastern corner of the city includes residential, light indus trial, modest commercial corridors. It is racially diverse, home to some stunning parks and coastline, but is not on anyone’s map as a center for LGBTQ+ activity.

Or so you might think.

During the pandemic, when the offi cial Pride parade was cancelled, neighbors in District 10 decided they

would create something all their own. With their slogan promoting “Diversity, Inclusion, Sunshine,” they went from having a float in pre vious Pride parades to creating their own D10 Pride Ride, a joyful and inclusive celebration of the diver sity in their own community. They are now hosting three events a year: the Bayview Ball in February, a float in the Pride Parade in June, and the D10 Pride Ride in the fall, during LGBTQ+ History Month.

This year’s D10 Pride Ride will take place Saturday, October 22, from 12 to 2 pm, on the Third Street cor ridor. Whether you strut your stuff on a float, in a car, on a bike, or on your own two feet, come celebrate LGBTQ+ History Month with this vibrant crowd.

More info: https://tinyurl.com/D10Pride

Be Part of History: Take the U.S. Trans Survey

Transgender people throughout the country can help shape public pol icy that directly affects their lives by taking part in the U.S. Trans Survey that launched on October 19.

The U.S. Transgender Survey (USTS) is the largest survey devoted to the lives and experi ences of transgender people across

Conducted by the National Center for Transgender Equality, in partner ship with the National Black Trans Advocacy Coalition, TransLatin@ Coalition, and National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA), the USTS is an important resource for use in public education and advo cacy about transgender people, the patterns of discrimination many transgender people face, and the need for policy and social change to improve their lives.

The USTS is expected to be con ducted every five-to-ten years, enabling the measurement of changes in the experiences of trans gender people over time. Using questions modeled on other fed eral surveys allows for comparisons between the USTS sample and the U.S. population as a whole. This is important for demonstrating the dis

parities faced by transgender people in the U.S. across a number of areas, such as in unemployment, poverty, and health.

The USTS is for all transgender peo ple ages 16 years and older, including binary and nonbinary trans iden tities, living in the United States, a U.S. territory, or on a U.S. mil itary base. The survey is open to trans people at any stage of their lives, journey, or transition. The sur vey is available online in English and Spanish.

Your participation can help research ers, policymakers, and advocates work toward positive change. Stand up and be counted, and spread the word: https://www.ustranssurvey.org/

Planning a Family? This Show’s for You

LGBTQ+ families are under attack by extreme right-wing forces around the country, from local school boards to state legislatures. Meanwhile, on October 29, The Modern Family Show is coming to San Francisco’s Pier 27 for a day-long event to assist anyone looking to build a modern family, providing information on sur rogacy, adoption, fostering, infertil ity, egg donation, trans parenting, co-parenting, fertility preservation, and dedicated LGBTQ+ familybuilding support.

Created in the U.K. in 2021, The Modern Family Show aims to pro vide a safe space for the entire com munity—queer and straight—to seek advice, support, and to understand the options available for their fam ily-building journey. All the mem bers of The Modern Family Show team are same-sex parents, and have expressed their desire to give back to the local community. To

that end, 50% of ticket proceeds will be donated to San Francisco’s Our Family Coalition, which for 20 years has been providing communitybuilding and support for LGBTQ+ families with children, prospective parents, youth, allies, community partners, and volunteers.

https://tinyurl.com/mfssf2022

Breast Cancer Awareness Month: It’s for Everyone

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a time devoted to educat ing people about breast cancer, and encouraging them to get tested and treated. While the pink ribbon has become a ubiquitous symbol for breast cancer for the past 30 or so years, with most educational cam paigns and marketing targeting cis gender women, it’s important to know that anyone can get breast can cer. That’s right: men can get breast cancer. So can trans and non-binary people.

“Oh My God Osaka!” Those were the words I heard belted out joy ously from the stage at the recent annual Rainbow Festa (or Osaka Pride) on October 8 and 9 by the famous Obachaan , an irrepress ible troupe of singing and dancing Japanese grandmothers. Obachaan gained world renown when they released a rap-style video to wel come world leaders to the 2019 G20 Summit in Osaka. They are huge supporters of the LGBTIQ com munity. Their joy is contagious; it’s impossible not to smile, laugh, and start moving to their music.

Even though the members of Obachaan themselves are not gay, they embody the soul and spirit of the diverse Osaka queer commu nity. They shared the stage with many talented LGBTIQ enter tainers, such as the sensational singer Michiru Sasano, traditional Okinawan drummers, and famed drag queen Baby Vagi.

This year’s Osaka Pride was the largest on record, with 20,000 peo ple in attendance, according to

Kansai Television. Although that number may seem small compared to events in the U.S. and some other parts of the world, it’s a significant turnout demonstrating sub stantial progress in Japan, where publicly coming out as LGBTIQ remains difficult for many people.

The Rainbow Festa provides an opportu nity for many different parts of the queer community and its allies, both in the Kansai region of Japan where Osaka is located and other parts of central Japan, to come together. One of the most promi nent organizations present was Marriage for All Japan, the umbrella group coordi nating marriage equality lawsuits across the country. In June, the Osaka trial level court in a clearly illogical opinion ruled against LGBTIQ couples, but plaintiff couples like Akiyoshi Tanaka and Yuki Kawata remain steadfast in their determination as the case moves forward on appeal.

Many groups at the event were devoted to providing opportunities for diverse types of queer people to come together for sup port and community. They came from many different parts of central Japan, such as the delightful group MixRainbow from Amagasaki, an industrial city near Osaka that is not a tourist destination. The fact that many groups from diverse parts of Japan are forming—and many locales are now organizing their own local Pride cel ebrations—marks a significant increase in the visibility of LGBTIQ Japanese and demonstrates the desire of Japanese queer people to come together to form commu nity.

Transgender Japanese were also very prom inent at the event, with support groups, service providers, and advocacy groups all participating. The Queer & Women’s Resource Center, one of Osaka’s oldest

LGBTIQ organizations, pro moted next month’s Tokyo TransMarch 2022.

Especially encouraging were the number of student groups present. A group of junior and senior high school students were dedicated to gender freedom in school uniforms, still required apparel in many Japanese schools.

I was particularly struck when I saw the Kobe University booth, featuring a photo of a student holding a “Silence=Death” sign with the pink triangle. Stuart and I, along with many others, had held that same sign over 35 years ago during the height of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. These Kobe University students employed that mes sage today as part of their successful activist campaign to support transgender students’ right to use their chosen names and oth erwise be fully respected at the university. Calling themselves the Project for Kobe University for Everyone, the group advo cates for diversity and inclusion and not only pressured the university to change its transgender student policies but also make outing a queer person a violation of school policy. If employed more broadly, this type of assertive activism has the potential to advance LGBTIQ rights in Japan like never before.

From students to grannies and everyone in between, I came away from the Rainbow Festa with a heart full of joy and energy and found myself falling in love with the spirit of the city. “OMG Osaka!”

John Lewis and Stuart Gaffney, together for over three decades, were plaintiffs in the California case for equal mar riage rights decided by the California Supreme Court in 2008. Their leadership in the grassroots organization Marriage Equality USA contributed in 2015 to mak ing same-sex marriage legal nationwide.

Property Listings

Do you have a property listing for this page? Email us: publisher@sfbaytimes.com

Steve Gallagher

954 Teresita Blvd, Miraloma Park

Classic mid-century, tunnel entry, living rm & corner fpl, dining rm, remodeled kitchen, main fl: 2 beds, full ba, kitchen; ground fl: bd rm or office, full ba, lg 1-car garage,space for laundry & storage; patio and rear garden. Near playrground. $1,500,000 http://www.954Teresita.com

Listed by Steve Gallagher DRD#01193002

Coldwell Banker

Lorraine Bannister

1089 Grand Teton Dr Pacifica, CA 94044

3 bed 2 bth 1450 sq ft $1,498,000. Backyard with view/bonus room down.

For more info, contact Lorraine Bannister http://www.LorraineBRealEstate.com

DRE #01119087

Listed by Lorraine Bannister Corcoron Global Living

Laura Martell

766 Guerrero St, Mission Dolores Park, chef’s kitchen, hdwd fls, sunlight, private bkyd, in/out living, lg deck, garden

Please inquire about pricing http://www.766Guerrero.com

Listed by Laura Martell DRE #01401840

Winkler Real Estate Group Danielle Clements DRE #01910218

Winkler Real Estate Group

GLBT Fortnight in Review

Where’s the Rest of the Story?

I was laboriously going through GLBT headlines, forced by my deadline pressure to summon up an interest in the usual suspects; fired teachers, unhappy Christians, mean conservative anti-trans politicians, and the like. It was like déjà vu all over again. Must I really inflict the same scenarios upon you week after week, I wondered? Am I not exhaust ing you loyal readers with endless stories of lawsuits, complaints, injus tice, and the occasional gay penguin? Thus, it was with that shameful attitude of ennui that I clicked the unpromising link (from Fox News, no less!) to: “Christian childcare teacher who refused to read LGBT books to kids sues after being fired: ‘Blatantly illegal.’”

I was vaguely thinking that I wasn’t sure you could force an antigay teacher to read gay books aloud under current law, because I thought an employer was required to make at least a minimal effort to meet reli gious objections. Perhaps, I thought with some annoyance, I’ll have to research this detail before I describe it. But then I read the actual com plaint!

This irritating individual teaches kids from one to five at a Bright Horizons Children’s Center in Studio City, California. The library has a handful of books, including half a dozen of the Mommy, Mama and Me ilk that we know and love. The teacher, Nelli Parisenkova, frowns on homosexuality, sexual experimenta tion, premarital sex, and polygamy, although it’s not clear to me how these topics would arise in the pages of this type of material absent a series of questions from clueless toddlers.

(Pro tip: Tell the toddlers the kid in the book doesn’t have a Daddy, but has an extra Mommy instead.

Can I trade my brother for two sis ters?

What if she had only one ear, could she get three eyes?

Okay, snack time!)

Moving along, on a hot day last April, Nelli had to read to the kids and asked an assistant if she could completely remove the five gay books from the shelf and just read the acceptable stories that remained. The assistant said yes and then reported her to a higher up. Nelli rightly got a lecture for this. Why the hell would she have to remove books in order to read the ones she liked? And it doesn’t sound as if anyone forced her to read the gay books. Just leave them on the damned shelf.

After the incident, the (lesbian) direc tor, Katy Callas, gave Parisenkova a stern lecture and, according to the complaint told her: “If you can not celebrate with us, then Bright Horizons is not a place for you.”

Parisenkova formally requested a religious accommodation and was instead ordered to take diversity training, which she refused. The upshot is that she was fired and sued.

I’m sorry, but this woman sounds like a pill. No one forced her to read the gay books. She wanted them off the shelf while she read the other ones!

I’ve only read the Fox News account and this woman’s own complaint, so now I’m dying to read the “Employee Conference Memo” issued by the school, which Parisenkova claims is full of falsehoods.

This is like those trashy B-movies you start watching by accident and find yourself incapable of shutting off. I must know the other side of this story. Fast forward fifteen minutes and the only news reports I can find on this are all from conservative out lets, so I can’t give you a full pic ture. I did notice a link under “Read More” that asks: “Is Emmanuel the Emu OK? Internet’s beloved bird fights for life after flu hits Florida farm.”

According to The Daily Mail, Emmanuel “is suffering from nerve damage and is unable to eat or drink” after contract ing an illness from wild geese who invaded Knuckle Bump Farms in South Florida. Why is that under “Read More?” Wouldn’t “Read More” lead us to more stories about religion or gay things?

