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Since 1971 SF Int'l Arts Festival
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SF reports 1st clade I mpox case by John Ferrannini
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n unvaccinated San Francisco adult was hospitalized with clade I mpox – the more severe strain – earlier this week, according to the city’s health department. The clade I variant has From NIAID been circulating for Clade I mpox virus some time; a case was reported in neighboring San Mateo County in 2024. In a news release April 16, the San Francisco Department of Public Health stated it confirmed the case April 14. “The individual reported close contact with someone who traveled internationally,” the release stated. The 2022 mpox outbreak among mostly gay and bisexual men and their sexual partners was caused by clade II mpox. Clade I is more prevalent in central Africa, and is also more dangerous. “Both clade I and clade II mpox cause similar symptoms, which may start with flu-like symptoms such as a fever, swollen lymph nodes or fatigue, followed by a rash that looks like pimples or blisters,” the health department’s news release stated. “People who have a rash that looks like mpox should contact their healthcare provider to get tested and talk to their partners so they can take steps to prevent the spread of infection.” As the Bay Area Reporter previously reported, three unrelated cases of clade I mpox were found in Southern California last fall. All three cases were in unvaccinated people who required hospitalization and none involved international travel, which indicated community spread among gay and bisexual men and their sexual partners. It was the first time clade I mpox had spread in California unrelated to international travel. There was also a clade I case in California reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2024, but that did involve international travel. San Francisco officials said they are keeping an eye on the situation. “SFDPH is closely monitoring mpox. While clade I mpox cases remain rare in the United States, clade II mpox cases continue to occur in San Francisco and throughout California,” stated San Francisco Health Officer Dr. Susan Philip. “This development reminds us just how important it is to be fully vaccinated against mpox if you are at risk. With summer travel and events quickly approaching, now is a great time to seek the mpox vaccine.” State health officials noted that mpox can spread through intimate physical contact such as massages, cuddling, or sex (oral, anal, or vaginal); direct skin-to-skin contact with the rash, scabs, or body fluids that touched sores; sharing a living space or personal items with someone who has mpox; and spread from a pregnant woman with mpox to the fetus or baby. Casual contact, like one might have in an airplane, office, or store, is unlikely to spread mpox. People at risk are advised to get two doses of the Jynneos vaccine from their health care providers as soon as possible. Two doses of the Jynneos vaccine are administered 28 days apart.’ The antiviral TPOXX is used to treat mpox in immunocompromised people and others at risk for serious illness. The antiviral TPOXX is used to treat mpox in immunocompromised people and others at risk for serious illness. According to city data, there have been 26 clade II mpox cases reported in San Francisco this year. For more information about mpox and vaccinations, go to https://tinyurl.com/5eubp9fh. t
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Vol. 56 • No. 17 • April 23-29, 2026
On trans female athletes, Mahan parrots Newsom’s ‘fairness’ line by Matthew S. Bajko
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year ago, during the debut episode of his podcast, California Governor Gavin Newsom said it was “deeply unfair” to allow transgender athletes to participate in female college and youth sports. He was responding to a comment made by the late Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, a conservative provocateur who was fatally shot last September. “Right ... I think it’s an issue of fairness. I completely agree with you on that. It’s deeply unfair,” Newsom replied, leading to wide condemnation from LGBTQ leaders. With the Democratic politician set to be termed out of office in January, the race is on to succeed him. The June 2 primary will determine which of the two gubernatorial contenders will appear on the November 3 ballot, as only the top two vote-getters regardless of party affiliation will advance to the general election in the fall. As state leaders, along with officials at public schools and colleges across the Golden State, tangle with the Trump administration over rules governing the participation of transgender athletes, particularly girls and women, on youth and collegiate sports teams, the Bay Area Reporter inquired about the issue on the questionnaire it sent to the top Democratic and Republican candidates in the gov-
ernor’s race. Three Democrats replied by the deadline to do so. Of them, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan took a similar stance as that of Newsom, parroting his “unfair” language the governor espoused on his podcast. Mahan also said his views on the matter are shaped by being a father, similar to Newsom. “I love watching my 8-year-old daughter play soccer. If she asked me this question, I would tell her what I’ll tell you: I think that someone who was born male competing in girls’ or women’s sports could be unfair under certain circumstances, especially if they have a clear physiological advantage,” Mahan told the B.A.R. “This is an exceedingly rare situation in practice, but one for which sports leagues ought to have the space to work with their stakeholders (players, parents, coaches, etc.) to set and consistently apply eligibility requirements.” Yet, Mahan took a different tack with transgender male athletes, particularly when it comes to playing sports recreationally. “For my son’s younger recreational soccer team, I don’t see this ever being a relevant issue and I think it would be exceedingly unfair to bar transgender youth from participating,” wrote Mahan. “For my daughter’s competitive league, in which young women routinely earn scholarships and go on to play in college, this could be a real question.