I think we’ve exhausted this topic. Believe It or Not

Speaking of the well-worn road of common GLBT subjects, I have a lit tle news on the transgender cake law suit out of Colorado and you know what? I’m just going to skip it for now. We will be revisiting Colorado anti-discrimination law frequently in coming episodes as we gear up for the big Supreme Court Free Speech case starring the Christian web designer.

Let’s talk instead about the idea that children all over the country are identifying as cats, and woke pub lic school districts are following along by placing litter boxes in the bathrooms. This rings a faint bell. I remember some oddball local law maker making this claim in some city commission meeting or something

like that, to the amusement of the gay media and others. But now, accord ing to NBC News, some 20 conser vatives on the campaign trails have repeated this accusation, plucked out of the fantastical ether of their rabid collective imaginations.

School districts have been obliged to issue press releases or other state ments assuring the public that no, they do not have litter in the bath room, and no, there are no students identifying as cats.

I’m not really sure where this started, but I’m guessing it might have been someone’s hyperbolic remark on the level of: “What next? Soon, school districts be forced to put litter in the bathroom for kids who identify as cats!” I suppose I can see one or two nutcases repeating the notion for whatever reason. But two dozen? Google: “litter in school bathrooms” and you’ll see the range of school dis trict disavowals and crackpot pol iticians, including a candidate for governor of Colorado.

When we were fighting for the right to marry, our adversaries often asked what would happen if someone wanted to marry a pet, or an inani mate object. In response, we would protest that these were absurd argu ments. We never thought that they were real points of contention, nor did those who warned of these out landish slippery slopes. This time, it seems as if some of these people actu ally believe that animal identities are the logical extension of being gay or trans. Sadly, that’s the wide gulf we have to bridge in order to reach each other.

And listen. Kids pretend to be ani mals all the time. My friends and I were all horses for several years as

children, and I had several adult friends in their thirties who all pre tended to be elephants. (I was Jumbo.) This is not what we’re talk ing about.

Lastly, I just pray that our less hinged activists on the far left don’t start advocating on behalf of these myth ical cat creatures and insisting on suitable facilities. Or maybe that’s just what we need— for the whole country to devolve into a nonsensical Seussian debate that ends with a rad ical return to sanity.

Ruh Roh!

We all knew that the Million Moms would be horrified by Velma Dinkley, a suspiciously gay-seeming character in Scooby-Doo, who has now been revealed as a lesbian in a new movie.

“Please be aware that Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo! portrays the famil iar character of Velma as a les bian,” they announced pompously. “To confirm that she is a lesbian, Velma is depicted as googly-eyed and speechless when she encoun ters a new female character, fashion designer Coco Diablo.”

The Million Moms, an offshoot of the American Family Association that as far as I can tell involves one Mom, instructs us to: “Make sure to share this information with your friends and family to guarantee they are not blindsided by this dras tic twist in a familiar cast of char acters. If you were unaware of such a change, you would want them to inform you.”

Market

FraNciSco

415-601-2113

Bellevue aveNue oaklaNd ca 94610

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 first and only LGBTQ newspaper in San Francisco to be named a Legacy Business, recognizing that it is a longstanding, community-serving business that is a valuable cultural asset to the city.

dr. Betty l. SullivaN JeNNiFer l viegaS co-PuBliSherS & co editorS

Beth greeNe, Michael delgado, JohN SigNer, aBBy ZiMBerg deSigN & ProductioN kate lawS BuSiNeSS MaNager Blake dilloN caleNdar editor kit keNNedy Poet iN reSideNce

J.h herreN techNology director

carla raMoS weB coordiNator Mario ordoNeZ diStriButioN

JuaN r davila voluNteer coordiNator

taBitha PareNt SPecial aSSigNMeNt 2022

CONTRIBUTORS

WRITeRS

Rink, Sister Dana Van Iquity, Ann Rostow, Patrick Carney, Carolyn Wysinger, Leslie Sbrocco, Heather Freyer, Kate Kendell, Heidi Beeler, Gary M. Kramer, Joanie Juster, Julie Peri, Jennifer Kroot, Robert Holgate, Eduardo Morales, Dennis McMillan, Tim Seelig, John Chen, Rafael Mandelman, Tabitha Parent, Jewelle Gomez, Phil Ting, Rebecca Kaplan, Leslie Katz, Philip Ruth, Bill Lipsky, Elisa Quinzi, Liam Mayclem, Donna Sachet, Gary Virginia, Zoe Dunning, Derek Barnes, Marcy Adelman, Jan Wahl, Stuart Gaffney & John Lewis Brandon Miller, Jamie Leno Zimron, Michele Karlsberg, Randy Coleman, Debra Walker, Howard Steiermann, Andrea Shorter, Lou Fischer, Brett Andrews, David Landis

PhOTOgRaPheRS

Rink, Phyllis Costa, Jane Higgins Paul Margolis, Chloe Jackman, Bill Wilson, Jo-Lynn Otto, Sandy Morris, Abby Zimberg, Joanie Juster

How Latinx Cultures Celebrate Halloween, All Saints Day, and Día de los Muertos

The word Halloween originated from the phrase “All Hallows’ Eve” and dates back to the ancient times after the Romans conquered the Celts. In the festival of the Samhain, people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts. Then the Catholic Church, through Pope Gregory II, began to recognize November 1 as All Saints Day while incorporating some of the traditions of Samhain. The evening before All Saints Day was known as All Hallows Eve, which was then termed Halloween.

The three consecutive days appear to represent the fine line between the living and the dead for most Latinx cultures. How these days are cele brated throughout Latin America differs by nation. Countries like Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Panama, and Peru celebrate Halloween in a similar fashion as in North America. Although the tradi tions vary, the idea is that Halloween is meant to let go of spirits or ghosts that may interfere with honoring all the saints on November 1.

Most cities throughout Latin America have a unique patron saint and they celebrate it with Fiestas Patronales or festival of their patron saint. However, All Saints Day on November 1 is the day to honor all saints collectively. Each saint rep resents certain specific virtues and the honoring of all the saints on November 1 attempts to incorporate the positive virtues these saints rep resent.

November 2 is considered by the Catholic Church as All Souls Day to honor all the persons who have transitioned into another life. Remembering and honoring those who have died is the idea of All Souls Day by the Catholic Church. Given that many Latin American countries are Christian, including Catholics, they follow the traditions led by the Catholic Church that bring peo ple together to remember those who have touched their lives.

Día de Los Muertos, translated to mean Day of the Dead, dates back to ancient Aztec festivals. This term is commonly used by Mexicans in ref erence to honoring those who have passed with brightly colored skulls, vibrant costumes, and music. The use of skulls with various colors appears to remind them of the line between life and death while seeing death as a transition into another life.

Families in Mexico construct altars to the dead in their homes or in com mon places of gathering to honor deceased relatives and friends. They

decorate the altars with items that represent what they most remember about these individuals.

In Peru, people celebrate on the same day as Halloween the Día de la Cancion Criolla, translated to mean the Day of the Creole Song. Peruvians tend to attach great impor tance to their traditions and culture that includes music. Creolean music is a combination of African, Spanish, and Indigenous influences including the Marinera Dance, which is said to be the national dance of Peru.

People in Columbia use this time to honor those who have passed as angels who bring blessings to the family. Their traditions may include children earning a little extra money by singing “Tintililillo,” signifying five pesos for my pocket. This tra dition practices values such as coex istence, solidarity, and a sense of belonging that are important for chil dren to learn.

All in all, most Latin American cul tures honor these days in joyous, unique ways—rather than sad and sedate—in remembrance of those who have passed. This is a time to gather with friends and family and it has roots in their indigenous cultures and traditions.

The city of San Francisco has its own traditions for these days. AGUILAS will be celebrating a Halloween Fiesta on Thursday, October 27, at the SF LGBT Center from 6 pm to 8:30 pm. The Marigold Project will

observe the Día de Los Muertos with a festival of altars on November 2 at 5 pm that can be watched on their YouTube Channel as well as on Facebook.

The Annual San Francisco Day of the Dead Procession usually takes place on November 2 and is a project of El Colectivo del Rescate Cultural founded by Juan Pablo Gutiérrez, who passed away on December 26. SOMArts, in an observation founded by curator Rio Yañez with co-cura tor Anaís Azul, merges traditional altars with contemporary instal lations and is a multigenerational gathering of remembrance while asserting the role of art as a platform for collective action. The de Young Museum is scheduled to celebrate Día de Los Muertos on October 29 from 12 pm to 2 pm with a per formance by Cuicacalli in Wilsey Court.

Eduardo Morales, Ph.D. is a Professor Emeritus, retired Distinguished Professor, and cur rent adjunct professor at Alliant International University. He is a licensed psychologist and the Executive Director of AGUILAS, which he helped to found. AGUILAS is an award-winning program for Latinx LGBTQ+. Of Puerto Rican decent, Morales has received numerous honors including being named a Fellow of 12 Divisions of the American Psychological Association.

HRC San Francisco Area Dinner & Auction

On Saturday, October 8, members of the local LGBTQ community gathered for the 36th Annual HRC San Francisco Bay Area Dinner & Auction, which celebrated the strides HRC has made toward achieving equality this past year, while preparing for the work ahead.

Co-chairs Molly Herzig and Gary Hilbert opened the program by welcoming mem bers and guests and thanking supporters at the event’s venue, the Hyatt Regency Embarcadero Center. HRC’s incoming president Kelley Robinson delivered the keynote address in her first official duty after assuming the reins to lead the organization going forward.

The Charles M. Holmes Award was presented posthumously to honor the memory of Kelly Herrick, a longtime HRC San Francisco steering committee member and dedicated volun teer. Also honored was the cast of Billy Eichner’s new movie Bros

Among those providing entertainment for the evening were internationally acclaimed singersongwriter VINCINT, LGBTQ+ community comedian Dana Goldberg leading the live auc tion, and DJ Nico Craig spinning tunes at the After Party, hosted by Alaska Airlines. In honor of the annual HRC/SF gala, San Francisco City Hall was lit in the organization’s blue and yellow colors.

Special thanks were expressed to HRC’s National Partners based in Northern California: Apple, Chevron, Doordash, Google, Lyft, TPG, PayPal, and Ross. https://sfbayarea.hrc.org/

Compassion is Universal - Shanti’s 48th Anniversary Dinner

Charlie Meade, Interim Executive Director/Chief Development Officer, and Miki Klearman, M.D., Board of Directors Chair, welcomed guests to the Shanti Project’s 48th Anniversary Dinner held on Thursday, October 13, at the Palace Hotel San Francisco.

Honored for their service and significant contributions to the community as well as positive impact on the lives of San Franciscans were Thomas E. Horn, who received the Nancy Pelosi Lifetime Achievement Award; and Dr. Monica Gandhi, who received the James C. Hormel Community Spirit Award.

Kevin Joyce served as emcee, and San Francisco Poet Laureate Tongo Eisen-Martin appeared as a special guest. More than $130,000 was raised in 20 minutes during the event program. https://www.shanti.org/

See Moulin Rouge, the touring Broadway production that has it all ... dazzling lighting, eye-popping sets, flashy costumes, snippets of a host of pop songs, all delivering, and more confetti gun explosions than a New Year’s Eve celebration! What a great way to celebrate CoCo Butter’s birthday! Thanks to Sean Ray and Brett Baker of the Ambassador Theatre Group, our front row main loge seats thrust our group into the show for an unforgettable experience. Broadway in New York may be the home of such productions, but San Francisco offers us the full experience right here on Market Street. Playing through November. Don’t miss it!

Shanti’s recent Compassion Is Universal gala celebrated 48 years of delivering compassionate care. The evening began at the gorgeous Palace Hotel with a cocktail hour, providing long-separated friends the opportunity to catch up. We chatted with Sister Roma, Ken Gorczyca, Nguyen Pham , Manny Yekutiel, Jiim Provenzano, Michael Yamashita, and Dan Bernal, among others. Then the hypnotic percussion of Jiten Daiko led us to the main event in the plush ballroom, skillfully emceed by Kevin Joyce, start ing with a song with humorous original lyrics, accompanied by the Joe Warner Trio, and moving the program along with finesse. San Francisco Poet Laureate Tongo Eisen-Martin shared his poetic skills. Dr. Monica Ghandi received the James C. Hormel Community Spirit Award and spoke about her long commitment to fighting the AIDS pandemic, followed by a moving video high lighting the many programs of Shanti. Emcee Kevin Joyce then stepped up again, this time to conduct a brisk “fund-in-need” live auc tion. Within a few minutes, nearly $130,000 was raised from the generous crowd. After a personal videotaped message from Speaker

of the House Nancy Pelosi, Thomas E. Horn, Honorary Consul of Monaco, President of the Board of Trustees of the War Memo rial and Performing Arts Center, Trustee of the San Francisco Ballet Association, and Executive Director of the Bob Ross Foundation, received the Nancy Pelosi Lifetime Achievement Award. We were seated at his table and able to enjoy con versation with our table-mate Dede Wilsey, finding much common ground with her legendary charitable giving, fond ness for Kaushik Roy, former Executive Director of Shanti, and absolute obsession with her four dogs. (Yes, she asked to see a photo of our little puppy Peanut, and we happened to have one on hand.) Compassion Is Universal was an example of how to pro duce a signature annual event, while keeping your audience’s attention, recognizing key players, and raising significant money ... truly one of the most professional galas in memory.

As we begin to emerge from this long pandemic and love seeing events large and small returning to the calendar, we are also deeply grieved by the recent deaths of María José Garza and Ken Hamai. Last Sat urday, Gary Virginia, Krewe de Kinque, and other friends of Garza paid tribute to her life at Midnight Sun, raising money to help with final expenses. The event was full of the energy of Garza with perfor mances, remembrances, some of her family members, flowers, and even

Thursday, October 20 Spirit Day: Wear Purple GLAAD highlights LGBTQ Youth All day Free! https://www.glaad.org/

Thursday, October 20

Celebrating the Founding Friends of Harvey Milk Plaza

With Scott Wiener, Rafael Mandelman, & Cleve Jones 530 Bush Street 6 pm By invitation https://www.harveymilkplaza.org/ Friday, Oct, 21

LGBTQ Pride Night with Golden State Warriors Chase Center SF Freedom Band, CHEER SF, give-aways 7 pm $70 & up https://www.ticketmaster.com/ Thursday, Oct. 27

Divas & Drinks at The Academy Bay Times party tribute to Jan Wahl DJ Rockaway, Sister Roma, Frameline’s Nguyen Pham Halloween costumes encouraged 6–10 pm $10 https://www.academy-sf.com/

Monday, October 31

Tilly’s V.U.P. Party: It’s a Halloween Thing

With Cockatielia, Deana Dawn, Kippy Marks, Suppositori Spelling & more Games, snacks, witches’ brew, tricks & treats 4076 18th Street 4–9 pm Free ... but please tip! https://www.reveillecoffee.com/

Through November 12

Juanita: 30 Years of MORE!

Fashion & History Exhibit SF Art Commission Main Gallery, War Memorial Building, 401 Van Ness Noon–5 pm Free! https://www.sfartscommission.org/

a photo keepsake for all attendees. The untimely death of Ken Hamai has impacted so many friends, the Asian/ Pacific Islander Community, the Imperial Court, and many other groups. Our deepest sympathies go out to his partner of many years, Jack Henyon.

As we were in Portland, Oregon, this weekend, we had the chance to catch up with friends of 10, 20, even 30 years, including Brian Bena mati, Joan-E, Jack-E, Champagne, Mr. Bill, Buster Boxx, Scotty Boxx, Cicely, and so many others. It was a chance to reminisce but also to recon nect, as well as meet new people with common ground. In some way, we are shaped by the many people who come into our lives and we took the opportu

nity every time we could to acknowledge those individuals warmly. We are often reminded that loss is a part of life, but acknowledging that fact does not lessen the impact of the deaths of those within our circle. Whether they are close friends for many years, casual acquaintances, or merely familiar faces in the community, their loss leaves a painful gap. While reflecting on our fond mem ories with those friends, never let a day go by without making sure that those who live and con tinue to contribute to the richness of our lives know how much they are appreciated. Resolve now to send a text, compose a memorable email, or even pick up the phone. You’ll be glad you did.

Donna Sachet is a celebrated performer, fundraiser, activist, and philanthropist who has dedicated over two decades to the LGBTQ Community in San Francisco. Contact her at empsachet@gmail.com

“My name’s Elvira, but you can call me tonight!” Elvira, Mistress of the Dark

Measure A: Cost of living adjustment to keep retired, low-wage city work ers from being homeless, hungry, and broke: YES

Measure B: Stop spending mil lions on duplicative administrative bureaucracy and just keep the damn streets clean: YES

Measure C: Waste more money on combating homelessness with another useless commission in the name of oversight: NO

Measure D: Just build more afford able housing and stop the petty poli tics and allowing every damn yahoo in the city to block construction of much-needed new housing: YES

Measure E: Hijack any chance of building affordable housing in the city: NO

Measure F: Keep libraries from crumbling to dust while support ing the only institution that provides childhood (and adult) literacy pro grams, offers free use of computers and printers, and has a free elec tronic book lending system: YES

Measure G: Grant funding to schools to support programs for student well ness and achievement: YES—Never vote against education.

Measure H: A solution chasing a problem; move elections of certain city elected officials to even-num bered years because one crankypants member of the Board of Supervisors saw an opportunity for a power grab: NO

Measure I: A measure pretending to be about Golden Gate Park when it is really about a futile effort to fight Mother Nature and spend billions in the future to keep open the Great Highway, which never should have been built in the first place: NO

Measure J: It used to be my favor ite shortcut to the Sunset District, but it’s the right thing to do; no more cars whizzing through Golden Gate

Park (permanently close part of JFK Drive): YES

Measure K: The so-called “Amazon tax” that won’t impact Amazon at all but will screw over small businesses and is so bad that even the group that put it on the ballot declared “my bad, didn’t mean it” and suspended the campaign: NO

Measure L: Keep SF public trans portation from going off the rails literally and financially with a teenyweeny sales tax that you won’t notice: YES

Measure M: Support the effort of an anti-housing Member of the Board of Supervisors to implement a lame vacancy tax on housing to draw attention away from the BOS being the single biggest impediment to housing construction in SF: NO

Measure N: Change the arcane and corrupt governance structure of the underused Golden Gate Park under ground parking garage so people do not have to spend a fortune to park a car: YES

Measure O: Approval for an itsy bitsy teenie weenie parcel tax to help City College: YES—I’m not thrilled about another property tax, but never vote against education.

Be a good citizen; don’t forget to vote on or before November 8, 2022.

Louise (Lou) Fischer is a Former Co-Chair of the Board of Directors of the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club and has served as an appointed and elected Delegate for the State Democratic Party. She is a proud graduate of the Emerge California Women’s Democratic Leadership program, was a San Francisco Commissioner, and has served in leadership positions in multiple nonprofit and communitybased organizations.

JUSTER (continued from pg 10)

So, this is your public service announcement for Breast Cancer Awareness Month: get educated, get screened, get help if you need it. Become aware of your own risk fac tors, and learn to pay attention to the warning signs. Talk to your doctor, seek appropriate support. Full dis closure: my day job is with the Bay Area Cancer Connections, which provides a wide array of support for people with breast or ovarian cancer, including links to a broad spectrum of information and available services: https://tinyurl.com/BACCInfo

‘Tis the Season

Not the holiday season (although that’s right around the corner), but gala and awards season in the non profit community. This month alone has featured multiple galas raising money for organizations that work hard every day to make our commu nity and our world a better place for everyone. They are all doing great work, and are deserving of our sup port.

I can’t and won’t list them all, but did want to give a couple of shoutouts. First, kudos to Transgender Law Center for making their annual event, SPARK, (October 13) widely available and accessible, first by making it a free livestream, but also by making all audio available through captions, ASL interpreta tion, Spanish language interpreta tion, and audio descriptions available by phone. Well done.

Second shout-out goes to the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club’s annual event, Gayla, on October

22. Always a lively event, two things caught my eye. First, they are pre senting a well-deserved Lifetime Achievement Award to Cleve Jones; go hear his acceptance speech.

Second: The keynote speaker will be teenage activist Zander Moricz, who went viral when he challenged Gov. Ron DeSantis’ infamous “Don’t Say Gay” bill in his gradua tion speech at a Florida high school.

Silent Auction proceeds at Gayla will benefit Zander’s Social Equity and Education (SEE) Initiative that mobilizes voters and empowers stu dent activists to defend marginalized groups—especially the queer com munity—across the United States. https://tinyurl.com/SeeZM

Before October Ends...

• Don’t miss Juanita MORE’s birth day celebration at the SF Art Commission Gallery on October 28.

Visit Leslie Ewing’s first-ever car toon show at the Rockridge Café before it ends on October 26.

• Check your voter registration to make sure it’s accurate.

Get whichever vaccinations you need to get you through the winter: COVID booster, flu shot, MPX vaccine ... check with your health care provider to make sure you’re protected.

Be kind to yourself and others; elec tion season is not for the faint of heart.

Joanie Juster is a long-time commu nity volunteer, activist, and ally.

The Castro Barber Lounge Dog Birthday Party for Stylist’s Popular Pet

The dog of barber and stylist Angel Benitez has become a pop ular fixture at The Castro Barber Lounge at 2265 Market Street. The friendly canine, named “Castro,” matches the dis position of Benitez himself, who is known for his generosity, community support, welcoming shop, and great haircuts, beard trims, and coloring services. In fact, customers and passersby often stop for a chat even if they do not need a haircut, turning the Lounge into a makeshift mini community center.

When it was Castro’s birthday recently, Benitez and his large base of customers and friends decided to throw a party. Neighbors and fellow shop owners were welcomed with their dogs for the event that included festive decorations, a birthday cake, and a lot of contented barks and howls.

To learn more about Benitez, who has 22 years of hair cutting and styling experience: http://www.angelhairsf.com/

The Castro Barber Lounge website: https://sanfranciscobarbershop.com/

According to writer James Gunn, the develop ment should not “blindside” anyone who is famil iar with the show. Velma has always been gay, even when she was dating Shaggy, who by implication is a male character. That relationship was wrong for her, Gunn told Vanity Fair in 2020. “There are hints about the why in that episode with the mermaid, and if you follow the entire Marcie arc, it seems as clear as we could make it ten years ago. I don’t think Marcie and Velma had time to act on their feelings during the main timeline, but post reset, they are a couple. You can not like it, but this was our inten tion.”

Hmmm. I confess I did not follow the “entire Marcie arc,” but the “episode with the mermaid” sounds intriguing, does it not? And if Velma and Marcie are a couple, why is Velma making eyes at Coco Diablo? Not cool, girl.

We’re Here, We’re Queer, We’re Everywhere!

There’s good news for the GLBT electorate, accord ing to research from the Human Rights Campaign and Bowling Green State University. The boffins used data from the last census to determine that by 2030, one in seven voters will be LGBTQ, while the figure will rise to one in five by 2040. Right now, we stand at a measly 11 percent—let’s call it one in ten for purposes of comparison.