Courtesy the campaign
In his race for governor, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan has views on trans sports similar to outgoing Governor Gavin Newsom.
Title IX helped create long-overdue opportunities for women and girls in athletics, and those protections and opportunities should be protected. See page 6 >>
Wiener brings legislative chops to fundraiser in race for Congress by John Ferrannini
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fter speaking to a packed house at a fundraising event in San Francisco’s Hayes Valley, gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) said he’s glad the race to succeed Congressmember Nancy Pelosi in the U.S. House of Representatives is a competitive one. The district covers most of San Francisco. “It should be a hard-fought, competitive race,” he told the Bay Area Reporter. “Because San Francisco deserves that, and I’m looking forward to making the case about why I’m the right person for our city in Congress.” The April 16 event had over 200 guests and raised over $80,000, according to Joe Sangirardi, a gay man on the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee, who was among the hosts. (Sangirardi’s day job is development director for statewide LGBTQ rights group Equality California, which has endorsed Wiener.) Wiener needs the money – among others, he’s up against centimillionaire Saikat Chakrabarti, a straight ally and wealthy tech investor who formerly was chief of staff to Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York). Also running are Connie Chan, a straight ally who is District 1 supervisor, and Marie Hurabiell, a straight woman who was a Donald Trump appointee to the Presidio Trust during his first administration. All four are Democrats. Wiener, a moderate, would be the first gay person elected to Congress from San Francisco if he wins. The top two finishers in the June 2 primary advance to the November 3 general election. The B.A.R. covered Chakrabarti and Chan campaign appearances in the Castro last month. Chakrabarti has spent $4.82 million of his own fortune on his campaign as of March 31, according to Federal Elections Commissions filings, which also show the campaign had $208,000 on hand as of that date. Wiener raised $3.5 million as of that date, and spent $897,365 of that. Chakrabarti has argued – as he did at a debate cosponsored by the Bay Area Reporter on April 16 – that this makes Wiener beholden to special interests.
Massimo LoPorto
State Senator Scott Wiener made his pitch for election to Congress at a Hayes Valley event in San Francisco April 16.
Wiener pushed back against that argument strongly. Asked about it at the fundraiser, he said, it is “very precious for someone who is flooding the race with corporate dollars” to be making that argument, referring to the money Chakrabarti made in tech. “How is he going to accuse anybody of being corporate?” Wiener asked. Wiener also said his record shows a history of holding big corporations accountable. “The reality is that unlike my opponent, I have gone to battle against some of the largest corporations on the planet, the big tech companies, big oil, the telecom industry, the health insurance industry,” Wiener said. “And I have beaten them on behalf of consumers, on behalf of regular people. And so they can lie about me all they want. The reality is that I have one of the strongest pro-worker, pro-consumer, pro-environment records in the entire Legislature. I’m proud of that record, and I will continue to stand up for people, for the people who make our city and our country run.” Wiener has a prolific record in the state Senate, to which he was first elected in 2016. Among his accomplishments, Senate Bill 35 streamlined approval for
affordable housing in cities that failed to meet housing goals, SB 40 capped insulin copays at $35 a month, and SB 53 led the nation in mandating the first safety frameworks for artificial intelligence companies. He has also pioneered legislation protecting LGBTQ rights, including ending the unequal treatment of LGBTQ people on the sex offender registry, the creation of the ‘X’ nonbinary gender option on IDs and birth certificates, requiring insurers to cover gender-affirming care, and designating California as a trans refuge, among a host of other bills that have become law. “You can ask anyone who’s ever run against me: No one outworks me,” Wiener said. “I am running hard at the same time that I’m doing the people’s business in Sacramento, carrying big legislation to protect scientific research, to expand access to healthcare, and to fight climate change and to protect consumers.” Before Wiener was in the state Senate, he was District 8 supervisor representing the LGBTQ Castro neighborhood at City Hall. “Representation matters,” Wiener said of being elected to Congress. “We love our allies. We can’t, it’s hard to do anything legislatively without our allies, but we have to have our own seat at the table. We need our own people in the room.” For Sangirardi, who is supporting Wiener and lives in the congressional district, Wiener “isn’t all talk like most politicians.” “If we want Democrats to do shit, we need to elect Democrats who actually do shit,” he stated. Gay District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey, who lives in the congressional district, told the B.A.R. that Wiener “has impressed me in literally everything I’ve ever seen him do, as a lawyer and litigator, as an LGBTQ+ advocate and legislator. I think he has done more to change the conversation on housing, in California and nationwide, and I think he will be a phenomenal representative in Congress.” Also co-hosting with Sangirardi was Jose Luis Gandara, a gay man who lives in the district. He said he is getting Gen Z on board with Wiener’s candidacy. See page 6 >>