The bottom line is that we’re becoming more signif icant. But you have to ask yourself ... will the pool of eligible voters even matter in 2030 or 2040 when dictatorial Republicans have taken control of the Democratic process and tossed out all the votes from urban centers and blue states?

But let’s be optimistic and assume Democracy sur vives a decade or two. It’s true that the GLBT com munity is not monolithic. But we’re still pretty damned Democratic—one of the bluest voting blocs out there. The rise in our electoral power is mainly due to Gen Z’s propensity for identifying as some thing other than straight, so we’ll see whether or not they stay on the liberal side of the aisle as I hope and pray they will.

LGBTQ votes will exceed the national average in Georgia, Arizona, Texas, Nevada, and Colorado. In Ohio, the report says LGBTQ voters will rise from 10 percent of eligible voters to 18 percent in 2040. Go, Buckeyes! Talk about swing states!

Meanwhile, looking at next month’s showdown, don’t forget that even if we lose the House, a

Democratic Senate will ensure that Biden and Schumer will basically reverse the Trump judge phenomenon, by appointing more judges to the appellate courts in our four years then Trump and McConnell did in their four years. And for those of you Republicans out there, forgive me for the blan ket use of “we” and “our,” but I’m including moder ates as well. If you’re a conservative Republican, I don’t care if I am leaving you out of my assumptions. I’m not sure why you’re reading, but hello! I wish you no harm.

Nasty, Brutish, and Short What else is new?

Oh, my God. Here’s a “gray-haired man” in Conway, Arkansas, who stood up from the audience to speak at a school district meeting about transgen der issues. According to The Advocate, the guy called GLBTs “depraved.”

“They invent ways of doing evil. But let me remind you that those who do such things deserve death,” he said, reading from notes. “The LGBT community not only continues to do these very things, but also approves of those who practice them.” The room erupted in cheers and boos.

The school board went on to restrict bathrooms to people’s sex at birth and also ordered sports teams to make sure all the kids stayed in hotel rooms with non-transgendered roommates. Or, if I understand them correctly, if a transgender boy is on the team, he’ll have to stay in a room with the girls. Likewise, a trans-girl will bunk with the boys. Do these people ever think things through?

For good measure, the board also banned a cou ple of GLBT books, Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out by Susan Kuklin and Felix Ever After, a young adult novel by Kacen Callender,

The local state senator for Conway, Jason Rapert, told The Arkansas Times : “For the first time in my entire representation in the Arkansas Senate have I ever felt led to come and speak at a school board meeting. I am proud of the school board members.”

I’m aware that Mr. Rapert’s comment does not scan grammatically, but I think we know what he’s try ing to say. All in all, the meeting sounds like an ugly business, conducted by cruel people with narrow minds and mean little hearts. Shame on them.

The fusty British drama, My Policeman, opening in theaters October 21 and available on Prime Video November 4, recounts the love triangle that develops between characters Tom, Marion, and Patrick in 1957 Brighton as well as four decades later. The film, helmed by out director Michael Grandage, and written by gay screenwriter Ron Nyswaner, who adapted Bethan Roberts’ book, comes off as both stuffy and a bit stagey. Most of the action has the characters behaving politely—or not—in well-appointed rooms as they stifle their real feelings.

As the film opens in the 1990s, Patrick (Rupert Everett) is arriving at the home where Marion (Gina McKee) and her husband Tom (Linus Roache) are living. Patrick has had a stroke and requires care, which Marion agrees to provide, but Tom refuses to acknowledge their guest. The tension between Marion and her husband as well as between Tom and Patrick triggers painful memories for all.

Moreover, Marion finds Patrick’s diaries among his personal effects, and sets about reading them, which leads to extended flashbacks from when they all first met in 1957.

My Policeman shows how Tom (Harry Styles) meets Marion (nonbinary Emma Corrin). He teaches her how to swim; she teaches him culture. But it eventually becomes clear that Tom’s interest in books, art, and music (opera) is really his way of being with their influential friend Patrick (out

My Policeman Depicts a Gay Romance in 1950s Britain

David Dawson), who works at the local museum and is—gasp—eventually revealed to be a homosexual.

Scenes depicting Patrick sketching Tom lead to a cozy moment that soon turns erotic. While Tom tries to deny his same-sex longings, he returns to Patrick’s apartment for more sex, and the guys share a secret love affair.

And if anyone needs a reminder of how dangerous it was to be gay back in 1957 Britain—when it was a crime—the film includes a scene of Patrick picking up a gentleman in an underground bar and running from the police when they are caught in an alley about to have sex.

While Patrick tries to protect himself, My Policeman shows how Tom struggles. He proposes to Marion in a bid for “normalcy,” but still cannot resist being with Patrick. When Patrick pays Tom to accompany him on a trip to Venice—so they can be together without Tom having to go back to work or his wife—it practically telegraphs how Marion will react.

Herein lies the problem with My Policeman.

Like Tom who tries to please both his lovers—but ends up pleasing

neither—the film tries to create something romantic and tragic but ends up being neither. The passion between Tom and Patrick is certainly greater

QUEER

QUIZ

than Tom’s love for Marion. The sex between the men is sensual, and the film will certainly please viewers who want to see Styles naked, kissing men, and in the throes of samesex ecstasy. In contrast, Tom consummating his marriage with Marion is stiff and awkward for him, her, and viewers.

And while Styles is certainly attractive enough to catch the eyes of both genders here, as an actor, his performance is pretty uneven. (He is best when he keeps his mouth shut, as when he’s posing for Patrick.)

He never quite convinces as a man lovesick for his friend, yet watching the two guys hold hands discretely during a musical performance, or when they are walking along a coastline, is sweet. However, an outburst Tom has about Patrick not knowing about children— which is really him expressing his own self-loathing—is almost risible.

Corrin, too, seems miscast. She is appropriately innocent until she puzzles out what her husband and his best friend are up to together. (A scene of her spying on them is necessary, perhaps, but it feels so contrived.)

And while her anger at being betrayed by both men, whom she insists want to destroy her marriage, is justified, how she processes things— that homosexuality is “unnatural”— seems to be a knee-jerk reaction/ rejection rather than something she truly believes.

Dawson is best as the effete Patrick. He is a natty dresser and has a panache that is appealing to both Tom and Marion—until it isn’t. But he is the most truthful character in the film, which is why he gains the most sympathy, and Dawson plays him as both romantic and tragic, which is why his performance shines. Styles broods sexily, Corrin broods with indignation, but Dawson only broods when Patrick is separated from Tom.

The scenes set in the 1990s are not much better. (The toggling back and forth between time periods also undercuts the power of the story.)

Marion and Tom both brood, and Patrick, who can barely talk, just wants a cigarette. The bickering between Marion and Tom comes off as forced. There is just not enough investment in these characters 40 years later to make their emotions resonate.

When Tom spies a gay couple in town, he rushes to his car to cry, perhaps regretting what his life could have been. But My Policeman fails to jerk tears, despite one character’s declaration that all love stories are tragic. What is unfortunate about this film is that it so bland; it could have been so much better.

Gary M. Kramer is the author of “Independent Queer Cinema: Reviews and Interviews,” and the co-editor of “Directory of World Cinema: Argentina.” Follow him on Twitter @garymkramer

Madness in the Movies

Off the Wahl

Vivien Leigh and Lawrence Olivier are the subjects of a fascinating new book, Truly, Madly, vividly written by Stephen Galloway. Consider this revealing passage about the two-time Academy Award winner for Best Actress (Gone with the Wind, A Streetcar Named Desire):

“Vivien was in despair when she was back on the set of Caesar and Cleopatra. Sometimes her mind was clouded. In the middle of shooting, described by many who were there, her features transfigured. She broke from Shaw’s dialogue and her brows hardened into an angry line as she in harsh voice berated her dresser with a piercing glare. This was short lived and left in five minutes, but continued sporadically. She seemed unaware of her mood altering and the horrific experience it was to everyone. Larry was lost, too.”

It was later revealed that she suffered from bipolar disorder and recurrent bouts of chronic tuberculosis, which surely helped underly these episodes.

Galloway continued, “To declare Vivien mad would have caused her to be locked up. The term mental illness was not yet used, and women who were labeled ‘hysterics’ could be confined for months.”

There is much documentation about Leigh’s fragile hold on reality, even as early as her Scarlett O’Hara days. While Olivier would hide his fears (including his bisexuality), channeling it all into work, Leigh couldn’t contain her public behavior, lashing out and dissolving in front of many. I remember the late Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.,

telling me these stories. Now many are in print and give us a deeper appreciation of this fine actress.

There is much more to know about these two remarkable performers and people,

Leigh and Olivier. Their passionate relationship turned into a nightmare, but that was not always the case. There were glorious years of Shakespeare, movies, romance on and offscreen, and the elites of London and America as friends, lovers, and fans. They were global celebrities, their fame accentuated by tabloids.

In her films, the magnificent Leigh cycled between exaltation and dejection. Olivier felt empty inside but would throw it all into unforgettable performances, trying to discover the man behind the empty suit. The two were different but deeply, madly in love.

Their performances onscreen last the test of time. Olivier in 1940’s Rebecca is a Hitchcock classic, a psychological thriller about a cold widower and his new bride. Joan Fontaine told me she actually was fearful of Olivier, onscreen and off camera, sure he wanted his Vivien to play her role. This movie has everything: gorgeous cinematography, lesbian overtones with Dame Judith Anderson, and perfectly spoken language by Daphne du Maurier, such as the memorable line: “Last night I dreamt I went to Mandalay.”

This was Hitchcock’s daughter’s favorite of her father’s films and one of my own as well. Skip the

2020 remake. Other Olivier favorites include Sleuth and the earlier and best Pride and Prejudice, costarring glorious Greer Garson.

Tennessee Williams was a great friend to Leigh, as detailed in Galloway’s book, until he also felt powerless to help her. 1961’s The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone is a haunting portrayal by Leigh as one of William’s aging divas, afraid of growing old while hooked up with a gigolo in Rome (Warren Beatty). Leigh breaks my heart in this film, as she does in Ship of Fools and the earlier Waterloo Bridge and with Olivier in That Hamilton Woman

Madness in the movies comes in as many forms as mental illness itself. There are the illusions of Grey

Sister Dana Sez: Words of Wisdumb from a Fun Nun

Sister Dana sez, “May I be the first to wish you a Very HAPPY HALLOWEEN! And because this is our Queer High Holiday, may it be an extremely Happy HallowQUEEN!”

This October 20 is SPIRIT DAY, when millions of people will “go purple” to take a united stand against bullying and harassment. You can add your name, take the pledge, wear purple, and more—to let your community know you support LGBTQ youth—on “Spirit Day” and every day. This is an annual LGBTQ awareness day observed on the third Thursday in October. Started in 2010 by Canadian teenager Brittany McMillan , it was initially created in response to a rash of widely publicized bullying-related suicides of gay school students in 2010, including that of Tyler Clementi https://tinyurl.com/5cuna3u2

HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN (HRC) held its annual SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA DINNER on October 8 at the Embarcadero Hyatt Regency Hotel. Since 1980, HRC has led the way

in fighting for LGBTQ equality and inclusion. This was an incredible evening of storytelling and inspiration. The HRC fundraising dinners provide important funds to fuel their mission, including resources for their work on the critical elections later this year. We joined them at that night to engage in their work as they fight even harder for the LGBTQ community. Incoming new HRC President Kelley Robinson spoke out for LGBQ rights.

Robinson—a widely respected leader in the progressive movement—is the organization’s ninth president and the first Black, queer woman to lead HRC. WOW! We embrace her with big, loving, hugging arms! And I am so excited to report that she “took us to church” with her overwhelming enthusiasm—neverthe less it was not all joy. While it was certainly a celebratory and joyous occasion, the hard reality is our community is under vicious and relentless attack. And being together at this time will be essential to show we will not back down. In state after state, LGBTQ Americans are under siege—with a strong focus on queer and transgender youth—the most vulnerable among us. Whether it is the “Don’t Say Gay or Trans Bill” in Florida, the banning of life-affirming queer literature in Texas, or access to critical healthcare in Tennessee and South Dakota—our rights and dignity are being stripped away.

But on the lighter side, comedian Dana Goldberg got us somehow laughing at our political circumstance (including Trump and his many merciless minions) and served as awesome auctioneer. Singer/songwriter VINCINT

utterly rocked the house with his song and dance. We happily jumped in the aisles. Remembering Kelly Herrick received the Charles M. Holmes Award posthumously and was accepted by the proud son of Kelly for all that his father had accomplished for HRC as a volunteer, leader, ambassador—and so much more activism. The gay romcom, BROS , received the Visibility Award. One of the best parts of that movie for me is just in knowing that almost the entire cast and crew are openly queer. Well, that, and because it is just so much fun to be so gay! After-party entertainment was provided by DJ Nico we danced the night away to oldies ‘80s! But on an especially happy note: in process of attempting to get Sister Dana properly onto the press table, I thankfully got eventually joyfully seated by the awesome activist Tom Temprano —when we dished, discussed, and deliciously did dessert. Delightful! As if there weren’t enough reasons not to want anti-abortion hypocrite Herschel Walker to win Georgia but Senator Raphael Warnock to remain, Geoff Wetrosky, campaign director at the Human Rights Campaign, said Walker is recycling the wellworn political strategy of scaring voters using a marginalized minority.

“He is spreading propaganda and creating more stigma, discrimina tion, and violence against LGBTQ people,” Wetrosky said. “Their rhetoric is not about keeping kids safe; it’s about riling up a small number of base voters while interfering with the rights of parents of LGBT kids to provide stable, happy, and healthy homes for the kids.” Sister Dana

sez, “If Walker wins that vital senate seat, it will ONLY be by cheating—which Repugnicans have proven to be their only strategy!”

After fuming over Halle Bailey portray ing Ariel in the upcoming live-action reboot of The Little Mermaid, conservatives are at it again—furious over Velma coming out as queer in the new Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo!

Sister Dana sez, “Score one more for Our Team!!!”

President Biden par doned everyone con victed of marijuana possession under fed eral law and said the U.S. will review how the drug is classified. The pardons will clear about 6,500 people who were convicted on federal charges of simple possession of marijuana from 1992 to 2021 and thousands more who were convicted of possession in the District of Columbia. Sister Dana sez, “It’s about time; but now we need ALL the states to get a ‘contact high’ and make this statewide procedure! EVERY state must ‘puff puff pass’ this pot policy!”

TO LOVE AND BE LOVED IN RETURN was the title of the “Día de los Muertos” (“Day of the Dead” ) Exhibition Unveiling and Opening Reception on October 7 at SOMArts Cultural Center. Curated by Rio Yañez and Anaís Azul , it

exemplifies how the love between us and our dead continue to help us to navigate the world. This year, artists reflected on how those we have lost have taught us to love and be loved in return. As we navigate a world troubled with war and injustice, we are more connected to each other than we ever thought possible. Love is the orchestrator connecting us to our departed and the action grounding our communities in healing. The show featured curatorial remarks and the launch of the René Yañez Legacy Fund. This was the first public Día de Los Muertos opening reception since 2019. https://somarts.org/

Making the Rounds: Defying Norms in Love and Medicine

was an important part of my journey of discovering who I was. The second hardest was the last section, when I had to revisit the relationship I had with a woman whom I so wanted a committed, monogamous relation ship with, who was not capable of the same at the time. Finding her again after 40 years of no contact brought up old feelings that drove me into short-term therapy to deal with.

Michele Karlsberg: This month, Patrica Grayhall is celebrating the publication of her memoir, Making the Rounds: Defying Norms in Love and Medicine (She Writes Press). The inspiration for the memoir began with a box that remained unopened in her various closets for forty years. Then, while downsizing, she opened it, took out the journals and letters, and began reading. The memories and feelings flooded back. As Grayhall relived her personal journey in the late 1960s and 1970s—an illegal abortion, coming out as a lesbian, a woman training to become a doctor—none approved by society, she realized that her experiences have relevance beyond the personal, especially now. Her mem oir is the result of taking charge of the narrative of that turbulent period to make sense of seemingly random and chaotic events influenced by the culture.

I recently spoke with Grayhall for the San Francisco Bay Times

Michele Karlsberg: What part of the book was most difficult for you to write?

Patricia Grayhall: The early chapters in the book when I am trying desperately to be straight were the most difficult to write. I was tempted to leave out the chapter in which I had sex with an older man as an underage teenager to see if it

would transform me into a straight woman. Though I realize as an adult he was a predator and I was naïve and heavily influenced by the culture, I felt a perpetual shame that was not mine.

It was the MeToo Movement, and my friends had hidden stories of sexual abuse for years, which motivated me to keep those chapters in the book. It

Michele Karlsberg: Tell us more about your memoir being set in the 1960s and 1970s and its relevance today?

Patricia Grayhall: With the Supreme Court decision overturn ing Roe v. Wade, more than half the states are codifying women’s second-

Lit

Scatter of Light by Malinda Lo

From Malinda Lo, author of the fantastic Last Night at the Telegraph Club, comes another coming-of-age novel in the same universe. This one is set in the Bay Area right as gay marriage became law of the land. It’s got sparks! It’s got art, It’s got self-discovery! It’s another young adult novel for all ages.

Thistlefoot by Gennarose Nethercott

Thistlefoot is the name of the chicken house that the sibling descendants of the Eastern European witch, Baba Yaga, inherit; they command it in Yiddish in this charming novel that mixes Jewish history and folklore with a story set on a journey across today’s America. It is a spooky tale, to be sure, but one that also contains a queer love story!

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

We’re sure you know the Frankenstein story, but did you know that the book’s author, Mary Shelley, Original Goth, wore her departed husband’s calcified heart on a necklace and had affairs with women after his death? https://www.fabulosabooks.com/

Top of your stack

RECOMMENDATIONS FROM BOOK PASSAGE

Still Life (fiction - paperback) by Sarah Winman

Newly released in paperback is this captivating, bighearted, richly tapestried story of people brought together by love, war, art, flood, and the ghost of E. M. Forster, by the celebrated author of Tin Man. With beautiful prose, extraordinary tenderness, and bursts of humor and light, Still Life is a sweeping portrait that is full of grace and queer love and is rich with history and art.

Illustrated Black History (nonfiction - hardbound) by George McCalman

This is a gorgeous collection of 145 original portraits that celebrate Black pioneers—famous and little-known—in politics, science, literature, music, and more—with biographical reflections, all created and curated by an award-winning graphic designer.

Vote For Us (nonfiction - paperback) by Joshua A. Douglas

Professor Joshua A. Douglas, an expert on our electoral system, examines encouraging developments in this inspiring book about how regular Americans are working to take back their democracy, one community at a time. It is told through the narratives of those working on positive voting rights reforms. Douglas includes chapters on expanding voter eligibility, easing voter registration rules, making voting more convenient, enhancing accessibility at the polls, and much more.

Upcoming Events

Saturday, October 22 @ 1 pm (free in store, Corte Madera) David Fenton, author of The Activist’s Media Handbook, in-conversa tion with David Talbot and Judy Gumbo In this book, activist and public relations thought leader David Fenton shares lessons on how to organize successful media campaigns, cultivated from more than half a century working within some of history’s most impactful social movements.

Sunday, October 23 @ 2 pm (ticketed, Dominican University) Tom Felton, author of Beyond the Wand, in conversation with Noah Griffn Get a backstage pass into Tom Felton’s life on and off the big screen, from the magical moments on set as Draco Malfoy to the challenges of growing up in

Faces from Our LGBT Past

Elsa Gidlow lived her life as she wanted always: openly as an independent woman.

Poet, essayist, philosopher, and humanist, Gidlow wrote her first book, On a Grey Thread, in 1923, and it contained the first frankly lesbian love poetry published in the United States. It was not only written by and about a woman who loves women, but also one who identified herself as its author. Beginning with “The Grey Thread,” the first in the collection, she described the different facets of her personal identity:

“My life is a grey thread,/A thin grey stretched out thread,/And when I trace its course, I moan:/How dull!

How dead!/But I have gay beads./A pale one to begin,/A blue one for my painted dreams,/And one for sin,/ Gold with coiled marks,/Like a snake’s skin.”

Unlike the poets of earlier generations (Tennyson, Whitman, Dickinson), who used coded language to describe their deep affection for those of their own gender, Gidlow made no secret that she was writing about women loving each other. Both her own

Elsa Gidlow: Poet, Philosopher, Independent Woman

sexuality and “the direction of emotional attention” in her poems were undisguised:

“Watch my Love in sleep: Is she not beautiful As a young flower at night Weary and glad with dew?”

The beliefs Gidlow shared in On a Grey Thread were far ahead of their time and contrary to its fundamental, traditional values. Not only was she openly admitting her sexual orientation and publicly advocating for same-sex intimacy—both purple and green were colors associated with homosexuality—but she also endorsed open relationships:

“You’re jealous if I kiss this girl and that, You think I should be constant to one mouth? Little you know of my too quenchless drouth: My sister, I keep faith with love, not lovers.”

Born Elsie Alice Gidlow on December 29, 1898, in Hull, England, Gidlow with her family moved to Montreal, Canada, when she was 15. She knew who she was at an early age. In the fall of 1917, still only 18, she wrote a letter to the Montreal Daily Star and invited all interested individuals to join the first meeting of a writers’ club she was starting. Among those who attended was Roswell George Mills, who became the first “openly gay” Canadian.

According to Gidlow, “He was beautiful. About nineteen, exquisitely made up, slightly perfumed, dressed in ordinary men’s clothing but a little on the chi-chi side. And he swayed about, you know.” Mills considered it his personal crusade to make people “understand that it was beautiful, not

evil, to love others of one’s own sex and make love with them.” Because they were both interested in poetry and the arts, the two became fast friends.

The year after they met, Gidlow and Mills founded Les Mouches Fantastiques (The Fantastic Flies), the first magazine published in North America not only to be written primarily by lesbians and gays, but also to discuss their concerns and to celebrate them in its poetry and articles. No more than 100 mimeographed copies of the early issues were produced, but those were passed from reader to reader. At least one reached an Episcopal priest living in South Dakota, who then moved to Montreal to become Mills’ lover.

Gidlow and Mills created five issues of the magazine before Gidlow moved to New York in 1920. Barely 21, she was seeking greater opportunity to live as she pleased. She changed her name to Elsa, took a job with

Pearson’s Magazine, and began a love affair with Violet (Tommy) HenryAnderson, a Scottish golfer who was sixteen years her senior. “Tommy was able to tell me more than I had ever suspected of women’s passionate, romantic involvement with one another,” she wrote in 1986. In 1926, she and Tommy left New York, sailing through the Panama Canal to San Francisco. Except for a year in Europe, visiting Mills and touring the continent, Gidlow continued to live in the Bay Area for the rest of her life. She and Tommy had been together 13 years when Tommy died in 1935. “We were profoundly sure of our right to be as we were, to love and live in our chosen way, we were happy in it,” Gidlow remembered.

Eventually Gidlow moved to Fairfax, California, then a rural community

some fifty miles north of the city. In 1946, she began corresponding with Isabel Grenfell Quallo, a Congoleseborn British-American who lived in New York. Gidlow invited her to visit, but she was reluctant, explaining that “a woman who discovers she is a lesbian and is a visible member of a minority has three strikes against her.” She arrived in 1947, only after Gidlow assured her that she lived in an open-minded community. Gidlow was wrong. Soon the California Senate’s Subcommittee on Un-American Activities called her to testify about her membership in

Dines

The Trident: Still Groovy a Generation Later

mini-vacation, just minutes over the Golden Gate Bridge. Plus, it’s exceptionally dog-friendly.

It’s more than 50 years after the Summer of Love but Sausalito’s The Trident restaurant and bar is still groovy, more than a generation later.

Sitting on the dock overlooking San Francisco Bay (to quote a song from that era) and with a stunning view of the city skyline, The Trident evokes the halcyon beat generation and hippie days of the 1950s and ‘60s, with a history to match. Built in 1898 to house the San Francisco Yacht Club, the restaurant came into its own when the famed Kingston Trio bought what was then a jazz club called the Yacht Dock in 1960.

Around 1966, with the hippie movement in full swing, the club evolved into The Trident as a natural food restaurant and entertainment venue. Notable celebrities at the time made it their go-to hangout, including: Joan Baez, Janis Joplin, Jerry Garcia, the Smothers Brothers, and Bill Graham, to name a few.

And did you know that The Trident’s bartender, “liquor legend” Bobby Lozoff, re-invented the Tequila Sunrise at the restaurant in the early 1970s? He created the new version specifically for the visiting Rolling Stones, who then promoted it on their national “cocaine and tequila sunrise” tour.

The Trident closed in 1976 and became Horizons restaurant in 1980. Recently, I spoke with owner Bob Freeman, who since 2001 also has owned the historic Buena Vista Café in San Francisco. Prior to The Trident, he founded the successful Victoria Station and California Café chains. “I had my company buy the Trident restaurant lease in 1997,” explains Freeman, “as well as 20% of the building. I myself took it over in 2001 and operated it as Horizons, with the upstairs, Ondine, becoming a banquet space. Then, I took over full ownership of the building in 2003. In 2012, I closed and renovated the downstairs (uncovering the long-hidden ceiling murals that restored the 1960s patina) and turned it back into The Trident.” Currently, the Ondine space is being leased out and will become a new restaurant later this fall.

As you enter the establishment, psychedelic murals, 70s wood interiors, and posters from a bygone musical era punctate the décor of this history-laden spot. But it’s the panoramic view that dominates, visible from the moment you hit the host stand. While the interior is iconic, I always opt to sit outside on the deck. The fresh sea air, the views of the Bay— as well as an occasional dolphin or sea lion sighting—make for a

One could just continue to rave about the view—but then there’s the food. We’ve visited several times recently, always during the day for lunch to enjoy the vistas. Worthy standouts include oysters that change constantly, depending on what’s fresh. On our last visit, we sampled sweetwater oysters: deliciously creamy, midsize, and accompanied by an inventive mignonette with onion, pepper, and cilantro. The horseradish devilled eggs are a great starter, and can be enhanced with bacon, caviar, or Dungeness crab.

When it’s available, the local stone crab cocktail is my personal favorite. It’s from Tomales Bay and the lump meat is sweet and tasty. The fish tacos are always a winner. They come three to an order, perfect for sharing. Made with Pacific Corvina sea bass, the tacos are topped with a mango salsa, and accompanied by a spicy Fresno slaw on the side. I’m also a big fan of the fresh Petrale sole, often on special, served with lemon, capers, white wine sauce, fresh veggies, and crema corn. I haven’t tried it yet, but I’ve also heard good things about the Trident’s cioppino.

If you’re visiting on Fridays, the restaurant has an “aloha” menu with the traditional Hawaiian plate lunch, sticky ribs, and a special Trident rum punch. Speaking of which, the beverage menu at The Trident is extensive, with numerous craft cocktails and a wide selection of beers and wines. We generally choose the Fleurs de Prairie still rosé wine from Provence, but I’m also partial to the Trident’s Ramos Fizz (and the Tequila Sunrise is a must). Service is always amenable, friendly, and attentive.

The Trident is also a favorite of my fellow San Francisco Bay Times columnist, Jan Wahl, who loves the restaurant’s salmon tartare, Sausalito Louis with crab and shrimp, and the celebrated Irish Coffee (invented and made famous by their sister restaurant, the Buena Vista Café in San Francisco).

If you’re driving, The Trident offers another plus: on-site valet parking, and they validate—quite important in jam-packed downtown Sausalito.

As a final gift from The Trident, here’s their famous Tequila Sunrise recipe, invented by the mighty mixologist Bobby Lozoff.

Bobby Lozoff’s Tequila Sunrise (from The Trident)

Ingredients:

1 part Jose Cuervo Especial Silver

2 parts orange juice

1 tsp grenadine

Preparation:

1. Pour tequila and orange juice into a glass, over ice.

2. Slowly pour in grenadine.

3. Enjoy in a way the Rolling Stones would approve of.

Bits and Bites

Alexander’s Steakhouse has just opened a new offshoot, Afici, with Chef Eric Upper. Located in the South of Market district, the fixed-price restaurant “showcases contemporary American cuisine with influences from French and Italian flavors.”

The former Sir Francis Drake Hotel, now rechristened the Beacon Grand, is offering “spirit tasting experiences,” including: Amador whiskey nights on Saturdays, Hennessy cocktail “Fireside Chats” on Thursdays, and “Bubbles, Barrels and Tea” featuring champagne, hot tea, and barrelaged cocktails and food pairings on Saturdays in October and November.

I’ve heard good things about Bear, the fine dining restaurant at the new Stanly Ranch (part of the Auberge Resorts Collection) in Napa. The kitchen is helmed by Executive Chef Garrison Price, who previously worked at Il Florista in New York.

To honor the heroic first responders on the 2-year anniversary of the Glass Fire, Davis Estates Winery has dedicated its 2020 Davis Estates chardonnay to local firefighters. It is called the “Thank You First Responders Chardonnay”; 50% of the proceeds will be donated to Napa Valley firehouses. Because of winemaking conditions during the fires, this chardonnay has no new oak and was finished in stainless steel tanks, which gives it a more crisp, acidic, and refreshing flavor profile.

To celebrate the history and tradition of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cakebread Cellars hosts its annual Cabernet Day on Saturday, November 12, with barrel tastings, winemaker talks, samples of the vineyard’s new reserve wines, and food/wine pairings.

Seems like yesterday since they opened, but E&O Kitchen and Bar (one of the city’s first modern Asian restaurants) in San Francisco’s Union

Square just celebrated 25 years. Congratulations!

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Convite Una is a special release from the best-selling Oaxacan Mezcal Convite.

Owner Hotaling & Co. will donate 10 percent of every bottle sold to the Mexican breast cancer charity, FUCAM.

Chef & Pitmaster Matt Horn of Horn Barbecue in Oakland announced his latest project, “The

Academy of Smoke.” The youth program for local Bay Area children launches next spring. The initiative “empowers and inspires kids through the craft of barbecue.”

Boys & girls, ages 8–12 years, are encouraged to apply for a 4–6-week program aimed at teaching the history, craft, and art of barbecue, fire management and safety, and cooking. Applicants are asked to share a paragraph-page on why they would like to attend The Academy of Smoke and a bit about themselves.

Chef Horn will select a group to join the 4–6week program, all expens es paid.

The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) at Copia has a new executive chef.

CIA alum Dominic Orsini has come back to his original stomping grounds to provide culinary oversight and menu planning for its restaurants, including The Grove and the Lunch Box. A seasoned chef with more than 20 years of experience under his belt, Orsini served nearly 15 years as executive chef at Silver Oak Winery.

LINE hotel just opened in San Francisco’s Tenderloin, with four distinct dining and drinking options: three at the groundfloor (Tenderheart, Alfred Coffee, and Dark Bar); and a panoramic rooftop restaurant, Rise Over Run, above Market Street on the property’s twelfth floor.

American Express Gold Card and Resy present The Dim Sum Experience, coming to San Francisco’s Mister Jiu’s on November 19. Acclaimed Chinese chefs coast-to-coast provide their interpretation of a one-of-a-kind dim sum experience. In San Francisco, that would be award-winning chef Brandon Jew, who will work alongside Nom Wah, owner of Nom Wah Tea Parlor, New York’s first dim sum restaurant.

Many of my loyal readers know that I got my start in my food career first as a guest on KQED’s Check Please! Bay Area One of my citizen co-hosts, the ebullient chef and cookbook author Illyanna Maisonet (who now lives in Sacramento), has just come out with a new book all about Puerto Rican cooking. Titled Diasporican, the book contains (according to its publisher, Penguin Random House), “over 90 delicious, deeply personal recipes that tell the story of Puerto Rico’s stateside diaspora from the United States’ first Puerto Rican food columnist, award-winning writer Illyanna Maisonet.” It’s available at your local independent bookstore or through Amazon.

The Trident: https://www.thetrident.net/

Afici: https://www.aficisf.com/ Beacon Grand: https://tinyurl.com/4zv3sdba Bear at Stanly Ranch: https://tinyurl.com/mr43e6pe

Davis Estates Winery: https://www.davisestates.com/

Cakebread Cellars: https://cakebread.com/ E&O Kitchen and Bar: https://eandokitchen.com/ Convite Una: https://en.convitemezcal.com/ Horn Barbecue: https://www.hornbarbecue.com/

The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) at Copia: https://www.ciaatcopia.com/ Line Hotel in San Francisco: https://tinyurl.com/y4fw8764

The Dim Sum Experience: https://tinyurl.com/2m7tkyf3

Diasporican: https://tinyurl.com/2svnss3y

David Landis, aka “The Gay Gourmet,” is a foodie, a freelance writer, and a retired PR maven. Follow him on Instagram @GayGourmetSF or email him at: davidlandissf@ gmail.com Or visit him online at: www.gaygourmetsf.com

Castro Family Halloween Block Party on October 30

TLC: Tears, Laughs and Conversation Dr. Tim Seelig

All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts.

—William Shakespeare

No truer words were ever spoken about life and its many parts. When we are young, each of us creates a play (or opera) in our minds that we imagine for our lives. We set the stage, select the players, and choose some fabulous costumes. For some of us, the plans may have included Barbie and her dream house. My dream was that she would move out and leave me with the dashing Ken, even though he’s not my type. Sometimes, we allow scenes to be written by others. It is a life challenge to grab the pen (computer) and write our own story. There will most definitely be lots of rewrites along the way.

Just when we think our life story is set and ready for prime time, someone or something comes along with a big eraser or “delete” button. Life throws us a curve ball—or a hand grenade. That’s when we find out how adaptable we are and learn new levels of resilience within ourselves. Or we don’t. In a play or musical, it’s the transitions that bring the story to life and keep it moving along. We are all too familiar with the adage: “The only constant in life is change.” That familiar adage was first uttered by Heraclitus in 500 BCE. It’s kind of sad that we all know the saying but didn’t know his name. It’s a mouthful anyway. Say it really fast three times. Few people I know have had the kind of life of the television sitcoms of the 1950s and ‘60s: one house, one job, and one spouse for 40 or 50 years. My parents managed it, but I would not want to replicate their 60+ years of marriage. And I certainly haven’t. My 7 decades have been full of transitions—cram-packed with them, actually. Looking at them with a broad view and in hindsight, they seem to have worked out pretty well. But focus in and they were often not pretty. Understatement.

According to most psychologists, the top stress-inducing life events are changes in job, home, or relationship. Rounding out the top five are death of a loved one and long-term illness experienced by ourselves or someone close. I am five for five in the last few years— moving and job in the last three months. Those are well-known to most of you. I retired with my final concert and Tater Tot and I relocated in the space of three days this past July. That was a lot.

Many of the stressors listed above come without warning or time to prepare. The larger question is whether or not we are ready when those surprises come along. There are obvious things we can do, such as making sure we have the financial wherewithal to endure a job loss or even long-term illness. I won’t go into the fact that we should never have to worry about losing everything due to a health crisis.

The real question is how we prepare mentally and emotionally if we can. I absolutely know there are some people who just naturally roll with the punches. Others live for the punches. Still others live life as punching bags and can’t seem to or want to change that role. And some punch.

For some reason, we, as a people, love borrowing trouble from the future and crossing bridges before we get to them. I guess it’s just human nature. The real trick is figuring out how to prepare ourselves for the transitions that will surely come and, at the same time, not worrying about them or allowing that worry to spoil the joys of today.

There are two important set pieces in our life’s stage that we don’t often think about: umbrella and safety net. The umbrella can be an employer or an organization. It can be a family unit. It provides protection from storms that may come our way or when it seems the sky is falling in. The safety net is there to catch us when we fall—or fail. Having worked for 57 years, Social Security is my safety net. Mitch McConnell and his cronies had better keep their greedy hands off of it. Just sayin’.

In our perfect life stage set, both would be there in some form. But there are transitions when we find ourselves without either one. Can you remember such a time? It could have been the loss of a friend or loved one, or a job, or a relationship or a beloved pet. I experienced this the day my doctor told me I had seroconverted and was HIV+ and again the night Corianna left us. I know my friend Dan felt this when he received his cancer diagnosis.

Librettist Pamela Tomlinson described such a moment when facing a diagnosis of a lifethreatening illness. She penned it for a work titled “Sing for the Cure.” I was lucky enough to commission it for the Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. You can hear these words read by Maya Angelou here: https://tinyurl.com/ycxbfjcy

Here are excerpts from those words:

“In one instant, the security of my being has been sucked into a maelstrom and I am at the center, quickly disappearing. My thoughts are like fragments of debris dizzily swirling around me. Where do I go from here? What

next? The questions torment me. Completely disoriented, I can no longer tell up from down, dream from reality. Family and friends try to offer words of support, but their voices seem distant. They are drowned out as the diagnosis beats a steady rhythm in my brain. One moment I am free-falling and everything is surreal, in slow motion. The next instant I am caught in the frenetic spin of a tornado. I want to run, but my feet are rooted to the ground. I want to cry, but I am empty, numb. I want to scream, but my voice is paralyzed inside my throat. There is no escape from this nightmare; I am already awake.”

Take a moment with those words. Have you ever felt that way? Most of us have. But they describe transitions. Those feelings usher us into the next phase of our lives.

I am very lucky. While I have had several jobs in my life, I have only been fired one time. That one was not because I wasn’t qualified or not doing an excellent job or didn’t love what I was doing. In 1986, the Baptists frowned on men who loved men. Here we are, 36 years later, and that frown has frozen into the marble statue of judgment. It’s not pretty or nice and certainly not Christ-like. And, as we all know, it is based on a faulty reading of the scripture. If you need a quick primer on that, get our friend Jim Dant’s book, This I Know: A Simple Biblical Defense for LGBTQ Christians

While I haven’t been fired from jobs, I have certainly not gotten every job I applied for or auditioned for. One of my favorites came as a young man. I had conducted a small gay chorus for a year. I was done. In that first year, the gays were no less dramatic/traumatic than the Baptists had been. I applied for a choral music position at a university. I killed the audition and interviews and started packing my stuff when the dean of the school of music called to tell me I had not gotten the job. He literally said, “Tim, you are a racehorse. You have huge dreams for our program. We are looking for more of a milk cow to show up and feed the students every day.”

He did me the biggest favor that day, even though I was disappointed. Having lost that job, I decided to give the gays another chance and stayed in that job 19 more years before moving to San Francisco! 35 years as a race horse. In only three months of retirement, I do not see any signs of cows on the horizon. This current transition that is now three months old was not a surprise. What no one can really plan for is what it feels like when you get there. As you may have read in last month’s article, I have been very busy getting to know my new environs. There is excitement in new things, of course. But there are also days when my thoughts bring the expected, “What was I thinking?” “I wonder how the chorus is doing?” “Do they miss me?” Those questions don’t last long until I answer them for myself: it was the right time; the chorus is doing fabulously, of course.

I have to remind myself that the play continues. The characters are all still on stage, singing their lines and living their lives beautifully. The libretto simply had the instructions: “Tim exit stage left.” Now, to be clear, that instruction was not for Tim to leave the theater. Nope. I’m still in the wings watching and encouraging the actors and singers. Who knows? I may still have a small walk-on role.

In the next few articles, I’ll share some of the lines I am still writing and parts of the play that continue to unfold. Until then, I am embracing this transition wholeheartedly and am excited for what comes next. Most of all, I am happy you’ll be there with me.

And, by the way, as to that opening quote, Mr. Shakespeare goes on to describe the stages of life. It is quite entertaining. If you are a person of a certain age, however, you do not want to read his description of the final stage. Something about being sans eyes and teeth. Seriously, William?

And, scene.

Dr. Tim Seelig is the Conductor Laureate of the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus. http://www.timseelig.com/

Speaking to Your Soul

ARIES (March 21–April 19)

A sign naturally wired for survival, you find it harder than others to surrender. But what you must surrender is the part of you that keeps you in fear. As you let go, you discover a greater substance you are letting go into, and this substance is a far safer space than any superficial or material security you alone could ever have created.

TAURUS (April 20–May 20)

Astrology

If it were up to you, you might remain the same for the rest of your life, so long as you are comfortable. But you, and those who love you, deserve more. The places you emotionally react in habitual ways are lit up now. Take notice, and take time to investigate your deeper motives underlying such reactions, so that you can be the change you wish to see in others.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20)

Pioneering astrologer Dane Rudhyar wrote that our suffering “is the pressure of our greater destiny upon our attachment to our lesser goals.” Liberate yourself from suffering by ridding yourself of attachments and behaviors that cloud your mind and body. Humbly acknowledging your shortcomings, and striving to mature in key areas, prepares you to channel higher love.

CANCER (June 21–July 22)

What are we evolving toward?

Without conscious awareness of a north star, we continue to act out of, and react from, our ego’s primal survival needs. But mere survival is not why we are here. Our evolution requires transformation. Like the phoenix rising from the flames, our infantile ideas of love must be held to the fires of our fears until all that’s left is our limitless soul. We are called to reorient ourselves toward a higher love that is not obsessed with self, but instead concerned with the good of the whole. As we act from this higher love, the darkness of our fears evaporates into light.

Cancer is a paradox. You are born to love, and also afraid to be vulnerable. But the only way to experience and express actual higher love is with a totally open heart. As such, the dragon you are to slay is your fear of vulnerability. Opening your heart is the initially-bitter medicine that heals. Step out on your own behalf, and the universe shows up to support you.

LEO (July 23–August 22)

Opportunities arise to change the way you relate to your family and loved ones. Weed the garden of your own psyche so you can interrupt inherited patterns of behavior, and be the example of healthy love.

VIRGO (August 23–September 22)

A portal opens, giving you access to an entirely new way of thinking and of relating to the world around you. As you become aware of the judgments you cast on people around you, consider how doing so keeps your world small. You can shed limiting thoughts now, perceive greater possibilities and positivity, and feel more connected to people outside your door.

LIBRA (September 23–October 22)

This is an excellent moment to make a list of your values and prioritize them. With experience and maturity, your values evolve, so take stock of them and align your life with what is most important to you at this point in your life. Living according to your values brings confidence and security.

SCORPIO (October 23–November 21)

The sign of transformation, this is your moment! It’s time for a rebirth. You have a special magnetism now, and can draw people and opportunities to you. As you vibrate at a high frequency, you draw positivity and harmony to you. So, give yourself permission to live in the light to take advantage of the support the universe is aiming your way.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22–December 21)

Meditation, devotion, and purification practices are supported now. Make solitude a priority so you can access the divine, which is calling you now. You have access to understanding a higher harmonic of love, which you can then bring into all your relations.

CAPRICORN (December 22–January 19)

The seduction of power is always whispering in Capricorn’s ear, if only because you are so capable of achievement. Yet it is crucial that in order for you to be genuinely content, you must adhere to your core value of personal integrity. So, use power wisely, not to dominate, but to harmonize the whole. Think inclusion over exclusion.

AQUARIUS (January 20–February 18)

Your nature is genuinely more concerned with the universal than the personal. But the universal needs the particular. So, make full use of your distinct ideas by bringing them into form. There is great potential and support now for you to actualize your mission, especially as it benefits the whole.

PISCES (February 19–March 20)

Intuition is strong now. You gain new understanding of the bigger picture in a profound way. Go with the flow of expansion, and break out of the old paradigm that has become stale and boring. Say yes to new horizons.

Elisa Quinzi is a certified professional astrologer who brings a strong spiritual perspective, as well as over 20 years of experience, to her work with clients. Contact her at futureselfnow@gmail.com or at 818-530-3366 with your exact birth time to schedule or to ask questions.

Take Me Home with You!

“My name is Nala! I am a seven-year-old, female, shepherd terrier, pit bull mix looking for my forever family! I come from Tulare County, and in the words of my foster folks, ‘Nala is the perfect dog!’ I do not want to share my humans with other canine companions, but who can blame me? I think it’s a great game to attack the Swiffers and hose attachments, as they are the most dangerous indig enous critters in the home. If you need some help pre-washing your dishes, call me!

Though I am currently residing with a foster family, I am available to be met and adopted as well.” Here’s a video to brighten your day: Nala playing with the spray from a water hose! https://tinyurl.com/49p439j9

Please note that October is pit bull Awareness and Celebration month. The adoption fee for pit bulls and Pit Bull mixes like Nala is waived throughout the whole month.

If you wish to meet Nala, you can do so virtually before choosing to adopt. For more information, please email adoptions@sfspca.org

Nala is presented to San Francisco Bay Times readers by Dr. Jennifer Scarlett, the SF SPCA’s CEO. Our thanks

also go to Paradise Osorio for helping to get the word out about lovable pets like Nala.

For visitors to the SF SPCA Mission Campus @ 201 Alabama Street, it is open for appointments from 10 am–6 pm (Monday–Wednesday, Friday–Sunday) and 1 pm–6 pm on Thursdays.

For more information: https://www.sfspca.org/adoptions/

Fitness SF Trainer Tip of the Month

“The number 1 mistake people make in the gym is not taking notes on what they do (exercise, weight, sets, reps, rest times).”

Mindie Dodson

Dykes on Bikes®

Tales From Two Wheels

I am Mindie Dodson, holder of a San Francisco Dykes on Bikes® Women’s Motorcycle Contingent patch earned in 2009.

It felt like the task to become a patch-holder had taken forever. Riding across the bay, lane splitting, in conditions at times windy and rainy, starting over on attending required meetings due to food poisoning ... these were only a couple of the hurdles to what would become over a decade of volunteerism and camaraderie with sisters who ride iron ponies.

Facing danger wasn’t a requirement of being a member, it came with riding a motorcycle. The challenges were self-inflicted opportunities to grow, prevail, continue the longevity of the Dykes on Bikes®, and be a role model in the LGBTQIA community.

Being a member of this iconic not-for-profit organization has allowed me to help raise awareness and money for folks in need, many I would never meet. Working with Soni Wolf, Kate Brown, and many others I respect and honor helped me to become chairs in parade registration, lineup, and executive board membership, as well as to serve as Treasurer, and President.

Orchestrating kickoff of the San Francisco Pride Parade and being a member of the Motorcycle Safety Team with AIDS/LifeCycle are two of the ways I have made myself visible with queers and their allies with Dykes on Bikes®. If you are a female who wants to bloom in your talents to a worthy charity, being shy is OK; let your bike be what makes you roar.

“Thank You!” to Dykes on Bikes® from the San Francisco Bay Times!

Gardens and the darker Sunset Boulevard. Darker yet are Misery, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, and A Beautiful Mind Black Swan is about a committed ballet dancer struggling to maintain her sanity, winning an Oscar for Natalie Portman. (Sunset Boulevard should have won the Oscar for Gloria Swanson, but I digress.)

From The Snake Pit to Repulsion to The Three Faces of Eve, we can go on with films that highlight mental

struggles. Hopefully, good films on this can open up our hearts to understanding, insight, and compassion.

Jan Wahl is a Hollywood historian, film critic on various broadcast outlets, and has her own YouTube channel series, “Jan Wahl Showbiz.” She has two Emmys and many awards for her longtime work on behalf of film buffs and the LGBTQ community. Contact her at www.janwahl.com

the spotlight. Felton’s adolescence was anything but ordinary. His early rise to fame in beloved films like T he Borrowers catapulted him into the limelight, but nothing could prepare him for what was to come after he landed the iconic role of the Draco Malfoy, the bleached blonde villain of the Harry Potter movies.

class status as citizens and childbearing chattel of the state, denying them essential health care. In my book, I describe in detail what it was like to seek an illegal abortion in Mexico in 1969 when abortion was illegal in most of the nation.

Founded in 1974, SHANTI PROJECT was one of the first volunteer organizations in the United States to work with terminally ill individuals, and later became one of the very first community-based HIV/ AIDS organizations in the world. Each year, Shanti volunteers provide emotional support and practical assistance to isolated San Francisco residents experiencing systemic inequities and barriers to care, while navigating challenges connected with illness, disability, and aging.

COMPASSION IS UNIVERSAL was Shanti’s annual dinner and benefit on October 13 at The Palace Hotel. This year, they celebrated 48 years of Shanti’s work in the community. Emcee/auctioneer was Kevin Joyce. The event recognized those in the community who best embody Shanti’s values of volunteerism and service. Senator Scott Wiener and Supervisor Rafael Mandelman spoke highly of Shanti, and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi sent an inspirational video message.

Video testimonials were given by the many grateful Shanti clients.

I was so proud when we attending Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence got a special shout-out! The 2022 James C. Hormel Community Spirit Award was given to Dr. Monica Gandhi, Professor of Medicine and Associate Chief in the Division of HIV, Infectious Diseases, and Global Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).

She is also the Director of the UCSF Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) and the Medical Director of the HIV Clinic (“Ward 86”) at San Francisco General Hospital. She reminded us of those critical, awful, homopho bic days back when AIDS was a huge stigma and how she flawlessly spoke out for Ward 86 and queers despite the discrimination. The 2022 Nancy Pelosi Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Thomas E. Horn , Executive Director of the Bob A. Ross Foundation, which supports HIV-related, LGBTQ, arts, and cultural nonprofit organizations in San Francisco. Featured special guests were San Francisco Poet Laureate Tongo Eisen-Martin, Joe Warner’s Jazz Combo, and Jiten Daiko. Shanti Interim Executive Director Charley Meade closed this lovely gala with even more inspiration.

The Rhino is in The Castro for another season of fun, naughtiness, and joy. THEATRE

RHINOCEROS presents BAD HOMBRES by Guillermo Reyes starring Rudy Guerrero. A collection of wildly comic charac ters negotiates sexual identity and various Latinx cultural identities. Relationships and marriage, monog amy and sexual adventurism, legality vs. “illegality” all clash in a contemporary setting of American life. Now playing through October 30 at 4229 18th Street. https://therhino.org/

THE 2ND ANNUAL BEARRISON FAIR was held on Saturday, October 15, at 11th and Harrison Streets. Billed as “A FAIR FOR EVERY BEAR ,” it included bears, bear-lovers, and friends of bears. And even the bear-curious! There were three stages for live shows. There was bear wrestling and weightlifting. Plenty of bear merch was available. I always delight in the Neft Vodka VIP area—serving the smoothest voddie I’ve ever indulged in, while helping out the community. http://www.neftvodkaus.com/

BEARRISON STREET FAIR , produced by The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence & The Bears of San Francisco, seeks to provide an inclusive community event for all members of the adult LGBTQ community that promotes body positivity for all and builds a more supportive, welcoming, and inclusive bear scene by representing a diverse arena of cultures.

Sister Dana sez, “I can BEARLY wait for the 3RD ANNUAL BEARRISON FAIR!”

We Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence on October 22 will present: CLOWN FUC#ER , “A Sister Takeover at Moby Dick Bar.” Hosted by Sister Roma and Sister Carrie Me Away. Drag and more at 1 pm, 4049 18th Street.

The final hearing of the JANUARY 6TH PROBE was a bunch of bad news for Trump. Even though he will refuse the subpoena, there is now plenty of evidence that he is an insurrectionist.

Sister Dana sez, “I hold dear to my heart that Section 3 of the 14TH AMENDMENT states: ‘No person shall hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof’!”

QUEER

C) a pint

Wednesday, October 26 @ 12:30 pm (free-in store, Ferry Building SF) Russ Feingold & Peter Prindiville, authors of The Constitution in Jeopardy In an era defined by faction and the abdication of long-held norms, The Constitution in Jeopardy considers our relationship to our founding laws, and explores crucial questions about what America truly is, and can be.

https://www.bookpassage.com/

literary and political organizations that allegedly had communist affiliations. Although Gidlow, a philosophical anarchist, ideologically opposed communism, the group’s 1948 report concluded she supported communist front organizations. She also was accused of “living with a colored woman and frequently entertaining Chinese people,” charges she characterized as “damning evidence that I could not be a loyal American.”

In 1954, she and Quallo moved with friends Mary and Roger Somers onto a portion of a ranch she bought near Muir Woods, which she named Druid Heights. It became both their home and a retreat for artists, writers, feminists and free spirits. Quallo returned East to care for family members in 1957, but Gidlow was surrounded for the rest of her life by guests and long-term residents on the property, including Alan Watts, whose book The Way of Zen introduced Eastern philosophy and Zen Buddhism to many European and American readers.

Across her long creative career, Gidlow published 14 books. Her last, Elsa: I Come With My Songs, the first autobiography of a lesbian to appear under its author’s true name, was published by Bootlegger Press in 1986, the year she died. Although she saw herself first and foremost as a poet, Celeste West, her editor, wrote that by then she had added many more beads to her “grey thread” as a “radical feminist of the ‘first wave’” who “fought life-long against class privilege, organized religion, and sexism, while fighting for all varieties of love and beauty.”

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

QUIZ

Olivia Cooke is the one who favors a gin martini with a twist. D’Arcy mentioned “a pint” after Cooke spoke, to which Cooke replied, “Guinness.” As for the now Tik Tok-trendy Negroni Sbagliato, here is a recipe for it: https://tinyurl.com/7up23y7c

Sadly, most young people today take the right to choose for granted and have no idea what it was like before Roe The same is true of LBTQ equality. The gains LGBTQ people have made in the U.S. are fragile.

Same-sex marriage is the next target of a radical right wing Supreme Court. We could lose our rights and freedoms and return to the dark times of our past if we let the culture of hate and intolerance for differences rising in the U.S. prevail.

The macho culture of medicine in the 1970s stands in contrast to the more humane culture of medicine today, when at least a third of physicians are women who show greater compassion for the terminally ill and women’s medical issues and have better outcomes for their patients.

Michele Karlsberg: How did you decide what to put in your memoir and what to leave out?

Patricia Grayhall: First, I had to learn that memoir is not an

autobiography, nor is it a compilation of everything that happened during a period. There were experiences and characters that I chose to leave out of my story because they were not essential to advance the arc of the slice of my life and the themes that I wished to reveal. For example, I had other long-term friendships and a few dalliances in which there was little conflict and that really did not add much to the story. The daily grind of medical school life would not be interesting to readers, nor would a blow-by-blow account of all the ways medical training was hard. I included just enough to give the reader a feeling for what it was like.

Patricia Grayhall is a medical doctor and author of the memoir “Making the Rounds; Defying Norms in Love and Medicine” as well as articles in “Queer Forty” and “The Gay and Lesbian Review.” https://www.patriciagrayhall.com

Michele Karlsberg Marketing and Management specializes in publicity for the LGBTQ+ community. This year, Karlsberg celebrates 33 years of successful marketing campaigns. For more information: https://www.michelekarlsberg.com

Fleet Week Concert at Jane Warner Plaza

The sounds of Fleet Week—and we don’t mean the powerful roar of jet engines—were heard in Jane Warner Plaza on Thursday, October 6, when the Navy Band Southwest’s brass ensemble presented for the first time ever a joint concert with the San Francisco Lesbian/ Gay Freedom Band (SFLGFB) .

District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman along with representatives of the presenting organizations—San Francisco Pride, the Castro LGBTQ Cultural District, Castro Merchants Association, and more—welcomed the Navy musicians to the Castro. The Navy Band’s Musician First Class Whitney Adams spoke on behalf of her colleagues. Each band performed independently, followed by a selection of tunes that were jointly conducted by SFLGFB’s Mike Wong. Listen to Adams as she explains what happened and what the experience meant to her and other colleagues who are out service members:

Photos by Rink

Krewe de Kinque Benefit Honoring the Life of María José Garza

Krewe de Kinque charitable Mardi Gras club held a tribute show for the club’s Queen VIII Garza at their monthly benefit at the Midnight Sun on October 15. In attendance were Garza’s mother Dońa Antonia Suárez and her brother Renato Asencios, who have been visiting from Peru during Garza’s hospitalization and passing on September 27.

A dozen performers from the House of Garza and Krewe de Kinque donated their tips to add to other fundrais ing activities to raise $1,000 for María José Garza’s final arrangements and a permanent memorial in San Francisco. Additional donations are invited to reach the GoFundMe goal at: https://tinyurl.com/m8zhnwf9

Club Founder Gary Virginia created a tribute poster and photo keepsakes, as well as florals and a slideshow video that can be viewed here: https://tinyurl.com/ms9mvbry

A funeral mass honoring Garza’s life will be held on Saturday, October 29, 11 am at Mission Dolores Basilica, 3321 16th St, San Francisco.

Maria José Garza Tribute Slideshow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-x--nQMv-M

49ers Watch Party

A 49ers Watch Party, in celebration of LGBT History Month, was held at The Detour in the Castro on October 9. In addi tion to a drag show during halftime, a raffle was included with winners receiving game tickets. Cheerleader Jonathan, one of the few male cheerleaders in the NFL, was on hand along with Cheerleader Rachel from the 49ers squad.

Photos by Rink

CASTRO

STREET CAM

the season for creepy crawlers and ghouls.

for Halloween. Shop early while

Cliff’s wish

spooky,

and

have everything you need to decorate your house,

is

spectacular